The Washington Post introduced an application for Apple?s iPad that incorporates social media and sharing capabilities to let users discuss relevant issues of the day.

Readers can enjoy complementary full access until mid-February 2011. The launch sponsor is ExxonMobil, which runs banner advertisements throughout the application.

?Our goal was to create an immersive, multi-dimensional news experience that takes advantage of the unique features, functionality and user interface of the iPad,? said Ken Babby, chief revenue officer and general manager of digital for The Washington Post, Washington.

?The business model is subscription and advertising,? he said. ?We are offering a complementary access period from now through mid-February 2011 that allows readers to experience the offering and give us feedback so we can create the most optimal experience possible.?

What's unique about it?
Users can take full advantage of the experience that the iPad offers through rich destination pages that provide everything a reader would want around a topic in one comprehensive place.

?Live Topics? are a distinctive component of the Post application.

Live Topics offer a single destination for news, commentary, aggregated social media conversations, rich multimedia, photos and user engagement around the top 3-5 issues of the day.

They include Washington Post stories, selected headlines from sources across the Web, Facebook comments and Twitter feeds from leading voices that add context to the story.

Live Topics are designed to draw users in to share their comments and opinions about key topics of the day that are relevant to them and the world at large.

Other features
Other features of the app include:

- Comprehensive content including Breaking News, Politics, Business, World News, Opinion, Sports, Lifestyle and Entertainment

- Streamlined, intuitive design and navigation to quickly and easily scan and read the day?s top stories

- Extensive multimedia coverage with video and rich photo galleries from renowned photo journalists around the day?s top news stories

- The ability to comment and share stories via e-mail , Facebook and Twitter

- Saving stories for offline reading

?Our app combines The Post?s trusted reporting and analysis with innovative social media and sharing capabilities and award-winning multimedia,? Mr. Babby said. ?Like anything we create in digital form, we take advantage of the platform to present all of our content in a creative and rich presentation.

?We want to provide Post content wherever readers want it and that includes emerging platforms such as the iPad and other mobile devices,? he said.

Here is a screen grab of the ExxonMobil ad within the Washington Post application

Final take
Giselle Tsirulnik is senior editor of Mobile Marketer
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