Google Earth updated to version 2.0 for iPhone
Google this week updated its Google Earth mapping software for the iPhone and iPod touch. Version 2.0 adds numerous features to the software, including the ability to view maps created on a desktop computer on the iPhone. The update also adds more languages, improved icon selection, and better performance.
"By logging in directly to your Google Maps account, you can view the same maps that you or others have created, using the My Maps interface," the company said. "Maybe you're on a trip and want to see where Tony Wheeler, the co-founder of Lonely Planet, most likes to travel. Or perhaps you're walking around looking for a restaurant and you want to see where world-famous chef Ferran AdriÃ* likes to eat. All you have to do is click "Save to My Maps", open Earth on the iPhone, log in with the same account information, and voilÃ*, you have your same collection of My Maps right in your pocket."
In version 2.0, touching an icon produces a small glow under the user's finger to let them know which icon they have selected. If a finger touches multiple icons, the software provides a list of icons to make it easier to select an individual one.
Google Earth now offers 31 languages, up from the original 18. The complete list of supported languages is English (U.S), English (UK), French (France), German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Arabic, Thai, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malaysian, Romanian, Slovak, and Croatian.
"By logging in directly to your Google Maps account, you can view the same maps that you or others have created, using the My Maps interface," the company said. "Maybe you're on a trip and want to see where Tony Wheeler, the co-founder of Lonely Planet, most likes to travel. Or perhaps you're walking around looking for a restaurant and you want to see where world-famous chef Ferran AdriÃ* likes to eat. All you have to do is click "Save to My Maps", open Earth on the iPhone, log in with the same account information, and voilÃ*, you have your same collection of My Maps right in your pocket."
In version 2.0, touching an icon produces a small glow under the user's finger to let them know which icon they have selected. If a finger touches multiple icons, the software provides a list of icons to make it easier to select an individual one.
Google Earth now offers 31 languages, up from the original 18. The complete list of supported languages is English (U.S), English (UK), French (France), German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Arabic, Thai, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malaysian, Romanian, Slovak, and Croatian.
Comments
This will prove to be a much-appreciated improvement that will save users a lot of fruitless screen prodding and poking in search of their desired selection.
With more languages, improved search and larger knowledge base, Google is rapidly turning into an online combination of the biblical Tower of Babel and the pre-biblical Oracle of Delphi...