Google Earth for iPhone

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET Staff on November 08, 2008

Despite the potential limitations of the device, the iPhone version keeps up with the performance, features, and usability of Google Earth for desktops. At least, it does while you're using a Wi-Fi network connection. For example, your view of the world starts looking straight down, but you can tilt the view so terrain contours are visible, and generating that variable perspective takes some significant processing.

The iPhone's multitouch screen actually makes using the application easier than the desktop versions. Dragging a fingertip across the screen slides the view appropriately, of course. Two-finger pinch gestures not only zoom in and out, but also, by adding a little twirling rotary motion, steer the view's orientation in one direction or another. When the iPhone is tilted a certain angle out of horizontal, Google Earth reads data from the phone's accelerometer and adjusts your view accordingly, so you can look up into the sky. And it's integrated with the iPhone's capability to locate itself through GPS, Wi-Fi networks, and mobile phone towers. There's even a two-finger drag to tilt the perspective back--flight-simulator gamers might think of pulling the stick back to lift the nose of a virtual airplane--and that you also can zoom in and out with single-finger and two-finger double-tapping, respectively.

One of the few deficiencies of the iPhone version is that it doesn't show all the layers of information that appear in the desktop edition. Nevertheless, the features are impressive, the functionality level is high, and the application is free: Google Earth for the iPhone is a must-grab.