If you're like me the first time that you fired up the weather App on your iPhone or iPad you were left wanting a little more. Sure, the built in App shows you the temperature outside and the 7 day forecast but it shows little else. I wanted to see more. I wanted the ability to see the hour by hour, radar maps and more. Unfortunately the App that comes standard doesn't do any of that. I went searching and found the iOS companion for my favorite weather website, www.weatherchannel.com. This App keeps up the standard of the website and more!

The Usual Suspects

Just like the Weather App that's built in to iOS, The Weather Channel shows you the current temperature outside as well as the next 10 days. These are the things that you would expect from a weather App and TWC doesn't disappoint.

The Extras

Features that TWC offers beyond the built in App are numerous. My favorite feature is the bar at the bottom of the screen allowing you to switch between "Now, Hourly, 36 Hour, and 10 day".  These are all different views of the weather showing their respective information. Another of the features that I find really useful is the "Map" section. Under this tab is the radar maps like you find on the desktop version of The Weather Channel. I use the Maps quite a bit and it was one of the features that I looked for when I searched for a weather App.

A Few More

Also housed within TWC are settings for social media allowing you to see tweets about local weather. There are videos to watch including content from your local area, the world, all of the U.S. and "must see" video clips.

The Bottom Line

If you're looking for a free, full featured App that provides just about any option that you could want from a weather App in an easy to use package, TWC is for you.

You can get The Weather Channel for the iPhone from the iTunes store for free here:
You can get The Weather Channel for the iPad from tehe iTunes store for free here:

I've seen several weather Apps for iPad, but I have to say that I haven't seen many as beautiful and elegant as Aelios Weather. Aelios Weather has a simple approach. You have a metallic Swiss watch looking dial that covers a map of the world. You can pan and zoom to any location you want, tap the Location icon for weather of your current location or simply type in a search for a specific city. As you pan around the dial will auto lock onto the large cities in the area. Once you lock in on a location in a moment or two you'll see 24 hour forecast. Use your finger to turn the dial and you'll see the 7 day forecast including highs, lows, precipitation, and winds. Each icon has subtle animation that you don't even notice at first, but once you do, you'll find yourself starring at them for a few moments. I love the animated lightning/storm cloud. You also get the current time, date for the location you're viewing. Aelios also lets you choose your choice of weather provider. It defaults to AccuWeather.com. 

If you're looking for a full-blown weather App with Radar maps, videos, etc. then this one is probably not for you. However, if you're looking for an elegant, visually appealing way of checking the current conditions as well as forecasts for just about any location in the world, then Aelios is your App. I'd love to see the ability to add a list of favorite locations or at least a list of recent searches.

You can get Aelios for $4.99 here from the 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_IDbGP3zN8

I've seen and used several iOS Apps in the weather category. However, I don't think I've seen one to date that is as beautifully designed as Deluxe Moon HD. This App has more information about the Moon than you would probably ever want to know. While having a very comprehensive and informational App is not that hard, they clearly wanted theirs to "look" the best too. This App has a ton of information about our moon on the screen at one time and while that could easily be considered a con, they have done a good job in organizing the info and taking advantage of the iPad's interface for swiping and pulling out tabs. 

What can this App tell you about the Moon?

I can't really think of much that it doesn't tell you. Of course you have a complete calendar view of the moon phases. Going beyond the basics, Deluxe Moon HD is for those of you who believe that there is a connection between the moon and plants, human emotions, blood pressure, health or finance. Therefore, the App has pull out tabs to give you up to the date information on things like Gardening. Know when to plant and when to harvest for example. If you're into Zodiac, just swipe to the Zodiac tab and read your horoscope. Moon Deluxe HD takes advantage of Location services as well as your built-in Compass.  While I can't think of anything much to add to the App, I did have one small glitch in that text from one tab was still present and overlapping text in another tab. Once I force quit the App and relaunched it all was well again and it hasen't happened again since. 

If you're into moon, this is your App. You can get Deluxe Moon HD for $5.99 here from the 

As good as iOS devices are there is one thing that users have been asking for for a while now and that is to have more information available without having to launch an App or unlock the device. This is one thing that Apple could learn/steal from other smart phones. When you wake up an iOS device you get the current time, battery level, date, and wireless status and that's it. Although the device can provide you with more information you have to actually go in and launch an app to see it. Or you have to rely on push notifications and even then you're only going to see the last one displayed first. 

Fahrenheit has a nice trick up its sleeve

I don't really use the built-in iPhone weather app. It's buried in one my folders somewhere. I use other weather Apps that give me more info. Up until now I've been happy with the one I was I using, but I think I may have found a new contender. Fahrenheit has a beautiful look and feel as well as one thing that I haven't seen anyone else do yet. They use Push Notification and the icon Badge feature to display the current temperature. Slick! It's a little thing, but it's one of those things that will earn it a place on my home screen. When you launch the App for the 1st time you'll get the usual requests for permission to use your location and to send you push notifications. Once you agree to both of those popups your current local weather will be displayed. When you close the App the icon will continue to display the current temperature and update itself. While that would have been enough to get my 99¢ I found the app to have just about every other weather feature I would want or use on a regular basis. You get forecasts, weather maps, the ability to add multiple locations/cities, etc. It's also one of the best looking Apps too. You can brag about your current weather to your Twitter followers and/or Facebook friends right from within the App. A very nice job and it solves  the "I wonder what the temperature is?" at a glance.

