Mobile service ‘puts Oxford University in your pocket’
12 October 2009
A new mobile service launched by Oxford University will provide maps, contacts and news as well as features including travel information, podcasts, and information on library books, for mobile phones and devices.
The Mobile Oxford portal now available at http://m.ox.ac.uk is designed to be a ‘one stop information shop’ for students, staff, local people, and visitors to get the most out of both Oxford’s 21st Century learning facilities and its historic past.
Unlike other services Mobile Oxford has been built to deliver information to a range of mobile phones and devices, not just Apple’s iPhone.
‘Our new free service will answer the kind of questions Oxford University students need to know on the move, such as; where can I find the books I need? Where’s the nearest pub? When is the next bus? And how can I find out more about what’s going on around the University?’ said Tim Fernando of Oxford University Computing Services, Project Manager of Mobile Oxford. ‘These services are also available to staff and many of them are available to anyone – local people or visitors – who want mobile access to information about the University and its surroundings.’
Mobile Oxford is already live and during the launch period new features are being added all the time:
With over 100 libraries, including the world-famous Bodleian, Oxford has the largest university library system in the UK and the new mobile service will combine information from this with the location sensing incorporated into many mobile devices to tell you where you can find the nearest copy of a particular book.
The service already provides traffic webcams and will soon have up-to-the-second information on buses and public transport to help people plan their journeys. In time it will also incorporate more detailed information about footpaths and cycle routes to ensure that those new to Oxford can find the fastest and easiest way to get from A to B – as well as other traffic information such as live congestion points.
Alex Dutton of Oxford University Computing Services, Lead Developer on the project, said: ‘Despite its historic buildings and ancient traditions Oxford is a University that embraces the future: providing information to people when and where it is most useful to them – as Mobile Oxford is designed to do – reflects this forward-looking attitude.’
For more information contact Tim Fernando on +44 (0)1865 283348 or email tim.fernando@it.ox.ac.uk
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Alternatively, contact the University of Oxford Press Office on +44 (0)1865 283877 or email press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk