Estonian Qminder App lets consumers wait in line remotely
October 17, 2011
As said in my last post, I have a few spottings lined up in Springwise and now a second spotting has appeared hot on the heels of my recent Scoopshot spotting. This time the spotting is across the water in Estonia. As per usual click the image to go to the original spotting.
App lets consumers wait in line remotely
No one likes to wait in line, well now you don’t have to, Qminderoffers a smartphone app that lets consumers wait in line remotely for just about any kind of service.
Now in beta, Estonian Qminder is a queue management system that spares consumers the need to wait in line in person, not just at hospitals and doctor’s offices, but also at banks, restaurants and stores. Consumers begin by downloading the smartphone application, which is compatible with iPhone and iPad as well as Android and Nokia devices. Once that’s done, they can “take a number” remotely, which marks their place in the virtual queue. In return, Qminder estimates how long the wait promises to be and sends a notification when the user’s turn approaches. For venue owners, the app can be used to determine when peak hours are occurring, enabling managers to better schedule extra staff. The app can also be set up to work with existing queue systems, or using a web service.
Qminder recently won the Garage48 hackathon event in Tartu. Service businesses around the globe: one to try out on your own time-strapped clientele?
Something not mentioned and perhaps not part of Qminder’s plans but one to think about. Selling your place in the queue hmmmm!
Website: www.qminderapp.com
Contact: info@qminderapp.com
Spotted by: John Greene
Finnish Scoopshot App powers crowdsourced global news photography
October 11, 2011
I have spottings approved by Springwise for some time now, which hopefully should start appearing soon. Here is one I spotted some time ago which appeared in Springwise today. Click the pic to go to the original spotting.
App powers crowdsourced global news photography
Scoopshot is a mobile platform enabling global crowdsourced photojournalism.
Now, in Finland, a crowdsourced photography app called Scoopshotenables photographers to choose what to charge for their pictures, create professional portfolios, and receive global coverage.
Anyone can download the Scoopshot app for free to their iPhone or Android device and begin using the service by taking photos of newsworthy scenes. They can then price their photos — EUR 29 is a typical price for a news photograph worth publishing — and post them on Scoopshot along with a sentence to explain the story. Journalists seeking photos can either set location-specific assignments, or search for photos to accompany stories by location, keywords or International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) category. Scoopshot ensures all photos on the site are fresh by removing them after 48 hours. Photographers are sent a notice to their phone if their photos are purchased, and can then transfer money earned directly to their bank account.
Freelance photographers can also create a portfolio of nine images, which are accessible to media organizations around the world, and can promote themselves using feedback from previous buyers. Scoopshot organize the publishing rights and payment, which removes the hassle for journalists and enables them to access quality images at low cost from photographers around the world. A free 48 hour trial is currently available, during which time users can browse the Scoopshot photo stream and try out the Scoopshot features.
Sourcing photos for news stories abroad can be costly and complicated, and Scoopshot seems to offer a much needed helping hand.
Website: www.scoopshot.com
Contact: info@scoopshot.com
Spotted by: John Greene
8th July 2011Tactile sensations on-screen, no mechanical vibration required
Multitouch interfaces are becoming increasingly common in computing devices of many kinds, but most still rely on mechanical vibration to create a tactile sensation. New technology from Finnish Senseg, on the other hand, uses small electrical fields on-screen to produce a wide range of subtle sensations without the sound radiation and other unwanted side-effects that physical vibration tends to cause.
Now available for early incorporation into devices large and small, Senseg’s E-Sense technology uses an electro-sensory phenomenon to replicate the feeling of texture on virtually any touch interface surface, whether it’s flat or curved, transparent or opaque. Whereas most such “haptic” implementations today use a mechanical vibration of the device to confirm a key press, for example, Senseg uses technology it calls “tixels” — short simply for “tactile pixels” — to generate a controlled electric field that extends several millimeters above the device’s surface. Tiny electrical charges are allowed to pass into the tixel elements on a localized basis without ever exposing users to any electrical current; instead, fine-tuned sensations are created on the user’s skin that can delicately replicate the feel of textures ranging from rough to smooth and sticky to slippery. Tixels are highly durable, Senseg says, and can even be incorporated into non-screen materials such as wearable fabric.With elements of hardware, software and effect design, E-Sense is provided to hardware partners through a combination of the necessary tixel laminate technology, an electronic module and software APIs. Senseg maintains offices in Helsinki and Tokyo, and demos are available; early partners include Toshiba, the company says.
