Check out the video below to see the IDEOS X3 handset.

Confirming the news, Mr. Anand Narang, Marketing Director at Huawei Devices said, “We are extremely pleased to partner with Wikitude for this innovative application. The Wikitude World Browser will allow our users to discover what’s around them in a completely new manner. Huawei who is known for its innovation always aims to provide the best combination of good design and superb user experience to its mobile users. We look forward for a positive response from our valuable users for the newly launched smartphones Sonic and IDEOS X3 which has many other exciting applications like Wikitude loaded in it.”

Wikitude features more than 2,000 AR content experiences. These aggregated content datasets add up to more than 150 million points of interest (POIs) like sights, restaurants, mobile coupons, coffee shops and WiFi hotspots around the globe. Wikitude also allows the users to customize the home screen according to individual’s lifestyle and preferences. Wikitude currently offers more than 2 million POIs in India. Some of the content in India includes: Twitter (geo referenced tweets), Flickr, Instagram, Panoramio and Youtube (geo referenced pictures and videos), Foursquare Venues, Google Local, Wikipedia articles, hotels.com, booking.com and more.

“It is absolutely phenomenal that we were able to engage with Huawei on optimizing Wikitude for a smartphone with cloud services” said Andy Gstoll, Wikitude’s CMO. “Huawei’s lifestyle oriented devices in combination with Wikitude make Augmented Reality possible without any compromises.” He further added, “due to Huawei’s very competitively priced handsets, Augmented Reality is now available to a much wider audience than ever before.”

As part of BlackBerry® Dev Con Asia taking place in Singapore this year, Wikitude has announced additional support for smartphones running on the BlackBerry® 6 operating system (OS). With Wikitude being preinstalled on all new smartphones running the BlackBerry 7 OS, bringing Wikitude to smartphones running BlackBerry 6 will help answer considerable demand expressed by users who want to experience Wikitude’s extensive content offering including more than 2,000 content Worlds consisting of approx. 150 million places around the globe. Users of the popular BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700, 9780,9788 and BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 smartphones can download Wikitude on BlackBerry® App World™ starting today.

Although smartphones running BlackBerry OS 6 do not support the Augmented Reality view, which requires specific hardware features available in BlackBerry 7 based smartphones, the Wikitude app does fully integrate with BBM™ enabling users to find their BBM friends on a map and to communicate with one another based on their location. Users opting to allow their whereabouts to be displayed can even make new friends.

After being crowned “The Most Addictive Social App Using the BBM Social Platform” at BlackBerry DevCon Americas in October, Wikitude most recently won the BlackBerry® EMEA Innovation Award for “Best BBM Connected App”, awarded in Alicante 1st December. “Extending the Wikitude platform to millions of BlackBerry 6 smartphone users will make the BBM experience richer than ever before. We are extremely happy to finally bring this version of Wikitude to even more BlackBerry smartphone users,” says Martin Herdina, Wikitude’s CEO.

Alec Saunders, VP Developer Relations, Research In Motion, said: “We’re delighted that Wikitude has integrated BBM support within their app. Integration with BBM can allow much greater viral discovery for apps, as well as enrich and transform the user experience with important social elements.”

The optimized tablet version of Wikitude offers SONY Tablet S users a split screen view enabling them to see the Augmented Reality (AR) view and the content selection menu at the same time. With this special feature, it is easy to switch between the different AR experiences around you without losing the camera view or having to return to the home screen.

“It is absolutely phenomenal that we were able to engage with SONY on optimizing Wikitude for this high end Android tablet” said Andy Gstoll, Wikitude’s CMO. “Our job of course is to make great software, but in combination with well designed hardware such as the Tablet S, the user experience can be taken to another level.”

Wikitude World Browser 6.3 features more than 2,000 AR content experiences, also called content “Worlds”. These aggregated content datasets add up to more than 150 million points of interest like sights, restaurants, mobile coupons, coffee shops and WiFi hotspots around the globe. No need to be overwhelmed by this high quantity of content as Wikitude allows you to customize your home screen according to your lifestyle and preferences, so you can manage and find the things you care about quickly.

The optimized tablet version is also available for other Android tablets and can be downloaded here.

Click here for a high resolution image of Wikitude on the SONY Tablet S.

Since the initial announcement of Wikitude ARchitect at the ARE conference in Silicon Valley earlier this year, the first public beta ARchitect Development Kit (ADK) for Android is now available for download here.

The ADK is filled with information and specifications, which will help developers on their way to creating their very own AR experience. As well as the actual ARchitect Mobile Viewer, which let’s you test drive your AR World prior to publication, developers will find a set of documents explaining the library on code level including APIs and other useful tools, such as the ARchitect Desktop Engine, a simulator to execute ARchitect Worlds in a desktop browser.

There is so much developers can do with Wikitude’s ARchitect and the advanced features open unlimited possibilities with interaction, animations and media playback!

View the video below to see animations in the Wikitude ARchitect viewer.

