Microsoft posts Seadragon app for iPhones
updated 11:45 am EST, Mon December 15, 2008
MS posts first iPhone app
Microsoft has released a new app for the iPhone, Seadragon Mobile. The software is an extension of Microsoft's Photosynth image-browsing technology, which links hundreds or thousands of photos together into a single image, measuring as large as a gigapixel. People can then explore the material seamlessly, with little to no loading time as they zoom in on each detail.
The iPhone app lets users browse through various image collections, whether their own, a general assortment, or those hosted on Photosynth.com. Users can create original PhotoZoom or Deep Zoom Composer content, and subscribe to Deep Zoom RSS feeds. Microsoft notes, however, that browsing the Photosynth site is not currently working, something it intends to fix "soon."
Seadragon Mobile is also Microsoft's first iPhone app, notable due to the company's general avoidance of the iPhone platform. Microsoft has so far concentrated on its own cellular platform, Windows Mobile, which is run on third-party phones and has its own assortment of optional programs. Seadragon is a free download, and can stream images over both 3G and Wi-Fi.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 1999
Microsoft & iPhone
I would avoid this application like a plague. Anything MS crashes my Mac and the last thing I want is some crappy piece of software introducing bugs in my iPhone.