Parks Group Broadens Access for Mobile Users

Arkansas State Parks is targeting increasingly technologically savvy visitors with a recently launched iPhone app.

The app, available free at www.arkansasstaeparks.com/iphone and Apple’s iTunes store, was designed by Aristotle Inc. of Little Rock and was downloaded more than 1,000 times in its first week of availability, ASP manager of marketing and revenue Joe Jacobs said.

“People are using the Internet more and more to find our parks,” Jacobs added, “so we figured we’d put that info in their hands.”

Features of the app include basic park information, lists of upcoming events, maps, etc. The app also alerts users to the nearest parks and/or trails, a feature Jacobs said is designed to boost traffic at some of the state’s lesser-visited areas.

In a news release accompanying the announcement, Jacobs said the decision to develop an iPhone app was financial.

“In October 2010, the iPhone, iPad, and iTouch phones accounted for over 83 percent of the smartphone access to [our website],” Jacobs said. “With budget limitations, we addressed those users first.

“We are researching options to create a mobile environment soon for Android and BlackBerry users.”