Why the New York Post's iPad App is Amazing, Awesome, and Completely Necessary (Video)

Remember that time Apple released this thing called the iPad and a bunch of people who worked in media were like ooh I wonder if it's going to save us so pretty wanna touch and everyone else was like it's just a giant fucking iPhone I don't get it and then people went out and bought it? Well, the New York Post's iPad app finally arrived, recently. We have played with it, and now we can tell you: it is amazing and if you are a New Yorker you must own this as soon as humanly possible. Why?

Well:

1. Aesthetics: The cheesy, ridiculously bright red welcome screen will make sure you know where you are (see above) when you start the thing up. If you have any shame about reading the New York Post, sorry, but it is unmistakably the New York Post iPad app.

2. Price: at $1.99 for a free 30-day trial, it's worth about $2 more than anybody should reasonably pay for the New York Post when you can just get it for free online.

and 3. Layout and functionality. The stories read so-so: the paper's laid out on a horizontal scroll, with each story acting like slot-machine reels. Sometimes, it's wonky, but for the most part, is actually a pretty effective, charming way to read the Post.

Yes, when all is said and done, as far as an iPad app -- and a way to read the Post goes -- this is pretty solid. The pricing structure for the app once the trial period ends may throw that into question, but to News Corp's evil, terrible credit, they did really well with this one.

But that's not why it's great. Here's a movie we made about using the New York Post's iPad app, with the awesome reveal at the end:

Yes, you heard that correctly.

CUSTOM
NEW
YORK
POST
COVERS.

Now, tragically, you cannot use your own photos as front-page New York Post covers. It's the one place this app truly falls short, and something we'll be causing a stink about in due order. But for the time being, you're given your choice of three covers, and your color of font, size of font, and positioning of headline. From there, you can save it to a gallery on your app, or send it to a friend (but strangely, not import it into your own gallery, another issue with this amazing feature they are strangely limiting). This is how it looks when you're using it:

And then, the final product:

Anyway, the point is, this is the most fun I've had in months.

[fkamer@villagevoice.com]