Tag Archives: Mobile

Kenya’s Explosive Voice and Data Growth

Published on July 6, 2009

At the back of our minds we’ve known for a while, and it has been variously predicted, that mobile telephony subscribers will quickly outpace growth in fixed service, and that more and more users are getting connected online as internet access becomes more ubiquitous.

But to what extent do the numbers actually back up these claims? I dug through the Communication Commission of Kenya’s (CCK) Q2 08/09 Quarterly Report [pdf] and made some interesting finds that not only affirm these predictions, but also depict a positive outlook on Kenya’s technology future.

Here are some quick hits. Continue reading →

Ujanja Mobile Device Tracking: A Half-baked Solution

Published on April 30, 2009

The East African Data Handlers Co. (EADH) recently unveiled two solution offerings – Ujanja Mobile and Ujanja Laptop – that enable a user to track the geographical location of one’s mobile phone and/or laptop in the event that it gets stolen. Not only is there no reference of the services on the company website as of this writing (update: site now appears to be live), but also I can’t help but think that these ideas were not that well though out.

First, on how it works Continue reading →

Portrait of a Twitter User

Published on February 13, 2009

twitter_logoTwitter as a microblogging platform has in the last 2 1/2 years grown rather rapidly from simply a “What are you doing now?” update repository, to an important news outlet as was in the case of the AA Flight 1549 Hudson landing, and in socio-political activism as was the case in the Prop 8 debate.

Pew Internet conducted a study on Twitter users – the demographics and their propensities. Of note is that, although most Twitter users are “overwhelmingly young” the median age is 31 (contrast that to Facebook’s – 26, LinkedIn’s – 40 and MySpace’s – 27).

Also, 76% of Twitter users connect to the internet wirelessly, more likely with their mobile phones, and their use of technology “reveals their affinity for mobile, untethered and social opportunities for interaction”.

Read Twitter and Status Updating [via Pew].