Last week, Google introduced its Latitude feature for Google Maps and as an iGoogle gadget on the computer. The service allows the user to see the approximate location of friends and family on their smart phone or computer. The service is opt-in, so people can only see you if you let them and you can selectively let different people know where you are. You can set your location for anywhere as well. The service is offered on Blackberry, Symbian 60, and Windows Mobile phones and will be coming to Android phones and to the iphone (via its Google Maps Application) soon. On the computer version, the user can manually set the location of friends or family too. The service also allows communication directly via SMS, Google Talk, or Gmail.

Location is always a service that is an enhancement to an application. Google has smartly added it to its Maps features to tie into its Google service - Google Talk and Gmail - giving it another differentiator. The service uses cell tower locations and satellite GPS to get locations. The service also offers communication via SMS for ubiquity. The real goal is to greater personalize your Google applications to provide stickiness, eye balls and advertising dollars. The plan effectively does this via free service, usefulness, peer driven behavior, concern over loved ones' locations, and alleviating privacy concerns. It also gives the average wireless user one more reason to buy a smart phone and a data plan. Another one of Google's indirect goals.

"User Survey Analysis: The Next-Generation Communications Consumer, United States, 2020" (11 country reports)

"Forecast: GPS-Enabled Devices, Worldwide, 2004-2012"