DEMO: Yapper makes it easy for media publishers to build mobile apps

SachManya is one of 70 companies chosen by VentureBeat to launch at the DEMO Fall 2010 event taking place this week in Silicon Valley. After our selection, the companies pay a fee to present. Our coverage of them remains objective.

SachManya, a maker of mobile publishing tools, helps media companies create applications without writing any code. The startup is launching version 2.0 of its mobile app platform, called Yapper, today at DEMO.

Using Yapper, short for Your App Maker, publishers of books, magazines, and newspapers can build a mobile app in just 30 minutes with a visual tool that shows what the app will look like as it’s created. The first version of Yapper focused primarily on republishing RSS feeds as iPhone apps, but Yapper 2.0 allows publishers to build apps for iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and BlackBerrys.

With Yapper 2.0, users can also integrate new app features such as in-app purchases of digital content, push notifications, and user-generated content. Such content is produced through 360News, SachManya’s first product, a citizen journalism platform that allows users to post their own stories and photos online.

Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yapper’s early customers include Palo Alto Online, which is part of Embarcadero Media, and the West Seattle Herald.

Native iPhone apps start at $499, with additional fees for features like user-generated content and push notifications. Creating the same app for Android costs an additional $399. SachManya CEO Chintu Parikh explained that apps for each mobile device have a separate price because Yapper builds each app in its native language, a requirement of some mobile-device platform makers.

Founded in 2009, SachManya is currently in conversation with potential investors.

Getting content noticed is a challenge for everyone making apps. We’ll cover the topic at DiscoveryBeat 2010. Startups and big companies alike should consider entering our Needle in the Haystack discovery business idea competition. Early bird discounts are available until September 15. Sponsors can contact us at sponsors@venturebeat.com. To buy tickets, click on this link.

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