technology news
Sony Launches New Soundbar to the African Market
Sony has introduced its newest soundbar – the HT-G700 – to the African market. The HT-G700 is a 3.1ch Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundbar that couples immersive cinematic surround sound with clear dialogue. It includes Immersive Audio Enhancement, meaning that it provides an upgraded surround experience- seamlessly enveloping listeners with up to 7.1.2 channel surround sound. The soundbar has three front speakers, combined with Sony’s signal processing, which enables sound placements that can envelop listeners in all directions. This new signal processing is also advanced to deliver surround sound to a wider area. Furthermore, the finely tuned S-Force PRO for HT-G700 uplifts sound to fit a wider TV screen height (over 55 inch). Plus, by selecting the Immersive AE (Audio Enhancement)...
Liquid Telecom Joins Forces with Zayo to Expand Network Coverage
Liquid Telecoms has partnered with Zayo, a global communications infrastructure provider. The companies are expected to expand network operations in North America and Europe in addition to their African operations. “We have long been committed to building Africa’s digital future, and know that for African companies to be competitive, they have to be a part of the global digital economy. This strategic partnership will assist many of our African customers who are looking to extend into operations beyond Africa, as well as those customers who already have operations in Europe and the US,” says Liquid Telecom’s Group CEO, Nic Rudnick. This partnership will see both companies adding value for their customers by utilising each other’s network reach. It will also al...
Infobip to Acquire OpenMarket in $300 Million Deal
Infobip has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Amdocs to acquire OpenMarket – a mobile messaging solutions company – in a deal worth approximately $300 million. The transaction is expected to close following regulatory approvals. Infobip has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire OpenMarket in a deal worth approximately $300 million.Click To Tweet According to Infobip, this acquisition brings together complementary regional footprints, merging OpenMarket’s scale in the US with Infobip’s strengths outside the US to process “more than 14 billion monthly customer interactions across the full range of communication channels, in more than 190 countries around the globe”. “This transaction marks a significant leap ...
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X could Face Supply Shortage
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X could be in short supply over the next few months – according to Xbox CFO, Tim Stuart. He believes that “we’ll continue to see supply shortages as we head into the post-holiday quarter, so Microsoft’s Q3, calendar Q1”. “We’re gonna have more demand than we do supply, and I’ll apologize in advance to people for that,” says Xbox Cheif, Phil Spencer. “I think we’re gonna live in that world for a few months that we’re going to have a lot more demand than we do supply.” This comes just after Microsoft announced that it’s local South African distributors could receive their Series X stock later than expected. “Due to some unforeseen logistical challenges, some stores in South Africa may receive their stock of the Series X | S on day of launch or possib...
How COVID-19 is Driving eCommerce in South Africa
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a serious toll on shopper behaviour, not only from a decline in spending but also in how they shop. With social distancing restrictions, a possible second wave of infections, and adaptations to new lifestyles, the crisis is driving more traffic to South African eCommerce merchants than before. Recently, the GetApp SA Customer Experience Survey asked South Africans how the pandemic is changing the way they shop – here’s what they had to say: How has shopper behaviour changed during lockdown? During the various levels of lockdown, there have been varying degrees of social and merchandise restrictions as well as depreciating disposable income. Many people can’t shop as they did before and this has led to 42% of people saying that they have spent les...
WhatsApp is Working on “Read Later” Feature
WhatsApp is working on an “Archived Chats” replacement – called “Read Later”, reports WABetaInfo. Image sourced from WABetaInfo This new feature is expected to include improved “Archived Chats” functionality through “Vacation Mode” which will keep chats archived even when new messages are received. WhatsApp Begins Rolling Out Disappearing Message Feature WhatsApp has begun rolling out its new disappearing message feature, according to WABetaInfo. The feature is expected to allow users to send messages that disappear after a predetermined amount of time – this will also include media, like images and videos. Once activated, this feature won’t affect messages sent prior to the roll-out and users can turn disappearing messages on or off at any time in...
