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October 29, 2008 9:30 AM PDT

Instant election polling, now on your iPhone...kinda

by Eric Franklin

Fun? Yes, but I wouldn't put too much stock into it.

I have to admit, I didn't see the point of Sonic Lighter. I mean, it was cool to see real-time mapping of people using it, but there was no real point. With the latest version, however, that's changed.

Smule has released Sonic Lighter 1.2.1 Special Campaign 2008 Edition for the iPhone. Instead of just lighting a normal orange flame, with the new version you now get to express yourself politically (somewhat), by choosing either the red (McCain) or blue (Obama) flame.

The coolest thing about this is the ability to see, in real-time, which flame is more prevalent in different parts of the world. If you want to get even more detailed, Smule has a Google-powered map at its site that allows you to pinpoint the flames down to the city or even a stretch of road.

Now, this is what I call instant polling results. Is it accurate? Hmmm, not so much. Unfortunately we still have to wait 'til next week to see just how much stock we can put into polling. Sonic Lighter 1.2.1 is available at the App Store for $0.99, but is a free upgrade if you already own Sonic Lighter.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas
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