Captain Richard Rodriquez of the Bitter End blog points us to TUAW.com, where they have the details of how Apple has taken steps to conceal its bills of lading and other import records from public access for the highly anticipated release of the new iPad.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt over at Apple 2.0 is reporting that Apple has taken steps to hide ocean shipping data for its iPad. Several business intelligence companies exist that collect, analyze, and resell data of a company’s shipping records. This data is sold to the company’s competitors in hope that they can glean information on how well a certain product is doing by extrapolating potential sales data from the shipping records.

More can be read at Apple 2.0 HERE.

Here is a great list of useful iPhone Apps from gCaptain’s author on everything DP, Sean Hogue.  You can find the original of this along with some all the latest DP news at his site, www.DyanamicPositioningNews.com. If you have any recommendations on other apps, let us know in the comments.  Also, be sure to check out gTrax, AIS Vessel Tracking For The iPhone… gCaptain’s very own app. Enjoy!

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Coracle Online was one of (if not the first) company in the maritime and shipping industry to get into iPhone and iPod Touch application development.  Their first application, The Maritime Glossary, provides instant access to over 9,000 nautical terms and abbreviations for anyone with an interest in international trade and the maritime world.  The Maritime Glossary is currently available in the iTunes App Store for $4.99 (link to download).

But Coracle is not stopping with just one.  Available next week in the iTunes App Store is Ship It!, a fun game that lets players load cargo and, well, ship it, before time runs out. In the video above, you can see a sneak preview that Coracle recently posted on YouTube.

Also in development from Coracle Online is a third application called Ports Information.  While details on this app have yet to be released, according to their website, the app provides “comprehensive Port Information on your iPhone and iPod Touch”.

And finally for those of you wondering, YES, gCaptain is in the process of developing its own iPhone and iPod Touch application.  While I can’t release the details just yet, stay tuned as we will be doing an official unveiling in coming weeks!

Photo from New Launch

Even if you are thousands of miles from the nearest land you probably didn’t miss the big news in the technology world this week; the launch of iPhone 2.0.

The secret, however, is that you don’t need a new 3G iPhone to get the best features. Simply connect your existing iPhone or iPod Touch to iTunes and click update. Once completed your firmware will update to version 2.0 providing access to the Application Store.

Here are the Top 10 Applications that will be of use to a mariner:

10) Bloomberg Fiance

Have a portfolio of stocks you need to track? Bloomberg’s free iphone application harnesses much of the power of their pricey terminals and displays the results on your iPhone. Charts, company news and fistorical price data are all included. And, yes, you can track the price of oil!

9) Scientific Calculator

This application you don’t have to install. Just click on your iPhone’s calculator and turn the device 90 degrees and the built in 4 function calc turns on the scientific data.

Dial Zero

Sometimes you need to spend your precious moments of port time sorting out your personal finances. Why spend this time listening to a computer tell you to “Press 1 for English…”? Dial zero gives you the codes to jump directly to a representative. Neat, eh!

7) Check Please

While some of you mariners fly high on expense accounts (those guys should try the app Expense2Go), most mariners need to pay for their own meals both in port and at training classes. This application takes the simple Tip Calculator found on many phones and gives it a much needed redesign.

6) Epocrates Rx

We are not doctors and the Medical PIC training most of us have taken simply allows us to administer care under the direction of a doctor. For small problems or when the doctor is talking over your head Epocrates might come in handy. This free drug reference manual lets you access information quickly at the point of care.

5) My Colored Strobe Light

While this application can do everything short of send flashing light messages it’s most basic function will be the most useful on the bridge of your ship. Set the color to to red, adjust the brightness and it turns your iphone into a dim flashlight that won’t ruin your night-vision.

4) Where

In port for only a few hours and want to have a nice diner, do some shopping and maybe pick up a latte? Where gives you restaurant reviews, zipcar locations and will even locate find the cheapest gas station in town.

3) Bank Of America

If you want to have a good chance of doing banking in any port in the world HSBC is by far the best choice but in the US they only have locations in a few states. For American mariners the best choices are Washington Mutual and Bank Of America of which B&A has, by far, the best technology features that make banking from the road a breeze.

2)NetNewsWire

Bandwidth is precious aboard ship so why waste it on gCaptain’s beautifull banners. Instead set up NetNews and subscribe to our RSS feed. This application takes the text and article photos only, displaying then on iphone’s screen in a bandwidth friendly format.

1) Evernote

This application does one thing but does it well! It recognizes handwriting in pictures and lets you search through your notes. This is the perfect application for digitizing and searching the logbook.

Be sure to check out their desktop application too. It has many advance features in an easy to use format and… it’s also FREE.

Runners Up:

This is not a comprehensive list and many other applications will be of use to mariners worldwide. Runners up include translation programs for a half dozen languages, weather applications that give you basic charts from NOAA and web 2.0 offerings like Jott (transcribes voice notes), Truphone (free wi-fi based phone calls) and To-do.

Should I upgrade?

If you need an excuse to upgrade the 3G iphone just tell your significant other “Combining the higher speeds of 3G with the new phone’s GPS will allow it to become a mini ECDIS. Soon I’ll be able to watch the ship navigate down the channel in real time”. While this feature doesn’t exist yet, the phone has all the hardware needed to enable this possibility. It’s just a matter of time for the guys at EarthNC, ActiveCaptain, Jakota Systems and others to write the software to make it happen.