TELUS and mPortal team up to launch App House for smartphone users
Branded mobile application discovery portal simplifies and enhances the mobile application discovery experience
McLean, VA – October 10, 2011 – mPortal Inc. and Canadian telecommunications firm TELUS have launched TELUS App House, a new application-discovery portal on mobile devices that simplifies and enhances the mobile application discovery experience for TELUS smartphone customers.
mPortal is a global leader in connected-device experiences across mobile, tablet and smart-TV platforms. TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services including data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, entertainment and video.
TELUS selected mPortal to power TELUS App House using mPortal’s SPRINGBOARD product suite. SPRINGBOARD is a cloud-based connected-device experience platform that makes it easy for mobile operators to provide compelling discovery solutions across mobile device platforms, including iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7. SPRINGBOARD includes a Smart Client that can be operator-branded. It provides subscribers with an intuitive way to find,download and launch applications and services. It also includes a carrier-grade server that handles the ingestion and distribution of content. mPortal offers SPRINGBOARD as a cloud-based managed service to make it easier for the mobile operators to focus on their core business while letting mPortal handle the day-to-day complexities.
“The first thing a smartphone subscriber asks when buying a new device is, ‘What apps should I download?’” says DP Venkatesh, chief executive officer of mPortal. “The various app stores have a lot to offer, but can be intimidating if you don’t know what you are looking for.”
TELUS App House is a “simple and easy way for subscribers to get started and continue to download and use relevant applications on their device,” he says.
Judy Mellett, TELUS director of product and services, observes that there are thousands of application choices. Many people dislike the resulting “complexity of discovering mobile content and application,” she says. It is becoming “more and more difficult to find quality apps that provide our customers with real utility and value to improve their smartphone experience.”
TELUS App House solves these problems, Mellet says. It gives “direct access on your device’s home screen to best-in-class applications, including TELUS branded apps, popular applications based on market trends, and other relevant and compelling services.”
She adds, “Customer experience is important to us. We feel that the TELUS App House is definitely going to help our customers enjoy the best applications available on Canada’s fastest coast-to-coast 4G network*. ”
TELUS App House is now available on some BlackBerry devices. It will be coming soon to iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone 7.
TELUS App House will be preloaded on most TELUS devices in the future in order to maintain a consistent brand experience and a familiar way for subscribers to stay connected to the TELUS experience.
*Based on TELUS' tests of data throughput speeds in large Canadian urban centres available from national HSPA+ service providers.
About mPortal
mPortal Inc., founded in 2000, enables user experiences for mobile content and applications across various connected devices such as mobile phones, tablets, TVs and other internet-enabled devices. Its offerings are targeted towards consumer and enterprise customers of mobile operators, cable operators, content providers and device manufacturers. mPortal provides its customers with solutions that address the discovery, delivery and monetization of content and applications across the entire ecosystem of connected devices.
mPortal customers have included some of the world’s leading companies such as AOL, Comcast, Cricket Communications, Cox Communications, Disney Mobile, Mobile ESPN, Reliance Infocomm, TV Guide, Verizon Wireless and XEROX. For more information, visit www.mportal.com. (SPRINGBOARD™ is a registered trademark of mPortal Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.)
About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, T.A; NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.1 billion in annual revenue. It services 12.4 million customer connections including 7.1 million wireless subscribers, 3.7 million wireline network- access lines and 1.2 million internet subscribers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO Darren Entwistle , TELUS also has more than 400,000 TV customers.
In support of its philosophy to “give where we live,” TELUS was honored to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. It is the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.
By year-end 2011, TELUS team members and retirees will have contributed $245 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations. They have volunteered 4.1 million hours of service to local communities.
For more information about TELUS, visit www.telus.com.
