Introducing Interactive Print For Hundreds Of US, UK And Canadian Newspapers With Mobile Image Recog

Online, November 2, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Kooaba, a Swiss start-up specialising in image recognition connects more than 2,000 printed newspapers in 95 countries to the digital world before the end of year. Using kooaba's free Paperboy mobile app, readers can take pictures of full pages or articles of interest in their favourite printed newspapers and share them immediately via Twitter, Facebook, e-mail or SMS, or store full pages for future reference on my.kooaba.com or Evernote. Available for iPhone and Android devices, Paperboy also gives access to additional information such as videos or related online content.

From November 1st 2011, the second global rollout phase has started, adding hundreds of new titles to the list of supported publications in the US, UK and Canada. Amongst them are USA Today, The New York Post, The LA Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Toronto Star, The Vancouver Sun and many more. Russian, Asian and other European readers, as well as readers in Australia, New Zealand and many other countries will be able to use the Paperboy app with their local newspapers later in the year. Paperboy is available for free for iPhone and Android at www.paperboytool.com.

Interactive Print beneficial for publishers: "Paperboy can become a valuable tool for publishers in their fight to stay competitive in the face of the digital competition from online or social media," claims Herbert Bay, CEO and co-founder of Kooaba. "As the so-called digital natives come of age and more and more consumers turn to the internet as their primary source for news and information, the publishing industry needs to find ways to keep subscribers and attract new readers. Paperboy can help bridge that gap between print and online, substantially expanding and enhancing the reading experience. Because of our partnership with NewspaperDirect, leader in multichannel newspaper and magazine distribution we are able to roll-out this service on this big scale without any effort of the connected titles. It's up to the publisher if they add additional, digital content to articles."

How Paperboy works
Introduced in Switzerland in 2010, Paperboy connects printed media to the digital world with one click: All the application's powerful image recognition technology needs is a photo taken by a smartphone camera of an article or page in a newspaper or magazine. Paperboy then matches the photo to the images in Kooaba's extensive library of printed media or identifies that page or article from NewspaperDirect's inventory of over 2,000 same-day, digital newspapers replicas. Users can then share, email or archive the electronic version on the go, anywhere, anytime or explore related information like videos, images or links to selected topics. Paperboy automatically finds URLs on pages of print publications. In some publications, exclusive Paperboy content is available for pages with the Shutter icon.

Paperboy - a business case
Paperboy allows publishers to offer their readers a new and enhanced reading experience, offering their loyal print readership the opportunity to take the printed newspaper to the digital world and share their favorite articles just as easily as any online content. The application can help create compelling stories across various media platforms by enriching articles with digital content, whilst at the same time driving targeted traffic to a publisher's online portals. This will bring readers from print to online, generating a multiplier effect.

Publishers can also open up new revenue streams by reselling Smart Ads, Kooaba's solution for interactive advertisements, offering consumers an immersive brand experience with additional information. For example to support a buying decision, or possibilities for interaction, like reviews or competitions.

Useful information
* Download the press kit: http://www.kooaba.com/static/201110_Press_Kit.zip
* List of available newspapers via NewspaperDirect on the Kooaba Blog
* Visit the website: http://www.paperboytool.com
* App Store: download the Paperboy app for free on iTunes or Android Market
* Video: http://youtu.be/pYytY8d7d1M

About kooaba AG
kooaba AG, a Zurich based start-up company, was founded in 2006 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Holding various patents, the company is a pioneer in sophisticated image recognition technology that connects the physical world to digital content and was the first to introduce mobile visual search. Its flagship product, Paperboy, is a mobile app that bridges the gap between the static printed newspaper format and dynamic online social sharing utilities. For more information visit www.kooaba.com.

Media Contact:
Thomas Desmet
Marketing Manager, Kooaba
Mobile: +41 78 63 88 334
E-mail: [email protected]

Contact for publishers:
Marc Steffen
Head content partners
Phone: +41 43 960 86 83
[email protected]