April 12th, 2007
Outdoorsy, love Google Earth AND a BlackBerry 7520 or 7100i user? Gotta read this
So tell me, do you:
Love the outdoors, and:
Own a BlackBerry 7520 or BlackBerry 7100i?
I'd say check to both. I love the outdoors. I am an Oregonian. 'Nuff said there.
And while I may or may not be "happy to see you," that is a BlackBerry 7520 in my pocket.
So that's why I've fired up the ol' blogging engine to tell you about a new product from Trimble Outdoors, a provider of GPS-on-cellular applications for consumers like you and me.
This one is a multimedia layer of GPS-adventure details for Google Earth. This multimedia layer includes interactive information from the Trimble Outdoors catalog of GPS-on-cellularapplications, as well as premium content from BACKPACKER, Bicycling and Mountain Bike magazines.
What's even cooler: this content is instantly mashable with Google Earth locations.
Trimble tells us Google Earth users can export the layer data to any WAP-capable mobile phone, experience it via a GPS-enabled mobile phone with Trimble Outdoors' fitness and outdoor recreational applications, or download to a stand-alone GPS like one of those Garmins you see all over REI.
Here's what you do to get there:
- Start Google Earth
- Go to "Layers" in the Sidebar on the left
- Expand the "Featured Content" folder under "Primary Database"
- Click the "Trimble Outdoors Trips" checkbox
- In the main window, pan and zoom into the area of interest to you until you see red lines and dots indicating Trimble Outdoors trips
- Continue to zoom in until you see little "Green Hikers"
- Depending on the zoom level and context, clicking a Green Hiker will open a popup window with detailed information about a trip or its element, for example a photo as shown above.
Like here:
I gotta try this. And you?
Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
