Technology warms up as BMW Group daughter company Designworks collaborates with ZTE to create the new AXON 7 smart phone.

Shanghai/ Los Angeles. While the digital world
increasingly merges with our physical habitat the demand for
sophisticated, integrative devices grows. However, for many businesses
the true integration of the physical and digital worlds in their
products still remains a key challenge. An industry that stands out in
this respect certainly is telecommunications, with smart phones having
become the harbinger of integrated experiences. To take this
experience yet one step further, ZTE corporation’s mobile devices
division has partnered with BMW Group daughter company Designworks to
create ZTE’s new flagship smart phone, the AXON 7.

Seamless is the new black.

Innovation needs integration: In the future, business success
will significantly depend on the ability of companies to offer truly
integrated, seamless experiences. As a BMW Group daughter company and
experienced wanderer between the worlds of many industries,
Designworks is dedicated to creating premium interactions between
information, products and people with creative solutions. This is what
ZTE was looking for when they tasked Designworks with the product and
user experience design for their new AXON 7. The result is a smart
phone that is not just about superior casing, but equally about
information design, resulting in an interface where function meets art.


The Design of AXON 7: An Emotional Icon of Digital Life.

Given the plethora of information at the user’s fingertips, AXON
7 was kept pure, sleek and simple and without a single tooled edge to
snag the tactile experience. Its paper-thin form is elegant,
comfortable to hold, and streamlined to fit within a user’s pockets.
By focusing on and enhancing the human aspects of the user interaction
with AXON, it offers a highly intuitive user experience that virtually
“warms up” technology. It thereby creates an experience that is not
only natural and desirable but also one that is memorable and will be
closely linked to the ZTE brand.

Unique product features of AXON 7 include ZTE’s dual speaker layout,
which is called out expressively in the design via refined grilles on
either side of the phone. Designworks also optimized the
authentication ritual which often is not very ergonomic, involving a
risk of the user dropping the device. With the new AXON 7
authentication becomes intuitive and easy by tapping an index finger
on the back of the phone where the user’s index finger naturally grips
it. The recess around the fingerprint ID sensor provides haptic
feedback to the user so he is able to locate the fingerprint ID sensor
by feel without smudging the adjacent camera lens.

The design team´s premium and innovative approach to color, material,
and finish treatment significantly contributes to the phone´s sensuous
appeal: sophisticated rich premium finishes were chosen while the
jewel-like detailing is inspired by handmade timepieces. Authentic
materials were used to create a substantial, durable feel which
highlights its superior craftsmanship. The AXON 7 is a smart phone
that is timely and timeless in its appeal. It is unrivalled in the
market and an emotional icon of digital life.

 

In the event of inquiries please contact:

Birgit Pucklitzsch, Communications Manager, Designworks
Tel:
+49-89-5484-9361, Fax:  +49-89-5484-9399
E-mail:
birgit.pucklitzsch@designworksusa.com
Internet: www.bmwgroupdesignworks.com

Matthias Bode, BMW Group Innovation and Design Communication

Tel.: +49-89-382-61 742, Fax: +49-89-382- 28567
E-Mail:
Matthias.Bode@bmwgroup.com
Internet: www.press.bmwgroup. com
 


Designworks, A BMW Group Company

Designworks is a BMW Group company and a creative consultancy
that’s been driving innovation for more than forty years. Acquired by
BMW Group in 1995, Designworks enables its parent company as well as
internationally-renowned clients outside the automotive industry to
grow their businesses through design and creative consulting services.
With clients including BMW, MINI, Rolls Royce, HP, Microsoft, Corsair,
Coca Cola, Embraer, Neil Pryde, John Deere, Siemens Trains and
Singapore Airlines, Designworks is deeply immersed in a broad
cross-section of industries. With studios in Los Angeles, Munich and
Shanghai, Designworks draws upon unique and vibrant resources of
knowledge to create the future. 

www.bmwgroupdesignworks.com


The BMW Group

With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group
is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than
140 countries.

In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and
nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the
financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues
amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group
had a workforce of 122,244 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

www.bmwgroup.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview
Google+: http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com

 

ZTE Mobile Devices

ZTE Mobile Devices is a division of ZTE Corporation, a global
telecommunications equipment, networks and mobile devices company
headquartered in Shenzhen, China. ZTE is a publicly traded company
listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges.
 

ZTE is one of the global leaders in the mobile handset
manufacturing industry in the world, offering a complete range of
mobile devices, including mobile phones, tablets, mobile broadband
modems and hotspots and family desktop integration terminals.  ZTE has
partnered with over 230 major carriers, including the world’s top 50
carriers, and distributers in more than 160 countries and regions
around the globe.

www.ztedevice.com

 

 

 

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