Microsoft today has introduced a new app for iOS and Android that makes it considerably easier for friends and family to make plans while on the go. Dubbed Tossup, the app was developed by the Microsoft Garage, which means it implores new ideas and thinking that the company hopes will catch on to the masses.
Tossup helps groups decide on plans by giving them suggestions and allowing each member of the group to vote and suggest other options. It offers the ability to make decisions regarding timing, availability, what to do, nearby venues, and spending limits. The app uses Bing to pull in restaurant information such as opening hours, reviews, addresses, and more.
Tossup also supports voting on topics such as which pair of shoes buy or which team will win the upcoming game. The app is developed by a group within the Outlook team in Silicon Valley and has been tested extensively by users at the University of Washington and Santa Clara University.
Regarding Tossup, developer team member Jennifer Shen had the following to say:
“Tossup removes the friction around planning. It’s really about connecting with people, removing barriers that cause plans to fall through. Our aim is for you to spend more time hanging out with friends rather than coordinating schedules.”
Tossup is available now on the App Store. Check out a video below demoing the app:
https://youtu.be/BOU5w1LUAWE
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Reblogged this on Just Another Tech Blog and commented:
I really like what Microsoft is doing right now. From the outside they appear to be more motivated, positive, and aggressive than I have seen them in years.
Nice post. +1 – Reblogged
Only for US… I don’t get this country limits on apps!
I’m really surprised how Microsoft keeps throwing apps after apps out, when Apple hasn’t introduced a single app since what? Thats why I think Microsoft is a great software company, but should stay away from hardware.
iOS 9 comes with the new News app from Apple, of note.
Dang. During my freshman year of college I worked for a friend’s startup that was trying to make an app extremely similar to this. It was called GetWithIt!. We had 50-75k in funding and 16 employees but we went under because of the quality of outsourced coders, cost, and a poor university launch. It’s something to see Microsoft launch something that is the perfect version of the app idea that our entire company struggled over. Many longs nights of bug fixing.
Hey Ameen, I’m interested in knowing what you think of the market after your experience with GetWithIt. Do you think if you had executed well, there would have been a big enough market for it?
I sure hope it’s a big enough market! I’ve been working on a group polling app for the last year (http://voteupapp.com) since no one else seemed to have quite the same vision for how polling should work. Tossup is the closest I’ve seen to what I wanted to build in the first place, and it looks to me like they’ve done a great job — I just hope there’s still room for other ways of doing it!
Hey Chris, I’m curious as to why you decided to go app first. Would it not attract a larger audience if it could be used without first having to download an app?
Not currently available in the UK store. Why not?
Not available outside the US? Not available anywhere on windows phone? I have actually created a single page app with emberjs that does pretty much the same thing. Would appreciate any feedback on it:
http://klavado.com
Would like to hear from people in the US who can try out the Microsoft app. Is it any good – or maybe tossup is just a joke from some people at Microsoft who just don’t give a toss!