augmented reality

With the launch of the 800, we've been anticipating Nokia's upcoming marketing strategy in Australia with what the manufacturer can do to maintain the standards of promotion we've witnessed in other countries (think back to London with Deadmau5). With the recent announcement that will see Nokia holding Lumia "Live events" in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney this month, we now have more details surrounding the first one on the calendar - Sydney.

As one can probably guess from the above photo, the live event in Sydney sports Nokia's largest augmented reality experience. The public can step up on the Nokia mat to witness an interactive experience powered by an Xbox and Kinect. The video from the console is displayed on a massive 12 metre screen for everyone to enjoy.

Should you choose the Nokia Music tile, you'll be able to compete with Australia’s Got Talent and now local recording star Timomatic in a dance-off. But if that's not your cup of tea, and you're feeling slightly adventurous, then the Nokia Drive tile will produce a random character next to you on-screen; be it an Angry Bird or kangaroo.

Timomatic said the following when asked about his experience working with Nokia on this stunt:

"I was pumped about working with Nokia on this project.  I loved the idea of combining cutting-edge technology like Augmented Reality with my passion for music and dance. The footage was filmed in a studio and we experimented with a range of dance moves, both free-style and choreographed.  It's pretty amazing to see it all come together like that on the big screen."

Are you interested in giving this event a looking? Be sure to head on down to Martin Place between 7am - 7pm (16th March). 

Source: WPDownUnder

Though Nokia likes to deny that there's a Lumia 910, the rumored Euro version of the AT&T Lumia 900 with a 12MP camera, they evidently do have something to show off in a few weeks in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress.

Nokia will have a press conference on Monday, February 27 8:30-9:30am to announce a new device and as Forbes reports, it looks to have something unique to offer:

"While the partner did not specify whether the upcoming device was a Windows Phone handset, it did say it was a phone that would run an unusual software feature normally found only on high-end smartphones."

Well, that sounds interesting. Augmented Reality, possibly i.e. City Lens? That's certainly a contender, we think. NFC also comes to mind but that's more than software and is not expected until Apollo.

Either way, we'll be there that morning to cover it as usual. So mark the date and time down as we'll have the scoop. (And perhaps we'll also see that white Lumia 900 too.)

Source: Forbes; Thanks for everyone who sent this in

We're always a fan of augmented reality apps even if we don't have a specific use for them. Augmented Colors by SimzzDev fits in that category as we're not designers or artists by any stretch. Still, that didn't prevent us from recognizing just how cool this is.

In short, the app uses your Windows Phone camera to dynamically label colors in the world by using their RGB values and HTML color codes (e.g. #FF0000 for red). When you find a color you like, you simply tap the on-screen color bar to "lock it" in. The app then hops to the share screen where you can post that color code to Twitter/Facebook/Live, email/SMS or pin-to-start for saving for later. You can even create solid wallpapers for your Lock screen based off the color for some added function.

We could see painters and graphic designers making great use of this app or even if you're just repainting a room and you're looking for that exact color for the paint store. The app works exceptionably well for what it is meant to do and for $0.99, we think it's a bargain. There's also a free-trial where you can test out the AR part (you just can't share results), so no reason to not give it a spin.

Pick up Augmented Colors here in the Marketplace.

Just a couple days after releasing Face Swap, Microsoft Research is at it again with Face Mask.  Where Face Swap used facial recognition to let you move mugs between bodies, this new app adds humorous features people's faces.  Choose between 20 different masks, rotate or resize them, then make your friends look ridiculous.  Face Mask can identify multiple faces in a snapshot and can randomize masks between them simply by shaking your phone.  Pictures can be saved to the People Hub, as well as shared via Facebook, Twitter and Sina Weibo.

Like its sister app, Face Swap, Face Mask is free.  You can get it here.  Also, if you enjoy this app, check out Funny Faces too. Thanks for the tip, Shadi!

We do love ourselves some AR (augmented reality) apps around here, so devs, just add AR to your app to get featured here. Just kidding, but it doesn't hurt.