While the App does what it says, I'd like to see an option to automatically update the icon based on your current location. The way it works now you have to manually set the location that you want the icon to use. Also when adding new locations I don't see a way to use your current location to simply add another city. You can easily type the city, but it would be nice to just tap a "Location" icon to use location services.

You can get Fahrenheit for $0.99 here from the 

You can get the Celsius Version here 

click image above to enlarge

I was never completely satisfied with iPhone's built-in weather App. It's nice and shows you the highs and lows as well as current conditions, but living in Michigan with harsh winters, I needed more info like snow accumulation, and hourly forecasts. So I got Accuweather for the iPhone way back when and have been happy ever since. When the iPad hit the scene and didn't even have a built-in weather App of course I went in search of cool weather Apps for the iPad. However, at the time Accuweather didn't have a native iPad version. So I settled on a couple of others that were just OK. Then Accuweather, Inc. did release an iPad native version and of course it earned a spot right on my 1st home screen. They did a really good job redesigning this App for the larger iPad display instead of just upscaling the old version. I really like the graphics and the ability to put in as many locations as I want including my current location to track the weather for.

Lots of ways to look at the weather

One of the things I truly like about this App is that it's actually fun to use. For example the very next screen for your selected location is an interactive dial that shows you what the weather will be at any point within a 24 hour period just by dragging your finger around the dial. There are also up to the hour streaming videos for your location giving you the same video weather update that you would see on TV. For you Gulf Coasters there's even a hurricane map showing the locations of tropical storms/hurricanes and their current level.

If you looking for  the best weather App for iPad, this is it! Yes there are others, yes the others are good, but this is my favorite!

You can get ACCU WEATHER for iPad here from the 

There's also a FREE version if you don't mind Ads here on the 

The display above shows the interactive forecast dial on the left and the hurricane map on the right. Click to enlarge.

Another weather app? What's my obsession with weather apps?

With all the bad weather we've been having this week I'm using my NEW favorite weather app more than ever. Yes it wasn't long ago that I named MyWeather Mobile as the iPhone App of the Week. After that I got hooked on The Weather Channel app. Now I'm absolutely in love with Accuweather.

Why AccuWeather?

Why not just use the built-in Weather App that's already included with the iPhone and iPod touch. Anyone that lives or travels near/to snow will identify with what I'm about to say. The built-in Weather App is simply inadequate. Sure it will give the the expected high and low tempurature for the day and even tell me that it's going to snow or rain, etc. However, what it doesn't tell me is WHEN? and HOW MUCH? Simply seeing a little icon for Saturday that shows snow is meaningless. I need to know if it's going to be 1 inch or 12 inches. I travel often, so up to the minute winter weather issue is critical! Now, if you live in, let's say Florida or Hawaii where the weather is pretty constant, then you probably don't need this level of information.

AccuWeather is a full featured weather app. In my opinion it's got the best UI (user interface) of all the ones I've tried to date including the one that I paid for (MyWeather Mobile). AccuWeather not only can give me a much more detailed forecast including hourly forecasts, but it can even show me a video of the most recent weather report for my area. Very slick! Very very slick indeed! Of course it's location based like the others and you can save your favorite locations. You can also see an animated radar weather map. The Risk screen shows you exactly what's likely to happen whether it be Thunder Storms, Rain, Snow, Ice, Wind, or Fog.

AccuWeather starts off with a very well designed display of the current conditions. This also includes a nice background photo representing what it's doing outside right now. Cloudy, Clear, Raining, etc. I not only get to see the current temperature, but also the wind chill factor (feels like).

The Bottom Line

There are several weather apps out there. Some are free, some cost $, however, AccuWeather is by far the best designed one and most stable one I've seen and used to date. Best of all it's FREE!

You can download AccuWeather  from the App Store here:

Be sure to check back next Friday for my "Top 10 iPhone Apps of 2008". Of course I think you already know what one of them will be. Some come back and see the other 9.

The iPhone has a built-in weather app. So why would anyone pay $9.99 for another one? I was very hesitant at first to try MyWeather Mobile. After all $9.99 is on the high end of iPhone app prices. Although the built-in weather app does a good job of letting you know the current conditions and the highs and lows, it does nothing for showing you forecasts, trends or precipitation. 

Is it going to rain/snow today?

If you live somewhere that has mild climates or weather that doesn't change much, then you can probably be quite content with the built-in app. However, if you live in the North or Midwest, then you know weather can change at the drop of a hat. Here in Michigan it could be 70° and sunny, raining and cloudy, snowing with sleet and hail all in the same day. As a frequent traveler, I want to know what I'm heading into. Will there be a chance that my flights could be delayed or cancelled due to weather?

MyWeather Mobile

This is where MyWeather Mobile comes in. This app goes way beyond the features of the built-in weather app. The big feature for me is forecasts! Not just what it's doing outside now. Like the built-in app, you can add multiple cities. However, in addition to enter the city, you can actually use your contacts list.

So for example, rather than putting in Scott's city, I can just use his Contact info as a location and it will show me the weather where he lives. Also instead of having to put your current city in all the time, it's location based and will always show you the weather of where you currently are located.

The graphics are great in this app. Very detailed and well done. It also supports a widescreen view of the trends screen. Just rotate your iPhone or iPod touch.

The bottom line

If the built-in weather app leaves you wanting more, then MyWeather mobile is worth a look. Do I think it should cost less, absolutely. However, if you need/want these features, then $9.99 is worth it. Otherwise, keep looking. After having it now for a few weeks, I don't regret spending $9.99 on it. Works with the iPhone and iPod touch.

MyWeather Mobile is available here on the App Store: