Tourwrist – the Iphone remote reality viewer for virtual tours
As mentioned in a previous post about Iphone virtual tours, we have been sitting on some really exciting news about our association with a wonderful new APP for the Iphone, called TOURWRIST – today it has been released and we are now pleased to be able to now offer your location to be shown in this super way.
Simply do a search for ‘Tourwrist’ in the iphone app store, and you can download and start exploring the world in 360 with this APP for free. We have about 20 virtual tours from London on there already.
Although we have seen this technology before its has always been confined to testing labs and personal projects in living rooms. Tourwrist represents a game changer not only in the way virtual tours can be viewed, but also the ease of its delivery, since who has’nt got a phone nowadays ?
Tour Wrist is currently available for iPhone 3GS, older iPhones, and iPod Touch. Due to the lack of magnetometer (digital compass) in older iPhones and iPods, users of these devices are limited to touchcontrolled touring and may not create tours. Because the Tour Wrist platform has been developed agnostically, future versions are expected for other mobile operating systems such as BlackBerry and Android. Currently, development of an iPad version is underway, with an expected release date of June 1st.
Combining real–time accelerometer and magnetometer data, Tour Wrist precisely tracks each mobile device as the user moves it through space. Simultaneously, the application uses this movement to control loaded virtual tour imagery and displays the corresponding field of view on each mobile device’s screen. So while a user may be sitting inside, their device may reveal a beautiful night sky or turning around can take the user through the full, 360° view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. The experience is tactile and completely immersive, allowing users to intuitively navigate real–world environments remotely.
This application offers users the ability to search for scenic destinations, things to do (like dining or retail), places to stay (like hotels or resorts), real estate, and vehicles. Within each category, they may refine their search by applying contextual filters like square footage, hotel ratings, etc. Adding an additional level of relevance, in the near future users will also be able to post and view news–related tours.
