And yes, as the title says, Google innovates again for its Google Earth. This time it is not about taking pictures from space, it is about taking pictures at 45° from a plane. Thanks to these photos it is possible for Google to make 3D (with of course the texture applied directly on the 3D model).
In other words Google can do without 3D software to give a 3rd dimension to its maps. We can therefore think that this is one of the reasons for the sale of SketchUp to Trimble. Since he no longer needs 3D software, he no longer needs SketchUp.
This new way of doing things was done for the mobile version of Google Earth, in iOS or Android. But it will surely be included in the “normal” version of Google Earth.
And here is the video from Google that presents this innovation:
And if you feel like watching Google’s video that shows the evolution of maps (to, of course, end up on its Google Maps), here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8CMtRS6IUw&hd=1