The New York Times Leap Motion app: for all the news that's fit for gestures (video)
Few of us reading the morning news enjoy putting our greasy hands on a tablet or newspaper just to flip through articles. With the newly unveiled New York Times app for the Leap Motion Controller, we won't have to. The release lets news hounds navigate stories (and ads) through a unique interface optimized for touch-free gestures. Both Mac and Windows versions of the NYT app will be available in the Airspace store on July 22nd, the same day Leap Motion ships to customers. More importantly, the app will be free -- at least at launch, readers won't run into the usual paywall. If the prospect of contact-free news has you intrigued, there's a video demo available after the break.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES LAUNCHES NEWS APP FOR LEAP MOTIONTM
NEW YORK, July 18, 2013 – The New York Times (NYTimes.com) announced today that it will launch a news app for Leap Motion (leapmotion.com), which delivers Top News articles to users on Leap MotionTM Controllers.
Beginning July 22, the day Leap Motion Controllers begin arriving around the world, Leap Motion users will be able to download The New York Times app from AirspaceTM Store, Leap Motion's app store. The Times will be the only branded news app available to Leap Motion users at the time of the product's launch.
The lightweight app features a continuously updated Top News feed where articles appear in card format. Each card displays the article headline, summary and the primary corresponding image.
The Leap Motion Controller works with OSX 10.7 and 10.8, and Windows 7 and 8, laptops and desktops. The New York Times application will be free to download and will not require a digital subscription for access to content at launch.
Users can navigate Top News by moving their hand left and right above the device. Tapping on an article flips the article card over to reveal the full story. Users can scroll up and down using a circular motion and can move from article to article by swiping. To return to Top News, the user shakes their hand.
The app also features advertising capabilities that allow brands to connect with New York Times readers using motion-controlled ad units embedded as cards between articles.
"Leap Motion's groundbreaking touch-free technology allows users to navigate and explore New York Times content in a brand new way," said Denise Warren, executive vice president, Digital Products and Services Group, The New York Times. "This preliminary app is a first step. We look forward to exploring other ways to deliver our world-class journalism to the growing Leap Motion customer base as we continue this ongoing collaboration."
The New York Times app for the Leap Motion Controller was developed by The New York Times Idea Lab.
Leap Motion was the recipient of the SXSW 2013 Breakout Digital Trend Award. Its Leap Motion Controller has been pre-ordered by hundreds of thousands of users around the world and will be available at Best Buy stores across the US starting July 28. Later this year, the Leap Motion technology and Airspace will come embedded in select HP devices.
