Long arm of the Latitude

Here's an interesting tale from the mobile phone review website www.phonesreview.co.uk which is keen to point out the benefits of Google's controversial Latitude application.

A few months ago Google Maps launched Latitude, and apparently according to a report over at techcrunch, this piece of Google software has helped a San Francisco lady regain her purse which had been stolen by thieves.
Janina Valiente’s Google Maps sporting BlackBerry Bold was in her purse when it was stolen, so Janina called her sister who had permission to see her Latitude position and the info was passed to the police who were able to track down the thief.
So, just goes to show having Google’s Latitude installed on your smartphone can come in handy in more ways than you’d expect.

They might have a point. Of course the flip side is that for those of us who are not criminals, the police and everyone else can know where we are all the time as well. Like most things Google does, Latitude seems to be either loved or hated. Which side of the fence do you sit on?