The entire issue No 33 of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung`s supplement magazine (hitting the news stands on August 20th) is dedicated to present its readers with a print media experience never before seen anywhere in this form. In cooperation with Augmented Reality (AR) specialist metaio the entire magazine has been enriched with multimedia content which can be enjoyed by anyone using a smartphone. This makes the SZ magazine the first publication to enhance print media with the attractions and capabilities the digital world has to offer.
A video about “AR Special by Sueddeutsche Zeitung Magazin” can be found here:
The SZ Magazine is renowned for creativity and innovation. Week after week this award winning publication covers stories about unusual opinions and perspectives. Tomorrow`s issue, being delivered to over 550,000 households, represents a completely new media experience by combining print with augmented reality overlays as can be seen through a smartphone. With the help of AR technology by metaio, iPhone and Android users can enjoy additional multimedia content simply by pointing their smartphone camera at certain magazine articles.
The cover of the magazine shows Sandra Maischberger, the well known TV personality, hiding behind her raised hands. When viewed through the smartphone`s camera, however, the popular TV host appears smiling cheerfully at the viewer. Inside is a photo “interview without words” with Lena Meyer-Landrut, who recently won the European Song Contest. When looked at through the smartphone little speech bubbles appear with jibes and comments she couldn`t help making during the shooting (see image 1 + 2) . The famous column of Axel Hacke triggers a fantastic 3D animation by the illustrator Dirk Schmidt. Finally the editors and journalists of the SZ Magazine reveal their favourite spots in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg in a virtual city guide. Readers in those cities, who hold up their smartphone will see the camera view augmented with indicators pointing out restaurants, bars, clubs, shops and hotels around them (see image 3), courtesy of SZ Magazine.
To enjoy the additional AR content in the SZ Magazine, a smartphone user simply needs to get the free of charge junaio® AR browser at the iTunes store or the Android market. junaio® contains all the new technologies needed to enjoy this augmented reality experience. Selecting the “SZ-Magazin” channel activates the animation triggered by the magazine content, while the “SZ-Magazin Lieblingsorte” lets you discover the editors recommendations in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
Dr. Dominik Wichmann, editor in chief of the SZ Magazine, comments about the AR special issue: “The SZ Magazine always tries to extend journalistic frontiers. We don`t just write about new cultural or technical developments, we practise them. Instead of just reporting on Augmented Reality (AR), we have developed with the help of metaio a magazine issue which for the first time allows our readers to actually experience this new technology within a journalistic format.”
Jan Schlink of metaio adds: “Our technology leads to new opportunities for combining and displaying information from different sources. With imagination and creative applications Augmented Reality can not only be fun, but become a real opportunity for news organisations to present interesting content in unusual ways.”
