Weather Central: “Mobile weather apps will be big”

Krystyna

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17th November 2010

What does your company do?

Weather Central provides global weather content and graphics for numerous markets, including broadcast, print, LBS, telematics, property and casualty insurance, and wind energy.

How do you differentiate your offerings from your competitors?

Weather Central provides easy-to-access global weather data for use in multiple markets. Our USPs are easy-to-integrate API, complete data (including graphics) for broadcasters, customer service 24/7/365 and unique online opportunities for continuing education including webinars, tutorials, graphics, and user seminars, full solution across platforms, and a strong patent portfolio—over 30 US and international product, software, and technology patents.

What partnerships are you currently forging?

We are partnering with global distributors (stay tuned), NDrive CK SP for inclusion on mobile navigation applications, and there is a new customer announcement coming soon!

Which trends will impact the industry the most in the coming years and why?

The proliferation of notebooks and trends in mobile weather apps will be big, as will live weather and severe weather alerts for geo-location while in your car. Internet connection in the car will be as ubiquitous as the cellular network is today. There will be traffic and weather applications that alert the user to alternative routes, and there will be automatically integrated apps syncing between phone, car, and TV so users can get the weather for their iPhone, Ford SYNC, Google TV, etc. There will also be geo-targeted advertisements; for example, if you live in Minneapolis, MN, you will receive ads for snow shovels at your local Home Depot store when a storm hits. There will also be augmented reality applications: Just point your phone and ‘see’ the weather in that direction.

You are an integral part of our upcoming Content & Apps for Automotive USA 2010 event. What key issues will you be discussing with the industry at the show?

We will be discussing the importance of consumer weather content in connected devices, how to differentiate products and services with weather content, and using weather data in conjunction with advertising to drive CPM.

Which apps, services, or cars are on your 2011 wish list?

Our goal for 2011 is to have our weather data included in every platform globally.

To learn more, check out the Content & Apps for Automotive USA 2010 conference in San Diego.