2. Agenda
Session 1 20 minutes
• Why txtWeb & txtWeb Vision
• How txtWeb works for an end user?
• App2Fame Challenge?
• Q&A
Session 2 20 minutes
• txtWeb architecture overview
• Types of apps to build on txtWeb
• How to build and publish apps on txtWeb – High level overview
• Demo of building a txtWeb app
• Q&A
2
3. Most of the connected people of the world have
only a mobile phone without a data plan
Global approximations India Example
Broad-
band Inter- Internet
Highly users net + mobile
connected ~8M users data plan
5-10% ~45M users
~50M
Mobile
phone
users
~500M Total
Connected Area of
population
40-50% focus
~1,150M
Not
connected
40-55%
Short Message Service (SMS) is the most widely used service by the connected population
of the world, with 2.4B active users, or 74% of all mobile phone subscribers
Note: Rough approximations to explain the concept. Information is directionally correct
Source: Internet & Mobile Association of India, 2009; Wikipedia
3
4. txtWeb’s vision is to address a large unsolved
pain of consuming services on a mobile phone
txtWeb Vision
Enable anyone to consume contents and/or services even
with a low-end mobile phone with no internet connectivity
through a single standardized global SMS platform
Users txtWeb Developers
• Convenience • Provide • Innovate
– Convenient means
Core • Seamless
faster &/or requiring
less conscious effort by Platform integration
user • Opportunity to
• Support impact millions
• One-Stop Shop
Providers
– Several services • Own what you
accessed through a • Acquire & build
single number
Support
• Standardization Users
4
5. txtWeb – How does it work?
• It is simple! – SMS “HELP” to 92433 42000
• It is FREE
• You will receive a welcome message from txtWeb with tips to
help you get started
OR
• You can SMS any of the sample keywords to try one of our
already developed apps
– @wikipedia SMS– to get the Wikipedia entry on SMS
– @cricbuzz – to cricket live scores
– @six – to play cricket trivia
– @fb - to update facebook status
– @weather – To get info on weather in your city
Try over 2000 apps on www.txtweb.com
5
6. What is App2Fame?
Build apps for 700 million mobile phone users who use txtWeb
apps for free.
Check out http://app2fame.com for more details
6
7. What is App2Fame?
• App2Fame is a National Level Developer Challenge in it’s
second year now.
• Developers are invited to build SMS based apps on the txtWeb
platform and win exciting prizes.
• It is an open contest for anyone in India.
• You need to simply register on http://txtweb.com to get
started.
• Build apps for 700 million mobile phone users who use txtWeb
apps for free.
Check out http://app2fame.com for more details
7
8. High level structure of App2Fame
• Geography: It’s an all India contest
• Who: An open contest for anyone to participate
• Award Categories:
− Best business solutions app- 3 prizes (1 lac, 50k and 30k respectively)
− Most Popular -3 prizes . (1 lac, 50k and 30k respectively)
• Success metric: Reaching aSourced where(1 lacnumber of written app)
− Open Sourced- Best Open stage app- . the for the best
users, providers & the interactions between them increases
week The contest by 2% without action 8th 2012.
− on week would end on September by us
− Developers of apps that gets 1000 unique users between 9th September
and 30th September wins a cash voucher worth 3000 INR for every
app.
10. txtWeb platform – How it works
High level architecture
Phone txtWeb
SMS SMS HTTP Internet HTTP
Carrier Platform
Developer
APP
txtWeb platform enables creation and consumption of
interlinked information through SMS
10
11. txtWeb platform – Example
Step1: SMS to 92433 42000 Step 2: Accepts Step 3: HTTP Step 4. App
Message: @word happy keyword and invokes Request: GET Specific logic
Mobile number : 9991211212 the App URL URL:/dictionary?
Message=happy &
Mobile number: Developer
<hash> App
txtWeb
Platform
Phone
SMS SMS HTTP Internet HTTP
Carrier
Externally
Hosted
Step 6: SMS to Step 5: HTTP Environment
9991211212 RESPONSE: 80
Happy is the same as joy <html> Happy is
the same as joy
</html>
11
12. Platform advantages
• Simple, easy, open API
• Platform is programming language agnostic (use what you
fancy – Java, PHP, Perl, Python)
• Platform provides SMS ⇌ HTTP transformation
– Makes developer’s life simple for delivering web app over SMS
– Developer focuses on building an HTTP based app
– No coding work to “integrate” with txtWeb platform
• Rapid development – Build, test and go live in no time!
• Emulator provides easy/instant testing
• Nothing to download for an end-user to use your app – SMS
and go!
12
13. What type of services can I build on
txtWeb?
• Static services (txtSite): Get your own site on SMS in less
than 5 minutes!
– Static and structured content
– Published as information on SMS
– Zero Code
– Examples: Restaurant menu/timings, list of holidays
• Dynamic Services (txtApp): Can have an app up running in
as little as 5 hours
– Dynamic content
– Personalized and user session based
– Implemented as a standard web-based application
– Programming language independent
– Examples: PNR status, games , status update Twitter/Facebook
13
14. How to build Static services
• Login to http://txtweb.com
• Go to the dashboard
• Create a new keyword
Click on “Use txtWeb’s SMS response app” link
• Put in text against the keyword created.
• Click publish.
• Test your app by sending an SMS. Its that simple!!
14
15. How to build dynamic services
• Login to http://txtweb.com
• Go to your dashboard.
• Click on “Create a new service”
• Map your keyword against an external facing Web URL.
• Click publish.
• Test your app by sending an SMS. Its that simple!!
15
