Motivation In developing countries missing network coverage and low bandwidth pose serious barriers to data-heavy Internet services, especially outside of urban areas. Many people have adopted mobile phones for daily tasks, which range from basic communication with relatives to small family business support, either for communicating with customers or receiving service requests. Though prices for mobile phones, even smartphones, are rapidly falling and sales are rapidly rising, shared phone usage in developing countries is very common. Solution PostboxWeb is a framework that enables offline-capable mobile applications for occasionally connected Android smartphones. It also allows a secure sharing of smart- phones through personal, password- protected and encrypted data storage for each user of the phone. As a proof-of-concept a video mail application for illiterate or semi-illiterate users was developed. The GUI and UX design follow design recommendations for the intended user group – persons living in rural areas in developing countries having no regular interaction with ICT. Business Case PostboxWeb could be operated by an “Email-Postman” in remote areas with no network coverage. The Postman lets users record video mails while offline. At regular intervals the Postman travels to areas with connectivity, where outgoing messages are sent to their The PostboxWeb logo. Fig1. POSTBOXWEB A FRAMEWORK FOR OCCASIONALLY CONNECTED AND SHARED ANDROID SMARTPHONES Contact Rua Alfredo Allen, 455 4200-135 Porto, Portugal +351 220 430 300 [email protected]www.fraunhofer.pt
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