BREAKING: Sketchup has a new home

The Google Sketchup blog is reporting today that they have sold Sketchup to another company, Trimble.  After Google has been axing many of it's "Labs" products, and streamlining operations, I am not entirely surprised about this.

Here are some excerpts from the announcement:

That’s why I’m sharing today that the SketchUp team and technology will be leaving Google to join Trimble. We’ll be better able to focus on our core communities: modelers who have been with us from the beginning, as well as future SketchUppers who have yet to discover our products. Designers, builders and makers of things have always been the heart and soul of SketchUp. With Trimble’s commitment to invest in our growth, we’ll be able to innovate and develop new features better than ever before.

It's worth reading the entire post.  From the sounds of it they are going to keep Sketchup the same, and develop it even further.  If that's the case, I'm all for it.  Trimble looks to be a GPS solutions provider.  Since Google originally acquired Sketchup to augment their mapping products, this could be a very good fit.

There is also a great FAQ on the Trimble website that is worth reading.  I'd be very interested in hearing everyone's comments on this.

There is also a discussion going on over at SketchUCation if you are interested