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Modo Labs Issues Open Source Framework for Mobile App Jumpstart

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 05/11/11

A company that grew out of friendships formed at MIT has released an open source mobile application framework that can jumpstart an institution's mobile development efforts. Modo Labs, which provides services to help organizations build and support their mobile applications, has placed its Kurogo Mobile Framework version 1.0 into social code site github for free download under the MIT license.

The framework's parentage is MIT's Mobile Framework and m.harvard.edu from Harvard University with contributions from other schools along the way, including the University of North Carolina and the University of Central Florida.

Kurogo-built applications can run on multiple devices through mobile Web. The framework includes these pre-built modules:

• A people directory;
• News/RSS feeds;
• Event calendar;
• Maps;
• Video;
• Emergency;
• Links;
• Statistics;
• About; and
• HTML.

Developers can add functionality to the modules and create new ones. The download package includes support for iPhone and iPad native application development, a Web-based administration console for easy site management, and a developer guide.

"Kurogo represents the next generation in mobile development platforms," said Andrew Yu, CEO of Modo Labs. "By using Kurogo, smaller educational institutions with limited IT resources can immediately benefit from the years of sophisticated code developed at larger universities. Kurogo will help further enable the ever-expanding benefits of mobility as developers at schools and enterprises work collaboratively to convert more online content and functionality for mobile devices."

The company sells an intranet application for secure communications through mobile devices as well as a mobile campus program that includes the framework and extends on its features by adding components for course access, student dining, and transit tracking.

The company said it will release native iOS and Android versions of its programs soon. Details can be found here.