Title: Dispatch from Planet of the Apps: a brave new world for mobile money?
Author: Jim Rosenberg
Publisher: CGAP: Consultative Group to Assist the Poor
Date (published): 17/02/2010
Date (accessed): 18/02/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
...This week at the Mobile World Congress has felt a bit like a live-action version of “Planet of the Apes,” with a few differences. Instead of apes, we have apps. The species rising to power goes by the ticker symbols of GOOG (Google), YHOO (Yahoo!), APPL (Apple)...It is true that the Planet of the Apps only is a reality for the markets where internet enabled phones are available - and for the people who can afford them. Though Vodafone’s just rolled out a new $15 handset. As we heard from Stephen Rasmussen earlier this week, such handsets are getting cheaper, more quickly, meaning internet phones will penetrate more deeply into the markets where the world’s unbanked need access to appropriate financial services.