21 Jan Virtual Tours upgraded to include iPad/iPhone Gyro feature
An earlier Virtual Tour blog entry at 1020 Winnersh for Segro has just been upgraded with a few new features that we are now able to offer. Whilst the previous Virtual Tour displayed well on the iPad and iPhone, this tour includes two new items that are relevant to these particular devices.
The Gyroscope Feature
The brand new Gyro feature works on the iPhone 4 and iPad2 and all devices thereafter which will also incorporate this feature. I think the virtual tour viewing experience is actually at its best on the iPad, working with the hand movements and gestures iPad users use daily directly on the screen. The new Gyro facility shows the virtual view, moving with the iPad as you physically move the viewing device.
The virtual tour with gyro enabled is pretty cool though may be some might think that it is a bit geeky. I was unsure whether our clients would think that it is a little gimmicky for this, what is most serious application, the viewing of significant and often expensive commercial property. Early indications show clients actually love it. That said I think it is likely that the profile of those people who use the iPad tends to be those who may be a bit geeky and will readily engage this technology. I think that is most relevant in the decision to include the gyro attribute in the virtual tour or not.
The gyro component is now standard and available at no extra cost within the Virtual Tours supplied by Commercial Property Photography. Of course if you prefer the gyro can be disabled and an example of the same tour with the the gyro disabled is shown below.
The new Drop Down Selector combo box
The second new feature is the drop-down selector box which previously was disabled on the iDevices. On the desktop/laptop this drop down selector is positioned over a bespoke graphic of your choice. The bespoke graphic can be supplied by your own designers or we can prepare that for you. This graphic and drop down is retained in the Virtual Tour viewed now on the iPad. However on the iPhone we have chosen to remove the bespoke graphic and keep just the drop down selector on its own because the viewing browser is a little small. This is just another example of how features and enhancements are properly tailored to suit the device and the viewing experience. Similarly to the above gyro this is now a standard feature in all of our Virtual Tours and supplied at no additional cost.
The added advantage of including the drop down selector within the Virtual Tour which is now displayed on all devices is to provide a visual description label of where you are in the Tour. The selector can be chosen to change the view point but also when the thumbs are click instead or the pulsing transitions, the selector box label itself changes accordingly. The viewer can always be sure where they are in the tour and the clickable selector can provide a quick access back to check out a particular view for a second time.
The above video shows the Virtual Tour displayed on an iPad2 and iPhone4 for those who don’t own either of these devices. If you are serious about Virtual Tours and how useful they may be within your marketing strategy, the importance of the mobile devices should not be underestimated. Statistics show mobile use is increasing significantly and will overtake conventional desktop viewing soon, if not already. Now combined with use and advertising of QR codes in print and on signboards with direct links to these Virtual Tours this is significant which we feature here.
Click on the image to the left to view the same Virtual Tour without the gyro enabled. We would be interested in your opinion, whether you prefer the Virtual Tour with or without the feature enabled or disabled. Please remember this is only relevant on a device such as a iPad2 or an iPhone4 and later. Please leave your comment in the box below.