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Most Expensive iPhone Apps Money can Buy

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In a world where smartphone users cringe at the thought of paying more than 99 cents for the latest apps, can you imagine paying $1,000 for an iPhone app that, say, helps ease your stuttering? How about paying that much for an app that helps you prepare for the state bar exam? Those are just a sample of the mobile apps that are part of an elite list of software for your iPhone or iPad — the most expensive apps on the iTunes App Store. Here are some of the costliest iTunes apps, according to mobile app data analysts Distimo. Agro (iPhone/iPad, $999.99) » This app helps agronomists (they study soil management and the production of field crops) create and distribute field inspection reports. “No matter what field of agronomy you specialize in, vineyards, orchards, broad acre farming, sugar cane or small-time domestic, this app will save you time and increase your bottom line by eliminating duplication of paperwork,” according to its iTunes description. MobiGage Laser (iPhone/iPad, $999.99) » A metrology application that works with a Leica laser for the measuring of materials in manufacturing plants. It can be used in the production of airplanes and cars, for example. “The reason it’s $1,000 is because Apple won’t let us charge $25,000. That is what the competition is charging for their PC versions,” said Frank Ruotolo, president of Titansan Engineering, which makes MobiGage. BarMax (iPhone/iPad, $999.99) » BarMax is a prep course for either the California or New York bar exam. It comes with past test questions, essays and audio lectures. The company also is planning to produce courses for Texas, Illinois and Florida. And at 1.4 gigabytes, it’s also one of the largest apps in iTunes. Sina Mobasser, co-founder of TestMax Inc., which makes the app, says at $1,000 his app is still a much better value than using more traditional courses.

“The most popular player in [this field] still relies on sending you 50 pounds of books and an iPod full of audio lectures,” said Mobasser, who said about 500 students have purchased the app. “And they charge close to $4,000.”

iStutter (iPhone, $999.99) »

This app helps stutterers with their speech. “It analyzes vocal fold activity and selectively provides delayed auditory feedback (DAF) when the user’s speech is too fast or the user is stuttering,” according to its description.

iVIP Black (iPhone, $999.99) »

A “premium lifestyle” app that’s like a license for the good life, it gets you personalized attention and special treatment at select luxury venues such as hotels and resorts. It also allows you to book private jets, yachts, private islands and more. To even own this app, the user must certify that he or she has a net worth of at least $1 million.

Engine Connect (iPad, $999.99) »

Now, TV weather forecasters, sportscasters and news anchors can use an iPad to manipulate animations and graphics such as weather maps on the television screen as viewers watch them.

Android apps

Unlike iTunes, where there are restrictions against selling joke apps that do nothing for exorbitant prices, the Android Market is rife with such apps. They make up some of the most expensive for Android phones, according to Distimo.

Black Diamond ($200) »

All this nonfunctioning app does is give you a wallpaper of a black diamond. “Own the most expensive app in the Market. Just Because I’m rich and I can!!” according to its description. (Meanwhile, the Blue Diamond app, which is exactly the same except for the color, is now available for free!)

Vuvuzela World Cup Horn Plus ($200) »

At least this app does something. Shake it and a vuvuzela horn on the screen begins to blare. Shake it again and it stops.

via The most expensive iPhone apps money can buy | The Salt Lake Tribune. __________________________________________________________
If you’ve been thinking about getting your own mobile app developed for your business, or to turn your mobile app idea into a marketable product, Los Angeles California based mobile apps development firm is your one stop shop for all major platforms including Apple iOS  (iPhone and iPad devices), Google Android , and RIM Blackberry. Our private label mobile apps development division provides mobile app development services to its wide network of Resale Partners. Call 310.928.3514, email info@veztekUSA.com, or use the online form to request a no obligation free price quote 

NYPD Employs an iPhone App to Track Stolen iPhones

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NYPD wants to track stolen mobile iPhones: Yep, there’s an app for that too. According to an internal training memo, NYPD is teaching its officers to use the Find My iPhone application to track down the stolen iPhones.

