Google has updated its version of Google Earth for Android to take advantage of the large screen and processing power of the tablets.
In a blog post yesterday, product manager Peter Birch said the update adds support for texture and 3D buildings and a new action bar so it is easier to search and browse the images layers. Google Earth started life as the company's virtual world, but now incorporates street-level images and even extends into space.
"Going from a mobile phone to one tablet was like going from a regular movie theater, IMAX," wrote Birch, noting its particular affection for exploring Rome's Colosseum to the tool. "We take the larger screen size, including features like the content of the popup windows that appear in view of the Earth, so you can see more information without having to switch back and forth between the pages."
The new version of Google Earth for Android will run on all devices that use version 2. 1 or more mobile operating system. The tablet features are available for devices that use the "honeycomb" Android OS 3.0, which is the first optimized version of Google for tablets.
In a blog post yesterday, product manager Peter Birch said the update adds support for texture and 3D buildings and a new action bar so it is easier to search and browse the images layers. Google Earth started life as the company's virtual world, but now incorporates street-level images and even extends into space.
"Going from a mobile phone to one tablet was like going from a regular movie theater, IMAX," wrote Birch, noting its particular affection for exploring Rome's Colosseum to the tool. "We take the larger screen size, including features like the content of the popup windows that appear in view of the Earth, so you can see more information without having to switch back and forth between the pages."
The new version of Google Earth for Android will run on all devices that use version 2. 1 or more mobile operating system. The tablet features are available for devices that use the "honeycomb" Android OS 3.0, which is the first optimized version of Google for tablets.