2 upgrades in as many weeks. Phew! This is another great step forward for iotum’s Talk-Now application. Many of you who follow telephony have already experienced JAJAH’s uber-simple and super-useful (don’t hyphenated adjectives rule?) web-activated telephony. It’s simple– sign up for an account, then use their web client to enter your phone number (associated with your account), your contact’s phone number, and then through the black magic of the internet (well, to those of us who are less technically inclined it might seem like magic!) your phone will ring and a pleasant voice will inform you that your call is being connected. Moments later, you are talking with low-cost web-activated telephony.

But what if… that flexibility were available directly from your handheld?

What if… your own ID and your contact’s were entered automatically and seamlessly?

What if… the call could be made directly after being notified that your contact was available?

iotum and JAJAH recently announced a strategic alliance, and hot on the heels of that announcement, the results are already being delivered to Talk-Now users.

Once you have signed up for an account, everything is just a click away:

I was lucky enough to be the first person to try it out, and it’s really as easy as it seems. It is perhaps a little easier to get “up and running” if you have an existing JAJAH account; however, we provide the right tools to get started for first-time JAJAH users as well.

One more reason to sign up for Talk-Now for FREE if you haven’t already done so! Read more and sign up from THIS page.

Here are the release notes for this latest update:

As announced earlier last week, the latest version (0.4.3186) is now
JAJAH-enabled!

WHAT’S NEW:

JAJAH call directly from Talk-Now. A simple click from the application starts a AJAH call that will ring your device and then your contact’s, reducing calling costs by using Internet telephony.

Once Talk-Now is upgraded, click on “Extra Services” in the Talk-Now menu to etup JAJAH. ter setup is done click once again on “Extra Services” to finish ctivation.

HERE’S HOW TO UPGRADE:

Check for updates from the Talk-Now menu, or point your BlackBerry browser HERE.

As always, we look forward to hearing your feedback and ideas.
The iotum team

Earlier this week we issued an update to Talk-Now subscribers, adding a brand new way of sorting your contacts and seeing their availability. The new lists, described below, offer a significantly improved way of getting “at a glance” availability, and add the brand-new ability to see which of your contacts is trying to reach YOU.

Talk-Now users,
The latest version (0.4.3141) has been released.

WHAT’S NEW:

• See who’s trying to get in touch with you, at a glance in the NEW “Waiting to Talk to me” List, which is part of our new and improved interface, described below.
• Improved Invitations. You can now easily invite multiple contacts. Invite identified BlackBerry users as well as any contact you wish from your address book all at once. You are also able to view and personalize the invitation.

COMING SOON! Talk-Now JAJAH-enabled, so that you can enjoy low calling rates. A simple click from your Talk-Now application starts a JAJAH call that will ring your device and then call your contact, reducing calling costs by using Internet telephony.

New Interface. The “Notify” list has been so popular; we have expanded its functionalities, creating a “conversations” view. The “conversations” include 2 lists:

1. A “To-Call list” that has the same function as the old “notify”. Organize your calls by adding contacts you need to reach. Then you can notify them and also be notified when they become available.
2. The brand new “Waiting to Talk to Me” tracks people that have requested a conversation through Talk-Now or have tried to call you unsuccessfully. Now you know who is trying to get in touch with you.

HERE’S HOW TO UPGRADE
Check for updates from the Talk-Now menu, or point your BlackBerry browser to http://www.iotum.com/downloads/blackberry/talk-now.jad

As hinted at yesterday and confirmed in the above-quoted update notification, integration of JAJAH web-based telephony is imminent. Since we’ve adopted an automated update system, you can get Talk-Now for free now, and then it’s a simple matter to get the update over-the-air when it becomes available. If you do not already have a Talk-Now account, you can read about the app and sign up for an account here: http://iotum.com/platform-talk-now.php

Excerpted from the full story:

iotum and JAJAH, two of the brightest lights in the emerging world of Voice 2.0 and New Presence, today announced a strategic alliance to deliver new capabilities to mobile users and further their shared vision of the future for Internet telephony and mobility.

If you ever talk with Alec, Howard, or the rest of the iotum team, you’ll quickly realize that we’re obsessed with what goes on in the world of communication technology outside our own walls. JAJAH’s offering has been the subject of conversation around here since its launch, both in terms of its own strength and in terms of the “clear opportunit[ies]” for an alliance that were immediately obvious.