Only recently Wikitude demonstrated its leadership role by paving the way for future AR technologies by leading the AR standardization working group of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). “With Wikitude ARchitect we are underscoring our intention to make a simple yet very powerful and open AR platform available to the content and developer community out there” said Wolfgang Damm, Wikitude’s Lead ARchitect Engineer. “Developers will finally have an easy to work with HTML/JavaScript framework, the perfect playground for the most creative and innovative Augmented Reality Worlds.”

Developers benefit from the following Wikitute ARchitect features:
It’s simple!
Because ARchitect is based on standards and technology trusted by billions of websites like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

It’s flexible!
Because with ARchitect you have full control over your AR view.You decide exactly how and what the user sees.

It’s efficient!
Because Architect’s concepts are well known and understood by thousands of web developers and there is no need to learn a proprietary technology. Get results faster!

It’s powerful!
Because ARchitect’s advanced features open unlimited possibilities for your proposition with interaction, animations, and media playback.

It’s yours!
Because ARchitect fits in with your digital business strategy. Keep the data where it belongs – on your server!

Download the Wikitude ARchitect Developer Kit today to find much more information including tutorials and demo videos and check out our Flickr page for high resolution images of Wikitude ARchitect.

Get the ADK and start building your ARchitect World today!

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC®) announces the formation of the OGC ARML 2.0 Standards Working Group (SWG). 

ARML (Augmented Reality Markup Language) 1.0 is a descriptive, XML based data format for mobile Augmented Reality (AR) applications. ARML focuses on mapping georeferenced Points of Interest (POIs) and their metadata. Defined in late 2009, ARML was developed by the creators of the Wikitude World Browser to enable developers to create content for Augmented Reality browsers.

The work program for the OGC ARML 2.0 SWG is to expand the definition of ARML v1.0 in several ways, such as enabling dynamic modification of properties, event handling, sophisticated 3D visualizations and audio or haptic representation, and also enabling connection to other widely used AR tracking methods, including audio tracking. The SWG will be soliciting public comment on their work as well as collaborating with a number of participating AR experts, AR stakeholders, and representatives of other standards development organizations.
“We see this as an important step toward establishing an open ecosystem for mobile augmented reality,” said Martin Lechner, CTO at Wikitude. “More than a thousand developers throughout the world already use the ARML 1.0 which we first introduced to the industry not long ago. Wikitude natively supports ARML and we are looking forward to working with others to make ARML an adopted OGC standard that enables AR applications to connect well with thousands of other OGC-compliant geospatial resources.”
The charter members of the ARML 2.0 SWG are: Feng Chia University, University of Huntsville, CACI, Wikitude and Salzburg University. These OGC members invite the participation of AR developers, location based services (LBS) developers, AR service providers and browser vendors, location based content developers and publishers, companies seeking to be represented in AR applications, and game developers. The ARML 2.0 charter, which includes technical details about the scope and intent of ARML 2.0, is available at https://portal.opengeospatial.org/files/?artifact_id=45439.

The first official meeting of the working group will be held Monday, 19 September 2011 at the OGC Technical Committee meeting in Boulder, CO in September 2011.

Official OGC press release here.

Wikitude Drive is a light-weight navigation system which uses AR to draw turn-by-turn driving instructions directly onto the live-video screen of Android mobile devices. The award-winning application does not need any maps, but instead overlays the desired route onto the camera view of the mobile device. Of course, Wikitude Drive comes with all the regular navigation device features, such as voice commands, points of interest, night and day mode, saved addresses, and for situations such as night driving, it is easy to switch between the Augmented Reality view and the traditional 3D view.

Currently available on Android, check here for supported devices.

For as little as 9.99 Euro or GBP the online navigation software can be purchased in the Android Market. Download it today and experience the Augmented Reality way of navigation, you’ll never have to take your eyes off the road again!

Wikitude, the world’s very first Augmented Reality (AR) browser, is now offering companies, agencies, developers and individuals the opportunity to sell their location based content to Wikitude’s iPhone and iPad2 user base.

The vast majority of the content on Wikitude is free and this will remain unchanged in the future. However, due to an increased demand for the application to sell premium content “…we are now introducing a ‘try & buy’ content sales concept” says Andy Gstoll, Wikitude’s Chief Marketing Officer. As an industry first, users do not need to buy a black box, they can preview the content before actually spending money. Starting with travel premium content from tripwolf and cityseekr, Wikitude plans to expand to other verticals and AR experiences. With this update for the iPhone and new launch for iPad2, Wikitude is inviting developers and content owners – large or small – to offer their content with the opportunity to monetize their Augmented Reality World.

Although not offering the above premium content functionality just yet, Wikitude’s latest Android version 6.0 has just been launched as well. This significant update comprises a completely redesigned user interface focusing on the user’s ability to personalize Wikitude according to lifestyle and preferences. “We have listened to the Wikitude community carefully”, says Andi Hauser, Wikitude’s CIO and Android lead. “An 18 year old college student is obviously interested in different content than a 30 year old professional or a parent”. Wikitude now has the ability to be customized and therefore morph like a chameleon according to the user’s tastes and preferences. Wikitude 6.0 for Android is also the first mobile client reflecting Wikitude’s new branding and logo.

