Telerik, the market-leading provider of end-to-end solutions for application development, automated testing, agile project management, reporting, and content management across all major development platforms, recently announced a significant update to Icenium, the industry’s first Integrated Cloud Environment (ICE) that reinvents cross-platform mobile development.

With this development, Telerik has now become the first to offer a cloud-based Apache Cordova build service that provides developers who use HTML5 and JavaScript for hybrid mobile app development with unlimited access to the full spectrum of native APIs available on mobile devices, such as in-app purchase and Bluetooth APIs.

Hybrid mobile apps built using HTML5/JavaScript and packaged with Apache Cordova (also known as PhoneGap by Adobe) rely heavily on plug-ins to expose additional device capabilities to an app’s JavaScript code. Previously, cloud-based Cordova build services have been limited to a few curated plug-ins. Now, developers can upload and use any Cordova plug-in within Icenium, and have unlimited access to device APIs and capabilities — along with the convenience of cloud-based, cross-platform Cordova builds.

Icenium’s latest release saves developers valuable time by enabling them to add custom functionality to their apps in minutes, instead of forcing them to hack it. Now, with the ability to upload and use any Cordova plug-in within Icenium, developers have unlimited access to device APIs and capabilities, along with the convenience of cloud-based, cross-platform Cordova builds.

“Today’s news is a huge step forward for hybrid mobile developers seeking cloud-powered productivity,” said Todd Anglin, EVP Cross-Platform Tools and Services at Telerik. “Until now, developers were forced to choose between time-saving, cloud-based Cordova builds and the ability to use custom plug-ins for projects. Now, with Icenium raising the bar, there are no more trade-offs. We are excited to be the first in the industry to combine the convenience of the cloud with the power to use any Cordova plug-in.”

In addition, here comes the Icenium Everlive, a new integrated backend-as-a-service (BaaS) offering that enhances its JavaScript SDK with built-in PhoneGap support for push notifications. This update expands developers’ ability to send targeted push notifications via Apple, Google or Microsoft notification services.

The last update of Icenium came in May this year that included Everlive project templates that automatically provision the cloud back-end service, Data navigator, Cloud code to execute business logic and validations without replication, and Kendo UI DataViz that creates rich HTML5 charts and gauges that can be easily embedded in hybrid mobile apps.