Google Latitude enables you to track friends, family, employees and others and vice versa in real time. And Official Google blog explains that Google Latitude is a feature of Google maps.
Google recently released the real-time location tool Google Latitude and opened up a new world of location-based services for both PC and mobile phone users.
Latitude is now available on Blackberry, Symbian S60 devices, and Windows Mobile, and will be available on Android in the next few days.
How it works:
Latitude can use any of the three kinds of signals — Wi-Fi, 2G/3G/4G mobile or GPS satellite — that a device can pick up to work out its location. By leveraging these wireless capabilities, the software can combine positioning data from satellites, carrier assistance servers and Wi-Fi base stations to significantly speed up positioning, or TTFF (time to first fix). TTFF for some devices can be up to a minute, but by using multiple reference sites, Latitude can reduce TTFF to a few seconds.
The technique that Google uses to work out your location is actually the same one that any GPS device uses: triangulation.
Here’s how it works: When Latitude turns on, it automatically tries to reach any available GPS satellite, cell tower or Wi-Fi access point (AP). Once it establishes three or more links, it starts working out your location.
It does this essentially by figuring out, for example, that if you’re two blocks from the cell tower at the church, and you’re right under the Wi-Fi AP at the coffee shop, and you’re at x distance from a GPS satellite, you must be at Buster’s Coffee Shop. Typically, devices can use up to 24 reference points to work out your location.
Now, by itself your mobile device doesn’t have the CPU horsepower to work that out. It takes the raw data and transmits it via a GSM, CDMA or Wi-Fi link to an assistance server. This technique is called A-GPS (assisted GPS). Your mobile device or computer works together with the server to plot out your location.
And this is the important part for Latitude: Since the assistance server has the results of the calculation, it’s easy to share your position with anyone else who uses Latitude and has your permission to see your location.
And with Latitude, not only can you see your friends’ locations on a map, but you can also be in touch directly via SMS, Google Talk, Gmail, or by updating your status message; you can even upload a new profile photo on the fly. It’s a fun way to feel close to the people you care about, says Google blog
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