From the Spatial Sustain blog : "The news that Google is purchasing Israel-based Quiksee for $10M has been reported by Haaretz, but is still unconfirmed by Google. Quiksee has developed software technology to turn captured video into seamless 3D scenes. The video demo on the Quiksee website shows a user capturing video from three positions that are then stitched together with the software, emphasizing the ease of video tour creation that is accessible to anyone with a video camera."

The Google Mobile Blog has an update with a screenshot and video. From their summary : "Whether you’re going for an urban hike or wandering from your hotel to find that restaurant you passed earlier, you won’t have to flag down a local if you’ve got Google Maps for mobile 4.5 on Android. Maps already had Navigation and walking directions, and today we’re happy to share the perfect marriage of the two: Walking Navigation (Beta). If you need help deciding where to walk (or drive), you can now also use Street View smart navigation or the new Google Maps search bar to guide your choice."

Published earlier today, and currently in discussion on slashdot. Here is their summary : "Map APIs took off in, and during the ensuing years the whole notion of maps has changed. Where once they were slick add-ons, map functionality is now a necessary — and expected — tool. In this piece, Adam DuVander looks at the current state of mapping and he explains how mobile devices, third-party services and ease of use are shaping the map development world."

Some Google-related geonews for the last two days:

• Google SketchUp 8 has been released: Major new features for modeling in geospatial context and for creating new 3D building models for Google Earth. [...] new “Solid” tools in SketchUp Pro for common additive/subtractive modeling operations [...] additional features in LayOut for documenting models professionally.
• Google added business logos to Google Maps.
• The FGT blog offers an informative 2-parts article on Android and the future of consumer GPS. An excerpt: "Android has the capability to turn GPS into a commodity market, meaning less control and more competition, leading to lower prices. And this is an environment that the old-school GPS vendors may have trouble with." FGT also decided to launch a new blog named AndroGeoid.
• Google's Ed Parsons wonder if 'When' is the next big thing after the 'Where'.
• Here's an entry named Mapping with Google Fusion Tables .
• The GEB has an entry on 3D sound with the Google Earth plug-in.

Here's a first round up of Google-related geonews for the last week.

• Google Earth for Android was updated to v1.1, and now includes the oceans
• StreetView imagery is now available in Google Building Maker, in addition to 6 new Building Maker-enabled cities
• Once again, there's new imagery available in Google Earth and Maps
• Google Lat Long shares an entry for the 5 years of Hurricane Katrina
• If you're a golfer, the Golf Courses layer came back to Google Earth
• Here's a surprising example of location-based html5 music video made by band Arcade Fire and Google, making use of Google Maps and StreetView for your own childhood neighborhood.