Microsoft has released its latest social polling app called Tossup, the app assists iOS and Android users to gather friends at an informal or formal event even when they are offline. Unfortunately the app is limited in its availability at the moment and will only be available to users living in the USA and Canada, but hopefully it will roll out to other countries soon enough.
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Tossup helps groups decide on plans by giving them suggestions and allowing each member of the group to vote and suggest other options. It can be used to garner opinions on just about anything. After creating a poll, users are prompted to send it out to their friends as a link either via text message or email.
Once you sort out a plan, Tossup makes it easy to add an agreed time and venue to your calendar. To further customize the experience, you can even upload your own images.
Tossup is the latest app to come from Microsoft’s Garage, which is the company’s program that allows employees to “turn fresh ideas into real projects”. Previously, the Garage has worked on products as varied as a custom lockscreen, a travel companion, and a gesture search app for Android Wear. A registered user will then be able to begin sending out questions, or a list to friends to vote on, for example which place they would like to indulge at. Information for restaurants is pulled from Bing – opening hours, reviews, addresses, etc. – to help make decisions.
You ask a question to start (i.e. “Who’s in for dinner tomorrow?”) and your friends can reply either through the app or over SMS if they don’t have Tossup installed.
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“Our aim is for you to spend more time hanging out with friends rather than coordinating schedules”, said Jennifer Shen, the principal program manager lead whose team built the Tossup app.
