CelPhinder: Feeding your mobile safety paranoia
Although it loses marks for poor spelling, BC-based CelPhinder is a cool startup that provides 911 location locking as well as “panic button” functionality for mobile workers. I’m surprised more companies haven’t capitalized on the personal safety / paranoia segment. There’s already a huge industry in pager-style panic buttons – so it’s obvious to integrate the functionality into cell phones!
The UX challenge it designing a mechanism that allows the user to easily and discretely set off the alarm without being discovered by their attacker. When the alarm is triggered, police is automatically notified with the caller’s GPS coordinates. There should also be the ability to continuously track the cell’s GPS – especially if the attack is an abduction. There obviously needs to be safeguards to prevent false alarms.
The company just closed a round of angel financing… maybe they can invest a bit on their web site which right now consists of a single page. Product info is only available by downloading a Powerpoint deck or PDF brochure (which actually doesn’t describe the product either). I’m guessing there isn’t a marketing person on their founding team! 
Tags: VC, celphinder, 911
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