Google Earth for Android gets a tablet makeover

Google has pushed out an updated version of Google Earth for Android tablets, adding 3D building imagery, information from Wikipedia, and a new action bar at the top of the screen.

Google Maps was already one of the slickest utilities for Android 3.0 Honeycomb, allowing you to zip about the earth while using multitouch gestures to zoom in and out, change direction, or even tilt the display. Google Earth takes things to a whole new level, letting you “fly” from one location to another and view additional layers for extra information — and now 3D buildings.

The 3D building imagery adds a whole new layer of fun to the mix — although it also slows things down a bit. I noticed that with the 3D imagery turned on, Google Earth was much less responsive on a Motorola XOOM tablet.

You can check out a short hands-on video after the break. Sorry about my rambling, I was getting ready for a meeting while recording the video.

Google Earth is available as a free download from the Android Market.

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Google Earth for iOS adds ocean layer for armchair deep sea divers

Last month Google launched an updated version of Google Earth for Android with support for underwater imagery. This week the company rolled out the same features for the iOS version of Google Earth. That means you can comfortably explore the ocean’s depths from the comfort of your own home using an iPod touch, iPhone, or iPad.

Google Earth 3.1 for iOS includes a new Ocean layer which you can toggle on or off. Honestly, if you click on any random spot on the ocan, what you’re most likely to find is a blue screen with a bit of water imagery at the top indicating where the ocean stops and the sky begins. But there are also points of interest scattered around the big blue spots, allowing you to see information about underwater life, research stations, and landmarks… or seamarks.

The app also supports the retina display in the iPhone 4 and new iPod touch, for sharper graphics.

Google Earth for iOS is available as a free download from the app store.

Now you can search for octopus gardens with Google Earth for Android

Google has rolled out a new version of Google Earth for Android, and it makes up for a major oversight in earlier versions — the fact that 3/4ths of the earth is covered in water. Google Earth 1.1 for Android now includes underwater imagery.

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Not only can you explore underwater areas, but there’s also an “Explore the Ocean” layer which includes phtoos and videos from over 100 contributors.

Google Earth 1.1 also supports Adobe Flash if you’re on a phone running Android 2.2 with Flash installed. That means you can watch videos in a pop-up balloon without jumping out of Google Earth and into a separate video player.

You can read more about the new features in Google Earth for Android 1.1 at the Google Mobile web site. The app is available as a free download  for Android 2.1 and up.