Vodacom launched the first US$50 smartphone on its network this week and, although the Smart Kicka, which retails for R549, is aimed at the low-end of the market that until now hasn’t been able to afford anything beyond a basic feature phone, it’s a surprisingly good device. The Smart Kicka may not look like much at first. But for
Author: Regardt van der Berg
South African start-up WhichBroadband will go live on Monday, showcasing consumers’ broadband choices in an effort to take the complexity out of making a buying decision. The concept was developed as early as 2007 when Clinton Bemont, a metallurgy lecturer at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, was looking for a comparison of all broadband
Satellite-based personal navigation devices have lost significant market share to smartphones in recent years. Devices that were once an important part of many drivers’ lives have become all but obsolete in an era where Google, Apple, Microsoft and others offer free navigation with arguably more up to date map data. It’s become difficult
In five years, there will be more than 930m mobile subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa. As mobile coverage across the region expands, the opportunities for better logistics management are vast. “There is a huge focus on mobility in transportation fleets in Africa,” says MiX Telematics director Steven Sutherland. Drivers can use their smartphones
When Roger Shawyer first unveiled his EmDrive thruster back around 2003, the scientific community laughed at him. They said it was impossible, that it was based on a flawed concept, and couldn’t work because it goes against the laws of conservation of momentum. But somehow, despite all of the reasons it shouldn’t work, it does. Scientists
Rwanda has become the second country in sub-Saharan Africa, after Tanzania, to complete migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television. The nation switched off analogue broadcasts on Thursday night, while South Africa hasn’t even started commercial digital services. The New Times, a Rwandan daily newspaper, reported on Thursday that the
The City of Johannesburg has terminated the contract of CitiConnect Communications, the company tasked with running and commercialising its broadband project. The company managed BWired, the telecommunications operator set up by the city, with Ericsson, to run the project when it was launched. “It is unfortunate that we have had to
Motorola has not been a contender in the smartphone wars, at least not in South Africa, for the past two years now. Although the company has produced a few talked-about products for the international market, these phones have not reached our shores. But Motorola is a company with an impressive track record and its latest midrange smartphone
Quadrocopters in South Africa have made headlines in recent months over whether it’s legal to use them. But quadrocopters are not just tools for filmmakers or toys for fun — there is a more serious side to them, one that could change the way we look at robotics. A South African robotics student living in Switzerland is working with some of the brightest
The disciplinary hearing involving suspended Telkom chief financial officer, Jacques Schindehütte will resume on 6 August 2014. The company said in a statement that this follows a long adjournment agreed to by both parties