Herald iPad app wins 'digital Oscar'

The New Zealand Herald’s iPad app is now one of only eight to be awarded Official Honouree status in the News – Handheld Device category, at the "equivalent of the digital Oscars”, the 15th Annual International Webby Awards.

The distinction places the app in the top 13 in the world for the category, says the Herald. Others include BBC, AOL, CNBC, Associated Press and Yahoo.

This is the third time that NZ Herald has received honouree status at the Webby Awards - firstly for nzherald.co.nz, then for the nzherald.co.nz mobile site, and now for the iPad app.

APN Online NZ General Manager, Spencer Bailey said, "Our iPad app firmly established the Herald as an innovative market leader. We focused our attention on building an App which specifically plays to the strengths of the device. Being named as an Honoree is testimony to the innovation that has been developed at APN in recent years”.

APN also takes great pride in pointing out that its app was the only local news app to be introduced on the same day the iPad was officially launched in New Zealand (July 22nd, 2010).

It says the app has so far been downloaded by over 35,000 people, with the average user viewing ten pages each time they visit.