The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is deploying iPhones and iPads to its field reporters and also developing its own app to allow them to use them within its own reporting system. The app will enable reporters to not only upload audio and stills but also broadcast live using only a 3G signal if needed.

Martin Turner, head of operations for newsgathering, told Journalism.co.uk the app was "a logical extension of what the BBC can do already" but added that it was a "significant development". "Reporters have been using smart phones for a while now but it was never good quality. You might do it when there was a really important story. "Now it is beginning to be a realistic possibility to use iPhones and other devices for live reporting, and in the end if you've got someone on the scene then you want to be able to use them.”That capability is a really important one."

This is a major coup for Apple and one we are sure to hear about in future Apple keynotes. Now all the BBC need is an iPhone with a slightly better camera and dare we say LTE or HSPA+. Then it will really have a viable system. Roll on iPhone 5!

[Journalism]