TAKEAWAY: Two of Al Nisr Publishing/Gulf News magazine titles have launched iPad apps. Some good, rich content here enhanced to fit the potential of the tablet.
Yesterday I spent the morning conducting a workshop about tablet creation and development for the talented team of Al Nisr Publishing/Gulf News
here in Dubai.
It was an enthusiastic group in charge of producing a variety of magazine titles dealing with everything from automobiles to lifestyle and real estate.
Two of the titles have launched iPad editions in the last month: Aquarius and Alpha.
Aquarius is a monthly geared to women, and now that I have downloaded the app, I can say that this is a vibrant, energetic, easy to use and pop up ready app. If this is the beginning, I can only imagine how good the Aquarius iPad app will get.
Fashion is the key here, and several interesting pop up moments allow the user to, for example, check what style sunglasses go with a specific face shape.
You are invited to download it and take a look here:
http://itunes.apple.com/ph/app/aquarius-magazine/id490937947?mt=8
Complete story:
http://gulfnews.com/business/media-marketing/gn-magazines-launches-apps-for-aquarius-alpha-1.981404
Alpha: the magazine for men
The second app launched from the group is Alpha, whose content is oriented towards a young male audience.
Here again, the team has provided this tablet edition with rich content, just the right number of pop up moments, and, especially, very good use of the tablet potential for its fitness section, where one can see the fitness instructor taking us through an exercise routine via video. Can’t get better than that.
More titles from the group are likely to launch iPad apps in the next few months.
The team members for both these publications tells me that the launch of their iPad editions has gone smoothly, and that the learning curve is high.
Download Alpha app here: http://itunes.apple.com/mg/app/alpha.-select/id498852553?mt=8&utm_source=page&utm_medium=internal&utm_campaign=app
“The launch of our digital publishing strategy is a milestone for the group and the first step towards ensuring our magazine brands are available to readers in their medium of choice. The digital applications add a new and exciting dimension to the print content, offering media-rich experiences and high levels of user interactivity. ” said Adrian Pickstock, Publishing Director of GN Magazines.
Pickstock said the group intends to launch applications for all its titles over the next few months, dovetailing with roll-outs across other mediums including online and mobile.
The world’s best designed newspapers
It is that time of the year again when the Society of News Design (SND) gathers a group of judges at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse of Public Communications, to select that they think are the best designed newspapers in the world.
Five newspapers have made the cut, and you can read all about it here:
http://www.snd.org/2012/02/worlds-best-designed-newspaper-snd3/