Google Earth is How It Should Be on iPad

If you need an example of what a 10” screen attached to Apple's A4 processor can do, you really should check out Google's updated Google Earth for iOS. While I thought Google Earth was pretty nifty on the iPhone and Android phones, on the iPad, the effect of using it is much more like on the desktop application.

I remember five years ago when I first tried Google Earth that it completely amazed me as I took it through the Grand Canyon and saw how it layered real satellite imagery on a 3D model of the terrain. It is something I always love having the chance to demo to people. And thanks to a well designed codebase, it usually runs at an enjoyable speed even on less than top of the line computers.

Yet, the idea of being able to see it at approximately “full size” in a touchscreen environment really changes things. It feels natural, like this is how Google Earth was always meant to be. I had a feeling if the program ever showed up on the iPad it would be amazing, yet given the current Apple-Google hostilities, I doubted the release of such a full iPad version would happen.

Great job, Google.