14 DAY TRIAL // Google announced on Thursday that its Google Latitude could be accessed from Apple's iPhone and iPod touch devices, the owners of which can easily tap into the functionalities that the web application brings directly from their web browser. There are a lot of features that iPhone users will certainly enjoy, and we'll list them one by one.
One thing that Latitude enables anyone to do is to see his or her friends on the map as well as his or her location, by modifying the privacy settings. In addition, it also comes with a basic Search and Directions functionality, and also offers the option to tap on the “blue dot” to be taken to the approximate location they have on the map, just as in Google Maps for mobile, due to the W3C Geolocation API support that Safari now includes.
According to a blog post on Google Mobile Blog, Latitude is the result of a collaboration between Apple and Google and comes to iPhone and iPod touch users as a web application so as not to be confused with Maps on the iPhone. Moreover, it seems that a lot of enhancements are expected to be added in the future, especially since Safari can access location in the new iPhone OS 3.0.
The only inconvenient with Latitude on the iPhone seems to be the fact that it won't receive updates while in the background, like on Android, Blackberry, Symbian and Window Mobile devices. Even so, it will be updated while running in the foreground every time it is launched, so things should turn all right in the end.
For the time being, the application is stated to be available only in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, though more countries should be added in the future. It runs on iPhone/iPod Touch OS 3.0 or above, and users can access it by typing google.com/latitude into their iPhone's browser. At the same time, a bookmark can be added to the home screen by opening Latitude in Safari and tapping the + icon > Add to Home Screen > Add.
