Jason Grigsby, in his talk, "Going Fast on the Mobile Web," at WebVisions, discussed the mass adoption of mobile phones and the mobile Web in places like Japan and Korea. But in parts of Africa, India, China, and even the Middle East, the industry isn't even bothering to do the groundwork for Internet because there are too many environmental and other barriers. Instead, the mobile Web will become the de facto Web. See his presentation here: http://www.slideshare.net/grigs/going-fast-on-the-mobile-web
The numbers are pretty hard to dispute. There are currently 3.3 billion mobile devices versus .9 billion PCs. There was a good article on this on the BBC site back in January: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7106998.stm
And there have been many articles talking about the positive impact mobile technology has had on the markets, politics and lives of people in developing countries.
They'll have both. Blackberries and other PDA's. Laptops will (maybe) be useless, victimized by advancements in PDAs and our slowly decreasing finger-size as a Darwinistic evolution of our bodies to micro-technology... think about it. :)
Cell phone technology is often cheaper, but computer companies are often unwilling to drop prices, even for charitable causes like "one laptop per child" in impoverished nations. Also, while it seems these days that both products are essential living, a phone is probably still the more necessary product for communication.
According to Sara Corbett's fascinating piece, "Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?" (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13anthropology-t.html?_r=1&or...), cellphone ownership in Africa is doing more to improve living standards than any governmental aid to date. Not only are farmers better gaging and negotiating crop prices with a simple phone call, entrepreneurial women are earning income by selling access to a neighborhood cellphone, and cellphone minutes are fast becoming the newest currency (and phones as mobile banks) for Africans. Until people have better access to education, I think cellphones, not laptops, are more relevant for users in developing nations.
The merit of this argument is that it pushes us to recognize the growth of technology in our global village. I would agree that cell phones will make their mark on children well before the one laptop per child, but it really misses the point in the larger context of the argument. The one laptop per child is unlike any other program anywhere on the planet. It is ambitious, aggressive, and authoritative in ways the cell phone will never be. The MIT professor who pitched the idea has made it his mission in life to accomplish this task and while the cell phones out number the laptops, when the trend goes beyond the communication to learning, watch out. The two mediums are not mutually inclusive of each other. So while cell phones reign supreme for now, imagine what our children will teach us when they master technology like most of us mastered riding a bike.
In the meantime, I'm putting my money on the Dick Tracy watch. . .
I was in Japan not too long ago and the people there are completely phone-obsessed. During the morning commutes on the subway, I witnessed a majority of the people staring aimlessly at their cellphones. It was depressing to see how disconnected they were to their surroundings while being connected to the mobile web. When I came back to the States, it was back to good ole yelling and smelling on the NYC subway system. It was a nice change to finally see people communicate with one another, albeit both positively and negatively. As for going Jason Grisby's talk, I say not so fast or you'll miss out on everything.
Well talking build bridges, sharing your perspective and popping in the person's whom you are talking to, not that bad an idea. Disconnected we all are while we are surfing, or just randomly taking a web tour. Pros and cons, i shall go with the earlier for sure.
Comments | 8 Total
May 29, 2008 at 9:34am by Lynne d Johnson
Jason Grigsby, in his talk, "Going Fast on the Mobile Web," at WebVisions, discussed the mass adoption of mobile phones and the mobile Web in places like Japan and Korea. But in parts of Africa, India, China, and even the Middle East, the industry isn't even bothering to do the groundwork for Internet because there are too many environmental and other barriers. Instead, the mobile Web will become the de facto Web. See his presentation here: http://www.slideshare.net/grigs/going-fast-on-the-mobile-web
May 29, 2008 at 10:39am by Jason Grigsby
The numbers are pretty hard to dispute. There are currently 3.3 billion mobile devices versus .9 billion PCs. There was a good article on this on the BBC site back in January:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7106998.stm
And there have been many articles talking about the positive impact mobile technology has had on the markets, politics and lives of people in developing countries.
May 29, 2008 at 10:52am by Michael De'Shazer
They'll have both. Blackberries and other PDA's. Laptops will (maybe) be useless, victimized by advancements in PDAs and our slowly decreasing finger-size as a Darwinistic evolution of our bodies to micro-technology... think about it. :)
May 29, 2008 at 12:20pm by Rachel King
Cell phone technology is often cheaper, but computer companies are often unwilling to drop prices, even for charitable causes like "one laptop per child" in impoverished nations. Also, while it seems these days that both products are essential living, a phone is probably still the more necessary product for communication.
May 29, 2008 at 3:28pm by Gloria Sin
According to Sara Corbett's fascinating piece, "Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?" (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/magazine/13anthropology-t.html?_r=1&or...), cellphone ownership in Africa is doing more to improve living standards than any governmental aid to date. Not only are farmers better gaging and negotiating crop prices with a simple phone call, entrepreneurial women are earning income by selling access to a neighborhood cellphone, and cellphone minutes are fast becoming the newest currency (and phones as mobile banks) for Africans. Until people have better access to education, I think cellphones, not laptops, are more relevant for users in developing nations.
May 29, 2008 at 8:12pm by Jay Tatum
The merit of this argument is that it pushes us to recognize the growth of technology in our global village. I would agree that cell phones will make their mark on children well before the one laptop per child, but it really misses the point in the larger context of the argument. The one laptop per child is unlike any other program anywhere on the planet. It is ambitious, aggressive, and authoritative in ways the cell phone will never be. The MIT professor who pitched the idea has made it his mission in life to accomplish this task and while the cell phones out number the laptops, when the trend goes beyond the communication to learning, watch out. The two mediums are not mutually inclusive of each other. So while cell phones reign supreme for now, imagine what our children will teach us when they master technology like most of us mastered riding a bike.
In the meantime, I'm putting my money on the Dick Tracy watch. . .
May 30, 2008 at 12:27am by Gene Lu
I was in Japan not too long ago and the people there are completely phone-obsessed. During the morning commutes on the subway, I witnessed a majority of the people staring aimlessly at their cellphones. It was depressing to see how disconnected they were to their surroundings while being connected to the mobile web. When I came back to the States, it was back to good ole yelling and smelling on the NYC subway system. It was a nice change to finally see people communicate with one another, albeit both positively and negatively. As for going Jason Grisby's talk, I say not so fast or you'll miss out on everything.
June 2, 2008 at 10:13am by ravi adhikari
Well talking build bridges, sharing your perspective and popping in the person's whom you are talking to, not that bad an idea. Disconnected we all are while we are surfing, or just randomly taking a web tour. Pros and cons, i shall go with the earlier for sure.