Google have released a new tool that further enables users (us) to help them map the world. Photosphere was just released for the iPhone (it’s been available on Android for a while) and it’s quite remarkable. I’m not sure just how useful it is, but it’s mighty interesting. Photosphere will certainly help me detail for my out of town/country clients, but I don’t know if it’s any better than video, despite the higher resolution.

Curious? This is a photosphere I took of the new Lochlyn Hill neighborhood, currently under construction.

Hyperlapse by Instagram/Facebook is different, exciting – and differently useful. In comparison to the static, 360º images provided by the Photosphere app, Hyperlapse has been described as “a $15,000 Video Setup in Your Hand.” I see great potential for Hyperlapse for telling stories – the stories that make a city, an area, a neighborhood, a street – compelling.

Interesting times, and with the new iPhones being released with seemingly infinitely more powerful processors, I think we’ll be seeing an a lot more Hyperlapses and Photospheres.

An example – Downtown Crozet is in the midst of Streetscaping right now …