PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Caret has released version 2.0 of its smartphone app that makes full use of a phone’s sensors and geolocation capabilities, along with automated bots, to enable users to know availability and location of their contacts to help avoid missed calls and delayed answers to texts.
The new version, now available for Android and iOS smartphones, adds a new level of convenience and efficiency that includes status-based messaging, scheduling texts, meetings or calls when their fellow Caret contact becomes available. In addition, Caret text messages are end-to-end encrypted providing higher levels of security. With the power of Caret’s sensor-based app, it’s possible to find friends location and status automatically.
“We’re adding a level of intelligence to smartphones that truly exploits all the capabilities of the built-in sensors,” said Jozsef Patvarczki, co-founder and CTO of Wallrust Inc., the company that makes Caret. “The Caret app increases productivity and reduces stress by helping to eliminate phone tag, the annoyance and potential danger of texts when driving, as well as facilitating in-person meetings.”
The Caret app automates status updates by taking advantage of sensors on the smartphone, so that contacts know real-time status – available, on a call, in a meeting, travelling, do not disturb, or even when their contact’s phone is running low on battery. It does not depend on the user manually setting their status, which can change frequently and is often outdated in other apps. Caret adds a level of situational intelligence to smartphones and can automatically deduce the context of actions so, for example, when traveling at a certain speed, the user status changes to ‘In Vehicle’.
Also, Caret now integrates with other apps, which makes it possible to collaborate, for example, when playing a game. Now, users can see the status ‘Playing PuzzleWinds’ so that friends can join the game. Players can be current friends or fellow players from anywhere in the world, or some combination.
Caret’s status settings are set by the user providing full control over privacy so that only designated people in the user’s address book see the specific status or, if desired, anyone can see status. There are four pre-set levels, VIP, trusted, default and blocked which can be customized to control access to details that others see.
Caret is the first automated status sharing app that harnesses smart devices’ built-in sensors and offers end-to-end encrypted status-based messaging. With Caret, users can tie message deliveries to status changes to avoid receiving messages while driving, sleeping, or on a meeting. Currently, there are over 100,000 Caret users around the world who are generating millions of status updates weekly and making their address books come alive.
Putting Caret to Use
Following are some practical ways that Caret can be used to increase productivity and efficiency.
- Check contact availability to talk, text or meet in person.
- Check contact location for in-person meeting, or time zone for someone travelling.
- Use status based messaging and schedule a text delivery based on a status change.
- Send contact request to ‘Meet Now’.
- If not immediately available, sent contact request to ‘Call Back’ or schedule text to be sent when contact becomes available, such as when not in a vehicle or out of a meeting.
- See contacts who are nearby (can set customizable distances), especially handy when attending events like a concert or conference.
- Add to the address book, devices like the thermostat, lights, garage opener and control status, for example, adjusting temperature, turning on lights, opening the garage at set distances from the home location. Caret integration via a public interface makes possible these Internet of Things (IoT) implementations.
Pricing and availability
Caret is available as a free download for Android on Google Play and iOS on iTunes App Store, as well as Kindle Fire on the Amazon App Store. Currently, languages available are English (U.S.), Arabic, French, German, Hungarian and Spanish. The app also supports free voice-over-Internet (VoIP) calls among Caret users.
To give new users experience with the app, Caret has set up a handful of bot users that act like real Caret contacts. By adding Chelsea (+18726374220) or Robert (+15676233530) to their address book, users can instantly see a day of a busy bot’s life: meeting, driving, sleeping, gaming, while constantly updating their location on the map.
About Caret
Caret (https://caret.co) adds a level of intelligence to smartphones by taking advantage of sensors on the smartphone, so that contacts know real-time status. The app integrates with contact and address information on the world’s most popular smartphones to bring new levels of convenience and efficiency to communications. Caret is created by Wallrust Inc., trailblazers as the first to market automated status sharing, and a team of IT industry veterans led by LogMeIn founder Marton Anka. The company has several granted key patents related to automatic presence information sharing and sensor-based social networking.