“All over the city, cops have been trained. It’s something we’re hoping to see success in,” said a Brooklyn police source, who added that sergeants are showing officers and detectives how to use the iPhone app.

The NYPD sent the training memo to city precincts in early January in an effort to fight the soaring number of iPhone thefts citywide.

“If a complainant is reporting the theft of an Apple Corp. product, ascertain if they have access to Apple’s ‘cloud’ environment AND have previously activated ‘location services’ on said device,” the memo says. The stolen phone must be turned on for Find My iPhone to work, and its user must have an Apple iCloud account. The app can’t work if the stolen iPhone’s GPS-linked Location Services are turned off. Cops can use the app to have the stolen iPhone play an audible alert, lock the phone or permanently erase its data.

“Is it helping? Yes,” a Manhattan police source said. “It’s another tool to locate the phone and apprehend the perp.” But cops are still literally being left to their own devices in employing this new crime-fighting technique. The NYPD is not providing iPhones, so far relying on the fact that enough officers already carry the ubiquitous smartphones.

In the first reported use of Find My iPhone by a New York cop, Officer Robert Garland employed his own device to track down a suspect in the theft of a 24-year-old woman’s phone from Tuci Italia, a clothing store on Sixth Avenue near 57th Street, on Jan. 26. Garland busted George Bradshaw, 40, of Brownsville, Brooklyn, 10 blocks away, on 49th Street and Eighth Avenue, after using the app to make the pilfered phone ring. It allegedly was found in Bradshaw’s boot.

via NYPD cops learning to use Find My iPhone app to catch thieves – NYPOST.com.
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If you are interested in getting a mobile app developed for your business, or to turn your mobile app idea into a marketable product, Los Angeles California based mobile apps development company Veztek USA is your one stop shop. We provide mobile apps and games development and consulting services for all major platforms including Apple iOS  (iPhone and iPad devices), Google Android , and RIM Blackberry. Our private label mobile apps development division provides mobile app development services to its wide network of Resale Partners. Call 310.928.3514, email info@veztekUSA.com, or use the online form to request a no obligation free price quote 

Federal Budget Now an iPhone App

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It is often said that the federal government is usually slower to adopt new technology: as far the mobile apps are concerned the federal government -if not an early adopter – is not far behind either. Now, When it comes to federal budget: there’s an app for that.

Obama administration released on Monday the 2013 proposed budget via  site via a mobile website in addition to the traditional print and online formats. It’s the first time that the federal budget has been released as a mobile website that can run on iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry and all other mobile devices.

“Through GPO’s role as the digital information platform for the Federal Government, we continue to explore different ways to make Government information available to the public and developing apps is just one way we are meeting that goal,” said acting public printer Davita Vance-Cooks in a statement.

The mobile app comes with text and images from the 2013 proposed budget as well as links to summary tables and other material. It will be the second full app for the GPO: GPO also worked with the Library of Congress on an iPad app on the Congressional Record.

via Federal budget now an iPhone, mobile app – Pittsburgh Business Times.
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If you are interested in getting a mobile app developed for your business, or to turn your mobile app idea into a marketable product, Los Angeles California based mobile apps development company Veztek USA is your one stop shop. We provide mobile apps and games development and consulting services for all major platforms including Apple iOS  (iPhone and iPad devices), Google Android , and RIM Blackberry. Our private label mobile apps development division provides mobile app development services to its wide network of Resale Partners. Call 310.928.3514, email info@veztekUSA.com, or use the online form to request a no obligation free price quote 

Blackberry App Developers Richer Than iPhone or Android App Developers

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RIM Blackberry claims that 13% of the Blackberry app developers have already earned $100K from the Blackberry App World. RIM further reported that their users download 6 million Blackberry Apps every day – or more paid downloads than the on the Android market. These intriguing numbers were published in a CBS News article today. Well, as always, the devil is in the details. One must wonder if the reported Blackberry Apps dollars also include revenue resulting from a consulting stunt that starts as an app download.

