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Beautiful Rising: Access from feature(less) phones

Reviewing the options below, can you speak to what solutions your own organization or the organizations that you work with in the Global South use to address these needs? Are there solutions that are particularly well-suited that we should be looking into? Are there solutions that we should avoid? And, if so, why?

We don't even own featureless phones anymore... not much to say here.

Requirements

The minimum requirements for the project's needs in this category are:

  • Providing some level of access to the resource for users on what are commonly known as “feature phones” -- phones without contemporary Web browsing capability, or large screens.

The "would be nice" requirements are:

  • An SMS-driven interface to access summaries of key content.
  • An IVR-driven interface to user-contributed “readings” of module content.
  • Or a combination of the two ideas above, e.g., SMS would be used to search for relevant modules. Once a user identified the module they would like to have access to, they would be provided with a number to call (or a number to SMS, which would trigger a call out to user). The module content would be delivered as an audio recording with IVR prompts to explore further.

Solutions to explore

Twitter

_Micro-blogging, status updates available on a variety of platforms

https://about.twitter.com/products/list

  • Ubiquitous 👍
  • Not open source 👎

Facebook

I think you probably know about it?

https://www.facebook.com/mobile/?ref=pf

  • Relatively ubiquitous 👍
  • Most people already using 👍
  • Privacy issues to work around 👎

WhatsApp

WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia.

  • Cross-platform, cross-hardware 👍
  • Free to use 👍
  • Not open source 👎
  • Partnered with Facebook ❓

Internet.org App Launches in Tanzania

Starting today the Internet.org app will be available to Tigo subscribers in Tanzania.

http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/10/internet-org-app-launches-in-tanzania/

The app, launched to Airtel subscribers in Zambia in July, provides people with free access to basic internet services so they can browse useful health, education, finance, employment, communication and local information and services without data charges.