Key to the cell

It all started in June with a call for help.

"One of my girlfriends had called me and asked me if she had a cell phone she could borrow, since her husband had lost her iPhone again and they couldn't afford another one," Laurie Penix said.

Misplacing a cell phone is one of the most common annoyances in the digital age — and sometimes a crippling one because many people now use their mobile as their only phone. Penix wondered whether there was a way to help prevent the loss of a phone.

Six months later, she and her husband, Henry Penix, say they've done just that with the Zomm.

The key chain device, created in Tulsa with the help of nearly 30 collaborators around the world, will be officially unveiled next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the largest technology showcase in the world. The Zomm can send an alarm if the user walks too far away from the phone. It can also act as a remote speaker phone, personal alarm and emergency services dialer.

Although the show won't begin until Tuesday, the Consumer Electronics Association — which organizes the show — has already given the "Best of Innovations" award in the wireless handset accessories category to the Zomm. The competition honors outstanding design and engineering.

The Zomm is the second major business development for the Penixes. The first was the Koala Care day-care center chain, which they built in the 1990s from two to 300 employees.

They sold the business about a decade ago, and Henry Penix became a "semi-retired" business consultant. Laurie Penix assisted him on projects and stayed at home with their children, Zachry, Olivia and Madison.

Henry Penix said he envisioned creating another business but wanted to be sure that it was one that could last. "We wanted something usable that had mass appeal," he said. "We didn't want a gimmick."

Once they had the idea for a cell phone alarm, the Penixes reached out to Peter Hauser of Seattle, a Microsoft Corp. veteran and contributor to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, which develops and applies Bluetooth technology specifications.

They eventually became part of a legion of 30 developers and engineers around the world who collaborated on the Zomm via Internet voice chat and shared files, Henry Penix said. To get the product ready in time for the trade show, the team has been working 24 hours a day for the last three months.

The product should show up in stores by late March, which is a remarkably quick development time, Henry Penix said.

"Peter told us that at Microsoft, they've never been able to bring something to market in less than a year," he said.

The current price target is $79.99, but that could change as the Penixes talk with potential distributors during CES, he said.

The Zomm, which stands for "Zachry, Olivia and Madison's Mom," works by sending alerts if it is taken outside of a cell phone's Bluetooth range, typically 30 feet. First it will vibrate, then activate a series of lights and finally sound a tone.

The alerts can work in reverse, Laurie Penix said. "If you ever lose your keys, you can use your cell phone and the Zomm will light up," she said.

The Zomm also can be used as a speaker phone, typically if the user is driving and the phone is in an inconvenient location, she said. When the cell phone rings, users can press the Zomm's single button to answer the call. Unwanted calls can be sent to voice mail by holding in the button.

The Zomm can also be used as a personal panic alarm. After the button is held in for six seconds, the Zomm emits an ear-piercing squeal, Laurie Penix said.

Continue to hold in the button, and the Zomm automatically dials 911 or its international equivalent, 112, she said. The user can then talk to emergency services workers over the speaker phone or, if that's not possible, a recorded message will instruct the service to send help.

Although the device will be manufactured in Hong Kong, the Penixes said they want the Zomm's headquarters to be Tulsa, because they love the area and feel that its people are representative of the country as a whole.

"Tulsa gives us a good average for the nation," Henry Penix said. "If it works here, it'll work anywhere."

Robert Evatt 581-8447
robert.evatt@tulsaworld.com

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Tulsans' gadget aims to keep phones nearby

It all started in June with a call for help.

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