Layar augmented reality app now available globally, lets you hunt down tweeps with cold, calculated precision
By Chris Ziegler 
posted August 18th 2009 1:44AM
posted August 18th 2009 1:44AM
We grabbed Layar off the Market and took it for a quick spin; we're having trouble getting it to aim correctly, though Google Sky Map is having the same issues, so we're fairly certain that we're dealing with a phone or location problem rather than a Layar one. The key thing with an app like this is going to be speed and fluidity, and even on our Magic's relatively lightweight 528MHz core, it's plenty usable. The Google-powered Layar local search -- arguably the most important reality layer bundled with the software -- is a little annoying to use, primarily because the search box has no history or suggestion capability which means you've got to type out a full search every time you want to use it. Ultimately, though, the app's very young (as is this whole category of technology, for that matter) and we're stoked to see where this goes over the coming months.
NRU (pronounced "near you"), developed by Lastminute.com of the UK has beaten Layar to the punch on the iPhone 3GS, at least in Europe.
It doesn't use the video camera though, instead having a black "radar screen" with concentric white circles indicating range (with the compass cardinal points marked in the innermost rotating circle) and pulsing pink "dots" showing restaurants, cinemas, shopping centres, train stations etc at various distances.
I'm in Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK and have it filtered to cinemas and can currently "see" Ster Century Cinema to my East (Qype Mobile gives me various reviews and Safari links when I tap on the pulsing dot), Vue and Odeon Cinemas to my left...
According to Lastminute.com, next destination, North America and Australia. And it's FREE. Watch out for it on the App Store.
"Honeys to my East, fellers to my West, put them both together and we party with the best..."
W00t!
That app doesn't appear to be augmented reality as it doesn't display whats in front of you through the cam. NRU is closer to a GPS mapping app whereas Layer incorporates that onto realtime 'reality' in front of you so the points of interest appear to be popups that indicate where they're located in relation to buildings and monuments in your line of sight rather than glowing pink orbs you have to hunt down..
Well clearly the app is broken. That Pompei went out of business a few months ago and is now a middle eastern/mediterranean place called Mezza where I just had the worst falafel of my life.
I like the nru concept after all, reality is right there in front of you, squeezing it onto a lcd is a reality reduction. Augmenting it with just the information let you fill in the overlay with your mind and the accuracy. True positional 3D layered augmentation is still a ways away.
wish I had an Android phone, I´ll have to wait for it to be an iPhone app!