Google’s Latitude claims several nice features, including location sharing, privacy control, share status and more.

Location sharing starts only when both you and a friend agree. Invite friends via email or easily add them from your Gmail contacts. You can share, set, or hide your location – or turn off Google Latitude – from the privacy menu. You can also hide your location or share only a city-level location with certain friends.

Share status is similar to the very popular Twitter, where you can Create a status message and upload your photo within Latitude. It also syncs directly with Google Talk. You can check your friends’ status messages to see what your friends are up to.

If you’re a very popular person always on the go, such as a college student, this would be a cool thing. You could meet up and see where your friends are quickly. Also it would be a very handy thing while hiking, or on the ski slopes.

Or to be more connected to your close friends so you don’t have to call them as much to still interact. For example, I was over at a friend’s house the other day, and his son came downstairs and opened the front door. His friend was standing there, but didn’t ring the doorbell. I asked him, “Why didn’t you just ring the doorbell?” I dunno, I was here to see my friend, and didn’t want to bother anyone else.”

Noting Google’s release of their new location based product, Latitude, Weinreich said, “All social networks should take pause.” He predicted that location based social networking will no longer be limited to smaller players: “It won’t be just Loopt or Whrrl that are incorporating location now into their social networks, Facebook and MySpace can’t be far behind.”

Location based services have long been tipped to dominate the Internet and mobile landscape in the future. “Often it takes a Google or Microsoft to compellingly make the case that a new feature will become a staple.” With most developers lacking the resources and expertise to develop location platforms for themselves, they will need to find alternative methods to integrate location. Those companies that participate in Xtify’s Social Networking Developer Program will be provided with access to the company’s technical team as well as location information on their users.

“Working with carriers to identify location can be costly and time consuming. In contrast, Xtify is free, can be integrated within hours, is compatible across multiple handsets, and works internationally. ” said Jeremy Levy, Xtify’s Chief Technology Officer.

About Xtify, Inc.:
Xtify’s mission is to location enable any website without the involvement of the wireless carriers and at no charge. Based in New York and backed by venture capital firms Acadia Woods Partners and ETF Venture Funds, Xtify provides a location based services platform to developers. It works worldwide on most BlackBerry, Android, Windows and Symbian devices. For more information, please visit www.xtify.com.