KickApps App Studio Delivers Industry-First Drag-and-Drop Authoring Support for HTML5
Allows Non-Programmers to Easily Create Customizable HTML5 ?Web Video and Applications for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
New York(20 Jul 2010)
KickApps Corporation today announced that the latest release of the KickApps App Studio will support HTML5, allowing marketers, brand managers and developers to create highly-customized, full-featured web applications with drag-and-drop ease. This innovation allows KickApps to integrate the existing Flash® creation capabilities of the App Studio with support for rich, custom media player creation for devices running Apple's mobile operating system, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.
While support for HTML5 is gaining momentum, the industry until now lacked the tools to allow easy authoring. The App Studio provides users with a single authoring environment in which they can create rich, customized video experiences that support both Flash and HTML5, with no coding required. The App Studio also enables the creation of customized, data-driven apps for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Apps on these devices will appear and function as they do on Flash-enabled devices, and designers and developers will be able to customize them with familiar scripting languages, CSS and JavaScript.
"The latest release of App Studio has catapulted HTML5 forward by providing drag-and-drop authoring to an otherwise immature standard," said Alex Blum, chief executive officer of KickApps. "For web publishers seeking to take advantage of the combined power of HTML5 and Flash, the App Studio is an easy-to-use, integrated solution that will let them create innovative and customized media players and apps once for audiences across multiple platforms and devices. As social video publishing continues to grow in complexity, KickApps will provide simple solutions to publishers of all sizes."
The addition of HTML5 support to the App Studio complements KickApps' announcement last month that App Studio users can now create rich social media applications for distribution to Facebook and other social networking platforms, forming a "viral loop" of web traffic between a brand's own domain and Facebook. The solution simplifies the development process and provides brands with unified access to a wealth of marketing data previously locked in specific platforms.
"We're interested in reaching our audiences wherever they are, regardless of the devices they're using," said Marc Siry, SVP of Digital Products & Services for NBC Universal. "Thanks to KickApps, we're able to deliver video content that looks great on either HTML5 or Flash-supported devices. In addition, the drag-and-drop authoring process helps us create content experiences quickly and easily, without our having to learn a new coding language."
KickApps also will be authoring a specification for a plug-in approach similar to the existing Open Source Media Framework (OSMF), enabling existing OSMF plug-in providers to be able to create plug-ins for the latest version of App Studio with minimal development. This plug-in architecture, which is used as the core framework for App Studio media players, provides application developers with a robust distribution platform that can easily enhance any social media deployment.
About KickApps
An award-winning Social Software Platform, KickApps provides cloud-based social media, online video and widget applications that enable Web publishers and marketers to drive deeper customer relationships, and grow, engage and monetize online audiences at their domain and out on the social web. Its SaaS platform includes a suite of easy to deploy applications that include social networking, user-generated content, programmable social video players, drag-and-drop media player and application building, WidgeADs and many others that are tightly integrated with robust media moderation, member management and reporting. Customers include: NBC Universal, ProSieben, American Express, Scripps Network, HBO, Cinemax, Cox Television, the Washington Redskins, the Phoenix Suns, the New York Rangers and thousands of others companies and brands. For more information, please visit www.kickapps.com.