It even has crypto functions in case that’s important in reporting from areas with questionable speech rights. The app could be packaged into a Nokia .sis file and be very easy to install and run in the background of the phone. The other added advantage is it could be run without a computer, phone would consume much less power and could even be powered by small solar panels in some cases. Just a thought.

At risk of making this a conversation about FrontlineSMS and not the actual topic of the blog post (!) I’ll provide a few answers.

You’re right about the speed issues. Any software sending through a local GSM device has the same challenges, which are largely unavoidable. Connecting to a gateway via GPRS would solve it, assuming GPRS is available and the NGO has an account with a gateway (two barriers in many cases).

With supported handsets, FrontlineSMS currently supports phones with modems which communicate using standard Hayes AT commands, which is a large number (sadly the Nokia 1100 – which you find everywhere in many developing markets – is FBUS and not AT. Ask Nokia, I guess!). The list on the website are phones we’ve managed to get our hands on to test, but no-one on earth can get access to all devices. Users have been informing us when they come across phones which work or don’t work, and we’re working with some companies in the UK to get access to professional test facilities. This all takes time and funding (which we now have). It’s technically hugely challenging supporting such a fragmented device market. MIT NextLab staff have been hugely impressed by what we’ve managed to do, in particular the ability for FrontlineSMS to detect and auto-configure devices.

As for uptake, we’re quite happy with where we are. As of this morning there have been 1,039 downloads since launch of the new version in late June 2008. Again, it takes time, spare hands and funding to really start to dig into the user base, but we’re getting stories all the time which we share if we have permission, and/or if we get enough information. FrontlineSMS is work in progress, not a polished product, and we welcome anyone to the growing community interested in helping us make it faster, more accessible and more relevant.

Turning back to the hybrid device, I’m looking forward to seeing what we manage to come up with in Nairobi. My belief remains that if a quick win is possible then there’s nothing wrong with going that route. If our hunch proves wrong then I’m a GSM modem down – not the end of the world. If we’re right then things could get very interesting, and we can start to plan from there.

Cheers!

Ken

As you said, this would solve the problem that not all phones can run the FrontlineSMS software. An important thought for me in all of this is the simplification of use for people on the ground using it – the non-techies. I’m imagining a device that negates installation and drastically improves the setup and management experience.

You’ll have to ask Ken about some of the other details, as it is his software, but I would add that the speed of delivery is normally a function of the device and the network. It’s an actual device/GSM limitation. Speed of data transfer (even though it’s small kb), handshaking, awaiting acknowledgment, etc. any software which sends through GSM devices has the same challenge. For NGOs without any alternative, even slow is better than nothing. One interesting thing here is that the device could do this through GPRS too, which makes it lightening fast if you loop through a global SMS gateway… Very interesting idea in fact!

I’ve received a couple of really helpful and interesting emails and Tweets about this idea, and they’re probably worth sharing more widely in case other people are interested in trying something out. Yanokwa in particular suggested trying a Huawei e166/e169/e176/e230 GSM modem, paired with SMSTools3 – if anyone has those available it would be interesting to see what they come up with. As I mentioned in my own blog post, this ‘idea’ has potential not only in the work we’re doing but “also for many others working in the same social mobile space, making rapid prototyping and the dissemination of tools much quicker and easier”. Crucially what we build will be useful for any SMS-based tool – it’s not just about Ushahidi and/or FrontlineSMS.

Chancellor’s comment – “Good idea; it should give way to better idea” – is spot on. If discussing a hybrid device such as this leads someone to develop something much better, or come up with a more appropriate solution, than that’s job done I’d say. I doubt we’ve come up with the perfect answer, but it’s do-able and a good starting point for a v1.0. It would be great to see other people build on it if we proved that the idea had legs.

And one comment for Niti – I’m sure Erik has his own thoughts on Ushahidi, but in terms of FrontlineSMS I’ve started conversations with a team of mobile guys in India who approached me and are interested in doing just what you suggest (localisation, outreach, support, etc). I have a conference call in the next week with them, so if you want to drop me an email I can do some introductions, if that sounds helpful (you have my email address).

See you in Nairobi, Erik!

Ken

Thank you