I read a very interesting article over lunch today. It was on cnn.com, and it covered one use of cell phones in developing countries. Turns out some organizations are using cell 
phones to collect survey information about epidemics, such as polio. In these underdeveloped countries access to computer technology can be extremely limited. My company has been involved in a couple of projects in developing countries, and I can vouch for how limited access to technology can be. In fact, the article points out that there are only a little over 300 million PC’s in all of the developing countries put together. I can tell you that even if you can get access to a PC, there is no guarantee you can get access to a decent network connection.
However, as the article points out, there are about 2.2 billion phones in these same developing countries. Let that sink in for a minute. That means that over half of all the cell phones in use in the world today are in developing countries. If we stop thinking of these devices as phones, and start thinking about them as small computers (which is what they really are), it opens up a world of possibilities. Even basic cell phones are being used as data collection device to shorten data collection cycles from months or even years, to minutes. That increased speed makes the analysis and treatment of epidemics much more effective, and saves lives.
Because developing countries have so many cell phones per capita vs. PC’s per capita, they are skipping over much of what has happened in the US over the last couple of decades. They aren’t moving to desktop PC’s, then to laptops, and then to mobile phones as their primary computing device. Instead, they are moving directly to the mobile phone as their primary, rather I should say their only, computing device. And it’s having a direct, and positive, impact on the lives of people around the world. As I have pointed out before, cell phones are moving beyond just phones, and into the realm of mobile computers. The interesting thing is that this may be happening as quickly in developing countries as it is in the US…maybe faster.
Well, it’s finally here. Palm launched the Pre last Saturday, and they are now finally in direct competition with Apple and the iPhone. So which one’s better? For me, I think the verdict is still out.
By now, unless you live under a rock somewhere, I’m sure you know how successful the iPhone has been. They have sold millions of devices in the two years the phone has been out, and users have downloaded over 1 billion applications in the year since the App Store was available. Apple also broke a lot of long standing rules in the cellular industry by having the phone activated through iTunes instead of directly with AT&T, and also by funneling users through iTunes for content instead of through AT&T. The iPhone was also ground breaking in that it introduced the concept of using gestures via a touch screen to interact with the device. What they have accomplished is truly amazing.
Don’t count out Palm just yet. Palm has traditionally been very strong with “prosumers”. This is a term they coined to talk about their sweet spot in terms of users. The demographic Palm originally catered to with the Treo was professional people who purchased their own devices and used it both for work and personal purposes. Add to that the fact that they pioneered the whole smartphone segment 5 years ago, and you have a pretty accomplished competitor for Apple. The new Pre has a slick little physical keyboard, a very nice touch screen, and a gesture base user interface. Sprint says the Pre broke all of their sales records for new devices. Sounds kind of like the iPhone, doesn’t it?
I think the real battle is still to come. WebOS has some very interesting capabilities with it’s application platform. It allows applications to integrate with the web, on device information, and across applications. Of course there aren’t many applications on the device yet. It will be interesting to see what developers come up with on the Pre. Part of what has made the iPhone successful is the slew of applications that have been introduced by developers outside of Apple. I’ll be curious to see how many, and what types of applications get introduced for the Pre.
Tulsa Drillers ticket scanning at the turnstyle.
While visiting our local minor league baseball park this past weekend, I noticed that mobile technology is becoming a part of the fan experience and club operations. It started at the Tulsa Drillers turnstyle, where Leslee greeted me with a handheld scanner which captured barcode information off of the ticket. She said the information they capture helps them create a better product for season ticket holders and other fans.
After stocking up on food and drinks a young lady approached me and asked if I would participate in a quick survey. She had a WiFi handheld device, asked a few questions about the wireless carrier I use and what attracts my family to the game. She was using ReFormXT software which allowed her to check a few boxes on the device as I responded, and that information was immediately fed to a database in the office.
Once seated, everyone around me was texting between innings. A friend of mine was using his iPhone to get stats on the visiting team’s pitcher. A group of young ladies were taking pictures and forwarding them to friends and posting them on their MySpace account. Almost everyone was connected. The only person who wasn’t using a handheld device was the umpire. At least I hope so.
