TED Releases Official Android App

NEW YORK, March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today TED, the nonprofit devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading," launches its free TED app for Android mobile phone and tablet devices. The app allows users to browse and watch the full library of 1,100+ TEDTalks – all categorized, searchable and tagged. Ranging from 3 minutes to 18 minutes in length, TEDTalks share ideas from the world's most fascinating people on everything from technology and design to global issues and entertainment.

The new TED app is built for a wide array of Android-enabled phones and tablets, including the new Sony Tablet P "dual screen" and the Amazon Kindle Fire. The design adapts to various screen sizes, making it feel natural and familiar to users across different devices. The app will initially be available in the Google Play Store and the Amazon Appstore for Android.

"At TED, we're always looking for powerful new ways to spread ideas," said June Cohen, Executive Producer for TED Media. "With its vast installed user base, the Android platform is an important new frontier for us in our effort to bring new thinking and ideas to even more people." 

The functionality of the TED app is fine-tuned for the mobile audience, and allows for offline browsing and viewing, as well as audio-only engagement: App users who are out for a jog, commuting to work, or simply multi-tasking can listen to TEDTalks, either on an individual basis or through TED's curated audio stream.

Many of TED's award-winning mobile features can be found in the Android app:

• Up-to-the-minute videos: TEDTalks are published daily, and Android app users can see the latest TEDTalks videos as soon as they're available online.
• Browse + search: Whether they're online or off, users can browse the entire TED library – by theme, tag, rating or popularity – and search for a talk by speaker name or topic.
• Easy sharing: Users who are inspired by a talk can share it easily over Facebook, Twitter or email.
• Bookmarks.  Users can mark and save talks for viewing later within their "My Talks" tab.
• Offline viewing: The app is designed to support a mobile lifestyle, in which users move fluidly between online and offline use. Users can download video and audio directly to the device to watch on the plane or other locations where Internet connectivity may not be possible. The full library is searchable in offline mode.
• Curated audio stream. Out for a jog, multi-tasking, or just interested in listening, TED app users can listen to TEDTalks, either on an individual basis or through TED's curated audio stream. 

The TED app for Android was created with generous support from TED partner Sony. It was developed in collaboration with Mercury Intermedia.

Consumers can access the app for the Kindle here, and for other devices through the Google Play Store here.

TED also offers award-winning mobile apps for the iPod, iPhone and iPad.

About TED

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place each spring in Long Beach, California, along with the TEDActive simulcast in Palm Springs; the annual TEDGlobal conference is held each summer in Edinburgh, Scotland.

TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide, and TEDBooks, short e-books by speakers that elaborate on a single idea originally presented on TED's stage. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to host 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 and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities. Follow TED on Twitter or on Facebook.

Contact: Margaret Sullivan, [email protected], 646-833-0205

SOURCE TED