Read all about it! Optus 5G gives children a peek into the future of reading in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD

Some call it magic, others call it augmented reality; bringing children’s books to life these school holidays with the Bookful app

Hold onto your bookmarks: Optus’ Brisbane Queen Street store has the school holidays covered with Optus 5G bringing storytelling to life like never before thanks to Bookful; a cutting edge, immersive technology app which lets children step into their favourite books using augmented reality (AR).

There’s nothing better than getting wrapped up in a good book and todays showcase at Queen Street took this feeling up a notch, proving learning can extend beyond the physical pages of a book. The app includes special 5G features powered by Optus creating a faster, richer and more immersive experience, opening a whole new playful reading universe for children. When using the app children have the opportunity to be a part of their favourite books, having the freedom to pick between diving into a magical undersea experience with Clark the Shark, seeing the towering figure of the Laughing Giraffe jump from their screen or even stepping back in time to the prehistoric age of Dinosaur Days.

Optus is giving children the best early Christmas present ever with this experience; putting the future of technology in their hands. All via an app, these books were brought to life with the power of AR and showcased on a Samsung Galaxy FE 5G mobile and Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ 5G tablet, demonstrating how 5G is taking the future of storytelling for kids to a whole new level.

Each person has a unique learning style and with Optus’ vision of becoming Australia’s most loved everyday brand, it is tapping into this and shining a light on some of the not-so traditional ways of learning, offering a more interactive and accessible alternative. The collaboration with Bookful knits together the physical and digital worlds of the reader to create a rich and engaging experience, making children feel as though they are part of the story thanks to 360-degree AR and the ability to move around and experience the story from different angles.

Optus’ Vice President for Retail and Channel Sales, Maurice McCarthy said, “Optus is focussed on creating lasting customer connections for those of all ages and we are staying true to this by providing innovative experiences for the next generation. Reading brings families together and today’s showcase is a great way to make these times of bonding even more memorable and engaging, while also showcasing our world class network and the power of 5G at our flagship store right in the heart of Brisbane.”

“In collaboration with our partners Bookful and Samsung, customers can stop by and step into a selection of children’s books and experience this incredible technology firsthand. These much-loved books have been built into the app in high definition, with the speed of our 5G network enabling the story to leap from the pages.

“This has all been made possible with the recent delivery of our next generation 5G network to the Queen Street store via a Nokia in-building solution1, giving users the in-store capability of lightning fast speeds exceeding 1Gb/s.

“Whether you’re a child or a child at heart, for the next two months we would love to see children and families stop by and get a sense for how learning and reading will look in the very near future.”

Benny Arbel, Founder and CEO of Bookful’s parent company Inception said, “We are big believers that XR (AR/VR) will be a leading transformer of consumer behaviour. The immersive experiences AR delivers is enhanced by the power and speed of 5G and together can bring a wealth of opportunities to consumers in many areas, particularly education. We are excited to showcase our product on the Optus 5G network and demonstrate how we transform kids' digital time into productive screen time.”

Optus has invested heavily in the roll out of its 5G network across Brisbane and Gold Coast, with 174 live sites and plans for a further 60 new sites to be built across the state by March 2021.

Optus currently has more than 960 5G sites in Australia with more rolling out each month.

Footnotes
¹ Nokia’s award winning AirScale Indoor Radio (ASiR) in-building solution

Media enquiries:
Optus Corporate Affairs
media@optus.com.au
Tel: (02) 8082 7850