Banksy iPhone App Hits the Apple Store

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Tech geeks and street art fans, take note: a Banksy iPhone app has just hit the virtual racks of the Apple Store. It's a beautifully-crafted gallery tool that allows you to immerse yourself in the World of Banksy -- and maybe soon, it'll even allow you to catch him in the act.

Though it seems pretty exhaustive in its coverage of all things Banksy, the app isn't actually linked to the artist at all. Instead, it's the brainchild of Simon Hassett, a huge fan of Banksy's work. Hassett explains on the app's website that he used to obsessively trawl through cities he visited in search of elusive Banksys, and spend hours getting more and more lost. He created a mapping tool to fix his problem, and turned it into the app's greatest asset: a sprawling, user-generated map that tracks the locations of all Banksy art around the globe.

Now, diehard Banksy fans are spared Hassett's pain and frustration: they can get directions to see specific art pieces, or upload pictures and locations of new pieces. The map already has pins dropped all over the U.S., London, Berlin and Israel, as well as many more countries. There's a "search by location" function too -- if you've always suspected that a Banksy is lurking around the corner from where you live, you can find out by punching your zip code into the map and seeing what comes up.

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There's also an option for couch potatoes: you can flick through a still-expanding gallery of Banksy creations, or catch up on his doings with videos and news updates. That's pretty cool, but the real power of this app lies in seeing his works on the go. Besides, who knows? During your own private Banksy tour of Berlin, Ipswich or Tel Aviv, you might stand a chance at catching a glimpse of the elusive artist one day.

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