I was asked a question about mobile in Africa by PhoneBoy on Twitter the other day, “Way more mobile phones than computers in Africa, no?”

My response: “Way more. Computing is predominantly mobile here.”

In other words, mobile is the first and only computer many Africans have ever owned or used. I know this is not true in Victoria Island, Abuja, Pretoria and business centres of our cities in general. But move outside of those cities, and voila, it is mobile and nothing else for the most part.

PhoneBoy’s response was a clincher: “Funny even with computers all around me, I do most of my personal computing on my mobile.”

That rang a bell with me. I have PCs around me both at home and at the office, yet most of my personal computing is done on mobile too. The point is that mobile has advanced to the point where it is so compelling that even when there is access to Desktop and notebook/netbook PCs, the natural inclination is likely mobile.

I recently decided on an experiment: get rid of my PCs and attempt to do all my personal computing on mobile (smartphone and tablet). I am convinced that I can get away with it. A few people have expressed reservations about it though.

But you know me, I dare things that most others won’t attempt. Remember how I ran a webhosting business on a Nokia 9500 Communicator ALONE some years back? Today’s tablets are even more capable than that. So, why not?

Wish me luck!

PS: You should follow PhoneBoy on twitter. He has rich experience and insights in mobile.

The debate as to how useful tablets are to us has been raging for a while now. The argument is that a tablet neither provides full PC functionality nor is it truly as capable as a smartphone.

I have been using an iPad tablet for several weeks now. I also use a netbook, have access to a personal desktop PC, and have an array of smartphones at my disposal.

In addition, Dayo has had a Samsung Galaxy Tab around for sometime and I have had some hands-on time with it. This certainly gives me a broader view of the subject at hand than most users have.

So, what are my thoughts on the subject?

In a nutshell, a tablet is really neither here nor there. It is an expensive novelty that does everything without excelling at any.

You can make a call on the Galaxy Tab, for example, but it is not as convenient as making a call on a smartphone. holding that 7″ guy to your ears is bound to get you a recommendation to see a shrink. Of course, you can use a set of earphones as Dayo does, but that isn’t as natural as simply using a phone for calls.

The iPad has a good web browser with AJAX support, yet because of the touch nature of the display, I find that I cannot drag and drop widgets in WordPress for example. I have to switch to my netbook or desktop to do that. Now, that is annoying. Start here; switch there to do this; switch back to complete the task. Why not just use my netbook from scratch?

Text entry and manipulation on tablets is good, but comes nowhere close to typing on a full netbook/PC keyboard, or on the keyboard of the Nokia E7 for example.

Watching movies on tablets is cool, but at best it is just as good as doing so on a netbook. You don’t want to hold a tablet in your hands all through a 1 hour 45 minute flick. Trust me.

The only area that a tablet (at least the ones I have used) seem to have an advantage over nebooks and many smartphones is in the area of battery performance. Both the iPad and the Tab perform well in this area, not running out of juice till you are well at home in the evening. Most netbooks don’t last more than 4 hours, and many modern smartphones don’t make it through a work day.

In addition, a tablet is always-on just like a smartphone is. This is another edge that tablets have over netbooks and PCs. Yet, the smartphone is superior to the tablet in that and similar aspects.

Do You Really Need A Tablet?
In my opinion, most people do not. A tablet suffices for most basic computing tasks of the average person. However, once you step beyond basic needs, there is little practical justification for having a tablet.

For now, people with more than basic mobile computing needs are better off sticking with a smartphone and netbook combination. Between those two devices, all of your needs are taken care of.

Oh, do pardon me, but if you are into making a good impression, an iPad, Galaxy Tab or PlayBook in hand at that executive or business meeting certainly won’t hurt your image.

I have used a first generation iPad as my primary mobile computing device for a number of weeks now. More specifically, I have tried to see if this tablet can replace my two-year old netbook. My findings are mixed, as you shall see.

First up, the iPad with me runs iOS 4.3.3, which is the latest version available right now, though iOS 5 is on the way and looks to transform the device. This iPad has 64GB memory built in, which is smaller than the 160GB hard disk of my netbook.

