Curtin Uni holds iPhone app

Curtin University of Technology iced plans for an iPhone app for student information in favour of a site accessible on more smart phones than just Apple's.

Modelled on "similar sites" at MIT and Stanford in the United States, CurtinMobile was claimed to be the first mobile student support website developed by an Australian university.

Curtin's director of teaching and learning Beverley Oliver said the "original plan was to build an iPhone app, like Stanford [University].

"However, our research six months ago showed low penetration of iPhones at this stage, so we decided to build a site that looks like an app, but also works on other smart phones," Professor Oliver said.

"A much higher proportion of students are likely to have iPhones in the near future, so an iPhone app is definitely on the cards at some stage."

The mobile website developed instead offered students support information such as a directory of teaching staff, campus maps and information on topics like local transport services and where to eat on campus through to financial support and housing.