We tested the Imray iPad app as part of a group review of portable chartplotting software. Chartplotting app Free • Charts £29.99 English Channel area
Product Overview
Overall rating:
Imray iPad app
Pros:
- • Charts are a faithful representation of the paper ones. If you already use Imray charts, this makes it quick and easy to use the electronic version alongside paper
- • Very clear charts with plenty of detail
- • Display is uncluttered
- • Display vessel’s lat and long constantly in the instrument bar
- • Compass rose can be dragged onto a chart, making it easier to take approximate bearings
- • Easy to set up and move waypoints
Cons:
- • No seamless transfer between charts when zooming. Instead you have to select the correct one from a list or an iTunes-type scrolling display. Although it is the same process to select individual paper charts, it’s a frustrating and cumbersome way of using electronic charts that makes passage-planning difficult
- • Little additional information on navigation objects such as buoys and lights
- • Selecting charts to download requires you to scroll laboriously through a long list – selecting a specific area is far easier
- • Not easy to add waypoints into a route
- • Instrument bar font is fine and tricky to read in daylight
Product:
Imray iPad app
Manufacturer:
Imray
Instantly recognisable, Imray’s popular e-charts show exactly the same detail as the paper versions they have been scanned from. While this may inspire confidence in the Imray iPad app and make working between the two easier, the functionality of this system is disappointing.
The charts themselves zoom in and out pretty quickly, but moving between charts is a frustrating affair, particularly when route planning.
See reviews of the other iPad apps in our group test
Verdict
Fine if you want a simple position on a chart format you recognise. Charts areas expensive by comparison with other systems.
