Startup Watch:
Calendars and Publishing
By
Mitali Bellamkonda
Today we’re talking about two startups called Magneto and Prss.
The first one, Magneto, is a calendar app that aims to sync with the calendars that you regularly use. So what makes this one different from all the other calendar apps out there? Well, the name for one. I keep thinking that it’s going to have the personality of X-Men’s Magneto, except in calendar format.
But, really, what’s different about this one is that it gives you travel times based on where you’re going and where you’re coming from. Those travel times also change based on what happens on the road. I haven’t heard of another app that does that so far.
It also schedules personal time into your work calendar without showing any details about what you’re doing. So you don’t have to schedule the personal time directly onto your work calendar. Instead, you can use Magneto, have the details and have a block appear on your work calendar.
Sounds good right?
These are two main differences between it and all the other calendar apps out there. I’m currently trying out the beta version. They don’t have an app yet for Android or Windows, sadly, so I’m stuck with the browser version.
What I like about it is that the interface is clean, the font is nice and although I don’t like the blue space on the right, it looks pretty good. Intuitively, the calendar seems pretty easy to use so far. I only got the beta invite today, so there isn’t much I can say about it unfortunately, but I have high hopes. I really hope they get an Android app out soon, because I’m taking my Android tablet with me everywhere. iPhone users rejoice, they have an iPhone app for you.
For more information or if you want to sign up for the beta, go here.
The next startup is called Prss. I don’t know how it’s pronounced, as there are no vowels, but I’m assuming it’s the equivalent of Press. Anyway, it’s supposed to be a digital publication application that’s web-based. It sounds great because it comes with your own app that you can put your own brand on. You can also have as many publications as you like and the analytics are built in, so you don’t have to use a separate tool to get them. Right now, it seems to be for iPad only, but it’s free.
My quibble about it is that there’s absolutely nothing on the website that tells you what stage of development it’s in. My guess is that it’s in the conceptual stage right now, but from what the website says, it seems like a good app to keep an eye on.
