iPhone app navigates Obama inauguration
President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration this January could be quite a chaotic scene, with as many as 4 million people possibly heading to the National Mall to watch, but a new application available on Apple's App Store could help spectators navigate the crowds a bit more smoothly.
The free 2009 Presidential Inauguration Guide landing screen features an inauguration countdown, as well as the distance the user is from the steps of the Capitol building, where the event takes place.
The application also provides information about metro service and parking garage locations, a Zagat guide of local restaurants, a list of free nearby Wi-Fi zones, and information about the afterparties that are sure to keep Washington abuzz all night.
The application's developers, law firm Patton Boggs and public-relations firm Qorvis Communications, call it "THE guide to the inauguration," though the two firms are only the latest to develop an App Store download that caters to the excitement surrounding the inauguration. The Obama Inauguration Countdown and the Obama Inaugration applications also give countdowns to the event.
The Obama for America Campaign, after Obama won the election, updated the iPhone application it introduced during the campaign to include a campaign office database.
Stephanie Condon is a staff writer for CNET News focused on the intersection of technology and politics. She is based in Washington, D.C. E-mail Stephanie. 
What do the developers get out of it to recoup their costs? Did they simply do it because they could?