LOOPT LAUNCHES LOCATION-AWARE DEVELOPER PROGRAM

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Loopt(R), a revolutionary social-mapping and communication service, today announced a powerful third-party developer program designed to bring new location-aware services to Loopt enabled devices.

Launching as a closed beta, the Loopt Developer Program will give developers access for the first time to Loopt's live location feed so that developers can create new services that leverage location-based capabilities. Loopt plans to work with 15 to 20 projects from developer applicants in this beta and work closely with selected developers to bring these services to market. Another three to four additional projects will be selected for deeper integration into the Loopt service.

"We are thrilled to offer the first live location developer program that ushers in a new generation of context-sensitive mobile services," said Sam Altman, CEO and co-Founder of Loopt. "If you have a great idea for a location-aware application and want to build it, the Loopt Developer Program will provide the software and infrastructure to create a proof-of-concept product. We'll provide a path for commercial release and monetization across carriers and devices for the best applications."

The Loopt Developer Program arms developers with all the information they need to build a WAP, Web, SMS, or native mobile location-aware service, while managing all levels of privacy and security (application-by-application, by time of day, by level of accuracy, and person-by-person) and making applications function cross-carrier and cross-device. Loopt is offering the only location information that updates even while a phone is closed yet still turned on, enabling real-time location services not possible with more traditional push or pull location requests. New Loopt applications could include anything from mobile location-aware ski and surf reports to location-based games and localized Web searches on a desktop computer powered by a Loopt enabled phone nearby.

The Loopt Developer Program further extends the company's commitment to privacy and security innovation by offering developers the most intuitive and effective location privacy capabilities available today. Loopt's experience and leadership in managing the privacy and security aspects of live location is unmatched -- and will further drive adoption of cutting-edge best practices across the industry. Loopt will work closely with developer partners to ensure compliance to applicable industry model codes and best practices.

To participate in the closed beta of the Loopt Developer Program visit developer.loopt.com and submit a brief summary of how Loopt's live location feed would be used in the proposed application.

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/.

Loopt

CONTACT: Erica Jostedt of SutherlandGold Group, +1-415-848-7172,ej@sutherlandgold.com, for Loopt

Web site: http://www.loopt.com/