FNB Expects 10% eCommerce Transaction Boost on Black Friday
FNB says that it is expecting a 10% increase in the total number of eCommerce transactions over Black Friday and Cyber Monday – as many consumers who participate in Black Friday may opt to shop online instead of going into brick and mortar stores. This is comparable to 2019 where Black Friday weekend transaction volumes on FNB POS (Point of Sale) devices grew by 32% compared to 2018, while eCommerce transactions grew over 30%. FNB also says that its merchants have also upped their game by investing in their platforms to ensure a seamless sales experience, regardless of the types of devices used by consumers when shopping. One such example is increased support for QR Code payments, where the customer opts to checkout through simply scanning the presented QR Code to pay. FNB Virtual Cr...
Mukuru Expands Reach in Southern Africa
Mukuru is expanding its footprint across Southern Africa. This comes after the remittance provider announced it has seen a 20-fold increase in monthly transactions within Zimbabwe. “As we grow our physical footprint in Southern Africa and bring our services to more people by way of booths and an entrepreneurial agent network, this growth is being complemented by the progressive digitisation of key steps in the Mukuru payments process,” says Andy Jury, CEO of Mukuru. “With more and more digital access points over USSD, WhatsApp and the Mukuru App, for instance, customers are becoming increasingly comfortable with things like self-sign up, including digital KYC and onboarding, which is not only raising our brand presence, but is shifting customers that much closer to financial inclusion and ...
Huawei and Vusi Thembekwayo Join Forces to Encourage Digitising Businesses
Huawei has joined forces with South African business extraordinaire Vusi Thembekwayo to provide the technology company’s developer community with entrepreneurial advice on the importance of digitalising businesses and creating apps in the context of the thriving digital economy. As part of Huawei’s recently announced series of app developer workshops, Thembekwayo will engage developers and entrepreneurs in one of the upcoming monthly workshops. Thembekwayo is the CEO of MyGrowthFund, an enterprise development agency. He is well known for his entrepreneurial flair and business passion, as showcased on the popular TV show Dragon’s Den South Africa, which focused on pitching innovative business ideas for venture capital funding. The illustrious business mogul has headed multi-million-rand c...
FNB Virtual Credit Card Delayed, Confirms CEO
FNB Card CEO, Chris Labuschagne has revealed that the bank will delay the launch of its virtual credit cards until 2021 – a strategic move that is said to “ensure that the launch process goes as smoothly as possible for its customers”. “FNB is excited to confirm that it has successfully completed the pilot of its Virtual Card. In order to enable a seamless transition for customers, the Bank has decided to delay the launch of its Virtual Card to 2021,” say Labuschagne in a statement to My Broadband. “We are excited at the prospect of offering exceptional customer experience and a convenient and safer way to help customers manage money.” The bank unveiled the virtual credit cards – along with debit cards – earlier this year. Raj Makanjee, FNB Payments Executive ...
e4 Appoints Proptech Managing Executive
e4 has announced the appointment of Ian Bayne as Managing Executive of Proptech – this comes at a time the company believes the real estate sector will increase its use of digital property technologies. According to Bayne, technology is not only disrupting the industry but also propelling the industry forward. “Proptech is becoming a catalyst for positive change in real estate. As a long-time player in this market, e4 has ambitious growth targets for 2021 and my appointment is in line with a strategic imperative to become more focused on the customer experience. Using our technology, we want our clients to process their transactions quickly and efficiently.” Bayne goes on to say that Proptech’s value is starting to be better understood and he anticipating increased uptake over ...
3 Predictions for the Future of Retail
For many industries, predicting the future during a pandemic would be difficult – if not impossible. Retail is different. Why? Because COVID-19 has acted as an accelerant for digital transformation – fuelling and amplifying trends that have been creeping in for years. You could even call this “Covid acceleration.” McKinsey recently determined that, over a 10-week period in 2020, digital business penetration had increased by the same amount as in the previous 10 years. So, considering this supercharged digital trend, here are three predictions for retail in the coming year: 1. Automation everywhere The COVID-19 crisis took almost every business by surprise, decimating many which were not prepared for a move to online sales. It has prompted many operational changes that create efficien...
