I have been fooling around with apps for my new smartphone and found some really useful ones. So, in no particular order here are the ones I keep. If you know of others, please let me know.
WIFI Analyser: Free. Like "connect to" on my laptop, it lists the available sites and whether they are password protected or not. Hopefully, with this, I can find some unprotected networks in the Bahamas where the phones don't work. Runs on its own.
Navionics: About $15. A full charting program showing the boat within NOAA charts. I have the East Coast version which includes all the ICW and offshore charts including the Bahamas. A hand held chart plotter. Runs on it's own with the phone GPS.
Marine Weather by Bluefin: Free. Displays all the offshore NOAA weather, East Coast, Gulf, Bahamas and Caribbean. Needs cell phone tower access.
Windfinder: Free. Gives you wind direction and speed, Wave height and Temperature for every 3 hours for 5 days. You can set up your "favorites" for rapid access with some offshore references. Needs cell phone connection.
Saildroid: Free. Gives you speed, compass direction, log/distance and Lat/Long in large enough type so it can be read without my reading glasses. Runs on it's own using the phone GPS.
Avaiation Weather from NOAA: Free. Shows regional weather with indications of fronts. Needs cell phone connection.
Atides: Free. Typical tide predictor using NOAA info but with lots of stations. Needs to connect to cell tower.
Radar Now: Free. Uses your GPS to locate you and give you the current radar for your area. I believe you can also get radar from wherever. Needs to be able to connect to a cell tower.
Skype mobile: Free. Unfortunately, it connects via your phone rather than the internet directly. Should be cheaper for long distance and maybe uses pictures. Haven't really tested it out yet. Requires connection to cell phone tower.
Anchor Alert: About $15. Just like the title, it is an anchor alarm which can also send a text message to another phone so you can get an alarm if you are dragging or if the boat is stolen giving your Lat/Lon as well. I contacted the designer and he listened and put in large print control so I can push a button at night and see the direction and distance to the anchor without my glasses. Runs on its own using the phone GPS.
