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Nokia's Cellphone Anthropologist
Posted by
timothy
on Thu Jun 19, 2008 07:06 PM
from the cell-phones-need-louder-alarm-clocks dept.
from the cell-phones-need-louder-alarm-clocks dept.
holy_calamity writes "New Scientist have an interview with a Nokia researcher who uses anthropological methods to study how people use their phones. His work currently focuses on watching how people in emerging markets like Africa use their devices to inform designs. For example, after finding that in Uganda many people use one handset, they shipped a version with multiple separate address books. There's also a slideshow of Chipchase's research images."
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multiple separate address books (Score:5, Insightful)
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I don't actually remember if any of my US cell phones had it, though I feel like they did. My cell phones here in Japan certainly do, though.
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It probably shouldn't make me as mad as it does, but it's a pain in the ass to have to retype every single number. If only there was an option to set "Default phone field" or something similar
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Re:multiple separate address books (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, but that would imply a blackberry was a smart phone. It's much more like a mentally challenged phone with severe acne.
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I suspect the Ugandan cell phones would have separate passwords to access each address book, something lacking in the western versions using groups.
Cellphones as "enablers" (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Cellphones as "enablers" (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, damn them for forcing automobiles to not be death traps at a relatively small dollar cost.
Why not bitch that your seat belt restricts your movement while you're at it... we'll just pretend that paralysis isn't such a huge restriction on movement too.
The real reason that India has $3000 cars and we don't is that it simply costs more to manufacture and sell a car here than it does in India, no matter what features or devices are included or required. A single US dollar is simply worth more in India than it is the US.
As for motorcycles... I've known paramedics who just assume any motorcyclist who gets in a crash is likely to be an organ donor by the time they get to the scene. They probably should be illegal on safety grounds, but it's just such an unpopular proposition that it will never fly.
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The GP was referring to Logan, which is a reasonable car in terms of safety. It doesn't have GPS or park assistance, but it did score 3* on European safety tests.
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I believe it was Tata Nano that was under $3000. Dacia (Mahindra) Logan is more like $5000.
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But a rear-seat passenger without a seatbelt on is a danger to the person sitting in front.
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I am a bit sad, though, that they do put in a radio in mine, instead of something more useful like bluetooth. I guess radios are dead
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Awesome, where do I get one? And does it support all the features of vi, or just a subset?
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In my little corner of the Developing World, this is exactly what's happening. The local telecoms monopoly has just been ended, and the newest entrant has offered up a cash bond to deliver mobile telephony services to 85% of the population in a country with incredibly difficult geographical features.
Obviously, t
Re:Cellphones as "enablers" (Score:5, Insightful)
That's not the point ... the point is: rather than selling unnecessary or useless 'features' at high cost or dumping outdated technology at low cost, why not design something simple and robust and inexpensive but takes advantage of new technology?
This is the approach Renault took for the Dacia Logan [wikipedia.org] car ... and it is proving very successful.
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I just added two lines to my plan and got $450 worth of phones for free. I'm trying to figure out why anyone would pay. Yes, certainly the contract time pays for the phone, but if I could use no contract, a simple robust phone would be fantastic. I'd not spend money on the thi
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Re:Cellphones as "enablers" (Score:5, Insightful)
That's untrue, at least in my experience.
The incumbent monopoly in the developing country where I live never showed any interest in selling glitzy phones. In fact, the phones they offered were cheaper, more robust and simpler than what you could get just down the road.
Just this year, the telecoms monopoly has been terminated and the latest entrant is even more intent on offering phones that are well-suited to this tropical environment. When they set up shop in nearby Papua New Guinea, they were offering two pre-paid phones for the equivalent of about USD 15.
Telcos in the developing world know which side their bread is buttered on. They provide a service, not a product. With the introduction of competition here, the two telcos are fighting for mindspace based on coverage, call quality and price. Selling reliable phones - even packaging them with solar charging kits - is the only way they can ensure a reliable revenue stream.
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I just added two lines to my plan and got $450 worth of phones for free. I'm trying to figure out why anyone would pay.
A few reasons.
1) In my case the phone I wanted (Nokia E70) was not sold through any carrier in the US. So my options were either get a different phone which suited my needs/wants less or buy the phone myself. I chose the later option.
2) Another reason is that you might want a different phone without a contract extension. Buy a subsidized phone from your carrier and usually you get an extra year or two on your contract for the privilege. Not always a problem but some folks might not want to extend their
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Design cost is enormous, frequently outweighing manufacturing cost even for large runs of units. It is, quite simply, cheaper to make one design and sell it everywhere than it is to make a new "cheap" design without these useless features. You'd end up paying more and getting less, and what would be the point?
Re:Cellphones as "enablers" (Score:4, Informative)
Then you might be surpised that Nokia does design new "cheap" phones. And it seems it pays off, the first one is both world's best selling phone and best selling consumer electronics device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1100 [wikipedia.org]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_1110 [wikipedia.org]
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The GP is not asking for a G3 iPhone. He is asking for phones actually designed for his market instead of hand me downs designed for usage patterns that don't match the way people use phones where he is. This is exactly what this guy at Nokia does btw. There is also money to be made in the high volume, low margin business.
