An LSU mobile phone application is expected to be available for iPhones, BlackBerries and other smart phones by June, members of the app’s development team said Tuesday.Developers discussed the upcoming app at Tech Talk, an event hosted by Information Technology Services.The first phase of the free app will include a University directory, transit tracker, maps, videos from the University’s YouTube account, the Student Life calendar and a University news feed, among others, said Jeff Lee, IT analyst.The app will eventually be expanded to include availability listings for campus computer labs and course information, Lee said. Developers may also pursue course registration on the app.Talks about the app began last summer when developers brainstormed about how to make information on the University’s Web site more accessible to students, said Heath Price, assistant vice chancellor of Financial and Administrative Services.”I can pull up lsu.edu on my mobile browser right now with no problem, but how do we take that data and give it to [students] quicker, better and render something they can actually use?” Price said. The app will be available for free in both the iPhone and BlackBerry app stores when released, and other smart phones will be able to access the app via the Internet, Price said. All the information in the app will be available online, but Price said using the app itself would be a richer experience.”You can use a mobile browser to access content, but there’s nothing more dynamic than having an app,” he said.Offering the app online is important because many students can’t afford a monthly data plan for an iPhone or BlackBerry, Price said.Cornelius Toole, computer science graduate student who attended the seminar, said he thinks the app would be useful to students.”It increases people’s ability to take advantage of this information that’s already available,” Toole said.Tim David, a system engineer from Apple, spoke about the way apps and mobile technology can benefit universities. He said it’s important for students, faculty and application developers to think of apps as more than just a simple Web site.”Don’t think of a Web application as just a Web page,” David said. “You can get pretty advanced functionality.”The University originally began developing the app with a company called Terribly Clever, which was then purchased by Blackboard. Blackboard now has a one-year contract with the University to develop the app, set to expire this fall, Price said. The contract will then be reviewed and either renewed, or the University will partner with another company.- – – -Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]