Friday 29 January 2010

Ten reasons why you would send a Hullo and not text

Goodbye text, Hello Hullo!  
We believe this clever feature of our visual voicemail app, currently available for iPhone and BlackBerry, is going to start a communication revolution, and with these reasons - why wouldn't it?


Ten reasons why?
1. It's free
2. You don't have to worry about your spellings, unlike with text
3. Recipients aren't going to misinterpret the tone of your message as they can hear your voice
4. It's quicker to compose and send than a text
5. You know it is definitely from the person who sent it
6. Sometimes it's nice to hear someone's voice
7. You don't have to find your glasses to read a screen
8. No more text speak to translate so you can communicate across the generations!
9. You don't have to know the persons mobile number to send a Hullo - email is enough
10. Live in the UK but have friends in the US? - you can send Hullos for free across the Atlantic if you both HulloMail


What is a Hullo?
A Hullo is a short voice message which you can send to your friends and your family for free*.  It's like a voicemail message but without the original call.
A Hullo can be sent to one person or a group of people*.  You can use it to simply say Hullo or update a community of individuals with a message.  


That sounds cool, how do I get this?
The HulloMail app with the Hullo feature is available for the BlackBerry and the iPhone, you can access  the respective stores using the links below.  HulloMail is also available as an app for Android however the current version does not support Hullos, this is coming soon.


My friends aren't HulloMail users, can I still send them Hullos?
No problem, you don't need to be a HulloMail subscriber to receive Hullos the only difference would be where the Hullo is delivered and the ability to reply. Of course the best experience is when they are users as well as the Hullos are delivered straight to their phone.


How do I pronouce HulloMail?
With a Scottish accent say hulooo Mail…


Get the BlackBerry app
Get the iPhone app
visit our website


Your mobile operator may charge for sending a Hullo if you exceed your monthly data allowance or you are roaming.
* Group distribution of Hullos is currently only available on the iPhone

Wednesday 20 January 2010

see what our users are saying

This is a great blog post from a user (Kristian Toms) of the HulloMail service, thanks Kristian


Vodafone, iPhone and Visual voice mail

Recently I have spent some time looking at the iPhone forums on the Vodafone supportboards.  There appears to be a lot of negative feedback concerning Vodafone and customer service.  To be honest I have not had any complaints of using my Vodafone iPhone for the past 2 years.  Yes that’s right I have used a Vodafone iphone for the past 2 years.  I have achieved this by purchasing the phone in Italy as a Pay As You Go and then inserting my corporate SIM once I arrived back in the UK.  So there is  no UltraSNOW or other software on my phone every time I connect to iTunes it confirms that my phone is networked unlocked.
Enough about my unlocked iPhone, the purpose of this blog is to tell you about a third party service I started using over a year ago.  The service is called Hullomail and it has been invaluable.  It is a free of charge mobile service which enables recordings of voice mails to be emailed to my gmail or mobileme account.  Alongside this it used my contacts in gmail to identify who left the message in the message header so that I know who called.  The email integration has meant that I’m able to monitor calls coming in while working in the Library with my phone on silent and calls diverted I can monitor incoming calls and step outside to return calls or continue to get that important report completed.
Hullomail have improved the service of late by releasing an iPhone application.  All missed calls and voice mails are notified by push and I have a great interface to the service which to be honest is better than the visual voice mail software in the phone that Vodafone or Orange are yet to enable.  One of the best features is the ability to send a Hullo (voice mail) directly back to a person without having to phone them (Great just to reply to a question that needs more explaining than a txt).  If you are a new owner of a shinny iPhone on Vodafone or Orange or Tesco Mobile and want visual voice mail download the app and register for the service.



Monday 18 January 2010

Have we lost the art of inference?

This past weekend I came across a newspaper article that struck a cord.  The article was based on the ever popular phenomenon that is Twitter and that, here in the UK the habit of micro-blogging is making us wittier as a nation.  Are we becoming wittier or just better at expressing ourselves in 140 characters?

The art of communication has changed radically over the years and there is an abundance of articles out there talking about the effect of social networking, blogging, texting etc however it seems to me that this obsession with 'text based communication' is having the exact opposite effect on people than was intended.

We are becoming increasingly reliant on this one dimensional form of conversing which I find difficult to describe as communication.  Communication is about more than what we actually read, as humans we communicate on many levels and make assumptions about tone of voice, intonation, even accent.
This phenomenon of conversing via text, whether using a text message or micro-blogging, is creating a generation of children that have difficulty understanding these subtle changes in tone and intonation, therefore requiring everything to be quite literal rather than being able to naturally infer a meaning from speech, to go beyond what is actually stated.

Instead of the sponteniety of conversation, where by we as humans are picking up not only on what is being said but all the signals that are expressed using tone, intonation, body language etc we are now only viewing communication in a single dimension which is not the innovation we originally perceived.

