Joist Helps Contractors Be More Efficient On The Go

Contractors spend a lot of time on the road and working on various projects. Typically they have to keep hand written notes in notebooks and on clipboards and then either they transcribe all that information themselves into Excel or Word, or take it back to the office for someone else to do. For some smaller independent contractors that typically means their significant other is spent doing data entry instead of savoring what little time they have outside of “work”.

A Winnipeg startup called JoistApp is looking to solve that problem. JoistApp is a mobile app that contractors can use on their iPad, iPhone or Android device which allows them to manage their business on the go.  Contractors can create invoices, create estimates, send invoices, manage projects and accept payments on the go.  Sure there are plenty of business management apps out there but JoistApp was created specifically for contractors.

Joist app, Winnipeg startup, Canadian startup, startup interviewsWe got a chance to talk with Brendon Sedo, co-founder of JoistApp, check out the interview below.

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Louisville Startup: Kodable Teaching Kids 5 And Up How To Code

Surfscore,Kodable, Louisville startup,startup,startups,startup interviewWhen you start talking to technical co-founders of today’s startups, most of them talk about how they’ve been coding in some form or another since they were little kids. Such is the case for Jon Mattingly the co-founder of Louisville startup SurfScore and their newest product Kodable.  Mattingly started “fiddling” with computers at the age of 6, and now he and cofounder Grechen Huebner are setting out to teach a new breed of grade school kids how to code.

Kodable is a new iPad game that teaches kids aged five and up how to code. This is taught by teaching the fundamentals of programming and problem solving in a fun way. Kids are learning these fundamentals without even realizing it.

“It introduces the basic concepts of programming, including conditionals, loops and functions, in an abstract way simple enough for young children to understand. Kids give the characters, called fuzzes, commands that guide them through a maze. This challenges children to think through a problem in multiple ways before deciding on a solution, then rewards them for choosing the most efficient path.” Huebner told us in an interview.

teach kids to code

 

There’s a variety of software out there now that teaches even younger children the fundamentals of reading. Huebner and Mattingly thought that if those skills could be learned at an early age, programming could be taught the same way.  Mattingly credits Hubener’s artistic ability with actually making these skills fun to learn and easy to understand.

Check out the rest of our interview with the SurfScore/Kodable team below.

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Los Angeles Startup: Smarter Stand, Works For iPad Mini Too

smarterstand,ipad,iPad mini,iPad accessory,LA Startup,startups,startup newsDotan Saguy, the founder of Los Angeles startup Smarter Stand, has just written in to tell us that his unique device works for iPad Mini as well.

We reported about the Smarter Stand over the summer when it had surpassed 10x it’s funding goal on crowdfunding site Kickstarter. When all was said and done Smarter Stand received over 15x the original amount they had hoped for. The best  part, the Smarter Stand is one of the simplest little iPad accessories ever produced.

Essentially what Saguy has done, is created a clip that holds Apple’s optional smart covers in place at one of the creases. Without the Smarter Stand, the smart covers fold like an accordion of sorts. With the Smarter Stand in place, the material and hard material under the cover remains in place and the smart cover can be converted into a stand with many different angles.

When Saguy had heard about the release of the iPad Mini he couldn’t want to get his hands on one to see if the Smarter Stand would work on the smaller smart covers. He is happy to report that it does.

If you were lucky enough to get a Smarter Stand from the original Kickstarter campaign and have since bought an iPad Mini go ahead and try it out, it works great. If you just purchased an iPad Mini and a smart cover and want the Smarter Stand all you have to do is go to smarterstand.com

Linkage:

Get a Smarter Stand today at smarterstand.com

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Belkin First To Produce Lightning Accessories

Belkin,Apple,iPhone,iPhone 5,lightning,GriffinWhen Apple made the decision this year to switch from the 30 pin connector that they introduced in 2001 to the new lightning connector on their devices today, the world went into a panicked frenzy. Now, households were going to have a mix of 30 pin devices and lightning devices, until eventually every Apple device they owned had a lightning connector.

