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Trulia solidifies wearables foray with Android Wear integration

Within weeks, Trulia will offer the first real estate app for Android Wear, which will extend the convenience of search and allow for an even faster transmittal of communication between buyers, agents and lenders.

Wearables are stimulating marketers in brainstorming solutions for how to have a customer and data-driven design that engages and responds to the personalized context and expectations of consumers. Trulia is at the forefront here, having launched a Google Glass app last year and, more recently, an app for the new Amazon Fire smartphone.

?Today, we get more than 19 million monthly unique mobile visitors on Trulia and we believe that this number will only continue to grow ? especially as the ?mobile? space expands from smartphones and tablets to wearables,? said Kira Wampler, chief marketing officer at Trulia.

?Wearable technologies like Android Wear and Google Glass are helping to simplify everyday chores and provides you with useful information when you need it most.?

?And while there are some obvious use cases for fitness and health, we believe that these devices play a key role in the future of home search,? she said.

Plugged-in preferences
Trulia continues to pioneer on mobile through visual engagement and empathetic features that upgrade the hunt to be as immersive and visual as being at an open house.

Following the release of Trulia?s app for Amazon?s Fire phone last week, revamped features include full-bleed property images, easy-to-navigate photo galleries and heat maps to visualize important neighborhood details such as crime, schools and home prices.  

Latest app offering
 
The Trulia app pushes notifications for houses that the service thinks users want to see based on historical search criteria or clicks to types of homes in which users have shown interest. The brand?s move into wearables does almost the same, thanks to a direct connection to Trulia?s app for Android so that users can get Nearby Home Alerts fed directly to their Android phone and wearable display on an equipped watch. This gives users an immediate first look at new listings that are close in proximity.

Every time a user is within a certain radius of a new home that has been registered within 24 hours, a customizable push alert sends them all the details. From their wrist, users can swipe through photos and key details about a property. With one touch, they can save the property for later access from their desktop, tablet or smartphone, or contact an agent to schedule a viewing.

This is not Trulia?s first attempt to fuse with wearables. Last year the aggregate search site developed a real estate app for Google Glass.

Sites such as Trulia, Yelp or Google Maps are all examples of services that prove more helpful on mobile than their native PC origins, as people access them in order to learn more about their surroundings and location.

While many are skeptical as to how large amounts of information involved in a process such as home buying could non-intrusively aid search, Trulia displays only relevant and tiny tidbits so as not to overwhelm. The strategy works well on Glass and Android formats because it is reliant on location and photos.

Trusting tech
While much current wearable tech focuses on health and fitness, developers are beginning to think about what awakens alacrity amongst the Mobile Addict segment, a group whom require constant attention, become bored easily and are interested in accessing critical tasks from the palm of their hand.

Given how competitive the housing market can be today, building apps for wearables could help home seekers with the upper hand that they need to find their dream home.

?Trulia has been laser-focused on delivering the real estate industry?s simplest, most helpful mobile products. With more than 19.0 million monthly unique mobile visitors on Trulia already as of March 31, 2014, the number of people who search for homes on their mobile devices will only continue to grow?

 "Finding a new place to live is an inherently a mobile process, whether you?re driving around to check out open houses or searching for new homes on the market from your smartphone,? Ms. Wampler said.

?As wearables becomes more popular, we believe that these devices will become key house hunting tools given how important location and context is in the search for a home.?

Final Take
Michelle is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York