A couple weeks ago, Qwiki CEO Doug Imbruce came by my office to talk about his new iPad app (watch video below), but he wasn’t quite ready to show it. This morning it finally hit iTunes, where you can download it for free.

In many ways, Qwiki was made for the iPad because it is like a visual Wikipedia. Even when the startup won TechCrunch Disrupt last September, it was already working on an iPad version of its multimedia search/information consumption service. It is so much better on the iPad, where the narrated animations come to life and become swipeable. But the best part of the new app are the maps. You can see any entries pinned on a map for any location, or find places near you that have Qwikis.

When you are done watching, you can share the Qwiki via email, Twitter, or Facebook. It also suggests related Qwikis, and links to more information and images on Wikipedia, Google, Fotopedia, and YouTube. As Qwiki expands the data sources it pulls from to create its automated info-animations, it is not too hard to imagine how Qwiki can move well beyond the Wikipedia-based entries which dominat eteh service today.

Crunchbase

• QWIKI
• IPAD

Company: Qwiki

Website: qwiki.com

Launch Date: October 2009

Funding: $10.5M

A “Qwiki” is a short, interactive story: a drastically improved information experience provided via interactive video. Unlike traditional rich media content, all Qwikis are created on the fly from web sources (without any human intervention). Today, our technology produces 3MM+ interactive, narrated Qwikis describing all the topics on Wikipedia - complete with relevant images, video, and structured data imported from linked sources. These Qwikis are embeddable anywhere on the web and compatible with all iOS devices. Via the release...

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Product: iPad

Website: apple.com

Company Apple

The Apple iPad, formerly referred to as the Apple Tablet, is a touch-pad tablet computer announced in January 2010, and released in April 2010. It has internet capabilities running on either WiFi or 3G, and offers an optional dock with a full size mechanical keyboard. The 3G is provided by AT&T, but comes unlocked with microsim cards on the GSM network. The 3G does not require a long-term contract. The iPad is a line of tablet...

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