Google Earth Crash Lands on the iPhone- Cheers and Gripes

Google Earth is not the first app to let iPhone users put the Earth in their pocket. That was Earthscape. However, having Google’s very own Google Earth on the iPhone is truly an achievement considering the limited computing and memory power of the iPhone. Expecting Google’s usual quality product delivery, iPhone users weren’t too disappointed with the iPhone incarnation of Google Earth. Google Earth allows for ultra detailed zooming. You can see your car parked in the driveway with amazing detail. That is something Earthscape can’t do. However, Google Earth also crashes a lot. Having the Earth that lives in your pocket crash doesn’t seem to be a good omen.

Applauses


3D Mountains
The terrain on Google Earth for the iPhone is what it is all about. Go to Mount Everest or any mountain to start exploring the stunning detailed 3D imagery.

Tilting can be fun
You can explore the gorgeous 3D terrain by Tilting your iPhone. Tilting it allows you to look at the terrain at an angle you tilt. Tilting can be fun when exploring the terrains around you.

Controlling our mother earth with Multi-touch finger Action
Imagine rotating the Earth at the whim of your fingers. It feels great! Go to anywhere you want in the world and check out what it is like from above. Touch the Location button on the lower left and you will be flown to your current location in seconds. The Multi-touch interaction is consistent with other iPhone Apps, so using Google Earth comes intuitively. You can move the map in the direction of choice with one finger movement. With two fingers, you can rotate the map or pinch the screen to zoom in. Double tapping the screen also allow you to zoom in. The compass icon on the top right keeps track of the direction you are facing. Touching the compass icon will align your map with the top of the screen facing north.

Detailed close images

The satellite images on Google Earth compare closely to those that appear on Google maps. The images are extremely detailed that you can see your own car. Unlike Google Maps, when you zoom extremely close, there is no annoying “No images” blank screen. This makes exploring the Earth much satisfying.

Panomramio and Wikis

The Panarama pictures are great. It allows you to see what it is like on the ground. Some of the photos are stunning, even if they are just displayed on iPhone’s tiny screen. The Wiki’s are also helpful to understanding more about the area being displayed. Together, these tools offers a satisfying experience for those who wish to visit Paris or Rome virtually with their iPhone.


Gripes

Crashes Wikis and Panoramio Crashes

Google Earth doesn’t come without Gripes. The most annoying thing when using Google Earth is the crashes. It often occurs when opening Wikis or Panoramio pages, although sometimes it just crashes when manipulating the terrains. This may be a similar phenomenon seen in iPhone mobile browser crashes. If you are getting constant crashes with Google Earth, try resetting the iPhone first by holding the home and sleep button.


Tilting system

In Google Earth for iPhone, you can view the terrains at an angle by tilting. This is cool. However, tilting is the only way to view at an angle. Sometimes it is awkward to view the terrain at a certain angle. Also fixing the view at a certain angle can be difficult as the iphone must stay tilted at that angle. Google should consider adding a manual terrain angle option by adding an icon similar to those in Earthscape.

Google maps had done that

When you think about it, many of what Google Earth can do has already been done in iPhone Google Maps. In Google Maps you can also explore foreign countries through search and zooming. You just can’t zoom out to outer space enough to show the spherical Earth on your iPhone to your friends. Google Earth doesn’t have the option to display street names. That would be handy if you are exploring a foreign city that you will visit on your next vacation.

No 3D buildings

Google Earth is all about exploring the Earth. Even though the Panoramio pictures and Wiki’s are there to help with this task, 3D buildings would make the experience much better. Google says that they are working at bringing 3D buildings to Google Earth iPhone. Hopefully this means we can see 3D building on Google Earth very soon.

No social interactions

Earthscape differentiates itself from Google Earth by offering social interactions with its application. It does so through allowing users to tag their own pictures on Earthscape. Hopefully, Google Earth for the iPhone will allow this feature in the future.

Difficult to find landmarks

It seemed difficult to find worthy landmarks on Google Earth iPhone. I tried to explore Kyoto, Japan to find the beautiful temples around there, but the Panoramio and Wiki icons on the map do not display their contents until they are opened. When they are opened, half the time the application crashed.

When do I really need to use it?

When you really think about it, when will you ever use Google Earth? May be you can use it when you are stuck in a line. Bored, traveling to Thailand virtually through Google Earth on the iPhone may be a great way to kill time. Other than that, I find it difficult to think of another use for Google Earth other than entertainment.


Hopes for the Future

It will be exciting when Google Street View is integrated with either Google maps or Google Earth for the iPhone. Exploring the Earth on the iPhone will be a much fuller experience. Hopefully 3D buildings will be available soon as well.