Sprint today introduced a new concept to its GPS-aware phones. Called Slifter, the technology made by GPSShopper uses the global positioning in some of Sprint's handsets to automatically find stores near the phone owner's location; the service lets owners search not only by the store's category but also by the actual product, using a continually updated list of 85 million items to find only retail outlets that carry a particular item. The search method allows for saved shopping lists that can either be kept on the phone for later use or shared with others using the service.

Although Sprint has yet to name the exact phones which will work with Slifter, most of its GPS-equipped handsets should support the program and can either download the program directly or sideload it by first downloading the file to a PC. Sprint asks for $2 per month to use the service on top of a subscriber's existing monthly fees.