Disqus
Poynt’s location-based reference app for BlackBerry is getting an impressive new feature thanks to Telus. If you have incomplete or absent results when doing a business search, you can launch a phone call to a live service rep who can look up more information for you and update the Poynt database. Details right now are a bit skimpy, though – do you need to a be a Telus customer to make use of this, or do you even need to be in Canada? The release is apparently for North America, so may very well be usable in the U.S.
What I’m mostly curious about is what is Telus getting out of this? The only other time I’ve seen a mobile app make use of live operators was Pocket Express, and it was subscription-based service. Poynt is free, so what are they giving Telus? Phone numbers? Search history? Business listing data? Location? All of the above? Personally, I don’t care if they have any of that information, but some people might. UPDATE: Apparently calls cost $0.99 a pop, so maybe that’s enough.
If you haven’t had a chance to try it out, Poynt helps you find movies, restaurants, businesses, and people around your location based on a smartphone’s GPS or cell tower position. It plays nice with native maps, address book and phone apps to deliver a really polished experience. I’m not entirely sure if the iPhone app will also get the update, but download links to both Poynt for iPhone and BlackBerry are below.
– Download Poynt for iPhone (Free) [iTunes Link]
– Download Poynt for BlackBerry (Free) [App World Link]
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
