Skullcandy iPhone App – Let it snow, or blow, or shine, or…

Very often I will try out an iPhone app and find myself asking the question. Whats it all mean? No not in some esoteric, questioning of life type of way. I’m looking at the app and asking what is it supposed to do for me. Perhaps it provides a fraction of the functionality that the website provides its logged in members, or its a really cool showcase of the iPhone interface capabilities. More often the apps are ridiculous throw aways that are about as useful as the gum that is wrapped in a bazooka comic strip (ooo, bazooka comics, now that’s an app that would be fun to have…but I digress). So when I find an app that is doing it right, I want to draw some attention to it and commend them for what they have created.

So last week I started to get excited about the return of snowboarding season as rumors of pre-season powder started to trickle in from various parts of the country. Wanting to keep abreast of the developing weather patterns and tease myself like a kid counting down till Christmas, I went looking to see if there were any new snow report apps available. Long ago I started using these apps with Powder Church, which was basically a link to an iPhone formatted website that had limited functionality for finding and reviewing the snow reports for most significant resorts in the US and Canada. Later came The branded free apps from REI, and CliffBar, and pay-for apps like skireport.com each with their own thematic differentiators, but all basically the same thing. Good apps that serve their purpose with recent accumulation, weather forecasts, community banter, resort information etc.

As I looked over the list to see what was new, one caught my eye. Now I am familiar with the Skullcandy brand from the slopes and the shops and perhaps have cursed their name a few times when someone glides obliviously by me on the slopes and I can hear what they are rockin’ out to from their Skullcandy headphones, but I am also aware that they have some of the most creative and viral ad campaigns in the action sports industry, and the fact that the app is free made it a must try.

That’s when the fun began. Skullcandy has really created a great app here. The features are too numerous to name, but some of the highlights are as follows (from their site):

• FREE
• Surf reports so you know when and where to rip.
• Up to the minute snow reports plus a 5 day forecast.
• A skate park finder for nomads who have to try them all.
• Free music player chock full of Skullcandy-approved tracks.
• Video from Skullcandy TV loaded with shorts featuring Skullcandy athletes and musicians.
• For those who want it all, a dealer locator feature will find the nearest shop for instant gratification.
• A mobile Skullcandy store that allows you to buy new headphones, backpacks or other Skullcandy gear.
• A fresh selection of continually updated wallpapers designed by Skullcandy fans that allow users to defy genericism.
• Access to all Skullcandy happenings through the Skullcandy blog.

The app also works with your phones mapping functionality to get you to any of the surf skate or snow spots you might find.

Basically it does it all. It gets you stoked via its music, video, and photo content. Keeps you informed with their blog’s connection, and subtly serves company goals via dealer location and direct shopping features, and the best part is it wraps it all in a beautifully designed interface that is simple to use and leverages the already established conventions of iPhone interface to be instantly  usable.

Are there features that are missing? Of course, but this app still rocks and does what it supposed to effortlessly.

So big ups to Skullcandy, You are doin’ it right and I look forward to what come next when I see a little update notification for version 1.0.2