Sun uses AR to spice up its iPad app

Rating: Naked ladies in 36o degrees

Why on Earth does News International think that the typical UK chauvinistic male possesses an iPad? Rather than, an Android tablet? Well, it’s marketing department must think so because the infamous British red top newspaper only offers its Page 360 feature for those who download The Sun‘s iPad app. For those who can’t guess, this app has interactive animations which bring to life the UK’s most notorious topless models. We’re not quite sure that the inventors of augmented reality had quite this sort of thing in mind when they designed the technology. But, by an odd quirk of fate, iPage 360 is going to introduce AR (augmented reality) to the great British public. And just to make sure of this, News International is offering a free 30-day trial of the iPad app for a limited period.What seems a little strange is that on the Apple iTunes App Store it says you have to be at least 17 years old to download this app.

Which is a little weird considering in the UK you can get married at 16. So you can be old enough to legally have sex but not old enough to view women’s naked chests (and that’s the only bit which is naked, incidentally).

Anyway, the Page 360 feature is apparently just one of several improvements to The Sun for iPad app.

There’s an interactive news ticker to keep readers up to date with breaking headlines during the day. Users simply touch on a ticker item to call up a story.

Another incentive is that subscribers get the full contents of the newspaper, including every columnist, many of whom are currently not published online.

If you want to see how the 360 app works from a regular browser, all you have to do is click here http://www.page3.com/page360/lacey-21651.html

Today’s [January 4th 2012] model is called Lacey (probably not her real name).

The intriguing part to this whole offering is the money which News International wants for its content.

Lacey in 360

When the 30 days trial expires subscribers can employ in=app purchasing to renew their access at £4.99 for another 30 days – which works out at roughly £1.25 a week.

GoMo News wonders whether stunts like this will aid regular journalists – many of whom are presently paid a pittance for their work.

You can download the iPad app from here.