[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdT3eKdto4w&feature=player_embedded]
Historypin, a user-generated map displaying historical data of nearby locations, is now available as an iOS app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Created in partnership with Google by not-for-profit We Are What We Do, the app allows users to add their own historical photos by pinning them to a map, capturing historic moments as they happen, and creating replicas of historical images. The images are then shared with users requesting data for a specific location….
Historypin uses Google Maps and Street View technology to reveal the user-generated photos and data related to historical events that happened close to your current location. It does this by “overlaying them onto the live camera view”…essentially aiming to give you a live snapshot of what your surroundings looked like in the past.
Simply holding your phone up in the street will provide you with relevant nearby images. Selecting one of the images allows it to be overlaid onto the iPhone’s camera view. You can then fade between the image and your live shot for comparison, as well as pull up stories and data related to the image and your current location.
Full list of features and some shots of the app in action after the break…
- Explore the Historypin map – the Historypin map has 1000s of images and stories pinned to it and the app allows you to browse this by date and location, using your location to find the nearest content, or exploring remotely.
- Explore the streets – holding your phone up to the street, the app uses your camera view to display nearby images. By selecting the image, it can be overlaid onto the modern view to create an historical comparison, which you can toggle or fade between.
- Read stories and recollections – all stories shared can be accessed through the app.
- Capture a modern moment of history – images taken with the app are immediately pinned to the Historypin map, with any captions and stories you add. Images can also be added from your phone’s albums.
- Digitise an old photo – take photos of old pictures as an easy alternative to scanning them, then add photo details and pin them directly to the Historypin map.
- Take modern equivalents of old classics – when exploring historic content, you can snap exact contemporary replicas
- Browse Collections from anywhere – you can explore selected Collections from Historypin.com
- Shake history up – a simple shake of the app brings up a random piece of content from anywhere in the world
