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read moreKent State Smartphone App Available
Posted March 14, 2011 | Erin OrsiniAndroid, BlackBerry and iPhone users now have the opportunity to stay connected to Kent State with the KSUMobile smartphone application.The app includes fingertip access to news, events, the university directory, maps, videos, a list of courses and more.
The application was initially released in October for the iPhone, with phase two of the app allowing users to obtain library materials, sports scores and a list of courses. Phase three of the app for the iPhone is in progress and will include a virtual tour of the university, as well as a bus schedule.
"With the rapid growth of the mobile space, we are excited to be stepping into the mobile application development front, to provide yet another dimension to the technology services we already engineer and support," says Kent State's Vice President for Information Services Ed Mahon.
The Kent State app completed its availability to smartphones when it launched the app for BlackBerry users during the spring. Enhancements and additional features have been evaluated and added for all three devices.
This past July, the Division of Information Services and University Communications and Marketing partnered with Blackboard, a company that works to transform the educational experience, to develop the free apps.
Team member Lin Danes, director of web services, says, "Kent State opted to create mobile apps for Android, iPhone and Blackberry handheld devices because when reviewing our website analytics, we were able to see that those were the top mobile devices used by our website visitors. The reason we invest in these types of solutions is two-fold: first, we need to remain competitive with others in our industry; and, secondly, it demonstrates our interest in delivering solutions that are helpful to our stakeholders, from current and prospective students to alumni, faculty and staff."
Recent Kent State Web visitor statistics show that nearly 67,000 visits to kent.edu came from mobile devices. Almost half of those visits came from users of Android smartphones.
For more information about the Kent State mobile apps, contact the Webteam at webteam@kent.edu.