Microsoft launches free Seadragon Mobile high-res image browser for iPhone
Anyone wishing to keep Microsoft stuff off their iPhone should avoid the Seadragon application, now available for free, because it's been developed by the Redmond giant.
In a veiled endorsement for the iPhone, whatever head honcho Ballmer thinks about Apple's wonder phone, or indeed about giving away free stuff.
Microsoft Live Labs group product manager Alex Daley said that the iPhone was "the most widely distributed phone with a GPU," adding that "I couldn't just pick up a BlackBerry or a Nokia off the shelf and build Seadragon for it without GPU support".
What does it do? It allows you to browse large quantities of high-resolution imagery smoothly and quickly. It links up with Microsoft's Photosynth system, and allows thousands of images to be viewed over the air.
Microsoft says that Seadragon Mobile has been "released as a tech preview... designed to show off the 'what if?' of mobile user experiences" and that we should "expect more cool stuff from Live Labs in the future".
This may also mean that we shouldn't be too hard on the application if it's a bit buggy, though the usual ferocious nature of citizen reviewers in the App Store isn't likely to hold back, especially from such a large software company.
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