Mobile Weather
The ability to receive weather information and alerts anywhere is one of the most practical uses which has been developed for mobile devices. Weather has such a dominant effect on the many activities of our lives that a brief forewarning of weather conditions and expected changes can be all that we need to prepare ourselves and to ensure our safety. If we have a mobile device which is able to receive weather updates, then we are as ready as we can be for weather conditions anywhere.
Mobile Weather Devices
Any cell phone with wireless internet functionality is able to receive weather information and alerts. All major cell phone manufacturers now produce internet-enabled phones (called smartphones), and the product choice available to consumers today is broad. The principal manufacturers of smartphones are Nokia, Research in Motion and Apple, which have the greatest market shares.
High-end smartphones, such as the iPhone® and BlackBerry®, have larger screens and are able to better display weather graphics such as weather maps, rain radars and weather videos. These are ideal devices for receiving weather information and alerts on the move, and related information such as flight delays and airport closures. They are also able to perform a host of other smartphone tasks, such as e-mail, organizer and GPS functions, and run applications specifically written for each device.
Mobile Weather Services
When you want mobile weather services, there is a wide range of service providers to choose from. The following is a listing of major providers, together with our ratings of their overall service offering based on information content, scope, functionality, intuitiveness, plans and supported devices:
The Weather Channel®
National Weather Service
The Weather Network
AccuWeather.com®
Fizz Weather
Weather Underground®
Foreca®
My-Cast®
Swift Mobile
The above ratings are relative ones rather than absolute. All of these providers offer mobile weather services of such a standard that they would satisfy the day to day needs of almost any consumer.