The 23 Mobile Things program has done a wonderful job with apps that cover just about everything but I do have one I want to share I haven't seen much about: weather.
Weather is a big deal in Minnesota, we complain and/or talk about it all the time. Hey, at least we live in a state with seasons (and no, not just winter and road construction...) and differing, surprising weather patterns. There are all sorts of weather apps out there; iPhone comes with a native app and for iPad (and Android) users there are the local TV channels (KSTP and KMSP for sure) that offer specialized weather and severe weather apps, there's The Weather Channel, NOAA, Weatherbug, Yahoo and my favorite, AccuWeather (to name a few).
How accurate the "accu" is in Accuweather is debatable, but what drew me to Accuweather initially is the price (free), the graphics, the interface, the iPad optimization and ease of use. There might be better apps, but this is the one I use and I'm pretty happy with it.
Some quick images:
AccuWeather (and probably any of them) can use your location and give you notifications of approaching weather, warnings and watches, etc. Those are great, especially if you can't get a TV signal. The current conditions give, well the current conditions and there's an option to view a graph of the temp, a health index (allergies, etc) a sports index and an outdoor activity index. In addition to the forecast and current conditions, there's radar, news, video, social media, and a hurricane center (don't need that too much).
The only complaints I have about AccuWeather (the app anyway) is that there's no "future" or storm track options on the radar and that the 15 day forecast is pretty wishful once you get beyond a few days.
One other app I'd like to mention is i.TV . I might have been able to put it under hobbies, but what I use it for isn't so much hobby as it is info. i.TV has a large social media aspect, among things, but what drew me to it was the accurate, detailed listings section. Having cut cable long ago, I don't have Xfinity or the like and their built in guide/listings, but this app is more than an appropriate substitute. Kind of cool to see if a show is available on iTunes, Netflix or Hulu too.
i.TV isn't perfect, but it works for me. I recommend it.
i.TV isn't perfect, but it works for me. I recommend it.
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