Inspiration
HowlerMail is the result of a hackathon hosted by Context.io, a startup that provides an easy-to-use API that interfaces with email servers. The idea came a couple months prior to the hackathon when Brian wanted to make better use of his daily commute. He searched for tools that would allow him to interact with his email verbally but was unsuccessful.
How it works
HowlerMail leverages Context.io (https://context.io/) to interface with email servers. Once you've linked your email account with HowlerMail, HowlerMail will then read some high level statistics about your inbox including your unread and important email. You can then verbally interact with your inbox; for the minimum viable product features are limited to basic interactions to read the email. In the near future, additional voice commands will be added to allow you to flag messages, archive messages, and even respond. Additional email server integrations will also be added soon.
Challenges I ran into
The amount of work and learning that I took on was quite overwhelming. I was learning new technologies, tricks, and processes in every aspect from design to development and integration.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I was able to develop a Cordova plugin that wrapped the majority of the OpenEars plugin. I'm also extremely happy with the graphic design work that came out of this project; I am not a designer and I'm really happy with the final look and feel of the app.
What I learned
I have never been through the iOS development process from end to end (build, test on the simulator, test on device, push to the app store, push to beta users via Fabric).
What's next for HowlerMail
The future of HowlerMail is bright and filled with plenty of other features that include additional email servers (e.g., Outlook) and additional commands (actions such as archiving and responding, different voices and personalities, and so much more)!
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