Google has released its latest version Google Earth. The 6.2 update improves the presentation of satellite imagery so high altitude views appears almost seamless and less of a patchwork. Google has also added a new search interface and an easier way to share imagery using Google+.
Google has announced that it has reached a major milestone with Google Earth. The software, either as a desktop client, mobile app, or plug-in has now been downloaded over one billion times since its launch in 2005. To celebrate, the company is encouraging viewers to read stories of how people around the world have used Google Earth to explore their world.
Lake Charles, Louisiana-based Transcenic filed a complaint Friday in the Federal Delaware District Court claiming that Google, Microsoft and AOL (via MapQuest) have infringed on its patents. At issue are street perspective views that the companies use on their mapping websites. Transcenic is looking for unspecified, but tripled damages.
Google started bringing some of its own non-stock apps up to speed for Android 3.0 tablets on Thursday with a new version of Google Earth (free, Market). The new version both makes full use of the bigger canvas and brings textured 3D buildings as well as pop-overs for on-map content. The tablet UI provides quicker ways to search as well as get to specific layers or the tablet's current location.
Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley drew some attention Wednesday with a check-in at Apple's Cupertino headquarters. The post itself gave no clues but saw him check in at the same time as Holger Luedorf, the company's key organizer for business development and partnerships, as well as its public relations manager Erin Gleason. The latter mentioned she was going to "the next meeting" less than an hour before ending up at Apple.
Audi has announced that it has chosen T-Mobile to provide wireless broadband for the manufacturer's range of vehicles equipped with Audi Connect features. T-Mobile SIM cards will enable the vehicles to access data for services such as Google Earth maps and navigation, Google Search content, Sirius Traffic information, news, weather and fuel prices.
The latest version of Google Earth, 6, is now ready for download. It brings with it 3D trees and an integrated Street View feature that lets users view the Earth from space and zoom in directly to Street View, which itself has been available only on the web for years. The Pegman mascot is now located in the main navigation control to make this easier.
AutoDesSys, the 3D imaging company best known for its modelling software Form•Z, have updated their 3D design program Bonzai3D to v.2.2, adding support for Abvent's Artlantis and two new languages (French and Czech) along with 75 minor fixes and improvements -- but the software has also had to modify support for Google Sketchup's 3D Warehouse and Google Earth due to changes on Google's part, meaning users will have to adapt to new ways of using these components.
Google on Tuesday updated two of its most important mobile apps, including a landmark change for Android. The company has now made Gmail a stand-alone app to give it new features without waiting for major updates to Android itself. The first update brings in early support for Priority Inbox through an "important" filter, lets users toggle quoted text and keeps important interface elements on the screen regardless of the length of the message.
Garmin this morning used the wake of CES to introduce two uprated eTrex models as well as a companion piece of software. The eTrex Legend H and eTrex Vista H rugged navigators both have a much more sensitive GPS receiver that both gets a quicker lock-on and is more likely to get a fix when tall natural obstacles might otherwise block reception. They also carry USB ports and 24MB of flash memory to carry detailed, monochrome terrain maps sent from a PC.
At the Macworld Expo, Google engineer David Phillip Oster, displayed a program that allows people to drive around the Earth’s surface in a virtual milk truck, by using the Nintendo Wii Balance Board with the Google Earth API. By interpreting Bluetooth data transmissions from the Wii Balance Board, a user can shift their weight in order to change the movements of the truck. Oster used the Google Earth Browser Plug-in along with a Javascript AVI to make it possible.
Google has released Google Earth for the iPhone [not active yet]. The free iPhone software available now from iTunes, displays the same high-resolution imagery as the desktop version for over half the world's population and a third of the world's land mass. The software allows you to tilt the device to adjust the view of the mountainous terrain as well as show the Panoramio layer to browse the millions of geo-located photos. Users can also view geo-located Wikipedia articles, locate themselves on the map using the device's Location services, and search for cities, places, and businesses with Google Local Search. It is available in English, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish. It works on the both the iPhone and iPod touch and requires the iPhone 2.0 software. [iTunes Store link]
