Huddle adds collaboration features, iPhone app

Online collaboration service Huddle announced the addition of Web conferencing, an iPhone app, and a Microsoft Office plug-in to its service on Wednesday.

The company's new Web conferencing feature is fully integrated into Huddle. Users will now be able to schedule recurring meetings. They can also share content with outside participants by providing viewing privileges to a member's desktop. A limited number of minutes will be made available, depending on the user's plan. Unlimited conferencing can be purchased separately.

For now, Huddle's Web-conferencing feature is only available to its high-paying Enterprise plan-holders. It plans to roll it out to other paid members over the next few weeks.

On the desktop side, Huddle offered up a new plug-in for Microsoft Office users. The feature will provide access to Huddle files from within Microsoft's office productivity suite. It also lets users save local files directly to Huddle. Users will have the ability to view and edit files, request task approval from other team members, or send notifications. Huddle's Office plug-in is currently in beta testing. The company hopes to make it available by early October.

Finally, Huddle announced a new iPhone app, giving users the ability to access documents, project tasks, and discussions within the group. It's available now for free in Apple's App Store.

Huddle competes in an extremely crowded space. Several companies, including Clarizen and OfficeZilla, provide similar services. Huddle attempts to carve out a niche in the market by making the service affordable. Users interested in Huddle can start using it for free, provided they need just one workspace and no more than 1GB of storage. Plans go up from there to $200 per month for larger organizations.