Anyone remember the last time I said “Wow! Look at how pretty this web app is!”? Because I don’t.
At least, not before this morning when I saw Forecast.
Warning before anyone is like “WTF? Why is TechCrunch writing about a weather app? UNSUBSCRIIIIIBE”: Yeah, Forecast is a weather app. But it’s a really, really pretty weather app.
Brought to you by the same guys who built Dark Sky (which is already one of the prettiest native weather apps), Forecast is a rather remarkable demonstration of what web apps — in both mobile and standard form — can do with good scripting and solid design (You can read all about the development of Forecast here)
First, check it out in your computer’s browser. Click around a bit. Tap the little Play button beneath the globe. Drag the pin around. Shift through historical weather data in the Time Machine. Your mind blown yet?
Now check it out on your Android phone or iPhone. Play with the amazingly smooth sliding drawers, and the buttery slide-in navigation bar. If your mind still isn’t blown, you’ve never tried to build something like this on the web. Or you have and you’re just way, way too cool for your own good.
I figured I was just easily impressed, but just about every code-minded person I follow on the Twitters has raved about Forecast sometime in the past two hours. Even the Hacker News crowd had nary a negative comment. I kind of wish I didn’t have to add the web app to my homescreen before I was allowed to play with it, but given the way people tend to stumble upon weather apps when they need them and then immediately forget about them once they’re done, it’s a forgivable retention trick.
Hell, even people who look at web apps all damn day for work are impressed. Here’s our friend Lisa Brewster, who used to fight for better web apps at Palm and now reviews web apps and web app standards for Mozilla’s upcoming Firefox OS:
Bar, set. Welcome to my homescreen, Forecast.