Diving apps were this week’s subject for the App Smart column. If that seems a little unseasonal then you should remember that some great diving locations are in sunny spots, and a winter getaway vacation doesn’t have to be about skiing!
Diving logs are one of the more popular app types, largely because it’s handy to be able to enter data from your dive on a smartphone the moment you conclude diving â€" instead of risking forgetting some data before you get home to a PC. On iOS the $2 DiveCrafter app is one of the more graphically elaborate apps, but though it’s much nicer to look at than some of its peers it’s also a little more basic, and doesn’t offer fully comprehensive logging for your dive activity. Its simplicity is its charm, however, and leisure divers will appreciate the fact it lets you keep track of photos from the dive in the app itself.
Windows Phone owners could check out the $3
For diving calculations, the $11 iOS app Dive Buddy Pro is popular because in one place it provides you several different types of dive calculation, and it also lets you log dives in its database with great accuracy. What this app lacks in graphical finesse and complexity, it does make up for with a sort of basic, professional feel.
PADI (the Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is one of the best-known brand names in diving, and inevitably it has a free iOS app. It’s mainly useful for finding nearby PADI-approved dive gear stores. It does manage this well, though, showing you the stores! ’ locations on a map and offering contact details such as phone numbers and websites.
Tides and currents predictions can be critical for divers, and the Android and iOS app stores are crammed with apps that offer localized tide predictions. These vary in usefulness and design, but many are free and thus they’re worth downloading to check out and see if you like them. For example the U.S. Tides app (free on Android) offers extremely clear tide data on some 3,000 port locations in the United States, and its display is designed to tell you everything you need to know at a glance.
Quick Call
The $3 iOS game app Hundreds is tricky to explain â€" against the clock you tap on circles to “grow†them until the overall score is at least 100 â€" but it’s quick to pick up and very addictive. Ideal for activating your brainduring your morning commute.
