BBC will Launch Mobiles Applications

One very glaring omission from many an app store has been the lack of an official app from the BBC. Just about every other news and media organisation under the sun has their own app, but not Auntie. There were moves earlier in the year to launch some BBC apps for the iPhone, but that plan was shot down in flames after commercial news outlets protested that it would wreck their business models and the BBC Trust put a stop to the plan until it could assess it. Well the Trust has now given the plan the green light and users can look forward to an official BBC News app.

The news app will launch first on the iPhone and iPad and then later in the year on both Android and Blackberry platforms. Why they couldn't launch the app on all three platforms simultaneously wasn't addressed, but better late than never as the saying goes. Erik Huggers, Director of Future Media & Technology at the BBC said:

"We know that increasing numbers of you want to access BBC output on-the-go and the rapid growth of internet-connected mobiles and smartphones in the market means we can cost-effectively provide our content and services on these devices, and this is a really important way for us to deliver online services in the future. The first class journalism that you expect from the BBC is now available to you in a way that is simple, personalised and optimised for mobile devices."

Hopefully this is the first in a range of BBC apps we can look forward to, especially given the BBC's massive archive of content as well as their extensive access and reach into fields such as sport, technology, science, the environment, etc.