“Augmented reality still feels like something that exists only because, technologically, it can. But behind the gimmickry, you see the possibility of mobile devices giving you real-time information on your immediate surroundings”.
You could call it the voice of the consumer. Or the voice of reason. BusinessWeek takes a good look at some apps and tells us what is missing: better navigation, less clutter, … . Things we all know. But it is good to be reminded of it.
But the best thing is that this another important voice understanding the potential of AR whilst acknowledging that what we produce now is just the first baby steps. As we did on the web in ‘95.
It is next to impossible to find the American edition of Esquire in Europe. But now, even here, we can get the full ARexperience. Thanks to Augment Pro that did the full demo. Enjoy!
The NY Times magazine explains augmented reality together with some of the examples-du-jour such as the action figures for Avatar and the Burger King dollar menu.
As advertisers use augmented reality to enrich their ads, publishers use it to add to their content. First was Red Bull with the October issue of Red Bulletin.
The new Esquire (December issue that just came out) also has AR all over it. Watch the movie for an introduction.
The Financial Times had AR some time ago. But that was just an Ad Hoc thing. It had an article on AR and illustrated it with some of its own.
It all feels a bit gimmicky for the moment, what the magazines and newspapers are doing. But given the situation this industry is in, it is time for experiments and trying out new things to find new revenue streams or new ways to add value.
The guys at Layar are obviously very excited about Augmented Reality. And we have to give it to them, they are putting Mobile AR on the worldwide map.
Maarten Lens-Fitzgerald (co-founder Layar) was interviewed by CNN. It’s in this interview he made the statement that AR will be the second most used mobile application. Voice being number one.
I wish he wouldn’t make statements like that. Remember these: “the internet will kill brick and mortar shops” or “Second Life will become our first life”? Statements like these build huge expectations, create bubbles of hype that eventually burst and make industries suffer for a long time.
However, he might be right. Layar has a chance to become the Internet Explorer of mobile AR. But let’s learn for the past and avoid that our nascent industry suffers from a major setback in a year or two.
The virtual “book” “Daar ben ik” (dutch for “here I am”) wants to draw attention to the impact climate change is having today on the daily lives of people in developing countries, surfing the hype wave AR is currently on.
It’s got a nicely designed web site and the AR part works very well. They could have just published the movie on youtube, but this way the viewer feels more engaged.
And yes, you need to cut trees to produce the paper on which we can print our markers, but it’s for a good cause here so let’s give them a break ;)
In search of the real sustainable business opportunities we understand that things must by tried out. One-off campaigns serve as good test beds. They pave the way, so to speak. So, I Admit, the title’s a bit exaggerated.
However, at the Augmented Reality Blog we strongly believe that AR is here to stay for a while. That it’s more than a gimmick.
And we’re very happy to see that the people over at We Are Organized Chaos think the same way.
Citroën launches its new DS3 with an Augmented Reality application.
When you go to the promotional website, you can download a marker. Actually two markers. One is to view the car in 3D, the other one is to go on a testdrive in a 3D game.
Marker 1
Marker 2
It’s really well done. The only downside is you have to download and install a plugin.
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The virtual “book” 
In search of the real sustainable business opportunities we understand that things must by tried out. One-off campaigns serve as good test beds. They pave the way, so to speak. So, I Admit, the title’s a bit exaggerated.