Even so, RIM appears to be the only platform vendor willing to offer even a clue about how it spreads the wealth. That Apple and Google haven’t touted the riches flowing to their broader developer community suggests that only a tiny minority are making big bucks churning out apps for iPhone and Android.

The future of mobile may well be with Apple and Google. For now, though, developers might be far better off focusing first on BlackBerry, growing into big fish in relatively small ponds with far fewer competitors, and then moving their hits over to the other platforms.

When you own an independent business, you sometimes have to see through the popular wisdom and head right to where the zeros accumulate to the left of the decimal point.

via BlackBerry apps more lucrative than iPhone? – CBS News.

Smartphone Shipments Top PCs For The First Time Ever

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2011 marked the beginning of a major shift toward mobile computing.

Smartphone shipments topped PCs for the first time ever last year, by 73 million units, according to figures published by research firm Canalys on Friday. Last year a total of 487.7 million smartphones were shipped. Only 414.6 million PCs, which include tablet PCs, shipped. That’s a 62.7 percent increase on shipments of smartphones over 2010. This was largely driven by Apple’s strong performance throughout 2011, including 37 million iPhones sold in just the fourth quarter alone.

“In the space of a few years, smartphones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition,” Canalys VP Chris Jones said. “The greater availability of smartphones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices.” Jones said the overtaking of PCs by the smartphone should be seen as a significant achievement.

It’s yet another important step on the road from isolated, search-oriented computing to a more social, mobile, and inter-connected web. App sales have also exploded, marking a major shift away from traditional software and games. It is important to note, however, that the smartphone market is still in its infancy. Many people already had PCs and aren’t replacing them every two years the way they do their phones.

While the shift is important, it doesn’t spell the end for desktops or laptops. Not yet anyways.

via Smartphone Shipments Top PCs For The First Time Ever – Forbes.

Why iPhone Shoppers Buy More Apps

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¶Do Apple consumers have more money? Possibly, but that’s not why app developers seem to like them more.

¶Tango, a free video calling service with 33 million customers, introduced two pay services on Dec. 15. One is video voice mail, which subscribers can use to leave each other messages; the other allows overlays of animation on the calls, like Valentine hearts that descend on a loved one in midcall. While the first animation is free, unlimited use of a set costs $1.98. The video mail is a storage play, with five videos stored for free, and increasing charges for saving additional messages.

¶The service works on both Apple’s operating system and the Android operating system developed by Google. Fifty-five percent of Tango’s subscribers come from Android, a not surprising number given the sheer number of phones now using Android. Even with that slight edge, however, the conversion rate from a free to a paying customer is four times higher on an Apple iPhone.

¶“Apples to apples, no pun intended, Apple just does a much better job on conversion,” said Eric Setton, a founder and the chief technical officer of Tango. “It comes from years of collecting credit card numbers on iTunes. People can use their stored credit card numbers and purchase things easily. Punching in a credit card number on Android is more work.”

¶Mr. Setton said each service had picked up two million subscribers since being introduced. While he did not say how many of those were paying for the service, he said an informal survey of customers indicated that 25 percent of those who tried the service were willing to pay for it.

¶At least for now, as Mr. Setton noted, the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, offers to load credit card information into the phone. That is useful for the phone’s “tap to pay” function for retail purchases, buying from the app store and, Mr. Setton no doubt hopes, loading up on Tango video storage.

via Why iPhone Shoppers Buy More Apps – NYTimes.com.

Mobile Apps for Home Appliances

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Use Your Smartphone to Run Samsungs Wi-Fi-Enabled Washer And Dryer [VIDEO].

Samsung revealed its latest washer-dryer concept at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. The electronics giant has equipped a 5.2 cu. ft. capacity WF457 front-loading washer with a Smart Control system, allowing users to stay connected to the washer without having to manually control it at the machine. Consumers can, via a smartphone application, monitor cycle selections, remaining time and finishing alerts, as well as remotely start or pause the washer from anywhere in the house.

