Stuttgart, 6 December 2011 – The joint mobile publishing project of Deutsche Post and GFT Technologies AG unveiled its first results this weekend at the SPD Party Conference in Berlin. On Monday delegates were able to download the membership magazine as an app onto their mobile devices. The new app of Berlin-based publisher “vorwärts” utilises a new full-service offer of Deutsche Post, which transforms the editorial content of publishers and companies into mobile-compatible formats. The unique feature of the ContentConverter solution is that it converts content automatically and in a way that makes it suitable for almost every type of mobile device – irrespective of the platform used. This fast and low-cost service gives pub-lishers the chance to prepare their publications according to the respective media and make them available for mobile usage.

“Adapting content for mobile devices – regardless of whether it’s a smartphone or tablet PC running on the Apple or Android platform – is a complex task which we have solved with the new ContentConverter,” says Lutz Glandt, Member of the Divisional Board MAIL Germany of the Deutsche Post DHL Group and responsible for the Media Services division.

The division developed the business model with the support of GFT’s mobile experts, who also im-plemented the technical solution: a ContentConverter designed to transfer print products onto mobile devices. “The ContentConverter has enabled us to do something which previously seemed impossi-ble,” stresses Ulrich Dietz, CEO and founder of GFT Technologies AG.: “We have created an auto-matic system which quickly, simply and perfectly adapts the print version layout to the respective end-user device and at the same time integrates an easy-to-use payment solution.“

Deutsche Post’s publishing service concept fills a gap in the market: whereas large publishing com-panies have their own teams to convert print pages for mobile users, smaller companies previously faced considerable cost and resource problems. Creating mobile pages in the form of apps used to be time-consuming and expensive, as the respective app had to be programmed separately for each mobile platform. Deutsche Post’s new service has now changed all that.

After setting up the so-called activation process at the publishing company’s facility, the German postal service provider loads the publisher’s data onto a server at its data centre. ContentConverter then transforms the content information into mobile pages – using the publication’s design and the look and feel of the respective user interface. It also enables the editor to fine-tune content and then re-leases the app ready for its mobile use.

This simple process is based on the idea of standardising the procedure for converting content layout and design by using rules, styles and templates so that it can run automatically. The challenge for the developers was to cover every form of content provision for mobile end-user devices – irrespective of whether the user loads the app onto a smartphone or tablet PC, which font size he chooses or which format he selects. The result of the development is a hybrid app using a combination of HTML5 and other software components. This means the app works on virtually every mobile platform.

In addition to Smart Layout, further features were developed to make the publisher’s mobile content even more attractive than the print version: for example, by integrating multimedia content into the app, such as 360-degree panorama pictures or photo galleries. Future plans include the integration of social media functions, innovative mobile advertising solutions, and a general app store model which enables users to download magazine or newsletter apps from various stores.

“ContentConverter also offers small publishers new possibilities to market their content using digital business models,” states GFT’s CEO Ulrich Dietz, underlining the importance of Deutsche Post’s full-service concept.