Dreaming of A BottomBerry
I dream of a BottomBerry - a BlackBerry for the Bottom of the Pyramid. A phone that will help BOP users connect with each other in more meaningful and economically productive ways. Let me describe some of the things it will have:
- Non-hierarchical UI : Hierarchical UI confuses people who have never used computers. It can follow the iPhone model of having a multi-page or scrolling home screen + home button, or it can follow a more physical metaphor like a single-dimesional ticker tape that only scrolls along 1 dimension. Any settings that the user should not modify accidentally should be protected by a well hidden hardware switch.
- Contact Management for the illiterate : Illiterate users currently use their “recent calls” list as their address book, memorizing the last 4 digits of phone numbers. The amount of memory achievable by this method is limited to about 20 numbers. To augment this, they use a physical phonebook, but instead of names, use symbols (eg “3rd page contains Sampath-uncle’s family”) or ask a nearby literate user to help. I propose a solution built on the principles of Identicons - each phone number will be represented by a universally unique graphic - that is, the same number will always be represented by the same generated graphic. This will allow users to help each other. In addition to the unique graphic, the last 4 digits of the number can be semi-transparently overlaid over it. Giving users a larger, autonomous contact memory will help increase the quantity and quality of touch points between them.
- Call recording : Though legally contentious, this one’s a no brainer - call recording is the only note-taking facility available to illiterate users short of asking a literate user to help them. Recorded calls should be associated with the users making them and easily retrievable from something akin to a timeline.
- Non-textual messaging : Simple, icon-based communication methods that can allow for non-verbal signaling over the SMS channel: “I’m on my way”, “my moped broke down” etc. This should include a way to communicate about money.
- Specialized App store : The needs of semi-literate users are fairly unique but diverse. An app store that includes the likes of Facebook and Twitter simply alienates such users. They deserve an app store with apps that make sense to them, explained aurally. It should also be possible to sell apps on physical, single-use chips, in order to leverage offline distribution channels.
Such a device should be fairly simple to build. However, the real problem is in taking it to market. Not only will it have to be sold at a premium, the marketing expenses involved in educating the customer of it’s benefits , and especially educating the semi-literate, offline, sales channels will result in a product that will then be too expensive for the intended customer. One of the great ironies created by the internet is that, affluent customers are now much, much, cheaper to reach than the poor.
Still, I’m sure someone will come up with creative ways to work around these challenges. As for me, I pivoted away from this about 2 months ago. More on my current focus, and how it connects to the BottomBerry, in another post.
Posted April 27, 2011 at 1:33 pm 2 notes