Google brings the Earth right in your palm

Google recently has released a custom Google Earth application for the Apple's iPhone/iPod Touch, and it's really exciting. Google described this as achieving the dream of "being able to carry the Earth around in your pocket".

The app is free and available today in all languages the iPhone currently supports (18) and will gradually be released for 22 countries in total

The application offers users easy access to the world of Google Earth on the go. By incorporating the functionality of the iPhone and the 3D imagery of Google Earth, it gives users the ability to move from one location to the other with the swipe of a finger, tilt the screen to change the view, and tap to zoom in and out.

Google has also added additional layers to the application, namely Panoramio and Wikipedia, for geo-located high-quality photos and informative articles respectively.

Google has also added a "search near me" feature giving users the ability to find businesses in close proximity to their current location without having to find it on the map first.

Here's the Product Manager of Google Earth Peter Birch, who is demonstrating the app in the video below