Canpages’ iPhone Augmented Reality

Gail Chiasson, North American Editor

Vancouver-based Canpages, Canada’s fast growing local search firm, has launched its free augmented reality iPhone application for local search, called the CanadaEye.

One of only a small handful of mobile applications in North America that leverages this new technology, CanadaEye lets users search and view the direction and distance to all specific business locations in real-time overlaid on the iPhone screen.

The augmented reality technology leverages the iPhone 3Gs’ compass, GPS and video camera simultaneously. The Canpages application enables users to search for a specific business category—from local delis and mom and pop bakeries to Starbucks and Tim Hortons—and then shows the direction and distance to all of the businesses in the category in the local area. Essentially, CanadaEye is one application to find everything nearby as well as how to get there in real time.

The application is free to download through iTunes and allows users to search Canpages’ more than 1 million business listings across Canada.

CanadaEye represents another innovation in a string of online and mobile product ‘firsts’ for Canpages, including the launch of Street Scene on Canpages.ca, which provides 360-degree views of Canadian cities at street level, as well as the first voice-recognition local search applications for the iPhone and Blackberry. Additionally, Canpages is believed to be the first local search firm to really embrace social media with the company’s recent acquisition of GigPark, a social networking and recommendations platform.

Canpages is the largest independent local search and directories publisher in Canada. Its website, Canpages.ca features a national residential and business database and more than 3.5 million unique visitors come to visit it every month with their local search requests. With 80 publications and over 80,000 customers, Canpages reaches more than 8 million households and businesses across Canada. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canpages employs approximately 700 people and has offices in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.


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