Business & Tech

Want to Know When the Daily Catch Comes In? Here's an App for That.

Mobile app iCoastside strives to provide everything visitors and locals alike would want to know about Half Moon Bay.

Half Moon Bay now has its own app, thanks to Joe Falcone and his developers at Phondini Partners, a Half Moon Bay based company that builds mobile applications for iPhone, iPad and Android platforms using local resources.

The app is called iCoastside, and it provides visitors an up-to-the-minute guide in their smart phones to local hotels, restaurants, activities, and events.

The app is also useful for locals.

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Phondini Partners recently worked with the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce & Visitors' Bureau to include in the mobile app's features surf reports, traffic updates, the daily catch at the harbor, fire dispatch, tides, local internet search, community event calendar, and even a link to the library for searches.

“This is something that every community should have,” said Charise McHugh, CEO of the Chamber. “It highlights what we love about the Coastside, our environment, our shops, our schools and resources and brings it all together for visitors and locals alike, wherever they are.”

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Local events like the Pumpkin Festival (iPumpkin) and most recently the Pacific Coast Dream Machines also benefit from the useful, hyperlocal mobile app.

“We had a great experience working with Phondini Partners on iPumpkin and we're looking forward to using their best-in-class apps for Pacific Coast Dream Machines and the next Pumpkin Festival,” said Tim Beeman, Chairman/CEO, Miramar Events.

A novel financing model via sponsorships and revenue sharing makes the app easily available to any community. Local businesses pay for iCoastside by purchasing mobile banner ads and push messages and thereby providing an additional source of revenue for the Chamber.

Phondini Partners is currently adding more features to the app. Soon users will have access to voter information so they can check where local polling places are.

“We know we live in a distinctive place, and we wanted to convey this feeling in a mobile app that went beyond what the usual directory apps do," said Falcone, CTO, Managing Partner & Founder of Phondini Partners, who observed that directory and review apps had lost a sense of the places that they covered. "And we wanted to put the app within reach of most communities with an innovative business model where our customers are valued partners.”

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