The view of Manhattan in UpNext looks much like an impressively large collection of Puzz-3D models. Nevertheless, it’s pretty damn cool. If you check it out for yourself, prepare to spend some of your productive time flying (virtually) through the streets of your favorite, or most disliked, neighborhoods.

The idea here is to combine local information with a slick 3D map:

UpNext is the new and exciting way to explore and discover your city.

Rather than sifting through pages and links of data, UpNext enables you glide around your city, virtually. Exploring has never been easier.

While this is really excellent, there is a better way to explore and discover the city: The old way. You know, version 1.0 of urban exploration which involves wandering the streets, getting lost, meeting people, and stumbling your way towards neighborhood guru status. Sure, this requires leaving your apartment, but how can you really explore New York City without being able to smell it?*

* As far as I know, UpNext does not have an olfactory plug-in.