I dont think I am going to trust my safety to something as fragile as a tablet/smartphone, I may very well have one with me, but it will be my marine chartplotter that I will look to first. Now finding out reviews on a marina is another matter.

I use my iPad in my plane. It is FAA approved. They call it an EFB, electronic flight bag. Basically all my charts & plates are in this magic box. The software is also geosynchronously overlaid on the charts. It makes it extremely helpful for situational awareness.
I'm sure there is a marine software service for charts.
I use this http://gps.dualav.com/explore-by-product/xgps150a/ for the GPS. It will connect with about anything via Bluetooth even your regular map apps.

I wouldn't say I depend on the tablet for my safety, I use it to navigate the lakes around here, especially when they are low. An added benefit to using Navionics is I also have it on my phone and usually at least one passenger has it, it only costs about $10.. I have routes for various lakes I go to and Navionics gives me a roadmap of where I like to boat / beach / etc. I've found that it's more accurate than my memory, especially at night

I use the iPad and the Garmin Blue Chart app. It's more like $60 but has actual charts that were acurate running the coast from Gulf Shores to Destin. Haven't found a good answer for mounting it because it's not so good with glare or direct sun. It's nice to have aboard for security but I'd rather have a "real unit" just don't have room in the panel and don't want it just screwed to the dash.

Why not? The commercial airline pilots are using one for YOUR safety.

those of you that are using them in your boat and have them mounted, please post some pics

You dont even have to permanently mount it. If you have a flat surface on your dash or a windshield, you can use a ram mount with a suction device mount they have. It is mounted to the suction device via an adjustable arm. I was skeptical that a suction device/cup could hold it but I have hit some crushing waves and never had it fall under way. One time it did fall at the dock. I determined it was due to dust on the dash. Now I clean it off every time and never a problem. The only real downside I have found is you need to keep it charged. I tried cig lighter charger but it made interference with the audio as I also use this as an mp3 player for the boat. I bought a small 110 inverter at radioshack , Plugged the tablet 110v charger into it and no more interference.
The Samsung tabs have no trouble running mp3's and gps at the same time. I usually have the tab connected via bluetooth to my phone which acts as a 4g hotspot. That way you also have access to tide charts and LIVE weather radar. Also while connected , if you want to hear a song you did not bring, just fire up youtube. The tab is by far the biggest bang for the buck I have ever bought for the boat.

Chris

I use my Iphone 5 with the quad lock system. The bike setup has a nice water resistant cover (more of a rain or splash guard) and a case that is not bulky. I use the case all the time. I use a cycling gps while riding so this is nice to be able to use phone for all things. I also purchased the car mount. The suction cup has never released while running mid to high 70's. It even held when we flew and bow went right into the next roller. The screen on the phone is a bit small so I'm going to get the ipad for a larger screen. I have to figure a mount out. I use navionics and I am impressed with its accuracy, tracking ability and routes that are saved for future trips.

http://www.quadlockcase.com/collecti...lock-car-mount

You guys using navonics did you get the navigation upgrade for speed, eta etc. If you did where did you find it and how much extra is it? How can you tell what maps are saved? mine only shows 5.3 MB of storage used but in the house I can zoom in anywhere from Florida to California to great lakes. I only downloaded great lakes and marathon Fla area.

On the ipad how dose it keep up if your away from cell service? can it be linked to real gps sat ?