Counting down the days till Will and Kate's Big Day? You can do it with a rich archive of current and past photos and videos using a new, free iPad app,"The Royal Wedding by NBC News." The app also will soon be available in versions tailored just for the iPhone and Android phones.
The app not only has hundreds of photographs of the couple and their family members, but "royal reports" from TODAY, NBC Nightly News and Dateline, as well as all MSNBC coverage the week of the wedding and the day of the nuptials. (And disclosure: Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
Wanna see a news clip from when Prince William was born, or christened in 1982? Those kinds of news videos are part of the app, which makes it not only a royal watcher's dream, but a wonderful history lesson as well.
And of course, there's a whole section on Princess Diana, including video of Matt Lauer's June, 2007 interview with Princes William and Harry about their mother on the 10th anniversary of her death.
Photos are also organized by person and topic: For example, for Kate Middleton, there are photos organized under the categories of "Kate's Style," "Princess in Training" and "Transformation."
Anglophiles will also enjoy the latest comments from Camilla Tominey, royal expert for NBC, who is also royal editor of Britain’s Sunday Express and royal correspondent from ITV’s “This Morning," and TODAY.com's Windsor Knot blog.
There are also bios of the royal family by Robert Jobson, who is NBC's royal commentator, and the author of the book, "William & Kate: The Love Story," and co-author of "Diana: Closely Guarded Secret."
While one of the big secrets remains the name of the designer of Kate Middleton's wedding dress, there's a whole section of the app to look at designers' ideas for Kate, photos of past royal brides in their gowns and an easy way to tweet your guess on who the dress designer will be.
Royal etiquette, protocol and traditions are also featured, as are ideas for hosting your own royal wedding "watch party," including recipes for British authenticity. A map of the wedding route is also included.
And, an extra nice touch: Even if you weren't invited to the nuptials, you feel like you are every time the app starts. It welcomes you by opening an envelope "invite" on the screen. A little corny, but elegantly done, and all in good fun.
More Digital Life stories on other apps:
- App enables expensive long-distance parenting
- Apple dumps 'gay cure' from App Store
- TODAY app for iPad debuts
Check out Technolog on Facebook, and on Twitter, follow Suzanne Choney.