The popularity of Rob Bell’s ‘NOOMA’ film series has seen Christian publishing company Zondervan develop it into an app.
‘NOOMA’ is a series of short films by Bell, the author of ‘Love Wins,’ which have sold over 2 million copies. The app has been developed for iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system, and Android, Google’s mobile operating system based on the Linux kernel for smartphones.
“Having video content wherever you go and whenever you want it is probably the future, so why not have a NOOMA everywhere you go?” John Raymond, vice president and publisher of curriculum at Zondervan, informed The Grand Rapids Press newspaper.
There are 24 short films in the “NOOMA” series, each about 10 to 14 minutes long, and they blend everyday life with discussion about God. The first film in the series, ‘Rain,’ is free with each download of the new app while the other 23 films can be purchased for $2.99 each.
“The iPad and the iPhone are continuing to set record sales, so that’s definitely the place to be,” Raymond added. “But there are also an enormous number of smartphones being used, plus several new Android platforms available for smartphone and tablets.”
‘NOOMA’ is the first app to have been developed by Zondervan.
“To have ourselves positioned in both platforms is a healthy way to watch how users acquire their content,” Raymond said, before adding the company would look to bring out additional apps once it understands the market better.
“We’re trying to figure out what makes the most sense to an end user,” he said. “Once we’re pretty clear on what that is, that is the direction we’ll go in.”