Infinite Monkeys Press Release April 27, 2011

Infinite Monkeys Launches App Creation Platform to Help Niche Communities Affordably Create and Launch Their Own Mobile Apps

Tool Aggregates Dynamic Content from Around the Internet into a Single Mobile-Accessible Location; Freemium Model Ensures That Building Apps is Available to Groups of Every Size and Budget

SAN FRANCISCO - April 27, 2011 - Infinite Monkeys, a new mobile app company dedicated to revolutionizing the application development market with app development tools for niche communities and small businesses, announced today the global availability of its self-service app creation software.

Infinite Monkeys’ new web-based tool allows anyone representing a niche community of any size or budget to build their own fully-functioning mobile social networking app. They can then share it with anyone with a smartphone and a browser, or via one of the several different app marketplaces servicing the iPhone & Android platforms.

Users can build their apps via Infinite Monkeys’ web-based GUI, aggregating content from a variety of news, social networking and shopping sites around the Internet, such as Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and many more.

According to co-founder and CEO Jay Shapiro, Infinite Monkeys designed its tool to help real-world niche communities such as school associations, sports teams, churches, musicians and restaurants to bring their fans and members together, sharing the content they are mutually passionate about through a simple,  single mobile app interface.

He and co-founder David Hoare see the Infinite Monkeys strategy as unique in the mobile apps industry.  “Most of the headlines you read in the mobile apps industry today are about companies going after the big hit. Everyone wants to be the next Angry Birds. We’re going in a completely different direction. By moving way down the long-tail of niche communities, we can service more groups with the content and features that are specifically relevant to them,” said Hoare.

Infinite Monkeys is launching at a time when both global mobile-web usage and app usage is dramatically on the rise.  Recent statistics from the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) show that there were more than one billion active mobile web surfers worldwide as of 2010, and that mobile Internet usage is on the path to overtake desktop usage by 2014.  In the Android space alone, Google reported that during Q1-2011, 350,000 new Android phones were activated each day. As a result, companies and groups are looking for ways to affordably develop their own apps to reach their key audiences effectively.  IDC reported that as of 2010, more than 300,000 apps had been placed in the market. Google’s own numbers show that as of Q1-2011,  three billion apps had been downloaded from its Android market, a figure 50 percent higher than the previous quarter (Q4-2010). Predictions for continued app growth remain strong, as IDC expects to see total mobile app downloads reach 77 billion by 2014, topping a market value of over US $35 billion.

“Much like the early days of the web,  the cost of people building their own mobile app has been simply out of reach for most small groups or businesses” said Shapiro.  “We’re changing all that by making it easy and economical for any local community to bring its fans together through mobile, without any technical expertise, and for as low of a cost as possible.”

Infinite Monkeys offers its app platform in three models:

• Using Infinite Monkeys online GUI, any community can build a mobile web-based app free of charge and make it available to any community member with a web browser and a smartphone.

• Users interested in making their app available natively on the iPhone and/or Android platforms can do so for a $49 one time fee, or $69 for both platforms.  Infinite Monkeys will soon be expanding its app platform to include: Blackberry, iPad, Windows Mobile 7 and others. Each platform will be available for an additional $19, and any community members who use the app on any platform will be able to communicate with other members using the same app on another platform.

• The company is also offering a Pro Version of the app creation tool for a one-time fee of $499. Ideal for small-businesses, the Pro Version is both ad-free and (if they wish) allows the creator to insert their own advertising & affiliate links.

End users can always download any of the apps free of charge.

While the product can be used for any community with a message, the Infinite Monkeys team is initially focusing on a few key industries with targeted versions of its apps under the brand “FANtastic.”  These initial app verticals include: FANtastic4Bands, FANtastic4teams, FANtastic4restaurants and FANtastic4churches, each featuring specific content links that match that market’s specific requirements, such as restaurant reviews and reservation systems for restaurants.

When building an app, each community representative is ultimately responsible for choosing which functions they want included in their app, but they can select from Infinite Monkeys’ extensive list, including:

1. Twitter feeds/lists
2. Blog feeds (from/about the community)
3. Real-time news feeds
4. Photo sharing
5. Streaming Videos
6. Live chat rooms for community members only
7. click-to-call phone contact lists for important community numbers
8. Shared calendars of upcoming events
9. Community sourced reviews (for restaurants/bars)
10. Shopping links to interesting / recommended products

Infinite Monkeys is launching to the market with 500 fan communities’ apps already built, and plans to launch another 200 apps in the next 30 days. Each community’s app features the content and graphic styles designed to specifically fit their niche tribe.

According to Shapiro,  “There is a quiet revolution going on in the mobile app space. Just like the transformation the web went through, we are going to see apps change from a corporate broadcast medium, into a meaningful and accessible tool for niche interest communities to facilitate interactions. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be in this space.”

To find out more about Infinite Monkeys and view the company’s free self-service mobile app platform, visit www.InfiniteMonkeys.mobi.  Aspiring niche community app developers can also sign up to request an invite to the company’s initial limited closed beta at: http://bit.ly/join-the-beta

The Infinite Monkeys team can also be seen April 27 - 28, 2011 launching the product, exhibiting and speaking at the second annual APPNATION Conference, hosted in San Francisco’s Moscone Center.  

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ABOUT INFINITE MONKEYS
Infinite Monkeys was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Jay Shapiro along with business partners David Hoare and Dane Johnson.  Shapiro is the former CEO of the award-winning digital marketing firm BLUE, a company he founded in 1999 and grew to a global powerhouse with offices across three continents before selling to the WPP Group in 2007.   BLUE was awarded the coveted “Agency of the Year” award in 2009 by Marketing Magazine.

Infinite Monkeys has launched a web-based platform that allows the general public to create  mobile apps for the niche communities that they are passionate about. By servicing the long-tail of niche interests with free apps, Infinite Monkeys aims to be the largest publisher, by volume of titles, on the iPhone and Android markets by the end of 2012.

Media Contacts:
Jay Shapiro
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
tel: +1(650)200-3984

Wendy Pearson
Wendy (at) InfiniteMonkeys.mobi
tel: +1(303)-808-6720