White House Launches iPhone/iPod touch App with Live and On-Demand Video

In a posting on its official blog, Tuesday evening, the White House announced the availability of a new, free White House App for the Apple iPhone/iPod touch. "One feature that stands out is live video streaming," the blog post stated. "Now anyone with this app can watch the president's public events at the White House, frequent Web chats with administration officials, and other events like key speeches and press briefings, in real time. In fact," the blog post continued, "the president's State of the Union speech next week is a great example. In addition to the millions of Americans watching through TV and Web sites like whitehouse.gov/live, iPhone users on the go will be able to tune in through their phones."

Other features of the new app, according to the White House, include the ability to keep up with the latest communications from the White House Blog and the White House Briefing Room, the ability to browse behind-the-scenes photos, and the ability to view on-demand videos--the White House says that the app provides instant access to full videos of recent speeches, press briefings and special events.

The White House also says that, in the coming weeks, it plans to launch http://mobile.WhiteHouse.gov, a mobile-ready version of its Web site that will be optimized for any Internet-enabled mobile device.