The app offers latest national and international headlines, top stories, live news bulletins and on-demand video clips and content, covering news, sport, business and entertainment world. Optimised for the iPad, RTÉ said the app allows very easy navigation, with each page individually designed on a dual viewing mode so that users can enjoy the content in portrait or landscape orientation.

Clicking on video icons alongside text stories will display the full video on screen and assure users of an in-depth coverage of all their favourite stories. Podcasts of recent radio news shows can also be accessed while further social media features means that stories can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter.

"Building on the success of the RTÉ News Now app for iPhone and Android, the release of our News Now app for iPad continues to meet the needs of our audience for delivering up-to-the-minute, dynamic RTÉ content across a widening range of platforms," said Múirne Laffan, executive director of RTÉ Publishing.

The launch of iPad app coincides with the announcement that the original News Now iPhone app is now available for free globally. The new app, which is available to download from the iTunes store, was developed by mobile internet services company Digital Reach Group (DRG), which also developed RTÉ's News Now app for the iPhone and Android devices.

The iPhone app has already been downloaded more than 200,000 times.

Available through Adforce.ie from January 2011, advertisers in Ireland will be able to reach BBC.com’s 1.5 million unique users in Ireland, which currently generate over 23 million page views each month.

Speaking of the new contract, which was won following a competitive pitch, Colm Grealy, CEO of Adforce.ie said: “Both the web and mobile incarnations of BBC.com are bang on trend for how media is being consumed today. This gives advertisers a unique opportunity to connect with BBC.com’s Irish audience on their chosen device - with a combination of video, mobile and web ad formats.”

Isla Macleod BBC.com Account Director for EMEA Sales Houses commented: “Ireland is a key market for us and having a local sales house with expert knowledge of the market is of paramount importance for us in growing our business and providing the best possible service to our clients.”

According to BDMS Opinion Leaders, BBC.com is the largest international news provider in Europe, with a higher reach than all competitor websites across target audiences. The news pages are renowned for their high quality content, which in turn, make for a very attractive proposition for advertisers. 

Adforce.ie also manages online ad sales and delivery for many of Ireland’s leading media and entertainment companies. These include RTE Mobile, RTE Radio, Today FM, 98FM, Newstalk, Spin and Xtra-vision as well as a selection of Northern Irish mobile applications.  

Find out more about the reach and formats available on BBC.com here

Read More Here...

Read more at Mobile Marketer.com

See some pictures from the event here

• Barcode scanning through the ScanLife Platform  is up 700% from the start of 2010
• Starting in July, there are more scans in a single month than all of 2009 combined
• Users are scanning both 1D and 2D barcode formats equally showing that people are less concerned with code format, and more interested in getting information quickly
• People are scanning a wide variety of product UPC codes, not only from the consumer electronics category
• Users are diverse from all age groups which shows a broad range of interest

Property News
Northern Ireland's definitive property portal. Access property that is for sale or rent in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland anytime, anywhere, using an iPhone or iPod Touch.
More info:http://www.adforce.ie/In-App&id=29&site=Propertynews+com-.html

NI JobFinder
Search through Northern Irelands largest selection of jobs. The app is built on NI JobFinder's powerful and intelligent search engine, ensuring you can put your details in front of thousands of employers across the country, as quickly as possible.
More info: http://www.adforce.ie/In-App&id=30&site=nijobfinder+co+uk.html

NI CarFinder
Search over 10,000 cars, bikes and leisure vehicles throughout Northern Ireland using leading car portal nicarfinder.co.uk.
More info:http://www.adforce.ie/In-App&id=31&site=nicarfinder+co+uk--.html

Read full article on Silicon Republic here

Read more here: http://www.siliconrepublic.com/new-media/item/17781-microsoft-challenges-irish

Free Dublin Newspaper Metro Herald to Offer Advertisers QR Codes to Enhance Return on Investment

Mobile internet services company Digital Reach Group (DRG) has agreed a new partnership with the Metro Herald to provide Quick Response (QR) codes as part of the morning newspaper's advertising portfolio.

Last April DRG launched the QR code service ScanLife in Ireland, giving smartphone owners instant access to extra information on their handsets when they scan a 2D barcode within a printed advert or editorial. It works on almost any phone with a camera and internet connection and is available for free in the iTunes app store, Android Market, the Nokia Ovi store.

