South Asian Mobile Conference 2012

What Can you do with your mobile?

Listen to;
Dr. Hans Wijesuriya - Group Chief Executive Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka
Mr. Tomi T Ahonen - Former Nokia Executive, well known author
Mr. Ralph Simon - CEO of Mobilium International

And many other speakers

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World’s First Wind Up Mobile Phone

This will not be exciting news for Sri Lanka as it is a country which has nearly 80% of the households with access to the main electricity grid. But this would be very good news for other countries with poor electricity penetration in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Currently the above phone which is called “Ventus”, is in the prototype stage of development.

As per the TCL (http://tclproducts.co.uk/index.html), the company behind the development of this product, after cranking the phone for a minute, one can get four times that in talk time and it’s powered by a specially developed ultra thin dynamo.

Another interesting feature is that it also has solar panels incorporated into it so if you leave it in the sun it can be left on standby for extended periods of time.

Company has not revealed how near they are going to release it as a commercial product. But hope that would be a great news for people who walks miles to get their phones charged.

[Courtesy: http://www.geekwithlaptop.com/]

-Sameera.

Stop Positioning Mobile Phone as a Mere Tool for Entertainment and KIT

A recent TV commercial in Sri Lanka shows a girl gets a SMS to her phone and says;
“My boyfriend is sending me SMSs too, even after being on phone with me for hours”
The message from boyfriend: “you are beautiful”
She replies: “you are smart”

Most of the mobile operators in Sri Lanka try to position the mobile phone as a mere tool for Entertainment and Keep In Touch (KIT). They mainly target youth for their marketing campaigns.
This has led to various confusions and disadvantages for both mobile subscribers as well as mobile companies. A negative sentiment has been developed among the people and most of the people, mainly the people at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) do not believe that mobile phone has a positive impact on their lives or livelihoods.


The impact of direct access to telecom on the ability to earn more using the phone or save a certain expense that would have been incurred without the phone (mean response) - LIRNEasia Survey

The wrong positioning of mobile phone in Sri Lanka has led to even worst policy decisions such as Government of Sri Lanka banning mobile phones in schools http://ict4d-in-srilanka.blogspot.com/2009/08/sri-lanka-bans-mobile-phones-at-schools.html
So, it is a need of the hour to understand the potential of the mobile phone in Development and position it at the right place. Also it is the time to introduce more and more Value Added Services which goes beyond the entertainment.

-Sameera.

Sri Lanka Bans Mobile Phones At Schools

There are around 11 million mobile subscribers in Sri Lanka and the mobile penetration seems to be very high. It is not a surprise if this number reaches 20 million in another few years time.

In this context mobile phone would be one of the best information delivery mechanism when compared with other electronic media. So it has immense potential of delivering contents on agriculture, health, education, etc.

But this tool has been banned at Schools, why?

This sophisticated tool can be a tool of distraction in the schools. That is why it is already banned in other countries such as South Korea, UK, Philippines and France. This is very similar to what happened in Ethiopia, their Ministry of Education kicked of the OLPC from schools.

Any technology can be used for good or bad purposes/ constructive or destructive purposes. It depend on who use it and what purpose it being used. Best example is the computer, can be used to kill people as well as it can be used to save thousands of lives.

So what should we do? Say “NO” to the technology or teach the younger generation how to use it effectively.

-Sameera.