EveryBlock Brings Hyperlocal News to the iPhone
The geniuses behind the hyperlocal news site EveryBlock have put together a new iPhone application that puts all the micro-level news of EveryBlock in your pocket.
If ever there were an application that really brought home the power of mashing together real-time location data and news, it’s the Everyblock iPhone app.
Provided your city is one of the eleven EveryBlock covers, you’ll have access to all sorts of data — inspection reports for the restaurant you’re eating in right now, crime reports for the street you’re walking down, even where nearby film crews are making a movie.
The interface of the iPhone app is well done and easy to navigate. When you first start up, it’ll ask for your location which can be determined by allowing the app to query the iPhone’s GPS or by manually entering your city.
Once EveryBlock knows where you are, you can start filtering through the various types of data — everything from the examples mentioned above, to foreclosure data, business license applications and, of course, local news stories about your current location. What’s available and the depth of the data depends a bit on what city you’re in. The result is an almost overwhelming amount of data about where you are right now. Fortunately the informal, minimalist UI aesthetic of the iPhone keeps EveryBlock’s application from becoming cluttered or chaotic.
The Everyblock iPhone app is a free download from the iTunes App Store and works with both the iPhone and iPod Touch.
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