Tag: Vito Technology »

Star Walk 2, by Vito Technology, aims to bring constellations to life. Users can point their iOS device at the stars and watch as the app identifies and renders 3d models of the celestial bodies that can be turned and enjoyed from different angles.

Star Walk 2 acts as your guide to the night sky by using your current location to find what stars will be visible. You can also search for specific stars, constellations, or satellites and the app will identify where you have to look to find them. Then there's the Sky Live window, which can show you all the relevant data for your stargazing adventure including sunrise and sunset times, moon phases, and the rise and set times for 4 main planets: Venus, Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter.

Star Walk 2 also includes functions such as coordinates on each image to make locating your favorite constellation easier, a soft red-mode that preserves your night-vision while using the app, and a Time Machine mode that allows users to see stars in their calculated past and future positions.

You can pick up Star Walk 2 for $2.99 on the App Store.

Star Walk - the app that helps users find over 200,000 stars, planets, constellations, satelites, and galaxies - has received a new update designed specifically for iOS 7. This makes tracking the night sky a faster and smoother experience, especially this November when people can use the app to find the ISON comet. Talk about a perfect time to be checking out this app! Users can even set reminders to make sure they don't forget about any celestial event.

Seeing as it's the end of August and school is about to start up again, there's really no time like the present to get back to learning things. And who doesn't like dinosaurs?

Today, Vito Technology is dropping the price of Dino Walk: Continental Drift all the way down to zero. That's right, you can now download this interactive dino-covered globe (with over 500 species, no less!) for absolutely nothing. Time to go for a walk! Just make sure to watch where you step.

Star Walk - 5 Stars Astronomy Guide is an augmented reality app for discovering over 200,000 stars, planets, constellations and galaxies in the night sky. It's been updated to include a stargazing calendar that displays celestial events that are visible from your location. It also explains each event and allows you to set a reminder in iCal for the ones you wish to see. Additionally, the app has a new comet tracking feature that allows you to follow comets, including Halley, PANSTARRS, Lemmon and ISON. ISON will be visible this November, 2013.

Educators who use new technology in the classroom are awesome. I remember one of my journalism professors regularly using his iPad as a tool in his lectures. I thought doing so was an innovative and creative way of utilizing the at-the-time new device.

Vito Technology dropped us a line this week to let us know that its own apps are increasingly being used by educators and students in the pursuit of learning. The studio’s three apps, Star Walk, Solar Walk, and >Geo Walk, are being called excellent educational tools. News of the apps being popular educational tools, though, doesn’t come too surprising. I had played around with Solar Walk in particular and was quite impressed.

In particular, it seems the two astronomy apps have been the most useful according to feedback from educators.

Star Walk uses the iPhone and augmented reality technology to give users a new way at looking at the solar system – from the perspective here on Earth. Additionally, the app contains an amazing amount of astrology information, including information on stars and constellations.

“Students at Hawaii Preparatory Academy are among the many who are working with Star Walk. Seeing and learning about the night sky and the star systems in a highly interactive way creates immediate learning to many in a way that has never been possible. Through the time machine and search function, students can discover constellations in a way that was never possible before. Interactive education is a great way for students to learn, and this app delivers a truly interactive star system. Many educators are now introducing apps such as Star Walk into the classroom to enhance the education experience, and to keep students engaged and interested,” said Dave V of TopEducationalApps.com.

Solar Walk, meanwhile, gives users an up-close look at the planets of our solar system, along with other details of the galaxy, including satellites orbiating the planet, moons, solar systems and other phenomenon.

"Solar Walk gives your students a realistic look at the Solar System. The time machine feature is excellent and will help students visualize the changes in the Solar System over time. Let your students take a virtual field trip to the planet of their choice to explore and report back to the class about. Students can become astronauts and take a virtual “rocket” ride, flying to the planet of choice, getting an in-depth look at the planet, and exploring each of the planets moons,” said Smartlearning Teacher of Science at Priority Community School Weston Super Mare.

It’s exciting to see how the iPhone and apps like these are shaping the way students are learning today.

VITO Technology's award-winning astronomy application for iPad and iPhone turned two years old yesterday, and to mark its birthday there's a major update revision on the line as well as a promotional code giveaway right here.

Star Walk, which holds the title of official Apple Design Award (iPad Developer Showcase) 2010 Winner, remains the top-paid application in the Education section of the App Store, based on its ability to show the true workings of the Heavens above through the iPhone and iPad's in-built GPS in an easy to use interface. View constellations, stars and planets in new ways by holding your device up to the sky. It's a very impressive application - awarded 4.5 stars by 148Apps - and was marked by Apple in the Best of 2009 Applications.

Version 5 of the application, available soon, offers four new major features and a plethora of updates, including compass calibration and a new "general catalogue" that adds even more deep sky objects, galaxies and nebulae. Augmented Reality becomes a reality in version 5 of Star Walk for the new iPod Touch, as does a new "big screen" feature which allows you to connect your iPad to a second display through VGA, just in case the iPad's 9.5" screen wasn't big enough. In addition, over 150 satellites including the International Space Station can be tracked in live time. Finally, a new feature called Telrad can "help you measure angular distance between nearby stars" in order to gauge the true extent of deceivingly small distances in the universe.

There's more birthday celebrations, too. Prices for VITO Technology's entire "Walk" series (Solar Walk, Star Walk and Geo Walk) have been dropped for 24 hours, and some lucky commenters today will receive free promotional codes that allow you to redeem these applications for free. In order to be in for a chance, just make a comment below. We have six codes available - 2 for Star Walk on iPad, 2 for Star Walk on iPhone and 2 for Star Walk (universal, iPhone and iPad compatable natively).

So happy birthday Star Walk!

Vito Technology has wowed us before with their beautiful Star Walk stargazing app. Now they're trying their hands at another educational project. This time, it's a world factbook, but with a twist. Geo Walk is a concise, limited encyclopedia that focuses on a global view—literally. The app presents you with an icon-dotted globe, and you can tap any of the markers to read about that particular area and its points of interest.

This is great for putting articles into geographical perspective. The pyramids hover over Egypt, while spinning over to Antarctica might show you penguins. Don't know where something is? No problem; you can switch to an object list.

The application features three main categories: Place, Flora & Fauna, and People. Each entry boasts a colorful picture and a small article about the object. (Willis Tower is the fifth-largest tower in the world!)

While Geo Walk is in no way a complete encyclopedia, it's not trying to be. Instead, it's about exploring the globe digitally, and putting things into perspective. Similarly to Star Walk, it's not meant to be a comprehensive reference, but to ignite your curiosity and teach you a few things in the process. That's something that kids and adults alike should be able to enjoy.

Check it out in the App Store!