Google Earth for the iPhone is a pretty well rounded application including geo-tagged photos and wikipedia article integration, a cool tilt your phone to change the 3D view interface called auto-tilt, and uses the same imagery as the desktop application. In quick testing we found Google Earth to be a little slower than Earthscape but a little more finished feeling.

Previously the only application offered by Google for the iPhone was their Google Mobile App. This application was little more than a dedicated search engine front end.

This release also marks some competition to one of our favorite apps, Earthscape. It will be interesting to see what happens with this app now that it has competition.

Our suggestion is to just try both and use the one you like best.

Applications mentioned in this post:

Google Earth

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2008-10-27 :: Category: Travel

Google Search

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2008-07-11 :: Category: Reference

Earthscape

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: FREE

Our Rating: :: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2008-08-20 :: Category: Photography

Google has official info in their blog.