Here at HulloMail we understand the need for quick communication and respect the place that text messaging, micro-blogging and social networking have within the hearts of users however we believe it is limiting without the use of voice.
The Hullo feature, currently available on the iPhone and BlackBerry, has been designed so that users can   use the speed of a delivery of a text but with the ease of recording your message.  In addition to the speed you also have the benefit of being able to hear the tone of someone's voice and infer additional meaning to that...  I'm sure we have all had a text, an email or a tweet that even though we have read and understood we have inferred a tone that wasn't there,  send a Hullo next time!

Download the app for your iPhone

Download the app for your BlackBerry

See Hullos in action


Wednesday 13 January 2010

HulloMail’s iPhone app adds ‘free’ audio messaging to its visual voicemail service

We believe that one of the features of our new iPhone application, which we are also bringing to our BlackBerry and Android apps in the coming weeks, is where the interesting story begins.

This is the Hullo feature.  This allows users to create and send voicemails for free but without the initial call.  These Hullos can be sent to an individual or to groups.  
There are many benefits to this type of communication such as:-
- Quick communication without the need to text 
- Users can hear the tone of someones voice which is missed in text communication which often leads to mis-intrepretation
- You don't need to worry about your spelling!
- Free of charge as uses data
- International - a user in the UK can send a Hullo to someone in the US free of charge
- Broadcast to a community of people. We are beginning trials with local business and universities, watch this space for the first case studies.
- Hullos are a safer option to receive while on the move as you can't read a text while driving
and the list goes on.....
As you can see we believe the service we offer is much more than a Visual Voicemail iPhone app and think the news is in the development of this feature which will allow users to communicate in a new way for free.  The guys at Tech Crunch obviously agree, check out their latest article.
We have filmed some videos of the application in action, click here
If you have an iPhone why not try the app for yourself, click here
We are looking for you special, funniest Hullos.  The best ones we will publish on our own website (www.hullomail.com) as an example to others, make them good...
Send your Hullos to +447545620266 or to hulloandy@hullomail.com




Thursday 7 January 2010

VOICE-EMAIL INNOVATOR HULLOMAIL™ LAUNCHES ITS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED IPHONE APP AND DEBUTS ITS POWERFUL NEW SMART VOICE MESSAGING TECHNOLOGY Free Alternative Advanced Visual Voicemail Service for the iPhone

The new app from visual voicemail innovator HulloMail™ (www.hullomail.com) optimised for the iPhone makes it long-awaited debut for mobile consumers in the U.K. and U.S. markets – and the new technology, on all counts, was worth the wait.  From the company that revolutionised traditional voicemail by introducing free, easy-to-use voice-emails comes a groundbreaking new app designed for the ultimate SmartPhone.  
HulloMail’s new iPhone app rockets the company’s visual voicemail technology to an entirely new level with the introduction of the send a Hullo feature – a powerful new, free two-way messaging capability that enables users to send quick voice messages, known as 'Hullos', to friends, family and co-workers domestically or overseas without them ever having to place a live call or incur a long-distance charge. 

With Hullos, HulloMail subscribers can converse using voice messages and even reply to their voicemails.   Most importantly, Hullos save time and money – users can enjoy a free back and forth verbal 'conversation', even overseas. For example, friends in the U.K. and U.S. can 'converse' for hours, if desired, without incurring a single call charge. HulloMail believes the simplicity and zero cost of this new form of digital audio messaging is destined to permanently change voice communication.

HulloMail subscribers will be able to quickly play a received Hullo message as it will immediately pop up in their mobile app, essentially enjoying a device to device service. Anyone, including non-subscribers, can experience the personal touch of receiving a Hullo if the sender simply knows the recipient’s email address. 
Hullos are not the same as Push-To-Talk (PTT), which is a more intrusive, walkie-talkie style medium.  Hullos are designed to be a non-intrusive form of personalised voice messaging, offering a hybrid solution bridging traditional voicemail, live calls and email, meeting the specific needs of today's active mobile users. 

In addition to this exciting new voice messaging technology, the app also provides iPhone users with a menu of advanced voice communication tools. These include a centralised view, enabling simplified management of voicemails, missed calls notifications and voice message synchronisation with email compliant accounts, including MobileMe and Gmail, unrivalled in the industry.

“The iPhone is the ultimate smart phone communications device,” said Andy Munarriz, founder and CEO of HulloMail, “and HulloMail is the most advanced voice messaging complement to that technology on the market today.  With the incorporation of Hullos, our iPhone app takes visual voicemail to an entirely new level, delivering a powerful new twist on the voice messaging experience that will change the way users think of and utilize voice communication.  First, there was traditional voicemail, then texting, then tweeting … now, there are Hullos, which we believe will become a new industry standard technology.  We want to spread the word … send someone a Hullo today!” 

The rollout of the new HulloMail iPhone app will be particularly well received in the U.K. where the majority of carriers do not currently offer visual voicemail functionality.  For these users HulloMail’s service provides an immediate solution.  The app can be downloaded for free at http://itunes.apple.com.

Watch the videos:
See the pictures: