The University of Houston has developed a free custom iPhone application with handy features for Cougars and campus visitors. The UH Guide application provides maps to campus locations, restaurants and shuttle bus routes; campus events; weather updates; UH photos; and Twitter updates from President Renu Khator.

The "UH Guide" app for the University of Houston is the result of a semester-long project for the iPhone App Development course known as "Ubiquitous Computing." It was created by a team of four UH computer science undergraduates:  Kaleb Fulgham, Andre Navarro, Nick Prescott and Hussain Abbasi.

The application is part of a wider, ongoing communications effort to provide alumni, faculty, staff, students and others with the latest information about the university. New content and features will be added to the application over time.

"We have pledged to provide our students with an educational experience that is top tier, and to offer them training that is globally competitive," Khator said. "The development of this application is a wonderful example of innovative thinking and creativity that supports top-tier student success and achievement.

"I'm pleased, too, that this application will help us further engage members of the university community, while also providing a host of useful services," she said.

Among the application's features:

UH Campus Map

• Search for buildings by name or building code or tap on them to find out their names
• Get a direct path between two locations and nearest shuttle stop suggestions
• Find local restaurants and shuttle stops (more points of interest will be added)
• View parking lot capacity via the UH Parking Map
• Use GPS to find your location and get a path from there
• Access the map while offline

Weather

• Find out the current, high and low temperature for the university
• See a forecast for tomorrow's weather
• View a web cam at the university pointing toward downtown

Twitter

• Follow the tweets of the UH president http://twitter.com/UHPres
• Follow other UH feeds and see what people at and around UH are saying

Photos

• View photos from the largest UH Flickr group "Sights of UH"

To download the application, users may visit Apple's iTunes Store. More information about the application can be found at http://uhcamp.us.to/blog/. Currently, the UH Guide app is compatible with iPhone/iPod Touch 3.0 and greater.

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About the University of Houston
 The University of Houston, Texas' premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities.  UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with 37,000 students. 

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