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February 20, 2014

Glove for Android to Bring Better-fitting Mobile Plans to Users

Sometimes it's easy to get disillusioned with mobile service. Maybe the coverage isn't quite right where the user happens to be. Maybe there just aren't enough bytes in the data plan. Regardless of what the complaint is, there could be plenty of same to go around, and finding the right mobile provider can be a tall order. No one wants to sign contracts with everyone to find the best, and that's where the Glove app for Android steps in. Currently running in San Francisco, the Bay Area, New York, and for some reason Israel, according to reports—no word on when it goes elsewhere—the Glove app helps users find the best mobile plan by examining how users actually use mobiles.

The Glove app essentially monitors a user's mobile use and location for a three-day period once it's up and running. Then, after taking three days' worth of data on how a user actually uses a phone, the Glove app then makes suggestions accordingly about which mobile provider best conforms to how the user actually uses the device. Glove gets the data involved in making its recommendations from simple crowdsourcing, and allows Glove users to get a better handle on actual, real-world performance data without having to try and contact the providers directly.

It's perhaps unusual to see a version of an app for Android devices first, ahead of an iPhone equivalent, but that's how this one has gone with a version for iPhone set to arrive later on this year, according to reports from Glove's developer, CrowdX. So far the app has been very well received on Google Play, with the overwhelming majority voting it a five-star ranking—218 votes out of 411 total—and just 77 users rating it a one star. Much of the complaint around the app so far seems to be that it's not available in a particular area yet, a complaint that's likely to be fixed in the near term. Some are concerned about privacy issues—indeed, the app seems to want in on pretty much everything including a user's contact list by some comments—so that could be something of a problem.

CrowdX further notes that, for three out of four people, the mobile provider said people are currently with isn't the best provider for those people's needs. That could change, though, with something like Glove in place giving users a better idea of not only what's available in each user's particular area, but also how what's available stacks up to a user's current usage patterns. Indeed, while most any user can find out what's available nearby, it's a lot more difficult to tell how those offerings stack up against what's needed, and that's where the Glove app really looks to shine.

Finding the right mobile provider can be a real challenge, but with the Glove app on hand pointing out the differences, the right mobile provider can come along and fit the user just like a hand in, well, a glove. The farther along it goes, the more value it should present as more users can get in on the action.




Edited by Cassandra Tucker


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