BBC launching Android and iPad iPlayer Apps this week
Posted on 9 Feb 2011 at 09:38
The BBC has confirmed that it will be releasing Android and iPad apps for its iPlayer soon, as part of the corporation's plans to make its services available to mobile devices.
"Apps are a big part of our plans to make BBC Online more easily accessible on mobile devices," said Daniel Danker on the
BBC blog. "The BBC News app has been a success for us since launching last year and BBC iPlayer will be next off the production line."
While the BBC already has an
iPhone iPlayer app, the current iPad version is a repurposed
big screen HTML version. The new iPlayer app will be native iPad.
Supporting Android shows just how popular Google's operating system has become. The official app should replace third-party efforts, such as the excellent MyPlayer, which is listed in our
Top 20 free Android apps.
Both new apps will let you watch live TV and listen to radio, as well as viewing the catalogue of catch-up TV. Installation on the iPad is simple, but Android devices will require Android 2.2 or higher in order to support Adobe Flash 10.1 for video playback. The BBC has also stated that its "Flash streams need a powerful mobile phone processor and a Wi-Fi connection to ensure a smooth viewing experience" for Android devices.
Both Apps should be available to download by the end of the week.
