iPhone is the key to Africa! (In my opinion)
I’m going to contradict myself here - I criticized the iPhone before it launched, but as soon as I laid my hands on it, all I could think of was ‘Eureka!’. My friend Hash at the White African blog has been preaching mobile computing in Africa for quite a while now, but none of us could have seen this coming. indulge me for a moment…
Phones are the prevalent computing devices in Africa, but they have numerous drawbacks (a ball and chain if you will):
- There are so many types of phones and mobile operating systems that developing software for them is extremely arduous
- The WAP Protocol (Protocol that allows online access on phones) serves up multimedialess web pages that offer little or no interaction
- Developing websites for mobile phones is a resource hog, in terms of labor
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. The iPhone on the other hand gives us the one thing that has become standard across all computers - a true web browser. The real magnitude of this will unravel in coming years. We have come to depend heavily on the web browser for work and play, and having one on your hip means we’re set to become an ‘always on, always connected’ society. Imagine checking your email, reading news, monitoring stocks and viewing FaceBook or MySpace without the need for special software! I suspect by now you see where I’m headed with this.
The device still has an exorbitant price tag, but this is sure to come down. Either way, a standard has been set, and other companies are sure to follow. More later…
i dont think i have been this happy with a device except maybe when they first came out with the vcr.. i agree with you..the rest can only play catch up..
That’s true, the iPhone could be a great gadget for the continent. However, since when is the first phone that comes with a better browser than most other devices? How about Opera Mini? I always use Opera on my Nokia mobile to access any ordinary website.
I’ve been using Opera Mini on my Blackberry for a quite a while now. It is still quite limited. The newer version - Opera Mini 4 Beta, comes close to a true browser though, but not close enough. A browser gives us a standard platform for designing web based applications, negating the need to design for multiple platforms.
What a true browser gives us is access to Web 2.0 and beyond. A lot of web applications today are giving the traditional ones a run for their money. I for instance have come to rely heavily on ‘Google Docs & Spreadsheets’ - the fact that I can create/save my spreadsheets and word documents and access them from anywhere is priceless.
I just had to leave a comment…after reading your post a few hours ago i happened to be listening to the Digital planet podcast, and Bill Thompson mentioned how smartphones hold great promise for Africa… Just had to laugh and say “David already said that!”
Cheers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4849402.stm
When you say ‘iphone is the key to Africa’, I tend to wonder, is it the gadget itself or the precedent that apple has set for the rest of the developers you are talking about? Apple’s gadgets are inaccessible to an average American leave alone Africans who are still suffering from the digital divide. The price of this gadget itself is enough to get one a basic desktop-We should be talking about wiring our African Villages and Towns and laying access points where we can before praising iphone as the Saviour we have all been waiting for.
Nac, maybe I do need to reword my title. The iPhone has indeed set a standard. Nokia has kept under the radar with the development of their new phones - which will supposedly have touch screens that offer tactile feedback.
Tactile feedback is a notch higher than the current iPhone touchscreen. The technology allows touch screen-based mobile devices to provide unmistakable tactile cues in response to touch screen presses.
More here - http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/07/nokia_to_make_t.html
Apology accepted…Just kidding. I think we can both agree Apple is trending on other’s terrirory. The dominant players, namely Nokia and Motorolla are treating this as a wakeup call, we shall surely see alot of innovation that will bring down the price of smartphones down for everyone intrested in around the clock connectivity or being an ‘always on, always connected’ society as you put it.
iPhone key to africa? Yeah, it’s a sexy interface - but isn’t key to Africa a bit extreme? Don’t get me wrong, i think its a great piece of technology, but i wouldn’t say its on the bleeding edge of innovation!
I mean, look what you can already do on Japanese and Korean phones!
The future is about innovative applications - and most of these are based on JAVA (which Apple chose not to support!!)
My idea of innovation - I just got a beta widget at http://www.yoober.com, that lets me send as many text messages as i want (from my mobile) without paying for SMS.
Yes, it’s a beta still, but at least someones trying to do something a bit different and useful. And its free so what do i care!!
Free, cool, useful widgets - That’s the future
But for all those that really can’t wait for the iPhone (and you have a Windows phone) then check out this link - it’s a must look.
Skinning your phone to look like an iPhone