Despite an infrastructure that largely fails to support the Internet, mobile phones are becoming increasingly popular on the continent of Africa. The region is the fastest-growing mobile phone market in the world.

People who don't have a computer or regular access to the Internet are turning to mobile phones to check e-mail, make bank transactions, check sports scores and buy and sell goods and services, DailyTech reports. Cell phone adoption in the region is outpacing Internet use, especially in rural areas.

Despite the recent introduction of broadband to East Africa, the need for mobile phone messaging applications remains, according to Jon Gossier, founder of Appfrica. An article from The New York Times notes that rural farmers in Uganda use messaging services to track banana disease and learn how to better protect their plantations.