App of the Week: GotchaMovies

This week's App of the Week is one for everyone. (Unless of course you don't watch films, don't like films or have never seen a film... in which case, this is probably a good place to start!)

GotchaMovies is a stellar new app that was just created using the App Factory. And this one is a doozy! It's got everything we like to see in an app: big images, great branding, and heaps of original content. Featuring news, reviews, top lists, trailers, and pretty much everything you could ever want from a film app, this is a must-have.

Seriously, how sleek does that look? Our users always know how to get the best out of the App Factory...

Download the GotchaMovies app now!

Do you think your own blog or website would make for a great app? Why not try it out for free? You know you're curious...

Try creating your own app using the App Factory!

Mippin Launches OK! for iPad

We've gone a bit iPad crazy around the Mippin office as of late. Regardless of our platform of choice, we love us some iPads. Roughly 83% of us have one, which is awfully telling...

So it's no surprise that we've been working more on our iPad template, what with all these iPads floating around everywhere. Just last week our lovely OK! Magazine iPhone app was updated with a brand spankin' new version for the iPad. (You remember OK! for iPhone, don't you?)

This one's a sleek and simple app with the same function as the iPhone version -- to give OK! readers easy access to the latest news and the hottest gossip. Of course we did some reformatting so it would really shine on the iPad, so you'll see the story index on the left and stories on the right.

If you've got an iPad why not give it a go?

Check out the OK! iPad app now.

And if you're interested in transforming your awesome web content into an equally awesome iPad app then drop us a line at info@mippin.com. We're friendly geeks.

App of the Week: TEKCORE UK

It should be no surprise that we here at Mippin love a good tech blog. We work in the tech industry, we take pride in transforming good blogs into great apps and we're all pretty geeky - how could we not?

So we were quite pleased to see the guys over at TEKCORE UK using our App Factory to create a mobile app for their awesome new tech blog. It seems the site is run by a couple of Bath University students finishing up their degrees and, as expected, it is stocked full of tech news and reviews. There's a wide breadth of coverage to boot, from smartphones to software to gaming systems to - you guessed it! - Steve Jobs commemorative stamps from Hungaria. We're hooked.

We think it's about time you installed this bad boy, don't you? Just head to mippin.com/app/tekcoreuk and you'll be in the know in no time.

And if you happen to have a snazzy new tech blog and you're looking for an app of your very own, why not try us out, too? We'll app you up. We'll make it appen. We'll keep you appy. You get the picture...

Create your app with App Factory

Mippin Recognised for HTML5 Work

Last week we wrote a post proclaiming our love for HTML5. Although we focus on both web and native app development (because we recognize the benefits of each), tons of the work we do is HTML5-based.

So when we won the BlackBerry Developer Challenge a couple months back, not only were we excited because it was such a prestigious award, but also because it highlighted all of the hard work we've been doing with HTML5.

Although we won the award under the category of 'Most Innovative BlackBerry WebWorks App,' our winning app - Daily Express - was actually built using HTML5 and then packaged with BlackBerry WebWorks. In fact all of our BlackBerry apps are built that way. So the award was a double whammy for us as it highlighted our strengths in both HTML5 and WebWorks.

Our BlackBerry apps aren't the only product of ours showing off these HTML5 skills - of course there's our iPhone web apps as well. And as is always the case here at Mippin, we're constantly striving to stay ahead of the technology curve so you never know what we might have in store for you next!

App of the Week: Allure Of Sound

We've got a doozy for you this week. Music lovers, listen up!

This week I bring you the awesome Allure Of Sound app. It's full of news, reviews and interviews within the realm of pop, dance and electronic music from around the world. And - as is always the case with our featured apps - this one meets all three of our important criteria:

(1) high-quality original material
(2) big brilliant images
(3) frequently-updating full content

We're impressed!

Not only that but since its creation a few days ago, we've found the app's QR code everywhere: Facebook, Twitter, and in not one but three spots on the original blog. Now that is how you promote an app!

Download the app now at mippin.com/app/allureofsound to see what all the fuss is about.

OK! App Featured on Nokia Lumia Devices

The announcement of the Nokia Lumia range a few weeks back was pretty epic in terms of its importance within the mobile sphere. As the first set of Nokia devices to be powered by Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) OS, it's not hard to guess why. A merger between two of the biggest power players in the industry?! It's a big deal.

Both of the new Lumia devices - the 710 & 800 respectfully - ship with a Nokia-exclusive pre-installed 'App Highlights' tile, showcasing the best WP7 apps for both new and established users. It's smarter than just shining a spotlight on the most downloaded apps, and in fact it features content that has been hand-picked by Nokia on a per-country basis.

So, with that in mind, we were pretty pleased to discover our very own OK! app listed in the featured section!

We're really proud of the work we've accomplished on Windows Phone and it's great to see the platform expanding in such a big way, and even greater to be a part of that expansion.

Get the OK! app for your Windows Phone device!

HTML5 Is The New Black

A few months ago, the Financial Times shook things up a bit by becoming the first major news publisher to launch their own HTML5 web app. We here at Mippin are big fans of HTML5 and have been developing with it for ages, so it was exciting for us to see it being utilised by a big publishing player. HTML5 certainly brings a lot to the mobile experience party, so it makes sense that everyone is really starting to embrace it.

Our team had a play with the app and straight away came to the conclusion that it was not only a totally awesome app, but a totally game-changing one as well - especially given the publicity it's seen over the past few months. With HTML5, not only does it mean that readers get automatic updates and access to exclusive content, it also means a faster app, similar to a traditional one but within the browser. According to Steve Pinches, Group Product Manager of Mobile & Emerging Platforms at the FT: "Web apps will become the way of the future."

We couldn't agree more, Steve. Having over a year and a half's experience developing HTML5 apps we see it as a big part of our future, too. Both our BlackBerry and iPhone web apps are built with HTML5 - and all of our App Packs come with an iPhone web app. (Oh, and an Android app, and a java launcher, and a mobile website...)

So, fancy getting an HTML5-based iPhone web app of your very own? Click here. What about a native BlackBerry app? Just drop us an email at info@mippin.com.

Go on, you know you want to...