Group 4: Latitude, Maps, & Earth

By: Cinthia Haro

M8 Task 1: Google Apps Group Project

Google Latitude was a location-aware feature of Google Maps, developed by Google as a successor to its earlier SMS-based service Dodgeball. Latitude allowed a mobile phone user to allow certain people to view their current location. Via their own Google Account, the user’s cell phone location was mapped on Google Maps. The user could control the accuracy and details of what each of the other users can see – an exact location could be allowed, or it could be limited to identifying the city only. For privacy, it could also be turned off by the user, or a location could be manually entered. Users had to explicitly opt into Latitude, and were only able to see the location of those friends who had decided to share their location with them.

Google Latitude

What is the purpose of Google Latitude?

Latitude allowed a mobile phone user to allow certain people to view their current location

Who is the target audience that would use this app?

Mobile phone users of all ages

What are the apps key features?

User’s cell phone location was mapped on Google maps

Interesting Facts for Google Latitude

• Google Latitude’s initial release was February 5, 2009

• Google Latitude was available in 38 languages

• Google Latitude was compatible with most devices running iOS, Android, Blackberry OS, Windows Mobile, and Symbian S60. It was available for the public, users could even share their location with their friends.

• By early 2011, Google Latitude optionally recorded a history of places visited and counts time spent at each place. This information was then used to display statistics such as “time at work”, “time spent at home” and “time spent out”.

Latitude has been retired, now what?

• On July 10th, 2013, Google announced plans to shut down Latitude, and it was discontinued on August 9, 2013.

• You are no longer able to share your location using Latitude.

• Google hasn’t included Latitude as a feature in the latest version of Google Maps for mobile on Android and you can no longer see Latitude for iPhone on the App Store

• Your list of friends on Latitude is no longer visible. You are no longer able to see or manage friends. Existing friends will no longer see your location in Google Maps for mobile on Android, Latitude for iPhone, the public badge, the iGoogle Gadget, and the Latitude website at maps.google.com/latitude, if you continue to use these products

• You can share your location with your friends on Google+ using the Google+ app on your Android or iOS device

Google Maps is a desktop and mobile web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, offering satellite imagery, street maps, and Street View perspectives, as well as functions such as a route planner for traveling by foot, car, bicycle (beta test), or with public transportation. Also supported are maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API, and a locator for urban businesses and other organizations in numerous countries around the world. Google Maps satellite images are not updated in real time; however, Google adds data to their Primary Database on a regular basis, and most of the images are no more than 3 years old.

The opt-in redesigned version of the desktop application has been available since 2013, alongside the "classic" (pre-2013) version. The redesigned version was met by user criticism regarding hiding some common functions, removing a scale bar, and lack of other features that include My Places and sharable customized links to parameterized split street view and map views.

Google Maps uses a close variant of the Mercator projection, and therefore cannot accurately show areas around the poles. A related product is Google Earth, a stand-alone program which offers more globe-viewing features, including showing polar areas.

Google Maps

What is the purpose of Google Maps?

Google Maps is a mapping service application offering satellite imagery, street maps, and street view perspectives

Who is the target audience that would use this app?

This app would be extremely beneficial for anyone that travels, however, is a common app used daily by people of any age and race.

What are the apps key features?

It offers satellite imagery, street maps, and street view perspectives, as well as functions such as a route planner for traveling by foot, car, bicycle, or with public transportation

Interesting Facts for Google Maps

• Google Maps launched February 8, 2005

• Google Maps is Multilingual

• Google Maps for Mobile is the world's most popular app for smartphones, with over 54% of global smartphone owners using it at least once during the month of August 2013

• In March 2011 Google Vice President of Location Service, Marissa Mayer said that Google provided map services to 150 million users

• In June 2012, Apple announced that they would replace Google Maps with their own maps service from iOS 6. However, on December 13, 2012, Google announced the availability of Google Maps in the Apple App Store, starting with the iPhone version. Just hours after the Google Maps iOS app was released, it became the top free app in the App Store

Google Earth

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D created by Keyhole, Inc., a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) funded company acquired by Google in 2004. It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and geographic information system (GIS) 3D globe. It was originally available with three different licenses, but has since been reduced to just two: Google Earth (a free version with limited function) and Google Earth Pro ($399 per year), which is intended for commercial use. The third original option, Google Earth Plus, has been discontinued

What is the purpose of Google Earth?

To offer aerial photography and geographic information

Who is the target audience that would use this app?

Anyone. It’s extremely neat to see Earth images. However, in another slide, I provided some examples that show it can be used for wrong purposes.

What are the apps key features?

Some key features are obtaining satellite imagery, aerial photography and geographic information. It can help a person calculate distance and research different parts of the world without actually having to be there.

Interesting Facts for Google Earth• Google Earth initial release was June 11, 2005

• Google Earth is available in 45 languages

• In 2006, Google Earth began offering detailed images of classified areas in Israel. The images showed Israel Defense Forces bases, including secret Israeli Air Force facilities, Israel's Arrow missile defense system, military headquarters and Defense Ministry compound in Tel Aviv, a top-secret power station near Ashkelon, and the Negev Nuclear Research Center. Also shown was the alleged headquarters of the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, whose location is highly classified

• The lone surviving gunman involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks admitted to using Google Earth to familiarize himself with the locations of buildings used in the attacks

• In Hazleton, Pennsylvania, media attention and critics focused on Google Earth once more because of the defacing of the Hazleton Area High school Football field. Grass was removed to create the image of a penis approximately 35 yards long and 20 yards wide

Site Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Latitude

• https://support.google.com/gmm/answer/3001634?p=maps_lat_faq

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Earth