Over the past few weeks we have been beta testing an Android App that gives access to the UK Theatre Web listings and SeatChoice ticket information of which we’re so proud.

A number of people downloaded and tried out the app and their feedback, plus local user testing and evaluation, has now all been applied to our first proper release.

To get the app, search for UKTW in the Android Marketplace … the UKTW app web page is here.

Please note that if you were one of the people who downloaded a beta version of the app then you will need to uninstall that old one and then install the new one – all future updates will, however, happen in the usual way through the Android Marketplace.

So what is the purpose of this app?

Well, the app allows you to search for “what’s on” information across the UK, drill down for details, check (or add) reviews and find ticket suppliers.

On the opening screen, the app will allow you to directly go to two cities (which you can set) or do a city-based search – you can also do a keyword search if you’re looking for a tour such as Dirty Dancing. There’s also a news scroller.

The search results (city or keyword) are presented in a scrollable list and clicking on an entry pulls up its details including tabs for;

• Show information; basic details, dates and times, reviews etc
• Venue Information; basic details, seating plan and map if available, and archive
• Dates information; tour dates, signed and audio described performances,
• Tickets; links to tickets from STAR (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers) supplier websites and or direct dial information … where we don’t know of tickets we endeavour to provide appropriate contact details

The app takes advantage of a local database of basic venue and show listings which allows it to search very quickly for basic information, even if off-line, and then fill in more detailed sections by contacting the SeatChoice server.

We are also slowly adding archive search capabilities to the system to enable our extensive information based to be searched – at present this is fairly basic but eventually will include the full capabilities and content of Arts Archive, the UKTW archive website.