2. Mini Elevator Pitch
My team, Ctrl+Alt+Delete are developing an app
for android to help anyone with a smartphone
so they can manipulate any app on their
smartphone (including settings etc), without
needing to use their touch screen, or even
unlock the phone, by using user-customisable
sequences of hardware button presses, that
they configure within our app, before using
them.
3. ❏ Users with smashed screens
❏ Users with visual impairments
❏ Users who live or travel in high crime areas
❏ Users who find themselves in emergency situations.
❏ Users who want to use their phones as efficiently as
possible
Who and what - Anyone with a
smartphone, but in particular:
4. ❏ Whilst running, cycling or other activities where removing
your phone from your pocket is a hassle
❏ In emergency situations (e.g. car accidents) where speed is
essential. (A user can contact 999 with a few simple button
presses)
❏ At night in high crime areas where muggings and assaults
can be a problem (allows the user to use their phone,
without attracting the attention of any potential attackers)
❏ While using a bluetooth headset. Having to get your phone
out defeats the point of having the headset in the first
place.
Where and When: Anywhere and whenever
people can use phones, but in particular:
5. ❏ Efficiency and safety, there is no need to
turn the screen on or even remove the
device from a pocket
❏ Allows blind or Visually Impaired people
to use popular smartphones far more
easily
Why:
6. ❏ Having to get your phone out in
inconvenient or potentially dangerous
situations
❏ Having to use a phone with a smashed
screen.
❏ Using a ‘mainstream’ smartphone with a
visual impairment.
The Problems
7. How do you make
using your phone
more efficient?
8. Key Insight:
People have a fear of getting their
valuable mobile devices out in high crime
areas. Likewise they end up in situations
where it just is not practical to do so
(such as when jogging). In these
situations people still want to make use
of the services on their device.
9. User Profiles
Jo Head (female, 26) - tennis coach
“Yeah, I would definitely use that, I would use less time sending default
texts to parents.”
Craig Walker (male, 15) - student
“When I go running, it would be much easier to change song which would
make the run more entertaining.”
Phoebe Hills (female, 15) - student“I
would mainly use it for school trips when we are on the coach to change
songs or during an emergency.”
10. Competitors and Alternatives
that already exist in the market
❏ The only current alternatives to our app
are either an app named Tasker, or
limited functions ‘baked into’ some
companies’ customised versions of
android, or custom ROMs.
11. How our app is an improvement on these
❏ The ‘baked’ functions are very limited, and are
not user-customisable at all, but our app is.
❏ Tasker, whilst extremely functional, is also
extremely difficult to understand for the
average user, and requires lots of time to
configure correctly, in contrast to our app,
which would be very intuitive, making it
easier to use and quicker to set up.
12. What we Learnt From Looking
at Tasker’s Google Play Reviews
13. ‘Essential for power users, beware of bad reviews from the clueless I've had
tasker on every one of my Android devices since the first one (G1.)
Essential for power users, root users and other control freaks. Beware of
bad reviews from people who don't understand what it is or does.
Automate anything. Better with root, but still useful without root.’
‘Confusing I'm convinced that this is the most powerful app I own, yet every
time I try to configure it, it manages to confuse me within seconds and I
give up’
‘Too complex. Still can't master it. This after a month trying.’
We MUST make it accessible and
easy to use for all users
14. Uses potential users suggested for
the app:
❏ Enabling a torch app
without having to blind
themselves with their
screen first
❏ Using the power button
as a camera button
❏ Using other buttons to
perform the function of
a broken one.
❏ Quickly accepting or
declining calls
❏ Sending preset texts
to parents
❏ Skipping tracks or
adding them to
favourites in a music
player
20. Feasibility
❏ Data: Easily feasible. Requires no external
data to function properly. Can work offline.
❏ Content: The only content would be the
preset functions, and this would be easy to
implement
❏ Technical: Could be difficult to implement
without direct support from google or
without having a requirement for the
phone to be rooted.
21. Business Case
❏ Would be supported using in app
banner advertising, as it is fairly
unobtrusive, but would provide a
regular source of income.
❏ A yearly ad free subscription option at
a cost of around £0.50 a month would
also be available
22. Marketing Strategy
Would be marketed mainly through word
of mouth and social media, such as
Facebook and Twitter pages, and
potentially online developer forums such
as XDA. These would be the best value
for money, if not the fastest.
23. Wildcard
We presented our idea to a marketing
expert via Skype and were told we were
“onto a winner.” He also helped us
develop our app to also target the
visually impaired.
