tech news
OPPO to Introduce A93 Smartphone in Kenya
OPPO is set to introduce the A93 mid-range smartphone in Kenya. The device is equipped with a rear-quad-camera array, selfie lens and an AMOLED screen. Here’s a closer look at the A93’s Key Specifications Specs Weight 164g Dual SIM Yes Screen AMOLED6.43″1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~409 ppi density) OS Android 10ColorOS 7.2 Chipset Mediatek Helio P95 (12 nm) GPU PowerVR GM9446 Memory 128 GB RAM 8 GB Main camera Quad48 MP (wide)8 MP (ultrawide)2 MP (depth)2 MP (monochrome) Selfie 16 MP2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)PUNCHHOLE USB Type C Fingerprint reader In-display Battery and charging 4000 mAh18W fast charging Colours Metallic White or Matte Black colour options Price KES 33000 Availability and pricing The OPPO A93 will be available on 26 October for K33 000. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_5f3.td-a-rec-i...
Pick n Pay Acquires Bottles, an Online Grocery Service
Image sourced from Guzzle Pick n Pay has acquired Bottles – an online grocery delivery service. The agreement, which concluded on 20 October, is expected to strengthen what is said to be sub-Saharan Africa’s ‘largest and most popular online grocery business’. Bottles was launched in 2016 as South Africa’s first alcohol on-demand delivery app, and partnered with Pick n Pay in 2018. Its offer was the first of its kind to promise that orders would be fulfilled within 60 minutes. Following the prohibition on the sale of alcohol in March, Bottles re-purposed its app within four days, emerging with a new offer to deliver on-demand “Grocery Essentials” to customers. Since its move to groceries on 31 March, the app has achieved more than 700,000 downloads, with more than 350,000 registered users. ...
Basalt Technology Appoints New MD
Basalt Technologies has appointed Kyle Hauptfleisch at its new MD. Together with Wayne Zwiers, Basalt’s founder and CEO, Hauptfleisch is expected to lead the software development agency as it expands operations from Africa throughout the UK and Europe. Hauptfleisch has more than 15 years of senior management, business development, and general strategy experience, seven of which were at an executive level in both corporates and start-ups. His leadership experience spans various sectors, including publishing, media, and fintech. Notably, Hauptfleisch was the GM at a technology news company, Sales Director of the online division at one of the biggest media companies in Africa, and a founding partner at a boutique marketing agency that was acquired in 2016. More recently, he was CO...
Vodacom to Invest R320 Million into Rural Broadband Connectivity
Vodacom has revealed its plans to invest just over R320 million into network across KwaZulu Natal during 2020/2021. The lion’s share of the capital expenditure will go towards building new LTE base station sites in both urban and deep rural areas of the province. This network acceleration is expected to aid in removing barriers to communications, provide access to fast internet and help in driving digital inclusion among communities in deep rural areas of the province. The availability of high-speed broadband is critical to deep rural development, but research shows that deep rural communities are lagging behind in terms of broadband connectivity, excluding many from digital transformation. “We have always maintained that the key differentiator for us is the quality, strength and reliabili...
Cell C Reports R7.5 Billion Loss
Image sourced from Town Press Cell C has released its interim results for the six months to June 2020. This inside look at the telco shows that it made a R7.5 billion net loss after tax. This loss, according to a report by My Broadband, was due to a number of ‘once-off costs’, and also reflects impairments to the value of R5 billion. Normalised earnings showed a 64% improvement to R1.8-billion, reflecting the overall impact of the new management team’s strategic focus on optimising its network as well as its emphasis on more profitable customers. However, overall revenue was at R6.9-billion compared to the six months of the previous year (2019: R7.4-billion). More than 89% of its revenue comes from service revenue which was 6% lower at R6.5-billion, while hybrid and Fibre-to-Home saw an in...
Airtel Zambia and Ericsson Joined Forces to Champion eWaste Awareness
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Zambia and Ericsson have partnered to launch the ‘Product Take-Back’ programme – an initiative that aims to minimize the potential impact of eWaste on the environment. eWaste, not recycled properly, is said to be an under-acknowledged environmental hazard around the world. The Product Take-Back programme is part of Ericsson’s Sustainability efforts geared towards taking accountability for environmental impacts of all products and services during their lifecycle. The programme is expected to ensure that end-of-life material is treated and recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. Airtel’s CEO and MD, Apoorva Mehrotra says, “Airtel is committed to being socially responsible. We believe that the adoption of responsible eWaste disposal techniques will hel...
