TED Releases iPad App

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Embracing the rise of a new video-delivery platform, TED today released its first TED iPad app, an innovative new way to browse and watch TEDTalks video. The app offers new, iPad-only features and redesigns the TED experience for the touchscreen.

The iPad app, which is the first official app released by TED, lets viewers browse 750+ TEDTalks videos, running from 3 minutes to 30 minutes long, on a wide range of topics. The app is free and can be downloaded through the App Store in iTunes.

"The iPad presents a thrilling new platform for delivering a TED experience," said June Cohen, Executive Producer of TED Media. "We rethought the user experience to take advantage of the portability, the touchscreen and the focused media time people have when they travel or settle in for an evening. We think TED fans will particularly love the "Inspire me" button, which creates a custom playlist to fill the exact amount of time they have free."

The TED iPad app features include:

"Inspire Me" button. Touching this icon reveals an elegant watch face and the question: "How much time do you have?" Dial up a time, choose the type of talk you want (Inspiring? Funny? Jaw-dropping?) and you'll get a playlist of talks that fits your schedule.

"Themes" serves up curated playlists of TEDTalks around topics such as "The Power of Cities," "How We Learn," "A Greener Future" and "Unconventional Explanations."

"Tags" breaks down TEDTalks topics into some 250 categories, from "insects" to "robots," from "happiness" to "fish."

"Saved Talks" allows you to download and queue up several hours of TEDTalks for viewing offline.

"Playlist Browser" lets you browse ahead in any playlist while watching a saved talk. It's accessible by tapping the Info button.

The TED iPad app was developed by Matt Drance, a former Application Frameworks Evangelist at Apple who worked on the first iPhone SDK. He now works with the firm Bookhouse Software. Read TED's Q&A with Matt Drance, http://blog.ted.com/2010/10/14/ipad-matt-drance/

Rolex, the supporting partner for the TED iPad app, figures prominently in the app's "Inspire Me" feature, which evokes a watch face as it asks viewers "How much time do you have?"

The TED iPad app is available in Apple's iTunes Store today. The app is free. Download the app here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ted/id376183339?mt=8

About TED

About TED: TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 26 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. At TED, the world's leading thinkers and doers are asked to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. Two major TED events are held each year: The TED Conference takes place every spring in Long Beach, California (along with a simulcast, TEDActive, in Palm Springs), and TEDGlobal is held each summer in the UK.

TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily; the Open TV Project, bringing TEDTalks to global broadcast networks; and the Open Translation Project, which allows any TEDTalk to be translated into any language by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals win "one wish to change the world"; TEDx, which supports individuals and groups in hosting local, self-organized events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community.

TEDWomen, "Revealing the Ideas of Women and Girls Worldwide," will be held December 7-8, 2010, in Washington, DC, with partner events worldwide. TED2011, "The Rediscovery of Wonder," will be held February 28-March 4, 2011, in Long Beach, California, along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs, California. TEDGlobal 2011 will be held next summer, July 11-15, 2010, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

SOURCE TED Conferences