OnTime FAQ

1. What is OnTime?

OnTime is a patent-pending, location-based mobile calendar application (smartphone app) that securely works with your existing calendar as a: • Mobile planner • Mobile task manager • Automated calendar appointment reminder • And more! OnTime provides timely calendar reminders, maps your route, notifies you of traffic delays, and can alert your next appointment if you’re running late. The purpose of the OnTime mobile calendar application is quite simple: to help busy individuals get from one place to the next – on time, every time.

2. Will OnTime let me know about meetings even if the app is not open?

Yes, by leveraging the company’s productivity software, OnTime runs in the background in order to find your location at any given time. It uses a feature called ‘push’ notifications to push a calendar reminder or alert out to you. This application is designed in such a way that it has negligible impact to battery life.

3. Will OnTime take into account traffic I may encounter?

Yes – and this is a distinguishing feature of the OnTime application. Traffic patterns are now tracked by various location services which send the information to a traffic database. OnTime checks the traffic database to determine when you should leave. If a traffic jam is reported to the database, OnTime will add the appropriate amount of time to your trip before giving you an alert. If a traffic jam occurs while you are driving, then OnTime has the ability to let your calendar appointment know that you are running late.

4. Is my location private to others?

Absolutely. With this mobile calendar application, your location will remain private. The OnTime application is secure and does not collect data about your location and therefore cannot share such information with others.

5. Is there a specific ringtone identifier to distinguish an OnTime alert from other alerts on my electronic device?

OnTime alerts employ a basic ring that is just like every meeting or calendar reminder on your phone.

6. Will OnTime let me search for any address even if it’s not where I’m heading?

Yes, the OnTime application has a feature that allows you to enter in any physical address and then access directions. This feature essentially converts the OnTime mobile calendar application into your mobile GPS device for your smart phone.

7. What’s involved in downloading OnTime?

Because there is no additional software needed to run OnTime, downloading is easy. Securely download OnTime for your appropriate phone system from your mobile device’s app store. For an easy link to download OnTime, visit www.ontimemobileapp.com.

8. Which calendars will OnTime interface with?

OnTime is compatible with any mobile calendar on any iPhone or Blackberry. In January of 2011, it will also interface with any Android phone.

9. How do I look-up an address on my PC calendar since I enter some appointments there as well?

You can securely download a plug-in for your PC calendar to assist you in looking up a physical address. Even Google calendar syncs with your existing smartphone mobile calendar to provide a fully integrated experience. Plug-ins have been developed for Outlook (Dec.), Backpack (Dec.), Salesforce (Dec.), Apple Mail (Jan. 6), and Thunderbird (Jan. 6).

10. How does OnTime know when to alert me?

OnTime uses location-based technology to securely ping your current location as well as ping traffic along the route to your destination, and then looks at the timing setting you selected to determine how much time is needed to get to your destination. If you chose a calendar reminder 15 minutes before leaving and it takes 30 minutes to get there with no traffic, OnTime will notify you 45 minutes before you need to leave with a pop-up alert.

11. What if I hit a traffic accident or road block, can OnTime adjust for that?

Yes, by running in the background, OnTime is always monitoring your route to see if there is traffic ahead. If you hit traffic, the OnTime mobile calendar application can notify your appointment that you are running late, by text or by email. If there is a road block, you can indicate that you want to avoid a certain road and adjust your directions.

12. Can I customize the message that says I am running late?

Yes, you can create a custom message each time you are running late, or you can simply use the OnTime standard message to use for your late appointments.

13. My city or state doesn’t allow me to text while driving. Will OnTime still text to let the person know I am running late?

Your safety – and the safety of others – is most important, and OnTime does not encourage illegal or unsafe practice. If you encounter traffic and are running late, the OnTime mobile calendar application can notify your appointment that you are running late, by text or by email, using the standard message. OnTime does not currently have a way to differentiate if you are in a zone that does not allow texting. You can, however, choose the one click phone call option for your safety.

14. What if I don’t know the address for the location of my appointment?

OnTime has a nifty “address suggest” feature when creating an appointment or calendar reminder. If you don’t add an address automatically, OnTime will suggest one for you and ask you to verify that it is the correct address. The mobile calendar address suggest feature will work based on you providing some information for the application about the location. If you don’t use the suggest feature and if you leave the address location blank for a calendar appointment, then OnTime cannot work properly for that appointment.

11. Why do I need OnTime if I am using Outlook or Google calendar?

Outlook, Google Calendar, iCal and many other solutions are available for standardized electronic calendar management. OnTime itself is not a calendar and doesn’t aspire to become one. Rather, OnTime is more than just a mobile calendar application and was intentionally developed to be a companion to any computer-based calendar program so it could leverage all the important appointment and reminder information you currently log into your existing calendar of choice.

