How to get a 3D picture in an iphone app?

Question

In an application, i saw that they used to display pictures of vehicles. But what was amazing was when we touch and swipe in that picture, it rotates in 3d way left and right. And from the front view we can rotate and get to see its back view also. It is a very good feature and i was trying to replicate it. But couldnt get an idea of how and where to start. My doubts are

1. Whats the actual format of the thing, it surely isn't a picture.

2. How do they get to rotate it?

Could someone give me an idea where i should start or where I should look upon?

Answer 1

Just like the KennyTM told you, OpenGL-ES is the weapon of choice. Take pictures of that object from all the sides you need to show, then use those as textures for the faces of the cube. Got the idea?