Junaio 2.5: AR Mobile Browser New Version Released

We published about Junaio Augmented Reality mobile browser when metaio, the developer, launched the v 2.0 in March at SXSW. From the press release, we know that Junaio 2.5 features an “improved graphical user interface, easier channel navigation and pinpoint geographic filtering”.

The core concept of Junaio is the “channels”: to help people browse location-based content more efficiently, metaio organised it in a simple category structure: News, Culture, Shopping, Games, Travel or Food , for example, it helps users to find the closest and best rated restaurants (just like Yelp but with 3D addition)… inside this category structure, companies and corporations can create their channels to offer their augmented reality (AR) content. Check out our previous article to see examples and pictures.

Currently, major brands and developers are partnering with Junaio to build innovative ad campaigns combining location-based content and augmented reality: print ads can be enhanced with multimedia content, games or special deal offers, and 3D virtual models can be “glued” onto real objects or products (see picture, right).

The most recent example is shown in the picture (right): the GSM Association has designed an ad campaign for the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Feb 2011) using the new AR browser capabilities. Placed in various newspapers and magazines, the GSMA print ad will trigger a 3D App Planet circled by satellites when watched using Junaio’s viewer. The 3D graphic can be clicked to display information about the MWC conference.

New features include:

• offers a choice between location-based and object-based functionality
• users can save favourite channels
• personal channel history monitoring
• user tutorial
• “Featured Picks” related to the user’s location (see picture, left)
• redesigned interfaces for ease of use
• keyword search by content channel or channel name
• view screens simplified with unobtrusive buttons

Junaio claims to be the “the world`s most advanced mobile Augmented Reality Browser”, I am certainly not sure about that since I did not take the time to compare it properly with its best known competitor: Layar. Mobile Augmented Reality is getting more traction these days, thanks to location-based services growingpopularity and more powerful graphic accelerationtechnologies available for mobile devices.

Eliane Fiolet
Categories: Cellphones, Gaming, Top Stories
Tags: 3D, ar, Augmented Reality (AR), browser, location-based, metaio, mobile browser