The White House released new versions of its White House app for iOS
and Android Sept. 4, including apps tailored for tablets. And in an
unprecedented move, it opened its apps to developers to modify for their
own use.
The expansion of mobile apps
is designed to give Americans access to the White House “anytime,
anywhere and on any device,” Peter Welsch, President Obama’s head of
digital strategy, wrote on the White House blog. Over the past two years
the number of mobile visits to WhiteHouse.gov has tripled, reaching
15.17% of total traffic, he said.
Whether you’re using an iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Galaxy Tab, you’ll be able to stream live video
of White House events, swipe through high-resolution photos and read
the latest releases in the Briefing Room. Today’s briefing includes a
transcript from Obama’s noontime speech at Norfolk State University, his
last stop before the opening of the Democratic National Convention in
Charlotte, N.C.
The president said he will be watching his wife’s convention speech
tonight from home with his girls and will leave for Charlotte tomorrow. A
built-in bookmarker allows you to save content to your favorites and
read later.
America has become accustomed to Obama’s masterful use of social media, such as the president’s Ask Me Anything on Reddit. And now mobile developers can get in on the game. With today’s release, the source code
for the mobile apps was posted on Github, a popular site where
programmers can develop new programs with one another. That means that
mobile developers can add live streams, briefings and the other content
available on the White House app to their own mobile creations.
Welsch said his staff plans to continue updating the apps and mobile
site in the months ahead and encouraged the public to email or tweet
@WHWeb with new ideas. How about this one? Enable landscape viewing on
the iPad — unless you are looking at individual photos, which can be
viewed both horizontally and vertically, the display remains in the
vertical view no matter how you rotate the device.
Source: Mashable
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