Moreover, the new model boasts a new feature called Water Shot Technology, which delivers a cleansing shot of water with dissolved detergent and then a rinsing shot for dual rinse performance. The result is a cycle time that is up to 25% shorter, making it much more environmentally friendly compared with conventional washers. Samsung is setting the bar for Wi-Fi-equipped electronics, rolling out new notebooks, smartphones, tablets, computers and even smart TVs have wireless internet. The WF457 washer and dryer will be available at major retailers in spring 2012.

via Use Your Smartphone to Run Samsung’s Wi-Fi-Enabled Washer And Dryer [VIDEO].

5 great GPS apps for your iPhone

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It’s happened to all of us: You’re meeting your friends at a local bar that no one’s been to before, and you’ve gotten yourself a bit turned around. Luckily, you’ve brought your trusty GPS-enabled iPhone along with you. You know all you have to do is type GPS into the App Store search bar to find something that’ll have you sitting at that private table with bottle service in no time. But wait — the results list goes on and on forever, and many of results aren’t related to driving. Other than the star ratings and listed price, how are you to know which one will get you where you want to go with the least hassle?

There are a vast number of GPS apps listed in the AppStore, and not all are created equal. To be honest, some free apps are just as good if not better than several of the large-cost alternatives. We’ve tested some of the most common in order to see which app is best suited for getting you back on track once you’ve lost your way.

1. Google Maps

Price: Free

Download: Preinstalled on your iPhone

Google Maps was likely your first foray into mobile GPS apps on your iPhone. Considering the power and resources Google has, its iOS app leaves much to be desired. You’re stuck with a top-down view of the route, even though we all know and love street view.

The biggest annoyance with Google’s Maps app is that there is no option to read the trip summary in one screen. In order to find out what to do next, you must push the arrow buttons on the top of the screen, which makes traveling without a passenger to help navigate just about out of the question. If you get lost or make a wrong turn, Google will not automatically reroute you, but you can press the edit button on the top of the screen and let Google start over from your current location.

Also, the overhead map will help you see your position in relation to your destination. If you’re familiar with overhead maps, you’ll find your way relatively easily, but if not, you want another option.

Pros

—Directions for driving, walking and public transportation

—Finds almost any business or address easily

—Detailed traffic info

—Navigate to contact

—Free

Cons

—Must manually advance the directions

—Top-down map view only — no street view

—No route summary

—Lack of voice guide

2. TomTom

Price: $39.99

Download: TomTom USA for iPhone or iPad

TomTom is one of the biggest names in GPS, and it delivers with a very solid app. In fact, most of the other GPS options base their features off of TomTom’s. TomTom offers voice-guided navigation assistance, 3-D maps, and our favorite feature, Lane Assistance. The Advanced Lane Guidance images help you discern which lanes to take at those complicated freeway transitions. When we intentionally got lost and opened TomTom to lead us home, it found our location and destination faster than expected. We even made several more wrong turns, and the reroute feature put us back on track in no time.

We do, however, have a few grievances with this app. The $19.99 per year charge for HD traffic info is odd, as it is a feature several of TomTom’s competitors provide for free. Also, the points of interest database is still very limited and won’t find many small businesses. We ended up using the included Google local search to find our destinations when we didn’t have an address.

The biggest issue we’ve found is that TomTom is simply too robust. In order to access its other useful features, you will have to navigate through several layers of menus — very difficult to do when you’re traveling alone. We’ve still got to hand it to TomTom here for releasing a sturdy and reliable app, though, that provides a model for the smaller brands to challenge. If you’re willing to spend the cash, this app is a solid buy.

