tech news
vivo Launches the Y1S Smartphone in South Africa
vivo mobile has partnered with MTN South Africa to exclusively launch the Y1S smartphone. The device is priced at R199/month over a 24month contract – making it “one of the most accessible smartphones currently in the SA market”. Launched globally in August 2020, the Y1S is expected to offer South Africans a “cost-efficient high-spec phone” that sports a 4,030mAh battery and innovative smart power management system. The Y1S has a 6.22-inch IPS HD+ display with 720 x 1520 pixels resolution. Plus, there’s a 19:9 aspect ratio and a dewdrop notch overhead housing a selfie sensor, which works in conjunction with the 5MP front-facing camera with f/1.8 aperture. There’s also a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and f/2.2 aperture. According to Hawa Hyath-Saloojee, Mar...
Unpacking the Huawei MateBook X Pro
Huawei has recently introduced the new MateBook X Pro, designed to embody “the future of personal computers”. This flagship device is smarter, easier to use and simpler to integrate with other devices. Weighing in at just 1.33kg, the Huawei MateBook X Pro is super sleek, ultra-slim and highly portable. It also features a 91% screen-to-body ratio, which makes users viewing experience borderless and unhindered by the screen’s surrounding bezels. In fact, Huawei has inserted a 13.9-inch screen in a chassis that its competitors usually use for 12-inch screens. This Ultra FullView Display delivers all content in 3K definition. That means that every photograph or movie will be perfectly crisp, clear and vibrant. The display is also conveniently sized at a 3:2 aspect ratio, which allo...
Altron People Solutions Partners with LivePerson to Deliver AI-powered Messaging for Better Customer Experiences
Altron People Solutions, a subsidiary of JSE-listed technology company Altron, was recently named as a Preferred Partner of LivePerson, a global leader in Conversational AI. The partnership will deliver AI-driven conversational experience solutions to the South African market and help companies pivot their businesses away from traditional voice-based channels to digital messaging channels. “The Altron People Solutions-LivePerson partnership is setting the bar when it comes to conversational experiences. South African brands can now leverage AI-powered bots to answer consumer messages alongside human customer service employees; we refer to this the Human-AI Tango,” says Darryl Marcus, head of business development and CX enabling technologies. “The devastating impact of the COVID-19 p...
aYo Holdings Appoints New Group CEO
aYo Holdings has appointed Marius Botha as its new group chief executive officer (CEO). The African micro-insurance fintech business is a joint venture between telecommunication giant MTN and traditional insurer Momentum Metropolitan Holdings (MMH) – and it offers accidental hospital cover and life cover in Zambia, Uganda and Ghana with additional African countries launching in the very near future. Botha was formerly CEO of life insurer Stangen for nearly seven years, having previously held executive positions at African Bank and Munich Re. He holds an honours degree in actuarial science and an M.Phil in Futures Studies. MTN Nigeria Appoints New CEO MTN Group has appointed Karl Toriola, current VP for MTN Group’s West and Central Africa (WECA) region, as the new CEO of MTN Nigeria –...
O-CITY Drives Contactless Bus Payment Initiative in Kenya
O-CITY is driving contactless payments across bus services in Nairobi, Kenya. The pilot initiatve, designed to reduce the use of cash in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, was launched in partnership with transport savings and credit specialists, NikoDigi, and Kenyan payments firm, Tracom, to accelerate the deployment of cashless fare collection. Used by 70% of the population in Kenya, Matatu buses are a dominant transport mode across the country whereby passengers traditionally pay in cash. O-CITY’s automated fare collection platform leverages the M-Pesa mobile wallet, which is used by 90% of the population in Kenya. Passengers enter a code on their phone and a debit is made on their wallet, which can be instantly seen by drivers to grant access to ride. The platform removes unnecessary t...
DStv Unveils New Concept Store in South Africa
DStv has opened a Customer Experience Centre – the first-of-its-kind concept store for the video entertainment platform. Located in the Mall of the North, the centre occupies 669 square metres over two floors and is expected to bring together the best “digital and physical shopping experience”. Customers can access a variety of services including purchasing decoders, testing devices, activating services, paying for subscriptions, and accessing self-service functionalities. The store is fitted with themed spaces including a sales booth, solution bar, content lounge, entertainment pods to give customers the full experience of DStv’s latest products and services. “We aim to be closer to our customers through this Customer Experience Centre in Polokwane. It remains important ...
