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StampShow Raises Your APP-titude
by Lloyd A. de Vries
APS Stamp-Show is the biggest stamp collecting show in the U.S. each year, and draws thousands of people.
As far as I know, this is the first app for a stamp show, and it's well done. It contains the show's schedule, a list of exhibits, a list of dealers and a floor plan so you can find those dealers and exhibits. There's even a map, presumably to help you find your way back to the convention center each day.
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I particularly liked the links in the dealer list which will take me right to their websites, and the contact information for the secondary official show hotel, the Ambassador. But while the main hotel, the Hyatt Regency, is mentioned, the "info" section just says "BLOCK IS FULL" with no phone number or address. For those staying there, it would have been handy to have the phone number linked within the phone, as is the Ambassador's.
The schedule allows you to select events you want to attend, and get notifications that they're about to start. If I have a quibble, though, it's that you can't transfer events you want to attend to your regular personal calendar, and you can't add your own events, such as a get-together with friends... at least not that I found on my i-Phone.
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One other tweak I'd like to see: The show's sponsors are listed — the APS, the USPS, the American and National Stamp Dealers Associations — but not other stamp societies that are participating, such as my own American First Day Cover Society.
There are still some other missing pieces in this app: The profiles of the exhibits and exhibitors are all blank, but the fact that there's space for the information indicates the APS will fill in the blanks for future shows.
All in all, it's a major step forward for stamp collecting.
Hear Lloyd's weekly radio report, discussing the APS StampShow app.
Download the app for Apple devices here
Download the app for Android here.