The President’s tablet – Lessons for all

Almost everybody is using one type of ordinary phone or smartphone or the other. In this piece, Charles Benoni Okine reveals which 'big shot' among many in Ghana is always glued to his smartphone and why we all need emulate his example.

Unlike many other top ranks in government and elsewhere, President John Dramani Mahama, seem to be the only personality who is visibly seen using a tablet in public.

He reads his speech most of the time from the tablet. When he speaks ex-tempo, he reads the jotted points from his tablet.

The President is quick to Google for information from his tablet anywhere he finds himself and as a result, he is able to react to issues and make comparisms using figures among others to buttress a point.

This trait about the President, the only one so far to be visibly ICT savvy leaves no doubt about his credentials when it comes to issues of communication.

During his tenure as Minister of Communications, Mr Mahama also served as the Chairman of the National Communications Authority, in which capacity he played a key role in stabilising Ghana's telecommunications sector after it was deregulated in 1997.

From 2001 to 2004, Mahama served as the Minority Parliamentary Spokesman for Communications. In 2002, he was appointed the Director of Communications for the NDC.

What has been described as the Digital Divide, or the digital split, is a social issue referring to the differing amount of information between those who have access to the Internet (especially broadband access) and those who do not have access.

According to Internet World Stats, the term became popular among concerned parties, such as scholars, policy makers, and advocacy groups, in the late 1990s.

But broadly speaking, the difference is not necessarily determined by the access to the Internet, but by access to ICT (Information and Communications Technologies) and to Media that the different segments of society can use.

With regards to the Internet, the access is only one aspect and the other factors such as the quality of connection and related services are also considered. Today the most discussed issue is the availability of the access at an affordable cost and quality.

The problem is often discussed in an international context, indicating certain countries are far more equipped than other developing countries to exploit the benefits from the rapidly expanding Internet. The digital divide is not indeed a clear single gap which divides a society into two groups.

Researchers report that disadvantage can take such forms as lower-performance computers, lower-quality or high price connections (that is narrowband or dialup connection), difficulty of obtaining technical assistance, and lower access to subscription-based contents.

Cellphones

When the use of the pager faded, and then came the cellphones which were only used to receive calls until it transformed for users to be able to do other things.

Today, not only is the cell phone a user’s constant companion; it is capable of voice, text, video, email with attachments, and applications to connect one to the corporate environment from almost anywhere.

But that is still not enough when it comes to a phone. A phone is limited in size and usability for complex tasks. But, there’s a solution and that is simply a tablet computer.

The magic of a tablet.

The tablet computer has come in to revolutionise the entire system because one is chained to the job. The tablet makes people available any day, any hour any year with a device that can deliver what is needed for almost as long as one can need it with no wired tethers.

It makes for very easy and free to roam about as long as one either has a WiFi or cellular connection within reach of your location.

For several years, the demand for smartphones has outpaced the rest of the mobile phone market. According to a 2012 survey, around half of the U.S. mobile consumers own smartphones and could account around 70 per cent of all U.S. mobile devices by 2013.

In the 25–34 age range smartphone ownership is reported to be at 62 per cent. NPD Group reports that the share of handset sales that were smartphones in the third quarter, 2011 reached 59 per cent for consumers 18 and over in the U.S.

The European mobile market, as measured by active subscribers of the top 50 networks is 860 million. According to an Olswang report in early 2011, the rate of smartphone adoption is accelerating: as of March 2011 22 per cent of UK consumers had a smartphone, with this percentage rising to 31 per cent amongst 24- to 35-year-olds.

In China, smartphones represented more than half (51 per cent) of handset shipments in the second quarter of 2012.

The statistics in Ghana are not very clear but it is obvious that the taste for smartphones in the country is high and at least from hindsight, one out of every 10 people in the cities has one.

Bridging the Gap
According to the Internet World Stats, the idea that some information and communication technologies are vital to quality civic life is not new. Some suggest that the Internet and other ICTs are somehow transforming society, improving people’s mutual understanding, eliminating power differentials, realizing a truly free and democratic world society, and other benefits.

In many countries, access to the telephone system is considered such a vital element that governments implement various policies to offer affordable telephone service. Unfortunately some countries lack sufficient telephone lines.

Literacy is arguably another such element, although it is not related to any new technologies or latest technological devices.

The Way Forward.

There are presently, more than 21 million phone service subscribers in the country. They get their services from the six multinational companies, Glo, MTN, tiGO, Vodafone, Airtel and Expresso, most of which have nationwide coverage.

The President has demonstrated beyond doubt that ICT works and makes things easy, fancy and also makes one knowledgeable while helping to transform lives.

Many have smartphones which they use for fun but there is more to it.

A local ICT company, rlg, has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to enable it have certified Windows on all its computers and smartphones and that is another opportunity to explore.

It is a very widely shared view in many societies that being literate is essential to one's career; to self-guided learning; to political participation; and to Internet usage.