Paddy Power iPad app gallops to victory at The Appys 2014
The Paddy Power iPad App beat off very strong competition to be crowned Grand Prix winner of The Appys 2014.
“The Grand Prix was awarded to the Paddy Power iPad App because the judges felt its design, functionality and the thought that went into its development raises the bar in terms of app development,” says says Des Doris, event organiser.
The Appys, now in its fifth year, is an awards programme that recognises the very best in Irish app development and design.
Other gold winners on the night included the Official Wild Atlantic Way app, developed by Redwind Software for Fáilte Ireland; The Nutricia Dietetic app, developed by Arekibo for Suzanne Roche which won the Best Medical app category; Planet Munchie developed by MR Productions, won the best Children’s app category; and Red Bull Cliff Diving for the Oculus Rift, developed by ZOO Digital won the Best Virtual Reality App category.
The winner of the GSK App-challenge 2014, a competition to uncover great app ideas, run in conjunction with The Appys is PocketCoach, an app that aims to revolutionise the way people who ride their bikes regularly, and who also ride leisure events, train, get fitter and become stronger.
“The apps that entered this year’s competition were a revelation,” says Stephen Conmy, event organiser. “The standard of app development, since this awards show began five years ago, has risen dramatically.
“Apps are the largest part of the mobile web. 60% of the time spent on the web is now by people doing so with a mobile device. And of those accessing the Internet, 52% are now doing so through an app rather than a website, which is a 40% increase from 2013.”*
There are now over two million apps available to download from the Apple, Google and Windows app stores. Incredible, considering the iPhone is just over seven years old and the app industry in its own right really only came into force five years ago.
The Appys 2014 was held at the Waterways Centre in Dublin’s Grand Canal Dock. The event was sponsored by GSK, The Code Institute, Code First, ProductFitter.com and Uber. .
*Figures from ComScore
The Gold winners of The Appys 2014
Most Useful Consumer App: The Official Wild Atlantic Way app
Most Useful Business App: The Pryz Manor
Best Travel & Tourism App: The Official Wild Atlantic Way app
Best Sports App: The Paddy Power iPad App
Best Educational App: Appy Reading with Tootie- The Multilingual Kids App
Best News & Media App: BreakingNews.ie
Best Entertainment App: RTÉ News Now
Best App for a Live Experience (event and/or festival): Eventbrite
Best Tablet App: The Paddy Power iPad App
Best Gaming App: The Pryz Manor
Best Food App: Official Domino’s Pizza App
Best Medical App: The Nutricia Dietetic App
Best Lifestyle App: Adverts.ie
Best Financial Services App: AIB Tablet Banking
Best Children’s App: Planet Munchie
Best Productivity App (Most Useful App): Sky Service App
Best TV App: 3Player App on Xbox Live for Xbox 360
Best Virtual Reality App (eg: Apps for Oculus Rift): Red Bull Cliff Diving Oculus Rift
Best Web App: Hive Active Heating
Best Branded App: Bank of Ireland Tablet App