Contact: info@senseg.comSpotted by: John Greene
My latest Springwise spotting comes from the entrepreneurial Kristoffer Lawson aka The Travelling Salesman who has made a number of inspirational guest appearances in my courses in Metropolia Business School. Kristoffer has together with his team launched a new company called Holvi.
Billed as “a revolutionary netbanking service for creative projects and group activities,” Finnish Holvi aims to serve such users with a raft of business-oriented functions. Kristoffer has noted on Holvi’s twitter account @HolviCom as regards the Springwise spotting that (though we don’t currently do small businesses — only fun projects + activity groups).
New from the founders of Scred — which I spotted and Springwise reviewed back in 2009 — Holvi aims to give small teams a better understanding of how their money is spent and received. Users can create a budget for their activities and see a graphical report of everything happening in real time, for instance. They can also build income by selling tickets and t-shirts, for example, and then see their bookkeeping updated in real time. Expense claims can be received, fully tagged and categorized, and photos of receipts can even be uploaded directly to the site. Meanwhile, users can pay bills as they would with any internet bank; every payment is tagged and automatically updated to their budget reports.
Holvi is currently in closed pilot testing. Interested users, however, can apply for early access on the site.
Website: www.holvi.com
Contact: hello@holvi.com
As usual view the original Springwise spotting by clicking the image above.
My latest Springwise spotting comes from Switzerland.
VoIP services such as Skype already offer mobile applications, but typically users must create an account, build a contact list and then launch the app each time they want to make a free call. Not so with Voxtrot, a free mobile app that seamlessly integrates into the phone’s standard calling function and automatically makes calls free when Voxtrot users talk to one another.
Now in beta from Switzerland-based IMV AG, Voxtrot “works as if your mobile carrier is giving you free worldwide mobile calls,” in the company’s own words. No logins, usernames or complicated passwords are required, and users need not create any separate contact list. Instead, they simply dial their phone as they always do. If the person at the other end is a Voxtrot user, the call will be free; if not, it will just be connected normally. Voxtrot works anywhere in the world, whatever the carrying network, and it does not interfere with the phone’s other apps or carrier connections. A video on YouTube demonstrates the app in more detail.
Voxtrot is currently available only for Android, and can be downloaded from the Android Market. Versions for other platforms are in the works, however.
Website: www.voxtrot.com
Click the image to see the original spotting.
A new Springwise Spotting that was published just the other day:
We’ve seen numerous industries employing the crowdfunding model to help projects get their feet off the ground, from social enterprises to breweries to telecommunication and web startups. We’re now seeing that same model applied to cultural startups, through Swedish CrowdCulture.
The crowdfunding platform – originally run in beta in cooperation with Fonden för Innovativ Kultur – works by hosting various cultural ideas and projects for its members to fund with investments of SEK 50. The projects differ greatly in their content and plans, and include dance, theater and puppetry, among others. In order to submit and idea for funding or to submit a payment to fund an existing project, it is necessary to purchase a paying membership at SEK 100. Otherwise, it is possible to become a member for free, giving users the opportunity to feedback and give advice to the hosted projects in order to help them develop. During CrowdCulture’s three month beta period nearly 500 people participated across 28 projects, ultimately leaving 6 fully funded.
CrowdCulture has just received an offer for continued partnership from The City of Stockholm, meaning it can continue to lend a helping hand to artistic and cultural projects still in their infancy. We’ve no doubt that the crowdfunding model can give a boost to projects in almost any industry.
Website: www.crowdculture.se
Contact: hej@crowdculture.se
See the original in Sprinwise by clicking the pic above
I popped into Helsinki Hub for a quick breakfast meeting on Tuesday morning to hear how Founder2be is looking to help talented individuals find each other and form startups. The company is only two months old and Oliver Bremer the founder has some novel ideas for growth of both the company and worldwide entrepreneurial ecosystem starting with small steps of course.