Pros

—Lane selection assistance

—3-D maps

—Local search via Google (great addition)

—Fast and accurate rerouting

Cons

—Fee for live traffic info

—Full address required for default navigation (city, street, address)

—Included points of interest severely limited

—Can’t interact with map while driving (besides zoom)

3. Motion X GPS Drive

Price: $0.99

Download: Motion X GPS Drive for iPhone or iPad

Motion X GPS Drive is the most downloaded GPS app available, and it’s easy to see why. Not only does the price tag look amazing compared to the big names, upon opening it, you are greeted with a beautifully simple interface. All search options are displayed in a wheel with easy-to-recognize icons.

A cool feature not found with other apps is the Wikipedia button that will give you a summary of, directions to, and a link to an article about locations of interest that are near you — not so helpful if you’re lost, but great for learning more about the history around you.

When we intentionally got lost using MotionX, we found out about its limitations. MotionX has no live traffic data to speak of. It is something we didn’t think would be a concern for this particular test, but when it rerouted us to our destination, it directed us right into a traffic jam with no way out. We did look up and receive alternative routes, but MotionX failed to tell us that all but one way had been closed due to construction.

Pros

—Simple interface Wiki links

—Easy-to-search destinations

—Quick switch between maps and text direction summary

Cons

—Hidden fees (turn-by-turn navigation with voice guidance ends after 30 days; must make an in-app purchase for either 30 days or a year)

—Predictive traffic info

—Provides nonoptimal routes

—Limited local search results (fast food restaurant search displayed results for the McDonald’s 4.5 miles away but missed the In-N-Out half a mile away)

4. TeleNav GPS

Price: $0.99

Download: TeleNav GPS for iPhone or iPad

TeleNav GPS is another popular option people are using. Since most of TeleNav’s best features expire after 30 days on the free app, we’ll be reviewing the paid version. TeleNav includes some Facebook integration with its newest version, allowing you to check in to your wall and mark locations for your friends to meet.

The avatar representing your vehicle is way off scale, causing some difficulty recognizing the distance to the next turn while traveling. When we took a few wrong turns to see how well TeleNav would get us back on track, TeleNav gave us the option to reroute. This is where we found that the app lags a bit, and by the time it provided new directions to us, we were already off course.

One saving grace here is the a button on the navigation screen called Summary. It will provide you with the option to check either the text directions or an overhead map similar to one you’d find on Google. In summary, if you get lost using TeleNav, you must pull over for a moment to allow it to catch its bearings and get you where you need to be.

Pros

—Easy-to-read street names

—Voice-assisted turn-by-turn

—Auto rerouting

—Voice commands

Cons

—Auto rerouting lags

—Traffic guided routing is predictive, not live

—Price: $2.99/month $21.00/year

5. Waze

Price: Free

Download: Waze for iPhone or iPad

Waze 3.0.1 is another free option that is currently picking up a following. Waze seems to be attempting to revolutionize the navigation experience by adding a bit of social networking to the mix. We know, other apps link you into Facebook or Twitter to share your destination for meet-ups and such, but Waze takes it a few steps further. Instead of linking into an established social network, Waze is building its own.

With the exclamation button on the bottom right of the screen, you can report traffic accidents, speed traps, and more. The map on the navigation screen is clear and simple to read, allowing zooming, scrolling, and (unlike the others we tested) rotation. This helped immensely when we intentionally made wrong turns in an unknown neighborhood, as we were able to look behind us and see exactly where we had gone off route — not that that mattered much, as Waze rerouted us back to our intended destination in under five seconds.

Waze enables you both see and communicate with other people using it in real time. Just to see if it would work, we messaged a user in close proximity to our destination and asked if they would help us get back on track. The user replied by sending a snapshot of our destination as they drove by, so we were able to recognize the building when we got there. Super bonus points for that feature.

