If you are interested in design, you must already be aware of the fact that Helsinki is the World Design Capital for 2012.
I’m happy to note that the Helsinki WDC project very much lives up to my expectations on how to handle the marketing side of the event over mobile phones. And the WDC2012 effort should therefore also serve as a great example for any other organisation staging major events like the WDC2012.
The WDC mobile services lineup is impressive. The project just released applications for Android, Symbian and the Nokia N) and will soon also support the iDevices.
The applications provide you with a full array of information on all the events, news and other useful information. I tested the Android version and the useability of the application seems very good! You can even share all the events in Twitter, Facebook or with email or SMS, nice viral touch!
The app is not perfect yet though. I think I found at least one bug. Clicking on an address in the event information should have taken me to a map of the event but instead the app crashed 😦 Restarting the app eventually got me to the map.
A couple of things I’d humbly suggest as improvements. The map, while a nice touch, seems a bit hard to read. All events are shown at the same time and from the multicolored balls indicating the events I could not really deduce which one was the one of interest to me.
An other thing that I’m missing is a connection with the rest of the Helsinki. Yes, WDC is all over, but where can I find more? If I go to en event, where are the restaurants in the vicinity for the after-party? Is there a hotel that has a WDC2012 deal if I come from out-of-town? And much more..
Still, the app is an absolute must for anyone interested in the WDC 2012 event. And everyone should be, the WDC 2012 program is so varied that everyone is sure to find not just one but lots of interesting things.
The app can be downloaded for Android here. If you have a Symbian device, get your version here. If you are an iUser, you need to wait for a little longer, but together with owners of other devices, you can check out the mobile web site here.
ps: If you visit Finland from abroad, remember that you can get pre-paid unlimited data to stay connected on your mobile device at all times!
The 3 Inch Canvas 