Samsung, GyPSii Join Forces For Location-Based Social Networking

Mobile phone maker Samsung has entered a multiyear agreement with GyPSii, a provider of location-based social networking services.

GyPSii will provide "technology, products, worldwide data center infrastructure, and GyPSii branding rights to Samsung," according to a statement. Samsung will start distributing mobile phones with embedded GyPSii technology worldwide. The agreement between Samsung and GyPSii includes provisions for revenue-sharing.

GyPSii enables users to upload information about their geographic location, tag it with global positioning data, and push it out to other users, who will receive the data via an interactive map. Samsung users will be able to generate and share content with GyPSii's global user community, and other social networking platforms such as Facebook.

GyPSii's location-based social networking app will initially come embedded on Samsung's Omnia and SGH-i780 handsets. The GyPSii app will be distributed in a number of languages.

"Social networking and location-based services on the mobile phone are now mainstream, so we looked to emerging innovators in the industry to support and deliver these value-added services," said WS Lee, Vice President of R&D, at Samsung Electronics Mobile Business, in a statement.

Currently, GyPSii works on browser-based Internet-connected devices, as well as the iPhone, BlackBerry, Sympian and Windows Mobile devices.