Use Your iPhone To Build Mobile Apps With Startup iGenApps

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iGenApps lets you create mobile web apps right from your iOS device
iGenApps lets you create mobile web apps right from your iOS device

Puerto Rico based iGenApps showed off its signature service at the DEMO Spring event in silicon valley this week. iGenApps offers the ability to create iOS and other mobile apps with no programming knowledge and just a basic working knowledge of HTML. The service is centered around web app development, but the company claims a premium service will turn web apps into native apps for a price.

iGenApps joins a handful of other companies that offer web app building services. In the case of iGenApps, the process can be started and completed on an iOS device using the company’s $1.99 iPhone app (at this time, there is no iPad or universal version of the app).

iGenApps focuses on so-called content driver apps. According to company’s chief marketing officer John Morris, the company’s primary market is small to medium businesses and other organizations that want to take advantage of mobile devices as a means of delivering content and information to customers. That focus does limit the scope of apps that iGenApps produces, which Morris acknowledged to InfoWorld, though he also pointed out that such apps are perfectly suited for smaller organizations.

iGenApps leverages the Sencha Touch frameworks and HTML 5 to create apps that can take advantage of some native iOS features. The company will also host web apps created with its services for an annual fee of $99.

Although the company does offer a “premium” service that will turn your web apps into native iOS apps, it doesn’t provide pricing or related details on its website. That’s most likely because the company will consider each app project individually and deliver quotes to potential customers directly.

The company is also planning to allow individual users to register as “appers” – contractors that use iGenApps tools to create web apps for individuals or companies. iGenApps notes that this will be a paid problem. At this point, however, there’s very almost no details available about this program, other than a pre-registration form for it.

All in all the ease of app creation and the ability to create and edit apps on a mobile device are selling points for iGenApps. Arguably, you could get a better deal for hosting what is essentially a mobile website, but you probably wouldn’t get such a streamlined development environment and easy to use package.

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