Pros
The iPad is lighter and more portable than my Acer AspirePrime netbook. It also gives waaaaay better battery life, which is an immediate plus in my books. My Acer is out of battery max in 3 hours, while the iPad sees me through a full work day and is still not dead by 10pm.

The iPad is always on, always connected, polling my email, running Yahoo Messenger and running other services as well. The slim profile makes for extra portability and I am able to carry the iPad along to settings that a netbook would have been clumsy to take to.

Before this time, I used to swear by 7-inch tablets, but The 10.1-inch display of the iPad has made me a convert. Having a display that large makes a huge difference in typing out documents, browsing web pages, managing emails and other tasks. From now on, it’s 10.1″ (or thereabouts) all the way for me when it comes to tablets.

Typing on the iPad’s onscreen keyboard is excellent. Superb, really. The display and keys are large enough to type as I would on a proper PC keyboard. I just hammer away! it really feels good typing long documents on this tablet.

Web browsing is great, but avoid Flash-based sites. They just don’t load at all. Music playback quality is great (stunning actually), though I would have loved if the speaker was louder.

Cons
Where the iPad frustrates is with Apple’s gadzooks approach to everything.

Want to send an email attachment? You have to open the app for that file, select the file and send from there. Want to send multiple attachments in one mail? Be my guest.

Want to copy non-media files from PC to the tablet? Look for workarounds or forget it.

You can’t send or receive files by Bluetooth to/from other non-iOS devices.

The iPad does not support a range of video types, and iTunes won’t sync those at all. You have to convert first on PC to get iTunes to copy them over for playback on the iPad. I haven’t had to do that in years, so I just haven’t bothered. I’ve got the video end covered by my Nokia E7.

Open or Closed
The iPad is a mixture of great and terrible. It is a stunning device that limits you in many ways. While there are tons of apps to make up in part for some of those limitations, finding them in the AppStore did not prove easy.

For example, in searching for a Documents Editor, I had to use a wide range of search phrases, each turning out a different set of documents editors that are not thrown up at all when I use other search phrases. Crazy. Tedious. I spent hours finding certain apps. Hopefully, the search performance will be improved some more over time.

If Apple would open up iOS some more, nothing would hold a candle to the iPad, and it would wipe out the competition. But as it is, many people who don’t want to look for workarounds and hacks to maximise their tablets are forced to look elsewhere.

There will always be those who are satisfied with what it offers, as well as those who cannot live with its lockdowns. Its the way the world rolls.

Conclusions
Has the iPad been able to replace my netbook? Not entirely. Some tasks are still easier to carry out on my Acer than on the iPad. For, example, complex formatting of WordPress articles, and medium to advanced graphics editing.

Still, it has done a fairly good job of replacing my netbook for my most common tasks.

Yes, it is now official; the much hyped Chrome OS will be released to manufacturers and into the wild around the 4th Quarter of this year. Google Vice President, Sundar Pichai announced this at the COMPUTEX Cloud Computing forum. This Cloud computing forum featured executives from Google, ARM and Quanta Computers.

Chrome OS will initially be engineered to run on laptops and other mobile devices rather than full blown Desktops and Notebook Laptops. It is widely expected to compete with Microsoft’s Windows 7 as well as other operating systems.

Certification by the company is meant to ensure hardware makers create a quality device for users. Chrome OS will limit certain customization such as user interfaces at first to sustain a single user experience in all their OSes. This is similar to what Microsoft is doing with their Windows phone 7.

The Chrome web apps Store shall open at the same time, so that individuals can download web applications that can then be installed on the Chrome device. “For Chrome OS, we are focused on laptops for this year“, Google’s Vice President said at Computex.

Of course, the news is welcomed, seeing that one of the characteristics of the Chrome OS is speed. Compared to Windows 7 which takes minutes to boot, Chrome is expected to boot within seconds. The OS itself is sparse and would rely greatly on cloud computing and web apps, and so begs the question whether the Chrome OS itself will not compete with Google Android OS. As it is now, you can see Android running on Mobile devices, including phones, tablet form computers and even laptops. In other words Chrome and Android will fight for the same niche.

