The war between rivals in the telecoms sector is hotting up, with the launch this week of what is claimed to be the first public payphone that offers Internet access.
Designed by Bristol product design group Kinneir Dufort Design for GPT Marconi, the Neptune Advanced Communication Terminal can give access to weather, the National Lottery and football results, and e-mail, as well as operating as a telephone. The Neptune’s software was developed by GPT Marconi’s Liverpool team.
The 13-month project was prompted by the fact that GPT Marconi, manufacturer of the Sapphire payphone, was “losing out to the Italians”, says Kinneir Dufort founder Ross Kinneir. He adds that the creative brief was to make the phone “more stylish and attractive”.
There are two models, the 400 and the 200, described by Kinneir as “street tough”. They have die-cast metal housings and are ergonomically designed for ease of use. A choice of payment options enable either coins or credit cards to be used in all models.
According to Kinneir, the styling is “very much led by marketing directors”. The colourful phones have been designed to stand out, he adds.
“Neptune has an unusual contour to make it memorable, unlike current payphones that are designed to merge into the environment,” he says.
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