MOBILE APP SPECIAL...................... INSTANTRECALL

MOBILE APP SPECIAL INSTANTRECALL "Indians are Better at Smartphone Usage"  Tim Owen founder and CEO, InstantRecall Unless you have an eidetic memory, it's hard to remember details about the  people you meet in your daily professional and personal lives. The thing is though, those details matter. It matters when you need to remember the name of your friend's spouse when you're meeting them after years. It matters when you need to enquire about your business contact's children by name. And it shows you in a good light when you remember small details about your friends and extended family -like your uncle's favourite wine and the name of your cousin's pet. Normally, we use technology to make our lives easier, after all that's what the smartphones, tablets and computers are for. But rather than just taking notes about a person, a company called InstantRecall is here to help -with a new Android app, which they think is perfect for India. In fact, the Boston-based  company is coming to India first and admits that it's their most important market. In a freewheeling chat with Hitesh Raj Bhagat, Tim Owen talks about the company that he self funded and his future plans. Edited excerpts: What is InstantRecall and why would anyone need it? InstantRecall is a note-taking mobile app that lets you remember everything. You can record, recall and forever remember personal information about someone you value. In a way, it acts like a memory enhancer. Once you enter information [names, interests, education, achievements or other important personal details], InstantRecall never forgets it. It also has a voice mode which can be used to record and recall notes. You mentioned that India will be the launch pad for the app and that it's also your most important market. Why? It's true. India is our No. 1 and most strategic market. For the initial launch, InstantRecall will be offered exclusively in India. There are three key reasons: first, India is predominantly Android [InstantRecall is Android only, for now]. Second, we believe that Indians in general are more tech savvy and better at smartphone usage -they have a lot more patience to use and explore an app com pared to other markets. Last, but more important, India is a country that deep ly values relationships with family, friends, colleagues and clients. As an Indian friend once told me, “In India, relationships are treasured.“ The cul ture closely aligns with our purpose of helping you deepen relationships with people you value. Why is the app Android only? Are versions for other platforms on the cards? We want to make the app so easy to use that you use it every day. That means using voice and smartwatch technologies. To achieve this, we needed an open platform that provided us with access to voice recognition and smartwatch APIs [application programming interface]. We started developing InstantRecall 18 months ago and Android was the clear choice. The iPhone may be recognised for ease of use, but for what we wanted to accomplish, Android provided the best user experience. We recently completely rebuilt the interface based on Googles' new Android Material Design. It provides a wonderful user experience that outshines Apple. I've used an iPhone for many years so this statement surprises even me! Finally, for those who are embracing Android Wear smartwatches, there is a big advantage. Imagine you're at a social gathering and across the room you see Jayesh and his wife. But for the life of you, you just can't remember her name. Just discreetly say “Jayesh Shah's spouse“, and the answer will be displayed on your smartwatch itself. Will the app always be free? Are there any premium features? Our intent is to always offer a free version which will be robust, fully functional and without any ads. The key premium feature is the ability to create unlimited notes. The free version presently allows 200 notes. Success would be if millions used the free version and found it so valuable that they use it every day.If that happens, `monetisation' will take care of itself at some point in the future. Can notes be accessed anywhere on any device? What if someone changes or loses the device? At this time, InstantRecall can only be accessed from your smartphone or smartwatch. Backup is a standard feature so you are protected if you change or lose your device. The goal is for you to use it for decades, so future plans include making the application available on other platforms such as the computer and iOS.

ETM22MAR15