14 DAY TRIAL // Google has recently issued an update for the popular Google Maps for Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 devices, bringing some major fixes to Google Latitude – the service that is able to keep track of users' location while allowing them to share it with social networking friends –, the most important of which is the fact that the app now works in the background.
The new version of the application offers users the possibility to set Google Location to update users' location automatically when in the background, even when Maps for mobile is closed. In addition, the software now features auto-restart location updates, which means that, in case the phone is turned off, Google Latitude will automatically launch when the device is on again, whether it is in the background or with Google Maps opened.
The application running on Symbian S60 devices also comes with fixes for Backlight timeout, meaning that “The backlight will remain on when the driving directions list is open, routes are being viewed on the map, or the device is moving quickly with an active GPS connection.” Furthermore, in case the automatic detection is enabled, user's location will be updated when the Latitude friend list is manually refreshed. A new feature that has been added is the option to take a new photo using the phone's camera when changing the photo icon picture in Latitude.
As for Windows Mobile devices, the users’ location will also be updated when refreshing the friend list, and they will not experience the login errors that appeared for Latitude anymore. Some changes have been made to the Backlight behavior as well: “Your device backlight should turn off according to your system settings when Maps or Latitude is left open in the background. Previously, Latitude may have kept your backlight on when in the background.” Also, the internal errors that appeared on some devices when trying to view details on friends were also taken care of.
These are only the major fixes and improvements that were added to Google Maps in the new version of the application. There are also a series of minor resolves that come around with the update, but some issues are still there, and a complete list of what has been or still needs to be addressed can be found here.