Mobile phone applications can greatly improve functionality, but people are hesitant to download new software onto their phones.
This is according to Leon Coetzer, owner of mobile development company Generic Icon, which recently launched two Java-based phone applications - Mobile Portal and Mdating - in SA.
"Mobile Portal downloads news, sport results, horoscopes, weather and Lotto results, and then stores all this information in permanent storage, so you can read some of it now, and the rest of it later," he says.
The next time the user connects, the stored information is automatically replaced by the latest information. The cost per download amounts to between 5c and 60c, depending on the user`s cellphone package, says Coetzer.
The Mdating application allows users to meet and chat with other people. "With this app you can set up a nickname, create your own personal profile for other people to see, look at other people`s profiles, post public messages in the public posts area, and send and receive private messages. It also has a `Cost Meter` where you can track how much the communication with the central server has cost you up to now," he adds.
The cost factor
Having personally installed a few applications, Coetzer says users are generally impressed by their functionality, but remain hesitant to make use of them.
"Their main concerns seemed to be the cost of all of this. I had to explain to them that it uses GPRS, which is much cheaper than SMS communication, and that it is not a phone call that is made to retrieve data, but rather an Internet connection.
"This means it will cost between R2 and R40 per megabyte - it is very unlikely that you would exceed more than 1MB`s data in one month - while the applications themselves are not charged for," he says.
"Although we have been getting visits to the site, we struggle to get people to download and use the applications."
Another stumbling block seems to be the fact that people need to install a third-party program, adds Coetzer. "People associate the installation of software on cellphones with the installation of software on computers, which sometimes seems daunting to some people.
"The fact of the matter is that you only need to type in a URL in your cellphone`s WAP browser, click on the link that is displayed, and the application will install itself."
The spam threat
While the applications can be downloaded free of charge, Coetzer generates profit by selling advertising to corporates. However, there is a growing resistance to cellphone spam and Coetzer is aware this could prove a potential barrier to uptake.
"We don`t and won`t use any SMS advertising strategies. When the latest news or messages are retrieved, we stream an advert to the cellphone and store it, and this only happens on every 10th connect."
When the user selects a main category, for example to view Public Posts, an advert is displayed and needs to be dismissed before continuing. The adverts are not displayed within these main categories, he says.
"For every view of an advert we write an audit onto the cellphone. The next time the user connects to the central system, these audits will be written into a central billing system where the client can monitor their hits.
"We also have a facility where our corporate advertisers/agents can upload their adverts, allocate credits, monitor the hits and run various reports."
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