AOL’s ‘Entrance’ brings music, news and augmented reality to Nokia Lumia smartphones

Timed to coincide with the new Nokia handsets being unveiled in New York today, AOL has announced the release of a new digital entertainment hub going by the name of Entrance by AOL, which will bring together multiple online AOL properties – such as AOL Music, Moviefone and The Huffington Post Entertainment – in a purpose-built platform for Nokia Lumia smartphones.

In addition to movie, music, TV and celebrity news, Nokia subscribers will gain access to more than 55,000 SHOUTcast radio stations and streaming via AOL Music, along with Moviefone’s movie search and ticketing features.

Here’s an overview of the other key features:

• An augmented reality feature to help users find cinemas and showtimes nearby, by holding up their Lumia smartphone as theaters, movie posters and showtimes appear overlaid
• AOL Music and CD Listening Party (CDLP) provides early access to weekly, and exclusive to AOL only, free full length albums from up-and-coming bands, with the option to buy and download after a free preview
• Interlinked user interface allows users to navigate into and out of specific content topics to explore any movie, celebrity or song

  

So, it seems that this is all about connecting the various features of the service; if a user likes a movie, they can see the entire cast with a tap, and drill down to see all the news related to a specific actor.

They can also listen to the soundtrack of that show and download the music. The app also leverages the Windows Phone horizontal scroll option for navigating content that’s better viewed in landscape mode.

“Augmented reality, live streaming music and movie trailers are the perfect use case to show off the capabilities of both the Lumia smartphones and AOL’s Mobile development team,” says David Temkin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Mail at AOL. “Entrance shows what’s possible when you combine great content with an elegantly designed, incredibly fast handset.”

Meanwhile, The Next Web is reporting live from Nokia’s Switch to Lumia event in New York this morning.

➤ Entrance by AOL