Real Estate Tools Built for the iPhone

An article today in RISMEDIA describes the release of new lead routing tools built specifically for the iPhone.

3Dwalkthroughs.com expects to see many new applications built for the iPhone and marketed to real estate professionals. While I have personally been holding off on joining the iPhone craze, that will end after I make my purchase this weekend.

I am very curious how effective the iPhone is going to be for sending and receiving media formats such as 3D Walkthroughs and 3D Renderings. It will be interesting to witness the speed of delivery, visual quality and allowable interactivity of our various media formats once I get comfortable with all the iPhone features. I will certainly keep you posted…

RISMEDIA, August 23, 2007—a la mode, a real estate technology company, has announced the release of lead routing tools built for the iPhone(TM).

This announcement highlighted a number of new feature integrations with the iPhone, following earlier lead management features introduced in August. iPhone lead routing and management functionality is part of a la mode’s broader “real estate now” mobile technology initiative.

a la mode is the first company to provide brokers and agents the ability to manage and route Web site leads on an iPhone. a la mode’s lead routing capabilities for the iPhone come at a time when:

— Almost three quarters of all home buyers consider a real estate agent’s
response time either a “very important” or an “extremely important”
factor in their decision when choosing an agent to work with. Nine out
of ten Internet home buyers say the same.

— Forty-seven percent of home buyers who use the Internet to select an
agent and 43% of non-Internet buyers say they select their agent
because the agent is either the first or the quickest to respond to his
or her inquiry.*

“The mobile era has changed how real estate business is done,” commented Rusty Lindquist, a la mode’s Vice President of Broker and Agent Products. “Other systems equip users with mobile access to data. But that’s no longer enough in today’s ‘real estate now’ climate.”

Brokers and agents need the ability to process that information, and act on it instantly, Lindquist stressed. “Sometimes that means immediately sending a lead to a particular agent, or agent team, and sometimes it means routing leads directly to an automated drip marketing campaign based on their specific responses to a lead form,” Lindquist said.

“Our new mobile lead routing and management features allow agents and brokers the mobile flexibility to process leads on the go.”

The newest iPhone integration with a la mode’s Agent and Broker XSite Web sites allow real estate professionals to immediately assign a Web lead to an agent, directly from their iPhone, or to a routing group, for “round-robin” group distribution. Also with the update, agents and brokers alike can assign a lead to a la mode’s automatic marketing suite, XSellerate, and immediately start a drip marketing campaign targeted specifically to the lead, such as first time buyers, high-end sellers, and so on.

Real estate lead routing and management for the iPhone enables real estate professionals on the go to more effectively manage, monitor, and respond to leads — even when brokers and agents are away from the office.

“While our mobile tools will work on any Web-enabled mobile device, the iPhone gives REALTORS(R) a unique and compelling navigational experience that lends itself well to new and advanced users alike,” Lindquist said.

"3D to transform retail advertising"

There is about to be a new way to grab the attention of consumers that has defintely gained our interest at 3dWalkthroughs.com. The “3D Company” is about to launch a new 3D digital signage platform that will add a very creative way to advertise products to consumers. This product can be controlled remotely to help address different demographics at different times of the day.
“Fadi Mamlouk, General Manager, 3D Company, said: ‘Breaking through the clutter and sustaining consumer attention are the key objectives of today’s advertisers. The 3D Company’s solutions take advertising to a whole new level, whereby promotional messages can be switched by the minute.”
This would be an excellent medium to display our 3d floorplans and 3d animations to areas where development is high.

Read Below for Article:

The 3D Company FZ LLC, the audiovisual and virtual solutions provider for retail and commercial advertising, will launch its new digital signage platform during GITEX Technology Week 2007.

The company will showcase its products under the umbrella of Dubai Internet City, a TECOM Investments arm and one of the largest managed ICT free zones in the world. GITEX 2007 will be held from 8-12 September at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The 3D Company’s digital signage technology integrates high-tech 3D displays giving advertisers the ultimate marketing tool. The supplier of 2D/3D content and hardware is the first to combine traditional digital signage networks with 3D display technology in the UAE.

Controlled remotely from anywhere, digital signage technology enables advertisers to display targeted messages based on viewer profile or hour of day. Point-of-sale advertising through digital signage appears on the display, targeting shoppers with their specific requirements and tastes by providing dynamic content and enhancing the overall impact of their shopping experience.

