Many would agree that the Apple iPhone is one of today’s most popular electronic devices. Thousands of people waited in line outside the Apple store on June 29, 2007 to ensure that they got hold of this new device. When I first heard about this phone, I thought it was just another touch-screen cell phone equipped with internet access and the ability to upload and play music. Obviously, I was very wrong. Currently, the iPhone is stocked with over 8,000 applications available for users to download, each at a reasonably low cost. Some of the applications are meant to entertain but others are extremely useful and practical. The newest of these applications—released only last week—are NMobile and Trapster.
Do you consider yourself to have a lead-foot while in the driver’s seat? If so, you will really appreciate the NMobile and Trapster applications. These two functions can reduce your chances of getting an unnecessary speeding ticket, along with all of the consequences that accompany them. Both the NMobile and the Trapster provide an up-to-date, detailed map of speed enforced areas. With this application, a map of your current area (made available through the iPhones GPS system) will show points indicating local speed traps; upon approaching these traps, a sound will alarm to remind you to slow down.
How do Trapster and NMobile know where each speed zone is located? Both applications track speed-enforced zones differently. The Trapster application allows members to report rigged stop lights and heavily monitored police zones. In order to ensure that each specific point is in fact a speed zone, the user must rank the accuracy of that zone. Therefore, if many users rank the same spot multiple times, Trapster can assume that there is indeed an active speed enforcement zone in the area described. On the iPhone screen, the point will show up as a red or green dot. Red dots indicate credible speed zones while green dots indicate the less credible. The NMobile application also encourages users to report supervised zones. However, they verify the accuracy of each point with credible news reports and public records. There are currently over 200,000 members who participate in the reporting of the 100,000-noted speed enforcement zones.
The newest application became available last week. Since then, an estimated 1,000+ iPhone owners have downloaded this application. It is an extremely practical feature hold, and the price to download it was recently reduced from $9.99 to $4.99, making it extremely affordable. NMobile and Trapster were both created with an optimistic view that users would drive at a reduced speed. Although this application seems to solely benefit users, My one concern is that people will “abuse” this application while driving. This means that because drivers are now aware of speed-enforcement zones, they may be more likely to drive faster in areas that are not monitored—assuming that they will not be caught.
As much as our society tries to force people to slow down while driving, it is a very difficult task to accomplish. Overall, I agree with NMobile founder, Shannon Atkinson, who considers both programs “a good thing”, while encouraging drivers to slow down.
This article can be found at http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/new-iphone-apps-help-drivers-beat-speed-traps/.
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