Video: The "first" dead tree magazine with Augmented Reality support

I’ll confess that I’m not familiar with SZ Magazine, a supplement that is part of the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, but this is pretty cool.

In what the dead tree magazine claims as a first, although other publications have flirted with the concept, the latest edition is fully Augmented Reality supported. Yep, that’s right, point your iPhone’s camera at pages of the publication, after downloading the accompanying app of course, and – bingo – additional content is unlocked or brought to life.

For example, Sandra Maischberger, a well known TV personality, is featured on the front cover hiding behind her raised hands. When viewed through the smartphone’s camera, however, she appears smiling cheerfully at the viewer. In another AR instance, pop up captions appear across a two page spread about recent Eurovision Song Contest winner Lena Meyer-Landrut.

You get the idea.

The whole experience was developed in partnership with AR specialists Metaio. And there’s support for Android phones too. Check out the video after the jump…