The UK’s first iPhone app for drinks pre-ordering has been launched by independent coffee shop Urban Coffee Company (UCC).

The app allows consumers to pre-order their teas and coffees, so they are ready by the time they arrive at the shop, therefore cutting down on queueing time. Although cost is one of the main barriers to developing apps, this one was created for the firm for free by a software deve-loper and UCC regular, Scott James Remnant.

"We believe this is the first coffee ordering app in the UK," said UCC founder Simon Jenner. "Our customers are a tech-savvy bunch and, from day one, we’ve used social media such as Twitter to communicate with them. With that in mind, creating an iPhone app seemed like a logical step to take."

In the three weeks following the app becoming available via the iTunes store, 200 users had downloaded it, and over 100 orders had been placed via the app.

l See pages 22-23 for a feature article on apps.