Augmented Realty On Symbian – Wikitude Arrives

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

It’s funny sometimes how life works out. Only a few days ago a reader (Primaklima) posted a comment asking for more news on augmented reality applications for Symbian devices. My mission this morning was to have a dig around and see just what was available. I sat down with a coffee, turned on my pc, opened my browse and 2 seconds later my phone rings to alert me to the fact that Mobilizy have just released Wikitude for the Nokia N97.

Until today, Symbian users have had very little to shout about, the only augmented reality browser I can think of has been ARound by Sequence Point Software. All other augmented reality browsers have been targeted towards the iPhone and Android, but the good news is if you are a Nokia 97 owner you can now download Wikitude from OVI.

Augment your world with the WIKITUDE World Browser, the acclaimed Android and iPhone application is now available on Symbian! See the world through your phone’s camera view overlaid with Wikipedia content, Qype reviews and user-generated content from Wikitude.me (www.wikitude.me). The WIKITUDE World Browser presents the user with data about their surroundings, nearby landmarks, and other points of interest by overlaying information on the phone’s screen.

Welcome abord Nokian’s, you can download from here:

2009 Readers Choice Awards
The readers choice awards ended on Friday and the lucky winner of the Chumby is Freek Bodemeijer. Freek check your inbox as you should have an email from me.

The next question is what are the top applications as voted by you in 2009? We’ll have an announcement about that shortly.

Layar Now In 3D

Posted by augmentedplanet under General

Layar 3.0 was released yesterday to the Android Marketplace. I don’t have a Google Android device so my blog is based on the information I have pieced together rather than a physical test. The good news however is Augmented Planet is expanding and we’ll soon be joined by a former colleague of mine, Nitin Samani who is going to be our Android correspondent.

The big change with 3.0 is the 3D engine. Developers can now build rich 3D content to make your augmented reality viewing even better. Lets’ imagine you are on holiday in London and you are a Beatles fan. If you already use an augmented reality browser, chances are there is a tourist attraction database where you’d be able to find out find where The Beatles played. As you walk around London you could use your augmented reality browser to find Beatles related POI’s and you’ll get useful information like directions and a link to a website where you can read more, or using Layar 3.0 you could take The Beatles Tour.

The Beatles Tour developed by a London based company and fellow augmented reality blogger is one of the most exciting launch layers available. Start the tour, and you are guided to the first location where you have a unique picture opportunity with Ringo, Paul, John and George on the famous zebra crossing in Abbey Road. As soon as you’re done, the tour guide directs you to the next location and photo opportunity. All in all the tour has 42 locations for you to visit.

Tours sound like a great way to engage users, thinking out loud you could create a tour and generate revenue by having restaurants sign up to be part of the tour. If you were taking The Jack The Ripper Tour, after 28 stops you could be directed to stop off for a bite to eat. How much would a restaurant pay to be included?

At the moment there are 6 layer’s available (list here) but there are lots more planned.  I’m looking forward to the iPhone version so I can run a proper test.

Layar v3.0 can now be downloaded free of charge from the Android Market and is available for all Android 1.5 and 1.6 devices. Layar will release a compatible version for the Droid as soon as possible. Layar have almost finished testing for Android 2.0, and good news for iPhone owners, a version for the iPhone 3GS is to follow as soon as Apples approves