Launch of Apple's iPad is buzzworthy for NPR

Amid all the buzz over the launch of Apple's iPad last weekend, the free app and specialized website that NPR created for the device are getting lots of attention--and generating lots of downloads. Some 30,000 proud new iPad owners downloaded the NPR app on Saturday, according to the Wall Street Journal. "Apple says it sold more than 300,000 iPads as of Saturday, which means about one of every 10 iPad buyers on day one downloaded the NPR app," the Journal reports. "We're excited about this latest innovation because we think it brings us closer to capturing NPR's unique identity on a digital platform," blogs Kinsey Wilson, senior v.p. of NPR digital media, on NPR.org. "The iPad's casual touch-screen navigation seems more conducive to immersive reading than even the lightest laptops." The Society for News Design interviewed the senior designers on NPR's iPad prototyping project, Paulo Lopez and David Wright Jr. "It was important for us to have a good experience on launch day because our research indicated that a large number of NPR listeners would also be heavy iPad users," they said. "As an organization, we’ve made significant investments in our visual storytelling, design and technical infrastructure. Launching quickly on this platform was a perfect opportunity to put to use some of what we learned."