3-D Phone Mapping
Just when we thought smartphones couldn’t become any more intelligent, Google, and its Advanced Technology and Projects Department (ATAP) is launching its latest initiative. Project Tango is an innovative take on 3D-sensing technology, allowing a smartphone to interpret an area from a three-dimensional perspective. ATAP’s technical program lead, Johnny Lee, says, "The goal of Project Tango is to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion."
The current model being used by developers is a 5-inch powerhouse, and highly resembles many white smartphones currently on the market. What sets the Android-powered Project Tango phone apart is its remarkable ability to render more than 250,000 measurements per second. Google anticipates that these features will have many applications including, gaming and indoor navigation being the notable among them.
Despite the broad vision that Google has for its latest project, Tango is still in the early stages of development. Prototypes will be distributed to developers in universities, and tech hubs around mid-March, all of whom Google has specifically hand picked.
The intention of giving it to developers is to have software focused on making full use of Project Tango’s capabilities. 3D gaming, navigation, mapping, and data processing are areas in which we can expect software to be developed.
Critics of Project Tango say that the technology being employed is nothing noteworthy, and that there have been similar uses of 3D sensing technology before. Lance Ulanoff of Mashable tells of his experience with Microsoft, where he was shown a device called the “Beamatron.” The mechanism was able to map the topography of the space in which it was contained, then project objects into the environment. Ulanoff was even allowed to control a virtual car via an Xbox 360 controller. Though the car was an illusion, it responded to objects as if it were physically present. At a certain point, the car drove up the side of a box, rolled sideway down an incline, and ran into a wall.
It’s no surprise that critics like Ulanoff and others, are opposed to Google’s efforts to “confine” such technology onto a “tiny” 4.5-inch screen, when they have had such hands-on experiences with the innovative, 3D mapping technology. Some argue that features such as these are only effectively represented through mediums such as the Xbox One’s Kinect, which appears to users via an HDTV screen.
Regardless, Google seems to be on the verge of rolling out a smartphone that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Project Tango’s release date has not been set, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated with all of the latest news.
A new trend is emerging among cellphone owners: people wanting to show off their devices and forgo using cases. Phone manufacturers have been spending as much time making their phones look cool, as they have making sure that they work well. It’s becoming more and more important in this market to have your phone look “cool,” and design plays a major role in selling devices, as evidenced by the new iPhone 5s, which is available in 3 new colors. Some phones offer a slick, glossy design theme, while others boast a frosted chrome finish. Whatever device suits your preference, the question of the case comes into play in all instances. 
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