As if we didn't already have more charting and navigation apps than we can conveniently choose among, along comes yet another: the iSailor app using Transas vector charts. This is advertised as a "free app," but don't miss the small print: you have to pay for the chart sets. That makes it different from other charting apps where you make the initial app purchase and then receive free charts as you need them or all at once with the initial purchase.
Is there a need for the iSailor app? I think I'll wait to hear what people are saying before investing even $5 for some of their charts to test it out. The iSailor website doesn't convince me this app does anything that others haven't done already, and I'm a bit suspicious of having to buy their proprietary charts ever since the free (and updated) NOAA charts became the standard for U.S. boating. (For Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and Bermuda this may be the cheapest way to get charts for an app.) If you're sure you'll never want more charts in other areas, the iSailor app is possibly the cheapest for one chart area, so that's a benefit for some boaters. But for everyone else, I'd recommend one of the inexpensive navigation apps that do a great job with almost unlimited NOAA raster or vector charts.
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