

Google Latitude. Now for iPhone. - agotterer
http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2009/07/google-latitude-now-for-iphone.html

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blasdel
Apple really needs to allow applications access to a modified launchd --
instead of running in the background, allow apps to register programs to
execute on events like "every half hour" or "when my location changes by
200m", with the events unified into batches.

The only remaining reason to run in the background would be for playing audio.

~~~
nudded
this has been said over and over again. The main problem with this is that:

1) the battery would not last as long as Apple wants it to

2) what if 2 applications receive a notification at the same time? how can
this be handled (what if 7 apps at the same time?)

3) there is not enough ram available for apps to stay in memory, and when an
app receives a notification it should than be started with this notification.

~~~
jrockway
_the battery would not last as long as Apple wants it to_

The battery lasts even longer if you turn your phone off. Of course, you have
no functionality, but who cares... great battery life!

 _what if 2 applications receive a notification at the same time? how can this
be handled (what if 7 apps at the same time?)_

Say hello to my little friend "loop".

 _there is not enough ram available for apps to stay in memory, and when an
app receives a notification it should than be started with this notification_

If the app can't handle the notification quickly, then it can be dropped on
the floor. This is Google Latitude, not a controller telling your heart when
to beat.

Also, handling notifications doesn't require the entire app to be available.
When I process emails, the only thing that actually runs is a tiny script to
insert a record into the database. The intense processing can happen latter.

In the case of Google Maps, the GPS location is passed in as an argument to a
tiny script, which makes one HTTP POST request. If that takes too much memory,
then the iPhone really, really sucks.

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paul9290
The UX on this is silly!

If you gonna do it via the web integrate into gmail. When I sign onto gmail to
check my mail ... automatically update my status. Also, offer an option to see
where my friends are via a map overlay in gmail. Maybe even email me when a
friend is X miles from me.

A separate web app to update status is a ridiculous UX!

~~~
jrockway
I agree, I think Apple just wants to make Google look bad here. Latitude works
great on Android and Windows Mobile. It's just the iPhone that sucks, "at
Apple's request".

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michaelfairley
"We worked closely with Apple to bring Latitude to the iPhone in a way Apple
thought would be best for iPhone users. After we developed a Latitude
application for the iPhone, Apple requested we release Latitude as a web
application in order to avoid confusion with Maps on the iPhone, which uses
Google to serve maps tiles."

That seems a little silly. The difference in the user experience for the two
of those has very little difference, except that the browser is open. It's
also a good explanation for why it's taken so damn long for this to come out.

~~~
cmer
I know someone at Google and this is pure bull. They decided to make it a web
app, not Apple.

~~~
jrockway
I know someone at Google that says it was Apple.

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cesare
>And if you miss the experience of launching the app directly from your home
screen, you can add a bookmark to the home screen by opening Latitude in
Safari and tapping the + icon > Add to Home Screen > Add.

App icons (for mobiles) have become the equivalent of the browser bookmark.

He also mention that they've built it as a web application after talking with
Apple. Otherwise, I guess they would have preferred to make a native app.

Another example for me not to believe Google claims about the future of mobile
appstores.

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agotterer
Of course the first time I clicked allow this site to know my location, safari
crashed! I think this would be a much more interesting app if it was
integrated into maps. Logging in and checking it online is a bit of a process
and kind of slow. It will be interesting to see how this competes with other
geo-social networks. Are there any bigger players then loopt?

~~~
cyunker
Crashed safari for me as well... Agreed, it would be better if this were an
iphone app. Way too slow even on a wifi connection.

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webology
Seems silly to make a web app of Latitude but I'm not sure what else would be
gained from creating an iPhone app. I'm really interested to see what happens
in this space (for Brightkite too, etc) when or if Apple lets us write
services for location tracking.