Read the full story on Irishdev.com here: http://irishdev.com/Home/News/1273-DRG--Metro-Herald-Code-it-Up.html

As smartphone usage spreads, mobile advertising is expanding in new directions.

Dublin freesheet Metro Herald is featuring quick response codes in its advertising and its editorial pages.

The codes can be scanned using a smartphone and redirect the user to either a promotion, in the case of an advertiser, or the Metro Herald website, in the case of an editorial code. The newspaper is also using the codes to encourage readers to comment on stories. So far, Sunway, Samsung, Carlsberg and Jameson have integrated them as part of ad campaigns.

According to Digital Reach Group (DRG), the mobile marketing company that supplies the QR codes, some 30,000 Metro Herald readers are scanning the codes regularly. DRG founder Colm Grealy said digital advertising was migrating rapidly onto mobile platforms, and he expected QR codes to become commonplace.

Please view full article in Sunday Business Post here: 
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=MEDIA+AND+MARKETING-qqqs=mediaandmarketing-qqqid=51599-qqqx=1.asp

Listen to a podcast of the interview here: http://media.newstalk.ie/podcast/20529/

View the video here (via Siliconrepublic.com): http://www.siliconrepublic.com/video/v/280-iia-annual-congress-colm-g/

View the interview here http://www.siliconrepublic.com/video/v/267-the-future-of-advertising/

The RTÉ Radio Pocket Player is the latest addition to the RTÉ Radio app family. For the first time this free to download RTÉ Radio App offers users all four of our FM services and seven unique RTÉ Digital Radio services.

RTÉ Radio Sales has joined forces with Adforce, Ireland's Mobile Advertising Company, who are on hand to help you work on your campaign and get the most of your advertising on the RTÉ Radio iPhone Apps.

iPhone Application Advertising Rate:
•    Banner Advert Rate €30 CPM (Other formats available on request)
Advertising Specifications:
•    300x50 Pixels - 15kb - Non animated Gif or Jpeg

*Advertising is not available on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta or RTÉ Junior pages within apps

•  Approximately 250,000 iPhones are currently active on Irish networks
• While O2 makes up the highest proportion of iPhone mobile traffic at 35%, 10% of iPhone traffic already comes from Vodafone iPhone devices ahead of the company launching the handset. The remainder of the traffic is made of Wifi access as users often have wifi access at home and in work
• The most popular individual smartphone handset is the Apple iPhone followed by handsets from Nokia’s E and N series and Blackberry’s 8000 series respectively
• iPhone traffic was static between September and November 2009 but increased by 50% in December 2009 versus November.   This is possibly due to O2’s free iPhone offer in advance of the end of its exclusivity deal with Apple for the handset
• Apple traffic on the network is divided at 82% for the iPhone and 18% for the iPod Touch
• Google’s Android system is a new entrant into the Irish market but is making rapid inroads at 0.5% already since the launch of HTC’s Hero handset on Meteor last October
• Peaks and troughs in usage are less pronounced for iPhones than other devices, as people tend to use them far more regularly throughout the day. This reinforces the idea that there are benefits to combining excellent usability with an attractive data tariff.
• The top five handset manufacturers on the network are 1. Nokia  2. Sony Ericsson 3. Research In Motion (Blackberry) 4. Samsung 5. Apple

“There is a lot of hype about the mobile apps gold rush but these figures show that this is truly an exciting time for app developers and the mobile industry.  There is something of a format war for developers that Apple are clearly winning but we note that Google’s Android system is making rapid inroads into the market too.  As more Android handsets become available from different manufacturers this year, it may start to eat into the iPhone’s market share,” added Drohan.

The research also reveals that the iPhone Touch is a notable success as a home internet browser.  DRG’s Managing Director Colm Grealy added “The proportion of users browsing over wifi at home and work explains why manufacturers are rushing out tablet devices.  Mobile internet is now here and the public are increasingly more inclined to go online on these handheld devices.  This means that businesses without a mobile web strategy must look at the medium now or risk being left behind.”

For more information please contact:
Bernice Burnside
Bvisible Communications, 01- 845 2401 or email bernice@bvisible.ie
 
Editors Note
DRG’s Operations Director Gavan Drohan is readily available to comment on the above.  At DRG Drohan manages the team responsible for campaign delivery.  He also curates the company’s statistics on the mobile market, usage and device segmentation.
Prior to DRG Drohan worked with O2 Ireland where he was responsible for establishing O2’s advertising unit in 2007. As part of their new business unit, Gavan was tasked with identifying future areas of revenue growth for O2 in the area of advertising.
Prior to that role Drohan was responsible for the launch of O2’s first smartphones and device product development. Drohan has also worked for Motorola and Amdahl.

