At last, Microsoft brings Photosynth panorama app to Windows Phone 8
After previously making the panaroma app available for iOS (and Windows Phone 7 after that), Microsoft is finally bringing Photosynth to Windows Phone 8. As you'd expect, Microsoft has tapped into WP8's feature set …
Context & Ripple Effects
Photosynth had moved beyond its earlier Virtual Earth integration by 2011, when Microsoft introduced mobile panorama capture and sharing. The Windows Phone 8 release extends that mobile presence after availability on iOS and Windows Phone 7, giving Microsoft’s newer handset platform access to the same imaging service.
First-order effects
- Windows Phone 8 users gain Photosynth’s panorama capture and sharing capability on their devices.
- Microsoft closes a version-level gap in Photosynth availability between Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8 while retaining the app’s iOS presence.
Second-order effects
- The Windows Phone 8 app catalog gains a Microsoft-made camera utility already distributed on iOS, making Photosynth less dependent on any single mobile platform for user reach.
Third-order effects
- The release points to Microsoft treating Photosynth as a cross-platform service whose value comes from capture and sharing across devices, rather than as a feature tied to one Windows Phone generation.
The trend: Microsoft is extending its imaging services across mobile platforms and successive Windows Phone releases to preserve service continuity.