18 months ago, I promised Dave that I was going to find a phone that would be very simple for him to use. Dave has tried a bunch of different mobile phones in the past and as a friend I've seen how frustrating it's been for him when a mobile phone is just too complicated for him to do what he wants.

When I started designing the Doo Phone my aim was to create a user interface that would allow real people like dave to have the same access to communication that most of us take for granted. With the simple image based dialling system and no complex menu functions I beleive that this product is going to make a world of difference to the people who need it the most.

It's been a long 18 months, but finally thanks to the fantastic team at Orange Dot and all the people who have beleived in us and supported us along the way, Dave finally has the chance to travel with convidence. We're two weeks into our trial and it's looking like we've found the perfect solution to Dave's communication needs. The only problem we've found is that Dave loves calling his family and friends so much that he's already managed to use all the prepaid credit we loaded on the phone for him.

For those of you who might be interested we are working hard towards a commercial release of the Doo Phone with a view of getting it into the hands of many more people like Dave as soon as we can.

As you might have heard Orange Dot's first product is the Doo Phone. This is a mobile phone interface developed for adults with intellectual disabilities, our aim is for it to be the easiest phone in the world for making basic phonecalls.

The way the Doo Phone interface works is by showing picture based speed dial options on touch screen mobile devices. This is presented in a very simple format and when selections are made the phone will say the name of the person or place you are trying to call, as well as this the screen will highlight the selected image to reassure the user of their selection. The Scroll buttons located near the bottom of the screen enable the user to move between pages of contacts and there is also a button that will switch the screen to a large format numeric dial interface. When using the numeric keypad to dial the phone will give audible feedback on the selections.

The first version of this software (Doo Phone V0.1) is currently being tested on HTC Touch HD devices, these devices were chosen because of their suitability for this project. We are working towards releasing a version of this software in the second half of 2009.

If you are interested in finding out more about our product or you have any questions and/or suggestions please feel free to contact us through the contact selection on thie website.

Here is the video component for our 2009 Mex Mobile User Experience awards entry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFc19nHr1Ig

On March 26, 2009 Rhys Cooper of Orange Dott presented the Doo Phone concept at the inaugrial Brisbane event of Pitch Club.  Pitch Club is an event that "provides an opportunity for 9 ventures to step into a miniature boxing ring where they have 90 seconds to 'pitch' their idea to a crowd of investors, business angels, VCs and other entrepreneur enthusiasts".  It's fast paced, to the point and a great opportunity for someone with an idea to get the word out.

Rhys Cooper effectively enguaged the audience and was voted through to the second round on the strength of his 90 second pitch.  Orange Dot received the second most votes out of the 11 presentations and was clearly well supported by the 100~ people present.

The second round gave Rhys Cooper a 5 minute window to explain the Doo Phone concept in more depth and conduct a brief Q&A session on the revolutionary product.

Rhys Cooper's passion and sound business idea was acknowledged on the night by the judges and received prizes valued at $2500 from Fisher Adams Kelly for "Most Innovative Pitch" and The Focussed Group as well as invaluable exposure for Orange Dot to the Brisbane entrepreneurial community.