14 DAY TRIAL // Weather Central, a division of MyWeather, just announced the launch of the iOS4 version of PinPoint Lighting, an interesting application and one of the few with live lightning strike data and alert notifications.
Thanks to the quality of the services provided and the accuracy of the application, 2010 PinPoint Lightning is no ranked as 3rd on the iTunes "Top Paid Weather Apps" list.
The application is the first to register cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within 30 miles of a user's geo-located position.
The software provides users with fast alerts, thus enabling them to protect themselves and get to safety as fast as possible.
All the above are possible thanks to the patent-pending technology, that PinPoint Lightning uses, which identifies a lightning strike's location by latitude and longitude, and then determines the nearest street intersection.
Further, it also sends alerts and displays the time of lightning strikes and their distance from the user's current location.
An interesting fact is that the developer consulted with lightning strike survivors and community to ensure the app's accuracy and easy of use.
Bill F., a Tampa, FL resident, relates, "My wife and I were in Las Vegas visiting family while my young grandchildren were in the pool. If you're not familiar with Vegas, it's quite rare that they experience 'rain', much less hear thunder or see lightning. Therefore, when my PinPoint strike alert sounded I was truly shocked!
"The skies were clear and the storm cell was truly out of sight (13-14 miles away by the mountains). In fact, I thought I was receiving a strike alert from my previous location, Tampa, FL. I actually came close to ignoring the sound, but out of habit checked my iPhone. I was surprised to see the strike alert was for Vegas and close to our location," added Bill.
He continued: "Getting the kids out of the pool was paramount. I know it sounds overdramatic, but it's one of those situations where you had to be-there to really appreciate the true value of PinPoint Lightning's capabilities."
PinPoint Lightning requires an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad device with iPhone OS 3.0 or later (iOS 4.0 Tested) and 4.0 MB storage space. The application is available for download through AppStore for no less than $5.99.
According to the developer, lightning data services are very expensive and require a great deal of monitoring and maintenance, so a higher price for the application is necessary in order to be able to cover their expenses.