What makes OnTime an unique and desirable mobile calendar application is its location-based capabilities, allowing you to enhance how you use your current calendar. Calendar systems provide reminders based on a static, predetermined time before a meeting. OnTime enhances your experience by taking your current location, the appointment location and traffic patterns into account to come up with an accurate, real reminder. The added benefit is you get to choose in the setup any spare time to build in so you get alerted in real time, factoring in where you are, with plenty of time to get to your appointment.

Think of it as your mobile calendar/GPS Swiss Army knife, a bundling of a variety of helpful tools in a single application using your existing calendar. Below are unique features OnTime provides:

• Adjustable turn-by-turn directions.*

  OnTime is capable of providing turn-by-turn directions to take you to your destination without you having to look them up, key them into a GPS or print them off. Directions adjust based on your current location. So if you avoid a highway listed on the turn-by-turn directions to avoid traffic, OnTime can adjust and give you new directions.

  *While OnTime runs in the background, turn-by-turn directions requires your device to be active and not in “sleep mode” to effectively provide this service. Devices in sleep mode might not receive real accurate or timely turn-by-turn direction until it is restored to active mode.

• OnTime: your phone-based GPS.

  OnTime also allows you to look up other addresses and directions in case you have extra time and want to stop somewhere else along the way. It can essentially become your GPS.

• Running late notifications

  Running late? No problem. OnTime acts like your virtual assistant, automatically notifying your appointment by text, email or one-click phone call. Of course, you can also customize the ‘running late’ message every time or use a standard message of your choosing.

• Social media connectivity

  When you get to your destination, OnTime gives you the option to share your location to your social media accounts. This feature is activated only if you choose it during the setup process. It requires you to link OnTime to your social media accounts.

16. Will I still be notified of appointments and be able to get directions if my network is not available?

If you should lose your network availability, OnTime still works based on your last known location. When you reconnect to your network, your most current location is used. If your network connection disappears while you are driving, the turn-by-turn directions are still available on your smart device for you to use based on your last known location. And as soon as you regain your connection, OnTime will make any adjustments accordingly. The OnTime mobile calendar application uses three different methods to determine location offering a thorough location-based operating system, including, GPS, cellular, and IP address.

17. If OnTime reminds me of an appointment, does my phone’s calendar also alert me?

No, OnTime acts as the only calendar reminder for appointments once you download and activate that application on your phone.

Questions about Ripple Mobile

1. Who is your closest competitor via market share against OnTime?

The only item on the market right now is a program called Prompt for the Blackberry. It is priced at $29.95 and only gives you the calendar reminders to leave and directions to arrive at your next location. The OnTime application is priced at $1.99 until April 1, 2011 ($4.99 thereafter) and contains additional features.

2. Who is behind Ripple Mobile?

Ripple Mobile is a technology innovation firm that powers and creates technology-driven applications for mobile devices. It is a partnership between Kevin Miller , Jim Baich and Joel Stephens.

3. Who are the leaders of OnTime?

Kevin Miller is the lead product manager and director of OnTime. Development is being done by Chepri Interactive .

4. Who owns Ripple Mobile?

Ripple Mobile is an independent, privately owned company.

5. How did Ripple Mobile come to be?

Ripple Mobile emerged a company just as mobile and cloud-based computing began fueling the smart phone revolution. The OnTime mobile calendar application was created to fill a void in the digital marketplace for location-based reminders to enhance timeliness and improve the lives of busy people. To run the app efficiently, the Ripple Mobile platform was developed. With the Ripple computing platform in place, the Ripple Mobile team launched its flagship mobile application – OnTime – in December 2010

6. What’s next after OnTime?

Ripple Mobile is committed to improving and enhancing OnTime with new features. Additionally, Ripple Mobile plans to grow its offering of unique applications and, in turn, grow its team.

7. What makes your product valuable to others?

The ability to always be OnTime for meetings and events while knowing how to get there and stay connected to those anticipating your arrival.

8. What experience do you have that makes you any different from every other mobile app developer?

We are a company founded by business people who lived with these problems every day. Our technical expertise, coupled with our ability to assemble high performance teams, will enable us to execute and accomplish our goals quickly and cost effectively.

9. How are you different than any other mobile company?

In many ways we’re no different at all. We’re passionate individuals looking to enrich people's hectic lives while they are on the go through relevant, easy-to-use technology. We will differentiate Ripple Mobile by anticipating what’s next and what’s needed and by the loyalty and demand shown by our customers.

10. Is OnTime technology special?

Yes, there are unique aspects of OnTime's mobile calendar technology that have filed and are patent pending.

11. What’s in the pipeline for OnTime? Version 2.0?

Yes, we are at work on Version 2.0, but unfortunately are not at a point where we can reveal its features.