Coachella phone app enables users to find friends and track performances

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

My favorite Q&A on Coachella’s website deals with the question of whether or not payphones will be available inside the venue. The answer on the FAQ page advised concert-goers that, ‘This is 2010. Get a cell phone.’

But the organizers of the concert (April 16th-18th) missed a chance to offer even more cellphone-related helpfulness: just as essential as the phone itself is the 2010 Coachella app for iPhone and Android.

Over 50,000 users downloaded the 2009 version, and with smartphone adoption skyrocketing, it’s sure to be more this year.

My favorite aspect of the application is the friend finder feature. Considering last year’s festival attracted more than 160,000 people, I have no doubt I will get lost in crowds multiple times that weekend (see the video above if you’re curious what a packed show at Coachella looks like).

To use the friend finder feature, simply add your friends’ e-mail addresses to the application, then have them add your e-mail address to the Coachella application on their phones. The application is set up to help you find each other: A map records where each friend was standing based on the last time they opened their Coachella app. The friends show up as dots on your Coachella map, which you can then click on to see the specific friend’s e-mail address. (See purple dot in the image below.)

(I’m told this hasn’t always worked well in the past, as phone service can be hit-or-miss in the chaos of the music festival. AT&T, however, is promising to provide expanded service this year, according to the app’s developer, David Bullock.)

The application features a countdown to Coachella and a full list of performers. In the coming days, as concert details get released, users will be able to check out specific performance times and sort artists they want to see by venue location.

If you plan on taking pictures during the festival, the application also provides a way to upload the images. The pictures, once approved by concert organizers, will be uploaded onto the main Coachella.com website, Bullock said.

And unlike the overpriced beer and snacks, and the pricey ticket, this app is refreshingly free.

-- Zohreen Adamjee