Fadi Mamlouk, General Manager, 3D Company, said: ‘Breaking through the clutter and sustaining consumer attention are the key objectives of today’s advertisers. The 3D Company’s solutions take advertising to a whole new level, whereby promotional messages can be switched by the minute.’

‘We will feature special 3D displays for the GITEX stand this year. The exhibition will be an occasion to introduce the use of digital signage as an ideal advertising medium, illustrating its effectiveness in reaching the right audience and its edge over traditional forms.’

At GITEX, in-house experts at the company’s stand will offer special displays that enable 3-dimensional viewing without wearing special glasses. The company also provides other audiovisual solutions for all markets.

NYC Taxis About To Install Marketing Machines in Each Car

Since 3dwalkthroughs.com is based in NY, we were interested in a company, “Creative Mobile Technologies”,that is about to bring to latest technology to the 13,000 taxi’s that drive around NYC. They are about to equip each taxi with a “passenger information monitor” that will allow each cab to accept credit/debit cards as well as show advertisments and other recent information. This technology will also offer a GPS system which will show the passenger their current location.

As this new venue in mass marketing expands to taxis, I can see our 3d floorplans, 3d animations and 3d walkthroughs being used as a intregral tool for developers to market their properties to potential NY residents.

Check out more about “Creative Mobile Technologies” below:

Creative Mobile Technologies, LLC (CMT), is a New York City based company that brings together longtime leaders in the New York City taxi industry with innovative minds in technology to create a new kind of company with a new kind of philosophy. CMT is the exclusive managing agent of Mobile Knowledge, a prime contractor that has received approval from the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to proceed in furtherance of the proposal submitted in response to the Request for Proposals. Mobile Knowledge is a pioneer and world leader in taxi-data communications that holds patents on key functions of the passenger information monitor, a crucial component of the TLC technology mandate.

The story of CMT is the story of a taxi industry facing perhaps the greatest challenge in its 100-year history. In 2004, when the TLC mandated new taxi technologies including credit and debit card capability, text messaging, interactive passenger maps and electronic trip sheets, the industry had more questions than answers. After all, we got into the business to run taxicabs – not to run software.

So a group of industry leaders including lease managers, brokers, owner/drivers, lenders and fleet owners – large and small - started to evaluate what we needed to do, not only to comply with the mandate, but to elevate our business and make it more efficient, modern and profitable in the Information Age.

As taxi people, we knew the importance of cost and quality. We knew what we wanted to see in our taxicabs and how these new services should be integrated into our busy operations. And we certainly didn’t want to pay thousands of dollars for new equipment. So, we set out to find a solution that would seemingly do the impossible - provide taxi owners with FREE** use of the highest quality state-of-the-art equipment and a flexible overall solution based on an easy consolidated monthly usage fee that would give taxi owners the freedom to do what they do best – operate taxicabs.

As a result of these countless idea-sharing discussions and at the urging of taxi people from all segments of the industry who wanted a “by the industry for the industry” taxi technology solution, Ron Sherman, a longtime taxi industry leader, founded Creative Mobile Technologies. He is currently the company’s Chief Executive Officer.

With decades of taxi experience under our belts and the insights of so many friends and colleagues in the taxi industry, our challenge was in integrating all of the technology, banking and media components needed to realize this vision.

In 2005, Jesse H. Davis, a 25-year veteran of the financial and technology sectors, joined CMT as its President and Chief Operating Officer, arriving from Metlife, the country’s largest insurance company, where he led the successful integration of IT systems through three separate acquisitions including that of Traveler’s Life. Previously, Jesse was a Senior Vice President at the Bessemer Group in Woodbridge, New Jersey, one of the country’s premier wealth management firms for high net worth individuals, where he perfected a balance of technological skill and business management with a fine eye for the precision required of the financial services sector (Jesse has a BA in Mathematics from Columbia University and an MBA from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University).

Jesse’s expertise in making complicated and often disparate technologies into highly functional and distinctly innovative final products that work for real people in the real world made him ideally suited to the task that lay ahead for CMT.

With Jesse at the helm, CMT set out to develop and oversee a premier project team comprised of the best companies in banking, advertising and various technologies. CMT and Mobile Knowledge forged key and exclusive strategic business partnerships with Clear Channel, an international leader in advertising with a major stake in the New York taxi industry; Bank of America, one of the country’s largest banks, whose subsidiary Bank of America Merchant Services is a world leader in credit and debit card account processing services and World Line Communications Corp., which has more than a decade of experience building complex, large scale IT infrastructure projects for banking, retail, pharmaceutical and healthcare companies including Fortune 500 corporations.