The lightning connector is slimmer, can go in on either side and is considerably faster at both data transfer and charging. Because the connector is smaller it’s less likely to cause the cord to break if it gets tangled. The lightning connector also does away with the locking clip which makes it easier to pull the cord away from the device.

Although Apple’s loyal customers with older generation iPods, iPads and iPhones mixed into their iLifestyle, are undoubtedly upset, it’s Apple’s accessory partners that have to be feeling the biggest pinch. Companies that were known for their data accessories like Griffin, Belkin and even Verbatim, were able to revive themselves by making accessories for Apple’s consumer electronics.

Fret not, all of the accessory companies will eventually get around to making accessories with the lightning connector. Belkin is actually the first one out of the gate. The popular accessory company has produced a car charger and a home dock which both have lightning connectors.

While many of the case manufacturers have already had an iPhone 5, iPad Mini or the new, the new iPad case ready to go, accessories for power and audio are the ones most affected.

Larry Fishback, an Apple customer we met at the Lenox Square Apple store this weekend told us “I’ve got a home audio dock on my desk at home and another at work, as well as an in dash system that all use the old connector.” Fishback is a loyal Apple user and was purchasing an iPad Mini this weekend. For now he says he’s going to use the 3.5mm cord adapters for his docks. He plans on upgrading his iPhone 4s to an iPhone 5 when more lightning accessories are available.

Corrine Watson, also from Atlanta, is hoping that the new lightning connector devices will be able to control the music function on her iPhone 5. “Once I plug my iPod into my car stereo I can control it with the car stereo controls, I hope we can still do that with the itty bitty connector”.

BGR reports that Apple is holding a workshop for it’s accessory partners on the lightning connector. There are also Asian knock offs already on the market.

Both Belkin accessories retail for the normal $29.99 Apple accessory price.

Linkage:

Source: BGR

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Android Prepared Me For The iPad 4th Generation

iPad,Apple,Tech,Android,MobileTuesday was a big day for Apple. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook took pride in announcing that it would be a big day for Apple when he took the stage at their standing room only press event in California Tuesday morning. A big day it was.

Apple announced a new 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina display and a bunch of great bells and whistles, two new iMacs, two new Mac Mini’s, a new full sized iPad and the new iPad mini.

Many people who went out and purchased a “The New iPad” this past spring felt a little stung by Phil Shiller’s announcement that they were unveiling a new “4th Generation iPad” while on stage Tuesday morning. From the way they choreographed the announcement it could have been the iPad mini that Shiller was touting just about until the very end. However it wasn’t.

Apple has decided to release a new 10″ version of the iPad alongside the new iPad mini. The 4th generation iPad will feature a A6x processor which is rumored to be twice as fast as the previous processor. Like it’s immediate predecessor “The New iPad” this new, new iPad will feature a retina display and it will also incorporate the new “lightning” connector which is becoming standard for Apple devices.

But why re-up the iPad just six months after “The New iPad” release? There were many factors involved in that decision and both journalists and analysts have been hypothesizing about it for the past 36 hours straight.

The reasons that make sense include:

Apple wanted to put the iPad and the iPad mini on the same schedule, just ahead of the holiday rush.

Apple wanted to put the A6x processor into a full sized iPad but it wasn’t ready in the spring.

Apple wanted to hurry up and get the “lightning” connector into the iPad but wanted to wait until it had hit the iPhone 5 first.

Apple wants to speed up it’s iteration/production cycle to thwart off competition.

It could have been anything but it’s Apple and as we’ve seen Apple does thing their own way.  Being an early adopter though, a speed up in the Apple cycle could prove to be costly not only to myself but to many early adopters.

