John Sherry sent me a Yahoo News article about BEDD, a Bluetooth mobile phone application launched recently in Singapore that allows users to discover things about and interact with the other BEDD-enabled phone users in their immediate vicinity. The application brings together a number of proximity-based features that have been explored in separate applications (e.g., mobile dating, alerts and messaging) plus some new features (e.g., mobile proximity-based advertising). The article reports 1000 users in the first month, which is far short of what I would expect to be the critical mass to make this successful, but the application sounds promising.
According to an article at Hardware Zone
For the end-users, BEDD costs only S$0.98 per month and offers a full menu of BEDD-functions: BEDDmates - searches automatically for friendship or dating; BEDDbay - searches automatically for items to buy, sell and trade; BEDDtalk - allows users to send free SMS with Bluetooth range either person to person or broadcast to a group simultaneously; BEDDbuddies - alerts users when their buddies or family are close by; BEDDshare - superdistribution of the software where users can share with each other; and BEDDfish - allows users to send Bluetooth messages to any Bluetooth enabled phone.
I think for the long term, you're right about the critical mass, but if BEDD have targetted a particular age group (late teens, for example) in one of the most dense cities in the world, it might just not need more than a few hundred - particularly if it costs so little for 30 days. BEDD's problems are likely to begin when the mobile telcos start offering these services as a matter of course.
Posted by: Tim | June 30, 2004 at 01:58 AM
No dial up charges ..... Its free.
After down load to hp via pc or from another hp. Open application.
to Register , an sms will be sent from hp asking for name and email.
All it cost you is a normal sms .
Bedd share free (Blue tooth)
Bedd talk free (Blue tooth)
Bedd cast free (Blue tooth)
BeddBay to advertise (free)
Contact another user via sms ( as per tel Co)
Contact another user via call ( as per tel Co)
No hidden cost at all.
Please sent questions to daniel@bedd.com
Posted by: Pathfinder | June 29, 2005 at 09:51 AM