Saturday, May 29th, 2010
With the release of PangeaVR Pro for iPad (in HD) from Pangeasoft, the team gave me the opportunity to get to grips with the iPhone application of the same name. Now, I want to be straight out and honest with you – I did have limited knowledge of what this application actually does, so I was more than pleased when offered the chance to have a play about with the application.
On May 26th 2010, Pangea Software, one of the leading app developers for the apple iPhone and iPod Touch (and now iPad) announced the release of PangeaVR Pro HD for iPad. The developers have created smash hits like CroMag Rally, Bugdom 2 and a personal favorite – Otto Matic. When the iPad was released, Pangea were one of the developers who recognized the opportunity and so transferred a big selection of their iDevice applications over to the iPad for the devices initial release.
Your probably wondering, what is PangeaVR Pro? It is Pangea’s amazing VR panorama viewer. The application allows the user to interactively view 360º VR panoramas on the iPod Touch or iPhone, and now the iPad as well. The iPad version is an extreme step forward from the iPhone version, although both versions are absolutely stunning and the touch sensitivity is spot on. The initial iPhone release was back in 2008, and now the application is back for more with a completely redesigned interface which now supports high-resolution panoramas up to an amazing 4028×1024 in size.
This app is good for both panorama viewers and panoramic photographers because the photographers can now display their VR panoramas on their iPad and can easily install them by using iTunes’ file sharing capabilities. President of Pangea Software, Brian Greenstone, said the following about the new release “Since PangeaVR came out for the iPhone there have been over 300 photographers from around the world who have added their panoramas to our database. There are now thousands of stunning panoramas ranging from a saké brewery in Japan to the interior of an Aston Martin to the top of Machu Picchu. Playing with PangeaVR is like going on a vacation to every corner of the planet.”
This isn’t just useful for touring the world from the comfort of your own home, real estate agents who need to be able to show virtual tours of homes will find PangeaVR HD especially helpful because this is a supported capability. PangeaVR HD can be purchased on the App Store today for $14.99 at: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=373454824&mt=8. The full details and screen shots of PangeaVR HD can be found on the Pangea Software web site at: http://pangeasoft.net/pano/pangeavr/instructions-hd2.html
Now, back to the iPhone version. There is a free version of the PangeaVR for iPhone and both are still available. They are both excellent, although I would recommend the pro version because the capabilities are stunning and amazing. It would be a good idea to check out the free version first, but be sure to buy the full one after a few hours playing around because you will be far from dissapointed.
The application is fast loading and offers a fantastic browse functionality which allows you to choose from what seems like thousands of different panoramas from many different real estate agents, photographers etc. The application is also great for people trying to get the word out about there photography skills, because you can view the portfolio of an album, or visit the website of the creator.
Furthermore, the application has a bookmark feature which lets you save your favourite panoramas so when the family come over, you can show them some amazing views, without having to search through the massive data base of loads of collections.
Also, the application offers a ‘Enter URL’ option, which allows you to put the URL of a website it and either view or archive the websites portfolio, which then means you will be able to visit the great panoramas within your own archive on your device. This truly is a great option for estate agents, because they can archive some great panoramas (which they have uploaded online) and when customers go instore, they can head straight to the iPhones/iPads/iPod Touches and view the house they have got their eyes on.
The final feature is the archive feature, where you can view your archived panoramas – this option also allows you to ‘bin’ panoramas you no longer want to archive as well as see the space each panorama is taking up, and how much total storage is used up across your whole archive. I hasten to add, this archive is empty with no used storage when you first download the app, so the preloaded panoramas will definitely not use up your storage, they are included in the original size of the app on the database.
This application is a great oppertunity for everyone, be that estate agents, photographers or just something to do when your going to work and wish you were on holiday somewhere. To give the app a rating? 9/10.
