The user

There are 12 million people of limited sight in Europe. There has been little designed specifically for their specific needs for over 4 years and there is no affordable handset available in the marketplace for blind or partially sighted people.

Currently blind and partially sighted people have to use third party software on normal phones to access them.

This is becoming an increasing problem as phones become more complicated.

The experience

The Blind Phone is aimed at filling a niche requirement for blind and partially sighted people.

A phone designed from the ground up around the needs of a restricted sight person.

From the form of the physical design to the user interface, everything is done to remove the requirement of a screen or any visual input or feedback.

It aims to gain buy in from the blind community early on, and take advantage of Corporate Social Responsibility opportunities with mobile OS and handset manufacturers to produce a low cost device that perfectly meets the needs of it’s target audience.

The user

User needs:

- To stay informed and see how information relates to the world around you.

- To have a fun intuitive way of finding new places that relate to your interests.

- To "Mash up your world" - to be creative with the world around you.

- "Collaboration": To share your view of the world and find others that will share it with you.

- To stay up to date.

- To be able to share your knowledge with others - if you have something to say you should be able to say it and be heard.

- To achieve a playful interaction with information and the world around you.

- To have intelligent fun (this particular concept appeals to both basic and advanced users).

The experience

MyView is an augmented reality service that allows users to share their view of the world and information with others around them. This is done by means of: -

• An open wiki information system: view and add your own information.

• An RSS style feed service, giving you the content you want in relation to your life and world.

• A playful “Day Dreams” mode that allows people to collaboratively ‘mash-up’ the reality around them and share it.

• Increasing the impact of a message by delivering it in context with your surroundings.

• Keeping the spaces around you exciting and in flux.

• Having an impact on the spaces you occupy.

The user

Our primary user would be anyone who uses the mobile device to actively enhance personal productivity & manage their social lives. He is actively a part of offline & online social networks and constantly looks for ways in which he can optimize his time by using new tools. However due to his hectic lifestyle although he does try and make a note of things to do there is a constant need to remind or alert him about things he had to complete. He is exploratory and willing to try out new things while maintaining loyalty and promoting products that have satisfied their needs.

We believe that the user group between the age of 16 -25 would be our evangelist users who will adopt this application first and then promote it within their circles. Of course the product can be used by people of all ages and types since its responses depend on the usage pattern of the users.

The experience

Cloudaware will keep you connected, updated, informed and aware of everything that you can do with your personal information cloud.

Cloudaware provides 3 experiences:

1. Remind me
2. Inform me
3. Discover something

/// How it works (User point of view)

Cloudaware will be able to scan through all the data & activity on the users mobile device, may it be a phone book, saved notes or frequency of connecting to wi-fi zones. It will recognize certain patterns in the content and suggest relevant webservice and applications that will support the tasks the user is already doing.

Example for ‘Discover something’: Lets say the the user has a lot of of international phone numbers stored on his phone and most of the day he is usually in his office or at home, and both the places have wi-fi connectivity. Cloudaware will make then put these two together and suggest that he uses the Truphone VOIP service.

Similary, even for the ‘Inform me’ & ‘Remind me’ features, Cloudaware will scan the users online webscape (after authorization from the user) and suggest tasks and activities that are incomplete or deliver latest feed updates to the mobile device.

/// How it works (Business point of view)

Although services will be suggested by pattern recognition of the users data and activity, there will also be an opportunity for sponsored promotion of one service per category per use. A service provider could buy keywords for a certain duration (a week) that suggest his product from Cloudaware and in return, Cloudaware will show his service or application as the first service in the search result whenever the pattern recognition came across that word.

The user

Up to 80% of women report missing calls to their mobile phones because they don’t hear the ringer or feel the vibration when the phone is stashed in a purse or other bag. A smaller but significant percentage of men miss calls while their phones are in pockets; briefcases or just in another room. In noisy environments such as airports; stadiums and conventions the problem is exacerbated.

The experience

My Link provides a wearable window to your phone (or phones) via a Bluetooth wireless connection. Not a speakerphone or headset, My Link alerts you to incoming calls and messages by any user-defined profile combination of blinking LED, ringtone and vibration. My Link also features a simple display showing incoming caller ID and received message count.

My Link is integrated with a strong clip that may be safely clipped to a purse, clothing, belt or strap, making it easily accessible no matter what you’re wearing or carrying. Use My Link in conjunction with a wireless headset for a completely hands-free mobile life.

Move My Link from purse to briefcase to jacket label effortlessly. Pair My Link with multiple phones, and you’re always ready to go.

My Link does not damage clothing or accessories, is water resistant and viewable in strong daylight. My Link may incorporate a touchscreen interface for simple and quick control of profiles and ringer muting.

The user

Taptu is a direct-to-consumer service and is effectively available to any user of the mobile internet. However we focussed our design around the needs of four user segments: (i) an “iPod Generation” user at university or first jobber. Time poor money rich. (ii) a “Careerist Power User” a Generation X’er who grew up with the desktop internet and is into technology gadgets. Time poor money rich (iii) an “Unwired Social” user semi-skilled blue collar or clerical worker or simply unwired in developing world – key characteristic is lack of PC access (iv) a user in the “Digerati” category he or she is looking for the next big thing - Bloggers Tech junkies media people

The experience

Taptu is a new direct-to-consumer mobile search engine service.

The service has been designed and engineered specifically for a mobile phone - providing search that is relevant and optimised for a mobile device.

A key objective is to create a simple mobile search service for consumers - user experience is core to the company strategy.

The service is browser-based and designed to work on all handsets available today. The service has features including the display of ‘content summaries’ for search results and a sharing feature that enables users to share content they find with friends.