Pros

—Community-sourced traffic and road info

—Voice-guided turn-by-turn assistance

—Live, real-time rerouting

—Call from search feature

Cons

—No text directions summary

—Tediously repetitive voice assist (you’ll likely turn it off)

—Downloads map as you drive

—Road condition reports that pop up too frequently

Guiding you home

Every app we’ve listed has the ability to get you to where you want to go in decent time, provided you don’t miss a step along the way. In regards to getting you back on track after you’ve lost your way, both Waze and TomTom have to share the prize. Both reroute you quickly and efficiently without a hassle of menus and button pressing. We’re still sore about sitting in one-lane traffic thanks to MotionX. TeleNav is still a respectable competitor, but if you’re going to spend the money on a GPS app, you’re way better off with TomTom. Waze still has a way to go until it is completely on par with TomTom, but the community aspect makes it almost equal.

vi 5 great GPS apps for your iPhone – USATODAY.com.

Did Google ever have a plan to curb Android fragmentation?

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Summary: Make the users care about updates, and the people standing in the way of those updates will sit up and pay attention to things.

Another day, another set of Android fragmentation stories. And while there’s no doubt that there is wide fragmentation within the platform, and there’s not real solution in sight, I’m starting to wonder if Google ever had a plan to prevent the platform for becoming a fragmented mess.

How bad’s the problem? Jon Evans over on TechCrunch tells it like it is:

OS fragmentation, though, is an utter disaster. Ice Cream Sandwich is by all accounts very nice; but what good does that do app developers, when according to Google’s own stats, 30% of all Android devices are still running an OS that is 20 months old?

More than two-thirds of iOS users had upgraded to iOS 5 a mere three months after its release. Anyone out there think that Ice Cream Sandwich will crack the 20% mark on Google’s platform pie chart by March?

He then goes on to deliver the killer blow:

OS fragmentation is the single greatest problem Android faces, and it’s only going to get worse. Android’s massive success over the last year mean that there are now tens if not hundreds of millions of users whose handset manufacturers and carriers may or may not allow them to upgrade their OS someday; and the larger that number grows, the more loath app developers will become to turn their back on them. That unwillingness to use new features means Android apps will fall further and further behind their iOS equivalents, unless Google manages – via carrot, stick, or both – to coerce Android carriers and manufacturers to prioritize OS upgrades.

And that’s the core problem with Android. While there’s no doubt that consumers who’ve bought Android devices are being screwed out of updates that they deserve (the take up of Android 4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ is pretty poor so far), the biggest risk from fragmentation is that developers will ignore new Android features an instead focus on supporting older but more mainstream feature sets. After all, developers want to hit the masses, not the fringes. Also, the more platforms developers have to support, the more testing work there is.

OK, so Android is fragmented, and it’s a problem that Google doesn’t seem willing to tackle. But the more I look at the Android platform and the associated ecosystem, it makes me wonder if Google ever had any plan (or for that matter intention) to control platform fragmentation.

But could Google have done anything to control fragmentation? Former Microsoftie (and now investor) Charlie Kindel thinks there no hope to curb fragmentation. In fact, he believes that most things will make it worse. I disagree with Kindel on this matter. He also believes that Google’s current strategy amounts to little more that wishing that everyone will upgrade. On this point we are in total agreement.

I disagree with Kindel that that there’s nothing that Google can do to at least try to discourage fragmentation. I believe that one of Google’s strongest cards are Android users themselves. Look at how enthusiastic iPhone and iPad owners are about iOS updates. They’re enthusiastic because Apple tells them why they should be enthusiastic about new updates. Compare this to Google’s approach to Android customers. Google (or anyone else in the chain for that matter) doesn’t seem to be doing much to get people fired up and enthusiastic about Android. In fact, it seems to me the only message being given to Android customers is ‘buy another Android handset.’

I understand that Google isn’t Apple and can’t seem to sway the crowds in the same way, but it might start to help if the search giant seemed to care about the OS. The absence of enthusiasm make the seem Sphinx-like and uncaring. Why should anyone care about new Android updates when Google itself doesn’t really seem all that excited? If Google created a real demand for Android updates from the end users, this would put put pressure on the handset makers and the carriers to get updates in a timely fashion to users.

Make the users care about updates, and the people standing in the way of those updates will sit up and pay attention to things.

via Did Google ever have a plan to curb Android fragmentation? | ZDNet By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes.

