Couple Blog

Google Play Staff Picks Feature!

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:20:00 -0700

Woohoo, happy days! We’ve been featured as a Staff Pick by Google Play! It’s a great honor to be hand picked as an App to Watch and we’d like to send a big hug and thank you to all our users. We could never have been featured without you. To the good folks at Google Play, a huge thank you for noticing us and deeming Couple worthy of sharing. A few of our favorites in the current crop of Google Play Staff Picks are:

Hipmunk Flight & Hotel
Time for a romantic getaway with your partner? Hipmunk makes trip planning painless and fun! Plus we just love the little chipmunk mascot.

Flipboard: Your News
Flipboard creates a magazine just for you - flip to read about the topics you want: from Facebook status updates, Travel articles, to pieces from the Financial Times.

COUPONS & HOT DEALS - Shopular
Shopular makes shopping for good deals easy by popping up when you go to the mall. With the money you save, you can bring your partner on even more dates!

We hope you enjoy discovering some new apps in Google Play’s Staff Picks. Sharing is caring, so don’t forget to share your favorite apps (like Couple!) with your friends and family!

New updates for iOS and Android!

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:11:00 -0700

Hi everyone,
Hope your Mother’s Day weekend (here in the U.S.) was filled with the enchantment and joy only family can bring! Our Couple family on the other hand, was tucked away in the basement working hard on improvements to Couple… we present to you, new updates for both iOS and Android!

iOS update
Videos from Library
You asked and we answered. You can now select videos from your phone library. Just tap on +, the video icon, and select Library. Go crazy!

Direct Call button
Call to tell your partner about your hot new shoes. Enter your partner’s phone number in Settings and you’re set. (Please note the call button links to your phone’s regular call option. Your service provider’s phone charges will apply.)

Delay on Security Code requirement
Set a delay time on when the security passcode is required after you minimize Couple. Go into Settings, Require Security Code, and set a time that suits you. No more prying eyes!

Android update
Call Feature
Hear the warm sound of your partner’s voice with a simple tap of the call button at the upper right corner. Set up your partner’s phone number in Settings and you’re good to go. (Please note that the call button is a link to your phone’s regular call option. Your service provider’s regular phone charges will apply. )

New and Improved Camera
Here’s Ollie, the Twitterrific mascot we received from Cute Fight and Twitterrific. (Thank you!) Our redesigned camera makes Ollie look extra cute with five different filters. (With more on the way because everything looks cooler through a filter.) Try them out and share your photos with us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Secret feature
Can you keep a secret? Tap on the lock icon at the lower right of the screen to set your photo to be a Secret or to Self Destruct. For all the Mr. and Mrs. Smiths out there.

Delay on Security Code Requirement
Choose your desired time frame in Settings and minimize Couple without needing to enter your security code every single time. Convenience and security rolled into one.

We hope you enjoy these new features and that they help further enhance your most important relationship. We welcome your feedback and hope to hear from you soon!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about the new update, please let us know and we will work with you to resolve them.

Download Couple for iOS in Apple iTunes or Android in Google Play
Rate Couple in Apple iTunes or Google Play

(By the way, Couple is cross-platform compatible so all you star-crossed-platform lovers are cool too.)

Happy Birthday, Couple!

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 16:29:00 -0700

One year ago today, we officially introduced Couple to the world. It’s been an amazing year, and the first thing we want to say is thank you to you, our amazing users.

After launching at Y Combinator’s Demo Day last spring, we moved our team operations to San Francisco. Based on your suggestions, we created fun new features such as Secret, Shared Dates and Audio Notes. We made sharing those special moments even easier with Listening Music Status and more photo filters. And, thanks to all of you, Couple recently hit one million registered users!

Every day, we hear stories about surprise dates, anniversaries, and touching moments made possible by Couple. We get e-mails from users who love Couple and are passionate about making it better. Without our users, Couple would not be what it is today.

So today, on our first birthday, we would like to thank each and every one of you. We look forward to growing with you and sharing the many moments to come.

Love,
Couple Team

Our support desk. Standing room only! #health #nositting

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 12:21:43 -0700

Our support desk. Standing room only! #health #nositting

Anyone recognize any of these? #Russian #candy

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:51:51 -0700

Anyone recognize any of these? #Russian #candy

The day 6 of us ate over 200 oysters. It was a good day....

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:39:11 -0800

The day 6 of us ate over 200 oysters. It was a good day. #dollaroysters #mission #sf

Company dinner, aka Russian dinner night! #hungry #dumplings

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:24:52 -0800

Company dinner, aka Russian dinner night! #hungry #dumplings

Free and Fun Date Ideas

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:16:00 -0800

Hi everyone! How is your week? It’s going to be a sunny weekend here in San Francisco and we thought we would brainstorm some fun and free dates! Of course it is nice to go to a fancy restaurant for dinner (Hi Share a Sketch contest winners!) but it is exciting to do something different too. Plus everybody likes free things!

