Color Labs has released a new mobile application so handset and tablet users in close proximity can exchange photos, videos and text messages without having to upload content to the Internet. Currently available for mobile devices running Apple's iOS and Google's Android platform, the new Color app promises to radically expand the social-networking capabilities of people attending parties, conferences, family gatherings, and exhibitions by creating elastic networks on the fly.
Funded by an initial round of venture financing from Bain Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Silicon Valley Bank, Color Labs is the brainchild of entrepreneur Bill Nguyen, who reportedly sold music-streaming site Lala to Apple for about $80 million in 2009. According to media sources, Nguyen spent $350,000 to acquire the domain name color.com last year.
Sequoia Capital expects Color to advance the post-PC revolution by inventing new applications that bring people together through proximity, social and visual presentations. The $41 million Color received from investors this week should enable the startup to do just that.
"Rather than having to spend time worrying about additional funding over the next 18-24 months, the founders want to focus on building the business, which begins with continuing to hire the best-of-the-best engineers who will rapidly iterate and advance this terrific product," Sequoia Capital partner Doug Leone told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
Multilens
With Color, images, videos and text become the mediums for conversation and collaboration with other users nearby, who automatically become members of what Color Labs calls an "elastic network." The software presents multiple windows on a mobile device's screen in which the user can view all the available photos, videos and text messages, as well as exchange greetings with anyone responding to a post.
For example, the Color app's thread view identifies all the individuals who are present and contributing content, while a bulletin shows their real-time activity. Additionally, a multilens enables users to see all the photos and videos being taken by all people using Color on mobile devices nearby, which the user may elect to retain in the app's visual diary.
"This is where all of the photos and videos captured in multilens live," said a Color Labs spokesperson in a promotional video. "Here I can experience the most vivid and complete representation of my memories. I also see my elastic network. These are the people who helped me capture all of these memories with multilens."
Sparking Interest
Color is virtually guaranteed to spark the interest of individuals looking to radically expand their ability to socially interact while mobile -- and may eventually prove to be especially popular among younger tech-savvy users. According to Forrester Research, 78 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds already have social-networking accounts.
"Social networking's power is undeniable," Forrester senior analyst and Vice President Reineke Reitsma wrote in a blog. "Young consumers are now almost always connected to media."
Color Lab's 5MB download for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, which requires iOS version 4.0 or later, is available in English and Japanese. By contrast, the Android version of Color requires Android 2.2 or higher and takes up 2.8MB of storage space.
Among other things, the new software configures a Bluetooth device residing on a handset or tablet and synchronizes the mobile platform with other compatible remote devices in the vicinity. Moreover, the Color app accesses GPS -- or any other accurate location determination technology residing on the device -- to determine where it is located.
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