Personally, the verdict on the iPad 4th generation isn’t in just yet for me. I’m not sure if it’s a significant enough upgrade to actually warrant the change from “The New iPad” to this iPad 4th generation other than the fact that it’s the latest model.  If you’ve read this piece here at nibletz.com then you know that I’ve been an Apple computer guy my entire life. I usually sit out a cycle when upgrading Macbooks and iMacs. Typically I take an iMac upgrade, and skip the next, the year I skip the iMac upgrade is the year that I do the Macbook upgrade.

The problem this time around is that it’s technically MacBook upgrade year but the iMac looks so great. Also, I upgraded my MacBook three months ago under Best Buy Black Tie protection. I had decided to get a MacBook Air because of our extremely tough travel schedule but the trackpad went out multiple times for multiple replacements and of course, after the second time the trackpad was rendered useless Best Buy gave me a credit. I then got the newest 2012 13″ MBP.

An upgrade on all fronts could prove to be a very costly endeavor.

I do know this though, after running a high profile Android website for three years and testing or using over 200 Android devices in that time, I was very well prepared for Apple canibalizing “The New iPad”

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Analysts: Apple Sold 18M iPads In Their Their Q4 2012

iPad,Apple,IPad Sales, Ipad sells 18mApple’s Fiscal Q4 ended on September 30th and analysts are anxiously awaiting their 4th quarter results. It was a good year for the Cupertino based company, breaking stock price records repeatedly in their last 12 months.

In the spring of 2012 Apple released their newest iteration of the iPad. It wasn’t called iPad 3 as expected, instead Apple went with calling it “The New iPad”. This put retailers and vendors in a frenzy as the iPhone 5 approached, with companies like Best Buy opting to use signage that said “The New iPhone”. Of course, 10 days before the release of the newest iPhone, Apple confirmed it would be the iPhone 5.

The New iPad, saw a significant upgrade in processor speed, display (retina) and additional wireless speed with the addition of 4G/LTE on multiple carriers. Throughout three cycles of the iPad, Apple has been able to maintain roughly the same price point, as they have with all their previous releases of iPads, iPods and iPhones.

Apple is also expected to announce a 7″ version of their world famous slate as early as a press event next week. Many internet sources are reporting that Apple has ramped up production and ordered 10 million of the as yet unannounced devices.

As for The New iPad (the 10″ version), Analysts are suggesting that Apple has sold around 18.38 million units. Fortune Magazine’s Phillip Elmer-DeWitt polled 61 wall street analysts and independent firms to come up with that figure. If that’s the case, Apple has sold a million more iPads than the previous quarter and 60% more than the same time last year.

While the 10″ “The New iPad” has been around for six months, there’s still no slowing down the tablet machine. With the new increased size in the iPhone 5 many people are curious to see how many 7″ iPads can be sold. The “iPad Mini” is expected to be the “must have” gift this holiday season.

Linkage:

Source (never thought we’d ever do this but) Thedroidguy

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Next Generation iPhone Strongly Rumored For September 21st Launch

Most everyone who has even a murmur of a pulse about technology knows that we are expecting the announcement of the next generation iPhone to come out of a press event Apple is holding on September 12th. We won’t even go with calling it the “iPhone 5” at this point in time because of the stunt Apple pulled with “the new iPad”. However, whatever you call it, it’s expected to be announced in a few short weeks.

We’re not even going to speculate as to what features this next generation iPhone will have. I am personally switching, provided it has 4G/LTE, without that though, I’m sticking with a 4S. If you want to keep track of the rumors and the track records of the rumor mongerers we highly suggest you check out Cincinnati startup Tracour here.

As for the relevance of the next iPhone here at nibletz, the voice of startups everywhere else, well the design for one is of great concern to any startup in the iPhone accessory space. The brains, speed, and guts of the next iPhone also weigh heavily on the conscious of the thousands of startups who rely on iPhone apps.  And of course, because we’re smart enough to know you’ll read this piece just because of the headline.

As for the source, every major tech site is reporting off a tip that originated at TechCrunch and has been confirmed by just about every site with a connection to a middle manager at Verizon Wireless. Apparently Verizon Wireless has a vacation freeze on the 21st of September. The barely under 10 day spread from announcement to release date, fits conspicuously well within Apple’s normal pattern and routine.

