Jaiku is gone, but Google unveils location-based service that does what I thought Jaiku would do

I predicted several times in the run-up to the Android launch that Jaiku - which combined the microblogging of Twitter and the location-based service of BrightKite - would be a key part of the launch. I was wrong - Jaiku never did come out of closed beta, and now has been turned into an open-source project unsupported by Google.

But functionalities tend to flake off of these acquired projects and float into other Google projects. Today, Google announced Google Latitude, which floats on top of Google Maps for desktop and mobile. As Google's "About Latitude" page states:

With Google Latitude, you can:

• See where your friends are and what they are up to
• Quickly contact them with SMS, IM, or a phone call


• Maintain complete control over your privacy

Enjoy Google Latitude on your phone, PC, or both.

It rolls out for Android, Blackberry, and WinMo phones that run GMaps 3.0, and for the iPhone and Sony Ericsson phones soon.