Hewani.co.ke Apps for the whole family

Back in May 2010 I wrote a blog post “Why Zain/Bharti should launch an App Store“. It was my belief that creating a mobile app economy in Kenya could catalyse the growth of software for export in East Africa especially for young mobile developer like myself. At that time many of us (developers) were pushing Safaricom to open up the MPesa API or create an app store where we could upload our mobile applications and presumably directly access their huge subscriber base.

The problem was, though developers such as James Mwai of AroundMe were getting thousands upon thousands of downloads on app stores such as the Nokia Ovi store it was quite a challenge to monetize the applications and therefore there was no incentive for developers to publish applications.

Well a lot has changed a year later developers now have various methods of monetizing applications through platforms such as InMobi and Google Admob which provide local facilities for integrating Ads as well as integration with offline mobile payment solutions like PesaPay(@CrowdPesa).

Things got much better when Virtual City Ltd winners of last year 1 million dollar Nokia Challenge launched among many other things their Hewani Life App store www.Hewani.co.ke. During their live launch event at the Fox Theatres in Sarit Center C.E.O John Waibochi unleashed  the platform with a suite of 400 applications that will change the way we live.

This is a good move as its bound to localize this lucrative and untapped market and lower the barrier to entry for upcoming developers.

You can follow HewaniLife on @HewaniLife on Twitter.

CrowdPesa: Mapping Mobile Money

Have you ever been somewhere stuck and frustrated because you had no money or perhaps you lost your wallet? I know I have…Well the 12th of December will be your lucky day as CrowdPesa currently on Beta will be launching it mobile service. According to this blog post on Mckinsey [ http://mckinseyonsociety.com/innovate-videos/crowdpesa-mapping-mobile-money/] Vote for Chris there by liking the post.

CrowdPesa is a mobile application that allows you to locate the nearest mobile money distribution point  be it Mpesa, ATMS or even Bank Branches. This is because the growth and use of mobile money solution has brought innovations and revolutionized the way people approach mobile money ecosystem, mobile banking but also m-commerce. Today the impact of mobile money solutions like M-Pesa in Kenya has given Africa a new and positive future. CrowdPesa is a Web and Mobile application with a mapping system that allows businesses to locate themselves in a map and facilitate users to find the location of the nearest financial service on their mobile phone. Our goal is to map financial services around the world to allow our users to do their transactions easily and to not only save time but also to rely on our service. We aim to propel our services to a global perspective through partnership with different network operators such as Safaricom in Kenya, Samsung, Western Union, Moneygram, as well as various banks, financial and research institutions. Let’€™s join our hands and spread mobile money around the World for a Connected Future. Welcome to CrowdPesa.com

In this video Christian Kakoba @kryskaka the Manager and Co-Founder of CrowdPesa explains how the service works and explains how it will help you in those sticky and broke situations.

Well over to you Chris….

Internet of Things

An interesting interview by Lolani Kalo of Nation Media Group unearthed innovator Daniel Njuguna from Kiambu county who has single-handedly managed to integrate his mobile phone  with home made appliances and gadgets that perform a number of domestic functions e.g. Security and even domestic chores like handling of clothes on the washing line (boy do i need this).

This innovation is a precursor to what has been described as the internet of things where appliances and gadgets will soon be interconnected through the Internet. In countries like Kenya where mobile use is prevalent then we expect that solutions such as the one Daniel has created could be feasible and commercial.

Daniel should perhaps link up with the Innovation Society of Kenya whose chairman is Morris Mbesta of the car tracking device fame. Daniel and other innovators out there can contact @moufriq who is legal advisor at the same society.

iKatiba Mobile Application Suite

Whive.com through its Whiver service has just released Swahili and Sheng applications to the general public and is also set to release Kikuyu, Luo/Lwo and Luhya applications over the next few days.

This is consistent with one of the goals of  Whive.com which is to provide information through mobile technology to African masses.

Whive.com recognizes that in order to achieve Vision 2030 Kenya has to utilize its rich cultural diversity as one of the tools of development.

In this regard we have worked very hard to bring to you a suite of applications in local languages collectively dubbed as  iKatiba.

These applications will be available shortly on the Nokia Ovi store for Kenya. You can view the entire Whive.com application space and timetable for release at ikatiba.com

See Business Daily Feature [Click Here]

JohnKaranja.com @ Barcamp Nairobi 2010

So I spent the better part of the day not blowing my Vuvuzela endlessly (like i did yesterday) but listening and interacting with some of the techiest minds in Kenya.

Here are my rough  notes on what happened throughout the day.

I would summarize the Camp as having been one which laid an emphasis on the Openness and Transparency of data access from the myriad of  web and mobile platforms that exist in Kenya and in Africa today.

It was also nice to see Government and Web operators singing the same song for once.

