Microsoft OneApp, smartphones applications on non-smart phones

Today Microsoft announced the launch of OneApp, a simple application that will allows users, mainly in the developing world, to run mobile applications on mobiles phones that previously weren’t able to due to limited functionality.

OneApp will be downloaded as a ringtone and once installed will allow to run “tailored” applications such as Facebook and Twitter. OneApp is not an app store and users will only have access to applications chosen by their service providers.

An interesting point is that due to limited storage and processing power on those handsets, storage will be maintained by the service providers rather than the users themselves. How much of that data will be monitored as most developing countries are now known for their human rights records? As storage is expensive the operators will want a return on their investments. Usage prices are already relatively expensive and it remains to be seen how they are going to charge for data transfers via the cellular network, which will no doubt take place through SMS due to no mobile internet on the handsets OneApp is aimed at.

Is OneApp narrowing or widening the digital divide? Narrowing the digital divide should be about access to the same applications and services as the rest of the world. Although OneApp is a good thing, simply providing access to lighter applications to give a taste of what the rest of the world has access to does nothing but widen the divide. We should be looking at providing affordable smartphones (more likely on Android), not patching up old technology.

 

Facebook Lite, adverts Lite?

The internet is supposed to bring the world together, no borders, no limitations, as long as you have a connection. This was the basis of the Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace. 13 years later this is still isn’t the case. There is nothing more annoying than trying to watch a video on Youtube to have access denied because it is “not available in the country I’m in”. I know there are ways around this but the internet should provide similar access regardless of location.

Even more concerning is that the Internet is supposed to help developing countries bridge the digital divide yet some websites are restricting access to only the more profitable parts of the world. There has been some speculations regarding a new “Lite” version of Facebook and why it is being brought out. What is known is that it will be aimed at users with slow internet connections. It isn’t aimed at mobile users as there are already mobile Facebook applications for all major smartphones and cannot be aimed at Western countries as they have plans to have everybody on broadband. This leaves developing countries. Facebook is not trying to grow in those countries, it already is the most popular social network site in all parts of the world and it is only a lack of access that is limiting its growth. Could Facebook Lite be a reduced cost solution for countries with limited income (advertisement) opportunities for Facebook? Perhaps Facebook is trying to reduce the content it is hosting in some (very populous) parts of the world by offering a “Lite” alternative and therefore avoid the bad publicity that a complete shutdown would cause. Let’s wait and see what happens but I do hope I am wrong and that users in any parts of the world will have access to both versions.

 

Forget MySpace and Facebook, Blackberry Messenger is more valuable

Good question in The Guardian today, How do you value sites like Facebook and Bebo? We seem to have jumped from one social networking site to another in the past few years. I had a myspace, then a Bebo and a facebook because of uni but didn’t really start using it till a couple years ago. That’s when I cancelled my Bebo, because Bebo is for chavs. You’d think investors would have been a little more careful before they started investing money in those sites like they have been. How can Facebook make money when no its users are not willing to pay for it, nor want any of their data to be marketed or have their profiles inundated with adverts? Imagine if Facebook adopted a Spotify -approach, you get a pop-up targeted advert every 10 mins or you can pay £10/month for an ad free version? No way. With everyone uploading their pics, it must cost a fortune to host all that data. How do they plan to break even, let alone make profits?!?

Social networking will continue to evolve, and its future is mobile. Logging onto your computer is boring, i want to keep in touch with my friends from a mobile device, wherever we might be. If I’m in a park, in a pub, I want to know who else is around. Surely that’s where the money should be invested. I love Android and how the HTC Hero can run several live apps on its front screen, that’s real time networking updates on your if you’re addicted to social networking. Even better is RIM’s Blackberry Messenger, they’re sitting on a goldmine right there and know it. With more of my friends owing a Blackberry I’m actually starting to use it instead of texting them. Even better, i’m getting real time communication to friends all over the world. Blackberry chat has the potential of being the next big social network. It is very profitable too as you have to buy a RIM device to get in. Twitter has proven that people are not too bother about all that multimedia, 140 characters are enough. Not long till I start asking girls for their Pin instead of Phone numbers with RIM soon due to release the £25/month Blackberry Curve 8520. That’s the iPhone’s killer: price.

