Set-top productions

Coronation Street goes on Google Street View

 Coronation Street is to become the first fictional location to appear on Google Street View.

The soap's producers have invited one of the site's camera cars to drive down the famous cobbles and take pictures of the set.

Fans will be able to explore the street virtually and take in well-known landmarks such as the Rovers Return, the hairdresser's and Rita's paper shop, The Kabin.

An ITV spokesman said: "Thanks to Street View, fans will be able to have a good nose around the set in a way that would have been unimaginable almost 50 years ago when the show first aired."

Linking it all up

An App To Show You Mastercard "Priceless" Deals: Priceless.

Posted: 17 Jul 2009 12:49 PM PDT

When I first heard that Mastercard was releasing an iPhone app called "Priceless Picks," I thought for sure it would be a lame gimmick. But I must admit, it's actually a kind of cool gimmick.

If you've ever watched TV, you've undoubtedly seen at least a dozen of the Mastercard "Priceless" ads. You know the ones, "So and so consumer items: $5. Such and such memorable moment paid for with your Mastercard: Priceless." Yeah, now there's an app for those.

Well not exactly. It's not like this app is limited to the priceless moments mentioned in the commercials, that would be kind of pointless. Instead this is a social app that allows consumers to point out their best deals at their favorite local spots for all to see. The app uses the iPhone location services to figure out where you are. It then shows you on a map and shows all the deals others have placed around you.

That may sound bland and obvious, but the app is actually done in a really nice way. You can choose either a bird's eye view of the deals around you on the map, or get a more street-view like look (though, sadly, it doesn't use the iPhone 3GS' new compass to move the map when you move). If you tap on any of the color-coded bubbles, you zoom into that specific deal and can tap to get more info about it.

You can also flag the deal is "improper" or send it to a friend, all without leaving the app. It also tells you when (if ever) the deal expires.

If you want to add you own deal, you simply click the "+" button, and enter the relevant details. It will tag the place at whatever your current location is.

So will anyone actually use this app? Who knows. But if Mastercard starts promoting it on their annoyingly effective commercials, I could certainly see a bunch of tourists picking up this app to find some deals in whatever city they happen to be in.

The best part of this "priceless" app is that it really is price-less, as in, free. Find it here.

book it danno

Dopplr launches iPhone app anyone can use, but where's Add Trip?

5 Comments

by Mike Butcher on July 16, 2009

Dopplr has launched an iPhone app they are billing as a "social atlas". Curiously, and possibly wisely, you don't even need an account at Dopplr to use the app, meaning it will get exposed to a lot more potential users. However, a let down from the get-go is that you can't add upcoming trips from within the app right now, which is kinda the point with Dopplr, as it's users will attest. Hopefully that feature will be out soon. Till then if you want to add trips on mobile people can use the site, twitter, SMS or email in the usual manner, of course.

The app appears first on the iPhone, but apps for Nokia, Blackberry and Google Android platforms are planned. The app is available from the iTunes store here. But for Dopplr users it's going to be a real boon. The app puts the combined knowledge of your Dopplr network into an app which can tell your location, while allowing users to upload reviews themselves. There is also a built-in directory of city tips and advice. Plus, as usual, see where your network is about to travel to so you can plan accordingly. Users can also contact eachother directly from inside the app. There is plenty of content inside the app pulled from Dopplr's own content as well as your social network.

The question mark with Dopplr is how it will continue to fair against Tripit, which is tearing along at a fast pace and recently launched premium flight monitoring and alerts.