A few people from TourWrist, the startup behind the very cool 360-degree panorama tool of the same name, came out to VentureBeat’s MobileBeat 2012 conference this week and built nine panos for us.
But here’s the deal: you gotta view them on your phone (or tablet).
Here’s why: On your laptop or desktop, you need to click your mouse in the middle of the pano and move around. It’s cool-ish … but more ish than cool.
On your phone or tablet, however, you simply load the pano, and move your phone around in space: up, down, around. It’s like augmented reality, except it’s even more augmented because your phone is showing you things that aren’t there. It’s virtual reality, but it’s real. Ohhhh …
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The best description I can think of: Your phone becomes a moving window to the place and time in which the panorama was created.
You may have heard the words 360-degree panorama tool and yawned (honestly, so did I). But when we played with these in the newsroom at VentureBeat we were soon moving our phones through the air like complete idiots … and enjoying every second of it.
But don’t just take my word for it: Check them out on your phone. You’ll be glad you did.
Pano #1: Zynga CEO Mark Pincus
Click this link on your phone … or, if you’re truly obstinate and want to view it on a larger device, I warned you:
Pano #2: VentureBeat writer Jolie O’Dell on stage
Click the link … or view below: