Today Yellix, a self-funded mobile startup from Vienna hits the crowded mobile app market. Yellix offers an interesting way of connecting your Facebook friends with your mobile device. By installing the free Facebook application onto your cell phone your Facebook friends are being matched with your cell contacts – in real time. There are a number of apps out there that do this, but few pull real-time info from Facebook.
It’s not entirely clear how this is done technically but the app runs on Android, RIM BlackBerry, Symbian or Windows Mobile platforms. When you get a call the app syncs with the Facebook app and immediately lets you see who is calling, their Facebook profile picture and the last status update of that person.
You need to link your Facebook account with Yellix by giving permission to for the app to access your Facebook profile. All information is kept private and telephone-numbers are not published on Facebook, luckily. The app lets you know who your “real friends” are by displaying the “top 5 callers” on your Facebook page. The latter one might be a killer feature for spreading virally throughout Facebook. For Austrian based users the service (currently) offers another great feature.
Facebook is heading towards becoming the one-stop-shop for social networking and, since yesterday with the purchase of FriendFeed, your real-time internet experience. Most of us are on Facebook and so are the majority of our (real life) friends. Yellix enables users a slick way of matching your Facebook friends with your mobile contacts. This almost makes established syncing services obsolete. If you have your friends on Facebook, they are also going to be on your cell. Claudia Poepperl, founder and CEO of adaffix, the company behind Yellix calls it the “next generation caller ID system”.
The app does not only sync with Facebook, but also with the Austrian yellow and white pages. Technically this means that there won’t be a lot of excuses left for not picking up phone calls because you didn’t know that number. Any number or company that’s registered in Austria’s yellow or white pages directory will be displayed on your cell – supposedly without any downsides, such as pressing certain button combinations or flipping back and forth from the app to your phone book.
One major downside howver is that this first iteration won’t appear running on the iPhone. However, this is due to the fact that you can’t run apps on iPhones in the background. However, it’s likely that this is going to possible with one of the upcoming SDKs.
Any idea of the revenue model?
id like to know also
Hwever, However, However.
Where’s your spellchecker buddy?
Who cares, get over it
Nice, I like it.
Now, only if I could call someone and then my Facebook status would let all of my friends know who I was calling.
Ok. Maybe not.
So it pulls this information OTA as the call comes in? Or does it cache ALL friends all the time?
Because if it’s the former, it’d better be quicker than the Blackberry facebook app (on edge), or the call will go to voicemail by the time it’s updated.
9. Do I need a 3G network?
For Caller ID you need a 3G network. Missed call notification works with 2G and 3G networks.
13. What’s special about YELLIX on BlackBerry?
BlackBerry does not fully support YELLIX Caller ID. This is due to the fact that BlackBerry does not support pop-ups while the phone is ringing and also due to the fact that most BlackBerrys (expept [sic] for e.g. Bold) do not support 3G. Despite these limitations you can still use YELLIX: When you receive a call let the phone ring approx. 3 times. After pressing the answer button take a quick look at the screen and you will see information about the caller.
I predict another digg story where someone gets fired for calling in “sick.” Yellix, make it so.
They do not support the iPhone, and the reason given:
“Unfortunately Apple does not support our advanced technology.”
And this is how it is. Apple does not allow apps to run in the background (of course except for their own).
Whats the revenue model like ?
There’s a local directory partnership distribution model tied to some related features of Yellix. In other words, Yellix will help distribute listings from existing (yellow pages) publishers through some alternative features on the app.
Thanks for your article.
Tried in on my G1 and it works well…
The only troublesome thing is the manual adding of names to the facebook app…
Hi, I am Bernhard, helping Adaffix with Social Media. @milander facebook does not give yellix any access to telephone numbers. that´s why the workaround of typing manually is needed …
@mike there is no revenue stream behind the facebook app. monetarization starts with cooperations with local white and yellow pages directory services. Case is what YELLIX is already doing in Austria since a couple of month.
Thanks Bernhard, I guessed revenues would be from white / yellow pages – best of luck to you
The reverse would be much cooler. Update my FB status with “last uttered sentence”. Real time life stream. Think of the monetization options. OMG OMG
Last uttered sentence??
So that would “Goodbye!” them!?!?
Why don’t they support the T-Mobile G1?!
Just an FYI, this type of social functionality is built into the new HTC Hero. I’m planning on flashing my HTC Magic with the Hero ROM to get it.
Sadly the way I am using Google Voice with T-Mobile myfavs this app will think all calls are coming from my Google Voice number and not really my friends.
OK, this will work only if facebook users keep their phone numbers PUBLIC in their profiles. May be they do, do they?
I feel like with every passing day I find yet another reason to ditch the iPhone for Android.
nice idea, but way too much manual effort.
I already have most of my contacts in my phone book so why do I need to re-enter them in Yellix?
Do I really need an app running in the background (nice and unobtrusive though) sucking battery to maybe do a lookup and tell me someones facebook status (if they’re really a friend I probably know they’ve just eaten a donut)
Works really well on my Windows Mobile phone… just trying to work out why I need it
The Blackberry Facebook App has been doing this for a long time already…
Yawn…
The Inq1 “facebook-phone” Mobile phone has been doing that for months! And with the INQ Chat 3G and INQ mini will Have twitter built in so it will probably add that to.
The phonebook on the INQ adds you Facebook, Skype, Windows live messenger and phone contacts all under the one profile, but it does tend to need you to merge them all yourself when you add more. Every time you sign on to Facebook or any of the others it checks you contact lists and adds people to you phonebook with a prompt.
Sure it’s just 1 phone, but it’s hardly a “new” feature that this company is touting. It already exists, but it’s nice to see it will suposidly be available on all phones with facebook aps.
Nice! Finally something so cutting edge, that Apple’s iPhone can’t keep up! Great stuff!
Wow – spamming a comments section AGAIN… I bet this is doing wonders for your business – what a stroke of pure marketing genius.