Portability Application Allows Users to Seamlessly Shift Information Between Computers and Mobile Devices
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2008--The New York Times
Company announced today the beta launch of ShifD, an application that
provides users the capability to seamlessly shift content between
their computers and mobile devices. ShifD eliminates the need to
separately save certain information to both a computer and a mobile
device. Users can update information from any Web browser, by text
message from a mobile phone, through a mobile Web browser or by using
the downloadable application on Adobe(R) AIR(TM). Information added
through any of the various methods is saved to the user's ShifD
account and automatically updated on all devices.
For the beta launch users can add and save content through ShifD
in three categories:
-- Notes - save everything from your grocery list to the book
title your friend recommended.
-- Links - save links to news articles or links to sites from
around the Web to be viewed later.
-- Places - save addresses with corresponding maps.
"ShifD is an experiment in giving users the power to bring their
content with them by easily shifting it among all of their Web-enabled
devices," said Michael Zimbalist, vice president, research and
development operations, The New York Times Company. "We see a future
for device-independent media, with convergence around the user
experience and not any particular delivery platform. Developing
services that allow users to access content wherever they are and on
whichever device they choose is an important part of our strategy."
ShifD was conceived by Nick Bilton, design integration editor and
user interface specialist for The New York Times, and Michael Young,
creative technologist, research and development for The New York Times
Company, at the 2007 Yahoo! BBC Hack Day London competition. The
application won the competition's award for Best Overall Hack.
To sign up for the beta launch visit: http://ShifD.com. ShifD will
work on most mobile phones and blackberries in the United States.
Adobe AIR is a new cross-operating system application runtime that
extends rich Internet applications to the desktop, which is compatible
with both Macintosh and Windows computers.
mBlox is providing the SMS services enabled by the mBlox global
platform.
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company
with 2007 revenues of $3.2 billion, includes The New York Times, the
International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily
newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com,
Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance
society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news,
information and entertainment.
(C) 2008 All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo and Adobe AIR
are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com
CONTACT: The New York Times Company
Abbe Serphos, 212-556-4425
serphos@nytimes.com
or
Stacy Green, 212-556-7078
green@nytimes.com
SOURCE: The New York Times Company
