Why Mobile
Mobile phones are the one ubiquitous technology found all over the globe -if the goal of Ushahidi is to let ordinary people submit reports during a crisis and know of incidents happening around them, then we must ensure that any phone can be used for this purpose. 

What
The following features will be incorporated into Ushahidi’s mobile development: 
•    ability to send and receive SMS alerts;
•    ability to set up a local or international alert number at short notice;
•    ability work on different smartphones;
•    ability to send MMS messages (images and video);
•    ability to send GPS coordinates.

Who
There is an 8-person team already beginning the work on Ushahidi’s mobile phone functionality.  Java experts working on J2ME applications for GPRS phones, iPhone and Android developers, a 3-person team focused on FrontlineSMS integration and other SMS connection points, and a design team that manages the usability and functionality on each platform as it gets developed.

When
Development for the J2ME, iPhone and Android applications began in October 2008.  The full development team is now shifting into gear for a much broader push into all things mobile that touch the Ushahidi Engine.  Our goal is to have almost all of the work done by early 2009 for beta release.

Impact
Mobile functionality will extend the reach and applicability of Ushahidi, especially in the developing world due to the widespread nature of the mobile phones and the simplicity of of using text messages.  It will facilitate the ability to draw and disseminate information and alerts among a wider population that may not necessarily have access to the internet. 

(Find out more at Ushahidi.com and the Ushahidi Wiki at http://wiki.ushahididev.com.) In addition: The original version of Ushahidi, which means "testimony" in Swahili, was born from the post-election violence that exploded across Kenya earlier in 2008.  The program was used to map incidents of violence and peace efforts throughout the country based on reports submitted via the web and mobile phone, and has been recognized as an innovative mashup and demonstration of citizen reporting.  In May 2008, we shared our code with a group in South Africa that used it to map incidents of xenophobic violence.

Since then we have grown from an ad hoc group of volunteers to a focused organization.   The core team is comprised of four individuals with a wide span of experience ranging from human rights work to software development.  We have also built a strong team of volunteer developers in Africa, Europe and the U.S.
We are founding members of the CrisisMappers group – a group that brings together different organizations working in mapping in disaster situations, and the Open Mobile Consortium, which has a primary goal of creating better interoperability and sharing between mobile phone application developers.

Location