After two years of development, Google Tango Phone was finally released. The Lenovo Phab Pro marks history as the very first Tango-enabled phone on sale right now for $499. The big question is what is a Tango Phone?
Google's Tango Phone started out as Project Tango, which was initiated by Google's Advanced Technologies and Projects (ATAP). "The mission of the project is to create mobile devices capable of using depth sensors and cameras to create three-dimensional maps," based on an article by Engadget last June 5, 2014.
Tango can be compared to Microsoft's Kinect or the Playstation 4 Camera which basically considered as mapping devices. The only difference of Google's Tango is that this innovation will be utilized by a tablet or a smartphone.
Google Tango's capability is not focused mainly on gaming. Tango can map indoor locations and provide directions, it can also scan and measure the surroundings using 3D tools, and projects virtual objects into the real world by just pointing the camera of a Tango capable device.
Although devices with augmented reality already exist in the market like "Sony Xperia's AR Effect" which incorporates augmented reality scenes into photos and videos and the worldwide phenomenon "Pokemon Go". Tango promises to stand up among the rest showcasing functionality and entertainment through augmented reality packed in a single device.
Some examples of the apps designed for tango include "Measure," an app used for measurement as the name suggest. Another is "Solar" that simulates the solar system. There's also the "Lowe's Vision" app which lets the consumer pick any furniture from the catalog and place it anywhere within the office or home space before purchasing. All these functions made possible with just a tablet or a smartphone equipped with Google Tango.
Although Google Tango is considered as an innovative way of perfecting and utilizing the availability of augmented technology, $499 is still a hefty price to pay for something any consumer can do and burns calories in the process as an added bonus.
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