Microsoft Brings Its Mobile Panorama App to Windows Phone

Photosynth, Microsoft’s panorama application, has been available for the owners of Apple iOS devices since April last year, much for the dismay of Windows Phone users.

Starting today, however, that changes, as the company has finally made the mobile software available for its own operating system for smartphones.

Of course, Windows Phones did have a panorama feature packed inside since the beginning, but it offered only rudimentary capabilities, and it was in no position capable of offering the experience that Photosynth can offer now.

Just as the iOS version of the app, the new Windows Phone software was designed to provide users with the option to put together photos of a place, be it a room or something else, and create 360 degrees views.

“Sometimes a single photo - even a wide angle photo - doesn't do a place justice. Whether it's the view off a cliff, or inside an incredible cathedral, we've all been to places that cry out for a full 360 panorama. Photosynth is the only mobile app that can stitch a full sphere,” a post on Bing Blog reads.

The application was designed based on collaboration between research and engineering, Microsoft explains.

It includes core stitching and blending algorithms coming from Microsoft Research, and it can be enjoyed on the desktop as well, in the form of Microsoft Research Image Composite Editor (available on Softpedia via this link).

With Photosynth for Windows Phone, photos can be easily stitched together to create sphere shots, so that one’s view of a place is complete.

To take advantage of the feature, you will simply have to fire up the application on your device, and then move the camera around, allowing the panorama to fill in.

“Make a 360 revolution and watch it join up. Capture the floor and ceiling too. When you're done the shots are automatically stitched together, and the results are beautiful and immersive,” the Bing Team notes.

Once a panorama shot is complete, one can easily share it with friends through Facebook or Twitter, or even on Microsoft’s Bing.

The app can be downloaded from the Windows Phone Marketplace today. However, users should keep in mind that it requires Windows Phone 7.5 to run, and that low-end devices won’t have access to it.