Verve Wireless, provider of mobile publishing technologies to local media companies, and The Associated Press just announced that together they can now deliver mobile functions for publishers, to facilitate an easy and efficient launch of publishers’ customized mobile application. This branded application is based on the AP mobile platform, which has been downloaded by more than 2.4 million people and has more than 55 million page views a month. Verve Wireless will provide applications compatible with Android, BlackBerry, IPhone, Nokia, Palm Pre and Windows Mobile.

“When we launched the AP Mobile news network, the main objective was to deliver new revenue opportunities for our AP members at the local level. This new solution further supports that mission,” Jeff Litvack, AP’s GM of mobile and emerging products said in the announcement.  “Building an app from scratch is time consuming and costly, there are numerous things to consider, and we want AP member news outlets to leverage what we’ve learned from our experiences with AP Mobile, freeing them to focus on creating compelling editorial content as well as developing new means for advertisers to reach readers.”

The goals of the new service were speed, efficiency and cost restraint, eliminating the time and expense of publisher building, hosting, maintenance and upgrade tasks. Now the vendor can take on the tasks of content presentation, usage metrics and delivery of advertising.

The Verve dashboard offers controls for editors, content creators and staff in advertising, marketing and sales. Advertising options include display ads, electronic messages, interstitial, video and national geo-targeting. The dashboard also offers reports and analytics.

Based in Encinitas, Calif., Verve Wireless, Inc., currently works with over 600 leading media companies from the US, Canada, and Europe including dailies, radio, and local broadcast stations.  Recently named to Forbes “10 Ideas Worth Millions” list, Verve is the 2009 recipient of $3 million in venture funding. The Associated Press is an investor.