IntoNow - The Amazing App I Overlooked

As a technology news writer I do my best to stay on top of the technology news using a myriad of platforms, services, and tools. Soon after I started, I soon realized it was impossible to keep up with and know about everything that was changing, launching, or merging. Even still; I try.

On January 31, 2011 a startup called IntoNow launched their revolutionary new iPhone app. I missed this news, but did learn of the company later on when Yahoo! purchased it in April for about $20 million; not bad for having just launched their first product only three months prior. Even at this time I didn't pay much attention because of the issues at Yahoo! and other news that overpowered it.

Then, at the end of July, IntoNow for Android was released upon the world. I would see this news story and pause for a moment to see what the service was all about. It was another TV check-in app like Miso, Clicker, and Philo. So I thought! The rate of information flowing through my brain allowed me only a few moments to scan the service's hompage and nothing jumped out at me that would differentiate it from the other social entertainment services like it.

Just a couple weeks ago I learned that the iPad had it's own version now. What did this app do? I said to myself... it must be more than a simple check-in service to account for this rapid expansion! Finally I grabed my Android phone and install it. WOW! IntoNow can listen to what is on TV and identify the show or movie you are watching. Consider it the Shazam of video.

This product is pure genius on a technology and consumer level. The proprietary technology (covered by patent 7,516,074) is called SoundPrint and has an index of over 2.6 million videos. That is more than 140 million minutes of aired shows that is constantly updated. In just seconds it listens to the show to identify what it is, and if it is a TV show, what season and episode you are watching. Because of the algorithmic speed the app has no problem identifying first run shows that are being indexed at the same time you are querying them. They have data for anything that has aired on television in the last 5 years.

On the consumer side IntoNow bridges the gap that other check-in services struggle with. The biggest obstacle to checking-in to a broadcast is searching for the show,movie, or event and, in many cases, creating the entry yourself. Miso is making progress by partnering with AT&T U-verse and DirecTV for faster check-ins, but nothing beats Yahoo! and IntoNow. Social sharing, stats, and information all accompany the iPad version as seen in the below video. The other platform versions also have excellent features to go along with the mind boggling video identification magic show.

Download IntoNow for Android or iOS today and let me know what you think in the comments. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.