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Show HN: TextMunch, a new SMS app to answer the daily question "What to eat?"

9 points by vantran ↗ HN
Txt "Munch [Address]" to 41411 and get instant recommendation for what to eat and where.

Check out other options at http://textmunch.com.

Only covers San Francisco at the moment. Any feedback greatly appreciated. :)

7 comments

[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 34.8 ms ] thread
danielamitay
Your service is awesome, but competition combined with limited availability is going to be a tough climb.

Do you have any revenue plans? I assume you're using TextMark, correct? How many users are you currently paying for (if you dont mind, or which price tier)?

vantran
Yeah we're on TextMarks Plus. I was going to use Twilio but they don't have short code yet.

No revenue plan atm, we originally built it to scratch our own itch. Then we thought we should share it with others. :)

david_shaw
This is a cool idea; basically an SMS version of (excuse the French in my link) http://whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com

Looks like a cool idea, I hope you find a way to monetize it!

corin_
Not exactly - one recomends a meal (and is designed for humour rather than actual helpfulness), one recomends a place to eat.
david_shaw
Fair enough! I suppose they are trying to compete with UrbanSpoon and other such "random place to eat" apps. I wonder how they see SMS working over an actual smartphone app?

On one hand, SMS allows all phones to be used for the service, but conversely disables the ability to use pretty graphics. Perhaps they will eventually offer both.

Edit: Sorry, corin_, thought you were the OP for a second. Reworded to more generic questions :)

corin_
If this service has anything to do with me I would answer your questions, as it doesn't I shall leave them for somebody else :)
vantran
Hi David. The decision to go with SMS is because it was faster to develop (than a native iphone / android app) as well as supporting all phones.

Soon we'll be coming up with a mobile version of the site that lets you do the same thing without using SMS. We'll post again on HN when it's done.