I am considering the purchase of a Verizon Droid. I presently have nothing and was looking at what was available for the iPhone when my son in law put me onto the Droid and pointed out that the network was better and technologically it was a better choice. But I had found the apps I needed for the iPhone that made it the choice for me...unless those same apps are available for the Droid. I will be using the Droid to replace several instruments on my sail boat, a GPS with charting capability, an ATIS reciever, and a wind speed sensor.

I need an app that will download NOAA navigational charts and that will allow the Droid GPS to track on the charts.

I need an app that will present on the screen the ATIS information from neighboring commercial ships.

And most of all, I need an app similar to what I had for my Sprint phone 5 years ago that will EITHER allow me to use the Droid as a modem for the laptop...OR that will use the laptops screen to display what is on the Droids screen when it is running any of the apps.

The reason this last is so critical is that I use my laptop in the wheel house to display information and the Droid screen is just too small for a navigation display in a boat.

Well you can tether your laptop to your phone and use the internet from the phone on the laptop. But I haven't seen the other apps, of course I'm not looking for them. You can do a web search for what's in the Market here:

AndroidZoom.com - Browse the Android Market and search for applications and games

i love my droid but i would hate to think that i could look in all directions and see nothing but water and know my droid was the only thing getting me home.

I would never depend on just one thing. I have a Sextant on board. I have a compass on board. I have paper charts on board. I have a radio on board. And more importantly I have my brain and that allows me to look at the sun and determine which way is North and which way to sail to hit land. Once on land I can walk to a road that goes somewhere. There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

I found an app called GeoWake that looks like it will do the job for charting, BUT I still need ATIS and I dont know what "tether" means.

tethering means... using your mobile device to connect to the internet via the phones network. Pretty much using the phone as your modem.

And the above means that if your laptop has all those other tools you want...you are all set.

Windspeed sensor? I know the iphone has apps that let you play it like a flute and the droid has one that lets you blow on the mic and fog up the screen but I can't picture it (iphone or droid) being terribly accurate to judge windspeed.

Yeah, if you have reception and you have a laptop that can do all that stuff, you're set.

And this counts as part of the "unlimited data time" and does not eat up the 450 minutes phone time per month???? Right??

For tethering you have a 5gb per month cap. I have no idea how much data the programs you would use are, but it might be something to look into. Just using your phone though you have unlimited data.

oooh. It gets tricky. Verizon currently does not offer a package where you can tether your laptop to your phone. however, you can follow some procedures and gain administrative rights to your phone. Gaining "root" means you can then install whatever you want to. Think of the phone like a work computer where employees can't install whatever they want to. By rooting the phone you can then install a tethering application. Nobody has gotten in trouble for tethering their home gaming systems and computers through the phone and gaining internet access through the cell towers as of yet but it is not a Verizon supported activity either. Used in moderation there probably is little cause for concern but used in excess could result in Verizon contacting you.

Yes and no. Yes it doesn't count but at the same time you're not necessarily supposed to be doing it.

Completely untrue and unproven.

+1 ....I was going to ask for a link to for that. If you aren't supposed to be doing it then no cap would exist...but lots do it.

There is a supposed cap on data usage for the plan, but no one can EVER show a link, some sort of proof, etc etc.

Surfing the web, downloading maps, navigating, etc...not going to even raise a flag at Verizon. Assuming ANYTHING would raise a flag, it would be Torrents, and gigabytes and gigabytes later.

Isn't there a sticky somewhere on the fictional 5 gig limit? Here we go again.

() There is no 5 gig limit on data downloads/uploads on the Droid. The "unlimited" provision in your $29.95 data plan means exactly that.

() There IS a 5 gig limit on another data plan called "broadband access" that is used for modem devices that access the Verizon 3G network. I have such a plan with a netbook.

() You are not supposed to "tether" your Droid to a computer and use it as a modem. To do so is a technical violation of your service agreement. By the same token, if you are not using your Droid as the primary means to connect your computer to the internet there is very little chance (and no confirmed examples of) Verizon sanctioning you for doing so.

() You do NOT have to root your phone to "tether" it and use it as a modem. PDAnet works just fine for unrooted phones. If you plan to tether your droid on a frequent basis and/or want to be sure you can access all kinds of internet sites, skip a few lattes and buy the paid version.

P.S. If there is a sticky on this frequently asked question, someone point to it, please.

Correct on all points. I forgot about PDAnet. I think there is a free and paid version of that, or a 30 day demo? And I forget if it is only tethering via usb or if it does so wirelessly like the rooted wifi-tether does.

The free version of PDA Net doesn't allow you to surf on https (secured) sites, whereas the paid does. Not sure of any other differences other than that. But to be honest, it's free to root...to surf ALL sites with PDANet it costs you another 30 bucks a month.

The choice is obvious to me.

PDANet is free for 30 days, after that you lose the ability to visit HTTPS sites. It's still free, just crippled.

It does USB and Bluetooth.

You can download PDANET from the market to use your phone as a modem on your laptop. (tethering).

The limitation you may run into with tethering is that if you can't reach a cell site for talking you sure can't reach one for data.