About Wikitude (Mobilizy GmbH)
Mobilizy is an early pioneer in mobile augmented reality (AR) and the creator of the internationally renowned Wikitude World Browser for iOS, Android, Symbian and Bada devices. Wikitude has been voted “Best Augmented Reality Browser” by the readers of Augmented Planet for both 2009 and 2010. Mobilizy engages in the research and in-house development of location-based services and augmented reality experiences for smart-phones. www.wikitude.org

High resolution images Wikitude 6.1 for iOS:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wikitude/sets/72157626246782947

High resolution images Wikitude 6.0 for Android: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wikitude/sets/72157626377669882/

Wikitude’s new logo is available here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wikitude/5571196416/

More information about Wikitude: www.wikitude.org

Wikitude Social Media Channels:
http://www.twitter.com/wikitude
http://www.facebook.com/wikitude
http://www.flickr.com/wikitude
http://www.youtube.com/wikitude

Editorial enquiries:
Bernhard Lehner
bernhard [at] i5comm.com
Phone +43 664 439 86 09

About Wikitude / Mobilizy GmbH
Mobilizy is an early pioneer in mobile augmented reality (AR) and the creator of the internationally renowned Wikitude World Browser for iPhone, Android, Symbian and Bada. Most recently Mobilizy has launched Wikitude Drive, the first AR navigation application with global coverage. Wikitude engages in the research and in-house development of location-based services and augmented reality experiences for smart-phones. www.wikitude.org

Wikitude Social Media Channels:
http://www.twitter.com/wikitude
http://www.facebook.com/wikitude
http://www.flickr.com/wikitude
http://www.youtube.com/wikitude

Can’t read French? Don’t know what that building is? Want to know where to find the nearest station or restaurant? One of these augmented reality apps will help”, By Winnie So

Wikitude World Browser - Voted Nr 1 Augmented Reality Travel App at CNN.

1. Wikitude

Price: Free, Platforms: Android 1.5+, iPhone 4.0, Symbian with compass, Bada, Download: Android Market, iPhone/iPad App Store, Symbian Ovi Store, Bada Samsungs Apps, Blackberry coming soon.

Voted the best augmented reality browser of 2010 by readers of Augmented Planet, Wikitude comes with a multitude of “Worlds” that can be overlayed onto the real world that you see through your mobile device’s camera.

For example, the Starbucks World shows you if any Starbucks cafes are in the direction you’re pointing your camera.

Check out the various worlds you can access, including World Heritage List, Wildlife Parks in Asia, Irish Pubs Worldwide and more, by clicking here.

Also very important to mention is Nr 3 – since it has Wikitude under the hood. We were very happy to work with Lonely Planet on this fantastic project!

Lonely Plant Travel Apps for Android

3. Lonely Planet Compass City Guides

Price: US$4.99, Platforms: All Android, Download link: Available in the Android Market

This is for those who travel by the Lonely Planet gospel, but can’t be bothered to lug around their tomes. Now all their expert advice for 25 key cities around the world is available on an Android screen complete with GPS-enabled maps and augmented reality camera views.

Selected cities include Amsterdam, Bangkok, Boston, Istanbul, Prague, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Vancouver.

Read more: Top 10 augmented reality travel apps | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/top-10-augmented-reality-travel-apps-569570#ixzz1GCuqwRL5

The term “augmented reality” has been around since 1990 but that doesn’t mean that it was never there before. The moment that man made gadgets that could relate to their environment and supply their users with information based on that, AR was there. It’s just that nobody thought to call it that.

So, for those who want to know how it all went down, here is the history of augmented reality from birth to where we are today.

Beginnings

From 1957, a gentlemen known by the name of Morton Helig began building a machine called the Sensorama. It was designed as a cinematic experience to take in all your senses and, shaped, rather like arcade machine from the 80s, it blew wind at you, vibrated the seat you sat on, played sounds to your eyes and projected a form of a stereoscopic 3D environment to the front and sides of your head. It was supposed to be impressive with its demo film of a cycle ride through the streets of Brooklyn but it never sold commercially and was very expensive to make films for largely because it involved the camera man having three cameras strapped to him at all times, and while it was really more an adventure in full virtual reality, there are clearly elements of AR involved with both the devices in place between the user and the environment and that fact that the environment itself was, itself, the real world viewed in a real time situation – even if recorded.

Read more: The history of augmented reality – Pocket-lint http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/38803/the-history-of-augmented-reality#ixzz1FWpDlGk6

…

Years later in 2008, the first AR apps come to smartphones where the world can actually begin to enjoy the experience somewhere close to what it’s supposed to be. Mobilizy was among the pioneers as it brought its Wikitude app to the T-Mobile G1 allowing Android users to take in the world through their mobile phone cameras and see augmentations on the screen of points of interest nearby. Wikitude soon hit iPhone and Symbian platforms as well and launched an AR navigation app called Wikitude Drive. Once ARToolkit was ported to Adobe Flash, the journey reaches where we are today with AR possible through the desktop browser and your webcam as well. …

Read more: The history of augmented reality – Pocket-lint http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/38803/the-history-of-augmented-reality#ixzz1FWpOws94