DIY platform enables home-grown iPhone apps

iPhone apps have become an essential part of doing business in many industries today, and we’ve seen several companies spring up to help make that happen. Focusing on restaurants, there’s Blue Shoe Mobile Solutions, for example; for bands, there’s Mobile Roadie. Now, taking a more generalized approach — and hoping to put some control back in content creators’ hands — there’s AppMakr, a platform that lets anyone create an iPhone app of their very own. Now in beta, AppMakr is a browser-based platform from San Francisco-based PointAbout that’s designed to make creating an iPhone app quick and easy. The site can be used by anyone with existing content, and it includes features such as push-notifications for direct alert messaging to an app’s users, native photo galleries, location-aware GeoRSS, App Quality Index (AQI) for iTunes App Store approval recommendations, custom CSS and JavaScript capabilities, social network sharing and mobile ad network integration for content monetization. App styling can be customized to match the brand, and creators can decide whether or not to charge anything for their app. AppMakr is free for users publishing under their own brand; for USD 999, the service will take care of everything and publish the resulting app under the AppMakr brand. Phone support is also available for USD 120 per hour. One recent example of an app developed using the platform is MetroBizSc, targeting all those affiliated with Finland’s Metropolia Business School. (And created by John Greene, who spotted AppMakr for us and regularly contributes to our Springspotters network.) Given the ubiquity of mobile apps today, it makes perfect sense to see the emergence of an all-purpose facilitator. Of course, the iPhone isn’t the only popular mobile device, and AppMakr just so happens to be seeking “adventurous Android owners to help us by playing with something really cool.” One to get involved in early — or to try out for your own app-minded brand? Spotted by: John Greene