In 2006, as CMT evolved from just a gleam in the industry’s eyes to a world class taxi technology provider, Jed Appelbaum, who is widely respected in the taxi industry, joined the team as Vice President in charge of Operations. Jed, a former Assistant Commissioner of Safety and Emissions at the TLC, who joined the agency in 1977, ran operations at its main inspection facility in Woodside, Queens, supervising a staff of 60 and overseeing the inspection process of over 60,000 taxicabs annually as well as the inspection of all licensed meter shops. In 2003, he oversaw the $10M renovation of the inspection facility, resulting in one of the newest and most advanced automobile inspection facilities in the world. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Operations for the Northeast Region at Clear Channel Taxi Media.

Another key member of the CMT team is Mike Sahm, Vice President, Sales and Customer Relations. Mike spent 20 years in sales for the auto electronics industry before serving as Vice President of Operations for Medallion Financial Media, the national outdoor advertising firm that included advertising sales for New York City taxi tops. While at Medallion, Mike’s integrity and his personal, “knock-on-the-door” style earned him widespread respect industry-wide. As a result, he built a vast network of lasting relationships in the New York City taxi industry that hold firm today.

To find out more information about the FREEdom Solution, call Creative Mobile Technologies, LLC, contractor agent for Mobile Knowledge Corp., at 718-349-7700.

3D Keeps Getting More Real

Hitachi recently announced their newest developments in 3D Holographic Technology. It is predicted that this technology will be used, at least immediately, with engineering and manufacturing. It would certainly be interesting to see if 3d walkthroughs.com would be able to utilize this technology to showcase its 3d floorplans and 3d animations.

3D holographics tuned up by Hitachi
Mark Sutton August 14, 1:00pm
Advanced version of holographic technology developed using mirrors
Hitachi has announced that it has further developed 3D holographic technology. It is now claimed that it is possible to project a 3D image into mid-air using a rotating mirror system. The technology works via a rapid spinning action of mirrors placed around a displayed object. Hitachi says the technology could end up in schools and museums as well as industry.

It’s not hard to guess where the inspiration came from the 3D holographic technology (see Star Wars image) and it’s no surprise that the futuristic technology has now been developed.
It is predicted that the technology will be best used in engineering and manufacturing where the design process could be greatly aided by a holographic 3D model.

Three years ago Hitachi first announced that it had developed a way to make a 3D display, which worked by capturing 24 angles of an object and transmitting them to form objects of upto 10cm in height. It was also announced that an image as complex as that of a human could be formed.

Coldwell Banker is First National Real Estate Company to Join Second Life

At 3d walkthroughs.com we believe that change is necessary to adapt to the current challenges facing the real estate industry. For this reason our 3d renderings, 3d walkthroughs and 3d floorplans have been an valuable tool for property marketing that help our customers show that they embrace innovation and technology. Very interesting article attached that shows “Coldwell Banker’s” desire to be the leader in innovation and technology to change with the times.

In a recent article, Charlie Young, who is the Senior VP of Marketing at Coldwell Banker, says that “I think of ‘technology’ as a tangible tool or thing that helps make a process easier,” while “Innovation, however, is a new way of thinking-whether that’s in the Internet space or elsewhere.” According to the attached article he believes that “technology” and “innovation” are going to be the driving force for what will be in real estate. It is for that reason that they became the first National Real Estate Company to sell properties on “Second Life”

Coldwell Banker pushes into the future with an eye on technology and innovation

By Stephanie Andre

RISMEDIA, August 28, 2007-Do not confuse the terms “technology” and “innovation.” These two words go hand in hand as the real estate industry now pushes toward a future that will require more openness to change.

“I think of ‘technology’ as a tangible tool or thing that helps make a process easier,” explains Charlie Young, senior vice president of marketing, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC. “Innovation, however, is a new way of thinking-whether that’s in the Internet space or elsewhere.” Regardless of description, Young believes these are two of the driving forces behind what will come to be in the real estate space. Here, Young talks about how sales associates can embrace this change, why the younger generations are so important to understand and what he believes needs to be done for sales associates to stay successful.

Real Estate magazine: Why do you believe technology and innovation seem to be driving a lot of marketing initiatives?
Charlie Young: Both technology and innovation are so important because of the market today and the business being conducted today. From my perspective, it’s about the consumer and their needs. They now have access to so much more information. They have the same level of expectation for the real estate buying-and-selling process as they do for anything else. Investors are also fueling the desire and need for innovative online needs for consumers. Big brands like us need to be on the cutting edge.

