Aptus Consultants

According to FT they have had 140,000 downloads of iPhone app since August

The publisher will also introduce a pay wall to its mobile site for the first time, to bring it into line with its wider digital strategy. New products including markets data and portfolio information will be added to the site.

The overhaul of the iPhone app, due to be released next month, will allow readers to subscribe to the service from within the app itself. Currently people are directed to a website which isn’t mobile enabled.

It’s the first significant revamp of the app, developed by Wall Street On Demand, since it launched in August.

Stephen Pinches, lead product development manager for the FT, said the aim was to make the subscription process seamless. “The new version will integrate sign-up pages to make it much easier to subscribe,” he said. “We want to offer anyone who has downloaded the app a simple way to get an FT subscription.”

Other updates include close integration with social networks Twitter and Facebook.

Pinches is looking for an agency to develop the BlackBerry app, which will contain extra features to target the handset’s business users. It’s expected to launch next year.

Rival news provider Reuters has launched an Android app and is planning to build on its existing free News Pro iPhone app with a range of paid-for apps.

Alisa Bowen, head of consumer publishing for Thomson Reuters, said, “We’ve decided to launch consumer products and will charge for them on the iPhone. Servicing the needs of the mobile business professional is critical. If we don’t we won’t have a business.”