Hemisphere Aims To Replace Now-Defunct Google Latitude On Android

If you’ve been a regular user of Google Latitude, you you must have been disappointed when Google decided to retire it a couple of weeks back on the 9th of August. While there was the announcement of a replacement in form of the feature’s integration within Google+, many wanted the same old Latitude experience back. No, Google itself isn’t bringing it back any time soon in its old form but as with Google Reader, third-party developers are coming to the rescue with alternatives to keep providing users with the same experience, or as close to it as possible, and Hemisphere is one such app that brings the Latitude experience back to Android. Let’s take a closer look at the app after the jump...

When you launch the app, you’ll be greeted with the familiar-looking map interface, along with a ‘Me’ bubble representing your location. Unfortunately, none of your friends will show up here by default, and you’ll have to add them to the app from scratch. Also, they’ll themselves need to be using the same app, and approve your request to view their location before you get to seem them on the map. To add someone, simply tap the first button (from the left) in the top bar.

 

Here, you can tap the ‘Add some friends!’ button to start adding other users. Simply enter their email address and they’ll get added to the list. With each user, you’ll also see a button that lets you toggle location sharing with them. This way, you can individually choose which users get to see your location.

 

On the other user’s end, you adding them will automatically start showing your email address in the list, with location sharing disabled by default. All they need to do is toggle it on, and you’ll get to view it on your map. Getting back to the map itself, you can switch to the satellite view from the middle icon in the top bar.

Hemisphere is a free app but features ads, which you can remove by making an in-app purchase. So, if you’re missing Google Latitude and want the experience back, go ahead and grab Hemisphere from Play Store via the link provided below. Also, do let us know of your experience by leaving a comment below on whether it feels like an adequate enough replacement for the service or not.

Install Hemisphere from Play Store