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Comment by mtgx | Hacker News Reader

For many people in poor countries, the smartphone is their computer. If nothing else, these people use smartphones to log in to Facebook and use it. That's a computer.

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Poor people will not care about facebook status updates. I have in no way have disrespect for poor people, just saw something wrong with your statement.

Low income individuals also will not care about smartphones. It is not expensive to get a smart phone, I believe most of them come free now as part of 2 year contract. The thing that is expensive is monthly phone + data plan bill.

I traveled across Central and South America for 2 years.

Without exception, every internet cafe I went to (a lot) was overflowing with locals doing one of two things:

1. Chatting on MSN

2. Facebook

Not really different from Germany...

How are you defining 'poor' in this context? Because I'd expect smartphone ownership to be more correlated with age than wealth, and at least in the UK it's quite easy to get a cheap Android phone for £99 on PAYG, or free on a £12.50/month contract. If you're willing to shop around, you can probably get a cheap phone on a £7.50/month contract (including data).

To me a poor is who can't get food and shelter for living.

Expensive in the US. Because we accept the ridiculous pricing and behavior of the telcos and convince ourselves we have it the best it can be. In Europe things are far more competitively priced. I have traveled a lot in the third world and mobile devices are everywhere with smartphones increasingly prevalent. Stopping on a third world convenience store this summer, lost and looking for directions, the scruffy kid behind the counter broke off from playing with apps to show me on the map... On his iPhone.

Not just poor countries. It's increasingly common for lower-income individuals in the US use a phone as their only computer.

Phones aren't phones anymore. They're pocketable computers with a phone app.

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