There you go folks. Those who have been waiting for Google Latitude to arrive on the App Store. That time is now. You can now download the free app on your iOS devices and enjoy using Google Latitude anytime, anywhere on your device. This means that your friends—should you choose to let them—can now track your whereabouts via Google Map.

Apple has purchased Poly9, a Quebec-based firm that specializes in web mapping. Poly9 has provided APIs for Apple in the past, in addition to Microsoft, Yahoo, MSNBC, NORAD and many others. The takeover has been an immediate and immense transition, as Poly9′s website has been removed and all employees that chose to stay with Apple have already moved to Cupertino and joined the rest of the Apple staff.

It has been confirmed by Verizon that their new Droid phone, the device in the iPhone attack ads, will be available on November 6th for a price of $199 with a 2 year contract and $100 mail in rebate. The hardware, which has been created by Motorola, will be the first phone on the market to run Google’s Android 2.0 and will feature turn by turn navigation via Google Maps for free. However, that’s not where the benefits over the iPhone stop.

Maps is one of the most used, coveted, and powerful apps on the iPhone. With GPS, directions via driving, public transit, walking, and so much more, what’s missing (aside from turn-by-turn navigation)? Location tracking. This feature has been available on other phones—specifically on some MVNOs—for years, and is making its (native) debut to the iPhone very soon via Google’s Latitude.

Google Earth, the great application that has been helping us travel the world from our desktop for quite some time now, has only been available for the Mac through your desktop up to this point. However, a new plug-in from Google Code allows Mac users to navigate this 3D globe of the world from their more »

Apple has made two important iPhone announcements in the past week, but both of them have gone rather unnoticed. The first is the complete revocation of the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) by which iPhone developers were previously bound. Though there are still some limits on exactly what developers can disclose, Apple appears to have responded to the general hullabaloo that surrounded the original terms of the NDA.

The other big announcement is the seeding of a new build of the iPhone 2.2 software to developers. Aside from a few previously-disclosed updates, such as a reworked Safari interface, the only major functional improvements seem to be in the Maps application.

TomTom, a popular GPS navigation company for cars, is reportedly not making any navigation applications for the upcoming iPhone 3G. If you’ll remember, there were rumors floating around a while back that TomTom was, in fact, going to develop for the iPhone, but the company says these are all false. A TomTom internal e-mail memo more »

Apple started off creating innovative computers with innovative software. They then expanded into the portable music player business with the first iPod. In just over a week, Apple will be moving into newer territory: the cellular telephone business. What’s next? GPS systems perhaps? According to the German magazine, “Focus”, Apple is planning and begun working more »