[April 17, 2012]

Ping4 Integrates NOAA'S National Weather Service into its Hyperlocal Alerts App

Ping4, the hyperlocal alerts app, today announced that it has integrated weather notices from the National Oceanic (News - Alert) and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Weather Service into its smartphone app that provides real-time, location-based, rich-media alerts. This integration comes as severe weather peaks across the United States, particularly across the Midwest.

The app features the capability, depending on the severity of a given alert, to "wake up" phones in sleep mode, provided they are turned on. It can also override phone mutes to provide audio alerts, even if the phone has been placed on silent mode.

"Ping4 is the only hyperlocal alerts app available today with the capability of providing real-time NOAA alerts to any smartphone device," said Jim Bender, President and CEO of Ping4. "Many of the record-breaking number of tornadoes this season have occurred at night while people are sleeping. Ping4 is one of the few ways to wake people who are in harm's way."

When NOA releases any type of weather advisory, Ping4's proprietary software first obtains the centerpoint of the county or counties affected. It then references the number of square miles of the county and draws a geofence - or virtual perimeter - around an area approximately 1.2 times the size of the county to ensure the entire county is covered and that there is some overlap to adjacent counties. All smartphones with the Ping4 app within that geofenced area will then receive the alert.

"Local public safety agencies can also leverage Ping4's capabilities to create hyperlocal tornado warnings down to the individual town and even neighborhood level," said Michael Welts, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Ping4.

A typical NOAA warning might start with an audio wave file that wakes up the smart phone and warns of the specific danger. The NOAA logo would then appear on the smart phone display along with a weather map of the specific warning area with known severe weather locations marked on the screen. Ping4 has the capability to place hundreds of these warnings in separate locations simultaneously.

Ping4 is a free app available for download in the App Store or Android (News - Alert) Market.

About Ping 4, Inc.

Ping4 is the free hyperlocal alerts app that instantly notifies you of immediate and nearby dangers and emergencies wherever you are in the world by sending a "ping" directly to your smartphone. Immediate information can mean the difference between life and death. Ping4 is the only app to provide hyperlocal alerts to keep you safe and deliver value wherever you go, whenever you need it. Ping4 is a privately held company based in Nashua, NH. For more information, please visit www.ping4.com.

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