The internet comprises of content in various formats- text, images, video, audio, animations, document files etc. The bulk of it (about 72%) is just text, followed by images, video & animations in that order. The contribution of audio (via sound files) is probably the least amongst the media formats. But an Indian startup has sets its vision on bringing about a paradigm shift in the web’s content from text to voice and correct that imbalance.

NowPos is a 25 member privately funded Hyderabad based startup and it has created a clutch of innovative voice enabled internet products/services. It believes that, what was once considered impossible for ‘voice on the internet’ is now possible, hence the name NowPos.

In the four months since its launch, NowPos has got off to a dream start. Frost and Sullivan has rated NowPos among the ‘Top 20 Broadband Innovations in Asia Pacific. Red Herring, the international tech. magazine has nominated NowPos among the ‘Eight Indian Start-ups to watch for’. It has also received a big thumbs up in reviews from Forbes & CBOE.

NowPos’s flagship product is a Voice email called Vmail. The first of its kind on the web, Vmail is based on its patent-pending proprietary technology. In regular emails, you need to type text messages; with NowPos, you can record and send a short, three minute voice message to the mail recipient, in any language you wish. It is web based, free and requires no downloads or plugins; and you can send voice emails to any email account (the voice mail recipient need not be registered with NowPos). All you need is a headset and a microphone. The voice messages are encrypted into what the company claims is the smallest sound file size currently available over the internet. Rohit Lingineni of NowPos has informed me that they already have 1.5 lakh signups just in India. They have members from 108 counties and NowPos is one of the fastest growing emails in China, Middle East, Japan and Vietnam, besides India.

I tried out Vmail and I found it extremely simple and uncomplicated. Its interface is just like your regular email application. Recording and sending voice emails is also smooth. When you listen to your first voice email, you can’t help admit that voice communication is inherently more effective than text messages, because of the emotional quotient involved with human voice. I would strongly recommend the readers of this blog to try out NowPos, if not for anything else, then just for the experience of using it.





The second product from NowPos is Freedback. It’s a ‘Talk to me’ customizable widget (somewhat like the Odeo widget) that you can affix to your website, blog, journal or email signature. Using the widget, any visitor to the website can record a voice message, which is delivered as a voice email to the user and the user can reply back to the visitor in a return voice mail. I tried this out as well and IT WORKS SUPERBLY.

(To try it out, click on the widgets below and send a voice mail to my test account using a microphone)

NowPos’s revenue model is two pronged- through internet ads (banner & voice ads) and through turnkey application of Vmail for corporate clients. And this is not all. Going forward, the company has plans to create entirely unheard of concepts like Voice Resumes (job sites), Voice Profiles (matrimonial, social networking sites), Voice Feedback (ecommerce, classifieds portals), Voice blogs, Voice communities and (would you believe this?) something called Video email.

While on this, here’s some quick feedback, that I have for the NowPos team–

– I think what NowPos has created, is really innovative stuff; however I think there is a strong case for improving the visual look/feel of their user interfaces to Web2.0 standards

– With regard to voice email, many users are likely to be too deeply entrenched in their default email applications (Yahoo, Gmail, MSN, Rediff etc) to shift to Vmail; in such a scenario, it probably makes sense to strike direct deals with some of these email service providers and package Vmail into the host application, or even try to create a free downloadable plugin, that integrates Vmail with the MS Outlook/Thunderbird email clients

Overall, NowPos is a very exciting startup; it could very well be a poster-boy for innovation in the Indian consumer internet space.

Last month, in this post (on my personal blog), I pointed to the current trend wherein some of the successful consumer software products of today are coming not from software companies but from ‘fringe’ players like web design studios, usability companies, media companies etc. Well, I didn’t include NGOs in that list of fringe players, because it never occurred to me that an NGO was capable of building a (mass market) consumer software application. I am thrilled to let you know that from now onwards, I have a reason to add NGOs to that list.

For a Mumbai based NGO has created the world’s first SMS enabled carpool. I’m sure this is the first such instance in India. I would also speculate, that this must one of the few instances in the world (if not the first), where this is happening.

Mumbai Environmental Social Organization (www.mesn.org) is a registered NGO with a special focus on environmental and social issues. It has created KOOLPOOL, which is an organized and secure car-pooling system that runs via SMS. This is an attempt at facilitating car-pooling in Mumbai and other large metro cities of the country.

Jyoti Kalra, who is the project’s co-coordinator, has informed me that KoolPool is not a business venture. It is a ‘social experiment‘, that attempts to use technology to solve a common urban problem. It is commercial to the extent of suporting the basic operational cost.

This project is currently in its trial run and is due to be launched pretty soon. For this concept to succeed, its important to have locational clusters of interested members. It is also possible that carpool members may have apprehensions about sharing rides with complete strangers. Hence in the first phase, MESN is trying to create homogenous pools (i.e. members who know each other). They have contacted some of the big corporates in the business districts of Mumbai. Many companies like Philips, J P Morgan, Lintas, Johnson and Johnson, Castrol and HLL have shown interest in the concept. Its interesting to note that 52% of the people who have registered with KoolPool till now, happen to be women.

So how does KoolPool actually work?. Commuters would have to be register with KoolPool by paying an annual membership fee of Rs 350. They can participate in the carpool either as a ‘ride-giver’ or as a ‘ride-seeker’. All the members will be required to maintain a prepaid account with KoolPool. For every ride taken, 30 points will be deducted from ride seekers account and 25 points will be deposited in the ride givers account. These points can be redeemed at HPCL petrol pumps for free fuel. BUT for the first 90 days, KoolPool is offering a FREE TRIAL wherein members do not have to pay the membership fee and all rides are being offered free.

To know in detail about the system of routes, the accounting of points and how SMS will be used for tracking and scheduling the carpool, check out this link. And to ensure that co-travelers understand their responsibilities, they also have a guideline on pool ethics. I spent some time going through their website and I think that a lot of careful thinking has gone into the entire dynamics of SMS based carpooling and how to make it successful. Very commendable indeed.

KoolPool has received appreciation from the PCRA & Ministry of Urban Development and a large number of corporates are lending their support to this social initiative. It will initially be launched in Mumbai but soon will be moving over to other metropolitan cities.

I wish them all the success with this ‘technology enabled social experiment’.