Loopt strikes deal with AT&T for background monitoring on iPhone
By Donald Melanson 
posted Sep 4th 2009 4:42PM
posted Sep 4th 2009 4:42PM
Well, it's not quite the sort of background application that most folks have been hoping for on the iPhone, but Loopt has nonetheless scored something of a first for its location-based iPhone app. As Silicon Alley Insider reports, the company has struck a deal directly with AT&T that'll let it monitor your location whenever you have a network connection, regardless of whether you have the Loopt app open or not. That, as you might have surmised, is done entirely on a server-to-server basis, and it'll initially be made available as a part of free 14-trial program limited to 5,000 users, after which it'll run them and everyone else $3.99 a month (added to your AT&T bill). Feeling lucky (or quick)? You can put your name and number into the hat by hitting up the appropriate read link below.
Read - Loopt Always-On Location Trial Sign-up
Read - Silicon Alley Insider, "Loopt Location To Update In The Background On iPhone"
[Via MacRumors]
Read - Loopt Always-On Location Trial Sign-up
Read - Silicon Alley Insider, "Loopt Location To Update In The Background On iPhone"
[Via MacRumors]
Does anyone else think this is bull considering how Latitude got treated?
Where is the push notifications LOOPT???
So you can background apps, but you'll have to pay? Ridiculous. Backgrounding apps isn't innovative. This is just using legal contracts to generate extra profits without innovating. Thank goodness for Backgrounder.
Exactly. Only downfall is a battery that goes dead pretty fast.
Donald, nice post. You brought up the $3.99 per month cost of Loopt after the trial phase and it got me to thinking about the significant effect a bunch of apps can have on a cell bill. The Loopt app itself sounds great, but in an economy where most of us are trying to tightly budget, I think it's important that we not sign up for too many subscription apps and forget they're there until it's too late and the inflated bill is in our hands in front of us. in light of that, I wanted to add that I can speak to reducing cell bills in particular. I suppose my point here is that moderation and effective bill management are crucial. To that point, I'll also add that I work in the consumer advocacy division of the company Validas, where we electronically audit and subsequently reduce the average cell bill by 22 percent through our website, http://www.fixmycellbill.com . Put simply, Validas guards against the frivolous and unnecessary charges that over-inflate an estimated 80 percent of cell bills. You can find out for free if fixmycellbill.com can modify your plan to better suit your individual needs by going to the website.
For more info, check out Validas in the new media, most recently on Fox News at http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/consumer/conlaw/lower_cell_phone_bills_072409 .
Good luck to everyone reading on cutting your wireless costs, and enjoy those apps that are worth it.
Dylan
Consumer Advocacy, FixMyCellBill.com