View Single Post
  #8  
Old April 22nd 13, 03:09 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
WinPilot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 21
Default Free flight computer software for iPad/iPhone

Thanks for all the comments about the PNA version. Recently we have updated the aviation database for PNA and also the iPAQ for 2013. It includes combination of most recently available airspace files either from soaringweb..org, or from files that people responsible for maintaining airspace in given countries sent us.
The file for Europe is at: http://www.winpilot.com/AVDB/WP_Europe_Install_1301.exe
We also have an unpacked version of this file that can be copied directly into a PNA device at: http://www.winpilot.com/AVDB/Europe_1301.wa1 . People who see any errors or omissions should contact us with suggested corrections.

Regarding the discussion about which mobile hardware platform will win in the long term, of course nobody has a crystal ball to tell for sure what will happen, therefore, people must make their own assumptions. At this very moment the sales volume leaders in this market are Samsung and Apple, and they do not support the PNA platform. Everybody can see the future in a slightly different way, usually nobody gets it quite right, and the way we see it is that in a not too long of a time the in-the-pilot-bag instrument market will be dominated by two platforms: Android and iOS.
We understand that there are several companies developing flight software for Android already. Unfortunately, on the inside, Android is a very different from iOS, therefore, from the software developer point of view, maintaining one code base for both platforms seems like a difficult task. Given that we choose to support the iOS, mostly due to its superiority of the user experience (which is also very subjective), and quality and visibility in sunlight of its screens (especially the beautiful retina display). It was a risky decision because the Android market has a lot of traction as well, given that their devices are usually cheaper. It looks like the manufacturers of flight computers for power planes are jumping on the Android/iOS band wagon as well, as seemingly every week there is a new product coming out. It looks like introduction of the mini iPad was the turning point there.

Having said that, we understand that there are still several of you running WinPilot either on the iPAQ, or on one of the several PNA platforms. Some time ago we have published both ADV and PRO versions of WP for PNA version is 12, these are available at: http://www.winpilot.com/New_Download.aspx..
We are planning to release an updated version of the PNA version, it probably will not support every PNA device in existence, but we will focus on the most popular ones.
If you are considering buying a PNA device to run WinPilot, please send us an email which device are you considering. If you are running WP on PNA now, and are experiencing any issues, please email us the type of device, and what issue do you have. Please do not use this particular thread for this subject, as this thread is dedicated to the subject of testing the iOS version of WinPilot.

Regarding the iOS testing, thank you to all who replied, we still have a couple of spots left, so people interested in checking it out are welcome to send us a note. Unfortunately, the number of iOS testing devices we can have is limited, and the limit is set by Apple, so we cannot accommodate everybody. To be included, please send us the uuid number of your iPad/iPhone, and the country/state you are in.

Thank you for reading,
Winpilot team