Creating a device that is 20% smaller than its predecessor, yet packing even more performance and technology into it? Challenge accepted. Challenge succeeded. 

Through an holistic design approach, software and hardware were tackled in concert making integrated solutions possible. We re-invented the router by moving its standard display area to a users' most powerful display: their smartphone. A router which had once to be accessed from its physical location, can now be accessed anywhere in the user's home. Vodafone’s 4th generation router without it's usual display area has morphed into a sleek device with an approachable look, moving away from the expected technical, router appearance.

Launched in four different markets, the audience for both the router and app needed to be carefully researched and understood. We learned that people don’t care about indicator lights, nor know their precise meaning. Thus, we reimagined the entire anticipated experience of interacting with a router, making ease-of-use the driver for all design decisions.

The unique LED feedback light on the 4th generation router is triggered by a proximity sensor; the health of the network is indicated by different colors of light once your hand is placed over the device. The Vodafone router is an example of product-, packaging- and interaction design done in close collaboration with SMAL.