Bangkok mobile fanatics and professionals attended the Mobile Monday event en masse last night Jan. 23 at the Sheraton Four Points on Sukhumvit Soi 15.
Speakers at the event were Mike McDonald, Chief Technology Officer in Southeast Asia for electronics manufacturer Huawei; Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, Managing Director of Thai e-commerce giant Tarad.com; and a representative from Nokia.
McDonald gave probably the most interesting presentation on trends in mobile phone usage in Southeast Asia. Some facts he revealed:
36% of Thais access the internet through mobile phones
Thailand is the gaming capital of Southeast Asia
53.8 percent of global mobile traffic in 2011 was video
McDonald also spoke of the interesting possibility of mobile phones making inroads in banking services in developing countries. Mobile phones have over a 100 percent penetration rate in developing countries (that is, there are more SIM cards sold than people) while only 15 percent in those countries have a traditional bank account. Since a mobile phone can store money, he said, many companies are betting on devices replacing cash, traditional banking, and credit/debit cards.
In related new, the Thailand Mobile Expo will run Jan. 26-29 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok.
Mike McDonald, CTO for Southeast Asia of Huawei. Photos: Mobile Monday Facebook page