Five Fun and Free Date Ideas

1. Go on a Picnic
Look at what’s in your fridge and bring some food to the park for a picnic. You get to clear out your fridge a bit, get some sun, and look at some greenery (a break from computers and phones!). We love multi-purpose dates like this.

2. March in Unison
Instead of just going for a walk, try going for a walk in unison! Link your arms and walk step in step around the neighborhood. See how long it will take for you two walk like that effortlessly!

3. Act in a Production
A sock puppet theatre production that is. Find some old (but clean!) socks and buttons. Sew the buttons on the socks to make sock puppets. Get creative! Hang a bedsheet over a table for the backdrop and put on a show.

4. Become a Fashion Advisor
Choose each other’s outfits for the day. Anything goes from the bow tie to the checkered shorts. You can also take it one step further by styling each other’s hair!

5. Be an Angel
This date is not only free but is sure to leave you with warm fuzzy feelings all day. Brainstorm ideas to do things for other people. For example, “write inspiring quotes and leave them in books at the library” and “return all the shopping carts in a parking lot.” (Please stay safe!)

Have fun and please share any other free and fun date ideas you have!

Happy Thursday! Our programmers are working hard in the jungle....

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:05:06 -0800

Happy Thursday! Our programmers are working hard in the jungle. #trees

Yes, everyone dropped their work to pet the Zorro. #love #dogs

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:30:37 -0800

Yes, everyone dropped their work to pet the Zorro. #love #dogs

Dogs are always welcome at Couple headquarters. Say hi to Zorro!...

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:10:25 -0800

Dogs are always welcome at Couple headquarters. Say hi to Zorro! #cattledog #puppy

Sushi Time!

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:21:00 -0800

Did our video make you hungry for sushi? Forgot to make dinner reservations for Valentine’s Day? Don’t worry, we got you covered. Why not stay in and make sushi together? Making sushi rolls is easy and fun. Just follow our recipe for a different and delicious dinner date!
Ingredients (makes 9 rolls)

A. 3 cups rice (washed)
3 cups water

B. ½ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons salt

C. sashimi grade fish
tobiko/flying fish roe
cucumber
(all optional, substitute with desired fillings)

D. 9 seaweed sheets

E. Sushi rolling mat (optional but makes it easier)

Directions

1. Pour A into a pot. Cook on high heat and stir. When the water boils, lower the heat and cover the pot. The rice will be done in about 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Put B into a small pot and mix on medium heat. Pour the mixture on the rice and stir well with a wooden spoon. Let the rice cool down to room temperature.

3. Cut C into long thin strips. For the salmon, cut with the grain of the muscle of the fish to have smooth bites.

4. You’re ready to roll!
5. Put some rice on the seaweed and flatten it with the spoon. You want to leave some space at one end to close the roll. Place the ingredients on the rice.

6. Roll the sushi. Press firmly as you roll.
7. Take a sharp knife and cut the roll into smaller pieces.

8. You’re done! Serve with soy sauce, wasabi, and ginger.

Enjoy and please send us a photo through @Coupleapp or www.facebook.com/Couple ! Itadakimasu!

Share a Sketch Contest Week 5 Winner

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 15:50:00 -0800

We have our final Share a Sketch Contest winner! We apologize for the delayed announcement as the first winner we picked did not respond. Our winner is @Spolity! Congratulations!

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our Share a Sketch contest. We have had a lot of fun looking at all the sketches and hope you did too! Enjoy the holidays!

Meet our winners!

What are your names?
Carla and Angel.

How long have you been together?
We have been together for 2 years and 9 months. We met on Twitter 3 years ago.

How long have you been using Pair and what’s your favorite feature?
We discovered Pair in October. I love the thumbkiss (it’s very cute) and he loves “I’m thinking of you.”

Where do you plan on going for your win?
We love sushi and Asian food. We know this place, Asian Bay, and we have always wanted to go. Here is our chance!

Enjoy your sushi meal and send us some pictures! :)

Share a Sketch Contest - Characters

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 23:40:00 -0800

We are now in the final week of our contest and we have seen some adorable sketches. Here are some famous characters to brighten your day!

Want to enter a sketch of your own? You have until midnight PST on December 14th to submit your sketch on Instagram, Twitter, or Tumblr. See details here.

by @brifairley

by @neeeeeeems

by @gurleennn

by @Nugz17

by nk0 on Instagram

by @spolity

Share a Sketch Contest Week 4 Winner

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 15:56:00 -0800

Our Share a Sketch Contest Week 4 winner is @ahoymichelle. Congratulations, Michelle! Here is her winning sketch: Sunsets from Hawaii to California.

Here is an adorable picture of Michelle and her boyfriend Richard.

What are your names?
My name is Michelle and my boyfriend’s name is Richard.

