Google competitors grousing that Google gives itself preferential treatment

The Wall Street Journal has a helpful round up of complaints against Big G from sites that offer services similar to what Google is also doing. Yelp and TripAdvisor are upset that Google Places results appear above their own, WebMD is steamed that Google Health results appear first, the list goes on. It’s a result of Google’s ever expanding portfolio of services outside of strictly search and it’s likely to get a lot more heated in 2011 when Google launches a more comprehensive travel site that would go head to head with Expedia and Orbitz. The complaints are similar to ones heard recently in Europe from search rivals there. What obligation does a search company have to display results of its rivals? What right does a search company have to tilt the results in its own favor?

In other Googly news, the Latitude app for iPhone has finally arrived, some two years after the product was introduced. It lets you track the locations of your friends and maps how to get to them.