It’s also heavily rumored that Apple will release a 7″ iPad at the same event. For many this is great news. The 7″ form factor fits in your pocket very nicely but aside from that I think I’m going to stick with the 10″ version myself. As Cameron will tell you, I’m quite good with the 10″ iPad keyboard.

Well I get a 7″ iPad. Probably.

Are you getting the next gen iPhone? Are you getting a 7″ iPad? Tell us below in the comments section.

Source: TechCrunch via PCWorld

Los Angeles Startup: Smarter Stand Sees 10x Goal On Kickstarter

20120726-121851.jpg

Dotan Saguy, a Los Angeles entrepreneur figured out that if you add two little clips to either side of an iPad’s Smart Cover or Smart Case you can add several different viewing angles and positions to your iPad which make it more convenient and equally as sturdy.

The magnetic Smart Cover and Smart Case for the iPad currently offer two positions for resting your iPad. One of the positions makes the iPad sit up too straight andouille the other one lays it down too flat. As you an see from the graphic above, Saguy’s Smarter Stand clips allow for several more positions. Most of the positions could be achieved with an additional $40 stand.

Saguy was hoping to raise $10,000 with a Kickstarter campaign. With that money Saguy planned on doing a limited production run for those who were interested in the product. Saguy hit the $10,000 mark on the first day of his campaign and now has 7,120 people interested in the product.

“I can’t thank my Kickstarter supporters enough for their kind words, encouragement, and pledges to make this dream a reality,” says Saguy. “The outpouring of support simply justifies that sometimes the simplest ideas are the most useful, and having forums like Kickstarter is an incredible way to get the word out.”

The Smarter Stand clips can be mixed and matched with 10 different, iPad matching colors available. The clips live on the smart cover or smart case so you always have a stand one stand by.

The Smarter Stand clips will retail for $20 per pair or you can preorder them with a discount by pledging on KickStarter.

Linkage:
Check out the Smarter Stand Kickstarter Page Here

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Estonia Startup: Oddspotter Is A Cool Art Appreciation Game For iPad INTERVIEW

If you’re wondering where the heck Estonia is, no worries they have a thriving startup scene there. In fact when talking with Tanel Teemusk the founder of Estonia based startup Oddspotter, he tells us that Estonia may have the largest number of startups per capita of any European country.

You may be familiar with their biggest startup, it’s called Skype. Of course with Skype, like many other startups that have had huge exits or gone public, they have a venture arm too that’s churning out great startups. One of our favorite European startups Hail-o is also backed by Skype founders.

So what is OddSpotter, it’s an art appreciation game. It’s got great graphics and Teemusk isn’t afraid to call it “edutainment”. Of course we’re not talking about edutainment for kids it’s edutainment for adults, and if you’re not careful playing OddSpotter, you may actually learn something. We did.

We got a chance to interview Teemusk in depth and we’re not going to knock him if he does in fact come and stay in San Francisco for a few months. Oddspotter was raised in Estonia so it’s an international startup from everywhere else.

Check out our interview below:

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Madison Startup: SeatSwapr Facilitates That Airline Seat Swap For You

Last week, when we stopped in Madison Wisconsin as part of the Nibletz sneaker strapped, nationwide startup road trip we took office hours with 10 hungry entrepreneurs and startup founders. One of those founders was Thomas Mueller who is hoping to take something that happens on lots of airlines, streamline it and execute it through an app.

Seat swapping is nothing new. A lot of people get on an airplane and realize for some reason or another the seat that they picked or have been assigned isn’t going to work out. At that point, if the plane is full, the passenger is stuck.  Sometimes when this happens you’ll hear people trading seats or even selling their seats. In fact I’ve done this a number of times. I often select an exit row seat and then someone really tall comes along and wants the seat with the extra leg room. More often than not I’m offered between $20 and $60 to swap seats. (as long as they’re coming from an aisle seat I typically do it. I don’t do window seats, you get out of the plane quicker on the aisle).


