Motorola Motofone F3: ULC phone.
Thomas Menguy | November 26, 2006:: mobiface :: next gen mobile interface thoughts worth a read (as always if you are interested in Mobile UI). From what I know and understand this 40$ cellphone is targetted towards “emerging” countries…but look at this screen: no pixels only an old school alphabetical display. Yes alphabetical, latin alphabet…and guess what, the vast majority of the emerging doesn’t use this alphabet at all (look at china, India, etc.), so please Motorola, explain me how this phone ca be used outside of western countries? Perhaps the market is more for the “america del sur” than eastern countries?.
Anyway this is the first of its kind as Moto (and others) are targetting even lower price tag, the next one should be, I guess, around 30$.
Stay tuned for a next article around one of the unknown but biggest hurdle for low cost phones: Text handling! (will be one of my next article)
[...] Perhaps you’ve heard a lot about ULC (Ultra Low
Everything and the Mobile Software Universe… » Ultra Low Cost Phone challenge: Complex Languages … Are REALLY complex to draw and edit. | November 26, 2006[...] Perhaps you’ve heard a lot about ULC (Ultra Low Cost) cellphones in the industry (many companies are aiming this market, see The Motorola F3)…but they are targetted to new markets, where text rendering/input is really more complex than our relatively simple alphabet: it is mandatory if you want to reach the mass of Indian users, Sri Lanka, Cambodge, Hebrew, Arabic, Philippina , Chineese…and you want cause “texting (smsing)” is a big thing: else your new emerging market will be limited to eastern Europe or South America, and be sure that text messaging will continue growing bigger. Look at the buzz around hotxt (read this mobHappy article about this new service, even if it is all but positive about it or at SMS Text News, please check the comments on this one… ) or Berggi (Berggi GigaOM article, I’m not sure about the business model of such an offer, 10 bucks a month to send sms!!). IM is perhaps the next text heavyweight champion (check this techCrunch article about the next bif ideas around IM) So Text IS big and will stay big…so emerging markets have to have the tools to leverage this potential! Two different issues to be fixed araise: [...]
[...] Anyway It is really good news for Sagem, with
Everything and the Mobile Software Universe… » IS our industry crazy? Sagem To Make Entry Level Sony Ericsson Handsets | March 27, 2007[...] Anyway It is really good news for Sagem, with its talented team to have this design win! But really nothing can surprise me now, everyone can work/buy/trash anyone else, some may be willing to stop in-house production and design of low cost phones (like SE) or other to focus on it, like Moto. [...]
If I would like to load my African language dictionary
Akinyi | April 7, 2007If I would like to load my African language dictionary into a system like T9, what is the most viable thing to do?
1. Develop software with my language dictionary and sell it to the service provider?
2. Develop the software and have a way for people in my country to load the whole dictionary into their existing T9 software as they would add new words as currently allowed by T9, which at the moment allow you to add words that are no in English or words you invent, to the T9 dictionary so that your phone remembers them. Is it possible to this with a whole dictionary rather than just a few words?
3. How difficult is it to develop predictive SMS software for a small market like a country of 10 million cell phone users so that the software is only for their language, and what options does one have for platforms and collaborations to help bring such a product to market?
4. Is there software out there that has the infrastructure for predictive texting, yet is open to the customization to different English alphabet using languages, where one can just load what ever electronic dictionary they have of the desired language?
I know nothing about this world, I am just a consumer who wishes I had predictive text for the towns in my country and our National language. Your expertise would be so appreciated.
akinyiarunga – at – gmail – dot – com
Hi Akinyi, Thanks a lot for the comment. Yes "small" languages are
tmenguy | April 7, 2007Hi Akinyi,
Thanks a lot for the comment.
Yes “small” languages are difficult to address in the current form of internationalization support, I’ll try to answer your points, on the basis that for the African languages I know, the rendering of the text is easy and the alphabet used is a latin one…if it is not the case please correct me.
1. Develop software with my language dictionary and sell it to the service provider?
To do that a first “simple” (hum the right word is “less complicated” ) step to try it out is to write a MIDP application to send and recieve messages tuned for your language: you will learn a lot and “easily” deploy it
2. Develop the software and have a way for people in my country to load the whole dictionary into their existing T9 software as they would add new words as currently allowed by T9, which at the moment allow you to add words that are no in English or words you invent, to the T9 dictionary so that your phone remembers them. Is it possible to this with a whole dictionary rather than just a few words?
Hum really to do this one cleanly you’ll need to talk directly to T9 to have this language then convince a phone manufacturer to do it…Working in that area for a few years now , it is NOT easy!
3. How difficult is it to develop predictive SMS software for a small market like a country of 10 million cell phone users so that the software is only for their language, and what options does one have for platforms and collaborations to help bring such a product to market?
Yes this is the point : developping an SMS software, for today low cost phones is really not easy: it depends on the platform (hardware and software) and above all you’ll have to integrate it with the rest of the system, so you need to convince a phone manufacturer.
4. Is there software out there that has the infrastructure for predictive texting, yet is open to the customization to different English alphabet using languages, where one can just load what ever electronic dictionary they have of the desired language?
I know one very well : us (Open-Plug), but it is certainly not ready just now to allow a customer to add itself its own language (even if we have everything ready for it)
In fact in your case the best strategy would be that your main carrier issue an
RFQ (Request For Quotation) with your language as a specification, with a small-mid size phone manufacturer. If the possible market is 10 Millions, it is NOT small, but the action has to come from your carrier to be sure of the numbers.
The java application would be a good try to be sure of the potential market.
Be sure to check what MicroImage is doing for Sri Lanka where the language is really difficult to handle, you may find it interesting.