The Toyota Innova that I drive now was designed in Indonesia for third world markets. Is it less sophisticated that the Renault Espace that I had in Germany? Yes. Is it suitable for
Stale Contacts (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Stale Contacts (Score:4, Interesting)
I'd also appreciate a provider field also fed by an online service. Over here people can take their mobile numbers with them when switching providers. Sometimes I'm calling someone with the same operator code in the assumption that I'm using the 1000 minutes I can talk for free calling people on the same mobile network. Of course I could ask whenever I'm calling, but it would be way more convenient to know before I dial...
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Market Research? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Market Research? (Score:4, Insightful)
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TEDTalk (Score:4, Informative)
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"Anthropologist" (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:"Anthropologist" (Score:4, Insightful)
Perhaps these conclusions would be obvious to a professional ethnographer, but you don't find many ethnographer is mobile phone design teams.
It is not unusual for devs to not really understand the actualy usage patterns of their products in the field. The people creating the products often lave limited or no actual contact with users. The contact is mediated through product managers or "product definition" people, with a loss of fidelity. This happens for a couple of reasons:
1 - As soon as someone has a contact number or email address in development, that dev becomes the go to person for everything, even if it is unrelated. So companies try to shield their developers from the end users to enable them to remain productive.
2 - Devs are not often well versed in the company line and might say things about roadmaps and whatnot that the company would rather not have said.
Incedentially, I agree with you, but that is the lay of the land.
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Nokia vs Android (Score:2)
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And how is that different from the way Symbian is currently open for devs?
On my phone I have already different phonebook and camera app, both installed by me. I also toyed a bit with different sms app (threading of messages, Gmail - style).
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And how is that different from the way Symbian is currently open for devs?
On my phone I have already different phonebook and camera app, both installed by me. I also toyed a bit with different sms app (threading of messages, Gmail - style).
I think it's different in a few ways.
1) The apps you're talking about are only for S60, most Nokia handsets for the lower end are S40 and apps for that are limited to sandboxed J2ME ones (so, pretty much only crappy games).
2) Even for S60, development is far from open. On the newest S60v3 every app has to go through the Symbian Signed process for each release - slow and $$$. That only gives you basic permissions too, for anything more advanced (e.g. connecting to the net) it's more involved still.
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Duh (Score:2)
So at least Nokia gets it. Question is, why doesn't everybody else? The design of a mobile phone (or any complex gadget for that matter) should START with studies in HCI. All too often gadgets end up being a maze of features stacked haphazardly together, with no thought on ease of use whatsoever.
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So at least Nokia gets it
Have you *seen* Symbian?
All too often gadgets end up being a maze of features stacked haphazardly together, with no thought on ease of use whatsoever.
Ah yes.. I see you've used an N95.
What about the people who have no phone? (Score:2)
I bought a very expensive high end cell phone in 1999, just before the Y2K "disaster" was supposed to happen. Then I had to buy a 2nd one because it didn't work in Moscow. I've never had my U.S enabled phone activated because why do I need it? Where is the anthropology about people who have no use for being callable 24/7?
There are such things as email, message recording machines (or telco company equivalent options). Why do people need to be available 24/7? Where is the study about people who have no p
The US could learn a few things from Uganda. :) (Score:3, Interesting)
I've been to Uganda (and Kenya) a few times, and there are some things I'd like to see in the US.
1. Basically all phones are sold unlocked, from the cheapest to the most full-featured.
2. A SIM card, usually with an hour's service on it, costs about $1. (Pertinent to the article, I have friends who have 1 phone and multiple SIMs - one for work, one for personal use)
3. Reasonably priced prepaid service is widely available.
4. Incoming calls don't cost money.
5. International texts are at most twice the cost of domestic ones.
In Uganda - and a lot of other developing countries - people are a lot more likely to have mobiles than landlines anyway. If you've got electricity, and cell coverage, that mobile is pretty handy, since the telco will want an arm and a leg to actually run wires out to your place.
Now I understand Nokia's design problems : (Score:2)
" My first job out of university was designing software for an economics project, but I realised that I didn't know what I was doing, so ... "
So this guy couldn't understand economics, but he cuts it as a big with designer?
Two sim cards (Score:4, Insightful)
I'd love a phone that supports two sim cards. :(
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When I visited Tokyo in March I was amazed just how much more advanced the basic mobile phones are in Japan compared to the top level phones available in Western societies.
Almost all Japanese mobiles have large screens, built in dictionaries for translating between English and Japanese, and have cameras that can 1) read in universal square barcodes that represent web addresses and 2) can read text from a distance.
I wonder if the study also takes into account the different ways societies as a whole use t
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Wait, please don't say "Western" societies... Say American society... European society has very advanced phones as well....
Re:Old Hat? (Score:4, Funny)
That post took a strange turn the last few lines.
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Re:2 Numbers / 1 Phone? (Score:5, Funny)
It must exist. I've seen one of those old Mororola bricks that had multiple line capability years ago.
Technology dosn't move backwards (Windows Vista excepted).
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