DIY PollMate iPhone App Launched

Australian app developer Julian Dunham has launched PollMate: a free quant research tool which promises anyone with a question the chance to obtain answers, opinion, or feedback from iPhone users.

Dunham's new tool uses Apple's 'Push Notification Service' to deliver polls to a pre-defined and targeted number of respondents in 30-minute batches. The technology forwards notifications to users' iPhones, to ensure they are alerted every time a new poll is available to complete.

Pollsters can target by demographics such as age, gender and location, and can also pre-determine the number of responses and length of time for the poll.

The question then appears on users' phones as a push notification to either answer or ignore. Users can choose to receive anywhere from 1 to 20 or more polls in a day. Dunham says that results are available within hours of conducting the poll.

Through participation, respondents earn credit points, which can be donated to charities such as the RSPCA or Starlight Children's Foundation, or be used to run their own polls.

'I dreamt up PollMate as a way for anyone with a question to do the type of market research normally reserved for big corporations with big budgets,' he explains. 'Imagine a huge network of iPhone users answering questions quickly and easily, no matter where they are. It's a far more democratic process, giving people a chance to voice their opinions, have fun with their phone and give back to a worthy cause.'

Web site: www.poll-mate.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.