Powering the Cellphone Revolution: Findings from Mobile Phone Charging Trials in Off-Grid Kenya Susan P. Wyche Michigan State University College of Communication Arts and Sciences, Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media East Lansing, MI 48824 USA spwyche@msu.edu Laura L. Murphy Tulane University School of Public Health, Department of Global Health Systems and Development New Orleans, LA 70118 USA lmurphy2@tulane.edu ABSTRACT Can human-powered devices solve the electricity gap for the millions of rural Africans adopting mobile phones? Findings from our long-term evaluation of two personal crank-based charging systems in Kenya reveal that small hand and leg-powered devices do have potential to meet the needs of rural mobile phone users. Unfortunately, device breakage, theft and incompatibility with handsets, coupled with lack of consumer credit and poorly functioning markets for these goods mean these represent only a partial solution to the mobile phone charging problem. Drawing from our fieldwork, we motivate a HCI4D/ICTD design and evaluation agenda that better accounts for unique individuals’ geographic, financial, and economic circumstances or their “human computer ecosystem”. Key strategies for implementing this agenda are engaging with diverse users on their own terms and conducting long-term qualitative evaluations to reveal how acceptance and usability change over time. AUTHOR KEYWORDS HCI4D/ICTD; Design; Human Factors; Human-powered; Off-grid power; mobile phones; rural Africa ACM CLASSIFICATION KEYWORDS H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous. GENERAL TERMS Human Factors; Design INTRODUCTION Mobile phones are touted as the digital devices transforming underdeveloped regions [4]. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) developers recognize the potential for these devices to impact education, health and income generation among consumers at the “bottom of the pyramid” or the world’s poorest earning under $1 per day. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) researchers and development experts continue to develop novel applications for them [10,14,19]. Underlying the hopes for these applications are assumptions about users’ abilities to keep a cellphone handset battery charged. About 1.4 billion people are off- grid or lack access to electricity, the vast majority (85%) live in rural parts of the developing world. These settings are far from the national electrical grids making charging handset batteries difficult [5]. Thus, one important challenge facing HCI4D/ICTD researchers is identifying and developing effective ways for these rural, off-grid and poor consumers to charge their mobile phones—and all the accompanying applications they can support. Without power, the digital divide will increase and the benefits accompanying cellular telecommunication will remain an urban fantasy. Solutions do exist including car batteries, diesel generators, solar installations and entrepreneurial charging kiosks, but all have limits, mostly their lack of affordability by the poorest and most remote, inconvenience and required maintenance. Solar photovoltaic-powered devices aimed at ordinary consumers have emerged as one promising solution and are often presented as the solution [16], but photovoltaic panels are costly, wiring fragile and batteries heavy and not durable. Long periods without sun over long rainy seasons and over-use by many family members and friends can shorten battery life. Meanwhile, human power is plentiful throughout the developing world. It is already being harnessed for treadle irrigation, pedal-powered transportation, brick making, road building, and other sectors. Dynamos to convert crank motion to electricity have been around for decades [26], but have not yet been adapted effectively for labor-abundant rural African consumers. In this context, we explored the feasibility of two commercially available products for charging rural Africans’ mobile phones. We examined the FreePlay Companion hand-crank powered cellphone charger (with LED flashlight and radio) and the Nokia DC-14 Bicycle Charger Kit (Figure 1). Both products received enthusiastic attention from the American popular press [8,13,20,29]. Online publications praised the Companion for its ability to make interrupted phone calls caused by Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. CHI’13, April 27 – May 2, 2013, Paris, France. Copyright © 2013 ACM 978-1-4503-1899-0/13/04...$15.00.