The HTML 5 web-app is currently optimised for iPad and will feature print content updated weekly as well as live news as it breaks.
After the launch, the app will be available to everyone for a free 14-day trial, after which it will become a subscription only product. All current Building Design subscribers will have the tablet app included in their packages at no additional cost, and so will do the Digital and Premium subscribers of Building and Property Week brands. Print subscribers of Building and Property Week will have the opportunity to upgrade their subscription package to Premium to have the tablet app included.
The new product is a HTML5 web-app, currently optimised for iPad and developed by Abacus e-media. The app is available via the user’s Safari browser. According to UBM, the HTML5 format provides greater flexibility with a variety of possible functionalities, providing a better experience and quality of app for the user.
The web-app adds a unique proposition to the brand’s offering, bringing print content to the digital device. The content of the weekly magazine is available within the apps in real time, plus the tablet app delivers live industry news as it breaks.
The tablet apps are available now for a free 14-day trial to all iPad users. After the trial period, the app becomes a subscriber only benefit. To download the apps, users have to visit:
• Building – www.building.co.uk/tabletapp
• Building Design – www.bdonline.co.uk/tabletapp
• Property Week – www.propertyweek.com/tabletapp
Phil Clark, Digital & Audience Director, UBM BE said: “This app is a natural extension of our digital platform strategy following our roll out of mobile sites and an iPhone and iPad apps for the UBM BE media brands in 2011. We’re delighted with the HTML-5 format of the app which offers great usability for our customers and, as opposed to a native application, enables us to seamlessly maintain our direct relationship with them.”
Anna Winston, BD Head of Digital, said: “BD has an award winning website and our readers know it’s the first place to go for news. But they demand a different experience for reading long form content. Architecture lends itself beautifully to the tablet browsing experience – we can include more detail, plans and project images in a way that feels instinctive.” “By choosing to develop an HTML5 app we’ve been able to do something truly innovative and create a flexible product that can grow and change with our audience, without the restrictions of the app store.”
And, finally, Giles Barrie, Editor in Chief of Property Week: “For years our readers have been saying they want to read Property Week, but updated every day. We believe the unique mix we have created gives readers the rich mix of a magazine combined with the urgency of a website. The ‘bundled’ subscription packages we are creating also give readers of all types and ages the option to follow the Property Week brand in any way they wish.”
