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Intel, Polar Mobile partner to expand media tablet app reach

Intel is teaming up with Polar Mobile to extend the application platform to tablets and launch a series of apps from publishers such as Conde Nast and Time Inc.

When new tablets hit the market this fall using the MeeGo operating system from Intel, there will be 80 apps available to users through a new partnership between the company and Polar Mobile. Intel expects its AppUp center, which has been growing, to get a boost when the news apps become available.

?Intel is excited about the fantastic line up of great content that working with Polar Mobile?s platform brings to Intel AppUp center," said Suzy M. Ramirez, spokeswoman for Intel. ?Their track-record in launching high-quality apps for top-tier media companies globally and ability to scale quickly is impressive.

?We look forward to working with Polar Mobile to provide our consumers with these compelling apps,? she said.

Building an ecosystem
MeeGo is a mobile operating system from Santa Clara, CA-based Intel that will be available on tablet devices beginning this fall. The first tablets using the OS are expected to launch this fall.

Reuters and Shanghai Daily are among the companies that will have apps available for MeeGo-powered tablets at launch.

Others include Indonesian newspaper Kompas, UAE-based news portal 7DAYS and SB Nation.

Polar Mobile will extend its platform to tablets for the first time in support of the deal.

?At a high-level, Intel is bringing to market a new operating system called MeeGo and they recognize the need for a large number of quality brands and Apps available within their App ecosystem,? said Kunal Gupta, chief executive officer at Polar Mobile, Toronto, Canada.

?They have done a deal with Polar to help us extend our Platform to support MeeGo tablets and as a result we have committed to launch at least 80 high-quality Apps on their devices in 2011,? he said.

The move comes at the tablet market is growing. Polar Mobile points to research from IDC which forecasts worldwide shipments of tablets will reach 70.8 million units by next year as one of the reasons behind the new strategy.

?Tablets represent a tremendous opportunity for publishers to not only further grow reach but also drive new revenue streams,? Mr. Gupta said.

?The tablet market is growing rapidly and a very important market for Publishers around the world,? he said. ?Although the market is dominated heavily by iPad at the moment, it is clear that almost every major consumer electronics provider is entering the space with their own offering.

Polar Mobile works with publishers to provide smart device apps across platforms for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Windows.

The company is now extending support for tablet operating systems, including Intel processors-based tablets running the MeeGo operating system.

The Intel AppUp center, which launched less than a year ago, and its associated stores have been downloaded by more than 1 million consumers.

That number is expected to grow when the Intel AppUp center expands to include MeeGo-based tablets this fall.

?In our experience in working with over 300 Publishers in 10 countries, we have learned how to create compelling mobile App experiences on smartphones and our team is excited about the launch of our tablet support next month,? Mr. Gupta said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode, Mobile Marketer