Brightcove App Cloud content development platform exits beta

Cloud content services provider Brightcove announced the general availability of its App Cloud content platform, a development environment promising media companies and marketers the tools to build and operate native applications optimized for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.

Launched in beta in May 2011, App Cloud marries an open HTML5-based web development model with cloud services. Developers can leverage HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and the App Cloud SDK, which touts pre-built views and JavaScript APIs for accessing native device capabilities like camera, alerts, accelerometer and location. App Cloud also features multi-app templates simplifying branded app creation for non-technical business users, visual app creation tools for creating, testing and previewing new apps based on custom templates, and cross-platform compilation tools to streamline deployment across multiple app stores.

Brightcove stresses that App Cloud supports the entire app lifecycle, with dynamic updates empowering users to modify content feeds, app appearance, advertising options and other settings without re-submitting the app to stores or requiring consumer upgrades. Content optimization tools trim, compress, cache and synchronize text, image transcoding slashes download times and improves app stability, and content connectors link to media stored across existing web content management systems, blogs, photo-sharing services and other platforms with support for open APIs.

Brightcove built its brand as an online video platform serving a host of media and publisher partners before unveiling its cloud-based content strategy this spring. The firm notes that more than 1,200 individual users participated in the App Cloud beta program, with several App Cloud-powered solutions now available for download via Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store and Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android Market.

For more:
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