The Phone that is just a phone - and is being used the way it should...

A small shop in Tanzania that offers cell-phone service.

Excerpt from Newsweek. "The phones now allow Masai tribesmen in Kenya to bank the proceeds from selling cattle; Iranian protesters to organize in secret; North Koreans to communicate with the outside world; Afghan villagers to alert Coalition soldiers to Taliban forces; insurgents to blow up roadside bombs in Iraq; and charities to see, in real time, when HIV drugs run out in the middle of Malawi."
A large part of the globe is still using the phone for what it was meant for  - instant action/ communication. As this majority of users moves beyond addressing their basic needs that typically physical infrastructure can and does, the phone will re-evolve from being a cutesy entertainment piece for the few to a device that executes simple but much needed yet viable sustainable services for many. I think we might find that for us few, the basic device will come back - and as new users we will have to re-learn it's simplicity and purpose. PJ