Ghana pioneers new mobile app – InstaVoice
A leading player in the development of social media applications, Kirusa, has introduced a new social networking platform to the Ghanaian landscape which will present voice messaging, texting, visual voicemail and call alerts all into one dose.
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InstaVoice – no relations with InstaGram – is a free application that runs on the non-proprietary android operating system to enable users send short or long voice messages on smartphones across networks.
For persons using ordinary phones, the app leaves a voice message with the instruction to call a particular short code to access the voicemail without extra charge, except the data used, which is far cheaper than a normal text messaging.
InstaVoice promises to be an instant hit coming at a new age where phone users now prefer voicemails to SMS for the emotions that come with the personal feel of listening to one’s voice.
According to Mr Inderpal Singh Mumick, the Chief Executive Officer of Kirusa, the American registered company with significant inroads into Asia and Africa, chose to launch the app first in Ghana due to the good relations it already enjoys with local telecom companies.
He said in the context that Africa has one of the fastest growing mobile phone penetrations, Ghana was at the frontier of increasing its smartphone, hence mobile data usage, which made it opportune for such an app.
One of the distinguishing features of Kirusa InstaVoice is its ability to alert the user of missed calls within the app, thus enabling the app user to organise and receive or return all important calls.
InstaVoice is also interoperable with other social networking platforms. The app enables users to record voice or text notes and share them instantly on Facebook, twitter and the voice blogging platform, Vobolo, and so on.
How to install
Mobile users in the country can download the InstaVoice app at the Google Play Store to experience a user-friendly app which combines Voice SMS and chatting.
Kirusa officials said the iPhone version of the app would be available by next year.
Kirusa is credited with pioneering voice sms in the country and many parts of Africa.
The app has been endorsed by telecom companies in Ghana, including Vodafone, Airtel and Tigo and Kirusa is working to bring all telcos on board.
Registered in New Jersey, United States, in 2001 with the objective of connecting people through the power of the voice in emerging markets, the company has been active in India, Bangladesh and Africa.
Already operating in about 15 African countries, Kirusa services are used by over 80 million mobile users in four continents; it serves 1.2 million calls a month.