We first reported on the imminent arrival of Sony’s new Android smartphone, the Xperia S, back in January. And with the UK launch earlier this month, Sony has taken to augmented reality app Blippar to bring the handset to life for commuters across the UK.
A special cover-wrap on today’s Metro advertises the Xperia S. When readers download the Blippar app and wave it at the page, they can see the core watch, play, listen, create features of the handset jump out at them:
We first covered Blippar last June, when it gave The Next Web a demo of the app that “brings brands to life”. Blippar sells itself as the first image-recognition mobile platform aimed specifically at brand-consumer engagement.
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“This is our new favourite Blipp – a brilliant and very cool use of the Blippar platform that really shows off the 3D and tracking capabilities of our technology,” says Jess Butcher, CMO of Blippar. “In competitive markets like the mobile phone industry, brands need to stand out to get consumers’ attention and we think this is one of the most impactful Blipps we’ve worked on.”
Blippar needs a mobile Internet connection to work, which obviously precludes access in London Underground stations at the moment. But with Virgin Media winning the contract to bring free WiFi to Tube stations in time for the Olympics this summer, this won’t be a problem for too much longer.
Meanwhile, check out a demo video of Blippar and Metro below.
➤ Blippar
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