RE: What is the difference between the two words?
CY: I think of technology as a tangible tool or thing that helps make a process easier. Innovation, however, is a new way of thinking, whether it’s in the Internet space or elsewhere. It’s a new way of delivering a product or service.

RE: What you do on a corporate level is obviously different from that at a sales associate’s level. What tips can you suggest for sales associates to not only understand technology and innovation, but take advantage of the changes they have made in our industry?
CY: In a word-participate. Get involved. Through that process, sales associates can figure out how to bring value into this new world. I always tell people, “Run toward light, not away from it.” The world is going to change whether we want it to or not. You will have to contend with blogging, video, consumer-generated content sites, new real estate-oriented portals, etc. Consumers ask more about the process these days. As a sales associate, step one should be to participate. You have to figure out how to be inside the dialogue.

RE: Baby Boomers continue to drive real estate sales. That said, if they are old-fashioned, why do we need such discussion about technology and innovation?
CY: For a number of reasons. Change is happening all around-whether it’s the Baby Boomers or Generations X and/or Y. Change is already starting to trickle over to the Boomers. For their children-Gens X and Y-social networking and texting are part of their everyday tasks. It’s important for us to be innovative and to be searching for new technology solutions because these next generations, who are already buying at a great pace, are hot on the heels of having great influence; every year, 5 million people turn 21 and then begin to enter the real estate market.

RE: How much focus should real estate professionals put on attracting younger buyers and sellers?
CY: On a localized basis, you should serve your particular market the best way possible. It’s really an individual answer for different, individual areas. Different pockets will grow one way-more rural or older and others will become more urban and younger. Know your market. However, overall it’s still wise to get younger. It’s a good idea.

RE: So, does a sales associate have to think younger?
CY: Yes. An interesting trend we’re now seeing is agent teams. But not just agent teams, but specifically mother/daughter, mother/son, father/son, father/daughter, etc., teams. These people really have it right. The parent brings the years of experience in the business and the child, at typically 25 to 30 years old, brings a new perspective, one that is usually more tech savvy.

RE: How does a national brand’s ability to market impact the local innovation decisions?
CY: Our franchisees look to us for leadership. Our national programs need to be initiated so they can be tailored to the local markets. Real estate is local. Affiliated companies and their sales associates are the ones working directly with the consumer, shopping for homes, narrowing them down, making an offer, negotiating and closing has all changed. And our job is to harness technological advances so that we can provide our affiliated companies with an opportunity to attract buyers and sellers.

RE: Second Life (the online virtual world) has been a home run for the company. What lessons are you learning from this entrance into the virtual world?
CY: It goes back to what I said before about sales associates-they need to participate. It’s only through involvement that you can understand what it takes. Second Life is all about experimentation and using it as a test lab. We had three goals: to send a message to the real estate world about innovation; to see if this environment could drive people to coldwellbanker.com; and to experience life in the third-dimension world. For the home-buying and selling process, this was important to understand.
We are very much committed to innovation, figuring out where we need to be and going in with open eyes. We don’t know everything but we’d like to learn. RE

Coldwell Banker’s Second Life Experience

With the 3-D virtual world of Second Life having become an online phenomenon, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC is the first national real estate company to sell homes within the community. The company is offering houses in a variety of architectural styles and the ability to tour neighborhoods with a real estate professional.

Members of Second Life (www.secondlife.com) create personas for themselves, known as avatars, which they use to navigate through the community peopled with more than 5 million residents worldwide. While in the virtual world of Second Life, avatars explore the society, shop, interact with others, visit entertainment events and do essentially everything they might in the real world. One of the more popular activities within Second Life is the purchase and rental of virtual land, so players can build their own stores, homes and event sites.

Coldwell Banker has an inventory of more than 500 homes on 550,000 square meters in the Ranchero section of the Second Life mainland, one of the largest home developments in this virtual world. These virtual homes will vary in price based on size and style, including southwestern, colonial and contemporary, among others. In addition, Coldwell Banker is offering homes perched atop a picturesque hill overlooking the ocean. Second Life residents can meet with a Coldwell Banker sales associate avatar in the brand’s virtual office and schedule an appointment to tour virtual properties of interest. Home buyers who close a purchase with Coldwell Banker will receive free “virtual furniture” for their new home as a closing gift.

