Google canceled the Immersive Media contract weeks after first launching last summer, then started using their own system for higher quality imagery probably far cheaper.

All images on GoogleStreetView are now produced by Google themselves and so your reference to linking Immersive Media with new Google content is erroneous. There are a number of new companies and solutions in this space and the new players are doing far more interesting work than what I see here.

thanks for pointing that error out!
who do you see as most exciting in the immersive space these days? i'm really liking the emerging mobile apps seeking to intelligently consume these datasets (mostly Android prototypes to date)...

the first comment is correct, Google do all of their own image collection in house and dumped Immersive Media after only a few cities last year.

What is "immersive?" Having 360 degree images is not necessary for creating an "immersive" User experience. People cry during television shows, ergo, they were "immersed" (emotionally).

My view is that "immersion" really requires a User experience where the User elects to move in different directions, not just "look around." And with any physical ("motion ride") component added, the value increases significantly. Truly "immersive" media experiences require more Disneyland/Epcot type features than what's available online or on my iPhone and the image quality does have to be great (IMAX film resolutionis far more "immersive" than any 360 video will likely ever be)