7 BEST SMARTPHONES

1. Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge

April 15,2015

South Korean manufacturer Samsung launched its new flagship smartphones Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge in India last month. The two smartphones are priced at Rs 49,900 and Rs 58,900, respectively and positioned as the rivals to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Galaxy S6 edge is also the world’s first smartphone to have curved screen on two sides.

The new smartphones sport 5.1-inch SuperAMOLED screen (1440x2560p resolution) and runs on Android 5.0-based TouchWiz UI. 

The company is using the 64-bit 2.1GHz octa-core Exynos 7 processor that is 35% faster than its predecessor; both smartphones have 3GB RAM. The smartphones come in 32, 64 and 128GB variants, with no microSD card expansion for the first time.

On the back, Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge have 16MP camera with LED flash, whereas the front has a 5MP selfie camera. Connectivity options in the smartphones include 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, NFC, infrared, microUSB 2.0 and Bluetooth 4.1. The two smartphones have non-removable 2,600mAh battery that can last 4 hours on being charged for just 10 minutes.

2. Lenovo A7000

April 15,2015

Lenovo’s 4G-enabled A7000 smartphone was launched in India in early April for Rs 8,999. It is the world’s first smartphone with Dolby’s Atmos audio technology.

The smartphone has a 5.5-inch 720p IPS display, is 7.9mm thick and weighs 140gm. It packs 1.5GHz MediaTek octa-core processor under the hood and has an 8MP autofocus camera on the back and a 5MP front-facing camera.

Lenovo A7000 comes with 8GB internal storage and 2GB RAM. There’s dual/micro SIM, and a micro SD card slot that supports up to 32GB. The phone has a 2,900mAh battery and Android Lollipop-based custom UI. Connectivity options supported by the phone include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and Cat 4 4G LTE

3. Moto E (Gen 2) with 4G

April 15,2015

Motorola India has launched  its 4G-enabled counterpart in the country at Rs 7,999.

Though the 3G and 4G Moto E variants share many features, the key differentiator between the two (apart from the LTE network support) is the chipset. The new 4G Moto E packs the 64-bit quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 processor, whereas the 3G variant comes with a quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 silicon.

Other key features of the second-generation Moto E with 4G are 4.5-inch 540x960p display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, Android 5.0 (Lollipop) operating system, 5MP rear camera, VGA front camera, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, 32GB microSD card support and 2,390mAh battery.

4. Moto Turbo

April 15,2015

Motorola launched Moto Turbo, its most expensive smartphone, in India last month at Rs 41,990. The smartphone sports a 5.2-inch Quad HD (1440x2560p) display with 565ppi and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.

Powered by a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor and 3GB RAM, the smartphone comes with 64GB internal storage. Moto Turbo is designed with ballistic nylon, which the company claims is a first for the industry.

It features a 21MP rear-facing camera with an aperture of f/2.0, and a 2MP front-facing camera for selfies and video chat. Moto Turbo comes with water-repellent nano-coating. It runs Android 5.0 Lollipop out of the box. In terms of connectivity, the phone supports 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and 4G.

One of the highlights of the phone is its big capacity 3,900mAh battery and turbo-charging feature that provides up to 7 hours and 15 minutes of power with just 15 minutes of charging and 48 hours of mixed usage, according to the company.

5. Huawei Honor 6 Plus

April 15,2015

Successor to the Honor 6, the Honor 6 Plus sports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1920x1080p) In-cell display. Powered by a 1.8 GHz Hisilicon Kirin 925 octa-core processor and Mali-T628 GPU, the phablet comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, expandable via microSD card.

Priced at Rs 26,500, Huawei’s Honor 6 Plus has an 8MP bionic parallel dual-lens camera at the back with a dual-LED flash and an 8MP front-facing camera. The rear camera has a fast focus of 0.1 seconds and an aperture of f/0.95 for more panoramic depth.

The phone runs Android 4.4 KitKat with Huawei’s Emotion UI 3.0 running on top. It has a 3,600mAh battery. In terms of connectivity, the Honor 6 offers support for 3G, Wi-Fi, 4G LTE (with support for both TD LTE and FDD LTE bands), Bluetooth and GPS. It also supports dual-sim capability if you don’t use a microSD card.

6. Xiaomi Redmi 2

April 15,2015

Xiaomi Redmi 2, the 4G-capable successor of Redmi 1S, was launched in India in March at Rs 6,999.

