CellBook's Mobile Technology Used in South African Politics

PR Log (Press Release) – Mar 01, 2009 – The Congress of the People - COPE, became the first political party in the history of South African politics to embrace mobile technology like no other political party has ever done before. The full COPE manifesto can be downloaded in South Africa by sending a sms-text with the word COPE to 35950. The technology was developed by Cape Town based CellBook a mobile applications development company who developed technology that converts printed books for mobile phone use.

"COPES’s decision to use sms-text messaging demonstrates South Africa’s emerging technology climate -- one where South African’s are increasingly likely to ditch their home landlines and rely solely on their mobile phones. But using mobile technology is more than just a trendy gimmick; it is an attempt to build a direct, personal, and immediate connection with people. And it looks like they're responding. Technology is becoming more personal and vital to day-to-day activities, historic moments and social banter. Sms-text messaging directly from a candidate offers voters a more special, personal experience and is a clear sign of what's ahead -- more direct contact with elected officials", says Bertus Preller, Marketing Manager at CellBook.

A 2006 study by the non-partisan Public Interest Research Group in the USA found young voters were more than 4 percent more likely to vote if they received a sms message reminder the day before election. Members of the House of Representatives in the USA are using a variety of mobile technologies to get word out. With the C-SPAN cameras turned off, Republican Congressman John Culberson used the video camera on his mobile phone and a website to broadcast live video on the Internet from the floor of the House chamber.

"The Obama campaign's innovative use of mobile technology was a watershed moment that foreshadows a bright mobile technology future in politics. But COPE is one step ahead, it is the first political party in the world to deliver a complete manifesto or book to party members on a mobile phone, a remarkable step showing the technology creativeness on the African continent, something not even the Obama campaign think-tank thought about, the uniqueness of CellBook's technology is embedded in its flexible deployment capabilities and we are working on a number of exciting projects that will be world firsts", said Peter Traut, CEO at CellBook.

About CellBook

CellBook, based in Cape Town South Africa, is a complete solutions provider for unleashing the potential of book publishers in the mobile market. Our innovative technology CellBook™ and SellBook™ allows book publishers to effortlessly reach billions of mobile users with a highly optimized mobile book user experience, bridging the gap between publishing in print and publishing on mobile phones. CellBook develops its own software products and solutions in house from the ground up, ignoring the conventional, bridging the digital divide to provide flexible, efficient solutions, tailored to our customer's needs. CellBook converts books for mobile phone use for some of the largest book publishers in South Africa.