Apple Stores Unofficially United for iPad Launch

Wallit is attempting to virtually unite Apple stores all over the world with a new app. But will it succeed?

Described as a new kind of geo-social network that “exhibits the character of places,” Wallit was designed to let users (as the website describes), “‘Write on walls' at popular places and ‘start conversations' with the people who are ‘really' there.” The company says that its virtual wall provides a “canvas for people to discover and share sentiments” while attempting to do for places “what Facebook has done for people.” But instead of writing on a friend's wall, Wallit allows its users to write on walls of places. However, you can only write on these walls when you are at the particular location – in this case, an Apple Store.

“The lines are usually quite long when a new Apple product comes out,” Veysel Berk, the founder and CEO of Wallit, told Benzinga. “With this in mind, users can connect in real-time multimedia through their current iOS device to any of the 320+ global Apple store walls via Wallit with the Apple super-wall. This super-wall takes the walls from each of the locations and, similar to a live feed, collate experiences from all stores, sharing the moment in time that they are waiting for their new iPad.”

Considering how massive the launch of the new iPad is expected to be, and considering the fact that there are hundreds of Apple Stores worldwide, Wallit's developers were eager to push the app around the launch of the Mac maker's next tablet.

“Users can create multimedia messages to leave their legacy on places – be it photos, 30-second audio clips, 30-second video files, and texting,” said Berk. “You also have the option to personalize your photos and messages by tagging them with self-drawn graphics, customizable down to the color you use.

“Users are able to view walls from anywhere in the world – they just have to be within a specific location's radius to post to that location's wall. Wallit users also have the option to filter what they see across any wall. They can access the public wall, their own private messages, and their social networks' friends' walls.”

When asked if Wallit would be a part of other major product launches, such as a smartphone like the iPhone 5 or a game console like Wii U, Berk said that Wallit must continue to create walls at global locations. “The ones we are creating today and in the future do include stadiums, retail locations, and other recognizable public place. If they happen to be in spots that include a product launch, it will make monitoring real-time conversations from consumers for those brands or stores that much easier.”

Monetization

As a free app, Wallit isn't going to make any money up front. But the company does have a strategy in place that it hopes will allow Wallit to turn a profit. “Monetization will be built into the app by allowing either brands or retail locations to post content in and around their walls,” said Berk. “The walls per brand location, or even their super-walls (the tie behind all branded locations) will allow advertisements, partner promotions and other marketing messages (video, audio, text).”

Wallit will also allow businesses to “claim the walls in their stores and customize it, collect user feedback, and deliver content to their walls,” Berk explained.

“You may think [of] our walls as location-based mini-websites for each businesses and branches of big brands.”

Tying the Stores Together

Wallit's hype and unveiling coincided with the hype of the new iPad. This made me wonder if the company had a contingency plan in place just in case Apple decided to unveil a different product instead.

“The app was going to tie the Apple Stores together regardless,” Berk insisted. “Our hope is to be able to tie major retail locations together with their global locations via super-walls and individual walls. The iPad launching was not going to affect this.”

Thoughts on the New iPad

When asked about the new iPad, Berk said that while all of the main hardware parts are in place as expected, “some sort of digital pen input would greatly help students and education experts to adopt iPad widely.” “I will get the 32GB Wi-Fi model,” he said of his planned purchase.

As for the name, Berk said that simple is always better, “so iPad is cleaner, of course.”

Things to Come

“We want to create a location-based web and connect chains of stores,” said Berk, speaking about Wallit's goals. “We want to create a platform that exhibits the character of places.”

“We are planning upgrades but not discussing them at this time. Next big update will be within a few weeks and include the features thousands of our users asked for. We will make our users happy.”

“We are launching [our] Android [app] within the next few weeks,” Berk added. “We wanted to make sure that the iOS was optimized first before we expanded to other mobile devices.”

Getting Started

“We started with one of our contacts, and he loved the idea we conceived,” said Berk. “From there, he became one of our first advocates. The rest was super fast. Once someone finds out that an entrepreneur has a really cool idea and team, everyone in Silicon Valley knows about it within a day or two.”

Finally, Berk had some advice for the startup community. “Make sure one of the founding team member is a technology person,” he said. “And if you can find a really good designer, get him/her from the start of company. Coming up with a brand identity is really hard.”

Follow me @LouisBedigian