Bubble Motion makes major update to iOS app

Bubbly 2.0 comes with 12 new voice filters, including Boost It, Echo Chamber and Slow Mo

Some people I know hate leaving voicemails. Just can’t stand it. Maybe it has to do with not really knowing what to say, or maybe they think that they sound strange on the phone. But what if they could actually change the way their voice sounded, by adding different effects, or even changing the tone or pitch? Maybe that would solve the problem.

Voice blogging service Bubble Motion debuted a major update for its Bubbly app for iOS Wednesday.

Bubbly works by having people record their message on their phone. They then post the message to their account to share with friends and followers. Version 2.0 of the app will now come with 12 voice filters, to allow for more creativity when leaving voice messages.

In an interview with VatorNews, Bubble Motion CEO Tom Clayton said that, with these new filters, Bubble Motion “took the Instagram approach.”

The filters fall into two categories: enhancing and fun, says Clayton.

The enhancing filters are meant to “improve a users voice” and “give it a cool effect.” Some of these include Witch, a filter that was originally meant to make male voice sound female; Villian, which was originally supposed to turn female voice into male ones; and Helium, which is fairly self-explanatory.

The fun filters include On Stage, which give the voice an echo that makes it sound like the person is standing on a stage, and Grab a Mic, which gives the voice the effect of talking through a microphone.

Other filters available are Noise Reducer, Boost It, Synth, Echo Chamber, Sci Fi, Slow Mo, and Hyper Speed. 

While Clayton says “there are over 100 filters in the pipeline,” these 12 are the ones that had the best effect.

Other improvements

Beyond the new voice enhancements, Bubble Motion has also updated and improved on other features on the app, based on user feedback.

It is now easier to sign on to Facebook and Twitter with Bubbly, as well as integration with Facebook timeline.

In addition, users will now be able to delete posts if they are dissatisfied with them, so that they can re-post.

The new filters are currently only available on the iOS app. According to Clayton, they are being tested on the iOS operating system first since it has a larger base, and users can give feedback. The filter will eventually be updated on the Android app as well.

All of the other updates to the app will be available on Android right away.

Clayton says that the next major update should be expected within the next two months, in which it will be even quicker to post messages to social networks.

This update comes two weeks after Singapore-based Bubble Motion received $5 million from Japanese venture capital firm JAFCO Asia, which the company said it would use to update its smartphone service, and grow its user base on both iOS and Android in the U.S.

Bubble Motion had previously closed two rounds of funding, a $6 million fund in 2009 and a $10 million fund in 2011 from investors Sequoia Capital, Singtel Innov8, Comcast, NGC and Infocomm Investments.