earth view iconGoogle has released a new Chrome Extension that brings stunning satellite imagery to the new tab page.

Called ‘Earth View’, the add-on loads a“beautiful and unique Satellite image from Google Maps” each time you open a new Chrome window or tab.

earth view extension for chrome

If you want to find out more about the bird’s-eye-wow before you, Google makes it easy. The location of the shot is listed in the bottom right corner next to a globe icon. Clicking this icon will whizz you off to the respective locale in Google Maps via a new tab. 

The extension won’t suit everyone; it doesn’t show the Bookmarks Bar (if set to only appear on the NTP) nor can you access your top sites — a massive drawback.

You can still get at your installed applications, though. Click the ‘Apps’ text tucked neatly in the upper left-hand corner to open the chrome://apps page.

Install Earth View for Chrome

Earth View is a free extension for Chrome and works on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS and is available direct from the Chrome Web Store.

Earth View on Chrome Web Store

Extensions Google Apps earth view google maps new tab page