Well my contract at Verizon for the Verizon One project has ended. It was a great two years and the last year I was given the chance to work from my home office in Oakville, Ontario. We took the product from proof of concept all the way to production within two years. The Verizon One phone was even used at the 2005 HBO Emmy party with a special build on it and featured on Entertainment Tonight. (No video or web links to these yet. Hopefully I will get some)
For those who don't know what Verizon One is here is a picture:
It combines a DSL modem and wireless router with a touch-screen computer and cordless telephone. It's configured for iobi service but also works in stand alone mode without the service. It is basically a PSTN phone on steroids running Windows CE and a combination of .NET Compact Framework and C++. Some features include:
- Call with one click from their address book or online directory assistance
- View information such as weather, movie show times or news
- Scroll through Verizon SuperPages.com to look up and call phone numbers
- View maps and driving instructions
- Use a memo pad to leave notes for the family
- Manage calls as they are received
- Use voice mail more efficiently
- Forward calls in real time, or on a pre-set schedule
- Manage contact lists and calendars
- Restaurant and Movie Listings
Check out the tour on the Verizon site to find out more features.
There was a launch party for the Verizon One phone but unfortunately it was in Dallas a few months back and I was unable to attend. Here is an image of the cake for the launch party.
And here is one of the first booths in a Verizon store.
Various links for the Verizon One product.
Verizon One Main product Page
Verizon Showcase of Products
2004 CES Videos
USA Today
Boston Globe
Converge Network Digest
Engadet
Verizon 2003 Press Release
It was a good run and good luck to the Verizon One Development team!! Now on to the next project...more on that in a later post.