Anyone else know about this? Wherever you are, you can aim your cell phone at something, and it will tell you what it is and all about it.
For example, you are somewhere in Europe, just wandering around, and you see a building or a statue and you are curious about what it is, why it’s there, who built it, or anything else. You pull out your cell phone, start a program such as Google Gemini, click the “live” button, click the camera button, and say the words, “What is this?” And it will tell you all about that thing.
I tried this at home. I went to Youtube and clicked on a walking tour of Budapest, aimed my phone at the monitor, and when the walking tour was crossing a bridge, I asked, “What is this?” And it told me all about the bridge- the history, who built it and why.
I am usually behind the curve on these things. Anyone else try this?
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8654 posts
What you are describing goes by a number of names, but for me it is Google Lens (Google Gemini is the AI portion). Yes, just point at a landmark and get the history, same with identifying plants, animals, any number of things. Very handy.
Posted by
82 posts
With AI your phone can be almost everything, including a friend, a tour guide, and more. I'm thinking of the movie HER and the future of our relationship with devices.
Posted by
California Central Coast
249 posts
Google Lens has a cost. Does anyone know of an app that has this feature for free?
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3249 posts
Google Lens has a cost. Does anyone know of an app that has this
feature for free?
katiecem I believe Google Lens is free.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5130 posts
Yes, Google Lens is free for Android and IOS. it's a handy tool even at home. I've even pointed it at flowers and trees to find out what kind they were. I often use it when travelling to interpret signs or menus. If you have the Google search bar on your phone, it's the little camera on the right side. https://lens.google/#cta-section
Posted by
Northwest Arkansas
896 posts
Is anyone using RayBan Meta glasses to do this? Or, for videos and photos while traveling?
Posted by
OP
Jacksonville, Florida
175 posts
jkh, I have not, but I am keenly interested.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
22848 posts
Cell Phone as Tour Guide
The best thing about viewing your holiday through the lens of your phone is that you dont have to interact with pesty local guides and foreign speaking natives.
Posted by
OP
Jacksonville, Florida
175 posts
I'm not one to view my entire holiday through the lens of my phone, Mr. E, but I do like to wander aimlessly, and having the ability to just point my phone at something and get all the information about it that I want is a really big deal. For example, wandering around like that, I see statues all the time and wonder who that person is and why he or she has a statue. And then there are the buildings and cathedrals that I like to look at, and often have not much idea about because they are too obscure to make the average guide book. Back in March, I was in Madrid, and the wife and I were walking on Gran Via, looking at those beautiful and magnificent buildings, and I would love to have been able to just point my phone at them and get some information.
In fact, after writing the above, just to prove to myself it could be done, I went to Google Maps, to Madrid, to street view on Gran Via, pointed my phone at the monitor and asked about the building I was looking at, and it works! It told me it was the Telefonica building, that it was built in the 1920s, that it was used as an observation point during the Spanish Civil War, and that it was hit by bombs. How would I have ever found that out otherwise?
Posted by
SoCal
1800 posts
I'm endlessly bemused by those who, when a useful new technology comes along, feel obligated to either depreciate it or brag about not using it. Hey, I'm a Luddite in some ways too, and I agree one can become too enamored of and reliant upon technology. A sense of balance is required, as in all things. But I still find the new tools fascinating and often useful.
Posted by
Virginia
1016 posts
I'm endlessly bemused by those who, when a useful new technology comes along, feel obligated to either depreciate it or brag about not using it. Hey, I'm a Luddite in some ways too, and I agree one can become too enamored of and reliant upon technology. A sense of balance is required, as in all things. But I still find the new tools fascinating and often useful.
+1 (golf clap)
Marty, I don't think it's necessary for you to have to justify or explain why you'd like to make effective use of available tech tools.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
5130 posts
For example, wandering around like that, I see statues all the time
and wonder who that person is and why he or she has a statue. And then
there are the buildings and cathedrals that I like to look at, and
often have not much idea about because they are too obscure to make
the average guide book.
Yes to this. It's often not enough to appreciate what I'm seeing, I want to appreciate the stories behind it. I'm this way a lot with art, the beauty of the art is most often lost on me, but the story behind it can fascinate me and makes a visit to a gallery worthwhile.