The UW is a big university, but it can fit in your hand. At least, it will soon; the University’s first official iPhone application will be released in Sept.

Excitement over the “Mobile UW” application (commonly called an “app”) is growing. Evidence of that fact can be seen in the more than 500 entries in just three days by the University community in the “name-the-app” contest. The free app should have quite an audience when it becomes available. Usage statistics show that iPhones or iPod Touches comprise over 30% of devices on the UW’s wireless network. (And that data was from Sept. 2008; with the popularity of the latest iPhone model, released last month, that percentage may be even higher.) Those using non-Apple mobile devices won’t be left out in the cold, of course. A mobile-optimized website containing much of the same information will launch shortly afterward.

The app will bring UW news, sports headlines and game updates, campus map, and course catalog information together under a unified interface. The data behind these features are the real stars of the show, however. Writing, testing, and deploying the additional resources in the Student Web Services necessary for the app is a major achievement accomplished in very short order. The Office of the University Registrar (OUR) would like to congratulate and thank our partners in the Office of Information Management for their efforts of those bringing this project to fruition.