Nov. 5, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Verve Wireless, the leading provider of mobile publishing technologies to local media companies, and The Associated Press today announced that they are delivering mobile solutions that allow publishers to easily and efficiently launch their own customized, branded mobile applications based on the award-winning AP Mobile platform.

Verve will offer white label app solutions for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Nokia, Palm Pre and Windows Mobile.

The Verve/AP White Label App Solution offers publishers “best of breed” technology to accelerate their mobile strategies. Studies show that mobile apps drive 4-X-10X greater usage because they are fast and easier to use. They also allow publishers to build a powerful bond with users because the apps are stored on cell phone screens – in effect, “owned.”

“When we launched the AP Mobile news network, the main objective was to deliver new revenue opportunities for our AP members at the local level. This new solution further supports that mission,” said Jeff Litvack, AP’s general manager of mobile and emerging products. “Building an app from scratch is time consuming and costly, there are numerous things to consider, and we want AP member news outlets to leverage what we’ve learned from our experiences with AP Mobile, freeing them to focus on creating compelling editorial content as well as developing new means for advertisers to reach readers.”

The cohesive mobile App Solution is the latest product emerging from Verve Wireless to address the economic challenges facing today’s news media with a means to monetize content in the mobile channel. Under the service, Verve will handle the set up and launch of a publishers’ branded app, providing opportunities for media companies to deliver relevant local news to mobile users through a highly customizable interface supported by existing and in-network advertisers.

“Publishers need a simple, inexpensive solution to develop their mobile applications,” said Art Howe, chief executive officer of Verve Wireless. “These white label solutions offer them a way to use the industry’s best mobile technology for their own customized apps.”

The new white label service is based off the award winning AP Mobile news network application developed for the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Palm Pre, Windows Mobile, and Nokia N series devices. To date, it has been downloaded by more than 2.4 million people and has more than 55 million page views a month. The application provides readers with features such as rich graphics, audio and video as well as breaking news alerts.

The new service was built to directly address expense and time constraints that publishers would face in building, hosting, maintaining and upgrading their own cross-platform mobile application.