Google Earth 6 brings greater realism in two ways. It integrates Street View and 3D trees for the first time. It’s also easier to browse through historical images as well.
Google Earth has traditionally only allowed users to fly over spaces to view the landscape and surrounding features. With the introduction of a full integrated street view, you can journey from East to West in a fully integrated street view experience, no flying over necessary.
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Google Earth 6 also includes dozens of beautifully detailed 3D models of different types of trees, from the Japanese Maple to the East African Cordia. Trees are being virtually “planted” in Google Earth, with more than 80 million already placed in many popular destinations. To enjoy these leafy additions to Google Earth, make sure you turn on the 3D buildings layer on the left side panel.
The latest version of Google Earth makes it much easier to discover historical imagery. When you are searching in an area where historical imagery is available, the date of the oldest imagery will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. If you click on this date, you’ll be taken back in time to view imagery from that time period. From there, you can search through all the historical imagery available at that location, or simply close the time control and return to the default view.
Google has posted a great video showing the new features on this release on their blog post announcing the news.
Have you tried out the new Google Earth? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below.
