A new start-up company out of Palo Alto California had the same thoughts and feelings as many of you. Why can’t my texts be more fluid and pretty. So the small team got together and created invi.
“invi has been developed for today’s fast-paced generation who prefer to communicate via texting and want to be able to express themselves through more than words. It’s time for apps to be integrated into texting so we can watch YouTube videos, listen to music, post to Facebook and much more, all while we text.†– Co-founder, Iddo Tal
“We wanted to take the well-known texting experience and transform it into a slick, visual and engaging one, while keeping it super fast and simple as texting should be. invi seamlessly integrates with Android, making sharing into and out of it easy and beautiful without interrupting the flow of the conversation.†– Co-founder, Lior Gonnen
When you first install invi you will be prompted to register your phone number. This is how their servers will make sure that messages send through invi get to you and not someone else. Once you are registered it will walk you through setting up a profile image and a banner that appears at the top of your invi inbox as well as what your friends will see on their inbox list. It is super easy to do. Once you are set up, the service will automatically search out all the contacts you have stored in your device and connect them in your list of friends if they have invi installed. The short of it, if you have your mom saved in your device and she installs invi, she will appear in your friends list.
 
 
If you are watching a hilarious episode of The MandDroid show and want to share it with a friend, hit the share button, then invi, then the person you want to share it with. It will be instantly available to your friend in their invi inbox. Rather than both of you just seeing a link, you see a banner image of the video. Click on it and it opens up so that you can hit play. Here is where it gets really cool. Instead of prompting you to open up the YouTube app or going to the browser, the video begins playing at the top of the screen which lets you watch the video and still text your friend at the same time. You can directly share the same video with your other invi friends, Facebook or any other outlet you wish.
 
 
Inside the settings you don’t find many to mess around with. One that is rather important is the Black Theme. When we were first asked to take a look at the app it was all white, like you see in some of the screenshots. We knew that just wouldn’t fly. Samsung devices definitely benefit from Blacks more than Whites in terms of battery consumption. Also, all white is a bit of an eye sore at night and in direct sunlight. So we immediately put the request in for a dark theme option to be available at launch. The invi team was more than happy to get that implemented prior to today’s launch, and even most of them are now strictly using the dark theme. You can thank us later. 😉
 
 
While invi is a pretty powerful message app, there are a few things that we feel we must clear up right out of the gates before you go installing it. This is NOT a messenger application in the sense that it uses user names, your email or passwords. This is, as they put it, “Text. Re-Invented.” It relies on your phone book contacts to make the connection. If you only talk to Joe Bob Jr on Gchat and don’t have his number, nor him yours, you can’t use invi. That is the way it current sits, but could be offering alternative options in the future.  But, for all your friends who’s numbers you do have, if they install invi, you will have instant access to talk to them on it. We also noticed something else. If you have Google+ contacts synced with your device, even if you hide them from your phonebook, you will still be able to communicate with those people who install invi. Only if those contacts have their numbers listed on their G+ accounts of course. Also, it is its own application. Don’t expect to use it as your daily text app from everyone. That means if I don’t have invi and text you normally, you still get a message in your normal inbox, not your invi inbox. Also, there isn’t a way to add people to conversations. Not really sure there should be though, since this is a revamped text message app, not a messenger client.
The invi team has a whole lot of plans to make the app even more amazing than it already is. It has some powerful potential for visually centric type of people. I know I will be using it exclusively to chat with friends overseas and with my wife, simply because it is fun and with the YouTube integration, I can link a video and talk to them about it while they watch. The sharing aspect works as it should and after the Black Theme was added, I am much happier with it.
Feel free to give it a try and see what you think. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to set up and is extremely pretty. Let us know in the comments, and remember it won’t do you a darn bit of good unless you get your friends to install it too.
Be sure to click or scan the QR code found below so that you can pick it up and give it a whirl. You can check out more invi news on their Facebook page and keep in the know by following them on Twitter too.
Application: inviÂ
Developer: invi Labs
Cost:Â FREE
Press release below
Mobile startup, invi, launches rich media texting app and raises $750K in seed funding
Horizons Ventures (Li Ka-shing) and Atlantic Bridge among investors
Palo Alto, California, November 14th, 2012 – mobile texting application, invi, has launched today on Google Play for all Android devices, Gingerbread and above, including tablets. invi was co-founded by serial entrepreneurs, IddoTal and LiorGonnen, who graduated from Silicon Valley accelerator, UpWestLabs. invi also announced today that it raised $750,000 in seed funding from prominent international investors including Horizons Ventures, which manages the private venture investments of Mr Li Ka-shing in the technology sector globally, Atlantic Bridge and leading Silicon Valley angels from Google, Nokia, Yahoo, Groupon, Spotify, SRI, and others.
invi is no ordinary texting application. It sets itself apart with its refreshing approach to the inbox, which is an impressive display of cover photos rather than the traditional list of names. Moreover, with invi, for the first time, interactive content can flow seamlessly between texting and other apps.
In addition, invi is a texting experience beyond that of other texting applications. It integrates with other apps. Photos can be shared from Facebook, gallery and other apps, directly into the chat, and appear as beautiful previews taking full advantage of today’s large smart phone displays. No more tiny thumbnail attachments. Conversely, content shared through invi has an action bar that makes it possible to instantly share with other mobile applications such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
YouTube videos can also be shared on invi. Instead of just a link, the actual video is displayed inside the chat. It can be played while texting continues, enabling real-time texting conversations between two people watching a video.
“invi has been developed for today’s fast-paced generation who prefer to communicate via texting and want to be able to express themselves through more than words. It’s time for apps to be integrated into texting so we can watch YouTube videos, listen to music, post to Facebook and much more, all while we text.†– Co-founder, Iddo Tal
“We wanted to take the well-known texting experience and transform it into a slick, visual and engaging one, while keeping it super fast and simple as texting should be. invi seamlessly integrates with Android, making sharing into and out of it easy and beautiful without interrupting the flow of the conversation.†– Co-founder, Lior Gonnen
“Invi’s innovative approach to integrating rich media into messaging makes communication really easy, social and flexible. Their solution truly brings the Next Generation of Social Messaging to your fingertips! Atlantic Bridge Capital is excited about this opportunity and we look forward to working with two very talented founders, Iddo and Lior.†Alpesh Amin, Atlantic Bridge Capital.
invi can be downloaded from GooglePlay today.
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About invi
invi is all about making mobile texting visually interactive and beautiful and enabling users to take advantage of their smart phone’s rich media capabilities. invi was co-founded by Iddo Tal and Lior Gonnen, and is supported by an impressive list of investors including Horizons Ventures, which manages the private venture investments of Mr Li Ka-shing in the technology sector globally, Atlantic Bridge and Silicon Valley angels from Google, Nokia, Yahoo, Groupon, Spotify, Path, SRI, Cisco and others. Follow invi on Facebook and Twitter.
