The Perfect Device for the Developing World is Not the PC

From a series of columns in silicon.com, this article by Quocirca's Clive Longbottom points out that computers are not part of the daily life of many people in less developed countries. "At this stage, many countries just don't have the advanced infrastructure required for a full computing experience: they lack connectivity, hardware and software distribution networks and stable power....Yet many people still try to fit the computer into these markets, looking to maximise computer ownership as the main access device for an ever-increasing proportion of the six billion-plus global population." However, as stated here, though markets in developing countries may have an increasing demand for personal computers (PCs), more so than the markets in more saturated developed countries, the real demand and focus of simple and effective technology usage is the mobile telephone.

Examples that illustrate this point are the following:

• "The nomadic herdsmen of the Masai Mara have been suffering from livestock being eaten by lions - and thus have been killing more and more of them, to the point where the existence of the iconic animal is threatened. The charity Living With Lions (LWL) has set up a programme called Lion Guardians in which the Masai place tracking collars on the local lions. Then, using handheld devices, a small group of Masai can keep tabs on where the lions are and ensure that the herdsmen and livestock are kept away from these areas. As a result, the Masai now live peacefully alongside the lions, and are seen as helping to maintain the lion population, which then brings in money through tourism as well.
  
• In many developing countries, the reality of a bank exists for few people. Indeed, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) estimates that 80 per cent of people in the least developed nations do not use any banking services at all. The use of micro-banking tied to mobile phones has been shown to be up to 30 per cent cheaper than other methods - and enables many poor people to join in with financial transactions where they may well have been excluded in the past. The Wizzit bank in South Africa, for instance, has such a capability, with account holders able to transfer money between themselves using mobile phones.
  
• Microfinance organisation Kiva noticed that Peruvian Kiva borrowers were making money by allowing their mobile phones to be used by people in the street who did not have their own device. This aggregated usage enabled the borrowers to get special call deals, and also gave Kiva an idea. If this aggregation worked as a business proposition, it could also be made to work for group microfinance initiatives. Thus a community can now use a single mobile phone to arrange aggregated microfinance deals and repay them. At the same time, the phone works as a communication tool to maximise the community's capabilities to build their business propositions.
• The United Nations Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Vodafone Foundation are working together to enable mobile phones to be used for healthcare improvements in India, South Africa, and Uganda via the launch of the Mobile Health Alliance (mHealth Alliance). Two examples: Project Masiluleke in South Africa is an SMS [short message service]-based HIV/AIDS education and hotline service. And Cell-PREVEN in Peru uses mobile phones to connect decentralised groups of healthcare professionals, who can now call each other and share knowledge as they visit communities."

The following are among the advantages of the mobile phone: needs less physical infrastructure because it is wireless; has a lower cost than a PC and generally a higher level of environmental resistance than a PC; uses less power than a PC; and is not dependent on being tethered to a main power outlet. Batteries can be charged in vehicles or other 12V DC outlets, via small solar chargers, or at a central location. Basic phones are capable of receiving and sending text messages, while more advanced models can browse the web. Whereas the recycling of PCs has struggled, as reported here, due to high costs and security concerns, "the recycling of mobile phones is simple and cost effective."

The article concludes that PCs may have a place in communities in a centralised location as an educational and group resource, but the phone will be the device of individual choice suited to local needs and incomes and built to survive local conditions.