New MBTA Mobile Website Launched Yesterday!

The MBTA launched a new mobile website yesterday morning that’s intended to provide customers with more useful information, in a much more user-friendly format. When a user visits the MBTA website on a mobile device, the site recognizes the type of smartphone a person is using and presents a format specifically designed for that type of device. See the Boston.com article for more information.

Features of the new mobile site include:
 A real-time Google Maps trip planner.
 A service-alerts box color-coded by subway line and transit mode.
 A customer comment form.
 Access to mobile apps, most aimed at telling riders when a bus or train is arriving.

Two goals of the new mobile site are:
1. To make problems easier for the T to identify and correct (via customer comments).
2. To help customers better navigate the system when they are out and about in Boston.

I checked out the new mobile site via my BlackBerry today, and the site is definitely a fantastic improvement! I was very impressed with the format and information. Good job, MBTA!

Zipcar

What is Zipcar?

Zipcar is an American membership-based car sharing company providing automobile reservations to its members, billable by the hour or day. Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Cambridge MA. As of September 2011, it has 650,000 members which the company refers to as "Zipsters". Zipcar offers more than 30 makes and models of self-service vehicles by the hour or day.

What Zipcar application does?

Being a Zipcar subscriber makes car sharing a snap, and if you’re one of the 275,000 or so Zipsters out there you can choose a car, reserve it and even turn it on using an iPhone. It’s a whole lot easier than trying to navigate the Zipcar website on your phone. The interface is straightforward and the remote starting feature is a thing of beauty. This free app is a must-have for frequent Zipcar users.

You can download the application here: Zipcar

TuneInRadio App.

Tune In Radio is one of my favorite iPhone apps for listening to audio on the go. It is the ultimate app for listening to local or worldwide radio stations. TuneIn Radio is full of features while still maintaining an easy to use interface. If you enjoy listening to music, sports, or talk radio on the go, then TuneIn Radio is for you.

After you enter your location you can view a list of the radio stations in your area. Stations that do not have an online feed are grayed out., but, at least in my area, almost every station offers online access. This means you can listen to the station broadcast from just across the street, listen to all three of the radio stations in Cocos Island, Costa Rica, or get a taste of the down under by listening to the show Wake Up Australia live.

After selecting the category a list of shows is displayed. This is one of my favorite features of this app. Select the show you want to listen to and you will be given a list of every station currently broadcasting that show and how long is left. There have been a few instances of the show listing being wrong, but for the most part it is accurate.

This app does everything you could expect from a radio station app, all packaged with a very nice, easy to use, user interface. Add in the fact that it synchronizes your presets with an online account and with other devices makes this a versatile app for listening to the radio anywhere you have an internet connection. And for the price of free you really cannot go wrong.