The biggest te chnology website reviewing and reporting on technology startups and growth entrepreneurship from the Nordic and Baltic countries covered Founder2be really well on their blog (click here to view) and just the other week Scandinavian Startups covered them. There is no point rehashing what has been well covered in the other articles; however it was of interest that Founder2be are looking to also organise offline meetups where people thinking of forming startups could chat to others and form their team.
I sent Founder2Be as spotting to Springwise but they noted it was not unique in its concept and perhaps this was due to with my previous spotting HumanIPO “Estonian HumanIPO seeks to help gather momentum for startups of any kind.” It is great to see the startup ecosystem increasing and Founder2be will be of real interest to students who are thinking of forming startups.
Metropolia needs to be more active in this area and I know Metropolia Entrepreneurship Society founder Riina Ruuponen is working behind the scenes on some great ideas. In Metropolia Business School we have plans to work with Nuori Yrittäjyys (Junior Acheivement Finland) to provide students with an easy way to form an official company simply without the red tape. If you are interested in entrepreneurship in Metropolia then join Riina and her fans on Facebook and watch out for some upcoming events.
Life-caching service incorporates maps, photos and friends
February 13, 2011
Another recent Springwise posting this time from closer to home in Estonia. As usual click the pic for the original spotting.
Life-caching service incorporates maps, photos and friends
Now in beta, Estonian myHistro is designed to help users create and share stories from their lives with friends and family. Users begin by signing up with the free service either directly or through Facebook. From there, they place events from their lives on a timeline and a map, indicating other people who were involved and whether the story is private or open for sharing. They can also write a story summary. Photos and descriptions of events can be added for illustration, and friends involved in the story can add their own impressions. The result is a joint narrative that can be saved and replayed at will over time.
Website: beta.myhistro.com
Contact: @myHistro
Crowd-curated fashion site features items hand-picked by users
February 7, 2011
A spotting from outside Finland for a change that I had published in Springwise Click on the pic to see the original spotting.
Netherlands-based Fashiolista displays numerous items that have been hand-picked and submitted by regular users using a special “love” button. A million items are “loved” by users in that way on the free site each month, according to a report on VentureBeat, amounting to what’s essentially a community-curated fashion selection. With users in more than 100 countries, Fashiolista also lets regular users follow each others’ votes for a constantly updated dose of inspiration. An iPhone app is available as well from the site, which recently drew a USD 500,000 seed investment from Skype cofounder Niklas Zennström.
Advertising and affiliate fees are at the heart of Fashiolista’s business model; premium accounts, contest sponsorships and specially featured items are all among the site’s opportunities for participating businesses.
Website: www.fashiolista.com
Contact: info@fashiolista.com
Finnish Netcycler: Creates Swapping of Articles Marketplace Online
February 3, 2011
Apologies I have not been great at updating my blog lately. A lot on and a lot more to do. I have also been writing a few articles for my school’s student developed blog while the new student group gets up to speed Metropoliablog. The plan at some stage is to do a recap on projects that I assisted or developed at the end of 2010. In the meantime here again is an example of Finnish entrepreneurship that I had spotted in Springwise. They did take their time publishing this one since I first spotted it in February 2010. Click the picture to see the orginal spotting.
Marketplace creates ‘trade rings’ for group swaps
Finnish Netcycler, which opens up swaps to “trade rings” involving multiple people and unevenly matched goods.
Netcycler is a service for giving away and acquiring secondhand goods without exchanging any cash. To participate, users list what they’d like to give away, along with something they’d like to get in return. Those “wishes,” as the site calls them, needn’t match the commercial value of the items being given away. Using a unique matching technology, Netcycler then sets up “trade rings” that can include multiple people whereby each gets a wished-for item and is able to get rid of something too. Each resulting swap is different as a result; one, for example, might include an MP3 player, children’s clothing and a bookshelf — not equivalent in commercial value, perhaps, but evenly matched in satisfying the wishes of the participating users. Swaps on Netcycler are free; the company’s revenue comes from additional services, such as an integrated shipping option.
Netcycler currently operates sites in Finland and Germany, with a UK version now in closed beta.
Website: www.netcycler.com
Contact: info@netcycler.com
Spotted by: John Greene
