Last night my bed flew.

26 August 10

By: Angus
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Google Earth
iPad

Google Earth

With my duvet drawn up tight I soared across the volcanic tundras of Iceland, circled the dust bowl of Kabul and surveyed the desolate streets of Pyongyang. Then it was over to Base Camp one, up to the infamous South Col and finally I came to rest upon the peak of Everest.

My travels were provided courtesy of on the iPad whilst tucked up in bed last night. It was one of those rare mind blowing technology moments, where you gaze in wonder at human achievement.

Google Earth is an antique in web terms. Originally called EarthViewer 3D and used by the US Army and Homeland Security, it was acquired by Google in 2004 and relaunched shortly after as the Google Earth we all love.

What the iPad does so brilliantly is to take an old experience like Google Earth and turn it into something new and marvelous again. It's done the same with books and magazines through the magic formula of big screen, simple user experience, connectivity, and portability.

Everything that you could have consumed before by either having to go somewhere to get it, or through a small screen, can now be accessed in high definition anywhere you want. The iPad finishes what smart phones started- the liberation of content.

Gliding around Everest whilst enveloped by soft pillows felt like ultimate evolution of the Google Earth experience. The majesty of the natural world from the comfort of a bed, the ubiquity of three dimensional maps transformed into a childlike journey- just like I remembered it the first time around.

This kind of technology deserves our amazement and the iPad lets us be amazed again.

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