Mobile dating app lets singles broadcast their availability

With consumers exhibiting an ever-increasing lust for instant gratification, it was only a matter of time before nowism was applied to online dating. Enter New York-based start-up Urban Signals, a location-based mobile application that enables immediate in-person connections between singles. Launched in January, the Urban Signals app works by broadcasting the location of users based on GPS signals, which enables members to locate nearby singles and meet up instantaneously if they desire. Similar to online dating, each user creates a profile and sets their ideal partner preferences. Whenever their radar is switched on, they are shown the location, mood and status of fellow members of interest within their specified radius. “Signals” are exchanged between users to make contact. The app is free to download from Apple’s iTunes store. New users are given a one month trial, after which the ‘Unlimited Signals’ pack can be purchased for USD 4.99 per month. With Urban Signals taking care of spontaneous love/lust connections, where else might consumers be interested in a similar service for real-time people connecting of another kind? Perhaps parents seeking company for impromptu play dates, tennis players seeking partners for spur-of-the-moment matches… The possibilities are endless. (Related: Online dating, Facebook style — Dating via Twitter — Online speed dating.) Spotted by: John Lally