THE SONG:Transperancy and Openess

Tariq did a useful demonstration of data use and how governments in the UK were and are providing their Aid data on open platforms for citizens to track how their taxes where being used to in other countries.

Thuo spoke about outsourcing governments simple functions using a framework to know what to outsource. The end result i smaller government with better processes and using subcontractors.

Paul Kukubo in defence of government talked about increased Government transparency  and activeness  through programs such as subsidized bandwidth in Universities.

Digital Villages and Grants for innovative content for government (worth $10,000 and $50,000) for building Government applications and digitization of Government records.

I had a chance to talk to Kaburo who is running the grants program applications are made online on their platform to enhance transparency (Apply Here).

End Result: You will be able to search for company records in minutes that means government is your laptop.

Other examples

• Influence both laws and projects.
• Cisco teleconferencing for Judges.

Paul lamented that connectivity and innovation doesn’t see response from the techie activists on the web. Being good at technology doesn’t mean good at business.

Therefore greater response to government tenders is needed.

Tariq came back with another live demo i.e. opengovernance.info

Alex Gakuru raised issues on openness and governance and the negative effects of crony capitalism in Kenya.

Interoperability of Government Data

Surprisingly government has an inclination towards open source and is supporting local applications.

Infact Government bills on Data Privacy and Protection are already tabled in parliament. We need to turn our attention to these issues .

Tariq indicated that XML is a useful tool in open data this we find to be true as our mobile platforms are both using and sharing XML data (see here).

Final word from Paul is you need to protect your ideas and knock doors for partnerships.

OPEN STREET MAP and GEOTUBE

Mike Maron talked about mapping Kibera using GPS units and walking papers with QR Code.  Access to Open data is the motivation of building this GEOMAP

Voice of Kibera talked about their Ushahidi install http://www.kibera.ushahidi.com you can contact them to help at contact@mapkibera.org

Issues that came up is Geo-Location is not precise as opposed to Geo Mapping.  GEOTube is doing Geo mapping in USA and collecting Geo spatial data. The application is built in WebFlex and has a set of Widget and Console containers.

whiteafrican

Total registered members at #barcampnairobi was 600+ today!

moseskemibaro

intellectual property question from a developer to Mike Micharia at #barcampnairobi. How is this addressed in Kenya?

tandaaKENYA

Sevenseas have set up innovation lab to develop skills in market. Very fwd thinking #barcampnairobi

tullyme

calling kenya devs! tweet @lkamau if u have experience working w @ushahidi code or skilled in php. putting together dev list #barcampnairobi

mdailey919

Cool! RT @butterflyworks: iKatiba.com Kenya’s 1st Mobile App store http://bit.ly/dix7YE #BarCampNairobi via @afrineurs @afrinnovator

kaburo

So looks like won’t talk about the tandaa grants today afterall. Time run out. Talk moved to tmrw 11am. #barcampnairobi

IKATIBA MULTILINGUAL VERNACULAR MOBILE APPS

On day 2 I will be showcasing to anyone who is interested our Mobile Application for Kenyans, including 9 vernacular languages.  We want to collect as many views as possible so we will be there till they kick us out.

The Mobile APP store is at http://www.ikatiba.com

The Web platform is at http://www.whive.com

Do come back on Monday Evening for a fully updated post.

GTUG Silicon Valley

I spent the better part of my Saturday interacting with the boys at Google Kenya.

Amhed  Maawy gave us a brief overview of what services Google is offering within the Kenyan Space.

They are:

1. Google Search
2. Google Site
3. Google Mail
4. Google Blogs
5. Google News
6. Google Chrome
7. Google App Engine

He also officially invited the members to the group. You can also join at

http://groups.google.co.ke/group/nairobigtug?hl=en

Next up was Andrew Wachira who gave a detailed description on how to use Google Sites and AppEngine, in that single session we learnt how to make simple Forms and collect data in SpreadSheet and CSV format.

We also learnt how to install and develop applications using Python and Google OS Databases.

We discovered that google basically offers huge space and bandwidth for you to develop your web applications.

Jeremiah Kamau showed us how to integrate and manipulate the Google Maps Engine and also announced that Google maps .co.ke for Kenya had been launched.

http://maps.google.co.ke

All in all the GTUG meeting was succesful with many questions and discussions on how Kenyans can succesfully use the google cloud.

For more details do join the group and learn new skills that could help you in future.

John Karanja at MWEA2010

Opening  Remarks
Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to the second day of the first Mobile Web Conference in East Africa. Technology today, in particular Mobile and Web technology is increasingly becoming an essential part of our life. Today more than 30 percent of East Africans have access to mobile phone technology. Internet adoption in this region is also amongst the fastest growing in the world.

This has improved the livelyhoods of many citizens of EA by allowing them to interact more easily with other individuals, many whom are in far flung areas of the region.

The mobile phone for example allows us to  conduct business at an interpersonal level which is crucial for the economic development of the entire region as a whole.

