Once again Microsoft is showing some love for iOS. Microsoft’s PhotoSynth app, not yet available for Windows Phone 7, debuted this afternoon on Apple’s platform and with it comes a completely submersive panorama experience. If you’re familiar with the 360 Panorama app on iOS, this a more advanced, free version.
You wouldn’t expect it, but Microsoft certainly has a passion for developing on iOS. First, they released Bing for iPad, which is arguably one of the most polished and visually stunning apps on the platform and now, PhotoSynth. The premise for the application is simple: allow simple, sharable, panorama captures in a user-friendly environment. Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft Research, the stitching agent (the technology that merges the photos seamlessly) can complete panoramas that use to take minutes, in seconds.
There’s also a social element to Microsoft PhotoSynth which lets you share your panoramas on Facebook. Alternatively, a link can be shared on Facebook which will take your friends to a fully submersive web page where they can experience the panorama first-hand, a taste of augmented reality if you will. For Bing search users, the panoramas will be featured on the results page in Bing’s Business search, opening the door for Microsoft to challenge Google’s Street View.
For the Windows Phone 7 users in the audience, your day is coming soon. As MobileTechWorld points out, a release of Microsoft Sync in tandem with the Mango update seems likely. The forthcoming app will benefit greatly from Mango’s new Motion Sensor API and SL4, so expect a release later this Fall.
Out Now | Free | App Store
