Femtocell pioneer dials in to Android app

LONDON — Femtocell pioneer Ubiquisys (Swindon, England) has teamed with software development group Intrinsyc (Vancouver, Canada) to offer an application for the nascent femtocell business that offers more than simply better indoor cellular coverage — the ability to change the interface on a user's handset in different locations.

And they have done it by developing the application for another, current high profile device – an Android operating system based handset.

Dubbed the UX-Zone, the femtocell presence triggers from the Ubiquisys FemtoApps initiative and switches over to the Android desktop when the handset automatically switches over from the outside network to the femtocell. The femto-themed home screen could display new icons for high bandwidth entertainment services like video streaming, social networking and home network integration, which would not be present when the user is on the macro network.

"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."

The companies say the pilot application could be adopted by enterprises or businesses to provide a customized or themed home screen on Android gadgets when on campus or within a certain building or even a store.

Femtocell providers have already demonstrated location aware uses of the small indoor base stations, with the customer receiving specific information or apps when in range of the femto, usually the user's homezone.

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