This might be present the most terrible Facebook experience eternally.
+
And yet U2opia portable, a Singapore-based company founded by Indian entrepreneurs, has catapulted to 17 million users all the rage 36 countries for instance a product. To understand why, you enjoy to unlearn Facebook—its blue background, viral videos, photo uploads—as you know it. And situate physically all the rage the site of someone who has by no means been on the internet more willingly than.
+
U2opia takes dumb phones and uses the so-called shapeless Supplementary Service Data (USSD) protocol to allow such phones to link up to detail internet services such for instance Twitter and Facebook tailored in lieu of the trivial screen and text-only functionality. This is ended through the company’s proprietary platform Fonetwish, which has signed agreements with Facebook and Twitter. An estimated 62% of the phones used all the rage the planet are dumb phones, officially called “feature phones” by manufacturers and networks. Their promote share is much advanced all the rage emerging markers.
+
Since its launch all the rage 2011, the platform has steadily acquired users on 53 operator networks all the rage 36 countries. They’re all the rage seats for instance far apart for instance Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Chad, Niger, Haiti, Honduras, Columbia, El Salvador, Cambodia, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and Mauritania, amid others. To step online, they dial a squat three-digit code and at that moment they treatment the alphanumeric keypad.
+
Operators all the rage several markets, such for instance Dialog Axiata all the rage Sri Lanka, run promotions allowing Facebook on USSD access in lieu of open in lieu of a narrow stop. All the rage India, the platform was used more willingly than elections by the think tank organization of free Reforms to add up to candidate info such for instance declared assets, education, and criminal records unfilled to rural voters.
+
The service is unfilled now all the rage seven languages—English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Malay, Swahili and Albanian. Vietnamese is on its way. At the present, 1.5 million users are signing up both month to treatment Facebook and Twitter all the rage this behavior.
U2opia’s real achievement is not all the rage making Facebook unfilled on bring forward phones. It is with the intention of it used the inclusive lure of Facebook and Twitter to build an emerging markets user found with the intention of is of concern and estimate to all behavior of clients. A European football guild wants to develop an interactive effort in lieu of their fans all the rage Africa. A significant UK media company wants to catch a far-flung audience. An American strength be bothered nonprofit wants to catch parts of the emerging planet. A US seed company wants to see to a domain trial with farmers all the rage Andhra Pradesh. All are all the rage talks with U2opia to build persons services on top of U2opia’s technical platform.
+
Promote delve into firms are all the rage talks to treatment Fonetwish to catch a demographic with the intention of is typically tough and expensive to survey.
+
“The service machinery for instance sort of a spur to data manipulation. Fill who treatment our service, move to data nearer,” says Sumesh Menon, chief executive of U2opia. He named the company considering his favourite shake posse, U2.
+
USSD is a protocol with the intention of is for instance old for instance SMS and similarly built into the architecture of portable phones. This way here is thumbs down need to make to order the service to suit a handset maker otherwise mock-up. Smartphone users thumbs down longer need USSD, but generally portable phone users enjoy used it by various top. It is the same protocol with the intention of allows you to dial a code—something like *123#, in lieu of instance—to check the faith all the rage your portable phone.
+
“So user friction is very minute. Generally of our customers are familiar with how USSD machinery,” Menon says.
+
The experience might be present barebones, but the functionality is surprisingly full-fledged. A user can access her newsfeed, keep informed status, boundary marker on a friend’s border, study alone requirements, read and propel messages, and check notifications. Once a user dials the code, a session is produced and the user can browse using codes in lieu of back and to the fore, and other functions. Generally portable operators offer bite-sized subscription junk mail. All the rage India, I tried the service using Airtel and was charged Rs10 (17 cents) in lieu of a week.
+
Menon says with the intention of 60% of users who sample the service return to treatment it. And demographics are favourable in lieu of long-term growth—some 90% of users are less the age of 24. Interestingly, 5% of Fonetwish users access the service from smartphones. Many users all the rage emerging markets don’t subscribe to data despite owning smartphones, which they treatment to watch and entry videos.
+
U2opia at the present has 180 employees and offices all the rage original Delhi, Singapore, and Dubai. Menon ongoing the company all the rage 2011 with co-founder Ankit Nautiyal. They used to be present colleagues by the Singapore startup Bubble activity. The company raised a in a circle of funding from Matrix Partners India all the rage 2011. Menon declined to discuss figures, but whispered revenues were growing 20% quarter-on-quarter. The company makes money through telecom companies sharing revenue from the Fonetwish platform.
The company has been profitable since 2013 and is not looking to raise money as soon as. U2opia has its immediate task sever outdated in lieu of it—to capture additional of the mound promote it is targeting. Through the 50 operators worldwide it machinery with, its services can be present accessed by lone billion users all the rage emerging markets. All the rage India unaided, outdated of the 900 million-plus portable subscribers, 550 million can access Fonetwish services, thankfulness to a slew of deals with several key telcos, as well as the state-run BSNL.
+
All the rage statement its catch has develop into the core competitive gain of U2opia. Here are others with the intention of provide parallel services—the French-Swiss company Myriad, in lieu of occurrence. But U2opia’s deals with operators mean it reasonably has the emerging planet covered. It is now working on launches all the rage Vietnam, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, and Morocco.
+
While operators typically negotiate thick-skinned with companies offering value-added services on their make contacts, they like to come off with U2opia since fill who treatment Facebook on USSD be apt to soon subscribe to portable data, a dealings with the intention of typically offers advanced margins than voice.
+
The company is at the present opening its app-development platform so clients can build and test their applications and limited the networks around the planet they dearth to deploy. Since U2opia has bought a USSD code (say *315#)with all these operators, it can definitely execute a client’s solution on a sub-code (*315*55#).
+
India’s banking monitor has as well recommended USSD and SMS Toolkit (a secure form of SMS) for instance the preferred protocols in lieu of the development of portable banking all the rage India.
+
But while the close tenure appears cute in lieu of U2opia, here is thumbs down wishing away the long-term trend—smartphones and data tactics wish last to develop into cheaper, and users wish upgrade to better ways of accessing Facebook. In lieu of the originator age, smartphones outsold bring forward phones worldwide all the rage the endure quarter of 2013, accounting in lieu of 57.6% of unmitigated sales.
+
But U2opia has age on its hands. And Menon says the company is on the rise various other products, too—this age, in lieu of smartphones.
Tags : Mobile , smartphone
没有评论:
发表评论