The New York Times Will Let You Use Gestures To Read The News With Leap Motion

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Leap Motion is a futuristic, Minority Report-like desktop platform that uses physical gestures to interact with apps. The hardware controller has been delayed a couple times, but it is finally scheduled to ship alongside a dedicated app store on July 22nd.

All kinds of content creators are working on integrating Leap Motion into their apps, including The New York Times. The American publication will offer a “Top News” app for Leap Motion customers that uses hand gestures to browse and read articles.

Story cards can be scrolled through with the drag of a finger. Making a small, circular motion with your hand while reading lets you scroll up and down. Quickly shake your hand to exit the article and jump back to the marquee of cards.

According to TechCrunch, the app will be limited in terms of what content users can access:

For now, the app only includes top stories, and there’s no integration with the company’s subscription system. Paul Smurl, The Times’ general manager of core digital products, told me that if the app is popular, the team could go further, adding more content and a login system for Times subscribers.

More than 100 apps will be featured in the Airspace App Store for Leap Motion at launch. We’ve already seen well-known Mac developers like Realmac unveil Leap Motion versions of their apps. The potential for a lot of innovation is there, it’s just up to users and creators to embrace the platform.

You can buy the Leap Motion controller for your Mac online for $80.

Source: TechCrunch

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