This is beautiful. Simple, immediate and actually useful to real people. Great stuff. I hope you don't add any features that will compromise its simplicity.
You should build one if your customers ask for it.
And if you do well they will ask. Most iPhone apps are just web-apps w/a "phone-top" interface. Running your app through Safari on the iPhone feels too slow and looks crappy next to a native app. I think having an iPhone app is going to be as standard as having website soon, if not already.
Also agree w/ sibling poster about access to your contacts + other richness.
Otherwise, good luck! I really like how you ritually slaughtered all the BS.
My primary envisaged use for your app was on the move. I have a phone, and need to talk to several people at once. No problem, conference call. Whip out the app, add a few contacts, have the conference call.
I'd note that there is already a company called huddle http://www.huddle.net/
and given they are fairly well known and do online collaboration, I'd suggest getting a different name.
One of huddle.net's features is conferencing. I noticed they have an affiliate program. I could put a link that says something along the lines of "Looking for something more heavyweight? Check out Huddle.net!"
I am not 100% clear on the law but I believe they'd have an infringement case against you. Although, I did a quick search and did not look like huddle.net has registered the huddle trademark. (A brief 5 minute search, looks like all 'huddle' communication related ones were abandoned)
But if they did have a trademark case, this would likely strengthen it. If you benefited from a referral program, huddle.net could prove you profited from domain infringement.
I don't think they do, because huddle is a dictionary word that means "to crowd or draw together". I don't think they might have a trademark case against me, especially since my huddle is not a company.
If they do, however, I think they might chill with the fact that I would be giving them some customers. Even if not, it's a good thing that I'm not living in the US at the moment (and not moving back until late 2010).
Yea, but the word 'apple' is a dictionary word that means "fruit with red or yellow or green skin and sweet to tart crisp whitish flesh," but the lawsuit between Apple the computer company and Apple the record company has been pretty well publicized, not to mention lengthy and expensive. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Corps_v._Apple_Computer. I would consider changing the name, or keeping it and plan for a legal battle if this becomes any kind of success.
It is a nice service though, and awesomely simple.
The point is not that it's a dictionary word but that huddle could be too generic to get as a trademark, that means you can [likely] use it* but also that anyone else offering a group-talk phone app could use it too.
I don't think huddle in the UK would be considered to lack the distinctive quality that makes it suitable to be a RTM but perhaps in the USA?
TM are registered in an area of business, as companies grow they tend to fill [almost] all areas, I'm sure you can get MS clothing, MS food, MS surfboards, ... if huddle isn't registered and can be then registering it is fine but as mentioned it does not prevent current use from being continued IIRC.
* I'm clearly not a TM lawyer and this ain't advice.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, dude, but to my knowlege Huddle have a global trademark on the use of the word "Huddle" in relation to collaboration. Would suggest re-considering the name.
I built this in about two hours. The phone number is provided by dropio, but I plan to switch to twilio in the near future. I built it out of boredom, so constructive criticism, even if harsh, is welcomw :)
Nice. I was wondering how you did this. I've not used dropio phone numbers before, but I've done work with twilio. You could certainly add some killer features using twilio. Very nice app.
[edit] Actually, I'm not sure about twilio's conference call abilities, so maybe I spoke too soon.
They have the ability to connect calls, which is basically the same thing. I bult it with Dropio first as a proof of concept, as I did not want to spend much time with Twilio if no one was going to use it (TWIML is not very Ruby-friendly if accessed through Twilio's ruby library).
if you'd like to be added to the developer preview for Twilio's conferencing API please drop us a line at help@twilio.com and we'll add you to the list.
My first hesitation was... will this work? I would explain what service it is using, or something to inspire some more confidence. Nice idea though and good name.
Random numbers are added to the name if it already exists. I will probably add optional password protection in the near future. Also, I don't want to take much credit for the system, because, as I said, it is provided by Dropio for the time being - I just built a simple front end as a proof of concept.
If I see enough demand, I will make my own system with the Technology from Twilio, which would allow me to have more control over the system, and add a bunch of extra features like optional call recording and whatnot.
The first time I called (218-486-3891), I immediately heard someone speaking (in a foreign language, not sure which). It went on for a minute or so, then I hung up. I called again and got the expected prompt... something's a little off here.
In other news, why not give this place a test? If you're reading this, call in!
Like it. When I use this service, what am I agreeing to as far as privacy? How do I know whether or not my call is recorded? How comfortable should I feel about discussing confidential information?
Good ideas. With Twilio I can easily do the recording and the transcribing, and build my own mailer for the emailing. Not sure how many people would use the fax thing, though, probably business execs but that is not my main market.
