Smartphones are becoming increasingly accessible in Africa as a result of increased affordability.
So says Samsung SA, which, mindful of this trend and in order to meet the growing demands of Android and Bada users, has recruited a software team to develop a range of applications and content tailored to the needs of African mobile users.
The electronics giant says the software team comprises two members, and it will appoint a third member in the near future.
The company notes that mobile application downloads are growing exponentially. “According to a Gartner report, 'Forecast: Mobile Application Stores, Worldwide, 2008-2014,' this year, worldwide mobile application store downloads will reach 17.7 billion - a 117% jump from last year's estimated 8.2 billion.
“By the end of 2014, the figure is expected to jump to 185 billion downloads since the introduction of mobile app stores in 2008,” the company states.
Paulo Ferreira, Samsung's head of product and software solutions, says the new team “will aggressively create and provide localised African content and apps for smartphone and tablet users and, in turn, contribute to the local software ecosystem”.
Samsung says this content will be built for the African market to meet the specific needs of the people in Africa, as opposed to generic content from other markets.
It also points out that applications developed for SA will cater for the needs of South African smartphone users with projects including entertainment, education, and finance.
While Samsung would not give details of new applications in the pipeline for SA, the company says it is in talks with “major content providers”.
According to Samsung, a key difference between the South African market and European and American markets is the monetisation of apps and services.
The company says locally there is a large portion of un-banked applicants. “The major task here is to find suitable and convenient payment solutions in order to enable this eco-system.”
Samsung selected SA first for more tailored applications and content because of the widespread use of smartphones in the country.
However, the company says it is reviewing the need to change the structure of its software teams on the rest of the continent on a country-to-country basis.
It explains the appointment of the new team coincided with the App World Series, which ended yesterday in Cape Town.
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