Steve Jobs said the iPad was his most special creation because it lets people experience the magical intersection of technology and the humanities. Too often, however, publishers do not have the technological prowess to fully take advantage of the iPad’s intuitive feel and user experience. That’s where Onswipe comes in—a New York-based out-of-box iPad solution for publications and bloggers of all sizes from Untapped Cities to Slate.
With Onswipe, anyone can simply integrate a WordPress, Tumblr, or RSS feed to beautifully render their publication on an iPad to look like a native app. It’s the kind of idea that anyone could have come up with, but only few could execute. Fortunately, Team Onswipe is stocked with startup veterans Jason Baptiste, Andres Barreto, and Mark Bao whose previous works include popular services like Grooveshark and Cloudomatic.
Onswipe began in July 2010 as a simple WordPress plug-in, but quickly developed into a full service publishing platform after graduating as the darling of the New York Techstars Program last year. It currently publishes iPad editions for publications like Wired and Betabeat as well as for brands like Tom Ford, American Airlines, and Chanel. The service is free and the company promises never to charge for use of the platform.
Last month, Untapped Cities began using Onswipe and our tablet readers have had only positive things to say. Working with Team Onswipe was an absolute pleasure and a great example of the close-knit New York tech community collaborating in a way that improves all of our user experiences. When we asked OnSwipe’s business development associate, Megan Filipp, about why OnSwipe chose New York as its home, she says it was all about the hustle of New York City: “We love the energy. New York City is full of smart, hardworking, interesting people and we wanted that to be the type of setting and cultural background to our company. Also, since we are working in publishing to a certain degree, New York is definitely the place to be.” Fittingly, OnSwipe’s office is one of those fun, lofty densely packed startup offices with a big couch, video games and even an adorable resident puppy, the energetic office mascot, Johnny.
We recommend Onswipe regardless of whether you’re a large publication or just a hobby blogger because readers deserve to experience your content optimized for the elegance of the iPad. And don’t forget to check out our site, just navigate your tablet to untappedcities.com and let OnSwipe do the rest.
