The week following Getty Images' exit from the New York Stock Exchange sees a second major announcement from the industry leader, which now delivers imagery to celebrity-hounds via Apple iPhone and iPod touch. The new JAMD Mobile application is joining others available at the new Apple App Store, a built-in feature of the portable product line, as well as the online interface of the iTunes software.
Launched July 10, the Apple App Store features 500 third-party applications ranging from games, entertainment and social networking to business, education and fitness. About one-quarter of these are free, as is JAMD Mobile, while Mobile Flickr and others are sold at varying amounts, typically a couple of dollars each.
The launch version of JAMD Mobile offers three image feeds and a search function. Feeds display featured, breaking or most-popular images and news items. Apple's Multi-Touch user interface supports pinching, stretching, swiping, stacking, sorting and emailing images. Getty plans to introduce additional features, such as customized stacks and favorites, to encourage engagement with images.
Bruce Livingston, senior vice president of Getty's consumer division, told Selling Stock that the app was designed to be fun, offering richness and immediacy. "This is a truly new way to play with photos and satisfies our insatiable appetites for the coolest shots of the celebs, sports stars and news figures who capture our imaginations," he said.
The launch illuminates Getty Images' plans for its future in the consumer image market. In January, Steve Jobs said that the company had sold 4 million units in 200 days.
It is difficult to predict how JAMD Mobile will stack up against the inevitable entry of other brands, though it already has one distinct advantage. It is the first and only result of a search for "celebrity." Getty also sees another plus: While typical entertainment Web sites only offer a few snapshots, the stock-licensing giant streams thousands per day, offering the truly addicted a real-time fix.
JAMD Mobile evolved out of Getty Images' consumer Web site by the same name, which was preceded by ViewImages. Traffic statistics from Alexa Internet show JAMD steadily climbing in reach, up over 60% during the last three months. While still far behind the online version of People, JAMD is already nipping at the heels of glam.com, which claims to the top online destination for women, reaching 64 million unique visitors.
Even more interesting is that ViewImages, which Alexa ranks as having surpassed Glam Media and even the more popular Hollywood.com, appears to be no more. The traffic of that site now redirects to JAMD; Â people.com's reach has dropped by 33% since early May.
The online property is supported by advertising, and JAMD Mobile will be available for third-party licensing. "We are talking to a number of media companies regarding offering a plug-and-play solution, which combines our technology and content of both the Web site and the mobile app," said Catherine Gluckstein, Getty vice president, consumer markets.