mMode allows AT&T Wireless mobile phone users to access email and instant messaging, play games, connect to mobile sites (for news, weather, and stocks), and use location-based services (to find nearby store, restaurants, or other mMode users). Launched in 2002, the number of mMode users exceeded AT&T Wireless's expectations, and more than one-third of all their customers who purchase GSM phones also purchase mMode mobile data services.

A key goal was to make mMode move beyond the early adopters and attract a mass consumer audience. AT&T Wireless wanted to make content and services truly valuable to customers when they are mobile and provide a reliable revenue source for the content providers who create services and applications for mobile phones, such as AOL, Sony, and Disney.

IDEO formed a team of design, human factors, and business factors specialists, who conducted immersive workshops, interviews with content providers, observations of users in different markets, and created working interaction prototypes for testing on phones. This work led to a philosophy about what makes a good mobile experience, which AT&T Wireless uses to inform, inspire, and evaluate its content providers, take more of an editorial role in selecting content, and take an industry leadership position with expertise on what customers want and need while they are mobile. The combined IDEO and AT&T Wireless design team created an offering that is easier to use, but offers key innovations. Users can now:

-organize frequently accessed services much like a web browser's favorites list

-share mobile pages or sites with other mMode users

-find content by category, popularity, date, and through AT&T Wireless "personas"