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Owners of virtually all Nokia Lumia phones will be able to discover local businesses via the company’s new City Lens augmented reality.
Shown off by Nokia last week, City Lens overlays nearby businesses on the screen when you point your phone in their direction. Tapping a specific business reveals full details, including contact information, reviews, walking distance, and directions.
Though demoed for the upcoming Windows Phone 8 Lumia 920, the new app is actually available as of yesterday for the current Lumia 900, 800, and 710 Windows Phone 7 handsets. Owners of any of those phones can download City Lens by following the steps posted by Nokia on its Conversations blog.
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A specific version of City Lens is in the works for the Lumia 920 and 820, promises Nokia.
The Windows Phone 8 version will offer a layout for 3D icons designed to make the augmented reality “more realistic,” according to the company. Users will also be able to filter their search results to include or exclude businesses outside of the line of sight, such those as behind a corner.
Different categories of businesses can be pinned to the Start screen for quick access. Lumia 920 and 820 owners will be able to add customized searches to the app and use it in either portrait or landscape mode.