Case in point is this nifty little app called Heads Up Compass. It uses the camera's live feed and overlays the compass headings in cardinal points and direction on top, allowing you to scan the horizon for Tusken Raiders. Or maybe Bear Grylis.

We actually have no practical use of this outside of looking bad ass in New York City when we get out of the subway. That didn't stop us from buying it for $0.99 though. Of course you could use it for free (with ads) if you don't want to spend the buck.

Grab Heads Up Compass here in the Marketplace. And good luck finding R2.

Schulte Software Development has released Funny Faces, one of the first Mango apps to use augmented reality.  Using your phone's camera, Funny Faces will detect people's faces and overlay your choice of ridiculous head wear.  Choose from Afros, mustaches, different hats, or the famed internet hero himself, Chuck Norris. 

Once you have sufficiently sillied-up your target, Funny Faces allows you take a picture with the camera and save it to your photo album.  Better yet, you can share your snapshot with friends  directly via email, Twitter and FaceBook.  There are already quite a bit of overlay options, with more on the way. The devs are also asking for suggestions, so if you have any ideas, feel free to share them right through the app itself.

You can get Funny Faces from the Marketplace for $.99, or try it free first.  The trial version has a few overlays to try and a one-time ability to save/share your creation.

We know that developers will be able to start submitting their Mango-versions of their app to the Marketplace begging this week, but what's not clear is if OEMs would have the same limitations. A reason to ask that is because OEMs always seem to get a little lead time and also deeper access to the OS than regular 3rd party devs.

A few tips have come in noting that LG's catalog of apps have been quietly getting version bumps in the last few days, specifically ScanSearch which is their feature-rich augmented reality app. Sure enough, we fired up our LG Quantum with Mango 7720 on board and downloaded v1.9 of the app and noticed two things:

• We get a compatibility warning stating that our phone doesn't have a compass
• Fast app switching/resume now works with the app

Those two things right there tell us that indeed, this app is now Mango-compatible. Interestingly, other apps such as LG's Today and Weather & Clock do not offer instant resume, meaning those still need a refresh.  However, when we installed LG's Metro Scanner app we get a "Device does not support compass" warning upon launch and that app also supports fast resume, meaning it too is now Mango compatible. We suppose it makes sense that their two augmented reality apps get update so that presumably that folks can test new LG hardware that will feature more robust compass and gyroscope support.

Interesting to see that OEMs can sneak those apps in the Marketplace. We should also mention that we've heard that some HTC apps have also been updated, but we could not verify that they were Mango compatible as they lacked fast-resume. Thanks, Ahmed, for the tip!

Microsoft has posted a new job opening for a Software Development Engineer in testing for Windows Phone 7. In the brief we see "DISRUPT THE MARKET" being used, indicating some potential big plans for the platform for end-users. 

This could possibly have something to do with Skype? Or is it to do with the US army trailing smartphones for deployment? We could take this even further and tie in the recent augmented reality license Microsoft signed. What do you guys think of this job posting and the project? See the post after the break and sound off in the comments. 

Say what you want about LG but their custom Windows Phone software is hands down the best of all the OEMs today. Between offering $30 worth of apps for free (including the amazing Weave) and their homemade stuff like Voice to Text, ScanSearch and Metro Scanner (and a bunch of other tools, like panoramic camera), they really offer quite the one-two punch to HTC and Samsung.

ScanSearch and Metro Scanner are great because they are so-called augmented reality apps. Basically they take advantage of the phone's accelerometer, compass and camera to show you things you can't see, like bars, restaurants, or in the case of Metro Scanner, subway stations in your local city.

Metro Scanner works "world wide" and while we couldn't vouch for that it did a swell job in New York City. You launch the app, it grabs a GPS fix (can take a few seconds, though it has a progress bar, natch) and then it shows you where the nearest subway is in relation to you. Holding the phone flat  gives you a map with compass, holding it up uses the camera to show you where it is as if you could see through all the buildings. Tapping the station gives you directions.

Metro Scanner was just updated to v1.2 to fix a compass bug and all we have to say about the app is that it's pretty darn cool, LG. Our next hope? Microsoft releases those camera and compass APIs so 3rd party developers like Layar can join in on the fun.