National Weather Service hold on mobile apps stirs controversy

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Weather apps. There are hundreds – perhaps thousands – of them, for mobile phones, tablet PCs, e-readers, and other portable electronic devices.

The vast majority of these weather apps are made by private companies, using data provided by the National Weather Service and other sources. The Weather Service itself does not currently have an iPhone or an Android app, despite the explosive growth in the use of these devices, and the fact that many more people already rely on them for hazardous weather information than, say, NOAA Weather Radio.

In light of recent developments in communications technology, it seems rather strange that NOAA hasn’t developed a comprehensive weather app of its own. The agency has only recently embraced social media, and it has an increasing Facebook presence.

Since December 21, 2011, the Weather Service has prohibited its employees from developing apps for specific mobile devices.

Employees received a pre-holiday memo from Weather Service deputy director Laura K. Furgione, which reads in part:

“There are thousands of weather applications available for iPhone, Android, iPad, and similar wireless devices. Many of them are provided at little or no cost. Many of them use National Weather Service (NWS) warnings and other weather products and some explicitly identify NWS as the source of their information. Given this well-established and growing market for device-specific weather applications for wireless devices, NWS is declaring a hold on use of any NWS resources, including on-duty time of NWS employees, to develop such applications. This will avoid using NWS resources to duplicate products readily available in the marketplace and give NWS time to carefully evaluate our appropriate role.”

In case you don’t speak weather bureaucracy, the memo essentially states that NWS is going to stay out of the apps business for now, since so many private companies have produced many good (and oftentimes free) apps that communicate Weather Service products.

Why is this such a big deal, though? Well, it has been met with resistance from the agency’s rank and file, who see it as a move to privatize a core function of the federal agency – the delivery of timely weather warning information via a new generation of communication technology.

“It’s pretty clear to me that the world wide web is old technology and in the next 10 years… it’s all going to be on apps. If you want to be able to communicate to people, that’s the future,” says Dan Sobien, the director of the National Weather Service Employees Union. “The Weather Service has to be on the cutting edge of that in order to succeed in our mission.”


Screenshot of weather section on Washington Post’s Android applicationSobien sent a letter to NOAA administrator Jane Lubchencowarning that the employees union views the new policy as an attempt to privatize the dissemination of NWS products and services, which the union has been fighting for years, mainly under Republican administrations. The most far-reaching attempt at privatization was contained in a 2005 bill sponsored by Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum when he was a Pennsylvania senator.

“This all hands memo from Furgione has done more to demoralize the NWS workforce than anything since the Bush Administration proposed to close Weather Forecast Offices,” the letter states. “All our members want to do is save lives, enhance our nation’s economy and do what we can to protect the environment. Tying our members’ hands from doing so is counterproductive for them, the NWS and NOAA.”

The Employees Union’s argument is that since taxpayers pay for the information the Weather Service gathers and the forecasts and warnings it generates, they should not be forced to pay to download an app from a private company in order to receive this information on their wireless device.

On the other hand, NOAA can’t be seen as overly competing with the private sector, since that would go against its longstanding policy support a vibrant private sector community that specializes in customized weather info, including companies such as the Weather Channel, whose free iPhone app is the most popular free weather app, according to iTunes.

“It’s important to maintain the complementary services provided by the commercial weather sector and to ensure the most appropriate and effective use of our internal resources,” said Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro via email. He noted, the apps hold “applies only to apps developed with specific devices in mind and not apps that can be applied universally.”

Sobien said he’s hopeful that a policy will be crafted that will allow the Weather Service to expand its presence in new media without crowding out private companies.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I believe the administration [of NOAA] has stepped in to fix this problem to make the Weather Service more transparent and to give the people the information that they own in the most convenient means possible for them, but until I see a signed document my optimism is cautious.”

National Weather Service hold on mobile apps stirs controversy – Capital Weather Gang – The Washington Post By .

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