AppMakr Lets Devs Circumvent iPhone App Store

PointAbout is an integration services company that focuses on helping businesses better manage their mobile applications. AppMakr is the platform division of PointAbout, and lets the ungifted developers among us create apps with modules and other tools rather than with code.

AppDrop, a new tool from AppMakr, simplifies things even further for the non-technically minded by allowing users to create applications and then push them to iPhones without the need to go through the App Store.

AppMakr explains, "App creators can show off their finished apps to colleagues and friends using AppDrop before publishing on the iTunes App Store. Simply use AppMakr’s UDID app to capture each user’s unique phone ID, then AppDrop will email the user a link to download the app."

Any IT department should see the appeal of AppDrop. Businesses and their partners can develop and distribute applications that cover tasks such as workforce management and field service directly from AppMakr. Businesses can use AppMakr and AppDrop to make applications available to others via their web site, rather than through the App Store.

AppMakr and AppDrop don't require custom coding, so anyone can use them to develop apps quickly. Some of the companies using it include PBS NewsHour, Newsweek Mobile, PGA TOUR tournaments, Harvard Business Review, Maclife, Macworld, and bloggers like Seth Godin and Guy Kawasaki.

"With AppDrop we’re cutting all the clumsy wires and making the process of showing off and testing apps faster and easier," said Isaac Mosquera, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer for AppMakr in a prepared statement. "The headaches of having to drag and drop embedded profiles or messing with provisioning is gone with AppDrop. Now, AppMakr users can focus on making great content for their iPhone apps."

AppMakr recently scored $1 million in funding from VCs such as Mitch Kapor, Transmedia Capital and a handful of others. Right now, it only supports Apple's iPhone, but plans to add support for Android and Windows Phone 7 by the end of the year.

Install your test app using AppDrop! from Daniel R. Odio on Vimeo.