Thought a thread on tech innovations in the city would be of some interest.
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SmartScreens begin rollout to NYC payphones, City24/7 and Cisco eying expansion to additional cities
Slowly but surely, payphones around New York City are losing their innocence. As planned, City24/7 has started to convert seldom-used booths into LCD-equipped information kiosks, with so-called SmartScreens broadcasting "neighborhood news, current events and entertainment listings, local deals and specials." We're told that multiple mobile apps are being made available via the 32-inch multitouch panels, though as of now, only ten installations have gone live. Over the next several months, the number of installations will increase to up to 250 participating phone booths throughout the five boroughs, and once it's reached saturation in the Big Apple, City24/7 and Cisco are planning to expand into over a dozen other foreign and domestic cities. The SmartScreens are designed to use real-time, location-based services, tied in to the network throughout the city, and moreover, each booth is equipped with gratis WiFi, NFC and Bluetooth capabilities. In other words, they're fit to live in.
SmartScreens begin rollout to NYC payphones, City24/7 and Cisco eying expansion to additional cities
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Bloomberg contest sees a role for pay phones
Pay phones may be going the way of the eight-track tape and are more useful for superheroes who need a quick place to change, but the mayor says there's still a place for them in the 21st century.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications launched the Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge Wednesday, asking urban designers, policy experts...
Bloomberg contest sees a role for pay phones
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MTA countdown clocks coming to smartphones
The MTA's popular subway countdown clocks are coming to your smartphone and home computer.
By the end of the year, numbered-line riders will be able to get next-train arrival times by downloading a Metropolitan Transportation Authority app or going to the authority’s website, officials said.
“The MTA is very close to being able to provide real-time train arrival data without having to go into the station,” MTA spokesman Adam Lisberg said. “We want everyone to access the countdown clocks on numbered lines just by looking at their phone.”
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012...bway-countdown
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