*Insert Rozay soundtrack here*
When Qualcomm’s Alex Dadson said that crap broadband service, and MNO refusal to upgrade from legacy infrastructure was the biggest barrier to smartphone adoption in Nigeria, he nailed it.
I’ve had this low end Samsung Galaxy Pro Droid that I’d practically abandoned because the phone apparently didn’t work – apps were slow and unresponsive, notifications came in days later, Facebook for Android didn’t wouldn’t load, and don’t even go near the maps and stuff.
Using the device became a chore, and in the end I abandoned it for the two year old Nokia E63 that it was supposed to replace.
Yesterday, I decided to try Etisalat internet for the first time on my PC — my previous Glo all day data plan seemed to want to work only at night. While Etisalat’s EasyBlaze internet experience didn’t quite blow me out of my seat as advertised, it was significantly faster and much more stable (FTPers will appreciate this) than my previous connection.
Fairly impressed with the desktop performance, I was suddenly inspired to dig up the budget droid and try Etisalat internet on it.
I pop the SIM in, and voila! EVERYTHING works. Even the notoriously buggy Facebook app positively flew, with loading delays gone and instant activity notifications. I felt like a cave man who’d just discovered fire. Turns out that the phone was fine all along, the previous networks (I used quite a few) had just been making it look bad.
For as long as the internet connectivity in these parts is crap, people will not have a good reason to invest in better mobile hardware, because without a decent broadband signal, a $600 mobile powerhouse is nothing more than an expensive toy.
No need to put names to it, but at least we now know who to blame for hindering greatness.
*Rozay soundtrack fades out*
