Do you want to keep tabs on the state of Hong Kong, or perhaps you’re looking for movie recommendations? New oddball app Ping might be for you.
No, this is not the relaunch of Apple’s ill-fated music-centric social network or a simplified variant of Barclays’ mobile payment service, this is Ping, and it’s one of the most simplistic notifications app ever.
Secret Inc. the company responsible for the much talked about Secret social network has turned its attentions to current affairs with the launch of this new app. Ping is the product of a weekend-long hackathon in which its creators wanted to build an app that gave you the information you wanted and needed without any frills.
The concept appears to have come from the same school of thinking as Yo, dishing out notifications on a list of seemingly unrelated topics; some clearly defined like ‘Apps worth downloading’ and others titled with a sense of ambiguity like, ‘Is it Friday yet?’
The list has already started to expand, but the source of the content that appears on your lockscreen is unclear. Unlike Flipboard or HTC’s BlinkFeed, the notification is all you’re given, no expanded story, no additional images, just a short line of text. Opening the app itself gives you just two screens that you can switch between by tapping or pulling the ‘portal’ in the top right-hand corner. One screen features the various feeds you can toggle on or off to receive notifications on, the other gives you a chronological list of every notification you’ve received from the app so far.
According to the app’s principle designer, Ben Lee “We set out to build a product that eliminates unnecessary UI metaphors and focuses purely on content and context. Content is the centrepiece and context gives it meaning.” He added “Over time, Ping evolves the more you interact with it. Ping adapts with you.”
Whether Lee is simply being dramatic or hinting at a learning engine within Ping that tracks and adapts the content it displays based on user’s preferences is unclear, but the concept is novel and for some, may prove valuable.
Based on Ping’s app store description it confidently states, “You’re going to like me.” It’s early days yet, but we think we just might. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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