Movirtu Collaborates with frog design On User Interface Innovation
Global innovation firm frog design will assist Movirtu to ensure quick navigation and ease of use of their MX series of products for a population in need.
LONDON, UK March 31, 2010 - Movirtu, the supplier of innovative network infrastructure solutions for mobile operators servicing rural poor communities located in Africa and South Asia, today announced the collaboration with global innovation firm frog design on user interface design for Movirtu's MX series of products.
frog has a 40-year history of innovation and design, working with leading companies across a variety of industries to create iconic products and services that transform businesses and improve people's lives. frog also serves as the lead design and innovation partner for PopTech, with which it successfully launched Project Masiluleke, a groundbreaking effort that uses mobile technology to address the HIV and TB epidemics in South Africa.
Movirtu's MX series of patent pending products includes MXShare, which when installed in the core of a mobile network establishes a virtual mobile phone system enabling people who cannot afford to buy a handset to make and receive calls, SMSs and messages using other people's phones or street-side payphones; MXPay which allows people who do not own a mobile phone or SIM to send or receive remittances using existing mobile payment systems; and MXInfo which enables personalized information access and exchange for healthcare, agriculture and education. All the products require no special handsets, SIM cards, or additional client software; they work instantly on all mobile handsets available today using protocols already existing in today's GSM Association standards.
frog will help bring a critical resource-communication-to a population in need, in an easy to use and easy to understand format. frog will focus on navigation, ease of use, and lifestyle appropriateness of Movirtu's products. As part of the effort, frog will jointly work with Movirtu on field studies including one in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya.
“One of our primary goals is to ensure that people living at the 'Base of the Pyramid' find our products simple to use and easy to connect with,” said Nigel Waller, Founder and CEO of Movirtu. “We are proud to work with such a talented firm as frog, and it gives me great pleasure to see how committed they are to helping those living below $2 a day.”
“The team at Movirtu has developed groundbreaking solutions to help mobile operators service those living below the poverty line, where handset ownership levels can be less than 20%,” said Robert Fabricant, VP of Creative for frog design. “We believe that by enhancing the user experience of Movirtu's products, we can create an even greater impact on the lives of people who need them the most.”
“frog is committed to harnessing the power of the mobile phone for world changing social innovation programs,” said Doreen Lorenzo, President of frog design. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Movirtu on a project that transcends the barriers of simplifying access to technology for rural poor communities.”
About frog design
frog design is a global innovation firm and works with the world's leading companies, helping them to create and bring to market meaningful products, services, and experiences. frog's multidisciplinary process reveals valuable consumer and market insights and inspires lasting, humanizing solutions. With a team of more than 450 designers, technologists, strategists, and analysts, frog delivers fully convergent experiences that span multiple technologies, platforms, and media. frog works across a broad spectrum of industries, including consumer electronics, telecommunications, healthcare, media, education, finance, retail, and fashion. Clients include Disney, GE, HP, Logitech, Microsoft, MTV, Seagate, Siemens, Yahoo! and others. Founded in 1969, frog is headquartered in San Francisco, with studios in Amsterdam, Austin, Milan, Munich, New York, Seattle, and Shanghai. frog design is an independent division of Aricent, a global innovation, technology, and outsourcing company, focused exclusively on communications. Aricent is owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Sequoia Capital, The Family Office, and CPP Investment Board.
About Movirtu
Movirtu is a supplier of innovative network infrastructure solutions for mobile operators servicing rural poor communities located in Africa and South Asia to help them create access to basic phone services for more than a billion people earning less than two dollars a day. The company's MXShare product enables subscribers, who cannot afford to buy a handset, to own a virtual phone account with their own telephone number which they can access from other people's mobile phones. By enabling basic phone services Movirtu is helping people access jobs, raise incomes, access displaced family members and, increasingly, is acting as an enabler to send remittances over the mobile phone network. Movirtu is a private company, headquartered in London, UK with offices in Johannesburg, South Africa. www.movirtu.com
For additional information, please contact:
Sara Munday
Director of Marketing and Communications
frog design inc.
T: +1-415-489-3073
M: +1-650-387-2061
sara.munday@frogdesign.com
Julia Simonova Lopez
Marketing Manager
Movirtu Limited
T: +44 20 7043 1131
julia@movirtu.com