[Update 3 th 2019]
With the multiple charts disappearances during the successive updates of iNavX, I received a number of requests for assistance in the recovery of the said charts.
Regardless of the fact that I am not supporting NavX Studios LLC (iNavX) (¹), a focus is needed on the method of charts provision by distributors for our mobile applications.
Official cartography publishers offer distributors of their digital products annual global licenses to keep the maps up to date. This means that distributors pay a global license to all these publishers every year. Hence the necessary obligation for the end user to renew subscriptions.
Regarding Navionics in in-app purchases for iNavX in example, there is no chart deletion at the end of a year. As I already wrote, be aware though that maintaining expired charts on mobile is only a tolerance, absolutely no guarantee of recovering them after a deletion due to a hardware incident, software, or a device change. The subscription must be renewed every year in order to benefit from the updates.
Refreshing folders dragging down the finger on screen
With Geogarage, in Weather4D Routing & Navigation, The principle of the subscription is announced on the dedicated webpage. The difference with other applications is that one subscribes, in that way, to a publisher for all regions it covers, and not to a geographic bounded region.
Maps served by Geogarage cannot be retained after the subscription expires. The licenses that Geogarage must subscribe to with the official hydrographic services must be renewed annually. License agreements stipulate the obligation to renew subscriptions for end users to ensure that updates are always kept.
The charts are dated and encrypted, they will be deleted at the end of one year from date to date. However, The renewal of the subscribed publishers will be tacitly renewed, after repeated announcements by email, unless explicit refusal of the subscriber before deadline. This ensures that, in absence of the subscriber response, the charts never be deleted during a crossing. Arrived on land, if the user finds an undesired publisher renewal, it will be refunded on simple request to Geogarage.
iSailor has been a special case for several years. Transas being the designer of iSailor and the editor of his own TX-97 vector mapping. Since the release of this app in May 2011 (²), Transas had never charged for regular updates to card records purchased in the app. But since the acquisition of Transas by Wärtsilä (³), An annual subscription is now required to maintain updates.
To finish, It is clear that the pricing of annual subscriptions and renewals is ridiculous for mobile devices, all applications combined. It is to compare with the same charts for plotters (MFDs) and applications on PC/Mac. Let's not forget to measure the considerable number of cards provided by a SHOM subscription to 60 € (± 850 charts + 540 Cartridges), UKHO 70 € (± 1000 charts + 800 Cartridges) compared to the selling price of a simple paper card : ± 30 € (SHOM), 28 € (UKHO).
___
(¹) iNavX undergoes a change of ownership
(²) iSailor : Transas maps on iPhone and iPad
(³) Transas iSailor becomes Wärtsilä iSailor [Update]
___
For my own, I see it the other way around. The price of cards has finally become reasonable while it has long been scandalously expensive ! Everyone knows the arguments of the debate….
Note : I have iSailor and iNavx. iNavx has always opened an extraordinary session for me to return my cards even though I have not paid anything since 4 years at home (It happened twice), but it takes time (you have to wait for the fixes on Apple Store).
iSailor charts are more expensive for large sailings but are advantageous for small navs because the lots are around 30 euros (but not extended). Of course, the free update is a very big advantage. In addition, iSailor is a beautiful app, very ergonomic unlike iNavx.