http://jonathandonner.com Most mobile telephones are in the developing world. Discussion & research by Jonathan Donner. Thu, 08 May 2008 15:13:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en For those interested in mobile banking, here are a couple of recent articles I've found particularly helpful: 1) Gautam Ivatury and Ignacio Mas at CGAP have released yet another insightful focus note, this one on "the Early Experience With Branchless Banking" (related blog post here).  In part of the note, they ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/41 Over the years, I've been keeping an eye on the research literature about mobile use in the developing world.   I first presented a version of this review at a conference in Hong Kong in 2005.  Now, thanks to Leopoldina Fortunati's efforts to pull together a special issue of The Information ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/40 A little while ago, Ken Banks and Kiwanja.net announced the winners of the first nGOmobile competition, designed to illustrate how grassroots use of mobile communincation (particularly SMS/text messaging) can be applied in creative and powerful ways.  You can find details on the winners in the announcement here. Or, check out the press release In Kenya, the Centre for Training ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/39 Sara Corbett just completed a lengthy piece on mobiles and economic development for the New York Times Sunday Magazine.   Its primary focus is the interesting and influential work of Jan Chipchase and his colleagues at Nokia, and it also touches on other exciting developments in the field, including Grameen Village Phone ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/38 With over 250m lines in service, India is poised to surpass the US as the world's second largest mobile market.   According to TRAI, this will happen sometime in mid-April.  Could be today.... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/37 A few years ago, the World Bank ICT Department estimated that nearly 80% of the world's population lived under a mobile phone signal. I'm sure it is higher by now.  I also have often wondered what proportion of these people have access to mobile data (GPRS), since sometimes GPRS has ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/36 The International Herald Tribune has an article this week which suggests that a rapid increase in mobile use (65 million lines) and mobile coverage (half of Pakistan’s geography, 70% of its people), are “Bringing Pakistanis Together”.  But despite the headline, the article is not about the millions of ’everyday’ calls made on the ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/35 Most mobiles, indeed.   A recent BBC news story cites fresh statistics from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and suggests that 58% of the world's mobiles are in the developing world. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the brief piece describes how Keralan fishermen are using mobiles to check prices, thus leapfrogging the digital ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/34 MSR was one of the Platinum sponsors for ICTD2007—the 2nd IEEE/ACM International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development— which wrapped up this weekend (Dec 15-16) in Bangalore.   It was a great program, and it was a treat to welcome so many researchers from around the world to Bangalore. Veeraraghavan, ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/32 Warner Brothers is releasing a re-make of the 2003 Japanese horror film “One Missed Call” (Chakushin ari) in early January.  I haven’t seen either version of the film, but I gather that the mobile occupies a central spot in the plot, allowing unfortunate folks to hear voicemail messages left by ... http://jonathandonner.com/archives/31