Touring Downtown Wilmington – there’s an app for that

Wilmington Downtown (WDI) is excited to announce a new marketing initiative to benefit all downtown businesses, residents, visitors, and others. The WDI mobile app is now available, pushing the already user friendly website mobile.

An increasing number of cell phones and other mobile devices (such as PDA’s) include web browsing at near DSL speeds. Website browsing on mobile devices is similar, but not usually identical, to PC based website browsing.

An interesting feature of mobile users is that they are typically very action oriented (where is the place I am looking for right now?) and their query often contains a strong geographic context (and how do I get there from here?).

With the emergence of the Apple’s iPhone, Blackberry and an exploding consumer interest in the mobile web, we knew that now was the time to consider establishing a unique URL for mobile use.

WDI worked with Geocentric, a Maryland based company that specializes in downtown district websites to develop the technology. “With all the advances in smart phones over the last 2-3 years, we have noticed a large amount of our web traffic coming in via mobile devices,” says Jim Blakeslee, President of Geocentric, the developer of the mobile application, “By providing a web experience designed for mobile devices we provide a better mobile web browsing experience for communicating and promoting the merchants and attractions in Downtown Wilmington.”

Using this destination aware software, web enabled mobile phone users can quickly and easily search for events and business listings. Additionally, it will give directions through this location-based site.

WDI Executive Director John Hinnant says, “with the efforts of Cape Fear Future and our community’s desire to attract the next generation work force, we knew we had to push the envelope on technology. One look at the consumers and pedestrians on Front Street will verify that we are already a mobile and tech savvy location. This software puts the ‘what’s going on’, ‘where’s it happening’, and ‘who’s doing what’ right on the cell phone … instantaneously. This is very progressive, and will pay huge dividends to the businesses and events downtown.”

This mobile app is viewable with any mobile phone that has a web browser, such as the iPhone, Blackberry, or Android device. To access the app, simply visit m.wilmingtondowntown.com and save (or bookmark) to your home screen. An icon will be placed on the home screen alongside your other applications.

About wilmingtondowntown.com: the website was updated in 2008 as one of the first priorities of Hinnant, who was hired as Director of WDI in 2007. All businesses downtown are listed for free, as are events, attractions, lodging facilities, and available properties. The website offers a very user friendly interface that allows the user to submit business listings, available properties and events. The location aware feature of wilmingtondowntown.com will tell the user how far they are from other essential businesses, services and restaurants … including parking decks.

Hinnant has also been a beta tester for the new Verrus Pay-by-Phone (parking) mobile app for several months. That application is still being tested and hopes to go public in the very near future. The feature allows users to pay for parking by allowing them to type in their 5 digit location, length of time desired without the need for change or parking tokens.

WDI is a public-private partnership nonprofit organization advocating planned economic growth and development in the downtown Wilmington area. Since 1977, it has served as a vehicle for community improvement and the voice for downtown businesses, residents and tourists.

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