Arkansas Democrat-Gazette unveils state's first augmented reality newspaper

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Arkansas' largest newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, announced the launch of the state's first augmented reality newspaper with the release of its free app, PLUS, powered by Aurasma.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is one of the first newspapers in North America and the first in the state to offer an interactive newspaper experience to its readers. Built on Aurasma's leading augmented reality platform, this exciting, groundbreaking technology brings the physical and virtual worlds together, allowing the reader to use a smart phone or tablet to bring static images to digital life.

By downloading the free Arkansas Democrat-Gazette PLUS app on a mobile device, readers can scan photos and advertisements featuring the PLUS logo and watch compelling interactive content spring to life overtop the printed page. Photos and advertisements become the gateway to the digital world offering a whole new way to discover editorial content or engage with brands.  Scanning a photo or ad brings many surprises — videos that engage, graphics that enhance, characters that entertain or inform. Whether it's watching breaking news throughout the day or viewing highlights from the big game the night before, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is delivering news and information in a revolutionary fashion with PLUS.

PLUS is available from the App Store and Google Play for iPhones 3Gs (and above), iPad 2 (and above) and Android devices (2.2 and above)

To see a short demonstration video, click here.

"PLUS has the potential to let our readers get far more out of the printed newspaper pages," said Walter E Hussman Jr.,publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "It also can give advertisers the ability to deliver more multimedia content with their print advertising, providing extra value to both the advertisers and our readers as consumers."

"The publishing world is turning a corner and 'evolutionizing' the way we consume news and information," said Jennifer Rapp, general manager at Aurasma.  "Aurasma is thrilled that newspapers like the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette are leading the charge by embracing innovation and offering their readers a more interactive, tech-friendly experience when reading the newspaper."

The first augmented reality edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette will be on newsstands and in homes Sunday, July 1.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's zoned editions as well as its niche publications, Arkansas Life and Sync will also have interactive issues starting in July.

About Aurasma:  
Aurasma is the world's leading augmented reality platform that merges the physical world with the virtual. Available as a free app for iPhones, iPads and high-powered Android devices or as a free kernel for developers, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition to recognize and understand real-world images and objects in much the same way as the human brain does. It then seamlessly blends the real-world with rich interactive content such as videos and animations called "Auras". Auras can be created for printed images, product packaging, clothing, physical places and users can even use the app to create and share their own.

Since its launch in June 2011, Aurasma has had more than three million downloads in over 100 countries.  Over 5,000 partners in markets including retail, fashion, sport, automotive, consumer electronics, entertainment, advertising and publishing are using the free technology in their campaigns, on their products or embedding the technology in their own applications. Aurasma was developed by and is part of software company Autonomy – an HP Company.

For more information on Aurasma visit:
http://www.youtube.com/user/AurasmaLite
http://www.facebook.com/aurasma/
http://www.twitter.com/aurasma/

SOURCE Aurasma