Real Estate Brokers and Agents Can Now Route and Assign Sales Leads on Their iPhones

I just came upon a very interesting new product from alamode.com that shares the value that 3dwalkthroughs.com sees in utilizing technology to maximize realtor efficiency and effectiveness. Alamode.com has given brokers and agents the ability to receive and act on leads in “real time” when they are on the go. Its not a far stretch to forsee our 3d floorplans, 3d walkthroughs and 3d renderings incorporated into this technology giving realtors the edge to shorten the response time needed to attract and maintain potential customers. According to the article:

” Almost three quarters of all home buyers consider a real estate agent’s
response time either a “very important” or an “extremely important”
factor in their decision when choosing an agent to work with. Nine out
of ten Internet home buyers say the same”

Full Story Below:

RISMEDIA, August 23, 2007—a la mode, a real estate technology company, has announced the release of lead routing tools built for the iPhone(TM).

This announcement highlighted a number of new feature integrations with the iPhone, following earlier lead management features introduced in August. iPhone lead routing and management functionality is part of a la mode’s broader “real estate now” mobile technology initiative.

a la mode is the first company to provide brokers and agents the ability to manage and route Web site leads on an iPhone. a la mode’s lead routing capabilities for the iPhone come at a time when:

— Almost three quarters of all home buyers consider a real estate agent’s
response time either a “very important” or an “extremely important”
factor in their decision when choosing an agent to work with. Nine out
of ten Internet home buyers say the same.

— Forty-seven percent of home buyers who use the Internet to select an
agent and 43% of non-Internet buyers say they select their agent
because the agent is either the first or the quickest to respond to his
or her inquiry.*

“The mobile era has changed how real estate business is done,” commented Rusty Lindquist, a la mode’s Vice President of Broker and Agent Products. “Other systems equip users with mobile access to data. But that’s no longer enough in today’s ‘real estate now’ climate.”

Brokers and agents need the ability to process that information, and act on it instantly, Lindquist stressed. “Sometimes that means immediately sending a lead to a particular agent, or agent team, and sometimes it means routing leads directly to an automated drip marketing campaign based on their specific responses to a lead form,” Lindquist said.

“Our new mobile lead routing and management features allow agents and brokers the mobile flexibility to process leads on the go.”

The newest iPhone integration with a la mode’s Agent and Broker XSite Web sites allow real estate professionals to immediately assign a Web lead to an agent, directly from their iPhone, or to a routing group, for “round-robin” group distribution. Also with the update, agents and brokers alike can assign a lead to a la mode’s automatic marketing suite, XSellerate, and immediately start a drip marketing campaign targeted specifically to the lead, such as first time buyers, high-end sellers, and so on.

Real estate lead routing and management for the iPhone enables real estate professionals on the go to more effectively manage, monitor, and respond to leads — even when brokers and agents are away from the office.

“While our mobile tools will work on any Web-enabled mobile device, the iPhone gives REALTORS(R) a unique and compelling navigational experience that lends itself well to new and advanced users alike,” Lindquist said.

Brokers and agents can learn more about a la mode lead management for iPhones by visiting http://www.alamode.com/iPhone.

* All statistics from California Association of Realtors’ annual Internet vs. Traditional Buyers Survey.

Boutique Hotelier Soon to be Marketed by Marriott

In our latest travels, we have been amazed at how many boutique or fashion hotels have been popping up in each major city. They usually offer the best mix of chic design and atmosphere that attracts the “in” crowd at their guests rooms and lounge. In very much the same way our 3D renderings and 3D animations have brought unique design ideas to life, “Marriott Hotels” is about to do the same.

In a recent article, it was announced that “Marriott International” is teaming up with “Ian Schrager” to market around 100 “Boutique Hotels” in the U.S, South America, Europe and Asia. According to the article:
“MARRIOTT is hoping to leverage Mr. Schrager’s aesthetic ingenuity and cachet with its own marketing and organizational muscle to gain entry into the boutique segment, among the fastest-growing in the hotel industry.”

Our vision is that 3dwalkthroughs will help visionaries such as “Ian Schrager” and “Marriott” capture the same atmopshere through our property marketing tools.

For the full article click Here

Intermap announces 3D off-road maps for the US

An interesting new product, AccurTerra, was launched by Intermap Technologies Corp that will provide 3D Maps and off road points of interest integrated with interactive 3D rendering software.

