The Economics of Ergonomics

To most, the term “ergonomics” refers to an Aeron office chair. To David Levy, it's how to get consumers to adopt the wireless Internet. Levy, founder and chief technology officer of Digit Wireless, has focused on making the user experience a little less painful.

His invention, the Fastap keypad, is a computer interface component about one-third the size of a credit card that is geared toward portable devices. The device looks like a typical wireless phone keypad but has keys designated to letters as well as numbers. When integrated with a mobile phone, Fastap is designed to provide instant access to each letter and basic punctuation as well as the traditional telephone keypad.

“Input technology as a whole is undervalued,” Levy said, likening Fastap to the advent of the Internet browser. Once the browser and the mouse were introduced, the Internet went from being something purely academic to a resource that changed the world for average consumers, he said.

The wireless Internet is like starting over. Until now, companies have been trying to create solutions to combine two gigantic industries — telecom and computing — despite the fact that they were designed to evolve differently. Because the phone has a decades-old user interface, it's been difficult for the wireless Internet to attract customers, Levy said. In order for the wireless Internet to flourish, telephones need more of a computer interface.

“Look at the PC and the Internet. It never took off until we had a desktop that used icons and the drag-and-drop function. If we still had DOS, PC penetration would be very low,” said John Facella, president and CEO of Digit Wireless. “It took this interface to make it easy for everyone to do. We think this will happen with the wireless Internet and messaging — ease of use equals use.”

Digit Wireless came to market in March 2001 by following the road less traveled. Levy, who has been an inventor for most of his life, came up with the Fastap idea by thinking of a technology solution with long-term potential. “A general perspective all inventors have is that everything will be done differently in the future,” he said.

Levy's penchant for making computing devices user-friendly was ignited during his five-year stint as the head of portable device ergonomics for Apple Computer. While at Apple, he helped the company invent a laptop with keyboard functionalities that were more ergonomically desirable, which helped that device reach 100% market penetration. He also was involved in the company's introduction of a laptop with a touch pad, a product that grabbed 90% market penetration.

To launch the company, Levy initially raised $1.8 million in private funding that carried the company until recently. Digit Wireless currently is seeking venture funding and is in discussions with a number of parties, Facella said.

Like any good team, Digit Wireless is balanced in terms of expertise. Facella, for example, brings to the game a strong wireless engineering background and a lifelong passion for technology. In the third grade, he won a prize for building a radio on his own, and that was just the beginning. After Georgia Tech, Facella spent 20 years at Motorola.

“I've never looked back after deciding to go to a small company,” Facella said. “While I don't have David's level of creativity, I understand technology and have business experience. Our backgrounds don't overlap, but they represent all of the key areas that you need to run a company.”

The challenge for Digit Wireless will be selling its concept to carriers, which have a direct impact on what the large handset manufacturers decide to incorporate into devices, said Adam Guy, senior analyst with The Strategis Group. “All of the carriers I've talked to think Fastap is great. But there are skeptics who wonder how understandable it is,” he said. “The challenge for carriers will be marketing it to consumers so that it looks like something that will be easy to use.”

Digit Wireless has kept its business development executives on the carrier forefront in order to build up demand. Carriers seem to be getting the message that with a Fastap keypad equipped within the phone, messaging becomes easier to use, Facella said.

“There's a huge opportunity for carriers to make money with new applications that haven't hit the street,” he said. “There is pent-up demand for a phone with a user-friendly input interface.” Digit Wireless said nine carriers in the U.S. and Europe already have shown interest in eventually offering Fastap-equipped phones.

The company currently is in general research and development mode but is proceeding on a steady course, Facella said. Recently, it scored its first licensing agreement with systems integrator FutureCom Global, which will incorporate the Fastap keypad into its mobile phone product line. The first product is expected to be available in the second half of 2002.

The wireless device industry continues to evolve. In five years it could be a mere reflection of its former self, considering smaller handset players such as Sendo and FutureCom Global are sprouting up and filling niche markets.

“We're seeing an interesting series of shifts in the marketplace, one of which includes carriers getting frustrated with traditional suppliers of handsets,” Facella said. “The big guys are only giving them one-size-fits-all handsets, and we know other carriers have approached design manufacturers directly as opposed to traditional players, which is indicative of an industry in transition.”

Digit Wireless will continue to position itself as a company challenging the decades-old user interface of the phone. “Change is hard, and people want to keep the same interface. But once they try Fastap and see how much faster access can be, that will change,” Levy said. “Ergonomics is ergonomics — the only way to appreciate it is to use it.”