Mobile application developer
Mobile application developer Cellity aims to take your contacts to a whole new level on Dec. 16, when it publicly launches its Addressbook 2.0 for any phone that supports Java -- not just smartphones. The application draws data from your email, social networks, standard contacts and even Twitter to give you a one-touch dashboard for all your connections, the company says.
After you import your friends from Facebook, MySpace and even
After you import your friends from Facebook, MySpace and even Xing or LinkedIn, Addressbook 2.0 is able to condense all the information about one person under a single heading -- allowing you to know more about your friends on the go than ever before. Going the other direction, the service also makes it possible for you to update your own social-network status messages across all sites at once.
With friend totals climbing into the thousands, keeping track of everyone can get messy, which is why Cellity has provided an elaborate control center on its web site. Through this interface, users have the option to view only a select number of their contacts on their phones at any given time (though they can access the full list remotely if they really want to).
Users can also place cheap calls and send text messages through Cellity's own PSTN network (like VOIP providers Jajah, Rebtel and EQO). The company says it also plans to make this feature available on other wireless networks soon. In the meantime, users can call and text their friends straight from the web site as well.
The software will run on about 650 different phones available on the market today -- phones that might be less sexy than the iPhone or Google's Android, but which make up a much larger slice of the overall mobile market. Based in Germany, the company has a more global handle on the business, which could benefit it in the long run.
Addressbook 2.0 will vie with several direct competitors, including Jibe, Xumii and Fidg't, all of which synthesize social networking data to make it available through mobile platforms. Granted, Cellity's interface is a bit sleeker, but this might not be enough to maintain a serious edge, especially after arriving somewhat late to the game.
Its investors include Mangrove Capital Partners, Neuhaus Partners and BrainsToVentures, all of which contributed to an undisclosed round of financing last July.