Google Earth Adds GPS FeaturesGoogle Earth Adds GPS Features

Google has introduced a new version of Earth that adds GPS features to the 3D global mapping application.

Earth 5.2, unveiled Monday, brings improvements in the software's ability to use information imported from GPS devices. The new version enables people to import data as a new kind of "track."

Earlier versions of Earth used lines or points to track a journey recorded on a GPS device. The latest application makes it possible to move the time-slider to animate time and retrace a user's journey.

Earth draws an icon so that it is positioned for the given time that a person's is viewing. As the person moves through the timeline of the previous trip, the icon moves along the associated path. A person can also select a window of time to highlight the corresponding section of the trip.

Google has posted a YouTube video that demonstrates the new feature using a flight taken by an employee during a flying lesson. The new feature also enables people to load multiple GPS tracks into Earth, so a person could recreate, for example, the journey of participants in a race.

Other new features include the ability to graph the elevation of a GPS track, as well as other information recorded from a GPS device, such as temperature and speed.

Google Earth is available as a desktop application, browser plug-in and mobile application for the Apple iPhone and for smartphones running Google's Android operating system. Released this year, Earth for Android runs on version 2.1 or higher of the OS.

Earth in general offers a number of rich tools for finding places and gathering information about them. The application lets users find specific places or businesses and to see terrain maps that are overlaid with label that show street names, landmarks and other features. It also provides a Panoramio layer to see user-submitted photos of locations.

Microsoft's competitor to Google Earth is Bing Maps, which was previously known as Virtual Earth.