FT app wins award

The Financial Times won an Apple Design Award for its iPad app on Tuesday.

One of only five winners, the FT app was the only news app to be included at the ceremony held at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The Apple Design Awards recognize iPhone and iPad applications that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation, technology adoption, and quality.

The FT iPad app has already proved successful with 150,000 downloads in the first three weeks of launch. The iPad app has also had a positive impact on the bottom line, with 20 percent of all FT.com subscriptions coming through the app in the first weeks of availability.

Rob Grimshaw, managing director of FT.com, said: “We have been delighted by the success of the FT iPad app to date and initial downloads and average session lengths continue to exceed our expectations. The Apple Design Award is the icing on the cake.”

The app is available for free and is integrated into the FT.com access model whereby registered users will have access to 10 free articles a month before having to subscribe. Luxury watchmaker Hublot will continues to sponsor completely free access to FT content through the app until July 31 following free registration.