Whether you’re an “always on the go” entrepreneur, or a work-from-home small business owner who just wants to get out of the house for a while, facilities that offer free (but strong) Wifi, access to printing, a plethora of charging stations/outlets, (and some good coffee) are a mobile worker’s dream. The WorkSnug app can help you find your ideal temporary workspace, but with a touch of Augmented Reality pizazz.
If you’re not familiar with Augmented Reality, it is essentially a way to uncover virtual information attached to a physical object just by looking at that object through your smartphone’s camera or other compatible device. In WorkSnug’s case, they have compiled a database of “mobile worker friendly” locations across the globe.
Instead of looking at a map of the locations in your area on your phone, You can open WorkSnug and point your smartphone’s camera at buildings and if they are in the database, you will be able to see information about the location pop up on your phone’s screen:
– Business name, address and location
– Free (or Paid) Wifi access
– Printing capabilities
– Noise level (measured in decibels)
If you frequent a location that’s not listed, you can add your location and its features along with a review on WorkSnug’s website. Currently, the service is readily available in San Francisco, New York, London, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Leiden and Brighton. Which may not make WorkSnug advantageous for most US users; But, they claim their database is rapidly growing and are constantly seeking people to add their favorite “off-site” locations (either directly in the mobile app or on the WorkSnug website) that are welcoming to the mobile worker.
Augmented Reality will become more of an actual reality right alongside the advancements in smartphone technology. Apps like WorkSnug, while not geographically available to the masses, represents awesome possibilities in what our beloved devices will actually be able to accomplish in coming years months.
WorkSnug is a free app available for iPhone, BlackBerry, and OVI (Nokia) devices.