“We need to put human conversation back in the center of email if it will ever function properly again,” said Erez Pilosof.
The startup co-founder hopes to do just that with his new messaging app, Ping. It launches later this month and is a hybrid between email and messaging apps.
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“Thanks to the massive popularity of social networks and messaging apps, people now communicate in a more brief, casual way with different kinds of media woven into each conversation,” said Pilosof.
Ping represents a reimagination of the traditional email experience, turning it into an experience much like you might find in messaging apps like MessageMe and What’sApp. The app works with most major email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, iCloud) for email services, but also works as a dedicated messaging app.

Messages within Ping are organized into a people-centric feed organized by individual people or groups. Each stream is continuous, much like a text message conversation even if that conversation is happening over email. Media like photos and documents shared between friends can be accessed at any point by turning your phone horizontally. The app also supports voice and video calling.
When you’re using the app for Ping-to-Ping conversations, you can see the other person typing, much like you can on other messaging apps. If your recipient doesn’t have Ping, then your message is sent just like a traditional email. A Snooze button lets you put messages you receive on hold to view later.

The app’s notification function lets you assign custom alerts for different types of messages and different recipients, so you have an idea of who’s trying to contact you and how before you ever look at your phone.
The whole experience is a new take on the email problem.
“Email is actually the biggest and one of the best open communication platforms we have today. It’s just lost its way. We don’t need to tame email or feel like we work for email, we need to find a way to let email flourish so it’s finally fun again,” said Guy Gamzu, Ping’s other co-founder.
Ping launches Sept. 18. You can sign up to get access to the app at launch now on Ping’s website.
Image: Ping App