3DVIA Mobile App Reviews

The app is a great idea, but is limited in many ways. You can only place one 3D object in a photo at a time and the controls for placing a 3D object is not very intuitive. I wish I could see more features in the next iteration.

I was sad to see that the 3d model did not import into the picture I took with my iPad 2... Do not buy if you expect this to work with your iPad 2. I hope they fix this soon, Im a little ticked about the money I spent. Also, the hd version for the iPad doesnt have a picture taking feature...it only allows you to open and show 3d models... Not very useful and again a waste of cash.

I just wanted a way to view my SketchUp models on my iPhone without upgrading to SketchUp Pro (for extra export options to use with other apps). This app does the trick. I simply export my model from SketchUp in kmz format, upload it to my free 3dvia account, and can then view it with the app. My 5-star rating is primarily based on the fact that this app lets me do exactly what I wanted to do, and does so very well. The UI is clean and intuitive, and the app works fine on my iPhone 4 (no crashing, hanging, etc). Models load quickly and are easy to manipulate (pan, rotate and zoom). You do have to switch between pan and rotate modes, but Id imagine that is easier than trying to differentiate gestures for a 3d object. My only complaint, and its a minor one, is that you need a paid account to make models private. I dont care if others view my models, but I feel bad for cluttering the public galleries with unprofessional models that are irrelevant to others, and dont understand why this option is considered to be a premium. The app also will not display models with more than 100,000 triangles, but thats more a limitation of the iPhone than the app. Also, the default upload page on 3dvia.com did not work for me using FF6 on a Mac, but they have a link for a basic upload page which works fine. Finally, I noticed a number of reviews about not being able to use existing photos. They dont have this option because the app needs to know the 3d orientation of the photo in order to place a 3d object with the correct perspective, which it records when you use the in-app camera. Granted, there could perhaps be an option to use existing photos with manual adjustment for the object, but considering this is more of a token feature anyway, Im fine with it as-is.

This would get 5 stars, but v1.4.1 causes system crashes on iOS 5.1. Every time I try to enter editing mode from the initial 3D view mode my ipod touch 4 freezes and requires a hard reboot!

Really good