While Redmi 2 shares a few features with its predecessor, it has a few upgrades apart from the 4G-compatibility. The new model is powered by the 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, while Redmi 1S comes with the 1.6GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 chipset.

The front camera gets a resolution bump, from 1.6MP in Redmi 1S to 2MP in Redmi 2. The battery is also slightly beefier at 2,200mAh in the new smartphone, up from 2,000mAh of Redmi 1S. Xiaomi's Redmi 2 smartphone also supports QuickCharge 1.0 technology for faster battery charging.

Xiaomi will be preloading the Android 4.4-based MIUI 6.0 software with Redmi 2, while the Redmi 1S runs on the Android 4.3-based MIUI 5.0 custom skin. The new model is thinner (9.2mm) and lighter (134gram) than its predecessor (9.9mm and 158gram).

The remaining features of Redmi 2 are same as that of its older sibling, including the 4.7-inch HD screen with DragonTrail glass, 8GB internal storage, up to 32GB microSD card support, 1GB RAM and connectivity options.

7. Oppo N3

April 15,2015

Oppo launched the world’s first smartphone with a motorized rotating camera in India earlier this month at Rs 42,990. Its 16MP motorized rotating camera that can be rotated up to 206-degree with the tap of a button or touch of a fingerprint sensor located at the back of the phone. The lens has 1/2.3” sensor and pixel size of 1.34 microns.

Powered by a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB RAM and Adreno 330 GPU, the N3 has a 5.5-inch Full HD screen and runs Color OS 2.0 based on Android 4.4 KitKat. The phone has a 3,000mAh battery and comes with 32GB storage along with a microSD card slot.

In terms of connectivity options, Oppo N3 features 4G LTE (including Indian 4G bands), 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The phone features dual-sided Skyline Notification 2.0 embedded at the bottom of the phone for notifications. The phone’s fingerprint sensor can be used for unlocking the phone and encrypting apps.

DECLINE IN MOBILE REVENUE, INTERNET PENETRATION

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The national economy is in a really bad state, and it’s not surprising that those nasty effects are now chewing into the telecoms sector in a big way.
A report published by FinX quotes the most recent Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) Sector Report which has key highlights for the fourth quarter of 2014. The figures provided in the report paint a grim picture of the industry and the numbers are depressed when compared to the previous report. 

What were the major highlights?
According to the report, mobile network operators’ revenues fell by 18% to close at $907.3 million for the year 2014. Fourth Quarter revenues also took a slump, with the 11.3% decline closing the quarter at $219.7 million. This is against the third quarter revenue total of $248.7 million.

The biggest decline in revenue was witnessed by Econet which experienced a 15.45% decline in revenue to finish the quarter with a total of $158.2 million.
Telecel revenues also declined, but by 3.7% to $29,4 million and interestingly NetOne bucked the trend with a revenue increase of 5.9% that brought its quarterly total to $32.1million.

The highest Average Revenue per User per month (ARPU) was registered by Econet at $8.17 and at $3.35 Net One had the lowest ARPU.

Mobile money transfer subscriptions went up by 7.3% from 4.9 million subscriptions and stood at 5.3 million at the end of 2014 The total value of transactions for mobile money services have increased in value to $445.7million from $403 million recorded in the third quarter which translates to a 10.6% increase.

The mobile money agents total also went up, by 13.7%, from 20,569 in the third quarter to 23,379. On a year by year comparison mobile money subscribers also increased by 71.9% from 3.1 million in 2013 to 5.3million in 2014.

An annual comparison of the total value of mobile money transactions shows an 80.8% increase in deposits to $1,4billion in 2014 from $797,9 million  recorded in 2013. The total number of agents increased by 14,210 new agents to reach 23,379 from 9,169 agents recorded in 2013. Mobile money subscribers also increased by 71.9% from 3.1million in 2013 to 5.3 million subscribers in 2014.

Econet, through its EcoCash service, holds 98% of total mobile money deposits.Telecel’s TeleCash holds 1.9% and NetOne’s OneWallet has 0.1% of the total deposits. This distribution also corresponds to the agent totals held by the three networks with Econet possessing the largest network with 17.181 agents followed by Telecel with 4.586 and NetOne with 1.612 agents.

