WildPockets.com - Play in 3D

WildPockets, from Sim Ops Studios is a graphically cool app which lets you convert photos of the 2D kind into 3D applications which can be embedded on all your favorite sites. It’s offered as a plug-in which when downloaded lets users create 3D images and apps via simple drag and drop handling. More experienced developers can use graphical scripting. The homepage of the site gives you examples and objects to play with. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, you can import pictures and turn them into 3D environments or use WildPocket’s own templates. The platform can be employed by marketers giving consumers a more lifelike shopping experience. Consumers will be able to ‘grab’ and ‘manipulate’ objects, turn them around, and see it from different angles. The technology is also being marketed at game companies.

“Sim Ops Studios is a team of creative game and simulation developers who are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of interactive media. A spin-off company from Carnegie Mellon University 's Entertainment Technology Center , Sim Ops Studios mission is to turn the editing and sharing of virtual worlds into an everyday experience.
Sim Ops Studios is charging forward to reinvent the future of interactivity on the web.”

This is quite the compelling and fun platform. The drag and drop aspect gives WildPockets a definite advantage over its competitors. It makes 3D imaging accessible; besides being easy to use, objects can easily be embedded into other sites, which is good marketing.

Will this be able to compete with SilverLight and Java Applets? How easy is it to handle for casual users? Does it work seamlessly?