As smartphone and tablet users in Taiwan increase in number, more firms launch and expand their mobile payment services. (Photo : Reuters)
With the new Palace Museum calendar app, art-savvy smartphone and tablet users are now enjoying collections and exhibits displayed at the Beijing-located menagerie right at the tip of their fingers.
The app was released on Feb. 12, coinciding with the museum's 90th founding anniversary. The release has also set another milestone in the art institution's take on the modern world.
The Palace Museum is known for innovating mobile applications revolving around arts, culture and tradition such as" Night Revels of Han Xizai" and "A Day in the Life of the Emperor."
Its latest mobile application, available for Apple gadget users, features an interface patterned after traditional Chinese calendars, listing both lunar and solar events.
Apart from keeping track of everyday tasks and events, the app also allows its users to take a virtual tour of the museum's 1.8 million exhibits every day, wherever they may be.
The calendar app's high-definition photos let art enthusiasts and alike to appreciate the beauty of the wide-ranging art collections the museum offers. Besides giving virtual delight, the app also features the stories behind the obra maestras.
Upcoming exhibits are also listed and kept up-to-date by the app handlers. These include 18 special exhibitions scheduled throughout the year. As early as now, users could anticipate seeing rarely displayed art collections through this feature.
Also, in cooperation with the organizing app Evernote, the Palace Museum app lets users synchronize notes they made in one gadget with all the notes in their other devices.
According to the museum officials, the app's Android version will be available this month.