When asked these pertinent questions about the Chrome vs. Android debate, Mr. Pichai said that “providing open source platforms will allow the market to make the best determination about what operating system will work best in the mass market“. Android has taken off in earnest; it will thus be interesting to see how Chrome OS will develop.

For now, we’ll just wait and see if Chrome OS will give Microsoft or Apple a real challenge when it becomes available in the 4th quarter of this year.

Here at Mobility Nigeria, we predicted sometime back – and have stood our ground – that mobility is the future of personal computing.

With last week’s announcement by Nokia of the Booklet 3G (Nokia’s own take on mini Laptops), we just might be inching closer and closer to true mobility in the PC world. The Booklet 3G is essentially a netbook – a mini laptop, but a little bit more.

One of the things that the Nokia Booklet 3G brings to the PC world was included in Wikipedia’s list of the seven things that a mobile can do that a PC cannot do – the ability to stay connected all the time. See our article on that, The Modern Mobile Phone is Inherently Superior in Capability than a Laptop or Desktop PC.

The new device from Nokia will have always-on connectivity, thanks to a built-in 3G/HSDPA modem and a SIM card slot. With this inclusion, Wikipedia’s list has been reduced to six and the PC has taken one more step towards becoming truly mobile.

Battery life does not make it to Wikipedia’s list, but I think that one of the advantages that a mobile has over the laptop is the fact that its battery life lasts much longer than that of a laptop – many times going for more than 24 hours before running out. This, my humble opinion, is part of what true mobility entails. The Nokia Booklet 3G, while still not offering battery life that is at par with mobile phones boasts an impressive 12hrs of battery life. More and more, battery life is increasing on laptops, thus making them all the more truly mobile.

As we become more and more mobile, one wonders, “Will the mobile phone replace the laptop PCs or will the PCs become 100% mobile to the point where mobile phones are no longer needed?”

My thinking is that both will compliment each other to give a truly mobile experience.

As a software platform and data application consumer device, the typical modern smartphone can do all that a consumer laptop can do. Every bit of it. This is well known even in Microsoft’s HQ and even Steve Ballmer seems to recognize this. But for the consumer of digital services, a mid-range standard mobile phone, a non-smartphone cellphone, can actually deliver seven unique abilities that no personal computer can match today…..

Yes, the phone can do everything a PC can do, but also there are seven things a modern phone can do, that the PC cannot. The modern mobile phone is inherently superior in capability than a laptop or desktop PC. Inherently superior yes. There is sound reasoning why so many are abandoning the laptop and selecting the iPhone or the Blackberry etc.

These are not some company secrets tightly guarded in the headquarters of Nokia, Samsung and Motorola. The seven unique abilities of mobile beyond those on PCs are openly listed at Wikipedia and explained in full in books such as my latest hardcover book, Mobile as 7th of the Mass Media. The mobile phone is not an inferior tiny PC, it is a superior communication, consumption and creation device, far more powerful than the personal computer – of any size, and with any size screen.

- Tomi Ahonen

Here is the Wikipedia entry refered to by Mr. Ahonen:

Mobile offers seven benefits that cannot be replicated by the six legacy mass media. They are:
1 Mobile is the first personal mass media
2 Mobile is permanently carried
3 Mobile is always-on
4 Mobile has a built-in payment mechanism
5 Mobile is available at the point of creative inspiration
6 Mobile has the most accurate audience measurement
7 Mobile captures the social context of media consumption

Many may claim that the internet offers some of the benefits (personal, payment, audience accuracy and social context). The internet is only semi-personal such as shared computers at home and the office, and the ability for example of employers to read content consumed by employees. The internet in its native form cannot handle money or payments, and requires cumbersome work-arounds such as Paypal accounts and using credit cards. On mobile payments can be enabled on the click, such as with downloading ringing tones.

The internet promised full accuracy of users, but with firewalls, deleting cookies and false web identities, there is no accuracy of audience on the internet. On modern mobile networks every user is uniquely known and even if they attempt to hide behind “pre-paid” (pay-as-you-go) accounts under a “Mickey Mouse” type of name, the true identity of that given phone and its phone number, and any media consumed on it, is fully known and accurately tracked on the network. The same allows the capture of social context, not possible across internet services, only possible within a given internet service like Amazon etc. On mobile networks, if the operator/carrier decides to track it, all social context information can be captured.

