LOS ANGELES, September 20, 2006 – Earthcomber LLC announced today that it has been awarded a patent for a location-based search system that allows individuals to constantly sweep their surroundings for their personal interests.

The patented method provides a means to notify a user about people, places and things nearby that match that person’s specific preferences.

“Personalization and privacy have become so important to mobile users,” said Jim Brady, founder and CEO of Earthcomber LLC. “With our approach, users build profiles to suit their preferences – essentially a ‘DNA’ of all your personal tastes and interests. Then, when you do a search, you get back only those things nearby that match your preferences.”

The patent was announced today at the Directory Driven Commerce conference organized by The Kelsey Group. As the public increasingly relies on mobile devices to deliver local, personalized content, the patent is expected to be a key enabler for mobile advertisers, including directory publishers such as Yellow Pages and newspapers.

By law, advertisers cannot transmit messages to mobile consumers without users’ permission. Earthcomber’s method allows an advertiser’s message to reach the user if the user has stated an explicit preference for something that the advertiser offers, and if the advertiser is within the user’s specified range.

“Mobile advertising is the perfect medium for one-to-one marketing,” Brady said. “It’s one thing to send somebody an email offer. It’s a whole new ball game when the advertiser can communicate to consumers when they are nearby, and show them a potential transaction they are deliberately looking for. Our approach transforms mobile search into a positive environment in which buyers and sellers connect for mutual benefit.”

The patent is also expected to provide a foundation for social networking on mobile devices. For example, mobile users can be alerted about friends nearby, or people with common characteristics (schools, organizations, acquaintances).

The company features the methodology in its free, location-based personal navigation suite for Palm OS, Windows Mobile Pocket PC, and Java-capable cell phones and PDAs.

The company plans to continue bringing innovations to mobile search and its applications. The company is also evaluating licensing opportunities for the patent.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.earthcomber.com or call (708) 366-1600.

Thanks to Kevin Doel for the contributed news.