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14th March 2005 - Virgin Mobile UK and Zi Corporation
today announced the first consumer trial of Zi’s
newly launched Qix technology. Qix (pronounced
“quicks”) is an innovative mobile service
discovery engine that combines predictive text
and content indexing to enable rapid discovery
of contacts, features and services on a mobile
smart phone.
Qix provides for the first time an intuitive,
fast search index for a mobile user, in the same
way that an internet search engine like Google
or Yahoo helps web surfers find what they are
looking for. Qix will be bundled with Virgin Mobile’s
Nokia 6630 handsets during spring 2005. The trial
will compare service usage and ARPU between subscribers
with and without Qix-powered smart phones.
Qix significantly reduces the number of key presses
needed to use a phone, thereby enhancing the user
experience for the subscriber and simultaneously
driving service usage and adoption resulting in
greater Average Revenue per User (ARPU).
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Over time, Qix’s interactive memory remembers
new user data, including new URL bookmarks and called
numbers for future presentation. It also tracks frequently
used personal selections over time and then presents
them with priority over other information, providing
easy access to favourite items of the user.
Graeme Hutchinson, Sales & Marketing Director at
Virgin Mobile, said: “One of the biggest challenges
we face is to entice customers to start using the plethora
of features and services on their phones, and to use
them frequently. We believe that the Qix technology
will make all mobile services easier to find and use.”
“As the first completely intuitive service discovery
engine, this carrier trial with Virgin Mobile is an
important milestone for Qix and a key opportunity to
gather first-hand consumer feedback on our product,”
said Glen Morgan, senior vice president of global sales
and marketing for Zi. “In order to create the ideal
customer experience, Zi invested in significant focus
group testing when we developed Qix. We are confident
that this trial will reinforce our findings and belief
that Qix will drive service adoption and subscriber
ARPU.”
The trial will utilize the Symbian OS version of Qix.
About Qix
Qix is a compelling new service discovery engine that
sits on top of user-platform environments and operating
systems. Qix provides a quick and easy method for accessing
a phone’s full set of features, applications and
services without having to remember where and how to
find them via a phone’s built-in menu structure.
Qix intuitively accesses a phone’s features directly
from the idle/dialing screen using the standard keypad.
Visit www.zicorp.com/qix for more product information.
About Zi Corporation
Zi Corporation (www.zicorp.com) is a technology company
that delivers intelligent interface solutions to enhance
the user experience of wireless and consumer technologies.
The company provides device manufacturers and network
operators with a full range of intuitive and easy-to-use
input solutions, including: eZiText® for one-touch
predictive text entry; eZiTap™ for intelligent
multi-tap entry, Decuma® for natural handwriting
recognition and the new Qix™ service discovery
engine to enhance the user experience and drive service
usage and adoption. Zi’s product portfolio dramatically
improves the usability of mobile phones, PDAs, gaming
devices and set-top boxes and the applications on them
including SMS, MMS, e-mail and Internet browsing. Zi
supports its strategic partners and customers from offices
in Asia, Europe and North America. A publicly traded
company, Zi Corporation is listed on the Nasdaq National
Market (ZICA) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ZIC).
About Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile Holdings (UK) plc, the UK's largest mobile
virtual network operator, is majority owned by Sir Richard
Branson's Virgin Group and uses T-Mobile's network.
Since its launch in November 1999, Virgin Mobile has
attracted more than five million customers. Virgin Mobile
employs approximately 1,400 staff at three sites, Trowbridge,
London and Daventry, and has an outsourced customer
service centre operated by approximately 200 staff in
Middlesbrough. It has been voted one of the top 50 places
to work in Britain for two years running in an annual
Financial Times survey and is ranked in 72nd place in
`The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For’
2005 list.
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