Grapple Mobile has announced partnerships with 10 European agencies, including Ogilvy, LBi and McCann London, to help them develop high quality cross-platform mobile applications for their clients. Grapple’s platform enables agencies’ existing development teams to write applications in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which is then translated across all major mobile platforms. The app can then be downloaded to any of the leading handsets via an app store or a dedicated URL.

“Clients are aware of the increasing opportunity presented by the mobile channel and are keen to enter this space. However until now it has been a lengthy and expensive process, often only targeting the iPhone audience which offers limited scale” says Jethro Ferguson, head of digital at OgilvyOne. “Grapple’s approach enables us to develop high quality mobile applications for our clients, accessible on all the leading smartphone handsets, quickly and within budget.”

Grapple CEO Alistair Crane says the collaboration makes it possible for top brands to leverage the full reach and scale of mobile applications. “Until now, there has been a blinkered approach to developing apps, with a heavy focus on the iPhone, but in line with the latest impressive app statistics, other platforms such as Nokia and BlackBerry are now being given equal attention and recognition.”

Grapple says it is also in discussions with brands and leading content owners, including major record labels, publishing houses and broadcasters.