Top 50 Android Developer Challenge Winner Makes Cool "Follow-Me" Weather Maps Available to Millions of Android Smartphone Users

NORMAN, OK., Oct 22, 2008 - "Weather Decision Technologies, Inc. (WDT), a global leader in state-of-the-science weather applications today launched their new iMap WeatherTM application for G1 T-mobile phone customers. iMap Weather offers graphically enriched "street level" location-based severe weather and radar display in an easy-to-download service accessed directly from your G1 phones. The unique application brings full interactive radar maps and allows you to explore local weather conditions interactively, create pinpoint forecasts, and zoom in and out of radar weather data for your current or desired locations.

The iMap Weather application provides a completely new way of engaging with mobile weather, and was chosen as a recipient of a Top 50 Android Developer Challenge award for its intuitive "follow-me" location-based weather service. iMap Weather program was developed using WDT's advanced real-time Doppler Radar data, overlaid onto Google Maps. This allows users to view precise weather radar with easy search and "zoom in/out" functions, using gestures familiar to all Google Maps aficionados.

iMap Weather allows weather trackers to view weather information within storm patterns, right down to the street and house level. The application provides unique weather feeds and forecasts based on precise location coordinates.

"We see this as a core application for the G1 phone," said Mike Eilts, President of WDT, Inc. "The iMap Weather Application brings TV-quality, graphical weather to your fingertips, anywhere you happen to be. You get radar, lightning and a whole host of weather data to help you plan and make vital decisions as you go about your daily life. More than that, it's location-specific, and so it "follows" you as you move around the country, serving up precise, accurate weather conditions, forecasts and watches and warnings, in an easy-to-use package that beats conventional mobile weather applications, hands down.

When you are in "follow-me" mode, forecasts, watches, warnings and tiled weather radar data are automatically provided for your location. Users can alternatively get a forecast for any location in the United States by typing in a zip code, latitude/longitude coordinates, or a city and state. The WDT geo-coding automatically locates the latitude and longitude for the information you entered, allowing iMap Weather to deliver the latest forecast for that location.

State-of-the-Science Radar and Forecasts

WDT produces radar imagery with the highest spatial resolution available, at 1 kilometer. With updates every 5 minutes, WDT serves up the national United States radar mosaic in real-time and on-demand, using a proprietary Geo-Plex "weather tile server".

WDT accesses the low-latency streaming data feeds of all 136 National Weather Service radars, producing extremely accurate radar images of the current weather which are delivered as Google Maps-compatible tiles. iMap Weather street level zoom and transparency capabilities make it easy to view locations that may be totally obscured by radar echo. G1 users can view precise locations within the storm's path, and then predict with certainty whether they need to take action.

iMap Weather serves up these precise and uncluttered radar images at 8 zoom levels ranging from countrywide/regional/ state or citywide areas down to a few city blocks. All forecasts are derived from National Weather Service forecasts via the National Digital Forecast Database, which is updated hourly.

Rapid animation and "follow me" updates

iMap Weather high quality radar tiles are sophisticated overlays to the Android map interface, which allow you to animate storm paths and view the radar by roaming and zooming at will over the entire United States. Weather trackers can ask the application to follow their current location and update the radar tiles every 5 minutes as they move. iMap Weather includes nearby lightning strikes and National Weather Service watches and warnings, current conditions and forecasts for your current location or any location that mobile users choose.

See for more detailed information about the iMap Weather for Android

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By creating a complete platform where the mobile device is open and integrated with the Internet, everyone in the mobile ecosystem will benefit:

• OEMs and carriers will be free to customize the platform to bring innovative new handsets to market faster and at a much lower cost.
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About the Open Handset Alliance

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