Google has released a version of Earth that works for the iPhone and iPod Touch. As I argue at Local Mobile Search, it makes Earth into a much more practical local search tool than it is on the desktop. Remember that all the Maps data is in Earth.
You can pan and zoom easily, find your location and search nearby. The imagery is tremendous as well.
Not all the Earth layers and capabilities are present, but some are (Wikipedia and Panoramio), with more to follow undoubtedly.
More at SEL and Techmeme. StreetView, available now in Android, is apparently coming soon for the iPhone.
October 28, 2008 at 1:33 pm |
My 14 year old tried out Google Earth on his iPhone yesterday at home before school and then while at school.
At home, Google Earth’s “locate me and my iPhone” feature placed him at our home’s address whereby he could zoom in to see our home’s rooftop.
However when he later tried the iPhone locate me and my iPhone feature at school which is on an acreage, Google Earth placed him at the school’s street address which was several hundred yards from the location from where he searched.
I initially thought Google Earth was locating his device via GPS: Lat / Long coordinates yet I am not sure now having learned his iPhone via Google Earth placed him at the nearest street address several hundred yards away..
Any idea on how Google Earth determines the iPhone’s position during the “find me and my iPhone” search?
Is it done through cell phone tower data overlayed on Google Earth and mashed up with Google Maps data?
Or is it some other formula?
October 28, 2008 at 1:41 pm |
It would have to be using the iPhone’s various location technologies: GPS, cell and WiFi databases.
October 28, 2008 at 1:48 pm |
Ok… makes sense – iPhone’s tech not Google Earth’s.
October 28, 2008 at 1:50 pm |
Right. It’s part of the SDK. If users downloaded Google Gears onto the iPhone then it would be Google’s.
October 28, 2008 at 2:26 pm |
Wonderful app, but a bit slow on the iphone…again G is developing apps ahead of the available hardware