NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - July 8, 2010) - Popular Mechanics magazine, a leader in hands-on coverage of personal technology, science, cars and home improvement, has just released its first application for the iPad. Available in Apple's app store today for $1.99, this application is an augmented experience, complete with embedded video, 3-D building plans, interactive animations, and more. This first Popular Mechanics app is not a complete issue of the magazine; it is a showcase for what will be produced monthly starting later this year.
While Hearst Magazines, which publishes Popular Mechanics, has several iPhone applications in the marketplace and digital editions of all of its titles available on the iPad through Zinio, the Popular Mechanics iPad app is the first of several magazine-specific applications to be released by the end of this year and into 2011.
"Popular Mechanics lives in the tech world, so we really wanted to examine what's already in the market in order to do ours right," notes Jim Meigs, editor-in-chief. "While our first app is mainly a test issue to see how PM translates to the iPad, we believe our readers and the technologically curious will be entertained and informed by what we've created."
The Popular Mechanics showcase app combines the best of the magazine's content and iPad functionality. The articles in the app have been augmented for the new platform. Some highlights include:
- An interactive Earthquake Tracker, complete with the latest seismic data
- An animated, step-by-step demonstration to accompany a piece on building a tool-charging station
- An animated illustration of an extreme free fall without a parachute to accompany the story "The Man in the Black Flying Suit"
The first app, now available, has been designed to show off the capabilities of the technology while providing a new Popular Mechanics experience. By the end of the year, the monthly magazine will be available on the iPad platform at approximately the same time the print issue reaches newsstands each month. Pricing for the monthly iPad edition has not yet been determined.
Completely conceived and designed in-house by the same editorial and design team that produces the print magazine, and built by Hearst's in-house developers, the app will provide a road map for other Hearst Magazines titles that will launch iPad apps in the next several months.
"It's an exciting time to be experimenting with new digital expressions for our brands," said Chris Wilkes, VP, digital editions & audience development for Hearst Magazines Digital Media. "We have Web sites, mobile sites, utility apps that are both free and paid, digital replica editions of our magazines -- and now we're adding these enhanced presentations of our brands that are based on our magazine content but are reimagined specifically for tablets. A big part of the business value for these projects is the experience itself."
For Popular Mechanics, it was important that the app retain a similar look and feel to the print magazine, even while the editorial staff reworked the typeface and layout. Plus, the added functionality of the app is of a practical nature: quotes, photos, articles or parts of articles can be copied and e-mailed or posted to a user's Facebook page or Twitter account instantly. The magazine's contents are easily navigable by article title or category from anywhere in the issue, pages can be bookmarked, and a live newsfeed pulls in the latest headlines from PopularMechanics.com.
Advertising is also integrated into the app, including both static ads and ones that include embedded video and live links. A mini browser is housed within the app, making it easy to return to the magazine after linking to a featured product.
To view a video demo of the new Popular Mechanics iPad app, visit PopularMechanics.com.
About Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics, published monthly by Hearst Magazines, inspires, instructs and influences almost nine million curious readers. Their mindset - the hunger to know, the desire to investigate and learn - drives them to explore, experiment and experience a wide range of interests. Issues engage readers with breakthroughs in the latest innovations in science and technology; educates with informative "how-to" stories on automotive, the home and digital technology; and motivates action with product reviews and comparison tests of the newest equipment and products. Popular Mechanics is also the #1 ranked men's monthly magazine when it comes to reaching an environmentally conscious audience.
About Hearst Magazines
As one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, Hearst Magazines publishes nearly 200 editions around the world, including 14 U.S. titles and 20 magazines in the United Kingdom, published through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited. Hearst Magazines is the leading publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S. in terms of total circulation (ABC, Dec. 2009) and reaches 73 million adults (MRI, Fall 2009). Its digital media unit operates 24 websites and 10 mobile sites for brands such as Cosmopolitan, Popular Mechanics, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire and Seventeen, as well as digital-only sites such as Delish.com, a food site in partnership with MSN; TheDailyGreen.com; MisQuinceMag.com; RealBeauty.com; social shopping site Kaboodle.com; and consumer health site RealAge.com. Currently, Hearst Magazines has eight iPhone applications; all of its titles are available on the iPad via the Zinio application; and now Popular Mechanics has its own iPad application, to be followed shortly by Esquire and six other leading Hearst brands.
Contact Information:
CONTACT:
Nathan Christopher
Hearst Magazines
212-649-2582
nchristopher@hearst.com