A question...

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Sun Apr 28, 2013 1:50 pm

....Cell phones have changed the life of rural India. With illiteracy still very high, how well do they use the SMART phone? chat, apps, facetime, banking, weather, and other uses?

Are there any studies or info ? I see bombardment of latest gadgets. City folks will use but what about their usefulness - in its entirety - to the rural folks?

by Idéfix Sun Apr 28, 2013 3:41 pm

Smartphone adoption is very low in rural India. Most phones in India are dumb phones which carriers market as "feature phones." There are attempts to lower the price point of smartphones to increase adoption in India, China, and Africa.

Data usage is also very low. Most of the network is 2G or 2.5G. Deployment of 3G is not complete outside the cities. Trying to use a smartphone in rural India can be frustrating because of the data network speed.

by confuzzled dude Sun Apr 28, 2013 3:56 pm

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:....Cell phones have changed the life of rural India. With illiteracy still very high, how well do they use the SMART phone? chat, apps, facetime, banking, weather, and other uses?

Are there any studies or info ? I see bombardment of latest gadgets. City folks will use but what about their usefulness - in its entirety - to the rural folks?

You own it if you can afford it, status symbol, usefulness and all is secondary. You can draw parallel to owning a luxury car in spite of poor infrastructure in rural areas.

by truthbetold Sun Apr 28, 2013 4:19 pm

A local language version with graphical symbols could be helpful. In africa cell phones are used for money transfer.
There is the famous example of nirma the detergent and 1 rupee shampoo packets that extended markets. Hardware cost and data utility will decide smartphone expansion.

My prediction is it will expand. I do not know the winner but there will be a winner.

by Marathadi-Saamiyaar Sun Apr 28, 2013 6:59 pm

I would think something like Paypal will be very useful in rural areas. Villagers may not have to use creditcards or other instruments.

(Of course, most desis will back out bcz it will limit their black economy).

by goodcitizn Sun Apr 28, 2013 11:47 pm

Marathadi-Saamiyaar wrote:....Cell phones have changed the life of rural India. With illiteracy still very high, how well do they use the SMART phone? chat, apps, facetime, banking, weather, and other uses?

Are there any studies or info ? I see bombardment of latest gadgets. City folks will use but what about their usefulness - in its entirety - to the rural folks?

In Bangalore, our full-time maid (who helps my mom) is an illiterate but has a cell phone. She knows the numbers to dial and talk. She obviously doesn't text or read texts but it serves her purpose well. That is just one example of why most villagers now have cell phones. I don't think they need or use smart phones, even if they can afford one.

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