If/when I move to Twilio, I might charge a (very) small amount to power users. Twilio isn't really that expensive and I'm not interested in profiting from the app in the near future. Dropio is as hands-off as it gets, so I hope I can achieve the same level of simplicity with Twilio.
Can I ask what your using now? I haven't found many alternatives to Twilio. --> Ah, found below that your using drop.io, no idea they offered phone stuff :).
It's an interesting idea and it seems a lot quicker to setup a call than going through FreeConference.com. However, I'm a little more methodical and the site doesn't explain how the process works.
A few questions come to mind:
- Who are you and why are you giving away free conference calls?
- Will participants hear ads during the call?
- Is there a limit on the number of participants?
- What about international callers (btw what country is this for?)
I like the clean and simple design and I encourage you to keep it that way. Perhaps linking to a FAQ or a page with a little more background.
You are right. As I have mentioned numerous times (I will add it to the site later), the phone number is provided by Dropio. I will move to Twilio in the near future to provide a 1800 number instead of a New York one.
In fact, most of the information you want is in the links "learn more" in the homepage, and "about this number" in the number page.
Is it possible to make the drop.io workspace private?
I created a Huddle named testuddle and I can access http://drop.io/testuddle with no restrictions.
It's nice. It's not initially clear exactly what it is or how to use it, but I think that would be rather simple to fix. Keep it simple when you start working on the visual front.
It's just such a simple app I think you should be able to sum it up in that first blurb.
And maybe separating the phone# and the PIN would simplify it a bit. something like "Call this number to begin a conference call: XXX-XXX-XXXX. This is your PIN. You will be prompted for this after dialing." Or whatever..
1. have the conference number generated be of lesser digits unless you are expecting and ready to support 10^9 simultaneous conferences. Having something like 4 digits should suffice.
2. Not sure how serious you are about this app, but the next features I would want would be to allow users to register and permanently reserve pin numbers. This will ensure I can set up numbers and put them into my meeting invite for that meeting next week
I disagree that only 4 digits should suffice, after all, that means that once there are 10,000 simultaneous conferences going you can basically just try pins at random and see whose huddle you drop in to. And with less conferences the chances would still be pretty good, just try a couple of times.
The pin is the only thing between an outsider and your conference. (assuming the phone number is the same, which seems to be the case right now).
+++ It is very nice and simple. I never subscribed to any teleconferencing solutions simply because I think it may get complicated and it probably requires subscription.
Minuses:
- The phone number & pin shows up intermingled in Firefox.
-- I need a global teleconferencing solution, and I don't see myself saying, come on guys lets call this number in new york for connecting up.
I have only tested in chrome, I have to optimize it for other browsers.
And, one of the reasons I would like to redo it in Twilio would be the ability to provide a 1800 number instead of a NY one, which would make it easier for people in the US. Unfortunately, I haven't found a way to provide numbers outside the US.
I assume you are not making any money per minute on those inbound calls? That's the model that Freeconference call uses, and apparently the same thing that drop.io is doing. That's why the number is based in either Iowa or Minnesota.
Great idea. Quick thing. The app says 'The number is based in New York City, for the time being (sorry!).' but the number that displayed for me was 218-486-3891, which is Duluth, Minnesota according to Google. Should that output read 212?
The learn more link doesn't do anything in MobileSafari.
Nice simple and clear introduction.
Your target market are business execs that are currently paying a lot more than free for thus service. Convincing them that your app is stable and credibile is your challenge.
Like I mentioned in a previous comment, the phone number is provided by dropio for the time being, while I make the switch to Twilio and add a 1-800 number instead of a NY one (if I can figure out a way to even out the costs.).
My target audience isn't really business execs, rather the more causal web users market who want to collaborate together. Let's say a twitter user and his/her followers, or a freelancer and his/her client(s).
This is great, well done. I have one minor suggestion: make it a one page app. Don't make the user go to another page when they click create. Use ajax to show the results just below.
I'm not exactly the target audience of this, but I discovered this fact only having created a number. A little more description on the home page will definitely help.
it's cool (love the name), but I would just use drop.io for conference calls, since I use it for other stuff.
what i would LOVE though, is a free, simple, web-based screensharing tool.
i've used skype but it requires, obviously, installing their software. drop.io comes close, but only allows me to share content already on a drop. and tinychat sounds cool, but isnt free.
I think that all the backend of this uses drop.io's (http://drop.io/) API to get the phone number. This (quite cleverly) adds a simple interface to it.
I do plan on adding twilio, I am playing with their conferencing API as we speak. I'm also checking out an alternative, that looks pretty promising. I'll see how it turns out.
