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In weekend read we are bringing to you review roundup of Tide forecasting applications for Windows Phone 8. This has been done by Joel Jackson, the man who ran 920 miles with a Lumia 920 in Alaska and has become a regular guest contributor for NPU. Read his contributed articles by clicking here.
The Tide has Turned for Windows Phone Apps
Most estimates suggest over half the world population lives within 36 miles of an ocean coast. There is potentially 3.5 billion people who could benefit from reliable and easy to use tide forecast applications. I live in a coastal community and have used paper tide tables for most of my life. Having tables available on my Nokia 920 is convenient and helpful for fishing, camping and family outings to the beach. For those who live and work on the water an accurate tide forecast can be a matter of life and death
I did not include surfing condition predictors applications and my use was focused on my location in Ketchikan Alaska. I used Time and Times ($2.49), Tides Watch (.99) and Tides (free). 
All three offer a different visual experience that really are a matter of user preference. For me the larger contrasted numbers on Tides is easy to use. That’s important when in a boat or inclement weather conditions. The only problem with Tides is that it would at times lose my location. It’s simple to reset but annoying. The screen shots above show varying dates/times. I left them that way to demonstrate why it’s extremely important to set the correct time zone prior to use. Tide and Times gives you a visual reminder in red. A nice touch but something that really should be a given. Time and Tides puts a lot of information on the screen at once. For my old eyes that’s a distraction and potentially a problem if you glance at the wrong date. Tide watch has one thing for us lazy folks that I like. When you open the app it automatically finds your location and allows you to pick the specific forecast location in your area. Small thing but a nice touch. During real life use all provided accurate data for my location and appear to be updated.
In summary. Its takes a smart developer to produce a Tidal Forecaster that windows phone 8 users can depend on. Really what you have are three good options. I would suggest that Time and Tides is a great value if you need tidal maps on a daily basis. Tides and Tide Watch both work well and between them it really comes down to the user’s preference for how information is displayed. If you live on or near an Ocean coastline do yourself and the developers of these apps a favor. Go to the store and get one on your phone. You never know when you’ll need it!
Disclosure:
I am not an employee of and have not received compensation from the companies I mentioned. I am a Catholic guy who is a slogger when I run, I love my wife, my children and my community. I believe in being thankful whenever possible. I am sometimes on Twitter @alaskanjackson and play on Xbox from time to time, gamer tag alaskanjacksons.
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