Paper Info
Title
Powering the cellphone revolution: findings from mobile phone charging trials in off-grid Kenya
Abstract
Can human-powered devices solve the electricity gap for the millions of rural Africans adopting mobile phones? Findings from our long-term evaluation of two personal crank-based charging systems in Kenya reveal that small hand and leg-powered devices do have potential to meet the needs of rural mobile phone users. Unfortunately, device breakage, theft and incompatibility with handsets, coupled with lack of consumer credit and poorly functioning markets for these goods mean these represent only a partial solution to the mobile phone charging problem. Drawing from our fieldwork, we motivate a HCI4D/ICTD design and evaluation agenda that better accounts for unique individuals' geographic, financial, and economic circumstances or their human computer ecosystem. Key strategies for implementing this agenda are engaging with diverse users on their own terms and conducting long-term qualitative evaluations to reveal how acceptance and usability change over time.
Year
DOI
Venue
2013
10.1145/2470654.2466260
CHI
Keywords
Field
DocType
off-grid kenya,rural african,rural mobile phone user,ictd design,cellphone revolution,consumer credit,long-term qualitative evaluation,evaluation agendum,long-term evaluation,mobile phone,device breakage,better account,human factors,design
Telecommunications,Electricity,Computer science,Computer security,Usability,Qualitative Evaluations,Device breakage,Mobile phone,Multimedia,Grid
Conference
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
8
0.52
14
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Susan P. Wyche138927.40
Laura L. Murphy2291.44