A Femtocell Application for Android Phones
A Femtocell Application for Android Phones
6th May , 2009
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UK and Canada :
Intrinsyc Software announced UX-Zone, an application that changes the appearance of the Android phone interface automatically as you enter your home or office. UX-Zone from Intrinsyc incorporates femtocell presence triggers from the Ubiquisys FemtoApps initiative (http://www.femtoapps.net/).
Femtocells are tiny 3G mobile access points that plug in to a standard broadband connection in homes and businesses. They combine excellent mobile coverage indoors with very fast low cost data connections. As you arrive at a building with a femtocell, your phone automatically switches over from the outside network to the femtocell. Mobile operators are looking at ways of harnessing this combination of fast low-cost data and automatic presence to develop new services for their customers.
UX-Zone enhances the standard Android user interface by switching themes to reflect the phone's location. For instance when arriving home, the phone switches to the femtocell and a "Home" theme instantly appears. The home theme does not just look different; it has new icons for high bandwidth entertainment services like video streaming, social networking and home network integration, taking advantage of the fast low-cost data provided by the femtocell.
On leaving home, the interface returns to normal, and the icons for high bandwidth applications that may not be suitable for the outside network, disappear. On arrival at the office, an entire new range of enterprise application icons appear on a new "Office" interface designed specifically for business productivity. Accordingly, one flexible Android device can be simultaneously tuned for home, mobile and work.
The potential goes beyond home and office. For example when entering a museum the phone interface could change automatically to provide an optimised experience. Equally when a consumer enters their favourite store the phone could adjust to provide the latest news and offers.
Intrinsyc's UX-Zone makes use of the highly flexible Android operating system and allows the mobile operator to brand each experience. The Ubiquisys presence triggers allow the application to operate automatically, without any buttons to press or passwords to enter.
"Femtocells are a great breakthrough in both the usability and breadth of applications on mobiles," said Andrew Hurdle, Vice President of Business Development, Intrinsyc. "UX-Zone simplifies the user experience by mirroring the applications with the user's environment."
"The vision of a "chameleon" phone which changes its look and feel depending on its environment used to be the preserve of science fiction," said Keith Day, VP Marketing, Ubiquisys. "The combination of our femtocell technology and the Android operating system makes this a reality. We are delighted to be working with Intrinsyc on the first of many such innovative applications."
About Intrinsyc Software International, Inc.
Intrinsyc provides software solutions that enable next-generation handheld products, including mobile handsets, smart phones, and embedded devices. The company's products include Destinator® navigation and Location Based Services platform, the Soleus® Transit platform for connected personal navigation devices and Soleus for converged device development. Combined with award winning Solutions Engineering and 12 years of expertise, Intrinsyc helps device makers, and silicon vendors deliver compelling mobile products with faster time-to-market and higher quality. Intrinsyc is publicly traded (TSX: ICS) and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, with offices in China, Israel, Taiwan, U.K., and the United States. www.intrinsyc.com.
About Ubiquisys
Ubiquisys is the specialist femtocell company recognized by the World Economic Forum as a 2009 Technology Pioneer. Its ZoneGate femtocells are manufactured with Sony and are available as standalone units or as part of residential gateways, including the Netgear DVG834GH and SerComm FC210U. In 2007 Ubiquisys created the Femto Forum to promote standards in this fast-emerging industry. ABI Research named Ubiquisys as the world's leading femtocell vendor in their 2009 Femtocell Vendor Matrix. In September 2008 the company announced that Softbank would be the world's first operator to offer 3G femtocell services using ZoneGate. Ubiquisys investors include Google and T-Mobile Venture Fund. (www.ubiquisys.com)