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Intrinsyc and Ubiquisys Create UX-Zone, a Femtocell Application for Android Phones

Intrinsyc [1]Vancouver/SwindonIntrinsyc Software International, Inc [2]., a leading provider of software solutions for mobile devices headquartered in Vancouver, and Ubiquisys [3], the leading developer of 3G femtocells based in Swindon, UK have today announced UX-Zone, an application that changes the appearance of the Android phone interface automatically as you enter your Ubiquisys [4]home or office. UX-Zonetm from Intrinsyc incorporates femtocell presence triggers from the Ubiquisys FemtoApps [5] initiative.

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 favorite 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.”