Squace – iPhone Apps, QR Codes, Coupons and more..

Squace, is a Swedish based company that has recently released and iPhone version of their mobile application, in which they are aiming for a “true mobile interface. This compliments the other versions they have for Symbian, Java, Windows Mobile and Android giving them a solution for a wide range of handsets.

The Background

Sqauce describes itself as “a cloudbased real-time solution for distribution, organising and bookmark sharing.” Their concept, if you haven’t used it before is for a grid based, square driven interface that dynamically shows not only the bookmarks but allows the end user to quickly consume internet content on the move; whilst also easily sharing favourite mobile Internet content with friends. The application also acts as interface for your Squace contacts and messages. Knowing that the needs of a mobile device browser are different traditionally than that of a desktop or laptop device the app has been designed to reformat web sites on the go, the Sqauce servers doing the heavy work for you, which they then parse to the app.

Although you can save and organise bookmarks directly inside Sqauce you can also create bookmarks via your PC/Mac web browser. Once you have created an account either on your mobile device or via your web browser you can very quickly add a web site to your Squace bookmarks. You have the option to add it to a group as well as giving that bookmark tags.

You can display your bookmarks, content or messages in three different ways. Grid, list or icon view whilst you can also sort by most used, latest added or even unread and unsorted. As I mentioned above you can also share websites with others or even groups of your contacts. Say for example you set up a group in your contacts for team, you could send the whole team a story or article you have read on the train! You can also upload your contact book to Sqauce meaning if you have different devices all your contacts are available through the Sqauce app without doing manual syncs on each device.

The iPhone App.

I first heard and reviewed Sqauce three years ago when I was writing for GoMo more regularly and tested their app on a Nokia Device. At the time there was a lot of talk about redefining the mobile interface and Sqauce offered a unique solution and were in infancy. If I remember correctly although I thought what they offered was interesting, and I still do, I was somewhat critical of the interface which for me wasn’t as easy to use as it could be. But the founder Aage Reerslev didn’t take my criticism personally and offered to meet me in London when he was next over and discuss Squace’s philosophy. It was a very interesting discussion and led me to keenly follow Squace’s development since then. When I knew Squace had a beta version of their app for the iPhone a couple of months ago I was keen to see what was new and how it had developed.

One of the things about the iPhone, in my opinion, is how it has changed the web browsing experience for mobile devices and through iTunes it has the ability to sync Safari Bookmarks from your desktop to your iPhone. This makes it a little harder for Squace to offer an alternative, at least for the iPhone.

But after saying that their app has developed considerably over the last couple of years and adds a whole different way to consume the internet on the go.

The different view options now make it much easier than in the original version of the app in my personal opinion to look at your bookmarks, contacts or messages, although I still wish it was more icon led in the message section. I really still think this can be improved but there are now so many other ways to display content that it almost circumvents my criticism.

For example, you can set up smart bundles which could display Latest Added or Unread making it a much easier way to navigate around and display information. This makes the app very feel much more accomplished and offers a degree of user personalisation. This makes Squace a unique way of bookmarking, consuming and sharing the internet on the go and although it still needs more refining, for example with the speed of sync and speed of displaying web pages it’s positives outweigh any negatives in my humble opinion.

QR Codes and Coupons.

 Sqauce has also branched out in other areas, some of which integrate with the app like Rebtel, the low cost international phone call service. You can use Rebtel directly from the Squace app on your mobile saving you money on long distance phone calls.

For companies wishing to build a mobile site quickly and easily Sqauce has teamed up with Winksite, allowing any one to have a mobile offering without requiring programming skills. This also offers further options from the business perspective which can include mobile surveys and generating revenue from page views as you can also display your favourite ad network in conjunction with your site.

But without doubt two of the most interesting developments that will appeal to you GoMo readers I expect will be that of QR Codes and Coupons.

Sqauce offers an easy way to use QR codes for your business or campaign and offers a solution regardless of the mobile device or platform which also leverages its skills and tools in sharing and accessing content on the go.

Squace has also teamed up with Percent Mobile and can offer through Percent Mobile’s analytic tools enhanced analytics for any web actions you manage just like you would use Google Analytics for web sites. Squace’s ability to offer very simple solutions to those wanting to use QR codes must make an attractive proposition I would have thought.

But QR codes are not the only services Squace have moved into. Speaking to Aage recently he was excited about the offering and services Squace is bringing to the mobile coupon market. The company has been running a number of trials and campaigns in Sweden through retailers and have now launched a site called Kupongfabriken.se which Aage describes as the coupon factory, to “show off the need to create and distribute Non Opt in local offers.”

The site, is only for Sweden at the moment but Sqauce are reporting very positive and considerable level of interest from the mobile industry.

As retailers, marketers and businesses embrace QR codes and mobile coupons for mobile devices they will be looking for one stop shops to offer the technology solution, Squace, with their seemingly unique solution positioning want to be one of those at the forefront of this emerging market.