No More 360 Degree Panoramic Presentations

Denver, CO (PRWEB) August 2, 2010

“It’s true. 360 degree panoramic home tours are old school.” said PlanOmatic’s Production Manager Chad Gagnon.

As technology has evolved over the course of the last 24 to 36 months, some additional concerns have been voiced in the real estate marketing sector.

Among the chief concerns associated with 360 degree tours is incompatibility with mobile devises. Typically, 360 degree tours are presented as a series of photos spliced together and integrated into a Flash based viewer. Many mobile devices do not support Flash technology. Devices such as the iPad and iPhone exclusively support emergent technologies such as HTML5.

Takeaway: Flash based 360 degree tours preclude a fast emerging segment of your audience (mobile users.)

Due in part to some of the characteristics discussed above, 360 degree virtual tours tend to be burdensome files that take a significant time to load. For today’s user, 1-2 seconds can make the difference between selling a home and becoming an analytics statistic under “Bounce Rate”.

Takeaway: Ensure your presentation is light and nimble; don’t sacrifice user attention for heavy applications.

Lastly and simply, end-users have raised much ado regarding basic functionality and experience. Some common complaints include photo distortion and even dizziness. Considering what a 360 tour is trying to do, these remarks are not surprising. The 360 degree virtual tour was a web 1.0 attempt at creating a 3 dimensional experience out of a 2 dimensional picture. Of course there’s going to be distortion. Of course the spinning is going to make some people dizzy.

So what is the answer? Gagnon opines, “For our business model, that means moving toward lighter, more agile technology from front to back starting by phasing out standard photography and moving to an HDR (high dynamic range) solution.”

“It’s all about end-user experience. We’re continually in R&D mode whether that’s testing a new viewer technology or conducting end-user focus groups. We know that open dialogue with both our clients and our client’s clients is critical. The days of one-way organizational communication are long gone. That dog don’t hunt.” said Justin Trent Meek, Marketing Director for PlanOmatic’s national operations. An outgrowth of PlanOmatic’s extensive dialogue with the end user happens to be the transition out of the 360 degree tour.

Gagnon, who travels extensively across the U.S. visiting PlanOmatic’s client’s is excited about the elimination of 360 tours. “There’s many more attractive technologies available to us today. Not only are we on the cusp of launching full HDR capabilities nation-wide, we’re also on the forefront of many web 2.0 standards that will enhance our client’s presentation of their listings.” Although Gagnon was reticent to reveal specifics, he indicated that exciting advancements are coming to the PlanOmatic product line as soon as the 1st quarter of 2011. “We’re continually pursuing innovation. Never retreat. Never surrender.” Gagnon said with a smile.    

Media Contact:
Aaron Rose
Vice President of Sales
303-658-0670
866-599-PLAN (7526)
aaron(at)planomatic(dot)com

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