Google Latitude Helps You Locate Friends and Family

The Google Maps application on the iPhone provides us with traffic details, pin points, satellite view, list view, map view, hybrid view, GPS, driving directions, public transit details, etc.  Now the application will be able to help locate where individuals are or share where you currently are.

For example, one of my friends decided right away that he wanted me to know where he was on Google Latitude so he sent me a request.  Once I accepted the request through GMail, Google routed me to iGoogle, an RSS reader.  Google then connected Gears to iGoogle and opened up a map.  This Google Map showed me that my friend is currently somewhere between W. Adams and Michigan Ave. in Chicago.

This is a great tool for anyone that wants to track where their kids, significant others, etc.  It can be very “big brother-like,” but can also be very useful for security purposes. Last month I wrote about how Google Street View helped solve a kidnapping case.

Although there are several competitors such as Loopt and other mobile devices with the feature built-in, Google has the leg up because Google Maps connects this feature to all of the other built-in functions.  Google Latitude can be accessed via iGoogle, but is also expected to come built into the next iPhone software updated.

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