UnWired Nation is a free, ad-supported service that allows businesses, news channels or bloggers to turn web content into an audio recording for people to receive on their cell phones. Users can engage, give feedback, and contribute their own audio material in response to on-call content in real-time, and they can forward engaging content to friends.
Obviously, businesses can let mobile phone users know about promotional messages. Probably the most infamous use of this service is for the last 5 minutes of an eBay auction when the consumer is not in front of a computer. The service will call the user and let him remotely bid through the touch pad on the phone. eBay has had great success with this service, and I’m sure that is why this site is now growing and launching new uses. Other interesting uses thus far has been alerting people of new real estate leads through phone messages, as well as for those in the shipping industry.
UnWiredNation.com In Their Own Words
“UnWired Nation provides a Voice Publishing Platform that allows companies to the reach any mobile phone through the ubiquitous medium of voice. The service allows our customers to deliver interactive, timely and personal opt-in voice-enabled content or services to their users for free. The platform can be easily and quickly integrated into companies’ existing infrastructure through the use of APIs, and provides a revenue-generating component through in-call advertising. The company’s first product, UnWired Buyer for eBay, allows eBay users to remotely bid in the final three minutes of an auction. UnWired Nation has delivered millions of voice-based mobile interactions on behalf of eBay, resulting in increased average selling prices and overall utilization of eBay. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas and funded by Gefinor Ventures, Accent Texas Fund I, LP, Aegis Texas Venture Fund, DFJ Mercury and other investors.”
Why UnWiredNation.com It Might Be A Killer
Everyone says mobile technology is the future, and this site is making that case. Taking the content on the web and mobilizing it is just one more step towards mobilizing all of our lives. The eBay service is a great story, and the other examples of using this service for the real estate and shipping industry just demonstrate how useful this service will be to every service industry.
Some Questions About UnWiredNation.com
The technology is cool, but how annoying are these mobile ads/promotions? Do people really tune in or do they just get angry? I get the use for services like eBay and real estate, where consumers want up-to-the-minute updates, but I’m not sure people will be thrilled with the new mobile ad content, even when they are just part of a larger audio service delivering news or a favorite blog.
