iPhone Snow App Already A Winner: 'It's A Game Changer'

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iPhone Snow App Already A Winner: 'It's A Game Changer'

By Craig Altschul
January 12, 2009

The question may be what can't you do with your iPhone and others using 3G (Third Generation) technology?

"We were the first to come out with an iPhone application for skiers to be able to receive snow reports, news, and information and we quickly discovered that this is a game changer," Mountain News Corp. Managing Director Chad Dyer told The Industry Report.

Dyer said the response has been surprisingly gratifying with more than 53,000 iPhone visits coming directly to the OnTheSnow.com Web site for more information in December after using the application. He said the app, which became available in late October, has been downloaded from the iPhone Apps Store 25,300 times at $1.99 each.

The app was developed in partnership with eedit, a Virginia-based firm, and was branded and created jointly with Mountain News, Dyer said.

The application gives users the ability to create a personalized report from more than 2,000 ski resorts worldwide. Skiers can track 16 areas at a time. They receive the open status, surface conditions, new snow and base depths. The full report, Web cams, and local resort weather is a click away to OnTheSnow.com. Skiers and riders can select reports in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Norweigian, and Swedish.

"Others in the industry quickly discovered how successful the OnTheSnow mobile application was and there have been a flurry of new ones that have entered the scene," he said. One major retailer, R.E.I., chose to co-brand directly with Mountain News.

Dyer said the 3G phones will continue to drive online visits and will, most certainly, affect the way media companies such as Mountain News do business.

"We used to think mobile really wasn't worth the effort, but the 3G technology that Apple unleashed last summer, plus our early results, have certainly changed that thinking," says Dyer. "The idea is clearly to drive more people directly to our site.

What It Means: Technology these days is a bit like New England weather - wait five minutes and it changes. What was once cumbersome and not very productive seemingly changed overnight. Stay tuned.

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