Google Earth now available for iPhone

The world just got a little bit smaller. Google Earth is now available for the iPhone and iPod touch, allowing you to fly to the far reaches of the world from the palm of your hand. Since we launched Google Earth for the desktop in 2005, we've had over 400 million unique downloads, and people from around the world have used it to view their house, research travel destinations, learn how to make the world a better place, find local businesses, and view geo-located photos. Now, with a free download from the iTunes App Store, you can fly through the same 3D immersive world of Google Earth you've come to love, without having to fire up your desktop computer.


Not only is having Google Earth on your iPhone convenient, but the touch interface is a very natural way to interact with the Earth. Just swipe your finger across the screen and you fly to the other side of the globe; tilt your phone and your view tilts as well. You can pinch to zoom in or out, or just double tap with one finger to zoom in and two fingers to zoom out. We also integrated the My Location feature, so with a touch of a button, you can fly to where you are in the real world on your phone. In addition, we have over eight million Panoramio photos, which are geo-located photos of places, and you can view any and all of them from your iPhone. Besides being beautiful, high-quality pictures, they're specifically of places, so you don't have to see some guy's family on vacation in Thailand--you can see the beaches, the temples, all the things that give you a real sense of the place.

All versions of Earth include search, and the iPhone version is no exception. You have access to the same great local search that you get with Google Maps, so you can search for places, businesses, and landmarks. With Google Earth you get to the full detail page for businesses, so you can get reviews, photos, user content, business hours, and other useful information. We also added a "search near me" feature, so with one touch you can find businesses near your location, without having to navigate there first or type in the name of the city.

To get Google Earth on your iPhone, visit the App Store in iTunes or your iPhone, and search for "Google Earth."
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9 iPhone Apps for Your Car

Check out our list of 9 iPhone apps for your car-related needs. Each app links to a full review, so you can get more information on the features and cost of each app. Enjoy!

Fuel Consumption / Efficiency: AccuFuel

Maybe you’re into hypermiling, or maybe you’re just looking to see if your car needs a tune up, but if you’re looking for an app to track fuel consumption and efficiency, then I really like AccuFuel. The interface is simple and doesn’t get in the way of entering information quickly. AccuFuel produces graphs of your fuel efficiency over time for multiple vehicles.

Service Tracking: Car Care
Care Care gives you a way to track service expenses on multiple vehicles. The tracking reports might be too simple for some, but the fuel consumption tracking features that are also included might make it

a good buy for the person looking for
an app that will do both.

Cheap Gas: iGasUp
Everyone needs help finding cheaper gas these days. iGasUp has the most accurate and the most current data available. Read the full post to see some free options as well.
Expense Reporting for Mileage: MileBug

In my job, I need a way to track mileage for work trips around town. MileBug does a great job of providing a really simple (and IRS friendly) method of tracking my trip logs. I really like how I can export the reports to email for reimbursement and reporting.

Carpooling: Carticipate
Carticipate isn’t quite there yet as the community continues to grow. But if you’re looking for ride-sharing info in an iPhone app, this free download is where it’s at.

Parking: Parking Meter
Parking Meter is a simple app to track where you parked your car and/or how much time is left on that meter. I don’t always need the GPS location of my parking spot, but I like the ability to send myself SMS reminders before time expires on the meter if a meeting goes long and I forget to run out and drop a few more quarters in the slot.

Speed Traps: Trapster
Trapster helps you avoid speed traps and traffic cameras as you drive. The audible voice warnings are driver-friendly and help remind you to check your speed and drive safe.

Car Buying: iLeaseMyCar
If you’re looking to buy a new car, iLeaseMyCar (and now iLeaseMyCar Pro) is a great tool to carry with as you look at financing costs. This app lets you calculate your payments by changing your down payment, interest rate, and so on. Another app to check out is Auto Fuel Economics, which gives you a very simple run down on the fuel costs for two different cars with different MPG ratings.

Music: Shazam
I find Shazam indispensible for figuring out what song is playing on the radio as I drive around. I love the simple interface that’s easy to use in the car and the accuracy, even with some background road noise.



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