Urban Airship wasn’t the only exciting Portland-based iPhone news, today. Local iPhone development agency Small Society—with whom I apparently have a bit of a fanboi obsession—made it to the big stage at the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) when Zipcar was asked to demo their upcoming iPhone app.
“Small Society is working closely with Zipcar to bring Zipcar for iPhone to market,” said Raven Zachary at Small Society. “We love our friends at Zipcar.”
And apparently, so does everyone else. Take a look at some of the highlights from today’s coverage of the WWDC mentioning Zipcar.
CNET: WWDC 2009: Zipcar launches app for iPhone
“At Apple’s WWDC in San Francisco, Luke Schneider of Zipcar shows off a new application for the iPhone. The new software enables Zipcar users to find and reserve the nearest available vehicle on a city map. It also sports a feature that will beep the horn of the reserved Zipcar and unlock it when the user is close by.”
[HTML3]
Jalopnik: Control Zipcar From Your iPhone
“Zipcar users with an iPhone will not only see locations and cars as little green pins and allow them to access information about the cars and make reservations. Better yet is a new feature that’ll allow you to unlock the Zipcar from your phone rather than with the usual ZipCar ZipCard and even potentially control certain features of some cars, such as the horn, from the iPhone app.”
ReadWriteWeb: Live from Apple’s WWDC 2009: MacBook Updates, Snow Leopard, iPhone 3GS
“You thought that was the last demo and they would move on to the iPhone hardware? Nope. Next up, Zipcar (car sharing). Uses iPhone OS 3.0 MapKit to embed Google maps. Unlock your car from the phone.”
Sipy: Top 5 Products I Want to Buy After Seeing the Apple WWDC Keynote
“Zipcar app, coming this summer. OK, there’s no reason for me to want this. I own my own car. But how sweet is it that you can honk the horn and unlock the doors of a Zipcar using an app from your iPhone? I only hope they’ve thought the security through really, really well, because I would love to see this set an example for a world where your phone is your remote control for everything.”
Mashable: Top 6 iPhone 3.0 Apps to Watch
“Well, now Zipcar comes to the iPhone. You can use it to find ZipCar locations, reserve a vehicle, and coolest of all, you can unlock the car using the iPhone. It will beep when you press the horn button too. Why it’s an app to watch: Functionality like being able to unlock a car via the iPhone is simply impressive. This app could be the push Zipcar needs to expand its appeal and increase adoption.”
Autobloggreen: Zipcar announces new iPhone app, gives new meaning to “unlocked” cell phone
“If you’re not an Apple fanboy who’s been hitting F5 repeatedly over on Engadget today, here’s a green car tie-in from the big WWDC that’s just wrapping up: your iPhone will soon be able to unlock the doors of your Zipcar rental vehicle. Yes, your phone can now tell your car what to do. It’s only a matter of time before Dr. Horrible’s remote control app becomes a reality.”
Yet another impressive reception for Small Society’s impressive work. And another proof point for my claim that Portland has the opportunity to become the de facto hub of iPhone and mobile development.
(Image courtesy Adam Jackson. Used under Creative Commons.)
[HTML1]
[HTML2]
Comments are closed.
[…] The team at Small Society landed a number of high profile clients, building the original Starbucks app, the WordPress app, Amazon Gold Box app, and the Democratic National Committee app. With the paramount—in my opinion—being the opportunity to debut their ZipCar app on stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). […]
[…] is no stranger to working with big brands. They’ve worked with names like Starbucks and Zipcar and the Democratic Party. But this app, held a special […]