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> Review :: WeatherBug, Rating 5 out of 5
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post Apr 18 2005, 02:29 PM
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I think just about everyone who is interested in the weather has heard of WeatherBug. AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc makes the application for the Windows desktop to give you up-to-the-minute weather information including radar, forecasts, current conditions, etc. The desktop application is pretty comprehensive. But can a SmartPhone application really capture the amount of live data as a desktop application?

Here is what AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc has to say about WeatherBug:
QUOTE
WeatherBug has gone wireless! Now available for Windows Mobile Smartphone, download the full power of WeatherBug, the largest live weather network provider, with all the live features of the popular PC application.

Get LIVE streaming local weather data, severe weather alerts, detailed forecasts, local radar, live weather cameras, photos, as well as World weather conditions.

Always be prepared and informed about the weather affecting your area - whether you are a home or on the go - with the only live wireless weather provider.


Note: Screenshots taken for this review were made using Microsoft ActiveSync Remote Display and contain border information not shown in the actual application.

I tested version 1.0 of WeatherBug. I am sure that this will not be the last version so you can expect that it will only get better.



When you first start up WeatherBug you have to tell it where you want weather information for. Note: I did not capture the screen before putting information in. This was taken later in testing.



After selecting a weather station to get information from you can see the updating screen. This is a screen you will see quite a bit since the program uses live data.



And here is the home screen. This information updates as you look at it! The wind direction actually changes, and if you watch long enough you will see the temperature change. Again, reading live data directly from the weather station you selected. And speaking of stations, there are more than 7000 stations to choose from! In addition to wind direction and temperature you see the forcast for the current day and evening.



Pressing the MENU softmenu key allows you to select several informational screens, the first of which is FORECAST (also available on a softmenu key). You can get a 7 day or weekend forecast, and look at the details for a specific selected day.




The next informational section is Current Conditions which gives information like humidity, barometric pressure, sunrise and sunset times, etc.



A really cool thing about this program is the next section, showing a live radar picture of the selected area.



You can view any Severe Weather Alerts for your area, and sign up for an additional service which will send you an SMS message to warn of severe weather.



Next is a really cool feature: live camera views! You can rotate through live snapshots of online cameras that are located near the area you selected to view, so you can see what the real view is from several locations in the area. Here are 4 views around Alexandria, Virginia:




There is a second picture section called Community Photos. I am not really sure why it was included but there are some pretty photos to see. They are not live shots and probably aren't even from today but they look nice.



The preferences screen is really extensive tongue.gif



And the Help screen points you to the website.



Some observations and comments are already being received, specifically about the live streaming. The opening screen will stay updated for a few minutes when put in the background then will stop updating. You can restart the updating when you open the application again by pressing the # key. This is by design to save battery life. Other screens like radar are updated manually, and a new image is usually available every 5-10 minutes. Updates are easily done with the # key.

Also the initial load is quite long, but once the application is running it can be reopened quickly. That is assuming you don't use a task manager application like QuickClose or xBar to close it completely. Leave it running and it will come up quickly when you want a weather fix.

So there is your tour. Pretty cool huh? If you are interested in weather then I am sure you just said "yes". But why does it get a 5 out of 5? I have two other applications to compare it to: Connected Bits Weather and Fizz Traveler. Fizz Traveler offers features not part of WeatherBug but just directly comparing the weather portions WeatherBug simply has more information than both Connected Bits Weather and Fizz Traveler. LIVE conditions information, radar, severe weather information and live photos add dimension to weather that the others can't touch. I am not saying those applications aren't great applications, but WeatherBug just offers more. But that isn't why it gets a 5 out of 5. The program is well thought out, and put together to be easy to use. The Help is not part of the program but really doesn't need to be. The entire program is intuitive and simple to configure and use. If weather is your thing then you should really check out WeatherBug. You can get a full working 3 day trial from Handango. Check it out!

Special thanks to AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc for the opportunity to review and play with WeatherBug. One thing that we have noticed is that many developers really want to get involved in the community, and actively participate with the community in developing applications to serve the community. The day I contacted AWS about trying out WeatherBug one of their staff jumped on MGN, signed up for an account, and started posting in response to my New Release news post. Developers like AWS make doing this volunteer effort a lot of fun and very rewarding. It's great to know there are developers willing to step out and get involved.

Buy it at Handango


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Jim Cleek (Slacker)
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Kalun47
post Jun 8 2005, 04:08 AM
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hello. Thanks for the great review. i just purchased it and it is not working with my Audiovox SMT5600 with $4.99 t-zones service. Do you know what ports this program uses? I think I need th e$19.99 t-zones serice to have it work. any help would be GREAT!!

-Keivn
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Slacker
post Jun 8 2005, 08:58 AM
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Yes you need the 19.99 plan to use it.


--------------------
Jim Cleek (Slacker)
Editor / Administrator
Mobile Gadget News

My Gadgets
iPhone 3GS
HTC TyTN II
HTC Wizard
HTC Touch Dual
Motorola MPX220
Motorola MPX200
HP Ipaq 5550
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