Augmented reality took smartphones by storm when the genre first started out, and was then followed by apps that can be classified as hybrids of augmented reality and barcode scanners. Next Glass is one such app for iOS that is built to help people with their selection of beer or wine, by answering the question that a consumer would have trouble answering himself; “Will I enjoy this bottler of beer or wine I’m looking at?”
We’ve had apps that scan the barcodes on products, consequently suggesting online locations from where you can buy it at a cheaper price. But an app that conquers an ever surging dilemma of choosing the right beer or wine is a refreshingly new concept. Next Glass uses your personal taste preferences to predict the likeliness of you actually enjoying a particular bottle of wine or beer.
Next Glass has a huge database of over tens of thousands of wines and beers and has analyzed over 20,000 compounds within each to understand and identify the taste as perceived by our tongue.
The chemical makeup (or ‘DNA’) of each bottle is then stored in our one-of-a-kind Genome Cellar.
The app will really kick in with accurate predictions as you start rating different wines or beers, and it starts learning your likes and dislikes to certain compositions found in the brands you rated. Thus, the app can in time focus on your unique taste preferences.
Ratings are stored in your personalized Taste Profile, which continues to evolve with your palate.
When out and about shopping for a party, dinner or any social occasion, the app will let you link up with friends as well as show you whether your companions will enjoy your pick or not as you plan your social gathering to perfection.
Using the app is pretty simple, and as many of you might have imagined, it involves running the software itself and pointing the camera at any particular liquor on the shelves. The name of the bottle along with the year will be displayed as well, with the rating boldly displayed on top. Users can also use the search function to identify new beers and wines matching your taste preferences.
Next Glass can be downloaded for free from iTunes, and if you have this app a whirl, let us know how it fared for you.
(Download: Next Glass for iPhone on the App Store)
Be sure to check out our iPhone Apps Gallery and iPad Apps Gallery to explore more apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
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