PlanHound Android App Tracks Your Mobile Usage, Then Recommends Better Plan

We last wrote about 3GSimplified and promised to return with more information. The folks at Cheeni Labs, creators of 3GSimplified, have gotten back to us with some incredible news. Besides a web version, Ankit Chhajer, the co-founder of Cheeni Labs, told us that his team has created PlanHound, an Android app that automatically tracks users’ mobile usage and recommends a better mobile price plan based on their usage — all this within an app.

He told me that the idea was inspired by a survey they did not too long ago. The survey results reflected that most users don’t know how many minutes they spend talking on the phone, or how many SMSes they send each month. The solution is simple – create an app to track usage levels. Plus, recommend them the best mobile price plan that suits their usage behavior. Ankit explained to me further:

The app looks at your call log and SMS log, and uses those to make accurate [mobile price] plan recommendations. It automatically calculates the number of calls you made and whether the call is local or STD, mobile or landline, in-network or out-network, and so on.

Once the app “understands” your usage levels, it will recommend a list of plans that better suits your needs. Ankit gave me an example:

When we tested this app, one user refused to believe that his STD call usage was more than 500 minutes. He thought there was something wrong with the app. We crosschecked and realized that indeed he had made so many calls and that was news to him. After that we matched him to a plan that saved him money. We realized that this app has a real use case.

We were also curious as to how the team actually gathers data from all the telecoms companies in India. Ankit explained that they have a dedicated team with tools to crawl and gather information from telco’s websites. The app looks helpful but it only works on 3G-enabled mobile price plans. It doesn’t include 2G plans. But Ankit says that his team is looking to track those very soon too, including Internet providers, broadband, and even landlines. The app will eventually be available in other platforms as well.

It’s a very clever idea to crawl and compare mobile price plans based on users needs, and it seems like the team is doing it right. It’s unquestionably a useful app for mobile users in India.