Daniel, I do not think these decisions should be made on what device is cheaper, or currently more widespread, but rather, for education for all, on what devices are best for highly effective learning material. I know how to do highly adaptive tutorial material on PCs, but I do not see anyone doing it on cell phones.
Alfred Bork -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Daniel O. Escasa Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 8:46 AM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: RE: [DDN] the cheap computer Sabi ni Alfred noong Wed, 15 Dec 2004 11:31:44 -0800: > I have long argued that the digital divide is not simply a hardware > problem > to be solved by cheaper computers. Rather, there must be something useful > for the possessor of such computers to do with them, in the native > language > of the user. I'll go even further, if I may. You can only make computer prices so low. I don't think you can *ever* lower a computer's price close to a low-end cell phone's. I posit that in most of the developing countries, cell phone penetration is orders of magnitude higher than that of PCs. In the Philippines, for instance, there are about 20 million cell phone subscribers out of a population of 80M -- a penetration rate of 25%. I don't see PC penetration as anywhere near 10%. Second, the PC is only one access device into the Internet. The cell phone is another. And I'm not necessarily talking about WAP-over-GPRS -- data rates are still too high for most people. What the cell phone has done in the Philippines is let more people access the Internet, even if they're not aware of that. No, they don't browse the World Wide Web, not in great numbers anyway. Instead, they request and receive data through Short Messaging Service (SMS). Having been involved in a project to provide SMS Value-Added Service (VAS), I can tell you SMS VAS users *do* use the Internet, albeit transparently. One concrete example is http://www.doctorgeorge.com.ph, in particular the Text-a-Doc service. Subscribers of Smart Telecomms send a free-form medical query to a special number, and a live doctor at the other end browses a Web page to read and reply to those queries. That's almost a live chat. Another, more prominent example, is http://www.b2bpricenow.com, which is something of an exchange far as I can tell. Suppliers register and price their goods and services on the Web, then (registered) users can request those services and goods and corresponding prices by sending a keyword to a special number. I *think* they may also close transactions through SMS but I'm not entirely sure. As an aside, I called b2bpricenow.com "prominent" because it's received awards and citations from international agencies, and both houses of Philippine Congress. DoctorGeorge.com's Text-A-Doc is largely unknown even here >:( As to hardware pricing, a PC is approximately 4x the cost of a low-end cell phone. In regard to SMS VAS pricing, each text message costs PhP2.50, or approximately US$0.04 -- well within reach of even poorer Filipinos. No, you can't do word processing or spreadsheet calculations or presentations on a cell phone. On the other hand, all three carriers even have gateways to Friendster now. At least two have gateways to Yahoo! IM. More importantly, you *can* use SMS to get information. Point being that the PC isn't the only device for bridging the digital divide. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
