Jolla for (real) sailors

asked 2014-05-11 11:46:26 +0200

mcantsin
680 ●9 ●14 ●17

updated 2014-05-11 13:59:09 +0200

As I like to sail, - literally on a sailing boat, - I would like to use my Jolla outdoors on my sailing turns. Unfortunately the Jolla, - yet, - does not offer a good usability for that.

Daylight screen

Using the phone outdoors on a moving boat is very difficult, the text of e.g. xmpp messages unreadable, due to grey text on black background. On the sea there is not only light from above, but the reflecting sunlight on the water as well, which makes it impossible to use the device. (Maybe there could be a style-sheet or design for high contrast in daylight to be made, which could be enabled in settings...)

Navigation

The "Sailing Compass" application shows a windrose not indicating the current heading (e.g. 270 degrees in accurate numbers) at all. - The app is unusable for sailing therefore. (Use "orienteering Compass", as in the answer of user vattuvarg below.)

Speed

I did not find an app for the Jolla to show information on speed, heading, length of journey.

Weather

The currently available weather app does not include info for sailors, such as wind, wind-direction and rain radar. e.g. Meteoradar, Wetterstation or Windfinder

GPS

The yet unsupported Maep app (also this link)is a good app to keep track on the sailing route, but unfortunately provides no further info, like speed in knots, heading in number, length of track etc.

See example

image description

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"Daylight screen": See https://together.jolla.com/question/41718/privacy-security-usability-subjective/ (with several links to other question covering that topic already – vote/discuss there) including the answer by Aard.

jgr ( 2014-05-12 01:49:30 +0200 )edit

5

answered 2014-05-11 12:22:51 +0200

vattuvarg

13872 ●197 ●289 ●323

https://wordsmith.social/...

updated 2014-05-11 19:08:08 +0200

The orienteering compass shows heading. It might also be modified to include a more suitable compass for sailing. Talk to the creator of the app. So far it is the best compass for jolla, imho.

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Indeed, the "Orienteering Compass" shows the accurate heading in numbers, whereas the app "Sail Compass" does not, just the direction, such as SSE, which is not accurate enough for sailors. - Therefore the name of the app is misleading. I will tell the developer, thanks!

mcantsin ( 2014-05-11 13:10:50 +0200 )edit

Feel free to update your question now that one piece of the puzzle is in place. :)

vattuvarg ( 2014-05-11 14:22:04 +0200 )edit

3

answered 2014-05-12 11:28:47 +0200

Damien Caliste
6535 ●105 ●139 ●161

https://github.com/dcalis...

About Mæp, you can find the track info (length and speed) by swiping the title (search bar) from right to left. It will display the track bar. There you have length / speed info and you can add / modify waypoints.

It's using only metric units. It's a good suggestion to display track info in other units, I'll add this in a future version.

For the heading, I will see where I can display the info.

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Yes Nice! Thanks! Nice to hear that nautical units will be coming in a future version. A nice app for (real) sailors indeed.

mcantsin ( 2014-05-12 11:36:15 +0200 )edit

Thanks, the OpenSeaMap overlay has been implemented also and will be available in the next version.

Damien Caliste ( 2014-05-12 11:46:16 +0200 )edit

Wonderful, @damien-caliste ! Fondly appreciate!

mcantsin ( 2014-05-12 15:19:51 +0200 )edit

2

answered 2014-05-12 12:51:45 +0200

Whippler
4422 ●48 ●60 ●65

Abaut navigation. Navionics marine charts app for android works just fine on Jolla, http://www.navionics.com/en/mobile-pc-app

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I can confirm this. Works perfectly. I guess the only thing that doesn't work is the camera feature in this app but then again it's probably not that important. You just have to extract the apk from somewhere but the offline map downloads can be done using Jolla.