Nokia and NASA to Build First Ever LTE Network on the Moon
Nokia and NASA have joined forces to deploy the first-ever LTE network on the moon – a major step towards a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface. The end-to-end LTE network – pioneered by Nokia Bell Labs’ – is expected to be ready in late 2022. Nokia is partnering with Intuitive Machines for this mission to integrate it’s technology into their lunar lander to deliver it to the lunar surface. The network will self-configure upon deployment and establish the first LTE communications system on the Moon. The network is expected to provide critical communication capabilities for many different data transmission applications, including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video. /* custom css */ .tdi...
How a Multi-channel Approach could Improve the Experience of Remote Workforces
As the COVID-19 pandemic irrevocably redefined the way we communicate and work, remote working and mobile workforces have become central to doing business in the new normal. This means that organisations are having to develop new communication strategies and channels to create a collaborative remote working environment for employees to ensure Business Continuity (BC). However, it goes beyond merely assisting them to set up shop in their living rooms and bedrooms so they can continue to carry out their daily activities, the biggest concern has been enabling as much productivity of the mobile workforce as when they were in the office. This means that remote workers should have access to the same software applications, data and tools as when working physically in the office. Yet not everythin...
Xiaomi Introduces Next-Gen Wireless Charging Tech
Xiaomi has introduced two new smartphones to the South African market – the Redmi Note 9 Pro and Redmi Note 9. Featuring an impressive quad-camera setup in the rear, the Redmi Note 9 Pro’s 64MP main lens captures crisp, ultra-high resolution images in all lighting conditions while its 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens enables stunning large group images without compromise. A 5MP macro lens and 2MP depth sensor round out the rear camera, letting users take stunning close-up shots with fantastic bokeh. On the front, the device sports a 16MP in-display camera for high-quality selfies. Its new slow-motion selfie mode captures hilarious slow-motion videos. The Redmi Note 9 also brings photography to the forefront with a 48MP main camera and 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens. Its 2MP macro l...
Gozem Acquires Delivroum App in Togo
Gozem has announced that it has acquired Delivroum, a food delivery app in Togo. This transaction combines the strength of Gozem’s transportation network with the breadth of Delivroum’s restaurant network, in the hopes of creating an unparalleled food delivery platform in Togo. Founded in 2018 in Lomé, Delivroum was the first dedicated food delivery app in the West African country. And thanks to the Delivroum acquisition, Gozem will be able to broaden its delivery offerings in Togo, to add meal delivery to a bundle of services that includes delivery of groceries, cooking gas bottles, and various other e-commerce items. In the near term, Delivroum operations will not be impacted and Delivroum customers cankeep ordering meals via the Delivroum app as usual. “For Delivroum, it’s a natural ste...
The Future of Bitcoin in Africa
Bitcoin is a popular cryptocurrency across the world today and even African countries are already picking up the pace. So far, Africa looks promising for cryptocurrency, and the Arcane Research Report on the State of Crypto in Africa further buttresses this point. This is due to several common factors in these countries, such as failing currencies, costly payments, lack of banking infrastructure, and more. These factors are enough reasons to make anyone move towards any other option that provides something better. For Africans, that might be Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency with no third-party institution like a bank, which makes transactions seamless across countries anytime and anywhere. Political Instability Although political instability can be seen in many countries,...
Fake News Impacts 84% of Ghana’s Youth, According to Survey
Nearly nine in ten (84%) of Ghanaian youth polled suggest that the rise of ‘fake news’ breaking out across their country and around the continent has impacted their ability to stay informed, according to the African Youth Survey (AYS). Commissioned by the South African-based Ichikowitz Family Foundation, the survey also indicates that leading social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp were deemed untrustworthy by over one-third of Ghana’s youth population (37% and 35%, respectively). The AYS is said to be one of the most comprehensive research on Africa’s youth to date. Conducted by PSB Research (part of WPP Group), the study involved face-to-face interviews with young Africans (aged 18-24) men and women, held across the major urban centres of Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, K...
