Shopping at department stores just took on a virtual twist, thanks to 360-degree Indoor Street View.
From Bangkok's latest shopping malls like The EmQuartier to Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre in Chiang Mai, Google's indoor view offers you window shopping in the palm of your hand.
Indoor Street View can help you work out more easily how to get to where you want to go -- without having to find a free-standing directory or mall assistant first.
"In addition to helping locals navigate around a mall, the new indoor locations on Google Street View will be great for visitors too," explained Ben King, Google Thailand's country manager.
A preview thumbnail will appear when you are to view the map of a particular shopping centre. You can then zoom in on a building then tap and hold on the area where Indoor Street View data is available. From fashion mannequins, sale signs, ATMs, to restrooms and individual stores within malls, Indoor Street View is designed to give you the exact location you need.
Similar to the experience of Google Street View outside, when using Google Indoor Street View the blue dot indicates your current location. You can also move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, Indoor Street View will update to display which floor you're on by selecting from the menu showing floor number on the corner of your screen.
The application can so far be used at 15 department stores in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, 13 of them are stores along the BTS Sukhumvit line.
Google said it will continually add the new Indoor Street View function to more buildings throughout the country. Building owners can upload Street View images into Street View apps by themselves as well.
Google Street View is available for download on both the App Store and Google Play.