 

Rumble in the Cloud

All over the news last week was the (big) story of the upcoming Google Chrome OS and how it is going to kill Microsoft. It will originally be aimed at netbooks and so far it sounds to me just like another Linux (branded) distro. I still cannot see how it is going to end Microsoft’s desktop domination. If anything it will impact Linux recent growth, even though most Netbook users opt for higher prices and reduced performance to have Windows XP on their netbooks. As Anil Dash points out, Google is doing a Microsoft in reverse: “We didn’t bundle a browser with our OS, we bundled an OS with our browser!”.

The cloud is the future, as we hear all the time, but MS Office is the present. Home, work, school, it’s there and most of us have to use it daily and want to be able to edit our documents in all those places. Microsoft have understood that and are Office 2010 most important feature could be its “document fidelity”, your Word doc will look the same on the browser as it does on your home/school/work’s machine, something that Google docs currently do not allow.

Microsoft is going nowhere yet, whether we like it or not. It just remains to be seen how long before Google starts being branded the new evil, a dominant position they want to be in.

 

Blackberries, iPhones, Nokias and now… Meizus

The Nokia N97 has finally been launched, it remains to be seen how popular it is going to be and whether it is going to challenge the increasing popularity of Blackberries and iPhones.  Everyone seems to have, or want, one of those twos. There’s hardly been any mention of the HTC Magic recent launch or the upcoming Hero (HTC smartphone not Enrique Iglesias) outside geek circles. Let’s not forget how popular the N95 was, and Nokia’s worldwide appeal and support.

Although i currently own a Blackberry Curve 8900, which i am very happy with, i believe the future of mobile to be Android. The chinese are starting to put out some interesting devices, although there are also some funy ones too such as a flip iPhone. The Meizu M8 is another knock off iPhone that can run Windows Mobile. They are rumoured to be working on an Android running M8 with a possible 2010 release. I must admit i want one for the fun of it.

 

Google SMS services launched in Uganda

Google SMS Tips is a free service which allows users to have content usually only available through the internet delivered to their mobile phones.
A search string is sent by SMS and Google returns relevant answers by SMS after searching a database. The service is currently being used to deliver information on health and agriculture but its possibilities are limitless.

There are obviously concerns regarding the accuracy and relevance of the information returned, but this will only improve with usage as will the accuracy of the search strings entered by the users.
Another service launched by Google is Google Trader which will act as an SMS virual marketplace.

The mobile phone is the future of web access in Africa and key in bridging the digital divide. I hope that the service providers will soon start offering text/data bundles to encourage this use.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8126003.stm

http://news.id.msn.com/sci-tech/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3417565

 

R.I.P Michael Jackson

 

Android on your netbook

I believe Android to be the future of mobile internet, especially in Africa. Curious and do not own an Android phone (yet) or the emulator? You can try it out on your netbook thanks to a bootable live cd. It is still work in progress but nonetheless a very cool project from the liveAndroid guys.

You can follow them on Twitter and check their How To guide. More screenshots can be seen here. Make sure you follow The Android Site on Twitter for more info on Android.

 

Stunning visuals to illustrate an ugly reality

ted-talk-2009-hans-rosling-hiv-facts

In this presentation Hans Rosling explains the reality of HIV using stunning visuals. 50% of the world’s HIV infected persons live in a few countries in Eastern and Southern Africa with 4% of the world population.

 

The beauty, and co$t, of automation

We love mobile Apps and have a keen interest in their potential in developing countries. Some are great, others not so. In the news today is a new iPhone app called bath-o-matic that will run your bath for your, guaranteeing a hot bath ready for you when you get home after a hard day’s work. What they do not tell you is that you will first need to pay a £4,000 plumbers bill to have the required system fitted in your bathroom.

What’s next? An app that cooks your dinner by sending an SMS to your cook? I think i’ll save my money, it only takes 5 minutes to fill a bath anyway.

http://www.t3.com/news/bath-o-matic-iphone-app-runs-your-bath-for-you?=39317