Google Latitude launches

Google launched it's own Fire Eagle today, enabling you to 'See your friends on a map and get in touch'.

I haven't had enough time to get properly stuck in but from first viewing the Google Latitude user experience is more map-based and the 'sales pitch' is much more end-user focused.

Whilst all the hype around Fire Eagle was it's ability to be the 'glue' between applications, storing, retrieving and passing on location information, Google Latitude seems to be promoted as an application that will directly help you organise your real world existence by knowing if your friends are nearby, if your parents' flight arrived safely, and so on.

They are essentially the same thing in a different package.

I guess the next technological breakthrough will be a device, small enough to put in your pocket, that will include an audio speaker and receiver set such that, upon entry of a particular numeric code, you will be able to converse directly, one-to-one, with anyone else with a similar device.

Then you could find out, not only if your friends are nearby and if that flight arrived safely, but how everyone is feeling, whether they saw the game last night, and if anyone fancies a beer?
Oh, hang on... (photo: Olib)

From a business point of view it makes a great deal of sense for Google to be pushing heavily into this area.

If the great Google machine knows the whereabouts of you and your friends, and builds an understanding of your travelling habits, then, together with all of the other information Google already knows about each one of us, just imagine the kind of powerful, relevant advertising model that could be created for each individual.

Putting sarcasm and cynicism aside for one moment, my major tech prediction for 2009 was thus:

"Determining your present location will become a seamless and automatic feature on mobile devices, enabling some breakthrough location based services to achieve widespread popularity."

Google Latitude is yet another step in the right direction, although they might want to launch an iPhone version fairly soon.

For more information, here is Google's introductory video explaining their new service: