Audubon Caribbean FishID iPhone App 99 cents until 1/31/12

[reefduffer]

App for iPhone/iPad/ipod Touch. Audubon Fishes of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico
Regularly $9.99, now 99 cents through Jan 31 2012. Description here: Audubon Tropical Fishes App

If you have one of these Apple devices already, and travel to this area for diving, this becomes a no-brainer impulse buy. At the normal $10, arguably more of a decision, I tend to be cheap for app purchases.

It's 200 MB, which makes it the biggest app I have, slightly bigger than the entire San Diego street maps. OTOH, I really do have the space to burn on my iPod touch, and if it were an issue, I could download it only for dive trips. Most of the space is in the photos. There are a lot of them, and they are quite usable on my touch. They can even be zoomed in on to a useful degree. It seems reasonably well organized for ID purposes.

When we travel, weight restrictions require I leave my Humann and DeLoach books home, and to the islands, I usually leave my laptop home, just taking my Ipod touch. For 99 cents and 200 MB I wasn't using anyway, even if it's not perfect, I'll be quite happy to have this with me.

Not a very detailed review, but in this case timeliness beats thoroughness.


Slightly off topic, but worth mentioning: The Reefnet guys have been promising a Mac port of the Humann & DeLoach Reef Fish ID: Florida, Caribbean, Bahamas - Interactive Edition DVD for a couple of years.
See ReefNet Inc. | Reef Fish Identification - Interactive Edition

I spoke to the developer at the Long Beach scuba show last summer, he thought it would be ready for DEMA. Didn't happen. If it were available, it might tip me over to bring my Mac to the islands. But it's all about tradeoffs, and if I have a reasonable alternative already there on my iTouch ...

 

[HDRider10]

Wish I could get that for my Nook. I am looking for a good ebook with tropical fish pictures for identification and haven't found anything so far.

 

[Allison Finch]

No Android app?

 

[drrich2]

Thanks! Downloaded it just now. Looks it has some nice summary info., including description and range, for example. Not just a 'picture book.' For a buck, very happy to have it, ReefDuffer.

Richard.

 

[reefduffer]

Wish I could get that for my Nook. I am looking for a good ebook with tropical fish pictures for identification and haven't found anything so far.

No Android app?

Apparently not YET. If you look at the page Audubon Guides Mobile Field Guides under the heading "Shop by Device" you will see listings for Android, NOOK Color, and Kindle Fire. Android (which links to the same page as Kindle Fire, sensibly) has fewer apps than the iOS devices, and not this one. The Nook only has three, not including this one.

I'd expect that they have all these scheduled, or under consideration as a business case, but software ports are never instantaneous. The quantity of app ports seem to correlate with the platform release chronology, although admittedly it's a small sample size. But if they have climbed the learning curve to port Birds to the Nook, and they have a Fish app on iOS, I'd expect they have a schedule for porting Fish to the Nook, for example. I could be wrong, I have no connection with this developer, but I'd say it's reasonable to expect they would. And who knows, maybe there'll be a special introductory price when they do. Or not.

Hmmm, I looked a little more, and found their FAQ page. Some excerpts [ bolding emphasis mine ]:

Q: Will your apps be available on Blackberry / Windows phones / any other platform that is not yet supported? A: It is our goal to get our apps on all relevant devices, and we rely on customer requests and feedback. We are evaluating porting to additional devices and tablets. Check our website and Facebook page for updates. Q: When will all of your apps be available for Android? A: We are working to move all of our apps to the Android Platform. Sign up for our Android Alert email to learn about new apps and receive information about app updates. http://www.audubonguides.com/android And there's a "feedback" page if you want to try to encourage them, or perhaps request availability info.

 

[dmoore19]

reefduffer.

THANKS!

I have thought about bringing my books along for fish ID. Those things are heavy so I usually don't have enough room weightwise when I pack. I have purchased the app and i couldn't be happier. This is a great resource!! Thanks, for $.99 I don't know how you could go wrong.