Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Ladies, get the mobile health app designed just for you! It's pink!
Okay, I admit it, I took the bait. I try not to write about every mobile health app I come across, but this one definitely caught my attention.
It is called Pink Pad, and, as you can see, it looks like a classic day planner on the outside, clasp and all; inside it's . . . pink. Although I tend to have a bias against color/gender stereotyping, I have decided to put that aside for now because this iPhone (and Palm) app actually looks kind of interesting.
Pink Pad, from Alt12 Apps, is a "woman's health tracking" app, specifically designed to "track health-related issues such as menstrual cycle, mood, and weight." Much like my reaction to its pink-ness, I was kind of offended when I first read this language in the press release's headline and opening statement. After all, tracking mood and weight is not unique to women (and I know a few husbands and boyfriends who follow their significant others' menstrual cycles pretty well). I was won over, however, when I realized that Pink Pad does offer fairly robust fertility tracking:
The app’s dynamic fertility predictive tools help women plan for pregnancy by tracking average menstrual cycle length, luteal phase, ovulation date and basal body temperature history.
“Women have very unique health tracking needs such as planning for pregnancy and monitoring fertility progress,” said Jennifer Wong, Co-Founder and CEO, Alt12 Apps.
Another feature of the application is that it provides users with an integrated global community of women for support, friendship, and advice, accessible directly via the mobile device.
The press release also notes the app's design and user interface. Pink Pad
utilizes all-native user interface technology resulting in an experience that feels natural to the device, is extremely fast, and is easy on users' data plans.
Reflective of Alt12 Apps’ attention to design quality is Pink Pad’s unique notepad planner design with animated page turns, making navigation intuitive -- like realistically flipping through pages in a journal.
Alt12App’s flagship product is BabyBump, launched in October 2009 and reportedly the top grossing pregnancy app in the world. And despite my cynicism about its color scheme, Pink Pad seems to be a very well-conceived (pun intended) tracking tool that is well-designed to appeal to its target audience. I am most curious about the community component of the offering, and whether it reaches a critical mass of participants.
Please share your thoughts on our Twitter stream at @IFTFHealth.