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City chooses payphone reinvention finalists

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Photos courtesy of the NYC Mayor’s Office’s Flickr

BY ANTHONY O’REILLY

Soon the public will be able to help decide how the city modernizes its payphones.

This week Mayor Micheal Bloomberg announced the winning prototypes from the Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge.

The mission of the design contest is aimed at “modernizing payphone infrastructure and optimizing the use of public space,” according to a statement on the city’s website.

Eleven semi-finalists were chosen out of more than 125 submissions based on “best connectivity, creativity, visual design, functionality and community impact.”

Individual prizes were awarded for winners in each categories.

“New York is the most dynamic city in the world,” Bloomberg said. “While technology has changed all around us, the city’s payphones have remained mostly the same for decades.”

The semifinalists showed off their designs on March 5 at Quirky, a product development company that helps product developers enhance their creations through an online platform.

“The Reinvent Payphones Design Challenge has resulted in some of the most creative and dynamic ideas to date – with the potential to transform the aesthetics and functionality of New York City payphones,” the mayor said.

A contest will be held to see which design will win the “Popular Choice” award, decided by the public.

Voting will begin on Thursday, March 14 at on.nyc.gov/votepayphones and will end on Friday, March 15.

 

 

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