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Google’s Latitude kick starts social location

I woke up this morning to a few invites to join Google Latitude, which as is turns out is packaged into Google Maps Mobile 3.0. Once in the system I immediately saw how powerful this new service is going to be … While it is still very early Google and the Latitude / Maps team have done an excellent job bridging the service layers into the application which makes it very easy for existing Maps users to use. And that’s the real key here – there’s a massive installed base for Google Mobile Maps! This is less a new social network and more about adding a feature to an existing product millions of people already use. If Google decides to allow other location services to feed data into their system (and they probably will) it will only get stronger. This is big because the potential network effect  is instantly massive!

So what is Latitude – essentially it’s the ability to see your friends and search around the map once you find them. You can get a list view and then click through to see exactly (to the degree that info is shared) that person is and even what they are up to through a status line.  For the moment, the contact system is integrated into your GMail contacts and you can sort through the list by most contacted and even those you may have starred if you use an Android device. I could definitely see an option here for my Friend Connect contacts which would bring my social network friends and my contacts all onto the map.

On the desktop side, you can add an iGoogle Gadget which I’ve yet to do and will take a look at later. (have added it now and it’s quite nice if you want access from your desktop) The real power of this system is the mobile accessibility and that is definitely how I see myself getting the most from it. I’ve snapped a bunch of screenshots from the N79 so you can get a feel for how it works …

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All in all a very strong start for Google Latitude. I’ve verified my mobile number now and will have to see how that gets used. Perhaps for contacting people on go via the Map for in the moment planning which would be very cool.

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Meet the Nokia N97 – The New Nseries Flagship!

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(more pictures to come – need more connection speed!)

Today Nokia announced the Nokia N97, the new flagship of the Nseries line.  The N97 brings a QWERTY keyboard to Nseries for the first time as well as continuing the touch UI (S60 5th Edition) introduced in the 5800 Express Music.  The home screen is all new and what I can only describe as a widget-top, giving you instant access to content that matters to you in your connected life.

There’s a clear emphasis on context which enables you to get both geographically and time sensitive information delivered at a glance.  The N97’s homescreen will be customizable to allow both Nokia and 3rd party developers to activate WRT (Web Runtime) widgets without having to launch an application.   Essentially live feeds at a glance.  For the connected the social networking enthusiast, this will be a must have device.

The keyboard slides and tilts from the longer side revealing a very comfortable raised typing surface.  While I only had a limited time to type around it seemed very easy to get used to and absolutely like something on which I could do ton of messaging.  It’s great to see QWERTY FINALLY on an Nseries!  Nokia has typically made you choose between E and N series for a device that does what you want most of the time and with the N97 there’s finally a single unit that can handle everything.

The new homescreen is an awesome way to provide direct access to information within an instant.  During our briefing with Nokia we learned that they consider the N97 a new category of device and one that is more a mobile computer than the prior generation of multimedia computers.  The N97 offers a massive amount of functionality in a very reasonably sized package.  The screen is 640×360 and is just gorgeous.  Contrast was excellent and colors (all 16 Million of them) seemed quite vibrant!  You can customize every part of the homescreen which is remarkably something that we’ve not had previously in S60 devices.  You can add, remove or just slide any of the widgets around to make things just how you like them.  When you rotate the device between portrait and landscape modes, things nicely re-align.

On first glance the N97 compares to the 5800 in size and seems like it’s older brother … until you slide the keyboard out and realize you’ve got an altogether new breed in hand.  While it’s not a small device, the N97 feels great in your hand and can easily be used while walking without needing two hands in most cases.  The virtual keyboards (numbers and T9) were clear and the softkeys seemed eas to access for quick data entry.  Of course for larger text needs a quick flip and you’ve got a real keyboard at your disposal.  Weight (Approx. 150 g) felt semi-comparable to the E71 and in the front pocket of my jeans it was not in any way uncomfortable.

There’s much more to this device than I can possibly do justice in an initial post.  When this goes live I’ll be listening to the keynotes and will report back after further Q&A.