Loopt adds reach with VZW deal

Loopt scored another carrier win, notching a deal to place its friend-finding service on Verizon Wireless’s deck.
The Silicon Valley-based startup offers a GPS-based service that allows users to locate friends and share information such as geo-tagged photos and comments from their phones. The service – which first came to market with Boost Mobile in 2006 – is also available on the deck of Sprint Nextel Corp. Additionally, Loopt offers a version for BlackBerry users and is set to launch an iPhone application.
Verizon Wireless users can access Loopt for $4 a month.
Loopt was one of the first players on the location-based social networking playground, and the space is quickly becoming crowded as developers look to introduce location-aware features to virtual communities. The small army of competitors includes BrightKite, FireEagle, Pelago’s Whrrl and Useful Networks’ sniff.