Apple has officially reached its 1 billionth application download from the App Store this month, a huge milestone considering the store opened in July 2008, just nine months ago. These 1 billion downloads span an impressive 35,000 applications available for download with 2,000 of these, almost 6% of the store, being location aware.
Plenty of new applications are using location in fun and exciting ways this week. UpNext 3D NYC is an interactive 3D map to explore Manhattan. UpNext allows the user to glide easily through Manhattan while along the way exhibiting restaurants, shops and nightlife that are highly rated or local favorites. Tap a building to see all the stores inside or tap a train station to see all the trains passing through. Search through 50+ categories to find the best of everything in the city.
On the collegiate level, B.U. Bus and Rover are both brand new applications in the Travel category. B.U. Bus is ideal for Boston University students to locate the closest bus stop on campus and the estimated departure time of the next shuttle. Night and weekend schedules are also available as well as the option to translate less known cross street names to more recognizable B.U. names, making stops easier to find. Rover: The Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard takes reviews on restaurants, bars and stores in Cambridge and Boston and packages them into one application that displays the reviews based on location. There is a live feed on local deals and discounts and a one tap step to ensure easy dining reservations.
Drizzle and WeatherStick are the two newest location-aware applications in the Weather category. Drizzle keeps track of weather all over the world and also the user’s current location. Drizzle can report 10 day forecasts, switch between imperial and metric units, and display a 24 hour or 12 hour clock. WeatherStick is based upon an ancient system used for centuries by the Abenaki Indians to accurately predict the weather using sticks crafted from a balsam fir tree. It is said the stick will turn upwards when weather is good and down when inclement weather is approaching. While the application obviously does not use an actual weather stick, it uses a fun graphic to add an extra bit of entertainment to viewing the local weather report. The application will display weather conditions closest to the user’s location.
By Courtney Teeling