Today at Brightcove PLAY 2011, Brightcove’s global customer conference held here in the Innovation District in Boston, the company announced a new killer app platform for developers, publishers and agencies across the world to build and deploy mobile and web apps. Called App Cloud, the platform isn’t based on any proprietary technology and instead uses all open technologies like Javascript, HTML5, and CSS.
And it is not just for video content, embracing all media types. App Cloud will be commercially available in the second half of 2011, but in the meantime developers and agencies can use the platform for FREE by applying to their private beta program. Check out the video demo and specs below:
For developers, here are the main features Brightcove wants to make sure you know about App Cloud:
- Pure HTML5: No new programming languages or inflexible frameworks. No quirky IDEs. Just clean HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript plus the tools and workflow you already know and love. No joke.
- Native != Proprietary: Access native APIs for geo-location, camera control, or in-app purchases from JavaScript. And if you do have native code you love, just bundle it in. No questions asked.
- Apps + Web = Rich + Thin: Web apps are easily discovered but quickly forgotten. Native apps are powerful and memorable but invisible to search engines. Doing both is way too expensive. Until now.
- The Content Connection: Content for your app may live in a CMS, OVP, YouTube, Flickr, or other systems. Cloud content connectors make it easy to bind your app UI to content through RSS and JSON.
- Beyond Emulation: See exactly how your app will look and perform on target devices with Brightcove Workshop, a native app that brings the rapid dev/debug/fix cycle of web development to mobile apps.
- Click. Compile. Ship. Done. Imagine clicking a single button that generates iOS and Android apps ready for the app store and deploys a live touch web site? We have that button.
- Tweaks Without Upgrades: Modify styles, content feeds, and advertising on the fly without having to redeploy your app.
- Engage, Monetize, and Convert: Insert advertisements or charge for in-app purchases. Send cross-platform push notifications to activate your audience with promotions or content. All the revenue engines are here.
- Fast Content Wins: Fast access to fresh content drives engagement and profit. But smart phones have slow, high-latency connections. We transform, optimize, and cache your content in the cloud. Problem solved.
- Actionable Analytics: Which regions are generating the most new installs? How many installs are active? Which platforms have the most engaged users? Built-in analytic reports have the answers you need.
