Joining the growing wave of new uses for Apple’s iPad and other portable devices to help the broadcast community do its job more efficiently and get stories to air faster, ENPS has developed a new Tablet Story Viewer (TSV) application. The new app allows presenters and field reporters to do their jobs using an iPad or Android-based tablet PC.
It allows presenters and field reporters to read and review stories directly on their ENPS-enabled iPad. Paper copies no longer need to be printed and distributed for studio use, and field reporters can now hold not only their story, but also the full context of the show, in their hand during an outside broadcast.
In live breaking news situations, presenters can quickly refresh the iPad client and immediately see the latest story updates.
Stating that station customers have been asking for it, Lee Perryman, director of broadcast technology at the Associated Press, said the new ENPS Tablet Story Viewer gives reporters new options while covering stories.
The TSV also automatically stores a full copy of the running order and its stories, providing the comfort of a paper script that presenters and reporters can still hold in their hands, just in case. It also integrates seamlessly with the ENPS mobile client, allowing field staff the additional ability to work with assignments, contacts, search and messaging.
ENPS TSV works with the entire ENPS Mobile line of products, which include ENPS clients Web, as well as for iPad, Blackberry, iPhone, a wide array of other smartphones. ENPS Mobile provides unparalleled access to newsroom resources for the widest array of users and devices. In this way, when a journalist is finished gathering elements for the story, putting it together is simple. The journalist logs in through the ENPS smartphone or Web client and starts writing. No VPN is required.
At IBC, ENPS will also showcase the ENPS Digital Publishing Engine, which enables journalists to publish multimedia content on-air, online and to mobile devices through intuitive drag and drop integration with an existing CMS workflow.
In related news, ABC News has launched a free, ad-supported news application for Apple’s iPad mobile media device.
The app uses a three-dimensional globe as a navigational device that users can spin to view picture tabs for top stories. An HTML5 hybrid that allows for easy updating, the app displays text stories in an e-reader, rather than a traditional Web format. Users can bookmark stories to read or watch later, or save stories for when they are offline.
The app includes a function that allows users to personalize the navigation globe in accordance with the story genres they find interesting. For example, they can select politics, health, entertainment and other favored choices.
“This is a unique opportunity to pull in new eyeballs,” said Isaac Josephson, ABC’s VP of product development. “It marries the tradition of storytelling at ABC News with the latest technology.”