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FROM: http://www.builderau.com.au/blog ... ost.htm?p=339271100
Google already has customised some of its websites for display on theiPhone, but now the company also dived headlong onto Apple's highlyregarded mobile phone with a full-fledge application, a handheldversion of its Google Earth geographical software.
GoogleEarth for the iPhone can show satellite views of the world in 3D, inthis case the Matterhorn, and dots the display with blue squaresshowing geotagged Panoramio photos.
(Credit: Google)
Google Earth lets people virtually fly around a 3D view of the worldmade from satellite and aerial imagery mapped onto the planet'smountains and valleys. The iPhone version reproduces this coreexperience, downloading imagery from Google's servers as theperspective shifts and dotting the map with landmarks, photos, andother information.
"The idea of having Earth on a mobile device is something peopledreamed of back to the Keyhole days and before," said Peter Birch,Google Earth's product manager, referring to the satellite imagerycompany Google acquired in 2004. "This is the first opportunity we'vehad to be able to deliver a great experience."
Keyhole began its first version of what later became Google Earth in2001, when computer horsepower and network capacity had not risen totheir current levels. "A lot of that core engine can run on a devicelike this," Birch said.
The free software started becoming available through Apple's App storeon Sunday. It's a free download in 20 countries, running in all 18languages the iPhone supports.
Surprising performance, good interface
I tried the application late last week and was impressed how well theiPhone version kept up with the performance, features, and usability ofGoogle Earth for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux -- at least, while usinga Wi-Fi network connection. For example, your view of the world startslooking straight down, but you can tilt the view so terrain contoursare visible, and generating that variable perspective takes somesignificant processing.
What's most interesting to me, though, is that the iPhone's multitouchscreen actually made using the application easier than the PC versions.Dragging a fingertip across the screen slides the view appropriately,of course. Two-finger pinch gestures not only zoom in and out, butalso, by adding a little twirling rotary motion, steer the view'sorientation in one direction or another.
Search results, such as cafes in Trento, Italy, show as pushpins on the Google Earth view.
(Credit: Google)
Another nice feature: when the iPhone is tilted a certain angle out ofhorizontal, Google Earth reads data from the phone's accelerometer andadjusts your view accordingly, so you can look up into the sky. Andit's integrated with the iPhone's ability to locate itself through GPS,Wi-Fi networks, and mobile phone towers.
The only things I didn't figure out on my own within a minute of use isthat you can use a two-finger drag to tilt the perspective back --flight-simulator gamers might think of pulling the stick back to liftthe nose of a virtual airplane -- and that you also can zoom in and outwith single-finger and two-finger double-tapping, respectively.
"One of the challenges we face with Google Earth is people aren't usedto moving around in 3D, especially if you're moving around with amouse," Birch said.
It's a very intuitive interface, a notch more so than the mousecontrols of the PC version -- though I've heard Google Earth is mucheasier to grasp with a 3D controller such as Logitech's 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator.One intriguing possibility is that Google could bring this interface tomultitouch-aware computers such as Apple's newer MacBook models.
"Macs have multitouch on them," Birch said. "That's something we could consider."
Touchingthe circular icon on the lower left of the screen moves the view toyour current location, shown with a blue ring. The W icons indicategeotagged Wikipedia entries.
(Credit: Google)
Just a curiosity?
So what exactly do you use Google Earth for?
Though you can search for specific addresses, Google Earth in generalis more for exploring than for practical tasks such as navigation.There's no turn-by-turn directions and no map view showing streetnames, as on Google Maps, for example.
But there is some practical utility. The computer version of GoogleEarth can show many layers of information, including user-supplied oneson the Internet. The iPhone is more limited for now, with small bluesquares indicating where you can see geotagged photos of a particulararea that are stored on Google's Panoramio site and "W" iconsindicating links to geotagged Wikipedia articles.
Also handy for folks whizzing around foreign cities in buses, taxies,rental cars, or trains, the iPhone app can show your changing locationon a map.
Search + mapping = revenue
And where would a Google application be without search? The GoogleEarth iPhone application will show search results such as pizzarestaurants as small red pushpins. Touching the pushpin will pop up awindow with information such as a business's website and phone number.
And happily, like Safari but unlike most iPhone applications, GoogleEarth can use a horizontally oriented touch-screen keyboard, too.
Using the search tool gives a scrollable list of search results.
(Credit: Google)
Google Earth for iPhone has a small Webkit-based browser to show thespecific information users click on, and the bare-bones browsingexperience includes a link to the more fully featured Safari browserApple builds into the iPhone. One handy trick: when you click theaddress of a business, the iPhone will intercept the command and showit on the Google Maps application so you can get directions.Personally, I'd prefer a more direct link to Google Maps, though.
And where would Google search be without Google advertising? There arenow ads in Google Maps for desktop computers, and Google Earth for PCsshows "very limited" ads right now, Birch said, but currently there areno ads on the iPhone version of Google Earth, but Birch said Google is"definitely not" ruling it out.
"Within (Google's geographic products group) as a whole, we seeadvertising as a huge opportunity. Geographic mapping as a business forGoogle is a great opportunity. We wouln't be in it if we didn't see itas a major bottom-line contributor," Birch said. "We're absolutelylooking at and experimenting with ads in Earth as well."
Google Earth is a little different from many Google products, though,because the company also sells premium versions of the software, soGoogle has alternate revenue sources.
Google Earth for Android?
Birch was cagey about what else will come of the software, but Google'sAndroid operating system for mobile phones appears to be high on thelist.
Touchinga blue square on the Google Earth interface brings up people'sgeographically tagged photos stored at Google's Panoramio site.
(Credit: Google)
"We're huge fans of the iPhone. It's a fantastic platform and a greatopportunity to show Google technology. We're equally excited aboutAndroid," Birch said. However, he added, "We have nothing to announceright now."
Adding other features available on the desktop version of Google Earthalso is a possibility. There's no support for the 3D buildings GoogleEarth can show, for example, nor the ability to view KML (KeyholeMarkup Language) data such as a guided city tour.
"There are a lot of things on the wish list," Birch said.
Even in its 1.0 incarnation, though, Google Earth for the iPhone shouldprove entertaining and useful for geography buffs or virtual tourists.
-- Posted by Stephen Shankland |
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发表于 29-10-2008 11:25:39
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