Obama camp offers iPhone app

It allows supporters stay connected, get campaign updates

By Peter Cohen

October 2, 2008 12:00 PM ET

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Macworld - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign team has released an application (iTunes required to download) specifically for iPhone users to help supporters of the candidate connect with others and get involved, stay up to date on breaking issues and track local campaign events.

The free application -- available for download through the App Store -- is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. It will organize a user's contacts by key battleground states and offers statistics to measure how a person is doing in terms of calling friends in those states.

Obama '08 also provides users with information about the campaign via text messages and e-mail, offers coverage of national and local campaign news, details local events, shares the information by e-mail, and delivers maps and directions to events. The app can also be used to browse videos and photos from the campaign.

Presidential election season is always contentious, but increasingly tech-savvy pundits, campaigners and others have turned to new ways to get political news out. Blogs have played a role for years, but with the advent of the App Store, more developers have turned to the iPhone as a way of energizing the voter base.

The Obama campaign is wading into areas not yet plumbed by the campaign of Republican Sen. John McCain, it seems. Although a Web app -- John McCain campaign news -- is available, there's no similar McCain-centric app available for the iPhone. But there are plenty of politically oriented applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch available for download from the App Store.

Campaign, for example, provides a customized news feed from various sources specifically related to Democratic and Republican news coverage. Congress+ provides users with a detailed list of U.S. Congress members, including contact information, biographical data, campaign and opponent information, and more. Elections lets users browse and assess information not only about the presidential candidates, but those running for Congress, state legislatures and gubernatorial seats. ElectionMap lets users view current trends and poll predictions, while Days to Election Day details how soon voters can cast ballots. And Poll Tracker uses data from Pollster.com to track McCain's and Obama's polling numbers.

Those App Store applications can be downloaded directly through a person's iPhone or through iTunes.

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