New York First to Roll Out SmartScreens in 250 Public Phone Booths

By Rob Scott
November 28, 2012

Some 250 New York City phone booths will soon feature large interactive touchscreens that provide local information and free Wi-Fi.
The first 10 opened around Union Square in Manhattan two days before Thanksgiving. New booths will be installed across New York’s five boroughs during the next few months.
“Cisco, which operates the new service in partnership with City24/7, said New York is the first city in the U.S. to have its public phone booths given the makeover, which involves the installation of large 32-inch touchscreens highlighting local news, local deals, entertainment listings and more,” reports Digital Trends.
“Information can also be fed from the so-called SmartScreens direct to a user’s smartphone,” notes the post.
“The new-look booths are equipped with a number of accessibility features, including screen repositioning for wheelchair accessibility and headphone access for the hearing impaired. Multiple languages are also available, including English, Spanish, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.”
Plans are underway to introduce the high-tech booths to additional U.S. cities and several international locations next year.

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