YPlan has launched its Android app, just under 11 months after the curated listing app initially landed on iOS. Its a long gap but, according to founder and CEO Rytis Vitkauskas, theres a good reason for that.

“iOS and Android are completely different systems,” he told Mobile Marketing. “So, if you want to do it right, you have to develop for each platform natively.”

As a result, YPlan has entirely separate development teams for each OS. This is actually another reason its taken a while to come to Android, as the startup didnt initially have the funds to hire enough staff to support both platforms. So the company looked at device penetration in London – where, against the trend nationwide, there were twice as many iOS devices as Android – and made a decision.

Mobile-only

iOS and Android are currently the only two platforms on which the app is available. YPlan isnt just a mobile-first company – its mobile-only. 

According to Vitkauskas, thats a result of the apps use case. YPlan provides users with same-day event listings in London and, latterly, New York, taken from the companys partners but narrowed down to a maximum of 15 per day by an in-house team, and enables them to buy tickets directly. And people who are looking for something to do with their evening last-minute are probably already out and about. 

“We probably couldnt have existed four of five years ago,” said Vitkauskas. “Honestly, its an idea which Lastminute.com had in 1998, and probably many others have too. But the technology – the mobile internet and the devices themeselves – werent ready, and the venues werent ready. 

“And now, I believe that our execution of this idea would be tough for another company to replicate.”

Looking forward

When asked what the future holds for YPlan, Vitkauskas identified personalisation as a major focus. Listings are currently sorted dynamically by the users location and preferences, but in future YPlan is hoping to leverage the breadth of event organisers it has partnered with – 800 in London alone – in order to present a completely different set of events to each user.

And beyond that? “The vision is to own the last-minute space globally.”

In order to achieve this goal, YPlan will have to grow its listings on a city-by-city basis – Vitkausas hinted at Paris, Los Angeles and San Francisco as the companys next targets – as well as broadening its platform reach. 

“Its important to us that there are no barriers between the user and having a great night out,” said Vitkausas. “So expansion to other platforms, including Windows Phone and BlackBerry, will happen over time. But we have to be smart about where we use our time.”