Election2012
Latest
AT&T launches VoteHub, brings the presidential election to your pocket
Need yet another constant stream of election information? AT&T's joined up with the Pew Center to bring election coverage to your pocket, courtesy of VoteHub. The new app is a "nonpartisan clearinghouse for essential voter information," including candidate info, AP press coverage, election results and the requisite social sharing through sites like Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The app's available now for Android, with an iOS version coming in the near future.
US presidential campaign trail winds its way to Xbox Live on August 27th with Election 2012 Hub
Can't get enough coverage of the US presidential race even with YouTube in the mix? Microsoft's Election 2012 Hub for Xbox Live may be able to satisfy your inner political junkie. Redmond's initiative will provide video of town hall events at both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, daily content from NBC and full coverage of results as ballots are cast and counted on November 6th. Throughout live streams of the debates, users will be able to rate the performances of public office hopefuls and see what marks other viewers give them in real-time. Information on voter registration, politicians and their take on issues will also be included. According to Microsoft, roughly 40 percent of Xbox-owning voters surveyed aren't concretely committed to a candidate running for the Oval Office, placing them in the highly-prized swing voter category. The service won't launch until the Grand Old Party's pow-wow kicks off on August 27th, but we hear there's plenty of relevant reading to keep you busy until then.
Amazon's political reading map shows which way your neighbors are leaning
Religion, bathroom routines and politics are three things you should never, ever discuss at the dinner table. However, if you're curious about your neighbors' political reading habits, then you should check out Amazon's Election Heat Map. The bookseller rated the top 250 books with a "clear political bias," with each state's graphic turning red or blue depending on which tomes are selling the most. The company is clear to say that the results are more for the curious than a reflection on the result of the election, so if you fancy checking it out, head down to the source link.
New York Times offers political news iPhone app with a catch
I was pretty excited to see the New York Times offer Election 2012, a compendium of news, polling results, candidate bios and a primary calendar. The app was listed as free, but when you actually get it up and running you'll find it is severely limited. If you want all the content, you're going to have to pony up for either a $14.99 Smartphone subscription, or have an All Digital Access subscription for $34.99 a month. If you don't you'll have access to exactly 6 stories per day, and the rest of the content is locked. There are other ways to get your fill of political news. Politico has iOS apps that are politically impartial and free. The Hill is another source of good political news and opinion. PoliticFact.com also offers a non-partisan fact checking iPhone app, and if you want your news with a Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian slant there are plenty of apps to serve you. The Election 2012 app costs money and has ads as well, so I found it the worst of both worlds. If you are already a Times subscriber it's certainly worth a free download with lots of worthwhile content. I couldn't help but feel the app is simply bait to get you to subscribe to the Times. They have every right to ask for subscriptions for any product, but to advertise an app that is free but has very little content is something else again. If you don't want to pay for information that is mostly available elsewhere you have many other options. %Gallery-141647%
