Evening Standard to launch mobile app

The London Evening Standard is set to roll out a new mobile application later this month.

The app, which will be compatible with most major smartphones, will link the title’s content with social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

Users will also be able to customise the app to see their favourite news stories and features using a “My Feeds” tab.

The US mobile company Handmark has developed the Standard‘s app to refresh automatically, although users will also have the option to read articles offline.

Tim Smith, the Standard‘s general manager of digital, said: “Our goal is to deliver our readers a quality extension to their reading experience when they don’t have immediate access to the paper or the London Evening Standard website.

“Handmark has not only helped us to build a fantastic mobile application, but they have been a key partner in outlining a long-term mobile strategy for keeping our mobile customers engaged and informed on the go.”

Handmark plans to run a demo of the new Evening Standard app at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Paul Reddick, CEO of Handmark, said: “The London Evening Standard has proven its leadership as one of the most trusted, widely read newspapers by Londoners with a fresh, forward-looking approach.  We are excited to support the next revolution of reading for their customers, making their content more relevant and more accessible than ever before.”

Last week, the London Evening Standard also launched a Kindle edition of the title in the US.

E-book users can now sign up to receive electronic copies of the Standard via wireless for $9.99 a month.

Last week’s ABC release showed that the London Evening Standard distributed around 601,960 copies in January, down slightly on December.

The title’s owner Alexander Lebedev is currently in exclusive talks with Independent News & Media about the sale of the Independent and Independent on Sunday.