Tuesday, April 13, 2010

How to not buy another gadget.

I've got a small sailboat. It sleeps four but you can't stand upright in it (it's a 24 feet Misil II from 1976 in 1970's yellow, for those of you who might be interested). It's the same type I sort of grew up in, and my dad built, so it's a lot of nostalgia for me. So far all I've used for navigation is the sea chart and the compass. But this year I started thinking about finally getting myselt some sort of GPS plotter (reluctantly, I might add).

After investigating brands like Garmin, Lowrance, Eagle and Humminbird I was still not convinced I should buy yet another gadget. What about my iPhone? Wasn't there some clever application I could buy, that would work not on the 3G network (not very reliable on the ocean) but on satellite?

A few days ago my dad told me he had read about a new app, 88 sea, made by a Gothenburg based company. And it's a fraction of the price of a small, handheld GPS plotter for boating. If it's good I've saved myself another gadget, which is good both for my bank account and for the environment. Perfect!

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