by Sofia Lorenzini
Among the thousands kinds of iTunes apps, every now and then you can find one designed for the environment, as well as for ourselves and our pockets. The new app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad can be downloaded from the iTunes Store, and it allows you to find the closest free drinking fountains.
The interactive map, after finding our location, indicates us the distribution points closer to us, reachable by foot or car.
The app, downloadable for 0.79 euros, is called “Free Water in Italy – Find the closest fountain!” and was developed by Daniele Antonietti, who explains: "The idea was born when we knew that some mayors wanted to close the drinking fountains. With Free water we'd like to form a circle of people who fight for this right. People from many sectors are adding up (from cycling, to dog lovers or those who are involved with the environment)".
So far more than 10,000 drinking fountains have been uploaded in the map, both in large and small cities, and there's an additional possibility to improve the service by customers, reporting the missing points of interest through a special section of the app. Users use this service constantly and willingly.
Free water in Italy has already been translated into English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese, and it tries to spread its voice through the major social networks, from Facebook to Twitter, where it has its main page that you can follow for updates and the chance to win copies of the app. Unfortunately Daniele Antonietti said that he didn't always find people willing to post the link to the app on their websites.
At the Free water launch, it was in second place among the most downloaded and appreciated apps in the travel category, now it has about 300 users who use it about 20 times a day. Reviews from customers are good, with positive comments about the functionality of the app and its economical benefits.
The app aims at fulfilling the dual function of saving money, avoiding to buy expensive bottles of water, and at the same time saving the environment from useless plastic. The app description says: "Why to promote environmental pollution with plastic bottles? Why a tourist would have to pay 3 euros for a bottle of water in the middle of a big city?". But the users resulted to be more interested in the environmental aspect rather than the economic one, as reported by Daniele Antonietti: "Users are not interested in the financial aspect of the app, but rather in the environmental and social ones."
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