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The new update (v 1.03) is out and ready to be downloaded. It contains fixes to the bugs we’ve been hearing about and some new verbiage that should help clarify the entire process. Not sure how to update? Here’s what to do…

1) Tap on the App Store icon

2) Tap the “Updates” icon on the bottom right of the menu

3) Tap the Jott for iPhone update and it’ll start downloading. Once it’s done you’ll be all set.

Thanks to everyone who has downloaded the Jott for iPhone application. We are now the #12 free app in the Apple App Store and the #1 productivity app! As always, we’d like to keep an open door with you all and so I thought I’d answer a few questions that have arisen…

Do you sell my personal information?
The short answer is no. Sadly there are some people out there who have taken to leaving some nasty comments that are completely false. I want to assure all of you that we absolutely do not sell any private information. Jott has never, and will never, sell your personal information to anyone. We take our customers’ privacy very seriously and would never invade that. If anyone has other questions about this, please feel free to ask. Also, our privacy policy is available on the website for anyone to read.

Why do you need my phone number?
We need your phone number for one simple reason– when you download the Jott for iPhone app and are new to Jott you need to essentially create a Jott account. Jott accounts do require that you give us a phone number because we began as a service accessible via any phone at 866-JOTT-123. Your phone number is your username in effect. For now we’ve kept our iPhone app really focused on notes, but via our phone number you can create reminders, send hands-free emails and text messages to contacts and use popular Jott Links to web services like Twitter, Amazon and Google Calendar.

Why haven’t I gotten a validation SMS yet?
Due to the overwhelming response to Jott for iPhone we’ve been a little bit backed up. Not to worry though, the SMS will reach you! If it’s been a day and you are still having trouble get registered, please fill out the support form and we’ll get right back to you with a validation code you can call in. Thanks to everyone for your patience!

If you have any other questions or are having trouble getting started, please check out the FAQ or visit the Forums. Of course, you can always leave a comment here or fill out the support form!

If you are having trouble registering for a Jott account on the Jott for iPhone app and live in Canada, we’ve got an update for you…

Turns out we are hitting a slight snag with the text messages that we need to send to you in order to validate your phone with us. We are working on a fix for this right now and will have it out shortly. Not to worry though, you can still use the app in the meantime! Please just visit the Jott homepage and register for your free account there. Once you’re all registered, go back to the Jott for iPhone app and enter your phone number and password and you’ll be all set!

The day all you iPhone fans have been waiting for is almost here! Starting tomorrow the Apple App Store will be up and ready, which means you can go and download Jott for iPhone. Here’s a little preview of how it works…

From time to time we get requests asking for examples of different ways people use Jott. Recently we received one along these lines that was specific to the different types of lists people create. So to get those creative/productivity juices flowing, here are a list of common Jott lists:

To do
Work
Home
Shopping
Groceries
Music
Mileage
Personal
Ideas
Expenses
Books
Movies

I’ve found the Movies, Music and Books lists particularly helpful, though they fall outside the realm of traditional productivity. It’s really nice to not have to struggle to remember the name of that song that came on the radio and I wanted to buy later when I got home.

If there are any ideas you don’t see up there that you think might be helpful for others, let us know!

Did you just listen to something so funny/awesome/interesting/weird that you just must pass it on to a friend or remember it for later?! Have no fear- sharing and bookmarking for Jott Feeds is now here!

Here’s how it works:

1. Call Jott and say “Jott Feeds”, then the name of the feed you’d like to listen to.
2. At anytime while listening to something you’d like to bookmark for yourself or share, press 9 on your phone’s keypad.
3. You’ll be asked “Who would you like to share this with”, reply with anyone in your contact list or a group you created to share it, or bookmark it for yourself by replying with “Myself”.
4. The end result is an email that comes from you, that has the headline and the first line of the article/post, as well as a link to full text.

I am particularly excited about this feature, as it now aides  what my friend likes to call  my “article email obsession”. This is where I feel the need to send any and all interesting articles I read to people I think might enjoy them. I hope a few of you catch the fever too- in my humble opinion, there are few things better than sharing what you just learned.

You may remember a little while back we told you about the Big Business competition going on over at Allbusiness.com. The other day they announced the semi-finalists. Congratulations to all!

• Gabrielle Desantis – Gigi Hill LLC, Yorba Linda, CA
• Mark Harris – TriathlonDVD Productions, Inc., Nashville, TN
• Mike Klausen – Yellow Group, Inc., Cape Coral, FL
• John Sullivan – WellMasters, Lakeland, FL
• Philippa Kennealy – The Entrepreneurial MD, Los Angeles, CA
• Jennifer Lyle – Software Testing Solutions LLC, Tucson, AZ
• John Sanders – Premier Christian Cruises, Inc., Memphis, TN
• Christopher Sands – WebRoyal, Wellington, FL
• Dana Smith - Exalt Resources LLC, Lakewood, CA
• Judi Townsend - Mannequin Madness, Inc., Oakland, CA
• Helena Vanderwey - The Trading Company, Inc., Woodburn, OR
• David Voss - Voss & Associates, Sarasota, FL
• Susan Wilson - The Judgment Group, Stevensville, MD
• Al Orloff - Voyager Components, Inc., Silverton, OR 

It’s certainly not easy to clearly articulate what you are doing and what you want others to know in just one or two sentences. After all, we are used to the world of email where you are free to use verbose language without any restrictions. That’s why I was so happy to come across an interesting post on Lifehack, giving suggestions on how to write messages in 140 characters. It’s a must read for those of you who love to Tweet and those who like to text (and especially good for when you send text messages via Jott).

We’ve been listening to your feedback, and as a result have implemented a new text messaging template. What does this mean? It means that when you use Jott to send a text message to one of your contacts, we no longer include all sorts of extra text about Jott. Instead, we send only the information needed to allow you to communicate w/ your friends.

Here’s what a text message to your contacts will look like…

Jott from John Doe, 12386753209
To hear, call <xxxxxxx>
Msg: [Your transcribed message will go here]

For security reasons, we are not able to send text messages that appear to come from your phone number. So, all Jott text messages to your contacts come from the Jott short code 40101. As a result, we need a way to make sure your contacts know that the message is from you and have a way to reply to you – we do this by having the first line of your text message say “Jott from <your name>, <your phone number>”.

Also, in case your voice message is not converted to text with 100% accuracy (due to background noise, a bad cell connection, whatever – see blog post about better transcriptions) we wanted to include a way for your contact to listen to your message. To do this we included this message “To hear, call <xxxxxxx>”.

Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion for you and your contacts. Let us know what you think!