Hope this helps…
On the other way I’ve checked your web site and read some of the articles you mention about Micro-Finance, a really good read, thanks.
Some numbers amazed me about some emerging countries and the money people are willing to pay for their phone bill (few dollars a month! so it was meaning around 30% to 50% of their income), and I’m not all that confident with all this energy deployed by the mobile phone industry to get this money … it’s another story.
Regards
Thomas
Thank you so much Thomas for you speedy response! Let
Akinyi | April 7, 2007Thank you so much Thomas for you speedy response!
Let me look around further on the information you gave me. I am encouraged by your product and hope to continue discussing this further.
Please see some of the reasons why i am excited about the cell phone industry in my country. Here is a study i authored on te Cell phone revolution in Kenya and other media mentions of the same. Text messaging still remains the main mode of communicating in these markets as people easily spend over $40 on their phones a month, since the markets tend to have one or 2 cell phone service providers and competition has not lowered prices yet. So texting is what people can afford. Actually developing a dictionary for the short hand that people have developed for txting would be most useful so more can be said in fewer txt messages, since the number of characters per text are limited and you are charged per txt.
Thanks again!
http://www.policynetwork.net/uploaded/pdf/Cell_phone_Rev_in_Kenya.pdf –
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6241603.stm
http://www.globalenvision.org/learn/22/805/
Hi, Thanks again for this great material! $40 on their phones
tmenguy | April 8, 2007Hi,
Thanks again for this great material! $40 on their phones a month wow! Plus your study and the great BBC coverage…hum I think I’ll definitively try to write something about Kenya…
Thanks again,
Thomas
Thomas, Please let me know if you do write something
Akinyi | April 10, 2007Thomas,
Please let me know if you do write something on Kenya. I would really be interested in your take on things with your background advantage.
Best,
June
Hi June, Of course I'll try to write only folowing a
tmenguy | April 11, 2007Hi June,
Of course I’ll try to write only folowing a “mobile industry” angle: I think Kenya may be a really good case study for the mobile industry in emerging countries…
Your material was very interesting, and while I really enjoyed the related facts, I’m, as an european, less in line with the strong neoliberal (or neocapitalism) views expressed here … but is is why the net is so great no ?
I really hope I’ll find the time to write it down cause I’ve learnt a lot of things thanks to you (and I have something with Kenya: one of my uncles was a Flying Doctor with “mama daktari”, and he told us so many stories…)
Regards
Thomas
[...] get good comments from June on this post about
Everything and the Mobile Software Universe… » Emerging Countries and Mobile Phones: Kenya case study | April 16, 2007[...] get good comments from June on this post about Ultra Low Cost phones, about issues related to text entry for her native Kenyan language (Swahili I assume) : she [...]
Hi Akinyi, It is a very good read and interesting facts
Sunil Maheshwari | April 23, 2007Hi Akinyi,
It is a very good read and interesting facts about emerging market mobile opportunity.
I’m from India and feel the same about need for ultra low cost device as more then half the population in this region is below the average national income and they need device primarily for communication but it wold be interesting if some one can enable these device so it can help people to earn more. How? May be innovative informative/interactive application for farmers, health care applications on mass market devices in localized language (where mass is more comfortable and enjoy sharing their thoughts).
You need people who can think like people think in emerging countries and create software in the similar fashion for their local need rather dumping phones from developed countries in the name of low cost.
Innovation is the need of hour. It’s interesting that people want more services on their phone but without spending extra money, some how we’ll have to enable them.
Sunil
http://www.mangotechno.com
Hi Sunil, If you are interested I've tried to sum it
tmenguy | April 24, 2007Hi Sunil,
If you are interested I’ve tried to sum it here : http://tmenguy.free.fr/TechBlog/?p=161
Anyway I was not aware of mangotechno … interesting!
I’m working at Open-Plug … perhaps you know us already : we do something really similar to you, perhaps some synergies may be found?
Regards
Thomas
Hi Thomas, Thanks for the link and informative blog. Yes, i know
Sunil Maheshwari | May 2, 2007Hi Thomas,
Thanks for the link and informative blog.
Yes, i know about Openplug. Mango technologies is focusing on emerging market SW requirement and we have built similar product for low cost and entry level devices with various distinguishing features for these market.
I also came across this blog, may be interesting:
http://web.mit.edu/eprom/whyafrica.html
Regards,
Sunil
Mango Technologies
http://www.mangotechno.com
[...] exit the Motofone F3 here is the Sagem my150x :
Everything and the Mobile Software Universe… » Sagem my150X: Lowest BOM in the market 16$ with Infineon ULC chipset E-Gold | November 5, 2007[...] exit the Motofone F3 here is the Sagem my150x : Today I had briefly this baby in hand from an insider. The screen in [...]
I might add to this discussions maybe a little bit
Shikoh | April 1, 2008I might add to this discussions maybe a little bit late …but this might relevant …we carried out some studies among Xhosa speaking women in South Africa …one interesting fact that emerged is that although they prefer to text in xhosa (using english characters) they still prefered their phones mode of instruction to be English …”reading Xhosa is complicated” one said …asked why …the words are too long and the people who develop the language sets dont understand how some of the phrasing is put!!
Thanks Shikoh for the insightful comment!
Thomas Menguy | April 4, 2008Thanks Shikoh for the insightful comment!
Ve can have sevenFon vith sevenKeys to gro 255 different
Poonam | July 18, 2008Ve can have sevenFon vith sevenKeys to gro 255 different characters.
Ve can use sevencheckboks for User Interface.
http://www.sevenfon.com
sevenfon.googlepages.com