UpNext 3D Cities for iPad: Free City Visualization App

UpNext 3D Cities (iTunes App Store) is a free iPad and iPhone app that provides an interesting cartoony quasi-3D view (ariel) of a handful of large U.S. cities such as Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. It lets you drill down (information-wise) to provide information about businesses inside of buildings.

Visualization could benefit from adding features like a three-quarter view (instead of just top down) and either actual ariel photography or more realistic looking buildings. The current cartoony look provides a visual familiarity but is just different enough to provide the sense of visualizing the actual area.

The embedded video above demonstrates its use on an iPhone. I tested it on an iPad.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.