Today at the DEMOfall 09 conference, CallSpark announced a new technology for mobile phone users. The application is a dynamic address book that lets you search for people across multiple accounts and social networks as well as in the popular CRM system, Salesforce, Whitepages, Yellowpages, and Yelp. But CallSpark isn’t simply a useful address book service, it also lets you view real-time information about whoever you’re calling. For people, that includes the most recent social networking updates from Facebook and Twitter, while for business listings, there’s even more interactive content available thanks to customizable listings called “RingPages.”
Search Multiple Address Books
Being able to search across multiple address books at once solves one of the biggest problems with mobile devices: you can only select one address book to sync with your device. For those who have separate email accounts and, therefore, separate address books, it can sometimes be a tough choice as to which one gets automatically copied over to your mobile device.
With CallSpark, having different address books is no longer an issue as it allows you to link up multiple accounts to its service, including Outlook, Gmail, Facebook, your native iPhone contacts, and more. In future versions, Yahoo and Windows Live Hotmail will be added, too.
Interactive Content
While a searchable address book is useful, of course, what really makes CallSpark unique is the way it integrates real-time data from cloud services into the application. Thanks to integration with Facebook and Twitter, for example, you can see your friend’s latest updates before or during your call. Business users will appreciate that Salesforce.com is also one of the supported options. With Salesforce, not only can you see the latest information about your client – a handy feature to have before you make your call – you can also update their status once you’ve completed your phone conversation. Other services, including LinkedIn, will be added soon.
For business listings, there are even more possibilities. Customizable listings called “RingPages,” are dynamically updated mini sites which provide useful links as well as location-aware information, like the business’s nearby locations, for example. RingPages aren’t limited to businesses either – any CallSpark user can create their own page. However, they’re more likely to appeal to companies than individuals.
Further down the road, CallSpark plans to integrate with call center software, too. This could be a great way to upsell customers who call to purchase over the phone. A great example of how this could be used is Pizza Hut, a company whose order-taking process is currently outsourced. When a customer ordered a pizza, the image of what they requested could display on the screen. Then the phone could display another item like breadsticks, and ask the customer if they wanted to add that item to their order. It’s easy to see how this visual imagery could help encourage more sales. (Pizza Hut is not currently partnered with CallSpark, it’s just being used to illustrate the point).
CallSpark will be made available in the iTunes App Store in a couple of weeks and via the mobile web for Android, Blackberry, and Palm Pre at m.callspark.com.
