Is it so new that it is not even in the app store yet? Followed the link to the App Shopper but when you click purchase it takes you to the app store and "not found"
It was there when I did the round up of new apps for GearHead Apps yesterday and the publisher was MINI USA. I had intended on downloading it today to install and test to writer a review. Went to the find it and it has been pulled. I'll bet there were technical issues with the app.
The listed publisher was MINI USA. I grabbed the text and icon from the App Store description. If you search Virtual MINI at http://appshopper.com it is still listed and that site made completely from the App Store RSS feed API.
Dave, I'm not familiar with the Android market. One of the reason I know so much about the iOS apps is the GearHead Apps site I've created with the ex-NAM owner where daily I scour the App Store for new and updated releases that fit our model. At this time neither of us owns an Android device so testing for reviews is difficult. We are looking to expand into that market in future.
This Press Release crossed my email this morning, looks like they have re-released this app.
March 02, 2011 06:03 AM Eastern Time
New AR iPhone App from Helios and BSSP Enables MINI Fans to Take the MINI Countryman for a Joyride (and Have the Pictures to Prove It)
Via Mobile Augmented Reality Campaign, Virtual MINI Goes Anywhere – iPhone App Puts the MINI Countryman into View; See it in Wired, Facebook, iTunes Store, and More
Mobile World Congress 2011
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Put convention aside, and make room for the magic of augmented reality, courtesy of Helios Interactive Technologies (HELIOS Interactive Technologies), the emerging leader in experience design.
Working in cooperation with Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners -- marketing agency of record for MINI and developer of the creative concept -- Helios today unveiled a mobile AR application for the iPhone (download here)
Epitomizing the versatility of the new MINI Countryman, users are able to take pictures of a superimposed “virtual MINI” Countryman in their garage, a parking spot, atop a high-rise, astride the Golden Gate Bridge, on the end of their toothbrush, anywhere.
The groundbreaking Virtual MINI app can be downloaded via a QR code included in a print ad in the March issue of Wired, and will be available through the iTunes Store, Facebook and MINIUSA.COM. Scanning the ad’s QR code with their iPhone will take consumers directly to the application within the iTunes store.
Once downloaded, the application gives users the opportunity to select from one of four different colors and configurations of the MINI Countryman, superimposed on the live video feed from their phone’s built-in camera. After resizing and rotating the customized 3D model into place, users can capture a snapshot of the scene to be saved to a photo gallery, providing options to share the image with their friends via Facebook or email.
“From inception, this iPhone application was created simply to give consumers a utility to visualize the larger MINI Countryman in their garage,” said John Butler, Executive Creative Director of Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners. “It’s yet another example of MINI being an advertiser who is generally first to market integrating emerging technology with traditional media. We’re thrilled with the results, and thoroughly enjoyed our collaboration with Helios.”
“The Virtual MINI app is designed to engage consumers in a fun, unique way,” said Mike Schaiman, Managing Partner and co-founder of Helios Interactive Technologies. Founded in 2008, Helios harnesses an eclectic mix of interactive platforms, from augmented reality and gesture recognition, to multi-touch applications, mobile, social media, 3D display technologies and more.
“We expect people to take some interesting shots and have fun with the new MINI Countryman,” Schaiman said. “In addition to being among the first automotive apps to integrate an AR campaign for mobile, the Virtual MINI app offers a quirky experience that fits the brand perfectly. This is exactly the kind of interactive, innovative experience that promotes the brand loyalty MINI is famous for.”
