Manage updates with the Download AppCNET Editors' review
Google Earth continues to set the mapping paradigm. Accessible enough for casual users, Google has added features that make it a necessity for those whose topographic desires are more serious. In addition to Earth cartography, you can also check out Google Ocean, historical Earth maps, and the surface of one of our closest neighbors, Mars.
The oceanic maps provide the capability to plunge to the floor of the sea, view exclusive content from the BBC and National Geographic, and explore shipwrecks like the Titanic in 3D. Exploring the Martian surface is limited to data provided from NASA, but that's not much of a limitation considering that it's unlikely that most of us will ever get to visit the Red Planet. Switching between Google Earth, Sky, and Mars can be done from the menu bar or from the planet icon on the toolbar.
Most of the interface's real estate displays a rendering of the globe, which can zoom in on a satellite image of your destination once you've keyed it in. Controls live on a top toolbar and a left-side navigation window that lets you quickly jump between different views and locations. Google's Street View, real-time illumination of the Earth, roads, restaurants, and even crime statistics can be displayed. Smooth integration with Google's 3D rendering program SketchUp means that you can design buildings and see how they'd interact with their surroundings.
The only downside to the program is that it can consume a large amount of RAM, so older machines might experience performance issues. That can be configured through the Options menu, and recent updates have helped address many of these performance issues, with improvements to rendering speed, frame rate, and even launch time.
Publisher's Description
From Google:
Google Earth puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop. View exotic locales like Maui and Paris, as well as points of interest such as local restaurants, hospitals, and schools. Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps, and the power of Google Search to put the world's geographic information at your fingertips. With Google Earth you can fly from space to your neighborhood--just type in an address and zoom right in, search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions, tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings, save and share your searches and favorites and even add your own annotations.
What's new in this version: We've made a lot of adjustments under the hood, like improving memory utilization so we can show more buildings, layers, and user content. We improved our shaders (that's graphics-speak for small programs that run inside your graphics processor) to make the atmosphere draw faster. We also worked to reduce stuttering (known as frame drops) to provide an even smoother experience as you fly around the globe. When we draw imagery, we now use compression technology to use less memory and graphics res... See all new features
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All versions:
3.6 starsout of 95 votes
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Current version:
4.0 starsout of 1 votes
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My rating:
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"Amazing App."
Version: Google Earth 5.1.3506.3999
Pros
So far so good. Has done all I wanted.
Cons
None so far.
Summary
This is a brilliant piece of software.
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