Today we have a line up of fantastic speakers, in many different sectors that make up social life in Kenya as well Africa.

Closing Remarks
Many of you might recall, when just 11 years ago Kenya and much of the region was at the cusp of the mobile revolution, communication was difficult and our telecommunications infrastructure at the time was unreliable, if it existed at all in many parts of this region.

The last 10 years has seen a rapid growth of not only mobile technology but internet use of which many in this room rely on for their day to day livelyhood.

Today, we face a new challenge, albeit not very different from the one we faced 10 years ago. We find ourselves situated once again at the cusp of  what is surely a revolution , a revolution that we will not only participate in, but lead as well.

At stake is the economic fortunes of not only the countries in this region but our very own individual fortunes. So, we are called to define the path for this journey we are about to take.

Ladies and Gentlemen in this regard i wish you all the best of luck as you seek out to achieve your dreams and the dreams of this country and continent.

Thank you all once again.
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Mobile Web Applications

The Mobile Web East Africa conference will be held in Nairobi on 3rd and 4th February at the Hotel Intercontinental. I will be giving a lecture on Web/Mobile technologies and social progress.

Also speaking will be a whole host of leading experts and businessmen from the East African region and beyond. You can see the full list here [Faculty Speakers]. They include the Kenyan Minister for ICT  Mr Samuel Pogishio.

JOIN US

All Amber has negotiated a special rate at the venue for all Mobile Web East Africa attendees.  This allows you to secure a Superior Room for $205 instead of the normal price of $320.  To take advantage of this special rate please contact Elias Rachier on the telephone number above or email - Elias.Rachier@icnairobi.com

We also plan to set up a Live Stream for those who shall not be able to make it to the event.

DATE

3rd and 4th February 2010

THE VENUE

INTERCONTINENTAL NAIROBI
City Hall Way
City Square,
Nairobi
00200
Kenya

Google Earth on Nexus One

Having spent almost 4 days including today moving up and down London’s High street shops looking for the best mobile phone around, and having finally settled on Nokia N97 and the iPhone 3GS as the most likely candidates to meet that requirement.  Google needed to pull one out of the hat to convince me that better was out there.  THEY  DID !!!

Just have a look at the new Nexus One Google smart phone which is in all likelyhood a piece of googles long term strategy of setting up a cloud computing network based fundamentally on its operating system and google ethos of giving everything for free.

In my view the main motivation for google going forward was to mitigate against the damage mobile computing was doing to its internet search(advertising) business. Mobile Apps particularly on iPhone App Store and Nokia Ovi store had the potential of significantly reducing the usefulness of search engines on mobile computing devices hence the reason google joined the game albeit in spectacular fashion.

Indeed the first thing google has done is to place a search bar in the home interface of the Application OS to ensure that search remains a key feature of the phone.

Peter Chou, the CEO of HTC, the company that created the hardware of the Nexus One,  explained the genesis of the phone together with members of the Nexus One Google team.

Technical Specifications:

The specs match previous leaks. It’s a 3.7 AMOLED display with a trackball.

• It comes with features such as a light sensor, GPS, and accelerometer. These are all features pioneered by Apple’s iPhone.
• It’s 130 grams in weight and 11.5 mm in width, about the width of a standard #2 pencil.The camera is 5MP with LED flash.
• The audio has received an upgrade. It has two microphones, one of which is used for noise cancellation.
• Customization is a key to the Nexus One. There are five home screens to cusotmize your interface.
• Google showed off some of its dynamic touchscreen features of the software. For example, one of the wallpapers is a lake with leaves. When you touch it, it has a nice rippling effect.
• They worked with the team at CoolIris to visualize photons on the Nexus One in a 3D environment. If you tap on an album, you’ll be able to quickly scan and load photos. You can also tip and dip photos based on your hand motions and the accelerometer.
• Text fields are voice enabled. Every time you speak, it will process your speech into text. It gets better and better the more and more you use it.

You can find the Google One Nexus at www.google.com/phone

View Video Leak Below

Sixth Sense Magic

Introducing the technologies i believe will change the world in 2010.

SixthSense

Developed by Pranav Mistry who is currently a Research Assistant and PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab, ‘SixthSense’ is a wearable gestural interface that augments the physical world around us with digital information and lets us use natural hand gestures to interact with that information.

This device promises to revolutionize the way humans interact with computing devices and could mean the beginning of the end of our couch potato existence. [See Video Below]

JooJoo

Named after African term for wizardry and magic is a tablet device that  has been developed by Chandrasekar Rathakrishnan. Chandra is the the Founder & CEO of Fusion Garage. Chandra was born and educated in Singapore and has an Advanced Diploma in Computer Science (Oxford University).

The devices allows you to view web based content on a full screen 12 inch iphone like device. Have a look at the Demo and decide whether you would be willing to spend $500 on this device.