SEVENCLICK
Mobile Technology Evangelists

Reading the news today, I’ve found a couple whose contrast has shocked me. It is about the differences in the process of mobile services adoption in developing and third world countries.

Some developing countries are on the race for an intensive use of mobile technologies. In fact, some countries are adopting some kind of services as mobile banking faster than first-world countries, since there are places where cell phones are more common than bank accounts. In the other hand, other countries are stuck in the past, many times due to political questions.

An example of that, the situation in Philippines and Ethiopia. While the first is making an intensive use of cell phones as electronic wallets, Ethiopians are happy to have SMS back with them. While Filipinos could harness SMS for ousting former president, Ethiopians couldn’t and paid for it: SMS were disallowed for two years!!!

Link Slahphone EngadgetMobile

Scientists of India have made an experiment to prove the loss of to ear using cellphones. Apparently, speaking more than 60 minutes to the day by the cellphone can partially inflict a casual lost of hearing.

The investigation was carried out with 100 participants whose results were positive towards the suspicions that investigators Indian had; the users who had been long time using cellphone, suffered a certain loss of hearing of high frequency, in most cases, of their right ears (most usual to speak by cellphone)

Link EngadgetMobile

A couple of days ago, Nokia MOSH has reached one important milestone: 1 million downoloads of contents, that comes up one month later of MOSH launching as a public beta.

MOSH is a user-generated content innitiative from Nokia that stands for ‘Mobilize and Share’. And that’s just what it is. A repository where you can collect your favorites contents: audio, images, video, applications, games,… and share it with your friends, family,etc. This can be accomplished from your desktop browser and, of course, from your cell phone, and, as we’re talking about a web application, it is not restricted to Nokia handsets: you only need a web browser on your mobile phone.

Nokia as handset manufacturer does not contribute a clear competitive advantage for this service apart from an undoubtly great-valued brand in mobile related issues. So, it is clear that with this service, Nokia takes one step forward in its new strategy of becoming an Internet company.

Via +34.net
Link NokiaMosh

Kristall, a Vodka Muscovite manufacturer, has just presented today a new way to check the originality of their bottles via SMS.

Every Kristall bottle has an special stamp with a unique code. In that way, you can send the code via SMS to the Kristall short number, receiving immediately an answer informing about the origin of the product.

The solution is very useful in a country where every year dead thousands people because of drinking adulterated drinks.

Via EFE

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We haven’t got enough standing up our wifes, husbands, boss or someone else… Now your plants will phone and send you SMS!!!!

Botanicalls was developed to provide a new way for plants and people to communicate in order to develop better, longer-lasting relationships between them.

Instead of using an automatic watering system or developing methods for plants to text or email people, the Botanicalls team has created the means for a more personal relationship. Each plant has a unique voice based on its botanical characteristics, and each has the ability to tell people when they are in need of assistance.

They’re also polite: they make sure to call and say thank you when they get a good watering.

Awesome!

Via BLOC DELS OIENTS DE “VERSIÓ RAC 1″ (Xavier Vidal)
Link Botanicalls

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) published past Tuesday some statistics about telecommunications usage indicators. Let’s outline the data:

• 2.600 millions of mobile telephony users on Earth
• 1.130 millions of people have Internet access
• During first half of current year, China and India registered 200 millions of mobile users.
• 86% penetration for mobile phones in industrialized countries
• 34% penetration in developing countries
• 8% penetration in less advanced countries

Very remarkable that people having a mobile phone double those with Internet access. This means that much more people might have access to the Internet, and that is to say network applications, from its mobile handsets than from a fixed-line-connected device.

This points that in the near future mobile web and mobile connected applications are going to be a very important market.

Moreover, 2600 millions out of 6000 millions does not mean an impressive ratio. Taking into account the relative low cost of mobile networks infrastructure compared with fixed-line ones, a great growth on mobile market can be expected, specially in developing countries.

In fact, it would not be surprising that these countries enter the mobile and internet game directly with broadband wireless technologies as WiMax.

Via Noticiasdot.com

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This is the new TV spot that Vodafone has just presented in Portugal.

I am sure that people will desire this kind of multimedia capabilities in their mobile phones as soon as possible

In the last Broadcasting Worldwide (BCWW) convention celebrated in Seoul we heard some interesting stats about mobile TV in China.

Wu Chunlei, CEO of Shanghai Dragon New Media, part of the Shanghai Media Group, said there are “2.1 million mobile TV users, including 250,000 paid-for subscriptions, at rates as low as $1.60 a month. (In China) Video is the only killer application for 3G so far.”

Maybe this stats could seem so high, but we have to keep in mind that nowadays, China has more than 508 million users (July’07). So only 0,4% of users use this kind of 3G service, less than other countries such us UK, Italy, Germany or Spain.

Via  MocoNews

Cute Circuit, a wearing design and technology international company, made on 2006 a new shirt with touch zones that allows you to send a hug to another shirt through bluetooth.

In that way, touching red zones on the shirt , you can send the sensation through bluetooth or a phone call to another user. The shirt transmit skin temperature and heart rate too.

I am sure that you are thinking in a lot of new applications for this wearing

Via CuteCircuit

Regarding to SNL Kagan report, mobile phone penetration in the US will hit 84 percent by the end of this year 2007, and 100 percent by 2013.

Of course, when we talk about hitting 100% penetration, we have to take into account that around 15 percent will have two or more mobile phones, so it doesn’t mind that every american people will have a cellular.

But the most important issue regarding this report are the differences between American an European mobile market, and why he first is slower than?

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