Three quarters of our planet is ocean and you can cram all of this into your phone with the latest update for Google Earth as long as you have an Android device.
Google Earth 1.1 for Android already allows you to explore terrain in 3D, go straight to your GPS location at the touch of a button, search by voice or see different cartographic layers, including roads, borders and panoramic photos, but this extra feature introduces you to the depths of the ocean.
“Now, you can check out the landscape and terrain in Monterery Bay Canyon, which is larger than the Grand Canyon, by zooming in on Google Earth below the ocean surface just off the coast. Once underwater, we can use the ‘look around’ button to tilt the view and see the extent of this great undersea canyon,” said Jenifer Austin Foulkes, product manager at Google.
This new “Explore the Ocean” layer has hundreds of photos and videos from over 100 contributors with the gold highlighted icons representing content from the Mission Blue Hope Spot initiative, which essentially maps out the ocean equivalent of world heritage sites or those that may need protection.
Google Earth for Android 1.1 is available in Android Market today for most Android devices running version 2.1 or later and for those running Android 2.2 there are extras because Google Earth now supports Flash in balloons, so if you have the Flash player installed you can watch videos inside the balloon.
Navigation in Google Earth is also easier: you can use two fingers to look around and switch your viewing angle like tilting the view to see underwater canyons and other cool features. Also, twisting your fingers rotates the view. Neat!
