Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
Star Walk still out of this world (and you might get it for free!)
Star Walk [iTunes link] has been updated and improved with new features that let you leave the earth and look back at our home planet in beautifully rendered views.Star Walk uses GPS to get your location, and shows you the current sky above your head. Since we last looked at Star Walk the app has added augmented reality, so as you orient your phone to the sky (iPhone 3GS only) you see star maps that show just where you are pointing. You can zoom into any object and get a closeup view of the surface details of planets, or even close-ups of deep sky objects like star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. You can click on a button and get more info on the object, and if that isn't enough you can connect to Wikipedia for even more.
Star Walk is one of the great demos of Apple technology. Standing out on any clear night, exploring the skies, and easily finding out what you are looking at is a real treat.
I think the earth view is nifty, but frankly, it probably isn't a feature you will use a lot. On the other hand the augmented reality features, the detailed star maps, and close-up images of objects in our solar system are very compelling features.
I still don't like that the app switches to Safari for the Wikipedia info. It would be nice to see the browser built in, but that's a small price to pay for the rest of the deep information provided.
Star Walk works on any iPhone or iPod touch with version 3.0 or later software. The augmented reality feature, as I said, only works on the iPhone 3GS.
At US$4.99 there is a lot to like in this program. Even better, we have ten free licenses to give away to our readers. Here are the rules:
- Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
- To enter leave a comment on this post.
- The comment must be left before Monday October 5 at 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
- You may enter only once.
- 10 winners will be selected in a random drawing.
- Prize: One copy Star Walk (Value: US$4.99)
Hare are some more screen shots of Star Walk to whet your appetite:
Gallery: Star Walk
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 38)
justin.l.gerard said 6:08PM on 10-03-2009
Star Walk me up.
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Jashue said 6:26PM on 10-03-2009
Count me in!
Christian said 6:07PM on 10-03-2009
This really is a great idea. The whole idea behind AR is very exciting to me. I cant wait to see a social networking application that uses AR.... But this is one of the best examples and applications of AR.
Very cool! I WANNA WIN IT!!! =)
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Tacoman said 6:08PM on 10-03-2009
HEY GUESS WHAT I LEFT A COMMENT HERE!!!
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PSM said 6:08PM on 10-03-2009
This looks like a great app. Would love to win it!
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Scott said 6:09PM on 10-03-2009
Looks awesome! Would love to try this out.
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vandeventer said 6:11PM on 10-03-2009
Is the app still the worth the money for 3G owners?
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Shawn said 6:11PM on 10-03-2009
Star Walk for a Starbird? Come on!
Thanks!
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J5892 said 6:12PM on 10-03-2009
Me want!
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bookmonke said 6:12PM on 10-03-2009
Would love to get back home with this.
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wlecadre said 6:18PM on 10-03-2009
Star Walk looks like an awesome application. It's a steal even at $4.99.
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nufonia said 6:58PM on 10-03-2009
Beep Beezle Borp! Robotron 5002 would like StarWalk Program.
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Emat said 6:17PM on 10-03-2009
Amazing. The only missing feature that I could think of would be the ability to track astronomical events. Win or not, this is a great app.
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Chris said 6:16PM on 10-03-2009
plz
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Jgolden said 6:16PM on 10-03-2009
I need this to see what I am missing due to city lights
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nitrousflare said 6:18PM on 10-03-2009
Beam me up, Scotty.
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Zack said 6:20PM on 10-03-2009
Looks like a fun app!
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Noah O said 6:20PM on 10-03-2009
thanks
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Mitch said 6:20PM on 10-03-2009
Yes please.
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Simon said 6:20PM on 10-03-2009
This is cool. I want a copy!
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