Mobile Economy 2013

I've just got my hands on the video used to open Mobile World Congress 2013

The first half is a full volume, fun romp through the massive growth of mobile over the past 20 years, and some predictions for the next 5. Well worth a watch. Some great stats in there for all watchers of mobile trends

The end bit focusses more on GSMA's role specifically, and what they do for operators. Which is maybe more niche.

Crank up the volume, turn off the lights, sit back and imagine yourself in a huge auditorium of high powered dudes in suits. You could almost be there, at MWC 2013 in person!

mLearnCon presentation

I have just finished a very enjoyable discussion-filled presentation at mLearnCon – a mobile learning conference in Silicon Valley arranged by the eLearningGuild.

My session was all about helping the mostly US audience look a little wider at international m-learning projects, to see what lessons could be learned for the many current m-learning projects that are starting up right now

See below for the presentation we gave – comments (as always) welcomed

m-learning across the world

View more presentations from TribalSlides

Mobile stats for 2010 and 2011

I can’t help but be bowled over when I try to get my head around exactly how many people are doing useful tasks on their phones.

There are always a flurry of stylish YouTube presentations around this time of year, showcasing the “growth of mobile” – here is one I like:

We are in the midst of some “deep dive” research at the moment, which is cool (because we have very current stats), but it does also turn us into cynics, as we realise how easy it is to over-sell the feel-good factor.

Many of the stats are by their nature skewed. A good rule of thumb is that “the more financially viable, the more accurate the stats”. So if you want to know mobile internet usage in Ghana – you will struggle. But if you want to know which mobile apps are bought most in the USA … easy!

I like the stats, above, as they are a pretty accurate, global summary. We will be uploading some of our own perspectives on this in the future

The mobile web is alive and well ... in Africa!

We know the take up of mobile phones in Africa has been way faster than ever expected:

• 18 months ago, there were already more mobile than fixed-line phones
• many more people have access to a mobile phone than a landline one
• mobile networks are sidestepping official, goverment run chaos

We also know the picture isn't all rosy, as there are still vast areas with no coverage and call charges are still high.

But with that as a background, I saw some great statistics on the BBC website today:

• The vast majority of international visitors accessing the BBC website from their phones come from Africa!
• Nigeria = 61%
• South Africa = 19%

So, there may not be enough broadband and PCs around, but it is reassuring that "web on your phone" is still a really useful technology.

Thanks for the phone friendly website, BBC

India’s mobile phone users increasing by 1m a week

More than 1 million people a week are becoming new mobile phone users in India, reports The Business Online.

"According to the Cellular Operators’ Association of India, the number of mobile users in India has topped 110m.

About half of India’s towns and villages now have mobile reception and the Indian Ministry of Communication and Information aims to reach 90% coverage by the end of the year."