Government and Mobile Apps

For the past couple of weeks I’ve enjoyed some very interesting discussions with Samantha Lapin, CEO of Pod, Inc. about  government’s adoption of mobile solutions. She found a great article from Information Week that highlights “14 Cool Mobile Apps from Uncle Sam”. http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/government/mobile/231000240

Here is the list

• The Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Electronic Preventive Services Selector (ePSS) aids primary care clinicians in identifying the best treatment for their patients based on an array of patient characteristics.
• NASA App
• FBI Most Wanted App
• The White House The official app of the Obama White House is mostly a vehicle for White House news, and provides users with news, blogs, photos, and both live streaming and archived video of White House events.
• US Post Office
• Smithsonian‘s MEanderthal app. Make yourself a Neanderthal.
• U.S. Army News & Information
• Lunar Electric Rover Simulator
• The FCC Mobile Broadband Test is a simple app that lets users test their mobile broadband connection’s download and upload speed, as well as network latency. The app stores results of old tests, and differentiates between Wi-Fi and cellular signals
• My TSA app gives travelers and their families, friends, and colleagues access to information about flight delays, checkpoint wait times
• The Library of Congress‘ Virtual Tour app highlights the library’s exhibitions, collections, and architecture with photos, video, and audio.
• IRS2go, launched earlier this year, lets taxpayers check their refund status, follow the IRS’ social media feeds, contact the IRS for support, and sign up for tax hints.
• The National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s BMI Calculator aims to help users determine whether their weight may lead to health problems.

I’m off to download the Lunar Rover Simulator now.

I’m interested to see where else government is adopting mobility. If you have any favorite government apps or are aware of interesting mobile government solutions please let me know.

Jody Sedrick