Obama on My iPhone

by Eric / October 22nd, 2008

Obama iPhone icon Two Hot Keywords lately: Obama, iPhone. It’s finally in one place. Well, I first downloaded the Obama application for iPhone a few weeks ago, but so much has been going on, I did not get a chance to check it out, before version 1.1 was released. I finally got some time to check it out. It should really be called the Obama Device Portal for iPhone (ODP).

First off, it’s great to see non-Tech folks embrace technology, particularly mobile technology. An earlier post I wrote a few months back, talked about how the Obama campaign has been really at the forefront when it came to utilizing the mobile channel as a way to keep his constituents abreast of the latest news and happenings in your local area. Even the VP selection used SMS to let people know garnered a lot of attention (even though the implementation failed to deliver). The interface is “dare I say, similar to an On Device Portal” since everything Obama is right at your fingertips. I am amazed how well integrated the application is to the other parts of the device as well as utilizing all the features of the phone.

Obama for America

“Call Friends” integrates into your iPhone Contacts and sorts the available phone numbers by deciphering the Area Code and sorting according by State. It tracks how many times you call those people.
“Get Involved” utilizes LBS by asking for your location, then giving you the address of the closest Local Obama HQ, complete with address, a link to Google Maps.
“Receive Updates” allows you to get Obama Updates via email or SMS. Clever. Or sign up your friends for more spam!
“News” is essentially an RSS feed of any and all Obama-Biden info from their campaign. Filtering by Local, National or State too!
“Local Events” uses your location to rally supporters of upcoming events to participate. This might be called the Social Networking portion of the ODP.
“Media” is the multimedia aspect to this portal; showing videos posted on YouTube and photos of the campaign across the country. Very slick.
Lastly “Issues” is basically the Wikipedia on Obama’s Campaign. It provides ‘Chapter and Verse’ on where he stands on issues facing the country.
The “Countdown” at the bottom is a nice reminder to get out there and Vote!
Last but certainly not least, the e-commerce portion of ODP is the “Donate” button. Pops up a message: “Donate via phone – Your are about to dial the Obama for America donation hotline, exiting this application. Contributions are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.” The options are Cancel or Call Now. Oh well, I was hoping for it to link to Paypal – that would have been slick.

Done in relatively a short amount of time, I’m amazed at all the hard work that went into making this application truly integrate and a great user experience.