Google has released Latitude for the iPhone. Now a true mobile app, it was a web app and has been a layer for Google Maps on Android for some time.

The new app takes advantage of iPhone 4′s multitasking and can run the background continuously to broadcast your location 24/7. There are also simple and complete privacy controls. Beyond this I don’t believe Google has added any new functionality to the app; it’s about sharing location with others and not a great deal more for the time being.

Useful, but not sexy.

Google says it’s available “in 15 languages and 45 countries.” Remarkably Google also says that it has “9 million active mobile users” of Latitude. That compares with 5 million users for the much higher profile Foursquare.

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Google: Maps & Local | Google: Mobile

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling

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