Microsoft Showcases Seadragon, Its first iPhone Application

Listing its name among the iPhone application manufacturers, Microsoft today announced the availability of Seadragon Mobile – a free demonstration program meant to test the viability of the high-tech Seadragon photo-display technology on mobile platforms. The Seadragon Mobile is a free image-browsing app that allows users to quickly “deep zoom” images while online and is intended to demonstrate what is possible with a mobile platform. It’s designed for zooming smoothly in, out and around photos over the Internet, regardless of bandwidth constraints or image size. Seadragon’s technological trick is to store images in multiple resolutions and deliver only the bits needed to present the view a user wants at any given moment.</DIV> <DIV>Seadragon Mobile for the iPhone comes with a collection of about 50 sample images, ranging as high as 10 gigapixels, including satellite imagery, art and pictures of space. Seadragon Mobile also will let people zoom around the 2D images that make up Photosynth collections, although not the full 3D Photosynth “synths” themselves. In addition, people who create and upload Seadragon “Deep Zoom” images online will be able to use the Seadragon technology to view them.</DIV> <DIV>Microsoft has also revealed that it will make available similar applications in the nearest future that will ensure the maximazation of the iPhones.</DIV>