Speaking during the firm's sixth annual Developer Summit, AT&T CMO David Christopher detailed the carriers new API platform for HTML5 web apps, designed to run across multiple devices and operating systems.

According to AT&T's projections, 85 percent of all smartphones will sport HTML5 browsers by 2016, and AT&T is looking to make its mark in the market with its new API catalogue, boasting 130 individual APIs across 14 distinct categories.

Multiple carriers

The firm's grand idea is to deliver a web-based app marketplace that's both easy for developers to plug into, and capable of competing with the native stores currently dominating the mobile scene.

As such, among the range of new features enabled by the APIs is the ability to utilise automated sign ups to use APIs in minutes, as well as wrappers for Ruby, PHP and Java and plenty of sample code in Github.

The HTML5 web apps that result can then be deployed in AppCenter - the firm's new web-based application store front, due to go live later in 2012, but available for developers now in beta form via AT&T's website.

Christopher was keen to stress the platform has been conceived form HTML5 studios working across multiple carriers, however, and won't be tied to AT&T.

Lure of Azure

In addition, AT&T is to collaborate with the likes of Appcelerator, appMobi, Sencha and Microsoft in a bid to boost adoption of the firm's new APIs, with the latter set to push the apps through its cloud-based web app platform Windows Azure.

Also expected to arrive later in 2012 are APIs focused on features such as music, speech, advertising, message management, contacts, storage, user content management and more advanced payment features, among others.

Developers interested in tapping into AT&T's API library can gain unlimited access throughout 2012 for a fee of $99.

For a full description of what to expect from the new API catalogue, check out the AT&T website.



[source: 9to5Mac]