Google Latitude

Tired of showing up to the bar on time and wondering just where everyone else is? Google (of course) has the answer!

As a late-to-the party (as in 4 days ago) smart phone owner, today's roll-out of Google Latitudes is the perfect oasis in the gift-giving dessert between Hannukah and Purim!

Google Latitudes is a part of Google Maps for Mobile and it allows you to share your location with friends and family members, and likewise be able to see friends and family members' locations. For example, a courteous and on-time friend could use it to see just how far away his or her companion really is when they say they are "on the way". And for someone who makes a habit out of being awkwardly on time, this is HUGE!

Disclaimer from Google for the privacy-hawks: "To protect privacy, Google specifically requires people to sign up for the service. People can share their precise location, the city they're in, or nothing at all."

So next time I show up to the bar on time, I just have to whip out my handy Omnia and see that Elliott (or Rosh or Y?) is actually in West County and will not be there in 10. It's a whole new level of knowledge to arm the fashionably late challenged!

Oh, and the best thing about all this? While Google is rolling it out for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile phones today, iPhone users can only expect to get the update "soon." Take that iPhone!