U.S. Government Apps Bring Federal Services to Smartphones
On July 4, 234 years ago this past weekend, the 13 Colonies declared their independence from England. Due to the slow pace of travel in those days, it would be another month before the British got the news. Now, with a new slate of smart phone apps, the U.S. government looks to cut down that lag time, and provide services to citizens on the go.
The apps vary between Android, mobile web and iPhone, and each represents the service of a different government agency.
From the White House comes an iPhone app that mostly just feeds the user news about the President.
For those traveling abroad who want to know where to go if they lose their passport, or those who want to know which countries to avoid due to unrest, the State Department’s “Find Your Embassy” mobile web app provides locations of embassies and consulates, and travel advisories.
In a bit of interdepartmental cooperation , the Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture have teamed up to create an Android app that keeps users up to date on the latest food and product recall news. Is E. coli in the lettuce again? Does that new alarm clock constantly lose time? This is the app for answering those questions and more.
The FBI has also joined the fray, bringing their famous 10 Most Wanted List to the iPhone. Now, users can check to see if the really tall guy in line at the grocery store is actually Osama bin Laden, and alert the FBI in between tweets if it is.
On the more practical front, the U.S. Post Office has released and iPhone and mobile web app that allows users to find nearby post offices, look up zip codes and track packages.
There are a number of other apps from the EPA, the TSA, NASA and others. All of the government app can be found at this site.
