When I was in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress I discovered some very interesting Japanese mobile apps and reported on it here โ5 Very Cool Japanese Mobile Technology Companies from Mobile World Congressโ. One of them was iPad Receptionist by a company called Analog 12, which has just been officially released on the Apple App Store.
The premise of the app is rather than spending money on costly real people for a receptionist, why not get a virtual one? Although she canโt get you coffee, she can perform the basic tasks of helping people to connect to who they are looking for in the office. Imagine walking into an office, you then see a TV screen with a woman on it. First you tap which department you are looking for then the name of the person you want. This will then dial their number and they will come out to get out you.
The app is the worldโs first PIP or person in presentation user interface. To make it easy for companies to use, it uses standard technology of SIP, Address book and In-app billing.
Currently you can download a free trial by searching โiReceptionistโ or download it here. If you opt for the paid version you can customize you company name, character and logo. I can imagine many companies asking for a sexy receptionist who they canโt get in trouble for making derogtatory remarks at.
As of early March, the company served 5 clients in Japan and charges 80 Euros per month.
Check out the video below and be aware you will need a vpn to watch it. I especially like the part where she does a very conservative hand motion after she successfully completes a task and goes to sleep while standing up when sheโs not busy. Japanese are funny!
iPad Receptionist (English Demo) from Hidetoshi Uchiyama on Vimeo.
A more professional alternative-for the US anyway-is Greetly (www.mygreetly.com). We added a second floor a couple months ago and used Greetly instead of hiring a second receptionist. Working out very well.