NEEDHAM, MA – More than 2.5 billion text messages are sent daily in the U.S., representing a 100 percent increase from a year ago. Alongside this explosive text messaging growth there has been a marked increase in distracted driving incidents that have killed more than 5,400 people and injured nearly 500,000 in 2009. 

Committed to improving safety and compliance, Illume Software, developer of iZup, the industry-leading mobile software that holds incoming and outgoing communications while driving, announced iZup Lite, a free GPS-based text blocking solution with auto-reply that is available immediately in the Android Marketplace for all major carriers.

“iZup Lite, which is GPS-based and always on and running in the background, does not require the user to activate the program each time he or she gets behind the wheel,” said Daniel Ross, CEO of Illume Software. “This clearly eliminates the temptation for the driver to make an exception and not activate the program for just a short trip.”

iZup Lite is an extension of iZup, the industry’s leading software-based distracted driving solution that automatically saves voice calls to voicemail while vehicles are in motion and holds data interactions including text messages until the product determines that the trip is completed. 

iZup Lite contains a customizable auto-reply feature that immediately notifies callers that the recipient is driving and will respond to the text when the trip is complete, as well as blocks access to popular social networking and email applications.

“Since our inception, we have worked to raise awareness of distracted driving and how technology plays a vital role in addressing this critical issue,” Ross said. 

iZup Lite is available immediately in the Android Marketplace and will soon be available in the Verizon VCAST marketplace.

 Illume Software is a Boston-based mobile software company backed by a combination of venture and independent investor capital. iZup offers a responsible solution to cell phone-related distracted driving by harnessing the power of GPS, the pervasiveness of cellular networks, and by placing an emphasis on intelligent solutions to real-world problems. By working with organizations, companies, lawmakers and mobile carriers, Illume Software strives to continuously educate people on responsible mobile phone use while driving.