Check out the press release HERE to see why we’re so enthusiastic about the announcement.

Talk-Now users can expect to see an update to their software in the very near future. If you’re not already using Talk-Now, this is just one more reason to give it a try for FREE…. Read more and sign up from this page), and you’ll be ready to go when JAJAH’s web-activated telephony makes its appearance on your handheld via automatic OTA update.

We like to think we’re a pretty cool bunch of folks, with very cool applications. That slightly immodest self-assessment got some nice validation last week as leading analyst firm Gartner Inc. listed iotum as a “Cool Vendor” for 2007.

Read all about it HERE.

What else can I say to that but, “Cool!”

UI is a big topic of discussion over here. It’s always been on our minds, since the first iteratons of the Relevance Engine’s Call Handling application. Mitch Brisebois’ recent post on the subject served as a catalyst for even more brainwaves being discharged into the aether.

Mitch knows his stuff, both with regards to UI design and in terms of the limitations faced by a startup. In another entry at SensoryMetrics, he talks about the skill pool of a startup:

…The thread in my brain was about startups and product: how much effort and skill sets it takes to release something decent. In most cases, startups don’t have the money to get all the help they need - so they improvise. Certain tasks such as QA, release management, GUI design are not usually critical to getting product out - but are critical to making product successful. Some of those tasks don’t need full time help….

iotum does not employ a graphic designer, nor even a web designer. Luckily, we have enough resourceful people that when our pooled skills are combined with the occasional bit of contracted work, we manage to deliver. The reason for this is that although the applications may not always have gleam and glitter, they are ALWAYS created with the end user in mind. The comments we receive on UI tend more toward, “It works great, and I wish it looked nicer” rather than “It looks great, but I can’t figure it out.” And for a company focused on user experience, that’s a great position to be in.

Mitch’s timely post, combined with his physical proximity to the iotum offices, meant that we simply had to invite him over, which we did! He graciously accepted the invitation and shared… er… “gourmet”… coffee and a nice chat with some of the team just a few days ago. In addition to reinforcing and elaborating on some of the comments made in his blog entry, having him around inspired some interesting conversation and got the gears turning.

Thanks a bunch for your initial comments, and again for taking the time to visit, Mitch. It was a pleasure meeting you.

I had guests over to my home last night to play board games. Yes, I am a board game nerd. This one was new to all of us, and I hadn’t prepared in advance by reading up on the rules. Honestly, I wasn’t much of a resource for getting up and running.

As one of the guests read the rules aloud, we all managed to pay attention for a few minutes, and then I could feel my own eyes glazing over. Excruciating minutes later, the entire booklet had been read out (having gone in one ear and out the other, in my case), and the game was on. Within moments, we WERE consulting the guide again… but at least we were active and playing. As a veteran board-game geek, I know that often the best way to learn the rules is to play an actual round– referring to the manual as new situations and problems arise.

“Discoverability” (learning something just by using it) beats reading a guide any day. A software application should be fairly intuitive and should present the user with their options in a straightforward and obvious way. Some functions will inevitably end up in an option system of some sort (a menu, most commonly) but even these should be accessed with the expected methods and at the expected times. Unlike most board games, you might NEVER need the manual with a well-designed and intuitive program.

But, to bring it back full circle, some people like user guides. Even if not for discovering functionality, some people simply want confirmation that what they’ve intuited is actually all they need to know… that they’re not missing out on something. By simply using iotum Talk-Now, I might be able to guess the difference between green and red states for my contacts… but reading the paragraph about the states can validate that knowledge.

If nobody ever “needs” to read the iotum Talk-Now guide, we have succeeded. But if you want to consolidate what you’ve already guessed, or simply want to have a look at what’s on tap with or without installing the program to your handset, you can find the latest version here:

http://www.iotum.com/setupdocs/talknowhowto.pdf

Due to this blog and to Alec’s well-known SaundersLog.com, iotum is well entrenched in blog culture. It is always interesting to read positive comments, reviews, and even (or especially!) criticisms from out there in the blogosphere. These are the kinds of written pieces that affirm our work as well as suggest directions for improvement.

