loopt to Launch on Sprint as First-Ever Social Mapping Service on a Major U.S. Carrier

Tue Jul 17 21:55:00 2007

loopt Lets Sprint Customers Keep in Touch with Friends Using GPS on Select Sprint and Nextel Phones

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- loopt today announced the first-ever launch of a social mapping service on a major U.S. carrier. Sprint (NYSE:S) customers nationwide can now find and connect with friends using loopt(TM). loopt uses the GPS capabilities on select Sprint phones to facilitate real-world interaction between friends and put an end to frustrating missed connections. Friends are now able to share their location and status messages, send proximity-based messages and view geo-tagged photos and content on-the-go using loopt on select Sprint phones.

"The most common mobile question in the world is 'Where are you?' and we're excited that loopt will be able to answer that question for Sprint customers who choose to participate," said loopt chief executive officer and co-founder, Sam Altman. "The way we communicate on the mobile phone is about to change forever, as loopt on Sprint puts an end to missed connections and facilitates real-world interactions."

loopt is the only social mapping service that can automatically update the location of everyone in a user's private network of friends and display that information directly on a map on the phone. loopt even sends an alert when a friend is near, putting an end to missed connections in the mall, at the movies or around town. It also allows users to send messages to groups of friends or send proximity messages to friends when they are nearby, so they never miss an opportunity to meet up.

loopt will be available in the coming weeks on more than 25 Sprint and Nextel phones for $2.99 per month, plus standard data charges.

loopt on Sprint also features geo-tagging capabilities. The service's journaling feature allows mobile users to "geo tag" locations and capture their experiences to share with friends in their private network.

loopt is the social mapping leader in offering effective privacy controls and safety features for end users. For example, loopt is 100% permission-based and users share location information only with their loopt-friends via private networks. In addition, loopt users can easily turn location-sharing on or off at any time on a friend-by-friend basis or for all friends at once. loopt regularly works with organizations such as the Family Online Safety Institute, ConnectSafely.org, Cyber Safety Advisory Board, and is TRUSTe certified.

About loopt

loopt is a Silicon-Valley based startup building a revolutionary social mapping service to change the way people use mobile phones to keep in touch with their friends. Using new location-based technologies, loopt lets you know where your friends are by automatically updating maps on your mobile handset and the web. loopt also lets you send messages to nearby friends or receive automatic alerts when they're nearby so that you never miss an opportunity to meet. With loopt, mobile subscribers put themselves on the map.

Last year loopt announced a $5 million Series A financing led by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates, the same firms that helped found Google and TiVo among many other technology innovators. loopt launched on Boost Mobile last November and signed up more than 100,000 customers in its first three months of launch.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070717/AQTU104
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: loopt

CONTACT: Erica Jostedt of SutherlandGold Group,
+1-925-890-6889, ejostedt@sutherlandgold.com, for loopt; or Emmy Anderson of
Sprint, +1-913-794-3467, emmy.anderson@sprint.com

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