A quick visit to the Intermap website demonstrates a few small clips of the capabilities of this new product. According to Brian Bullock, Intermap’s president and CEO, “The product provides the outdoor enthusiast with 3D viewing capability on a hand-held device that extends the user experience beyond what we have become accustom to from Internet search engine providers.”

3Dwalkthroughs.com is very interested in any application that can effectively deliver 3D walkthroughs and 3D renderings to a handheld device.

Below is the press release of the launch of this new product.

New Product Allows PND and GPS Devices to Display 3D Maps and POIs for Off-Road and Recreational Use

DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Intermap Technologies™ Corp. today announced the launch of AccuTerra™, the Company’s newest product offering that provides existing outdoor GPS and PND products with 3D maps and off-road points-of-interest (POI) — integrated with interactive 3D rendering software. The product addresses a market that is currently limited to two-dimensional data and provides limited or no map coverage once you leave paved roads.

According to Brian Bullock, Intermap’s president and CEO, “AccuTerra’s 3D aerial maps and digital terrain model content, with overlaid route tracking information, is unique in today’s outdoor hand-held device market. The product provides the outdoor enthusiast with 3D viewing capability on a hand-held device that extends the user experience beyond what we have become accustom to from Internet search engine providers.”

The AccuTerra map content is developed from the Company’s ongoing and highly successful NEXTMap® countrywide 3D digital mapping program and includes the aggregation of data from other sources. AccuTerra enables PND features that can alert individuals when they deviate from a pre-selected route or miss a turn when traveling under poor visibility.

“AccuTerra will change the way we use GPS devices in recreational activities,” added Mr. Bullock. “As an example, National Park information that is included in existing PNDs and handheld GPS devices typically contain sparse 2D national park content that has limited value to users. The AccuTerra product provides users with an unparalleled experience because they can now visualize trails and other points of interest in the context of the natural terrain where they exist — all in three dimensions.”

The user interface includes realistic 3D views; accurate elevation information; clearly identified and classified trails, paths, and roads (overlaid on the 3D terrain); outdoor-specific points of interest such as campgrounds, service facilities, and trail heads; the ability to route to points of interest and track progress; easy to reference visualization tools to improve trip planning and safety; and, a land use display that depicts the location of public and private property, including areas of restricted use.

“In addition to the new features AccuTerra makes available to device manufactures, the product inherently makes recreational activities safer by reducing the chance of taking a wrong turn and getting lost. The product presents users with a greater sense of reality by allowing them to accurately locate trails, points of interest and hazards,” continues Bullock, “even to the point of allowing users to determine where to go for help in case of injury or other types of emergency.”

The current version of AccuTerra has already been integrated to run on several PNDs available in the market today. The Company has no plans to build a PND or GPS device; rather it will offer AccuTerra under license to manufacturers of these devices. The geospatial map database embedded within AccuTerra software is available for the entire state of California today and will be commercially available for the remainder of the U.S. later this year.

Personal Navigation Devices to Offer 3D Views

Personal Navigation Device’s (PND) manufacturer Mio today announced its forthcoming Mio C620 PND featuring 3D maps and 3D landmarks. The device will have a 4.3 inches screen and will be able to show 3D maps from Tele Atlas. (we have posted about Tele Atlas in the past)

According to a Tele Atlas study, 81% of current and potential navigation system’s users have a preference for 3D display over 2D display offerings. The study also indicated a strong willingness to pay for additional 3D city map content.

3Dwalkthroughs.com is excited about this announcement and we believe it is just another step towards a fully 3D internet. Obviously it will take some time and a great deal of effort for all buildings and landmarks to be modeled. However, as more applications are developed which integrate 3D models, the number of buildings modeled in 3D will surely increase exponentially.

Next step…the ability to walk through the building.

Microsoft launches 3D maps

Today Microsoft announced the launch of its 3D Map service. The new maps offer bird’s eye views of New York, Cincinnati and Austin, Texas with Cape Coral and Tampa Bay, Florida; Cincinnati, Ohio; Northampton, England; Ottawa, Canada and Indianapolis (including the motor speedway) coming soon.

To see the 3D view of New York, you must zoom right down on the New York position on the map until the 3D icon lights up and offers you the 3D view.

We tried using the service and found it to be a little slow but very cool. Clearly Microsoft is trying to compete with Google Earth and it is off to a good start. The next logical step would be to be able to see the exterior of the building in 3D and then have the ability to do a 3D Walkthrough of the interior. Once the service is improved it seems like it will be a very valuable mapping tool.