JusText

Two thirds of all mobile device users in the world do not own a smartphone.

That's 3 billion people without mobile data. That's 3 billion people without access to maps, translations, news, and social media on the go. These 3 billion people range from the lower-class Americans who simply can't afford costly service plans to the villagers in rural India who simply can't get mobile data connection.

With JusText, we are targeting a wide variety of users, yet our goal is very specific: to connect ALL phones, dumb or smart, to the web. Through text messages.

Think of us as Siri for SMS.

Between the three of us, we have family overseas in rural parts of India, China, and Colombia; when travelling overseas, each of us has experienced the frustration and inconvenience of being separated from the information highway. As students, we all have friends who simply cannot afford the small fortune necessary for upgrading to a smartphone - $600. Even for those of you who are smartphone users, I'm sure we've all experienced the agony of running out of data or losing mobile data connection. All of these factors have motivated us to create JusText.

JusText features a variety of resources that keeps all cell phone users connected to the online world. Here is how it works. You text an assigned phone number with a request, and our internet-connected servers will text you back with a response. You can request anything from "remind me in 5 minutes to go to the store" to "get the latest news on NASA." Here is a list of some of the things you can ask for:

Bing Maps Navigation Directions
Bing Translations
Bing News
Reminders through SMS and voice calls
Up-to-date stock reports
Up-to-date weather data
Google Knowledge Graph data
Twitter updates
Yo updates

JusText can be applied beyond those who can't afford or can't have mobile data. Imagine you are taking a business trip in rural India, where you know you can't get internet anyways. But you still have to get from point A to point B! The solution is simple! Just text your JusText number and receive navigation directions instantly. What if you need to talk to some locals? JusText comes to the rescue again, using Bing Translate's multitude of translation options. Maybe you'd like to catch up on what's happening at home. JusText offers updated news reports on whatever topic you like; it can keep you up-to-date on your stocks, and it'll let you know when the next big storm is coming! Finally, at the end of the day, you can catch up on your favorite Twitter feeds, all accomplished without using a single byte of your precious mobile data.

With merely 36 hours of work, JusText already displays tremendous potential. With more work, more funding, and more support, we can finally bring JusText to the world market.