How long have you been together?
We have been together for a little over a year now since November 2011. (Happy belated anniversary, Michelle and Richard!)

How long have you been using Pair?
We’ve actually started using Pair for a couple of months now.

What do you like about Pair?
What we loved about the application was that we were able to communication each other without having to use (iMessage/SMS) and customize what we send to each other. From using the thumb kisses to being able to draw together, we really connected on a whole different level aside from just reading each other’s messages.

What your favorite feature on Pair?
What we really love about the app iss that it holds our memories together so it never gets lost in the other photos/videos that we take on our phones. We are currently in a long distance relationship (Richard lives in Hawaii and I live in Southern California), it’s just nice to have an app for ourselves.

Where do you plan on going for dinner?
I am planning to fly to Hawaii in the coming weeks and go on an over-due dinner date by the beach. I don’t think we have any specific plans just yet, but as long as we are together any place to have dinner would suffice. Thanks, Pair, for keeping us together despite the distance!

You’re so welcome, Michelle. We hope you two have a wonderful sea-side dinner!

Want to win a dinner valued at $200 for you and your partner? See contest details here.You have until midnight PST on Thursday, December 13th to submit your sketches. Click here to see the current time in San Francisco. We will be announcing our final winner on Friday, December 14th. Good luck everyone!

Y Combinator after party!

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:47:00 -0800

This past weekend a lot of Y Combinator applicants were in town for interviews so we invited them to our office for an after party.

What do you think is going on here?

We set up these lights so that they could be controlled by a web view and people could change the colours with their phones!

Some happy people just hanging out at the party.

Here are Oleg (in the blue shirt) and Aswin (in maroon).

It was great to meet some new faces and hear all about their ideas. We hope to host more events like this in the future to meet new and upcoming startup founders!

Share a Sketch Contest Week 3 Winner

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 19:45:00 -0800

Happy December! We have now entered Week 4 of our Share a Sketch contest. We still have two more dinners to give away! You can enter your sketches simply by sharing them on Twitter, Instagram or Tumblr and adding #PairContest and http://tenthbit.com/contest to your entry.

Our Week 3 winner is brydels on Instagram! Who else remembers waking up early on Saturday to watch cartoons like Pokemon?

Here is the lovely couple, Wooree and Nick!

What are your names?
My girlfriends name is Wooree, or just Woo for short. And my name is Nick!

How long have you been together?
We’ve been together for 9 months now.

How long have you been using Pair and what’s your favorite feature?
We’ve been using pair since October. We really like the sketch part! It’s probably what we use the app for most because its fun and cute.

Where do you plan on going for dinner?
Zahav or Osteria. They are two of the nicest places in Philadelphia.

Congratulations again, Wooree and Nick! Enjoy your dinner and thank you for sharing an adorable sketch with us.

Share a Sketch Contest Week 2 Winner

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:31:00 -0800

The second winner of our Share a Sketch Contest winner is @AJBalance1, congratulations! AJ and Sean have been together for 9 months. They met in San Francisco but Sean has since moved to Boston for school. We love their twitter tagline, “SF to Boston - surviving with @Pair”!

They have been with Pair since our Android release back in June and love the thumbkiss feature. For their dinner win ($200 value), they will be going to a fancy French restaurant.

Enjoy your win and please come visit us at Pair headquarters the next time you’re both in San Francisco!

Here is their amazing sketch!

Have you joined our Share a Sketch contest yet? Enter the sketches you’ve drawn on Pair and get a chance to win a romantic dinner for two! Details at http://tenthbit.com/contest.

"Share a Sketch" Contest Week 1 Winner

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:34:00 -0800

Our first winner is Tricia Schmiege on Twitter! Tricia and her boyfriend Roger have been together for about a year. They started using Pair a month ago when Roger got an iPhone. We’re honoured to be one of your first apps!

Congratulations to Tricia and Roger on winning a dinner for two! ($200 value) Tricia said they are going to an upscale steakhouse for their win. Have fun you two!

Here is their winning sketch:

Too sweet.

Let Pair take you and your partner out to dinner! We still have four more prizes to give out. Enter our contest by submitting your sketches on Instagram, Tumblr or Twitter by adding #PairContest and http://tenthbit.com/contest to your post.

We’ll be picking our next winner this Thursday on Nov 22nd. Good luck!

Need some ideas? Seems like a lot of people like animals.

by @_layton_

by @anngong8

by @CatalinaRico

by @epicallyelijah

by @embeetweets

by @thebluematter

by @molly_rooney

by @ERdoc22

by @hippiekyle07

by @jamerry

by @melissairl

by @MKNZlive

We’ll be sharing more adorable sketches here throughout the week! Keep them coming!

Sketch and win!

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 16:23:58 -0800

Having fun with Live Sketch? Enter your sketch in our contest for a chance to win dinner for two! ($200 value) Details at: “Share a Sketch” Pair Contest