Smartphones have been spreading like a wild virus amongst middle and upper class Egyptians, especially with the release of probably the most popular touch enabled Nokia phone, the 5800 express music and supported by the fleet of HTC devices that are gaining ground in the country. However, do people really make use of those smart devices in their pockets? probably not. Find out why after the break.
Data released by the Egyptian Ministry of Telecommunications an Information Technology reveals that people use their mobile phones primarily for sending and receiving calls followed by sending and receiving SMSs. Shockingly enough, what the ministry has dubbed "3G services" have dropped in usage between 2009 and 2010. I would assume that this phrase means video calls basically, which not that significant to be honest. What is significant is web browsing, that has remained significantly low between 2009 and 2010 at around 1%.
With the world moving towards the 4G era, Egypt remains to be in serious trouble when it comes to embracing the mobile age. Perhaps it's more of a digital divide problem; true that smartphones are getting popular, but it's probably in a very small social circle and true that Egyptian developers are starting to ride the wave of mobile apps, but again marketed to a very small group of people.
People may think technology is of little relevance to poverty, but India is one country that begs to differ. The Asian country has successfully managed to produce the world's cheapest laptop priced at $35. It is access to knowledge that eliminates poverty and this is how India is escaping the poverty trap. For the sake of keeping this post short enough, I will not get into the details about the digital divide, but I'm just tossing this issue out to you to think about. I'll leave with those few points
But I don't think the future is that bleak for the country, smartphones are becoming ever cheaper and they're getting more popular, but what remains to be a problem is the people's usage of what they own. When technology becomes placed at the forefront of the country's list of challenges amongst the other dilemmas this country faces (think education), then this is when the people will grasp the importance of the web and the importance of a smartphone
With the world moving towards the 4G era, Egypt remains to be in serious trouble when it comes to embracing the mobile age. Perhaps it's more of a digital divide problem; true that smartphones are getting popular, but it's probably in a very small social circle and true that Egyptian developers are starting to ride the wave of mobile apps, but again marketed to a very small group of people.
People may think technology is of little relevance to poverty, but India is one country that begs to differ. The Asian country has successfully managed to produce the world's cheapest laptop priced at $35. It is access to knowledge that eliminates poverty and this is how India is escaping the poverty trap. For the sake of keeping this post short enough, I will not get into the details about the digital divide, but I'm just tossing this issue out to you to think about. I'll leave with those few points
- Egypt needs to get on this mobile revolution and fast
- Smartphones need to be accessible to a wider range of people
- Poeople need to be more educated about smartphone usage
But I don't think the future is that bleak for the country, smartphones are becoming ever cheaper and they're getting more popular, but what remains to be a problem is the people's usage of what they own. When technology becomes placed at the forefront of the country's list of challenges amongst the other dilemmas this country faces (think education), then this is when the people will grasp the importance of the web and the importance of a smartphone
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