Here Are My Favorite AR Apps [AUGMENTED REALITY]

So AR is the future of marketing and the future of taking full advantage of your smart phone.  Here are a few of my favorites who have broken into the AR tech. early.

1.) Google Sky Map 

You probably have heard of Google Sky Map and quite rightly too. Whether you are an amateur astronomer or simply a Carl Sagan look-a-like, being able to gaze up at the stars and identify constellations, stars and planets drip in geeky-cool.

All you need to do is point your phone upwards toward the night sky and everything is identified in front of you in real time. Move your camera around, and the details will change with the direction you’re pointing at. Brilliant for educational purposes too. And as you should expect from Google, the application is smooth and super-easy to use.

Price: Free
Requires: 1.5 and up
Market Link: Google Sky Map
Developer: Google Inc.
Full Review: Google Sky Map

2.) Layar 

Layar was the first Android AR app I ever tried and watching an early demo of it encouraged me to buy an Android in the first place. Layar adds a variety of ‘layers’ to your phones camera world-view. The app really is a bundle of different apps in one as you can search for houses for sale, local people on Twitter, play games or even identify places where crime has taken place!

There are loads of different layers available through the app so well worth exploring in depth to get the best out of it. The UI is incredibly polished and intuitive, blending useful function with a good-looking interface. While most AR apps usually work quite well, few have as good an interface as Layar.

Price: Free
Requires: 1.5 and up
Market Link: Layar
Developer: Layar
Full Review: Layar
3.) Color Blindness Simulator 

Color Blindness is a clever app that demonstrates vision from the perspective of someone who is color blind. Through the camera the view splits into a normal view and a color blind view, enabling you to compare and see how color blindness can affect people.

You could actually also use this if you think you might be color blind yourself. If you cannot tell the difference between the two images it might be worth getting it checked out!

Price: Free
Requires: 2.1 and up
Market Link: Color Blindness Simulator
Developer: Seewald Solutions
4.) Junaio 

Another AR browser, you can view different things through Junaio depending on your preferences. So, if you are out and looking for the nearest fast food restaurant the app can tell you through your camera viewer. It also features a comprehensive bar code scanner and the ability to save favourites.

While not quite as fully-featured as Layar, Junaio works very well and includes a number of different functions. I particularly enjoyed a virtual tour of Valencia in Spain, but there is lots to play with in the app.

Price: Free
Requires: 2.1 and up
Market Link: Junaio
Developer: metaio GmbH
5.) GeoGoggle 

GeoGoggle lets you view accurate geographical information around you. It lets you see your longtitude and latitude, altitude, direction (via a 3D compass), and speed, as well as the distance to a specified location. Using your GPS the app can integrate with Geocaching apps like c:geo. You can also take pictures using the app.

An additional feature of GeoGoggle enables you to view a map and see where you have taken particular photographs in a certain location. The app has a rich UI, is very polished and works incredibly well, providing a great information resource; it’s ideal for outdoorsy-types and adventurers.

Price: Free
Requires: 2.1 and up
Market Link: GeoGoggle
Developer: peko56
6.) Paintball 

Paintball allows you to play real-time AR paintball through your Android. Simply get a few Android-toting buddies to download the app, link up and away you go. The game lets you build up points for bonuses too, and you can earn new virtual paintballing weaponry. The game detects the color of shirt your opponent is wearing, allowing you to target them. You can set times for specific matches and actually save your best shots to view back.

While it might be a hassle to get enough friends with Androids over to try it out, it is great fun and works really well… and you avoid the massive bruises and hurt egos you get from normal paintballing!

Price: Free
Requires: 2.2 and up
Market Link: Paintball
Developer: Mambo Studios
7.) Wikitude World Browser

Wikitude World Browser is probably the king of augmented reality information apps. In your camera viewer it lets you see Wikipedia articles, ATM machine locations, local restaurants, Tweets, FourSquare locations, Flickr pictures, YouTube videos and lots more… all local to you. The UI in the app is superb and the AR is accurate and well displayed.

Price: FreeYou could also download ‘Wikitude Drive’ which presents a unique sat-nav experience. Instead of following the map, simply follow the lines placed right along your route. The app is great for exploring new places or making the most of those around you. Wikitude World Browser has won various awards and should be considered one of those ‘essential’ apps people talk incessantly about.

Requires: 1.6 and up
Market Link: Wikitude World Browser
Developer: Wikitude GmbH

 

 

8.)  SpecTrek  <– good halloween app

Go ghost-hunting with this fun and clever game! The app recognizes your location and places around you a number of ghosts and bonuses. You

must find these ghosts and trap them. In order to do so, simply get as close to them as possible and fire a special net at them. You can see the ghosts through your viewer, hovering scarily in front of you! You can time games and build up points and bonuses.

SpecTrek is great for getting out of the house and improving fitness, especially as the game gets gradually harder, with more area to cover the more you play it. Brilliant for children too.

Price: Free or $2.49
Requires: 1.5
Market Link: SpecTrek
Developer: Games4All

For a more complete list and written reviews of each app check out a full article HERE

 

 

 

 

The Truth Behind The Marketing Scam Of Diamonds

Have you ever wondered why you wanted a Diamond so bad?

Would have you ever guess it was because a major corporation told you to want one?

I bet you thought brain washing was a joke! wait till you read this article [Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?]. Or this one [Why Engagement Rings Are Made With Diamonds].

They tell a story of mass manipulation and corruptions of our youth being taught in public schools paid for by the biggest diamond companies.  Basically fabricating the worth of a stone that would otherwise have no value, and creating and controlling a huge multi-billion dollar industry of blood and corruption.

ANGRY BIRDS IN REAL LIFE.

[Watch real life Angry Birds fly through the sky near Barcelona]

Have you ever wondered what Angry Birds would look like in real life? Recently in Terrassa, Spain (just outside of Barcelona), cell phone carrier T-Mobile made an advertisement featuring your favorite furious fowls as you’ve never seen them before, complete with exploding pigs.

The video shows a rather impressive real life setup just like you would expect to see in the game. Players use a phone hooked up to a huge screen to fling the birds, which is a pity — we would have much rather seen a giant slingshot.

Sadly, not everything you see in the video is real. As with most videos these days, computer graphics were used to add that final touch. You can get a better feel for how they put this add together by checking out this video.

The Future Of Marketing Is In A.R.

For those of you who don’t know what A.R. is I can explain.

Augmented Reality(A.R.) is the future of technology.  It is a blending of the digital world and the real world, where lines can be blurred so far it becomes difficult to tell the difference between them.  The Best example of this is in many of the AR apps available on todays smart phones.  Most use your phones camera and a combination of GPs and personal setting to provide augment information about the real world. Think like the terminators eyes.  When he looks at a person it automatically tells him what weapons they have and if they are a friend or foe.  In normal everyday life this will be used where you can point your phone at the front of a store and see what sales and or coupons they have going on. The uses are really limitless that was just one small example for marketing.  If you want to read more about how new tech has been advancing this industry check out the jump.

[Why Augmented Reality Is Poised To Change Marketing]

They break down how augmented reality, projection mapping and Kinect hacking are making the future closer than you could ever imagine.

Also check out:

7 Mind-Blowing Xbox Kinect Hacks [VIDEOS]

Who Owns the Advertising Space in an Augmented Reality World?