Posts tagged Africa

OLPC Project Puts Tablets In The Hands Of Formerly Illiterate Children With Amazing Results | TechCrunch

The hut became a focal point for the town’s children, and the kids loved their tablets so much that they slept with them. One kid would learn how to launch a Disney movie and the others would follow. Another kid learned how to unlock the built-in camera. It was a form of viral education that we see, under the surface of many childhood interactions, every day. They learned without learning.

The Sleeping Giants Of African Mobile Payments | TechCrunch

So while much of the rest of the world, including Canada and Sweden, looks to credit cards as the key to a cashless economy, Africa has – out of necessity – leapfrogged this step all together and tapped into the power of the ubiquitous cellphone. These services are changing people’s lives and countries’ economies, as well as underpinning a thriving startup community across the continent developing an eco-system around these payment giants.

In Five Years, Most Africans Will Have Smartphones | TechCrunch

Current smartphone penetration estimates range from 3% to 17% , but I’m most convinced by Samsung’s estimate of ~7% , up from 5% last year. Doesn’t sound like much, does it? But…

Gerd comments: make the THREE YEARS imho

SMS revenue under threat | Telcos and Operators get ready:)

Global research company Ovum says that, in the next four years, mobile operators will have lost $54 billion in SMS revenue, because of the increasing popularity of social messaging (SM) services on smartphones. This is more than double the $23 billion they are expected to have lost by the end of this year.