I was very impressed with each of these three Israeli startups when I got the invitation to test them. Even
though Boxee, My6sense and Didiom are very different from one another, I’ve had compatibility issues with all of them. In a nutshell, if you don’t have a Mac and an iPhone – you’re behind the curve, right? Wrong. It might just mean that I’m not as an early adopter as I considered myself to be, but more importantly, it means that these really great companies are overlooking a big chunk of the market.
Tales of a late adopter
Didiom
Didiom lets you listen to music on your phone, for free. Installing Didiom enables users to access songs and play lists stored on their computer, using wireless streaming through the mobile phone. The streaming is free to over 200 phone models with unlimited data plans, including RIM’s Blackberry Curve. Similar to iTunes, Didiom offers a play per download track service, with over 1.5 million free tracks including the entire CD Baby catalog. CEO Ran Assaf started the company in 2005.
Compatibility issue: the product doesn’t work on Blackberry 8700. The company was kind enough to create an account for me, but I’ll have to wait until my iPhone works properly in the UK.
My recommendation: Download Didiom and create a new account. You will get 4 free dance tracks for your phone and PC (ready for downloading). Even if you don’t download the mobile app, and just log on to your Didiom account online, you can download those tracks. The demo below explains how to get the free songs on your phone (Also check: www.didiom.com/demo/demo.aspx).
My6Sense
My6Sense is a life streaming service for your mobile. The site went live on private Alpha on November 2nd. The product ranks content from your different information feeds based on what matters you the most and allows you to interact with the content in one click. First, you need to import your feeds: RSS, OPML, Google Reader, Netvibes, Twitter, Friendfeed and more. Once you added all the content, you can start browsing the consolidated feed on your iPhone – all in one screen. Rather than setting preferences, My6Sense gathers information based on your actions – the more clicks to an information source, the more important it becomes.
Compatibility issue: Only works on the iPhone. There’s millions of blackberry users that would love to have this product. Both the G1 and the Bold are hitting the stores now with multi-touch touch screens. You wouldn’t release a song that can only be played on iPods, so why should software be different?
My recommendation: Sign up for the Alpha. The service has the potential to make your life easier. My6Sense was founded by CEO Avinoam Rubinstain. You can see the company’s demo live in Under the Radar Mobility on November 12.
Boxee
What can I say about Boxee? As some of you may already know, Boxee is a HDTV media center for your laptop. Navigating through a beautifully designed set of simple menus and screens, you can enjoy watching streaming video services like Hulu and Youtube as well as movies, TV, music and photos. The user experience is above par and the service is a great seaway into IPTV. The content range is huge and the social network attached to it makes it easy to recommend content to friends.
Compatibility issue: Boxee hasn’t released a Windows version yet. Why do Linux and Macs have all the fun? I was able to poke around on a Mac and was really impressed. Here are some screen shots:
My recommendation: You don’t have to take my word for it, cause chances are that you will have Boxee installed on your computer when the service goes public. Much more than a media center, Boxee could become the ‘setup box’ operating system of the PC.
Watch the demo:
quick intro to boxee from boxee on Vimeo.
On one hand, by limiting entrance to only a select group of people, the companies can benefit from understanding what works and what doesn’t before they go after new markets. On the other hand, the risk of facing competition in the neglected segment should be a real concern.
Would you support launching a service that’s only compatible to subset of people?
I'm a former general partner at google ventures, head of Google for Entrepreneurs in Europe and founding head of Campus London, Google's first physical hub for startups.
I'm also the founder of Techbikers, a non-profit bringing together the startup ecosystem on cycling challenges in support of Room to Read. Since inception in 2012 we've built 11 schools and 50 libraries in the developing world.
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