Sky News has announced that it is enhancing its existing iPhone app for the 2010 General Election to provide a dedicated election news service that will bring national and local political news direct to iPhone users throughout the campaign.
The enhanced General Election app includes free live streaming from Sky News TV, a feed of the top ten election stories and information on previous elections.
The app also features an interactive map of the constituencies with a GPS and postcode finder that lets users select their local constituency page which is packed with data, including individual candidate lists, past results and the key issues for the region. There is also the option to ‘bookmark’ a constituency.
On election night, users will get up-to-the-minute news, while results for each constituency will be updated as and when they come in.
John Ryley, Head of Sky News said: “This is further confirmation of Sky News’ commitment to mobile – and a fantastic addition to our strong range of products. We believe this is a vital way of getting our journalism to new audiences, and delivering the news they want - when they want it.”
David Gibbs, General Manager Mobile, BSkyB said: “We have now seen over 1.3m downloads of the iPhone application, and the addition of the live channel and general election content is another step forward in cementing mobile as the third screen for our customers.”
The enhanced General Election app builds upon the success of the Sky News iPhone and iPod touch app, which passed a landmark 1 million downloads in January 2010, and the launch of an app for the Android operating system, plus a new web mobile service (m.skynews.com) for all other devices in February.
The app is now available to download for free at the Apple iTunes app store: http://itunes.apple.com
