Methods for Discovering and Purchasing Content for Marine Electronics Device

1 . A marine electronics device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory having a plurality of executable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

send a request from the marine electronics device to a cloud server, wherein the request is configured to purchase content for the marine electronics device or one or more peripheral devices in communication with the marine electronics device; and

receive the purchased content at the marine electronics device.

2 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the memory further comprises executable instructions that cause the one or more processors to:

connect to the cloud server over a network connection; and

authenticate the network connection using information stored in a user account.

3 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the memory further comprises executable instructions that cause the one or more processors to control the operation of a marine vessel.

4 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the memory further comprises executable instructions that cause the one or more processors to receive a selection on a web browser to purchase the content, and wherein the request is sent in response to receiving the selection.

5 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the request is configured to authorize payment for the purchased content using financial information stored in a user account.

6 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the purchased content comprises:

one or more navigation charts;

musical content;

entertainment media;

one or more games;

weather information;

fishing information; or

a combination thereof.

7 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , further comprising a screen and wherein the memory further comprises computer-executable instructions which cause the one or more processors to display the purchased content on the screen.

8 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the purchased content is a software application configured to manage the one or more peripheral devices.

9 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more peripheral devices comprise:

a radar system;

a sonar system;

a propulsion system;

a global positioning system (GPS) device; or

a combination thereof.

10 . The marine electronics device of claim 1 , wherein the executable instructions that cause the one or more processors to receive the purchased content comprise executable instructions that cause the one or more processors to receive, from the cloud server, a designated location for downloading the purchased content.

11 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive a request from a marine electronics device to purchase content, wherein the request corresponds to financial information associated with a user;

determine whether to authorize a purchase transaction for the purchased content based on the financial information; and

if the purchase transaction is authorized, provide a download location for the purchased content to the marine electronics device.

12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the financial information is credit card information.

13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the purchased content is configured for being displayed on the marine electronics device.

14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the purchased content is a software application configured to manage one or more devices disposed on a marine vessel.

15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to determine whether to authorize the purchase comprise computer-executable instructions which cause the computer to authorize the purchase transaction if the financial information corresponds to a monetary account with funds sufficient to meet the price of the purchase transaction.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the monetary account is a credit card account or a deposit account.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the computer-executable instructions which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to determine whether to authorize the purchase comprise computer-executable instructions which cause the computer to deny the purchase transaction if the financial information does not match an existing monetary account.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein the devices disposed on the marine vessel comprise:

a radar system;

a sonar system;

a propulsion system on the marine vessel;

a global positioning system (GPS) device; or

a combination thereof.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the download location is on a cloud server.

20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive a request, at a marine electronics device, to display content that is available for download from a mobile content store in communication with the marine electronics device; and

display the content on the marine electronics device in response to the request.