Today during its keynote address during Google I/O, Google showed off its Latitude location-based service running on the iPhone. This is notable because so far, Latitude hasn’t been available on the huge popular smartphone. Instead, not surprisingly, Google opted to focus on getting it running on Android. But it’s coming, soon, with the launch of the iPhone 3.0 software this summer.
But also interesting is that the reason Google has been waiting for the 3.0 software is because it’s not actually creating a native iPhone app for Latitude — as all other location-based services on the iPhone are — instead it’s using the Safari web browser to run Latitude. Thanks to HTML 5, Safari will be able to access a user’s location information and Latitude will be able to access that as well (provided the user gives permission). This will put it on par with what Google is doing in its browser for Android.
Of course, you still mostly likely won’t be able to run Latitude in the background with it being on Safari. That’s the thing that is really holding back these location-based services on the iPhone. Hopefully Apple is getting closer to allowing background apps — at least in a limited form.
So does that mean sites like YouTube and other audio/video sites will work within iPhone 3.0 Safari?
Not without Flash…yet. But that’s an interesting thought with the video tag.
Actually, youtube already has mp4 versions of their videos that they server to the built-in youtube app. They could easily serve an HTML5 version of their site to iPhones instead of the retarded mobile UI you get now
Actually, I think Safari has the ability to run in the background, whereas an App Store app doesn’t.
Don’t quote me on that though.
Interesting – does anything take advantage of that, I can’t think of anything. Also, I wonder if the location calls would work in the background — if so, that could be one hell of a work around.
Or if Apple wanted they could have a server based provisioning system, allowing LBS applications to have continuous, revocable access to user location, without having to run multiple application that ping your location to different servers.
Or AT&T could… who wants it more?
Safari does run on background, like iPod and email
I don’t get it… if its not running in the background (somehow) it would be really pointless to release this.
Again: safari RUNS on background
No, it doesn’t… browse a site, quickly close the browser before the pages renders…open it again in a little while, and the page will resume loading where it left…
Where is your proof about Safari running on the background?
As far as I know, only iPod and Mail run on the background
Clearly, you don’t know alot http://twitpic.com/62zy2
owned
again, safari RUNS on background
does it run normally, or is it suspended (i.e. can javascript keep running in the background?)
The fact that MobileSafari keeps allocating memory doesn’t mean anything about it running in the background. There are so many apps which rely on WebKit functionality, that a stub of MobileSafari might always remain allocated.
Clearly: The JavaScript engine is suspended once MobileSafari is quit. You can do a simple test: Go to http://www.2410...et/labs/bg.html and press the button. It’ll start a JavaScript timer (5 seconds) which then redirects to a new URL. Click the button. Close Safari. Wait. Reopen Safari. You’ll notice that the JavaScript engine resumes and will redirect you then. (You don’t have to click the button again, though.)
-Ralf
YOU DUMBASS
LOL
@ralf, hope you made your test on 3.0 beta 6, because that´s what i am using
pay attention…this google latitude web app only will come with 3.0…so, WHY, if safari is unchanged??? Is it?
Sometime ago google stated latitude won´t appear on iphone untill some kind of background process would be alowed…do you think they changed their mind? Really?
@circus…clearly, you´re the clown.
look at the fanboy squirm, of course devs were only on Beta 5 the day you posted that. Ar we supposed to believe you were one version ahead?, the only evidence you have is that Safari has memory allocated when it isn’t running. Hilarious.
I’m sure apple will eventually add some sort of limited (they need to keep a tight reign as otherwise apps would be out of their sandboxes and could potentially cause all kinds of security chaos) background thing but it won’t be through leaving something as resource hungry as Safari running in the background.
We have customers using the ekit Travel Journal (www.ekit.com/ekit/tj) on the iphone to track their location while they travel. As the Travel Journal uses software on the SIM and mobile network based information you don’t need to run an app on the handset itself to get a location based service.
As the Travel Journal can publish to Fire Eagle as well, you can easily integrate the location information with other services.
Rupert
Do it really need to be run background? Why? Only for update location status. It suppose to be up already.
it needs to run in the background to send your location to google every once in a minute
It wouldn’t need to run in the background if it made use of Push notifications. Then, it could pop-up an update when a friend changes locations.
Of course, since they’re making it browser-based instead of an app, Google won’t have access to Push.
So many reasons I have for not buying an IPhone.
Our site can keep your location updated in the background on the iPhone by using a dummy mail server that detects your IP address against ones you’ve previously stored. You can see more information here:
http://ts0.com/...OP-and-IPs.aspx
Somebody help me out here… how does the Goog web app determine location in the browser? IP Address (unreliable) ? Wifi triangulation? GPS (unlikely)? A combination?
What is new to 3.0 that makes this possible? Safari access to the location API?
you obviously didn’t read the article…
and I quote (from the above article):
“Thanks to HTML 5, Safari will be able to access a user’s location information and Latitude will be able to access that as well (provided the user gives permission).”
I think what Google means by “we’ve been waiting for iPhone 3.0 to release Latitude” is as follows:
Since iphone does not support background processing why bother creating a native app which has to be opened everytime for location to be transmitted to Google servers… so their point is ” a web app would do for the moment since we can grab a user’s location everytime the user open’s the latitude website from his/her iphone 3.0″
so they are waiting for background processing on the iphone to create a full-fledged Latitude native app… interesting.. only the recession can explain such tightwad behavior
@jamiewellsOMD
Search for “HTML 5 geo-location javascript”
Safari on the iphone grabs location from Skyhook & feeds to the browser if you ask via geo-location Javascript api
when is this web app supposed to be available?
Pocket Life another social location app is available on the iPhone app store. A native app with a nice user interface. They seem to have solved the privacy/location issue really well. Worth checking out!
http://itunes.a...757953&mt=8
I am a little late on this subject but still interested. Does anyone know if Apple has started to use background apps yet. I feel like this is a nice innovation and may bring in more traffic.