Australian entrepreneurs unveil hotly anticipated personalised radio app Omny
The way Australians consume media is about to change, with the launch of hotly anticipated personal radio app, Omny.
Available today for free exclusively from the Australian iOS App Store, ahead of an international roll-out, the app is set to take on the likes of iHeartRadio, Pandora and iTunes Radio.
Omny is more than a music app. It pulls in all sorts of data, content, and music to create a personalised radio station. Upon launch the app already pulls content from:
• Weather forecasts
• Your Facebook feed (telling you who’s birthday it is and other updates)
• Your Email account(s) (telling you how many unread emails you have, the subject lines, and more detail if you like)
• Premium radio shows (through partners like BBC, NPR, TED)
• Music (through Spotify, Songl, Rdio and your own songs via iTunes)
Omny reads this content out to you, so you get the latest news stories, your daily agenda and other updates without ever having to look at your device’s screen — a huge plus for the safety of pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists.
Says Omny co-founder Ed Hooper, referencing how Omny is perfect for the daily commute: “Whether walking, driving or even cycling, Omny helps you keep your eyes on where you are going.
Omny uses an algorithm that learns as you go, so it’s a personal radio station that is truly unique from user to user. Simple swiping and liking gestures tell Omny which content you like most.
Backed by Adventure Capital and Optus Innov8, Hooper, and fellow co-founders Long Zheng and Andrew Armstrong, have been working on Omny for nearly eighteen months, with the support of a talented team including two PhDs – a Cambridge alumna, a machine learning specialist who has worked at NASA as well as a former Buzzfeed employee.
Hooper said he was confident the new service would quickly become a “must have” app, alongside current smartphone favourites, Instagram and Snapchat.
Says Hooper: “Omny will change the way we consume media. “It’s the kind of app that will appeal to people of all generations, because of its utility and simplicity. From the moment you wake up, you can now be listening to a radio station that is tailored perfectly for you. You can combine music, radio shows, podcasts, calendar updates, online news services, emails, social media and more to create your own personal radio station that you can listen to anytime, anywhere. Music services like Spotify and Pandora focus on music, and do this really well. But that’s all they do. We created Omny to be more like a radio station, keeping us entertained as well as informed. We also wanted it to be helpful, providing personal updates and information to help people stay organised and live their lives better. But the really cool part is, Omny is intelligent. Not only can you listen to what you really want to hear, but the app will understand your preferences more and more as time goes on.”