The IOS App PocketGPS has been designed as a backup Navigation system for yachtsmen, but it can be used by anybody wishing to know their location and log their tracks such as walkers, runners or cyclists. It can also log your track data in a car or even an aircraft, provided that the iPhone has access to a clear view of at least four GPS satellites. In an aircraft this means you need to be sitting in a window seat. Most of the facilities work without access to the internet and the GPS also works while the phone is in airplane mode.
The app has five tabs which give you unprecedented access to the iPhone’s onboard sensors.
The first tab, and the app’s initial screen gives you access to the GPS, Compass and Barometric data in a number of easy to read panels, displayed in user friendly, convenient formats. You can just double tap many of the panels to display the data in your favourite format.
The second tab gives access to the onboard iPhone sensor’s in a graphical format, allowing the user to display a number of useful instruments you would find in a car, boat, aircraft or home. These include an Analog clock, Speedometer, Altimeter, Barometer, Gyro, Speed graph, Location, and Pedometer.
The third tab allows you to define waypoints, sort them into related groups and use the waypoints for navigation, this tab and the following tab are mainly of use to maritime users.
The forth tab allows the user to combine a number of waypoints into a single route and then navigate that route.
The final tab allows access to the logged data in a number of useful formats. It also has a collection of convenience functions, such as Current time and position, Application log, Bedside clock and the PocketGPS manual.