Boost Mobile, a division of Sprint Nextel, and loopt, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California, launched a location-based social mapping service that enables young mobile phone users to share their location, status messages, photos and other on-the-go experiences with friends from their Boost Mobile phone. 
Boost offers premium Pay-As-You-Go wireless phones and services to the youth market using the Sprint Nextel network.
The new Boost loopt service automatically updates the location of everyone in a private network of Boost customers and displays that information directly on a map on the phone. The service also sends an alert when a friend in the network is near.
Boost loopt also brings geo-tagging capabilities to a major U.S. wireless carrier for the first time. The service's journaling feature allows mobile users to "geo tag" locations and captures their experience with friends in their private network.
Boost Mobile is offering Boost loopt to its customers with java-enabled handsets for free through the remainder of 2006. Starting January 2007, Boost loopt will be offered on a Pay-As-You-Go basis for $2.99 per month.
http://www.boostmobile.com
- Earlier this year, loopt announced a $5 million Series A financing led by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates.
