Vodacom has taken the wraps off a new, low-cost smartphone that it hopes will propel adoption of smart devices and Internet use among consumers who haven’t been able to afford a smart device until now. The new Smart Kicka, which is the first Vodacom-branded device, has gone on sale at a prepaid retail price of R549

If the music industry is to be believed, music piracy is a huge problem. So far, however, very little has been done to stop it. But we are starting to get an idea of what motivates people to do it. If record labels want to survive, they should start looking at the growing body of evidence about why music lovers continue to refuse to pay. Although there is some scepticism

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

Business Connexion (BCX) shareholders will next week vote on whether to accept Telkom’s R2,7bn all-cash offer to buy them out. But the deal looks set to pass, with Telkom saying on Tuesday that 80% of shareholders have given their written undertaking to support the proposed deal. The meeting, which will take place on Monday

US company Jinko Solar will open its R80m, 120MW solar photovoltaic (PV) module production facility in Cape Town on Tuesday, trade and industry minister Rob Davies announced. “South Africa is becoming a leader in renewable energy,” Davies said on the sidelines of the US-Africa summit in Washington on Monday. “Within

The Justice Alliance of South Africa on Tuesday said it had filed papers in the high court in Cape Town to challenge communications regulator Icasa’s decision to allow three adult channels to be broadcast on TV after 8pm. “Jasa believes that it is a step too far to introduce this to the family TV, which is usually in the only

South Africa’s telecommunications industry has “made too much money for too long” and, as competition intensifies and as government and regulatory scrutiny grows, operators are having to become more cost effective and

Siyaya TV, which acquired the rights to air Bafana Bafana matches for R1bn, is poised to change the face of broadcasting, its major shareholder said on Monday. “We are transforming the broadcasting industry by participating in it ourselves, and not just coming in and asking for jobs,” the Bakgatla ba Kgafela tribal chief John Molefe Pilane

Publishing books seems like a noble and romantic business. You might imagine publishers in waistcoats, discovering new authors, delivering knowledge and enjoyment to the world, and wearing little glasses at the ends of their noses. Alas, there is nothing noble or romantic about Hachette’s dispute with Amazon. For more than six months Hachette

If press coverage is any measure, it appears electric vehicles (EVs) have finally arrived. Tesla’s Model S was named Automobile Magazine’s Car of the Year, the Nissan Leaf is topping the EV sales ranks and the industry is abuzz with anticipated sales impact of BMW’s super-light i3. Yet for all the hype, EVs remain more common in glossy