BoatU.S. SmartPhone App for Android and iPhone – Available Now!

Available Now! Get the App that revs up the fun factor in your boating lifestyle!

BoatUS – THE Boat Owners Association of the United States – knows boaters like to share with friends and family breathtaking cruising destinations, the hottest fishing holes, ‘uh oh’ grounding spots to avoid and best of all – their boats current location.

Use the BoatUS Towing App to easily send friends your phone’s GPS Latitude and Longitude with a Google map link. You can easily share your near shore boat location with a few screen touches. Even use it to notify friends on shore when and where you begin and end your float plan!

BoatUS also knows boats break down, go aground and trailer tires blow out when least expected. Who wants to fork out over $600 for a tow? That’s why this App also has similar features to a vehicles automatic locator. Press the “Call for a Tow” option on the home screen and a 24/7 crew mate of BoatUS will answer, knowing who you are, what boat you’re on and where you are. A key feature, since tens of thousands of the boaters who call for a tow unfortunately don’t know exactly where they are located.

Even though this app doesn’t replace good seamanship and navigation skills, it is a nice addition to add to your tackle box. And it’s free.

The BoatUS Towing App not only displays the phones latest nautical Latitude and Longitude right in front of you, it’s GPS function should still work even when out of cell phone range. What a perk if you need to relay it over VHF radio in times of need!

BoatUS Members who choose to buy Unlimited Towing are also prepared when the unexpected engine breakdown, non emergency tow, soft ungrounding, battery jump, fuel delivery and/or trailer roadside assistance is needed. BoatUS can pay the bill on the spot so you don’t have to!

BoatUS is the biggest, the best and the most trusted boat towing program available. Not to mention THE Association providing representation for recreational boaters on Capital Hill, the best boat insurance policies, 24 hour claims service, marina repair and fuel discounts at 900 locations coast to coast, rewards at West Marine stores, award-winning boating, fishing and trailering magazines and over 25 services for boaters needs.

Recently changed in this version

-Text or Email your boat’s near shore location to other boaters
-Share your raft up anchorage or favorite fishing hole instantly
-Show your boat’s near shore location on Google Maps
-Displays your Latitude & Longitude (even out of cell range)
-Call for a tow with the comfort of BoatUS knowing where you are
-Complete your boating tool bag with 25 other BoatUS Services
-Get the hottest boating news events from BoatUS Press Room
-Use the BoatUS App to easily send your phone’s GPS Latitude and Longitude with a Google map link.

• Share breathtaking cruising destinations
• Keep a log of where they’ve been on the water
• Warn others of where to avoid ‘Uh Oh’ grounding spots
• Have the comfort knowing they can call 24/7 for a tow

Download the free BoatUS Towing app today to try it out. At sea. On the Lake. In the River. On the Road. Also, call 800-888-4869 now to join BoatUS and buy Unlimited On-Water and Trailer Assist for less than you probably spend for your auto club. They don’t cover boats and usually don’t pay for tows of boat trailers!

Coming Soon for Blackberry! Read the News HERE!

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A New Way to Locate Boat Shows Around the World – iBoatShows, iPhone App Available Now!

Finally there’s an App For That! iBoatShows™ delivers boat show information on iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad

Sept. 30, 2010 – iTapTouch, LLC, a mobile applications development company, announced that their first app – iBoatShows™ — has been approved and is now available in the Apple App Store. The application was designed in response to the growing demand for key information on boat shows and other marine-industry events. iBoatShows, available today as a free download at the Apple App Store or through the company website, www.iboatshows.com, helps boaters locate a show near them or anywhere in the world. The app also features a quick-search function allowing users to discover what each show or event has to offer and obtain tickets. The app also includes an “Extras” section that allows users to take advantage of special offers by exhibitors, or access social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to tell others about what they’ve found.

The application is the first of several planned applications by iTapTouch, including iBoatShows Custom®, which will focus on individual shows, allowing boaters access to detailed, real-time show information. Customized for any and all shows that want to offer a personalized, dynamic, multi-faceted solution, the apps will provide attendees with convenient mobile access to expo, destination, and exhibitor/vendor information, as well as promotions and sales. iBoatShows Custom will be rolled out later this year.

iTapTouch is the first mobile-only company to join with the Mad Mariner Network, which now includes nine websites, DIY Boat Owner magazine, and the largest social network in the marine industry. iBoatShows for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch will expand Mad Mariner’s ability to connect advertisers with an audience of enthusiastic boaters.

About iTapTouch, LLC

iTapTouch, LLC is a privately held, woman-owned company formed expressly to develop mobile applications for the marine industry. iTapTouch, LLC is owned and managed by Nancy Birnbaum, a long-time boater, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed Captain, and writer/editor in the marine industry. More information about iBoatShows can be found at www.iboatshows.com. iBoatShows can be downloaded at the Apple App Store.

Contact: Nancy Birnbaum

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iPhone app helped find lost boat in Irish waters

From BBC News

A vessel in distress on the waterways between Kesh and Enniskillen in Northern Ireland

iPhone's location app

owes its happy ending to an iPhone application.

Motor cruiser, the Wee Rascal, called 999 in the early hours of Sunday morning asking for assistance as the weather worsened.

However, an extensive search of the area around its reported position by Enniskillen RNLI and the Erne Coastguard Rescue team was fruitless.

With no flares, flash lights or VHF radio onboard, the Wee Rascal was unable to signal its position to rescuers.

It was then that the Belfast Coastguard resorted to mobile phone technology a locator iPhone app was able to give rescuers the vital latitude and longitude they needed.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the cruiser was finally located 25 miles away from its reported position, dangerously amongst the rocky shoreline off Eagle Point.

It was brought away from the rocks by Enniskillen and taken to the safety of Belleek marina.

Coastguard Watch Manager Steven Carson said it was a “combination of luck and technology” that saved those onboard.

“They had charts on board but obviously no real idea of how to get to their destination or how to report their position in an emergency,” he continued.

“Vital hours were wasted eliminating one possible location after another, time that we wouldn’t have had if the vessel had struck the rocks and sunk.

“I hope that this experience will help the crew to realise why navigation training is essential for all mariners, whether you’re on a lough or the open sea.”

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The Most Innovative Way To Make Yourself Understood with Your iPhone!

Dubai-based airline Emirates is behind an amazing new Apple iPhone language application which acts as a translation tool by taking a picture of the handset users mouth and then animates it to produce a range of handy phrases.

Built by Lean Mean Fighting Machine in London to translate English into French, German and Arabic, the app is a bit rough around the edges and tricky to set up initially — but it works.
Here is a demo video.

First you take a photo of your mouth. then the app works by taking the digitized picture and working out where the corners of the mouth and lip line are located. (Hint: If you’ve ever created a funny card at JibJab, you know what’s entailed).

Users can then select topic areas such airport, inflight, taxi, hotel, sightseeing and shopping and choose a phrase — “Could I have an aisle seat”, “Could we leave our baggage here?”, “Could you rub some suncream into my back?” etc — to animate and reproduce with audio using their lips.

You can select a male or female voice and adjust the pitch to make it deeper or higher. Each language has a full version with all 400 phrases, or a ‘Lite’ version that can be downloaded via 3G.

It’s clear from the video that it breaks the ice immediately, even in France!

Clever, funny and so, so useful.
The only question is: When will we get the Spanish Language version?

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