Brisbane start-up's life-saving phone gets closer to launch ollo mobile's much-touted mobile phone for the elderly and infirm Photo: Supplied It won't hit the marketplace until August at the earliest, but hype is already building around this unusual-looking mobile phone. Supporters on crowd-funding websites are so confident of its success that they have already forked out $53,000 to get their hands on the first models. But this isn't the latest iPhone or Samsung creation for tech-savvy teenagers - instead it has been designed to cater for grandparents. ollo mobile's Hugh Geiger and Ken Macken, Two years in the making, the Brisbane-designed CloudPhone has been touted as a life-saving device.Brisbane company ollo mobile believes their product can capture a global market. The CloudPhone - which has one button and doesn't have a screen - is a voice-controlled phone worn around the neck. It has a 10-day battery and can make calls to designated contacts, track the movement and location of wearers, and detect if they have taken a tumble. If that occurs, the CloudPhone asks the user if they are ok, and if the person says they are injured or doesn't reply, the device sends an emergency alert to saved contacts" smartphones. If that fails, it can be programmed to ring 000. Taigum resident Hugh Geiger said he came up with the idea for the product in 2011 when his partner's great aunt was injured after slipping in the bathroom. It nearly killed her. She was immobilised in the shower, and it took her a long time to crawl to the telephone," Mr Geiger said. After scouring the market to find a product that could provide alerts if another fall occurred, Mr Geiger said the available technology was "primitive." It prompted Mr Geiger, a currency trader with a background in digital start-ups, to start talking with his friend Ken Macken, who works in robotics. Ken and I started thinking is there a solution here, and if we see one, is it viable? Mr Geiger said. By the end of 2013, ollo mobile's prototype had been a finalist in nine technology awards, with its team of fewer than 10 people lining up alongside international companies with multi-million dollar budgets. Our goal is to be a global care platform. We're talking to telcos in South Korea, China, the UK, and South Africa. So far, there's been fairly broad interest," Mr Geiger said. In Australia, Mr Geiger says discussions are under way with two telecommunications companies. With the phone's settings and data managed online on the internet-based cloud system, Mr Geiger says it will be useful for more than just emergencies, allowing GPs to analyse data about a person's activity. The CloudPhone is expected to cost $249 when it is released, and there will be an ongoing subscription fee for the online cloud account. When we started this, some of our strongest supporters today thought we were crazy. They said "who would want a mobile phone with one button?"" Others told him the product was destined to fail because "nobody wants to wear technology." But with the world's population getting older, and products like Google's glasses and smartphone watches gaining popularity, ollo mobile is banking on the tide turning in their favour.