Company: Apisphere Inc.
Industry: GPS
Location: Berkeley, CA, United States of America

BERKELEY, CA--Apisphere, Inc., a leading provider of location-smart solutions, today announced the availability of the Geomate.jr™, the first GPS device designed to make the fun and excitement of geocaching, the fast-growing treasure hunt phenomenon, accessible to families and children of all ages. Pre-loaded with approximately 250,000 geocache locations covering all 50 U.S. states, the family-friendly Geomate.jr eliminates the traditional fuss of Internet connections, downloads, coordinates and preplanning to provide a spontaneous geocaching experience families can enjoy anytime, anywhere.

"It's the extreme ease of use and out-of-the-box ability that makes Geomate.jr so unique and family-friendly," said Warren Hewerdine, co-inventor of Geomate.jr and senior director of marketing at Apisphere. "But it's more than just providing access to a fun, healthy, outdoor activity that families can enjoy together. It also offers a way to reconnect our children with the joy of the outdoors, and encourages them to take advantage of the natural environment."

With video games, the Internet, television and other forms of entertainment capturing more and more of their leisure time, today's children are becoming increasingly disassociated with the outdoors. According to the Outdoor Foundation, outdoor activity among children ages 6 to 17 declined 11 percent in 2008, with the sharpest fall taking place among 6 to 12 year olds. Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a leading nationwide outdoor gear and apparel retailer, is committed to introducing more young people to nature and will be among the first companies to sell Geomate.jr.

"Whether it's in a local park, down the street, or in the backcountry, recreating outdoors can create lifelong memories and an appreciation for nature for families everywhere," said Mike Cannon, REI director of Merchandising for camp, travel and water sports. "Geocaching combines the popularity of technology with a fun outdoor experience, and Geomate.jr is a great tool to help families reap the benefits of outdoor activities."

Geocaching is already enjoyed by millions of people around the world and proving to be very popular with families. People who go geocaching use a GPS receiver to locate hidden geocaches; containers of various sizes with a log book and often trinkets (that you can trade) stashed inside. But until now, the GPS receivers required to locate geocaches have been expensive and difficult to use.

Apisphere has also formed a licensing, distribution, and co-marketing partnership with Groundspeak, Inc., the Seattle-based company that launched geocaching.com and is largely responsible for developing the geocaching phenomenon into what it is today. Groundspeak and Apisphere believe that Geomate.jr will extend the existing geocaching community and allow millions more to enjoy the benefits of this activity.

"There's nothing else like Geomate.jr on the market today," said Jeremy Irish, co-founder and CEO of Groundspeak, Inc. "The device has the perfect combination of design, simplicity, and functionality that makes it suitable for every member of the family and that's what we want; the ability for everyone to enjoy the activity of geocaching together."

Availability and Pricing

Geomate.jr is now available for purchase at all REI retail stores, REI.com, and Geocaching.com. The retail price of the Geomate.jr is $69.95. For more information about Geomate.jr including demo videos please visit www.mygeomate.com.

About Apisphere

Apisphere provides the fastest and most cost effective way to integrate location-based services with mobile applications and devices. With Apisphere, any company can now reach their customers with "location-smart" messages -- no matter where they are or what they are doing. The Geomate.jr is the first in a series of "location-smart" devices from Apisphere. For more information on Apisphere please visit www.apisphere.com. For more information contact:

Joanna Vaughn
Apisphere, Inc.
+1 (510) 868-2655 x24

Joanna Vaughn
Phone: +1 (510) 868-2655 x24