Well Mueller is also very familiar with this practice. Every now and then you’ll see seat swap requests on major flights happen on Twitter. Typically the bi-coastal NY/SF or NY/LA flights have the most traffic on Twitter. Tweets will read “I’m on NY/LA Flight XXX and need an aisle seat $50”.

Interestingly enough the flight attendants don’t seem to care as long as you don’t delay them starting their safety instructions, and of course don’t interrupt the flow of other passengers getting to their seats.

Well Mueller realizes that websites like seatguru and seatexpert already know which seats are the best. Other sites like tripit know what flight your on and of course all the airlines offer viewable maps online of the inside of the plane so you can see where your seat is.

When you put all this information together and then tie it in with a mobile app you have the opportunity to create a seat swapping app.

Now it’s not as easy as it sounds and Mueller is ready to face the challenge. Of course with any mobile app the first thing a founder wants to do is build scale. Mueller has to build tremendous scale because for the app to work, two people need to be on the same flight.  In addition as Mueller told us “If a plane is half full there’s no market for us”.

That doesn’t seem to be a problem though because since 9/11 airlines have reduced their number of flights and have tried to fill every plane to capacity. The load factor right now is 83% full while some of the more popular flights like New York to San Francisco are 98% full. Those are the flights where people would really benefit from an app like SeatSwapr.

Mueller is hoping to partner with some of the other travel sites to implement his technology.

Linkage:

Check out SeatSwapr here at SeatSwapr.com

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Apple To Pay $60 Million Settlement To China’s Proview Technology

While the interwebs are running amuck right now with people chastising Apple and their injunction against Samsung, Apple has just just paid China’s Proview Technology $60 million in a patent suit they lost.

The suit wasn’t actually about technology, but rather the name iPad which Proview had registered in China back in 2001. Prior to the iPad launch Apple had negotiated a deal with Proview to acquire the rights to the name iPad in several other countries for a measly $50,000.

For one reason or another, Apple didn’t get the rights for the name iPad in mainland China and that’s what this particular lawsuit was about.


The Associated Press is reporting that Proview held onto the name in China and had actually sought close to $400 million in damages originally. It’s believed that Proview acted swiftly to get this lawsuit settled because they are having other financial difficulties that the $60 million dollar cash infusion may not even solve.

According to AP Apple has already transferred the $60 million dollars to the court in China for disbursement.

China is Apple’s second largest market. It’s also where the iPads are actually made. Apple had received approval from China to sell “The New iPad” back in May but hasn’t said anything about a launch date yet. Some analysts believe that Apple was awaiting settlement in this particular case to launch the “New” iPad in China, to prevent any snafu’s.

This isn’t Apple’s first problem with naming. Apparently Cisco had actually held the trademark to the word “iPhone” prior to the 2007 launch of the device that changed the world. Cisco used the name “iPhone” for a line of network connected phones that the company has since stopped producing.

The name iPhone was transferred to Apple prior to the release for an undisclosed sum.

Source: AP 

Madison Startup: My Fashion Assistant, Is Well, Your Fashion Assistant

Nibletz spent Tuesday and Wednesday holding office hours in Madison Wisconsin. The startup scene is thriving as a matter of fact, our good friend Brad at Trinker in Madison helped organize a healthy sized, last minute meet up at the beautiful Union Terrace at UW.

Wednesday we spent some time with the co-working startups at Murfie’s office in downtown Madison.

One of the startups we met with was MyFashionAssistant and co-founder Louie Penaflor. Penaflor has a lot of great stories to tell about his work life in Manhattan at magazine publishing powerhouse Conde Nast which was actually the inspiration for MyFashionAssistant.

At first glance Penaflor does not look like he would be one of the founders of a fashion app for iOS and Android that has over 50,000 users. But boy he knows his stuff. Not only that but like many of the people we met in Wisconsin he is very excited about the Madison startup scene.

