Something I picked up via mobile phone body the 160 characters association is this stat that the global mobile / cellphone audience will have passed four billion - or two thirds of the planet - by the end of this year.
It comes from the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO) and is astounding when you consider that 80% of the world's population lives on less than $10 a day.
In fact according to Bruno Lamborghini (really?), chief of the EITO, "the strongest growth in the use of mobile phones now comes from newly industrialised and developing countries."
Key areas of growth include India (up 32%), Brazil (up 14%) China (up 12%). Meanwhile the European market is saturated in terms of handsets (at 641 million, there are more phones than people), but people are trading up to Internet enabled smartphones.
From my colleagues at Cow Africa in Cape Town I know that in a lot of the developing world the land line is by-passed completely in favour of the mobile. Much like an increasing number of consumers in the developed world really.
Research from both Europe and the US shows that upwards of a fifth of us use their mobiles as their only phone.
In fact I wonder if mobile phones as opposed to (very worthwhile) ventures like the $100 laptop could become the great technology leveler. Though richer countries are obviously ahead in terms of sales of advanced phones, eventually functionality should even out, especially given the investment that is being made in the mobile space in areas such as sub-saharan Africa.
- Ovi & Nokia's Future is in the Developing World (gigaom.com)
- Over-65s to outnumber young children (guardian.co.uk)
- Facebook 2012: My Future Vision On Facebook (viralblog.com)
- Extending Google services in Africa (googleblog.blogspot.com)
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