The ABC is the latest broadcast organisaton to expend its radio and content offerings to mobile phones, launching ABC Mobile, a
new site that provides properly sized ABC content to mobile phones.

At a meeting of ABC staff in Sydney, Mark Scott said the new mobile site “brings reliable and up-to-date ABC content directly to mobile phones, and has been developed specifically for mobile phone screen sizes so content is fast to load and easy to navigate.”

Content on the mobile site will include: news, sport and entertainment stories; localised information including weather forecasts and radio schedules; movie reviews and session times; TV guides for ABC1 and ABC2; music news from triple j; and much more.

Scott also announced the launch of an ABC iPhone application and a news application for the new G1 Android handsets. Both applications are available online as free downloads. Coming soon will be a basic Java application for use on all other high end handsets.

In the first 48 hours since its release on Monday the
application jumped into the number 9 spot on the ‘Top Free
Apps’ in the iTunes Apps Store.

He told staff at the launch:

“The ABC is already a leading provider of digital media content in Australia, but we are now delivering even more with this significant move onto the mobile platform. ABC Mobile provides yet another way for Australians to access reliable, quality content wherever and whenever they choose.”

The site has been launched with a text and image service initially to keep data charges low; however users can look forward to ABC video and audio when more content is added to the site later this year.

The site can be accessed at m.abc.net.au from any internet enabled mobile phone browser. Click below to view it on the internet and comment on news mobile technology in this week’s blog.