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Helping Business Weather the Storm

WDT Launches iMapMobile 2.0 Branded iPhone Applications for Mobile Multimedia

by admin, on Apr 5, 2010 9:04:29 AM

Powerful New Platform Makes it Easy for National and Local TV, Newspaper, Radio Stations, and Mobile Media Companies to Provide Mobile Audiences with Best-of-Breed National Weather Data Combined with Hyper-mobile_20_310x310aLocal Weather News and Content

Norman, OK. - April 5, 2010- Weather industry leader, Weather Decision Technologies, Inc., (WDT) is bringing a powerful new mobile weather platform called iMapMobile to national and local media customers. iMapMobile 2.0 empowers media partners to launch their own, hyper-local, custom branded iPhone weather applications. The new application includes industry leading weather content, an interactive weather radar map from WDT, and locally generated news, videos, blogs and commentary.

"iMapMobile includes the most advanced mobile weather technology, allowing national and local media news and weather operations to display their own premium branded video, alerts, and user-generated content, right on viewers' phones," said JT Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, WDT. "The applications offer an incredible array of weather data, and other content features, which are robust and intensely relevant to local audiences."

Unlike other weather companies that offer applications that are either designed to boost their brand or who offer "one size fits all" undifferentiated mobile applications, WDT is focused on designing iPhone applications that are fully customizable by the media companies themselves, featuring their own most popular online weather or news content, seamlessly integrated with WDT's state-of-the-science weather content and interactive maps.

The top features of the iMapMobile Version 2.0 release include:

  • A current conditions screen - including a text version, and a customizable icon and background representing the current condition. Mobile users can view actual and "feels like" temperature, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and probability of precipitation.
  • An hourly and 7 day forecast screen - displays hourly periods up to 24 hours, forecast temperatures, and anticipated probabilitiy of precipitation.
  • An interactive weather map - shows radar, satellite, current temperature, and a premium watches and warnings and "watch box" feature. The map displays the current location, GPS location, or user browsing mode as result of zooming and panning all on Google Maps.
  • A location search function - allows the mobile phone user to save up to five locations. These saved locations are displayed in the form of icons on the map for selection or as nicknames as a premium feature.
  • A News/RSS feature - allows the local media station to offer a list of articles available from one or multiple blog, video and/or news feeds with a teaser and a thumbnail image, blog or video file. Users may view a media list of videos available, select a video, and play back the video.
  • User Generated Content - this premium feature includes a photo gallery, or other URL based image sources which may be uploaded or shared via the application. Users may view a media list of videos available, select a video, and play back the video.
  • Severe Weather Alerting - iMapMobile users will receive watches and warnings for up to five of their saved locations, as issued by the National Weather Service.

WDT is also offering an integrated advertising feature for easy monetization on the free version, as well as customization options, including theme designs for differentiated backgrounds, weather icons, layouts and font colors. Stations place their own logo on the application, with a custom splash page, an optional sponsorship area, custom news sources and, in the premium version, custom video and photo sources.

The iMapMobile iPhone Version 2.0 is available immediately for commercial deployment in May 2010.

Topics:Company News

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