As for MyFashionAssistant, it’s a three panel slider app that allows users to take pictures of their wardrobe and then mix, match and mash them up in three sections which are shoes, pants (skirts etc) and tops. Now the beauty of MyFashionAssistant is that since right now most of the content is user generated, a fashion conscious man could easily use the same app.

Penaflor told us that he came up with the idea on many of his subway rides in New York. He noticed that everyone in New York is so laser lined focused on what’s right in front of them. “No one really looks at each other, but they do look at their phones and iPads” Penaflor told us.

On more than one occasion he would see groups of friends breaking the no looking rule to hover over someone’s phone or iPad and flip through pictures.  It was that flipping through pictures that made a bell go off in Penaflor’s head and think about what if they could flip through their wardrobe.

Deciding what to wear is a major pain point for some folks. They spend hours thinking about what they’re going to wear. Colleagues of Penaflor’s at Conde Nast would bring up in conversation three days early what they might wear going out Saturday night.


Another major pain point is sometimes people forget exactly how this shirt or blouse matches that pair of pants, but not with MyFashionAssitant.

Users take pictures and catalog as much of their wardrobe as they want. Now when they’re at the mall or a new store they can easily see if something is going to look good on them. They can even open up the app while they’re flipping through magazines.

Right now MyFashionAssistant is supporting itself as it’s a paid app. Penaflor is weighing all of his funding options. He could use MyFashionAssistant’s treasure trove of data and market research as a revenue stream. He could partner with other companies, or even white label the technology for name brand stores.

Penaflor admits there are some apps that match fashion the way his does but he started MyFashionAssistant back when there were just 2000 apps in the Apple app store.  Also, most competitors are name brand manufacturers who of course only feature their clothes within the app.

MyFashionAssitant supports thousands of different brands across their user base.  Penaflor says he could see possibly doing advertising but not in the traditional way. Brands could pay to have their newest lines included in the app so that potential customers could try out the company’s new designs with the users current wardrobe.

Penaflor likes his app to a virtual fitting room. He said Steve Jobs validated the need for MyFashionAssistant by saying iPhone (smartphones) is a lifestyle device and of course fashion is all about lifestyle.

Linkage:

Check out MyFashionAssistant here at their webpage

Download for Android

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New York Startup: Padcaster Turns Your iPad Into A Production Studio

Padcaster,Lenscaster,NY startup,startup,iPad,iPad accessory,iPad DSLR,iPad video  While to most the iPad is a truly magical device, what makes the iPad even more magical is the amount of accessories available for it. The iPhone has equally as many (if not more currently) cool accessories as well.

You can turn your iPad into an arcade machine, amplifier, guitar teaching tool, midi throughput device, turntables and now an on the go video and photo production studio.

Josh Apter, founder and president of Union Square based Padcaster, created the Padcaster out of necessity.

The Padcaster is an invention born out of my own needs as a filmmaker. I was shooting interviews with an iPad 2 about a year ago and was frustrated that there was no way to mount it onto a tripod. That’s when I decided to build something myself,” said Josh Apter, founder and president, The Padcaster, LLC. “Now, just about a year later, we have the Padcaster. I’ve been testing the prototype and I have to say, I’m quite pleased with the results. Not only can I record high-quality footage right from the iPad, but I can also cut, add effects, and upload it to our Twitter, Facebook, Vimeo and blog feeds simultaneously – all from the same device, almost instantly.”


The Padcaster is house in an aluminum frame that allows itself to be mounted to after market lenses, microphones, and other accessories needed for great photographs and great videos. It also has a tripod mount on the bottom which means you can mount the secure Padcaster to any tripod, monopod or other device with a tripod mount.

Apter created an accessory called the Lenscaster that is sold separately from the Padcaster and allows the ability to hook the Padcaster up to cinema style lenses and other lenses that connect via a 35mm lens adapter (not included)

Both the Padcaster and the Lenscaster help move the iPad from consumer device to a more professional on the go photo and video studio.