And people keep wondering why I say that mobile is the future…

This article will guide you to use your GloMobile line with your phone as a modem for internet access on your PC.

Make Sure That You Have Been Activated for Internet

There are different data settings on the GloMobile network. What you need is the settings for “Glodirect”. Speak with a representative. Emphasise that you want to be activated for “Glodirect” on their 3G network.

If you have been activated for the much older Glo WAP settings, that won’t do. You need Glodirect settings. Glo now has new bundle data plans that you need to subscribe to. Once you have this, you will be able to browse on both Glo’s GPRS and 3G networks. This is really the most important step in the process.

See Official configuration settings for the new Glo prepaid internet bundle plans.

You may also need Essential tips for using Glo prepaid internet bundle plans.

Or better yet, download a copy of my ebook, Guide to Mobile Internet Usage in Nigeria.

Install Your Phone’s PC Suite on the PC

This usually comes in an installation CD in the phone sales package. Slot the CD in the CD drive and complete the installation.

Connect Your Phone to the PC

I’m assuming that you are using a USB cable here. Connect the cable to your phone and then to the PC. Your PC should indicate that your phone has been connected, and tell you your phone is ready to be used.

Launch the PC Suite on PC

Under the “Programmes” menu, launch the PC Suite application. Select the “Internet Connection” menu. The title may vary a bit, so don’t panic if that’s not exactly what you see. In Sony Ericsson PC Suite, for example, it is called “Mobile Networking”.

Some PC Suite applications automatically setup the connection. Others may require you to manually do so. If you can’t get the PC to establish an internet connection, select the manual setup option, and use the following parametres wherever a request for any of them is made by the application:

GloMobile
- APN: gloflat
- Username: flat
- Password: flat

Complete the setup by clicking the relevant button, and now you have just one more step to go. Yes; just one more.

That’s It

You should be able to browse now on your PC using a GloMobile line on your phone. You have no need for a proxy of any sort.

Convergence makes a lot of sense. Though it has its disadvantages, it has more going for it in an environment like ours.

Last Saturday, I was part of a discussion about the benefits of having private internet access. One of the key problems raised was that of the terrible power supply situation in the country. Someone pointed out that a monthly internet subscription becomes wasteful when there is no power supply to put the subscription to good use.

Of course, I did not need to mention that even with a power generator available, the subscription is still largely under-utilised, and even then the extra costs of running a generating set are just obscene.

I pointed out at that discussion – waving my Nokia E90 in the air – that only those of us who use connected mobile devices really put our subscription to full use – regardless of time, location and availability of public power.

If you need internet access, I recommend that you strongly consider a mobile device and internet subscription. This makes sense financially and functionally.

The E90, for example, in all its glory is cheaper than a laptop and gives you longer hours of usage on battery than a laptop does.

There are places where it would be foolish to take a laptop to e.g. your friend’s wedding, yet no-one would bat an eye-lid at seeing your communicator there. We must also not forget those outdated eateries that want to tantalize you but post bold signs that read: “The use of laptops is not allowed in here“. Of course, my E90 gets in all the time and gets used too. They are really clueless; aren’t they?

After church service on Sunday, a group of us were chatting and someone asked for the location of a cultural centre in Lagos. He needed to find his way there that afternoon. None of us present knew. But Google did – and my communicator was available. In a few minutes, he had the address he was looking for. Thank God for mobility!

The problem of text input is largely resolved on devices with QWERTY-layout keyboards. Copy and paste functionality exists on many of them, and most have capabilities to read and edit Office documents. The majority come with the ability to read PDF files as well. These things are computers – albeit very handy ones.

Honestly, if you are not a programmer, graphics designer and the like, you are on a budget and need an internet device and connection, instead of shelling out for a PC/Laptop and getting a fixed internet connection, you can have a single device with access to internet access anywhere.

Usually, people are hesitant in considering that some mobile devices can serve effectively as PC replacements. For what most people use their PCs for, many mobile devices are more than qualified as PC replacements.

If you have questions on this, I’d be delighted to help you sift through the maze of mobility to narrow down your search for the right device for you. So, post your questions below!