At BlackBerry World 2011, Research in Motion showcased its new BlackBerry Bold 9900 and a preloaded application called Wikitude. The new Bold is the first BlackBerry to include a magnetic compass and the right display overlay software, meaning it’s capable of augmented reality technology.
Wikitude’s main function is the ability to check out geo-positioned Wikipedia articles. For example, pointing your smartphone’s camera at the Eiffel Tower and launching Wikitude will spawn the corresponding Wikipedia article. You can also include Flickr photos, YouTube videos, Twitter tags and Foursquare spots in your geo-referenced results.
Considering that RIM developed Wikitude, it’s not a surprise that it’s highly integrated with BlackBerry’s native apps-including BlackBerry Messenger. The developers adapted it so that you can see where your BBM friends are when you point the camera in a particular direction.
Wikitude also intends to use the social side of BBM as a way for users to meet new people. It’s likely that the BBM Social developer API helped make features like this possible.
The first BlackBerry handset to pack this feature, the Bold 9900, is expected to launch early this summer.
via IntoMobile
