Independent.ie is the first Irish national newspaper publisher to launch an iPhone app and is setting the trend globally being in the first wave of publishers to successfully charge for news apps. Customer satisfaction with the product was demonstrated by it becoming the No. 1 downloaded paid for app in the iTunes  App Store on the day after its release and stayed in that position for a number of weeks.  The app launched on 21 October 2009.
Ian Byrne, Managing Director – Independent Digital says: “we are delighted to achieve another first to market product, to be one of the first publishers globally to charge for this product is a demonstration of the innovation that is being delivered by the Independent Digital team.”
The new Independent.ie iPhone application allows users to enjoy the Independent on their iPhone or iPod Touch wherever they are. Users can view news headlines, articles and pictures quickly and send them to friends. The iPhone application from Independent.ie contains the latest Irish, world, entertainment and sports news updated throughout the day. The application downloads and syncs the most recent news directly to the users’ iphone. It is compatible with the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPod Touch. This iPhone application is the first in a number of iPhone and smartphone applications that will be launched by Independent.ie
The product was delivered as part of a Research & Development partnership between Independent Digital and the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) based in Waterford.

"Bringing in the first national news application for the iPhone is a breakthrough for the market and means that end users can now access a range of news services they can interact with, personalize and send around the mobile web.  Delivering this service builds on the strong history of innovation from the TSSG” said Barry Downes, CEO.

Patrick Lenehan, CTO of Independent Digital said “partnerships with world class R&D organisations like TSSG from the Waterford Institute of Technology enable Independent.ie to stay ahead of global trends and enhances our innovation culture”. “Partnering with TSSG has been a great success and this is the first of many new products from the partnership”.

The app has been approved by Apple’s Application Store, which subjected it to quality testing, user interface development guidelines and appropriate age suitability ratings. The Independent.ie application costs €2.39 on iTunes.

To get the app on iTunes go here: http://www.independent.ie/iapps