It’s easy to get lonely – but developer Roikmyers think it’s latest app can help those who crave some company. Haloo is the application in question, and allows people to live chat – labelling itself as a ‘social dating app.’
Yutaka Akune, CEO & Executive Producer at Roikmyers, spoke to us about how the app works and what plans are in place to make sure Haloo’s userbase continues to expand.
How Haloo works may surprise some though – as it actually has four ways in which you can meet and talk to people.
“Haloo works as a radar that allows you to meet up with new people you don’t know,” says Akune. “It helps meet ups happen in four ways – Locator, Encounter, Radar, and Funnel.”
Locator is the easiest way to use the app, showing you people in order of their proximity to you. Second is Encounter, which gets you to choose ‘Like’ or ‘Nope (dislike)’ in answer to a sequence of simple questions – which then allows the app to learn which kind of people you like.
Third is Radar, which – when activated – will automatically discover people nearby and collect them into a list which you can look at later. It’s the fourth option, called Funnel, that Akune believes sets Haloo apart from similar apps though.
“Funnel makes it possible to chat in a group in real time with other people in the same Funnel and area,” he explains, “whereas traditional dating services just allow you to find other people by recommendation based matching systems or using various search queries.”
Using a social dating app could still be an intimidating one for new users despite this of course, but Akune believes Haloo has been developed with ease of use in mind.
“Tips windows appear explaining how to use functions if you’re faced with a new screen, and help you to explore the Haloo world,” he explains. “You can sign up into the app using Facebook Connect if you have the relevant account as well, but even regular registration only requires 2 steps to be completed.”
Signing up and tutorials aren’t the only way the app has been designed around the user’s preferences either, with relevant updates of people entering your area (or Funnel) available via iOS Notifications if you wish.
Work on increasing the number of Haloo users are in place too, so that you should never be short of people to talk to.
“Haloo is employing a Funnel Ripple option as well as the added notification option of being aware of new registrants being nearby,” Akune says. “The former will work as an amplifier for enlarging the Funnel mode’s radius size, and it’ll happen when specific number of people in the same Funnel. People from other funnels will also be made aware of it, bringing more users closer together. The latter is quite simple and self explanatory though!”
Akune reveals updates to improve Haloo as an app are planned as well.
“We are working on UX improvements to make the app feel easier and smoother to use,” he says. “We then have a plan to unleash the ‘Haloo Funnel API’ in time too, which will make it possible to access to the Funnels and its chatting from websites and other apps.”
Haloo is available as a Universal app for iPhone and iPad, and is free to download.
There are also plans to provide Haloo on a Webkit-based browser with this helping it to be brought to Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry handsets.
