Calisto Pro Series

Cultural Backdrop

While the mobile phone industry has seen extraordinary design and function innovations over the past decade, home communications has remained stagnant. People might wait in line for five days to be the first to own an iPhone, but they don?t think twice about their home phone purchase. Rather, they select a moderately priced cordless phone (yes, black and with a vertical charging stand) and hope it doesn?t get too much interference while heating popcorn in the microwave or using home WiFi networks. Think about it. When was the last time you saw a new home phone that you had to have ? whether it was a new design, cool new feature or wearing style?

Simply put, home phone manufacturers have failed to deliver product that establish emotion and physical connections with consumers. Products that people are passionate about because they empower and accentuate lifestyles. Products that become extensions of the body.

This is changing. As technology innovation in the home increases and consumer demand evolves, the need for new home telephony products that establish meaningful relationships with consumers is growing. With more and more people choosing to work from home (telecommuting, virtual offices, home-based businesses), people are now looking for home phones to convey a professional sound and image as well as offer mobility and simplicity. In addition, the convergence of landline, mobile and VoIP communication present new complexities to navigate.

Function

For a window into the lives of home professionals, the Plantronics design team conducted three rounds of ethnographic research and five focus groups. Their findings directly informed the design of the Calisto Pro Series.

Multitask ? The design team found that home pros are inundated with work and personal communications that require constant juggling, in addition to juggling other roles and activities at home. As such, the Calisto Pro home office phone with multi-functional Bluetooth headset is designed to provide hands-free communication throughout the home and beyond. With the touch of a button, the headset switches between landline, VoIP and even Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone calls. The resulting wireless freedom allows home pros to complete multiple tasks ? e-mailing, making coffee or answering the door ? while staying connected with colleagues, clients, friends and family.

Continuous mobility and connectivity ? With the Calisto Pro handset, users can take calls anywhere in and around the home, up to 300 feet away from the base. Although primarily a hands-free device, the phone is also designed to feel comfortable when held. Its rounded, small form factor can easily slip into pockets or clip to waists for remote dialing and caller ID viewing.

With the headset, users can remotely answer landline, mobile or VoIP calls. The headset pairs with Bluetooth mobile phones for use while on the road. The combination of these wireless features furthers the mobility of home pros, helping them to refocus on what?s most important to them: business success.

Professional sound - The Calisto Pro handset features DECT 6.0 technology for optimum clarity. It operates at an interference-free range to ensure professional sound. The accompanying headset is equipped with a noise-canceling long boom for the best transmit and VoIP performance.

Simplicity and efficiency ? As users do not have access to an IT help desk, simplicity was a key element of the Calisto Pro design. The Bluetooth headset comes pre-paired with the handset and is integrated into the charging cradle.

The handset?s user interface was designed to provide one-touch access to features, such as the call log, that home pros use the most. Even though direct access to the call log is not a standard feature in most phones, ethnographic research demonstrates that the majority of people check their call log before their voicemail to see if a call is one that they want to immediately return.

Users can also download up to 200 Microsoft Outlook contacts (with up to 3 numbers each), into the Calisto Pro handset. Contacts can be associated with distinctive ring tones and speed dials.

Form

Because home pros seek to convey a professional image, the Calisto Pro Series? visual language is one of simplicity and sophistication. The lines and forms draw on classical rules of design with simple geometries, departing from the more-is-more gadget philosophy of the genre. Its clean, uncluttered design allows it to be placed almost anywhere in the home and fit right in. It represents an iconic language, allowing future products to evolve as a family.

To communicate the premium quality of Calisto Pro, the design team demanded a high level of fit and finish not usually found on cordless phones by using durable high-gloss metallic top surface finishes counter-pointed with a soft suede feel for the backside tactile surfaces. The finishes and colors were pulled from a strategic pallet derived from research in color trends and interior design. The premium color scheme uses sophisticated neutral tints that separate it from the default silver and gray of most cordless phones.

Calisto Pro will be available at Sharper Image, Staples, Office Depot and Office Max starting September-October 2007.