Google ports Latitude location app to iPhone

Latitude may appeal to businesses that need to track workers

Google has ported its Latitude mobile locating software to the Apple iPhone handset.

Launched in February, Latitude allows users to find friends and family by tracking their movement via Google maps and the handset's location hardware.

Latitude is mainly seen as a consumer or end-user technology, but some have suggested that the service could eventually be of use to businesses which require workers to operate in large or dangerous areas where locating and tracking abilities are vital.

Google said that the iPhone and iPod Touch version of Latitude would run through the handset's Safari web browser, rather than being offered as a standalone application.

Google product manager Mat Balez noted that, because Latitude must run within the browser, developers were unable to include the continuous location updates provided in the BlackBerry and Symbian versions of the software.

"We worked closely with Apple to bring Latitude to the iPhone in a way Apple thought would be best for iPhone users," Balez wrote in a blog post.

"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."