[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.23]this is the Technology Report.
[00:05.96]Getting a taxi ride in New York city
[00:09.22]is as easy as standing along a street
[00:12.05]and raising your hand high in the air.
[00:15.15]In Johannesburg,
[00:17.56]getting a taxi ride just got even easier,
[00:20.78]thanks to a new software application.
[00:23.99]SnappCab lets users call a taxi
[00:28.66]simple by touching the screen of their smartphone.
[00:32.18]Anton van Metzinger is the managing director of SnappCab.
[00:37.43]He and two partners launched their smartphone app in September.
[00:43.30]He explains how it works.
[00:46.16]"You open the app.
[00:47.57]And you literally with two clicks of a button
[00:50.18]you can order a cab.
[00:51.14]Using your GPS, you click the button,
[00:53.49]you electronically hail the cab,
[00:55.07]it connects you to the closest cabs in the area.
[00:57.54]So I get the cab driver's name,
[00:59.94]I get the cab driver's company ID he or she works for,
[01:03.52]their vehicle registration details and the vehicle description.
[01:06.89]So I know, as the passenger
[01:08.24]I know exactly which cab is coming to me
[01:10.26]and I can now track it on my smartphone," said van Metzinger.
[01:12.51]When the vehicle arrives,
[01:14.09]the app sends a message to the passenger.
[01:17.46]When the ride is done,
[01:19.34]He or she can either pay the driver directly,
[01:22.76]or pay using the smartphone.
[01:25.79]"We've been in the market only for about a month now
[01:28.41]and we already see that the credit card payment option is very popular,
[01:32.89]in fact more popular than we expected initially...
[01:35.46]People are getting used to the idea of online shopping,
[01:39.08]they're getting used to the idea of mobile.
[01:40.68]We predict that a year down the line,
[01:43.71]the majority of our transactions will be by credit card," said van Metzinger.
[01:47.53]But critics say the move to financial transaction
[01:50.79]through mobile apps has been slow.
[01:53.36]Arthur Goldstuck is managing director of World Wide Worx,
[01:58.43]he also marks as a writer who specializes in South African technology.
[02:04.67]He says many South Africans are not get ready
[02:09.75]to make online purchases by telephone.
[02:12.91]He says they lack trust in the technology.
[02:17.58]"There's a phenomenon in this country and probably across Africa,
[02:20.90]that we call the digital participation curve.
[02:23.63]And it shows that the average Internet user
[02:26.78]needs to have been online for five years or more
[02:28.99]before they're ready to start transacting online," said Goldstuck.
[02:33.06]But there have been success stories.
[02:36.38]An app called Powertime was launched in 2009,
[02:41.11]it sells pre-paid, or pay-as-you-go electricity.
[02:46.45]Before Powertime, power users would have to
[02:50.46]go to a fueling station or store to buy pre-paid electricity.
[02:56.14]"What I find that is working in South Africa,
[02:58.61]is if you build an app that is relevant to the country
[03:03.63]because it solves a local problem.
[03:05.61]Kind of a local app for a local problem.
[03:07.87]And I think that was part of the success of Powertime.
[03:10.72]It was a very, very significant issue in South Africa
[03:14.24]to buy pre-paid electricity,"said Lacour.
[03:16.10]With the group of dependable customers,
[03:18.71]Powertime has now moved into paying for other services,
[03:22.64]like water bills and airtime for mobile phones.
[03:26.91]There are an estimated 14.7 million smartphones registered
[03:33.69]with South African telecom networks.
[03:35.70]That number is sure to grow
[03:38.72]as local smartphone prices drop below $100
[03:43.30]and as South African technology companies
[03:47.27]began launching smartphones of their own.
[03:50.58]And that is the Technology Report from VOA Special English.
[03:56.47]I'm June Simms.