Fundamentally, women and men want the same things from mobile a robust voice service, email and web access; gaming and personalization. But advanced mobile applications do have a special positive angle for women. In developing regions where landline penetration and Internet access are not widespread - and where women are not yet an integral part of the working world - mobile phone connectivity can have a profound effect.
Giving potential employers the basic ability of reaching women improves the prospects of them seeking employment. Providing customers with a phone number and/or email address gives a business case to many home-based enterprises. Commercial mobile portals like eBay offer avenues for making a living without leaving the home. Many career opportunities for women begin with the possession of a mobile phone.
Gaining the ability to make a living gives women greater independence and starts to close the gap with the working man.
In parts of the world lacking Internet availability, mobiles can provide access to the Internet and therefore to information. For women in such regions, the ability to use search engines and online reference databanks can provide critical information on health, commerce, nutrition, finance and current affairs.
The mobile phone also makes it possible for the first time for these women to benefit from training. Learning becomes possible via e-learning and other mobile courses, as well as through access to key people in relevant fields.
The mobile helps women in many ways:
GPS: GPS empowers working women trying to balance a career with motherhood by making it possible to pinpoint the location of a child at all times. Mothers and children can be in constant touch and mobile video capabilities even make it possible for mothers to remotely monitor their children in a 3D environment
Content discovery: Content discovery engines on mobile phones coupled with GPS technology brings efficiency and convenience to working women. A quick search on the mobile provides needed location-based information on the nearest bookstore/restaurant/ hospital, etc.
Push multimedia: "Push" multimedia capabilities present high-interest information and services in a visually striking format that gives a tantalizing taste of what the service is like. And it offers an immediate way to respond. This borderless shopping medium aids the modern working woman who is always struggling to find time for a best deal or who wants to be kept abreast of the latest fashion.