Today we had the pleasure of reading Chris Gare’s extensive piece over at TechnologyInside. What struck me, as someone on the inside looking out, is that Chris is one of the few who has made clear connections between the Relevance Engine and Talk-Now. We’ve always tried to communicate that Talk-Now is just one possible use for the RE’s rich presence, and we’re glad that the point hasn’t been missed. Of course, Talk-Now IS a standalone app in its own right, and Chris’s piece serves as a great overview. Check it out here:

http://technologyinside.com/2007/04/04/iotums-talk-now-now-available/

On the same day, we got to read another of our favourite kinds of entries, written by Mitch Brisebois at SensoryMetrics. Mitch identifies that the GUI could use a little polish, as well as some attention payed to accessibility issues. Interestingly, the red/green paradigm is one that we’ve had many conversations about at the office here, one of the staff being colour-blind. Hard to escape red/green as a stop/go metaphor– it’s everywhere we look, in every aspect of our lives! Hard to imagine a more intuitive symbol than the traffic light. But Mitch correctly notes that colour (with a “u”!) alone isn’t going to cut it for most users, nor satisfy certain accessibility issues.

Here’s Mitch’s post:

http://sensorymetrics.com/2007/04/04/iotums-talk-now-experience/

Thanks for all the words, guys!

Get it while it’s fresh! Talk-Now’s latest update has just been released. Users will see the option to update next time they launch the application. New users can sign up for iotum Talk-Now for free by visiting the following link:

http://www.iotum.com//blackberry

The latest release features a lot of “under the hood” improvements, but the interface has been polished up a bit, as well. Here are some of the new features:

• Want to SMS? No need to go into the address book - SMS your contacts directly from Talk-Now!
• Your web-based presence page now shows the new “Interruptible” status just as it shows on the BlackBerry.
• Your contacts are now alphabetized (woohooo!) and the menu options have been streamlined.

And of course for those users who were having trouble connecting and synchronizing their contacts, those issues should now be a thing of the past.

We hope that you continue to enjoy using Talk-Now. Remember to invite your friends so that they too can benefit from the power of relevance!

Jim Opfer over at Launchpower had a few nice things to say about Talk-Now a few days ago. The following was posted to their blog:

I confess to being a Blackberry junkie. I have used practically every model of the Blackberry since they first started coming out in the late ’90s.

I now use the Blackberry Pearl and try just about every application that I can download. Many don’t pass my test and I erase them within hours.

Recently, I discovered Talk-Now by iotum. For business, this is by far the BEST application I have. I use it all the time.

Talk-Now makes the over-hyped concept of “presence” very real and very useful.

As you can well imagine, it’s always great to hear comments like this. It’s even more rewarding to know that Talk-Now is in daily usage. What Jim has likely discovered already is that while the experience is at its best between Talk-Now users, you can use the app to share your availability with anyone who has an internet connection.

iotum will confess to being advocates of new presence, but we’re glad that what we’re doing with Talk-Now is seen as “very real” and “very useful” within that sphere. The company’s raison d’etre is to solve communications problems in our ultra-connected world, and we’re always happy to hear we’ve been successful in that regard.

Thanks for the kind words, Jim!

Our Talk-Now application has been informed since day one by the needs and perspectives of our users. One of the most asked-for features has been a more hands-free way of accessing “availability.” Users formerly had to add each individual contact to Talk-Now in order to see availability. They wanted a way to get rid of that extra layer of interaction and get right to their contacts’ availability.

This challenge was met in a recent iteration of Talk-Now with our new “Notify Me” list, which was unfortunately not published prior to BlackBerryCool’s visit to our offices, and therefore doesn’t appear in their video. Current users of Talk-Now have been using the “Notify Me” list since the last automatic update. If you haven’t tried Talk-Now before, or if you have been waiting for this feature before giving it a spin, here it is at a glance:

The list is populated with other Talk-Now subscribers. I can see that Alec is available, and can call him right from the Talk-Now interface. I see that Greg, Tom, and Yanick are unavailable. If I want to talk with them, I can add them to my Notify Me list. I have done just that with 2 of my other contacts: I wanted to talk with Julien about a contract, but he was unavailable. I also wanted to talk with Saad, who has identified me as a “VIP” which allows me to see him as yellow (”interruptible”) and to know that he is in a meeting. I added both of these contacts to the Notify Me list, and as they become available, my handheld will notify me by vibrating and displaying a dialogue box asking if I would like to place the call.

The bottom line: now you can truly see “at a glance” who is available for a call, and you can empower yourself to end telephone tag via the Notify Me list.

Over the next few days, watch this space for information about some of the other recently-added features.

As always, if you would like to sign up for iotum’s FREE Talk-Now preview, head over to:
www.iotum.com/blackberry