Quick click access to mobile services

It’s not only that mobile phones are enormously powerful communication tools – it's the highly personal way we use and customise them that is emerging and catching the attention of mobile operators. Australian communications giant Telstra is one that has seen the need to simplify how we access mobile services, launching a new mobile user interface – called TelstraOne Experience – that lets its customers access their favourite applications and services with one click.

According to Telstra, users can customise their TelstraOne Experience so they can access, quickly and simply, the most popular applications and services, such as contacts, calendar and call history as well as email, internet browser bookmarks and social networking sites, through an interactive home screen.

“TelstraOne Experience delivers on our one-click vision, giving customers greater control over the services they want to use on their mobile phone,” says Glenice Maclellan, executive director for Telstra Consumer. “This means fast, easy access to advanced mobile content and applications.”

Telstra has launched the new interface initially on two mobile handsets – Motorola’s new touch screen Motosurf A3100 and the Sony Ericsson W705. But the idea is that Telstra One can be customised to suit traditional handsets or touch screens and can be deployed across various platforms, such has Windows Mobile or Sony Ericsson’s proprietary OS. The company has already indicated that further releases on other handsets will roll out imminently.

“We know mobile users want a navigation experience that is intuitive and allows them to get to their favourite features quickly without having to hunt through endless submenus,” says Ross Fielding, executive director for Telstra Product Management. “With TelstraOne Experience, it won’t matter what handset the customer uses, the experience will be similar and customisable to the customer’s individual requirements.”

Importantly, when customers upgrade their handset, they can also move their menu configurations across, as long as it is a TelstraOne handset. This doesn’t include Apple’s popular iPhone and, says Telstra, there are no plans to.

The Windows Mobile user interface was developed by Pointui. SurfKitchen, with Sony Ericsson, developed the user interface for the W705.

Paul Best