The Church's Media Services team released the LDS Ensign and The Coat apps for iPad and Android tablets in December to experiment with a new platform for digital content, and now they’re looking for feedback on the LDS Ensign app in addition to future help on similar testing.

The Ensign app is an interactive digital magazine, but it is much more than just a PDF of the Ensign that you can read on your tablet. The LDS Ensign app provides audio and video features that enhance your experience with the Ensign. You can read, watch, or listen to each talk, and there are biographies of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the end of the issue.

A tutorial at the beginning will tell you everything you need to know about using the app, so it should be pretty easy to download and use right away.

To download the LDS Ensign app, open your tablet's application store and search for “LDS Ensign.” Download and install the LDS Ensign magazine app. (In the list of results, it's the one from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) The app icon appears as follows: 

Note that downloading the magazine requires an Internet connection, but once you’ve downloaded it, you can use the app entirely offline.

You can also download the app of The Coat—a true story from Heber J. Grant’s childhood—and see the same technology at work in an interactive, animated storybook. 

The Coat has a number of animations, such as zooms, shifts of perspectives, and even snow angels, each triggered by finger swipes across the screen. To download the coat, search your tablet’s application store for “The Coat" and look for this app icon:

The technology for the Ensign and The Coat could be used in the future for other applications, so the Media Services team wants to know what you think of both the platform and—more specifically—the LDS Ensign iPad app. At this point, the apps are only for large-screen devices, like tablets. They are available on iTunes and the Android Market.

How to Get Involved

To give feedback on the LDS Ensign app, take the short survey that’s located in the Table of Contents in the app.

If you are interested in future testing on similar apps for 7” tablets—such as Amazon Kindle Fire, Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet, and other 7-inch Android tablets—then join the Interactive Books and Magazines project to be notified of these opportunities when they arise.

To join the Interactive Books & Magazines project:

1. Go to LDSTech.org and sign in with your LDS Account user name and password. You will be brought directly to the Projects page. If you are not directed to that page, click Projects in the top navigation bar.
2. Under available projects, search for Interactive Books and Magazines.
3. Click Interactive Books and Magazines.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Join button. (If you see a Leave button, it means you’ve already joined this project.

You’ll be redirected to your Projects page, and Interactive Books and Magazines will appear under My Projects.

You can also go to the Interactive Books and Magazines Forum to check up on the progress of the new project or visit the Interactive Books and Magazines wiki page for more information.