Facebook Partners with BellaNaija and Guardian TV to Spotlight SMBs in Ghana
Facebook has joined forces with BellaNaija & Guardian TV as part of its #FBSuccessStory campaign. The drive is aimed at spotlighting Ghanaian entrepreneurs using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to grow their business. “We’re proud of the role that we have in enabling SMBs to grow and scale. We know that small businesses are the cornerstone of the economy and make significant contributions. This campaign is a celebration of some of these Ghanaian SMBs making an impact, both in Ghana and beyond,” says Kezia Anim-Addo, Facebook’s Head of Communications for Africa. Running from November 18th to 21st of December 2020, #FBSuccessStory will air exclusively on both BellaNaija and Nigerian online TV platform Guardian TV. The two entrepreneurs selected include Aisha Ayensu, founder of Chr...
Zipline, Medical Drone Delivery Pioneer to Headline HISA2020
Technology is transforming industries on a global scale, with the COVID-19 pandemic presenting an interesting opportunity for medical practitioners and policy-makers to test new ways in which technology — like Telemedicine, AI, Big Data, Analytics, Cloud Computing and Mobility — can facilitate sustainable healthcare systems of the future. An example of this is Zipline, an on-demand drone-delivery company that uses aviation technology to distribute medical supplies to healthcare workers in Africa and all over the world. The US-based company is currently valued at $1.2 Billion and is slated by Fast Company as one of the most innovative companies of 2020. Zipline says that it is on a mission to provide every human on Earth with instant access to vital medical supplies — and it will do this by...
Kenyan Senators Call for Safaricom to Split
Senators in Kenya believe that Safaricom should split into two firms – Mobile Services and M-PESA. According to The Star, a split would see the mobile telephony service is regulated by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK) and the M-Pesa division regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). A recent report by TechWeez revealed that senators believe there should be a level playing ground for the likes of Telkom and Airtel Kenya who operate at the mercy of Safaricom as they owe it billions of shillings. “The market is not competitive any more. The other operators should be allowed to operate, by giving the dominant operator its right, but also allowing the others to operate, and allow innovation in the country,” says Senator Petronilla Were of the ICT committee. Senator Iru...
Huawei Watch Fit to Launch in Kenya
Huawei recently unveiled its newest wearable – the WATCH FIT. It is the first Huawei sports smartwatch to feature a rounded rectangular watch face design combining a dazzling 1.64-inch AMOLED display, which lends itself to displaying “more content and better interactive experience”. And it is expected to launch in Kenya soon, joining the likes of the Huawei GT2 and Huawei GT2 pro. Country Head of Huawei Kenya, Jim Zhujie says “with the wide variety of smart devices surrounding us today, we live in a connected digital era. Apart from the smartphones, which act as a nexus point, one of the most popular smart devices seen with people are in fact smart wearables”. “Modern smart wearables have woven themselves ever so deep into our daily lives, serving primarily as an extension of o...
MTN Introduces Black Friday Data Deals
MTN South Africa has officially lined up its Black Friday deals which run from 20 November until 9 December 2020. “We understand that what people need now, perhaps more than ever before, are true money-saving bargains that could offer some relief, and a better way to stay connected to family, friends and work,” says Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive for Corporate Affairs at MTN SA. “While lockdown restrictions have become a bit more relaxed over the past couple of months, we still felt that it would be best to extend the shopping period to reduce the number of shoppers in stores at a given time. This is, of course, over and above continuing to ensure that all other appropriate safety measures are in place in-store to protect customers and staff during this busier-than-usual shopping perio...
Google Unveils Chrome’s Latest Update
Google has unpacked its latest Chrome update which it says is the “largest gain in Chrome performance in years”. Chrome’s director of product, Matt Waddell says this will be Google’s final update of 2020 – to help users “get things done this holiday season (and beyond)”. Here’s a closer look at these improvements: Chrome now prioritizes users active tabs vs. everything that’s open—reducing CPU usage by up to 5x and extending battery life by up to 1.25 hours (based on our internal benchmarks). Chrome now starts up to 25 percent faster, loads pages up to 7 percent faster, and does all of this using less power and RAM than before. Chrome on Android now loads pages near instantaneously when users navigate backward and forward, making these common tasks...
