Mobility

4 Colleges with Windows Phone Apps

Some universities have moved quickly to create apps for Microsoft’s new mobile platform.

This fall, Microsoft is boldly stepping into the smartphone market in ways that it hasn’t before, with its new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 8.

Although the mobile space is dominated by iOS and Android, Microsoft is set to establish itself as the third major ecosystem, with its flexible and robust new mobile OS. One huge advantage in Microsoft’s court? Windows Phone 8 shares much of its code base with the company’s new desktop OS, Windows 8.

This means developers can create apps that work across phones, desktops and Microsoft’s soon-to-be-released Surface tablet series in one fell swoop. Furthermore, Nokia has custom built its flagship Lumia series phones on the Windows Phone 8 OS and packed it with exclusive features from a list of powerful partners, including AT&T and Groupon.

With the arrival of this exciting new mobile ecosystem, several major colleges have already jumped at the chance to develop apps for Windows phones.

Here’s a look at four colleges that have apps, and what they offer to current and future students, faculty and staff:

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University Hub app presents every Buckeye with daily news and information from the Columbus campus. This includes weather reports and location services, which will help students navigate the school grounds.

Drexel University

The DrexelOne app provides a dashboard of useful campus and administrative information. This includes full campus maps, student and faculty directories, class and finals schedules, accrued-leave balances for university employees and a list of merchants who accept the Drexel DragonCard.

University of Washington

The Huskies SuperFans app is perfect for fans who want to keep up with the university’s football and basketball teams. The app provides daily news items and scores when the team is playing, as well as Pac-12 standings and updates from the team’s official Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Seton Hall University

The SHUmobile app delivers access to the university’s mobile web portal. Once there, the user can search faculty and employee directories, peruse the course catalogue, receive sports updates and information, and navigate the campus with detailed maps.

Colleges are also taking advantage of Android for their apps. Here are 10 colleges with great Android apps.