AT&T announced a new API platform, which it said offers developers “frictionless access to APIs.” The company is set to enable operator billing in HTML5 apps, enabling web developers to more easily monetise products, as well as launching an HTML5 web storefront later this year to offer “a fresh approach to discovering new apps for customers.”

In a statement, David Christopher, CMO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets (pictured), said: “Applications are one of the primary reasons people buy smartphones and tablets. With that appetite, we need to have the world’s greatest apps – running at their best – on our network.”

API Platform and HTML5 push
Unveiled at its Developer Summit this week, the company said the API Platform will give developers access to the APIs needed for app development in “one convenient place.” It said that when developers start writing apps, the classes and objects needed to interface with services are already written and accessible.

The platform will support in-app billing, and is designed to support HTML5-based apps, as “part of AT&T’s commitment to the advancement of HTML5 technology.” The planned HTML5 App Center will be “more than a short list of categories,” instead being a “magazine-like collection of stories.” Developers can sign-up for the App Center beta through the AT&T developer website.

Application Resource Optimizer
Launched at the event was an “Application Resource Optimiser (ARO),” which is a tool that AT&T said can help applications run faster, use less power and consume bandwidth more efficiently.

Jeff Bradley, SVP of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, said: “ARO tackles a fundamental coding challenge developers face today – finding and fixing performance and power bottlenecks that detract from a great user experience. But even if you’re not a developer, this matters. ARO can help developers create apps that conserve battery life, load pages faster and consume network resources in a smarter way.  This reduces the potential for network congestion and can save customers’ money on their data plans.”

“Developer centric cloud”
Also announced was a “developer centric cloud” product called AT&T Cloud Architect, which was described as an “innovative suite of flexible, integrated cloud services for developers and internet-centric businesses that allows users to build an online business or run an application quickly with low operating costs.”

The platform will support near-real time ordering, provisioning and scaling, in a fully customisable cloud environment, with OS options including various Linux flavours and Windows Server. In future, it will add a full API framework, to enable developers to “fully tap into AT&T’s dynamic cloud.”

Apps for U-verse
AT&T said that it is opening up its U-verse set-top boxes to developers, to enable development of multi-screen apps which interact with the service. Christopher said: “we’re taking the hottest TV product and we’re marrying it with the hottest mobile technology. This will create great opportunities for developers and benefits for our customers.”