Verizon Wireless Customers Can Easily Navigate Their Mobile Lifestyles with
Loopt Location-Based Services
BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 28 /PRNewswire/
-- Verizon Wireless, the nation's leading wireless service provider, and
Loopt(TM), a revolutionary social-mapping service, announced today Loopt
will be available next month on select Verizon Wireless phones.
With Loopt, Verizon Wireless customers can leverage their phones'
location-based services capabilities to share location information, status
messages and geo-tagged photos with their community of friends. Loopt users
can view where friends in their private network are located via a map
displayed on their mobile phones and connect and share their locations with
anyone in their address books or AIM(R) buddy lists. Detailed Loopt maps
that show Verizon Wireless users where friends are, what they are doing,
and how to meet up with them, transform their Verizon Wireless phones into
active social tools to connect, share and explore the real world.
"Loopt offers Verizon Wireless customers a fun, unique and powerful way
to connect with friends and share information," said Ryan Hughes, vice
president of digital media programming for Verizon. "Loopt enhances the
mobile experience by letting friends stay in touch with and informed of
their friends' lives -- wherever they go."
"Location is the redefining element of mobile communication and the
consumer experience. Location interoperability and accessibility is the
gateway that extends the reach, value and power of mobile devices for all
consumers," said Sam Altman, chief executive officer and co-founder of
Loopt. "In co-operation with Verizon Wireless, we are laying the foundation
for mass consumer awareness and adoption of Loopt location-based services
with a focus on user privacy and security."
Loopt, the social mapping industry leader, offers the most intuitive
and effective privacy controls and security features for end users. Loopt
is 100 percent permission-based and users share location information only
with their known 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, the Center
for Democracy & Technology, and is TRUSTe certified.
Verizon Wireless customers will be able to purchase Loopt beginning in
April in the Tools on the Go and Featured Applications shopping aisle in
the Get It Now(R) virtual store. Loopt will be available for $3.99 monthly
access. Verizon Wireless customers will be able to get Loopt on more than
20 popular Get It Now-capable phones, including the Chocolate by LG, the
MOTORIZR(TM) Z6tv and Verizon Wireless G'zOne Type-S. Download charges for
Get It Now applications vary and airtime or megabyte charges may apply when
browsing, downloading and using certain applications, and standard text
messaging rates apply. Customers need a Get It Now-enabled handset and
Verizon Wireless digital service to access the Get It Now virtual store.
For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services,
customers can visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2
JOIN IN or visit http://www.verizonwireless.com.
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and
data network, serving 65.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking
Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint
venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE:
VOD). For more information, go to: http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and
request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of
Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia
Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
About Loopt
Loopt, based in Silicon-Valley and backed by leading venture capital
firms Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates, has created a
revolutionary social-mapping service that changes the way friends connect,
share and explore in the mobile environment. Leveraging the latest
location-based technologies, Loopt automatically updates and delivers
friend location maps, messages and alerts on mobile handsets and the Web.
Loopt was designed with privacy considerations at its core and offers a
variety of effective and easy-to-use privacy controls for subscribers.
Loopt works with leading mobile, social networking, and online privacy and
security organizations such as the Center for Democracy & Technology,
Family Online Safety Institute (member, board of directors), Cyber Safe
California (member, advisory board), ConnectSafely.org, Congressional
Internet Caucus Advisory Committee, and Ponemon Institute. Loopt is also
TRUSTe certified. For more information, please visit http://www.loopt.com.
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