--New Services Enabled through Partnerships with Rofo and HotPads
Munich-based augmented reality specialist, metaio, contacted [itvt] Wednesday to let us know that it has partnered with commercial real estate search service, Rofo, and with rental housing search service, HotPads, to launch separate real estate search services from those companies on its junaio mobile AR platform (note: version 2.0 of junaio is currently available as a free app for the iPhone 3GS and is slated to be available soon on Android devices).
According to metaio, its partnership with Rofo sees junaio offering a commercial real estate "channel," that enables business owners to access detailed information on available property listings by simply pointing their phone's camera at a building of interest "as they stroll through their favorite city or neighborhood." junaio's augmented reality technology utilizes the phone's compass and GPS to show digital content overlaid on real-world locations. By subscribing to Rofo's channel on the junaio 2.0 app, metaio says, users can access such overlaid information as type of office space, its size, its monthly rent and its lease type, and can then use their mobile to make direct inquiries to the appropriate broker or landlord. In addition to this "Live View" functionality, metaio says, the channel features a "Map View" that allows users to browse nearby office spaces within a specified radius. According to the company, users can also snap and post images or notes on interesting locations directly within junaio for future reference.
metaio's partnership with HotPads, meanwhile, sees junaio offering three "channels" from that company, that provide users with such information as monthly rent and contact details. The channels also feature Map View functionality. "The most important factor when searching for a new home is location," HotPads co-founder, Douglas Pope, said in a prepared statement. "Through this partnership, we are excited to give our mobile users the technology to explore available rentals in their neighborhoods. Ever wondered if there are any apartments for rent in your neighborhood? Now you can find out by just pointing your phone." Added Rofo CEO, Alan Bernier: "junaio's mobile augmented reality platform provided a turnkey solution to distribute Rofo's commercial real estate listings to business owners on the go. We are thrilled to now provide our commercial real estate search, content and direct inquiry functionality to mobile users, delivering on our goal of simplifying the office space search process."
A demo video of the Rofo channel on junaio is embedded above.
