July 11, 2005
Repair Culture, India / China
Jan Chipchase, a colleague of Matt Jones' in user-research at Nokia, has started a new blog called ‘Future Perfect', wherein he posts snippets of his experiences travelling the globe studying the use of technology.
"From this post on the culture of mobile phone repair shops in India (where he took the excellent photo above):
“a lot of the hyperbole surrounding western hacker culture makes me smile compared to what these guys are doing day in day out.”
More excerpts:
India: "You can get a sense of India's informal mobile phone repair culture by visiting Karol Bagh Market. Throw in the noise, heat and smells of Delhi and you already have a rich consumer experience.
As in China many of the mobile phone shops and street kiosks in India offer mobile phone repair service. Many of these guys can strip and rebuild a mobile phone in minutes".
China: - "A feature of lower income consumers is that every yuan, rupee and cent counts - everything that helps the consumer shaves a few cents off the price will get mindshare. There are many shops clustered around Dong Shichang Market selling used mobile phones, and tucked into the back of most of these is a small repair counter typically staffed by the husband of the lady who owns the shop".
[future perfect via Blackbeljones/Work]
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