24th March 2010

For the first time in Ireland Irish mobile services company, Digital Reach Group (DRG) can reveal the true state of the Irish smartphone market. The research is being uncovered in advance of the launch of the iPhone this week from Vodafone. 
With an advertising network that covers a range of the most popular websites in Ireland, DRG has produced statistical estimates on smartphone market share, usage patterns and the amount of iPhones in circulation. 

DRG’s ad network, known as Adforce, consists of RTE, Vodafone, Meteor and Bebo and served up a total of 80 million ads in seven months reaching over 500,000 people.  “An analysis of the mobile web traffic to our network gives a valid representation of the market share of devices and the usage patterns of users,” said DRG’s Operations Director Gavan Drohan.

The key findings of DRG’s research are:

• Approximately 250,000 iPhones are currently active on Irish networks
• While O2 makes up the highest proportion of iPhone mobile traffic at 35%, 10% of iPhone traffic already comes from Vodafone iPhone devices ahead of the company launching the handset. The remainder of the traffic is made of Wifi access as users often have wifi access at home and in work
• The most popular individual smartphone handset is the Apple iPhone followed by handsets from Nokia’s E and N series and Blackberry’s 8000 series respectively
• iPhone traffic was static between September and November 2009 but increased by 50% in December 2009 versus November.   This is possibly due to O2’s free iPhone offer in advance of the end of its exclusivity deal with Apple for the handset
• Apple traffic on the network is divided at 82% for the iPhone and 18% for the iPod Touch
•  Google’s Android system is a new entrant into the Irish market but is making rapid inroads at 0.5% already since the launch of HTC’s Hero handset on Meteor last October
• Peaks and troughs in usage are less pronounced for iPhones than other devices, as people tend to use them far more regularly throughout the day. This reinforces the idea that there are benefits to combining excellent usability with an attractive data tariff.
• The top five handset manufacturers on the network are 1. Nokia  2. Sony Ericsson 3. Research In Motion (Blackberry) 4. Samsung 5. Apple

“There is a lot of hype about the mobile apps gold rush but these figures show that this is truly an exciting time for app developers and the mobile industry.  There is something of a format war for developers that Apple are clearly winning but we note that Google’s Android system is making rapid inroads into the market too.  As more Android handsets become available from different manufacturers this year, it may start to eat into the iPhone’s market share,” added Drohan.

The research also reveals that the iPhone Touch is a notable success as a home internet browser.  DRG’s Managing Director Colm Grealy added “The proportion of users browsing over wifi at home and work explains why manufacturers are rushing out tablet devices. 

Mobile internet is now here and the public are increasingly more inclined to go online on these handheld devices.  This means that businesses without a mobile web strategy must look at the medium now or risk being left behind.”

For more information please contact:
Bernice Burnside 
Bvisible Communications, 01- 845 2401 or email bernice@bvisible.ie
 

Editors Note

DRG’s Operations Director Gavan Drohan is readily available to comment on the above.  At DRG Drohan manages the team responsible for campaign delivery.  He also curates the company’s statistics on the mobile market, usage and device segmentation. 
Prior to DRG Drohan worked with O2 Ireland where he was responsible for establishing O2’s advertising unit in 2007. As part of their new business unit, Gavan was tasked with identifying future areas of revenue growth for O2 in the area of advertising. 
Prior to that role Drohan was responsible for the launch of O2’s first smartphones and device product development. Drohan has also worked for Motorola and Amdahl.

Colm Grealy, CEO of DRG Group and Adforce said: “These figures demonstrate that interest in mobile media is growing unchecked by the recession as more consumers become mobile web users. Shrinking advertising budgets coupled with the value and precision of mobile web advertising have buoyed industry interest in our technologies and sites, which are some of the most visited mobile Internet sites in Ireland.”
The announcement is made as DRG Group exhibits at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 15th February as part of an Enterprise Ireland delegation. Speaking of the company’s attendance at the event Grealy added: “The potential for mobile to be a driver for investment is immense and it is an honour to be part of the Irish delegation at a very prestigious event on the industry’s calendar. The mobile sector could become a major driver for jobs and investment in Ireland as it continues to rebound against the downturn.”