Development is hard. This becomes especially apparent when one is trying to build an application in the always growing mobile economy. There are app platforms that try to make development easier, but improvements can only be a good thing. That’s where Application Craft hopes to come in.
UK-based Application Craft announced the availability of their app development platform today. They claim that their platform will be able to kill the “unnecessary complexity” that’s inherent to app development. The development tools are built with every platform in mind so people can cross publish their Application Craft-built apps across the Web, native and hybrid mobile, tablet, and desktop.
“App development has become hugely complex and unapproachable for many developers, so we set out to create a platform for developers of all skill levels who simply want to get their business or consumer app created professionally and out to market quickly,” said Freddy May, founder and CEO, Application Craft. “Listening to our emphatic beta users, I would say we have already been extremely successful.”
Application Craft has already proven itself among its thousands of beta users. One such beta participant was Coca-Cola who used it to develop a data collection program for the 2012 London Olympics. They were able to move from concept to finished product in a fraction of the time that it would take to make an app with traditional tools.
The company is also hoping to service the independent development and student communities. One such teacher, Michael Jay Kintner of CNerd, said that Application Craft has been his platform of choice since it’s simple to use, but provides the tools his students need to build complex apps.
Application Craft uses a drag-and-drop interface for building apps that makes of HTML widgets. These allow developers to create apps that offer services like geo-targeting, analytics, social media sharing and more without requiring one to build all of these functionalities from the ground up.
Application Craft has three tiers for developers wanting to create their own apps. Amateur developers will want to try out the AC Free Platform. It features all of the basic features required to build apps and the company will host your finished app on their cloud servers once it’s finished.
AC Pro Platform adds more secure app development and deployment alongside custom splash screens and domain names. On top of that, developers who use AC Pro will be able to add an ad widget so they can make money off of their app. AC Pro users can either pay $45 a month or $450 annually.
AC Enterprise Platform is the best of the bunch as it includes all the previous features, but companies can run apps off of their own servers. Those interested in the Enterprise package must contact sales over price as it changes based on your needs like all Enterprise applications.
It’s hard to say if Application Craft will make development easier as they claim. Many have claimed this in the past, but there’s still a wall that keeps even the most passionate of would-be developers out. Application Craft’s success is going to be measured on their ability to get users over that first wall.