There was a time, oh, 10 years ago, when consumers used to salivate at the prospect of a new handset from Nokia. From the 2004’s computer-cum-phone, the 9500 Communicator, to 2007’s multimedia powerhouse, the N95, it used to be that for many people that the only option when it came to upgrading
Browsing: Duncan McLeod
With the release of Windows 8.1 this week, Microsoft did an about-turn and brought back the Windows “Start” button, found on Windows computers for 17 years until the company killed it off in 2012 in Windows 8. The Start button has a storied history, having first appeared
This may go down as the week that changed everything in South Africa’s telecommunications industry, the one that signalled the start of the end of the duopoly grip held by Vodacom and MTN. It started nine days ago when sector regulator, the Independent Communications
So, Vodacom is in exclusive talks to buy Neotel. There’s no surprise there – that Neotel is for sale is one of the telecommunications industry’s worst-kept secrets. But if the deal goes ahead, which is far from certain, it could spark further, arguably much-needed consolidation in the sector
Watching BlackBerry over the past few years has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The company, whose name was once synonymous with smartphones, has stumbled from one disaster to another. This week, things got a lot worse. BlackBerry
Naspers is within a whisker of smashing through R1 000/share for the first time and reaching a market capitalisation of R400bn thanks to an 80%-plus surge in its share price in the past 12 months. The growth in its value in recent years has been nothing short of
The smartphone market could be reaching another tipping point. Several developments in recent weeks point to potentially big shifts in the fortunes of the major players. Let’s start with Apple, which on Tuesday took the wraps off not one but two new iPhones, a top-end model, the 5s, and, perhaps more significantly, a
South Africa’s hard-working new communications minister, Yunus Carrim, is tackling the challenges in his portfolio with such gusto that he appears to have taken many industry players by surprise. I had the opportunity twice this past week to watch Carrim in action
Investors cheered Steve Ballmer’s decision to step down as CEO of Microsoft. The share price leapt higher by more than 7% on the day of the announcement that he would leave within the next 12 months, once a successor had been identified. Most critics said that, at best
Talk of consolidation in the telecommunications industry is rife, with speculation growing that a number of operators are either in play or may soon be. But how might a flurry of mergers and acquisitions play out? At the centre of current speculation is Neotel. Licensed