Hikes on the fly; Google Earth Add Hiking Trails
Mystech: I won’t have a chance to review this until after the weekend, but it looks promising…
(GoogleBlog) Many of you reading this may already know that Trimble Outdoors has partnered with Google to provide Google Earth viewers with GPS-based interactive hiking information. We’re very excited about being able to share all the great GPS content we’ve developed over the years and through partnerships with magazines including Backpacker, Bicycling and Mountain Bike. It’s an outstanding resource for outdoors enthusiasts, or really, anyone who wants to do a little research before setting out on a hike.
You can access lots of multimedia info on fitness and outdoor adventures, including routes, points of interest, pictures, video segments and even audio clips. Essentially, anytime, anywhere you can launch Google Earth, you can view hundreds of hikes that have already been logged and completed, and view personalized web content. Then, through the convergence of Trimble Outdoors’ technology and Google Earth, you can click one button, and the exact trail route is exported to your GPS-enabled phone.
This partnership between Google Earth and Trimble Outdoors is designed to support the community of outdoor enthusiasts with exciting new ways to explore the earth and share adventure stories online.
I’m so excited about this and can’t wait to get a true GPS enabled phone. The press release didn’t mention if Verizon was supported. anyone?
I’m totally with you there. I hate having to carry both a phone and GPS (and often leave one or the other behind depending on the hike in question). I’d love to have both devices in one, perhaps a nice, new Blackberry!
I haven’t heard where Verizon stands on all this. They are currently on my “Naughty List” for their throttling of their “Unlimited” data plans. 🙁