Author: Julie Campbell

Mobile technology news from Unesco includes “reading revolution”

| April 30, 2014

Poorer nations are greatly benefitting from the use of these devices in terms of literacy.

A recent mobile technology news report that was released by Unesco has revealed that the penetration of inexpensive smartphones into developing nations has done wonders for spreading the access to books and other sources of the written word, providing new ways to be able to practice reading.

Until now, reading material access was nearly exclusively limited to printed books, which has considerable limitations.

The Unesco report suggested that this new mobile technology news is nothing less than a “reading revolution” within poorer nations. It also indicated that smartphone ownership could play an extremely important role in the battle against illiteracy on a global scale, as it no longer requires access to printed books or the use of old fashioned chalk boards.

This mobile technology news shows that these devices could be critical to enhancing widespread education.

The report expressed that “While mobile phones are still used primarily for basic communication, they are also – and increasingly – a gateway to long-form text.” It added that these devices make it possible to be able to access the same words as are printed in a physical book, but at a fraction of the price. Moreover, the capacity isn’t limited to a physical space when reading books on a cell phone screen.Mobile Technology News Report

The results printed in the Unesco report are from the largest survey that has ever been conducted on the subject of literacy and reading over mobile devices in the developing world. It involved the participation of over 4,000 gadget users who shared their habits. These participants live within seven different countries: India, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.

Among those seven nations, the average illiteracy rate in children is 20 percent and in adults it is 34 percent. Comparatively, the average illiteracy rate among adults in the United Kingdom is under 1 percent. The survey has shown the promising mobile technology news that the use of smartphones and other digital devices is having a meaningful impact on providing the populations with the tools they need to read more effectively and skillfully.

Geolocation technology may be a no-no for French ride sharing

| April 28, 2014

SnapCar, Uber, and other companies may not be able to take advantage of this tech.

Over the last few weeks, the Assemblée Nationale in France has been host to a highly controversial debate that has been raging on between new forms of urban transportation and the startup companies behind them, and the traditional taxi unions in the country.

The arguments were intense and for a while it felt as though a decision would be nearly impossible.

Thomas Thévenoud was a member of the Assemblée during that time and recently released his report to the startup companies and taxi unions. This report included the details that will come the law over the next few weeks and which include thirty different points. Among them, there remains a great deal of controversy, including that ride sharing programs – such as Chauffeur-Privé, Uber, LeCab, and others – will not be permitted to display relevant geolocation data on smartphones within the country.

The use of geolocation technology has been banned for these ride share programs.

Thévenoud explained that “I want to ban the apps that let you see if there are cars around you.” To that, Dave Ashton, the SnapCar co-founder, expressed that the report, itself, is “quite explosive”. Ashton added that Thévenoud has managed to “lock the use” of the location based technology for startup urban transportation businesses and has proposed that it be allowable only for cab companies.Assemblée Nationale - Geolocation

Ashton also pointed out that he felt that the proposal is “pretty incredible” when it is considered that it was the ride share programs that first introduced the use of geolocation technology for clients and drivers, in the first place. He added that “It’s completely ridiculous”.

That said, Ashton also pointed out that there are a number of parts of the report that will be upsetting to taxi drivers, and that he’s pretty sure that those drivers will “strike immediately. That’s certain.” The reason is that at the moment, as soon as a taxi is called, a driver is allowed to start the meter. Thévenoud is hoping to either end or cap that amount. When calling most ride share programs, such as Uber, the fee for the ride doesn’t start until the passenger is actually in the vehicle.