Which is better the Microsoft Street Slide or the Google Street View?
It was Google Street View which first amazed us when it was launched in 2007. It is embedded into the Google Map product on the browser as well on mobile phones like the iPhone and Android. It provides panoramic views in various positions along many streets in US and even extended to any place all over the world. But some finds it’s traversing 360-degree photographic bubble a little bit confusing especially at instances wherein you locate a certain address or business.
This might be the reason which inspired Microsoft Research to come up with the Microsoft Street Slide. It was formally announced at the recently held Siggraph Computer Graphics Conference. The Microsoft Street Slide is a refreshingly new browsing interface for street level imagery that combines the best aspects of “bubbles” and multi-perspective panoramas address to tackle current problems with the current street-side imagery in the web.
The Microsoft Street Slide puts multiple panoramas in one large strip that allows users to scroll from side to side. This is definitely better that Google Street View wherein you need to venture from one “bubble” of captured imagery to another. It also place information overlays like street signs and business information below the imagery captured instead of putting it on the imagery itself.
This gives the user a feeling similar to as if they were looking out the window of a moving vehicle, stopping to get out and looking around until they reached a particular area of destination. It obviously works better for long and straight roads. It also gives a seamless browsing experience which requires less clicking in areas such as large cities and small towns.
The Microsoft Street Slide looks very impressive and even better than that of the Google Street View. Microsoft Research has no information yet as to when this new technology will be featured into the Bing Maps or any other map-embedded Microsoft products or services.
Although at present, Microsoft is also working on the Microsoft Street Slide mobile version with an iPhone port and it might also come up with a version for the upcoming Windows Phone 7 devices. It is not expected to come out very soon since it is still on process and it has currently processed around 2400 panoramas only which covers around 4 kilometers of streets.
This seems to be an outstanding work for Microsoft and really something to be look forward to by travelers out there.
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