New app promises to keep your spending in check… from the comfort of Google glassesAustralian start-up Pocketbook, is working with cutting-edge Google Glass on an app that promising to “forever change the way you spend your money,” it announced.
Pocketbook will manage your money in real time, by accompanying you to the shops, on the street (to help find your bank’s nearest ATM and dodge naughty fees), by developing the app for Google Glass eye technology, due to be released soon.
It can also be used when shopping, and the clever app will display alternative pricing of items and product reviews – so say your at Dick Smith looking at a MacBook, you could compare the pricing at JB Hi-Fi and Officeworks, all from the comfort of the Google eyewear.
It alerts users if they are exceeding their budget, which it organises into categories, before they splurge on an item. 60,000 already use the Pocketbook mobile app.
The app aggregates your bank accounts, credit cards and loans, and providing a single view of your spending. The Aussie-based team is working with Google Glass to identify ways it can use the glasses to better manage money, which is fast going digital, with the advent of digital smartphone wallets, and banking apps.
“Glass creates a means of intertwining everyday consumption with the world of banking in a seamless way – which pushes the boundaries of what we’re able to achieve today in building the simplest service to manage your money,”Pocketbook CEO, Alvin Singh.
He says Australian banks have lagged their international counterparts on consumer-focused innovation. Pocketbook help consumers know where the nearest ATM is, so they can avoid getting charged $2.50 by using another banks ATM.
It will even advise what bank account or card to use to get the best rate and advise of bank balance to avoid maxing out your account. It also give real time ratings on services like restaurants.
The app will be commanded from Glass in various ways – hand gestures, voice command but Bosco Tan, Pocketbook co-founder confirms “we’re still working that out”.
There is no word if the app will cost anything, Pocketbook is currently available as a free mobile app, on iPhone and Android.
Now that wearables have entered the tech scene, the challenge is designing apps specifically for these devices, rather than just transferring mobile apps over to another device, Tan told Smarthouse.
Wearable tech will allow for better user experience, he believes.
Tan also anticipates Google Glass could capture the wearable eye tech market.
“There’s every reason to speculate Google Glass may win that category.
“The internet of things is where its going to be at.”
“There’s no doubt that personal banking will move beyond mobile as device adoption of personal wearable devices increases. We are already starting to see the early stages of this – Fitbit was the most sought after electronic gadget this past Christmas.”
