NEW DELHI, India – Recently we’ve witnessed the emergence of number of smart initiatives tailored towards local communities in emerging markets that push mobile innovation without the need for expensive new hardware or software. Built on existing technologies, services such as Nokia Life Tools and FrontlineSMS have proved that it’s possible to pioneer with even the most basic tools, such as text messaging.
GLOBAL – I’ve been a watcher of mobile phone use in emerging markets ever since Chris Heathcote planted the thought in my head many years ago. Back then, there were two billion mobile phone users globally and we were facing the prospect of one billion more being added over 18 months, of which 80 per cent of those will be first-time users in emerging markets without PCs. Indeed, the kernel of my Club 1100 thoughts come from that time, and with the reception the Nokia 1202 (very similar to the Nokia 1209 I am using) is having (see below), I think Nokia is onto something.
USA – With OPK earlier in the week highlighting how tech blogs largely ignore the work the likes of Nokia does in developing countries, and me throwing my tuppenethworth in yesterday, PC World in the US has emerged as something of an antidote to the oft overlooked subject of developing world tech. In a piece on PC World.com, Ken Banks from kiwanja.net gives us his perspective on this week’s announcement. And, whilst very positive towards Nokia’s moves and ambitions, he isn’t the least bit one-sided.
ESPOO, Finland – This week will be a lot about innovation in the mobile world (James and I are at The Way We Live Next, Nokia Research Center’s geek-fest for journalists of all stripes).
LONDON, UK – Do we really need smartphones? Indeed, why are they called smartphones? Are all other phones dumb?
I’ve been using cutting-edge Internet-connected mobile devices for around ten years and over time pushed the envelope so far, it’s even got ripped in a few places. Lately I’ve come to see that, in the end, it’s connecting to people (where have I heard that line?) that matters most to me and, for the most part, voice and text seem to do the trick.
Therefore, I hereby announce the formation of The 1100 Club (not to be confused with The 1100 Club).
INTERNATIONAL – Whether consciously or unconsciously most of us place blind confidence in the hardware and services we choose, and security is one of those unconscious lynchpins in the equation of trust. Nokia takes this responsibility of delivering secure products seriously, and recently revamped and improved the security of its batteries to help ensure behind the scenes that all confidence is warranted.
ESPOO, Finland - I saved a few links for today since most had an aspect of the future of how the digital and physical collide. We seem to be so focused on devices still, much like, I presume, cavemen (cave people?) probably sat around the fire discussing round and round flint techniques and flint celebrities. But, I’m more of a scholar rather than a gadget maven and like to pull back and ask what it all means to our future as humans.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA – The humble SMS text message was a throwaway by-product of mobile network service messaging – 160 characters to shuttle unimportant service and billing information into and out of the mobile phone. At one point, some realized that maybe, just maybe, business people could use it for important business messages. It was ridiculed, though – what could anyone say in 160 characters or less? Also, operators created a whole range of SMS-based services, mostly info or download services.
Yet, it wasn’t the business-types who took to SMS. And the only SMS service that really raked in the money was ring-tone downloads, which has been declining in recent years. The real use for SMS originated with the youth who viewed it as an easy hack for communicating easily and on the cheap. They had a lot to say in 160 characters or less, to the tune of almost 2 trillion messages globally last year. Communication has trumped consumption.
And SMS still has far to go. Its simplicity is its strength. Case in point: Twitter.
GLOBAL – It’s looking like some pranksters have been using Nokia to try and elicit some personal info illegally. Several hoax messages have been discovered purporting to be from Nokia and relating to Nokia promotions. The messages, sent by email and SMS, have been cropping up all over.
ESPOO, Finland – This week Nokia launched another NFC phone. NFC stands for ‘Near Field Communication’, a short-range radio-based data exchange technology. While NFC refers to a particular standard, you probably use something similar with tags such as bus cards, ski passes, or corporate access keys that you use by touching to a surface.
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