Linkage:

Find out more about Padcaster here

Here’s a product tour of the Padcaster

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Pittsburgh Startup: NoWait Is Kicks Restaurant Wait Times Ass

I like casual dining and I like chain restaurants. As you guys know we travel all the time, especially during our sneaker strapped nationwide startup road trip. Casual dining and chain restaurants save us time, and aggregation because I know what’s on the menu and what to expect.

One of the problems though is wait times. They vary from state to state and city to city. The way wait times are handled also varies from state to state, city to city and restaurant to restaurant. You may wait until your name is called over a PA system. You may have to wait until the host or hostess screams your name out loud. Or you may have to wait until the beeper/vibrator goes off in your pocket.

Here’s a scenario for you. You arrive at a nice casual dining restaurant or a chain, that’s in a nice big outdoor mall type shopping center. The Apple store is just across the parking lot, and too far for the restaurant pager to work. You want to go to the Apple store but you arrive at the restaurant at 7:25 and the Apple store closes at 9, oh well you’ll have to wait until another day.

Now imagine if the restaurant could automagically text you when your table is ready. Now you can go just about anywhere within reason, and wait for your table. Imagine if you could text the restaurant back and tell them you really need 20 more minutes.

All of this has become a reality thanks to Pittsburgh startup NoWait.

NoWait uses a system fueled by iPads and other iOS devices that keeps the host/hostess, managers, servers and customers in-sync thanks to the cloud. The host/hostess app has a very familiar feel to it, reminiscent of the paper, or white board systems that many restaurants have employed until now. But thanks to the power of Apple, the cloud and no wait, there’s a lot of back end functionality that maximizes convenience and time for the customer. Of course time is our most precious commodity.

This is the idea behind NoWait, founded by Robb Meyer, Luke Panza, Richard Colvin and James Belt.

Really it was all a matter of time before someone somewhere developed a system like this and, it happened to be these four guys, and according to their testimonial video it’s working out great.  Their video includes feedback from managers of chains like the Spaghetti Warehouse and local favorites like Burgatory Bar in Pittsburgh.

Now of course we know that no startup is going to put bad testimonials into their video but the testimonials seemed authentic and there’s a lot of footage provided that shows active, busy restaurants utilizing the technology.

NoWait’s quick pitch is that they are the “Open Table” of casual dining. This seems like a good analogy but it may not necessarily do NoWait justice. Where OpenTable requires the adoption of the user themselves, NoWait brings to their technology to anyone who gets in line at the restaurant.

Now if you’re one of those people that doesn’t do texting, doesn’t have a text messaging plan or god forbid you don’t have a phone (chances are you aren’t reading this website), you can still have your name called and wait around the host stand. There won’t be a huge crowd waiting, everyone else will be out enjoying their evening until they get their text message.

One of our favorite sites, DailyDealMedia doesn’t quite understand how NoWait reduces wait time, so let’s explain it real quick.

Now using NoWait instead of pen and paper, you eliminate the messy writing that can mean you call Dan 100 times over the loudspeaker instead of Don. Dan and Don look a lot alike but tables are lost in this confusion. Now your hostess is explaining to Don why he lost his table, he’s upset, and the host staff is dealing with a situation, not calling tables.

Open tables (no pun intended) are stacking up in the back and now that there are 6 open tables in the restaurant it will actually take longer doing it the old fashion way because you can’t just walk a single file line through a restaurant and drop people off.

That’s just one example of how this decreases wait time.

Another way that it saves wait time is the ability to text back. Say I just got in a heated discussion at the Apple store and I tell the Spaghetti Warehouse I need 20 more minutes. They can now call the next person and bump me down.

Yes, NoWait is a great name for this innovative startup. I just hope they build scale quickly because waiting sucks.

Linkage

Find out more about NoWait here.

Check out DailyDealMedia’s article here 

Here’s NoWait’s video here

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