Kickstarter has been a huge booster for the iOS device ecosystem, and now it’s joining it. On Thursday, the crowdfunding company announced its first iOS app, for the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s free and on the App Store now.
On the Kickstarter company blog, the site’s three co-founders said when translating the Kickstarter web site to a smaller screen they decided to highlight three specific aspects of the service: searching for new projects, keeping up to date with the ones you are backing, and tools for project creators.
The app includes some handy mobile features, like push notifications for backers to let you know if Facebook friends have backed any of the same projects as you. For creators, there’s an option to turn on notifications so they can see new pledges in real-time. They also get a project dashboard and the ability to take photos and videos with their device and upload them as updates for the backers to see the project’s progress.
There’s no word on an iPad app or an Android version yet. But it’s clear why Kickstarter is starting to make the move to mobile: it’s where and how a lot of people do their shopping these days.
Last year was Kickstarter’s most successful year yet. As of December 2012, project backers had pledged $ 378 million to more than 34,000 successful campaigns on the site.
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