Google Sky Map App for Android Platform
Google Sky Map App for Android Platform
Summary
Have you ever looked up at the sky, seen a collection of stars and felt embarrassed that you were not able to name the constellation? Furthermore, have you ever seen a bright star in the sky and wondered what it was only to later find out that you were actually looking at one of the planets? You are by no means alone in either of these things, but the Google Sky Map app, recent released by Google for their Android platform, has the potential to make those mistakes a thing of the past.
User Interaction
Interacting with the Google Sky Map app for Google Android is a powerful process that can allow you to do two very important things. The first thing that you can do is scroll through the different sky maps that Google has available, importing the one to your screen that best represents the sky above you. Once you have done that, you can then scroll down the list of elements that are supposed to be in the night sky. Once you have selected a specific element, a circle with an arrow will appear on the screen, pointing you in the direction of the object that you would like to see. At that point, all you have to do is follow the viewing instructions laid out for you by Google Sky Map and you should be able to find the desired object without too much difficulty.
User Interface
If you have ever used Starry Night or any other observational software that allows you to look through star charts and pretend that you are outside, you are undoubtedly already more than familiar with the interface of Google Sky Map. Many of the sky map software packages are going to have the same or similar interfaces regardless of what their specific features happen to be. With a blue-black background and different colors representing the lines of different constellations, Google Sky Map is no different from the vast majority of other sky map observing applications available out there. The real strength of this app is in its interaction and features as mentioned above and not really in the graphical user interface that it brings to the table.
Utility and Productivity
Normally, observing might take the average person hours to do in order to find all of the things that they wanted to find. The Google Sky Map app for Android will cut this time down significantly, since all you have to do is refer to the map and you will be able to see all of the other objects in the night sky. Simply point it upward and follow the directions on the screen to find whatever it is you are looking for. In the end, that is a very effective app and one that many people will appreciate.
Rating
One needs to take the whole picture into account when rating a specific application. Even though Google Sky Map app for Android has some great innovative features, the interface is not particularly ground-breaking in any way. That reduces its final score to 8.5 out of 10.
