Yes! On a 3GS it is always running after you initially start it up. On a 3G and a 2G it does run but could get closed due to low memory.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Google Latitude for the iPhone is now LIVE!!!
- Thread starter critic81
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yes! On a 3GS it is always running after you initially start it up. On a 3G and a 2G it does run but could get closed due to low memory.
it doesn't run fully though does it ? Otherwise my battery would run out quickly when i go to an autorefresh page like a twitterfeed. I have tried this and it doesn't drain my battery.
I think it does, but i could be wrong! But i'm pretty sure that i'm updating while my iphone is locked so. Just waiting for the google.com/latitude site to get updated to tell us whats really going on here. I'm just happy it works!
Yeah the link above works for me now. I am waiting for my friends to join so I can use it
When in latitude page. Just click add to home screen and it will add the icon the springboard. Thus it will then look like an app icon.
Well, I'm sure a new Google Mobile App update will pop-up soon that will integrate GL. It still is not going to be a stand-alone app or run in the background. From the Google Mobile App, its likely just going to open up the in-app browser to display GL.
So are friends able to see where your located at all times or only when the app is running? I like Loopt, but it seems pretty pointless if you have to open up the app everytime you go somewhere to notify your friends.
But loopt doesn't run in the background on the iPhone, Latitude does! But really the thing that makes either of these services good is if you have friends on them. The more friends you have the better the service is, either one.
If that's true, how do you control it?
Do you really want the battery-sucking GPS and browser to be running 100% of the time? Keep in mind that the GPS can kill your battery in a 2-4 hours or so.
apparently safari, and therefore latitude, can run in the background, but this is not yet confirmed
regarding web apps, in my opinion, they are the future, when data networks are all at least 3G. at the moment, web apps are not truly viable as data is too slow. However, as time goes on, and we get faster data connections and better standards (no more flash/java please) such as HTML 5 and onwards, web apps will be better. update the website and the app is updated on all devices.
soon, as is happening with the desktop os, the mobile os will be less important, but the browser will
Yea, it does. But as others have said, if you leave Safari on a constantly-refreshing site (like a twitter feed, or something), it doesn't seem to refresh while you're not looking at it.
I'd be surprised if Safari was "waking up" the GPS and checking location and sending info while you weren't in the app.
Ok so for the past hour i had latitude running in mobile safari with safari minimized and with the phone locked. I was checking from my web browser and no updates. I turned on the phone but did not go into safari, still no updates. I went into safari and the site was already there, and it updated. I hope that we don't have to have it up to update, that defeats the purpose. Oh well, why can't apple just have apps run in the background. Sucks.
Ok so for the past hour i had latitude running in mobile safari with safari minimized and with the phone locked. I was checking from my web browser and no updates. I turned on the phone but did not go into safari, still no updates. I went into safari and the site was already there, and it updated. I hope that we don't have to have it up to update, that defeats the purpose. Oh well, why can't apple just have apps run in the background. Sucks.
Isn't this how Google previously stated it would function, since Apple won't officially allow background tasks?
haha great find!!
I think there will be an app for this soon though, because it would be dumb to keep this web based on the phone...the G1 has an app for Latitude so I think the iPhone will too
I think there will be an app for this soon though, because it would be dumb to keep this web based on the phone...the G1 has an app for Latitude so I think the iPhone will too
Would you rather have 2-4 hour battery life (that's what people get when the GPS is left on)?Oh well, why can't apple just have apps run in the background. Sucks.
Of course, it might be better to have a background app (if one were to be allowed) that polled every 5-10 minutes or so.
Yeah it is how they said it would work and there's nothing Google can do about it. It's not Google's fault at all, but this service is basically useless on the iPhone in its present state. Eventually Apple will come up with a way to keep the location services running without a huge impact on battery life, but it will take a while most likely. Nonetheless, this is a big step forward for Google and they did all they can, now the cell phone carriers need to figure out a way to implement it in an efficient way.