Perhaps you were lucky enough to find an iPhone stuffed in your stocking this Christmas. If that’s the case, you’re also in luck because in December Microsoft officially released its first application for the iPhone, titled “Seadragon Mobile.” The application, which currently lacks a platform from its own manufacturers, is developed to change the way the user interacts with the screen, allow them to navigate screens and see pictures regardless of the amount of data in the image or the bandwidth of the network.
By using Seadragon, iPhone users can view a wider array of high-resolution images with enhanced zoom levels without using up bandwidth.
Microsoft developers praise Seadragon for allow quicker navigation speed, depending only on the ratio of bandwidth to pixels. The transitions while navigating appear smoother and more streamlined and zooming as well as scaling photos is perfect regardless of screen resolution.
But Seadragon is not just designed for use on the iPhone. This application can be used on any cell phone, TV or computer screen, the main aim is just to make your browsing experience that much faster and smoother.
Partner programs include Photosynth, which is able to transform images into a 3D model on your monitor. Seadragon Ajax helps embed images and viewers into your own webpage, as well as the Deep Zoom Composer, which does much the same thing while using Seadragon to keep the picture clear without increasing download time.
Microsoft developers praise Seadragon for allow quicker navigation speed, depending only on the ratio of bandwidth to pixels. The transitions while navigating appear smoother and more streamlined and zooming as well as scaling photos is perfect regardless of screen resolution.
But Seadragon is not just designed for use on the iPhone. This application can be used on any cell phone, TV or computer screen, the main aim is just to make your browsing experience that much faster and smoother.
Partner programs include Photosynth, which is able to transform images into a 3D model on your monitor. Seadragon Ajax helps embed images and viewers into your own webpage, as well as the Deep Zoom Composer, which does much the same thing while using Seadragon to keep the picture clear without increasing download time.
With the fierce competition between Microsoft and Apple since the introduction of the iPod, it’s a big step for Microsoft to make an application specifically for a competitor’s product. But perhaps by putting its name into a competitor product, Microsoft can win back some of it lost fans. Certainly both companies have their merits and flaws, but Microsoft seems to think the release of Seadragon a great business opportunity, following it with their second application release, Tag.
With Tag the user can learn about an object just by scanning it’s “tag” with their camera phone. The tags are created specially by Microsoft and featured on most of their current products. Just like scanning a barcode, these tags enable to phone to identify and find information on the product.
These two programs appear to be just the tip of the iceberg for Microsoft as they come to embrace that Apple is here to stay.
I am an junior English major/ Philosophy minor at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Currently I am spending the spring of 2009 studying at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland.
This sounds like an interesting idea. I don’t have Internet on my cell phone, much less own an iPhone, though, but this is probably coming.