Wizah ( 2014-05-12 13:10:50 +0200 )edit

1

answered 2015-05-27 15:00:59 +0200

cemoi71

14264 ●310 ●434 ●439

updated 2015-05-27 16:14:48 +0200

i make my comment again after his action here which is for me under the belt-line (nor elegant and sporty):

i don't understand your choice to use your phone for sailing. For me the phone stay as a phone to communicate with someone-else. The compass,gps and weather predication on it are nice. But nothing is better than a dedicated tool for this function. Those on the phone are not so precise and reliable as the specific one. What should you do if you lose your phone on the water, or it has not battery more, or get broken? This things as you told, are must have for sailing, but nice to have on a smartphone. A real sailor as you speak about you, has a good magnetic compass, a good gps for sailing (better fixed on a clever place), be well informed with the coast service for the weather, and have a radar for weather. Is sad that you choose to put your money on something other else. Just for having parts that are not really precise as skilled one, and maybe run faulty through defect. As skilled sailor, i would understand that you want something that run at any time, in any condition. Don'T expect it for each smartphone on earth.

i ask me, why should jolla be responsible that the (for me) "nice-to-have" functions still don't works. No matter that he leave jolla for something else, but don't people turn on mad for something not expected for all!!!

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This reads like you've never been on a vessel of this decade! The precision equipment on board does have ethernet and BT and with the right software you'd be enabled with several features down to (re)configuring the autopilot - ring on a weather warning - provide AIS info and so on - if my phone runs out of power, I plug it in - for the high precision magnetic compass, there is no such thing as high precision magnetic compass on recreational yachts, my beercan diverts at least 15°... currently I need to use my laptop and N900 (small laptop...)

chemist ( 2015-05-27 15:11:09 +0200 )edit

yes but they are dedicated on it tested and approved with much more less failure possibilities than a smartphone which is not dedicated and tested for it. if you use it for sailing and goes down in a specific moment then it's for you your own risk and debt

cemoi71 ( 2015-05-27 15:30:38 +0200 )edit

don't forget that jolla provide a phone that should work as a phone, and give the possibility to have more other functions as nice too have. And on this way could not endorse any culpability that third parts don't works. idf you push this responsibility to them you are only just a clown. sorry

cemoi71 ( 2015-05-27 15:34:08 +0200 )edit

@chemist i'm not pretty informed on this material for sailing yes.
I'm interested later to do it. I you could believe me, i real sailor, i'll never put all my life in a small which which do anything more or less. but use dedicated, which are done for it specifically. For a compass sorry, but you don't need one which is connected to bt or ethernet. A magnetic one, that you regularly test is enough. And cheap enough. All my argument are dedicated to the must have part of sailing, that seems to be a must have on a boat. like a compass, a part which give weather condition, an other for the speed. i have no problem for the tracking map other nice to thing. i would have use the same, yes. but he need for example an app to know which direction has the wind? If he could see by himself? and inform himself on an appropriate service dedicated on it!! and one for speed and compass!!! what is that!!! and now should jolla be confronted with it. and comes some comment like yours make me fool as it is. please read deeper on what my reaction is done.

If he need all thing on his phone, then it is his choice. and if a firm dedicate its product on it, then is good so. but if it's not like jolla, then there no way to put any charge or responsibility on it as he do here. That's for me really dull mediocre irresponsible, whatever

cemoi71 ( 2015-05-27 16:02:47 +0200 )edit

In that perspective we do not need apps at all ever! For Jolla, they hired the developer of a Maemo5 app, Columbus Navigation Toolkit, starting from there Jolla would be the 1st and only phoneOS company dedicating some developer to a niche that could be their target audience as all other OSs suck when it comes to "offshore" experience,I'd also like a SailfishOS like UI on that shitty barely intuitive navigation equipment available for yachts... there is a huge market their, just like automotive sector. For everything on a yacht is "do not rely solely on it", neither your compass nor your GPS, Radar, AIS... but sailors know that - still an application that reads your windspeed SOC COG and calculates your best sail profile or shows your radar while sitting below deck (or taking a dump) is a feature nice to have, noone needs - who does really need a smartphone? most people would be just fine with a feature phone with a browser and integrated msger and probably a camera! But that is not why we are here, are we?

chemist ( 2015-05-27 16:22:48 +0200 )edit

0

answered 2014-05-12 18:54:22 +0200

chemist
41469 ●392 ●542 ●615

moderator

http://talk.maemo.org/

Apart of the weather what you are looking for is https://together.jolla.com/question/21415/export-gps-navigation-toolkit/

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