Cell Bytes

Layar Reality Browser, one of the most popular augmented reality apps on Android and iPhone, went live with its own content store for paid augmented user experiences yesterday. The 1.6 million users of Layar from around the globe can now pony up their hard-earned cash to unlock content for use in the application. Layar will support multiple payment options and currencies, with the first being PayPal for use in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

Much of what you can purchase in the content store will turn your phone into a virtual tour guide for select areas. A few examples of companies currently deploying the pay-for-content model in Layar:

• Berlitz City Guides: Berlitz helps people experience the city’s highlights: the best attractions, coziest restaurants, most comfortable hotels, coolest places to shop and most fashionable nightlife.
• Mouse Reality for Disney World and Disneyland: Helps find and navigate all attractions, shows, shops, dinning, transportation, and more in Disneyland and Disney World.
• EyeTour: Explore Puerto Rico’s natural beauty and rich cultural heritage through exclusive video content of historical sites, museums, restaurants, parks and more.
• UK sold prices: ‘Sold House Price Data 2010′ – Check the latest UK residential Sold Price information as recorded by the Land Registry while on the move.

Many more payment options and locations should be added in the future, and developers can get started on using paid content immediately with little hassle and no cost. Profits from sales are split 60/40, with the developer getting the majority of the share.

Layar users currently residing in one of the countries mentioned earlier who want access to the new content store only need to download the latest version of the Layar augmented reality browser. For now, iPhone users will have to wait  a bit longer, as the store is only currently available on Android.

[via Layar Blog]

It sure is good to see some of these bigger companies starting to port their apps over from the iPhone and share some love with Android, and now State Farm wants to be a good neighbor too with the release of Pocket Agent for Android. The app makes it easy to report an accident and file an insurance claim right from the scene.

Some of what you can expect:

• Submit a Claim – fill out a claims checklist with the push of a button.
• Take and submit pictures using your camera and record accident details and vehicle damage.
• My Insurance Card – Can’t find your insurance card? Now your policy information is at your fingertips!
• My Agent – Contact your State Farm agent or find one close-by.
• On The Road – Search for hotels, gas stations, tow trucks, taxis, locksmiths, and rental cars by current location or zip code
• Locate a State Farm® Select Service® Repair Facility
• Search for State Farm agents by current location or zip code
• Other claimants and other vehicles – This feature adds sections on the claim form for the other parties involved in the accident, including name, insurance information and vehicle information.

We can only hope that this is the sort of app you wouldn’t have to use very often (for reporting an accident, anyway), but it sure makes it a heck of a lot easier if you have to. Being linked in to local State Farm agents and helpful area services doesn’t hurt either.

If you are a State Farm insurance holder and want to check out the app, you can head over to the State Farm website or snap the QR code below:

[via State Farm, thanks to Nick for the heads up!]

A new generation of tech entrepreneurs in the city is trying to overthrow old media and build a better New York—with the help of their iPhones. Are they dreaming? Definitely. But in a good way.

[via New York Magazine]

Using the latest technology, a traveling installation in New York City reminds passerby about the challenges facing the city’s homeless population and empowers viewers to take action. The Huffington Post reports.

A homeless man in a video projection asks pedestrians to use their cell phones to send a text message that will help the homeless man get shelter.

The video shows the homeless man entering a home to show viewers the impact they’ve made. After they’ve completed the action, a reply message asks users to make a donation (via a second text message) to Pathways to Housing, a New York-based nonprofit organization that provides housing and mental health services for the homeless.

The Pathways to Housing Facebook page provides updates of where the video installation can be found as it moves around the city.

Members of MIT’s Bits and Atoms lab visited Afghanistan some time ago. While there, they showed locals how to turn pieces of board, wire, a plastic tub and some cans into reflectors for a wireless network. The result? Fab Fi.

The project resulted in 25 simultaneous live nodes being up in the city of Jalalabad and residents being able to enjoy a stable connection all over the place. Locals are even expanding the network by adding more reflectors and routers. There are some difficulties in actually obtaining the routers though, but the MIT crew—now dubbed the Jalalabad Fab Lab—are helping resolve those by shipping routers over.

On the surface this is a tale of some clever University MacGyvers, a small place in Afghanistan, and a makeshift Wi-Fi network, but the greater idea is that people came together to provide a new method of communication to an area where Skype calls and quick Google searches weren’t a common luxury. Sure, now the area is exposed to time wasters and Internet porn, but it’s also been provided some new opportunities to learn and explore. [Free Range International via Futurismic via Boing Boing]