Voice revenue generated by TelOne, the fixed telephone network in the fourth quarter of 2014 was $44.4 million. This is an 11.2% increase from $39,9million recorded in the third quarter of 2014.

In the fourth quarter, TelOne’s voice service had an Average revenue per user (ARPU) per month of $44.93 which was a 15.1% increase from an ARPU of $39.05.

Active mobile subscribers for the fourth quarter of 2014 increased by 3.5% to reach 11.798 652 from 11. 403 788 recorded in the previous quarter.

The mobile penetration rate increased from 87.3% recorded in the third quarter to 90.3% in the fourth quarter.

Subscriber totals for Econet receded by 20,519 to 6 451 863. Telecel continued to shed subscribers with a loss of 71.576 subscribers in the quarter to end the year with a total of 2.152 148 subscribers. Net One once again swam upstream with a subscriber increase of 18% which gave the MNO a total of 3,194 641 subscribers.

Econet`s market share declined to 54.7% in the fourth quarter from 56.8% in the prior quarter. Telecel`s market share declined to 18.2% while Net One’s market share increased to 27.1%.

One of the most striking aspects of the POTRAZ report was that the national active internet subscriptions fell by 5.2% from 6.2 million in the third quarter to 5.9 million in the fourth quarter.

This a slowdown in the uptake of internet services but there is still a maintained annual increase in internet subscriptions which grew by 7.4% from 5,472,710 in 2013 to 5,879,552 subscriptions in 2014.

This quarterly decline in internet subscribers has been linked to the way Telecel and Econet lost subscribers and ultimately active mobile internet subscriptions.

Source: FinX

ICT GENERATION DOES IT AGAIN

There’s always talk about about the importance of imparting skills in technology at an early age. It’s one of those no-brainers in an increasingly tech world, and Zimbabwe also needs to pay attention to that reality.

 

 The fact is, locally this is not done enough. Whether in public or private education institutions, there’s still a lot of work that is not being carried or picked up, something which thankfully is now being addressed by different players. One such group is the ICT Generation.

The name doesn’t instantly register as a household name, even for people knee-deep in local tech. But the work that its members has been involved in has managed to catch the attention of a lot of people.

Last year, this youth collective, which is based at local tech hub Hypercube, was behind Zimbabwe’s first participation in the Hour of Code and the follow up Battle of Code contest held earlier this year. Now ICT Generation is coordinating the Week of Computer Science Education for School Children.

From the 20th to the 25th of April 2015, The ICT Generation , through its ICT GEN Tech Lab, will be conducting a training course in technology targeted at children that have a keen interested in three broad aspects of technology.

You can register children for this course by following this link.

Through three modules on computer programming, robotics and electronics, the course is meant to ensure that elementary concepts are passed on by the relevant material and tutorship to participating students.

According to Sheima Muguza, the team lead at ICT Generation, this program is meant to build on the success of the Hour of Code and it borrows from the extensive curriculum for interactive learning provided by code.org, the entity behind Hour of Code that has received a lot of support from investors and globally recognised tech entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerburg.

The cost has been put at $25 for each of the three modules, but participants who register for all three will pay only $50. These costs cover the materials, resources and refreshments used for the course. It is open to any child aged 6 years and above.

Parents that put their children through this course can look forward to their children’s exposure to skills in graphic based computer programming, virtual robotics and basic electronics (with an introduction to the use of Raspberry Pi and Arduino Kits) as well as just the right approach to concepts related to this like geometry, algebra and basic physics. The whole course also emphasizes aspects such as team building and collaboration.

There will be a free hour of demonstration on 2 separate days on the 20th (1 – 2 pm) and the 25th (10-11 am) of April which will show how the programme will benefit children.

If you are interested in getting your child involved in this or understanding more about the course, you can get information on the ICT generation website, www.ictgen.co.zw or by contacting Hypercube Hub.

AFRICOM OFFERS CHEAPEST INTERNET SERVICES

Just last week we were talking about the new unlimited data offer from Powertel that is supposed to start a return to glory and hopefully, good graces with disgruntled clients for the Internet Access Provider. It turns out, Africom also introduced its own special offer on data in the same period.

Africom--Super-Data-PromotiJust last week we were talking about the new unlimited data offer from Powertel that is supposed to start a return to glory and hopefully, good graces with disgruntled clients for the Internet Access Provider. It turns out, Africom also introduced its own special offer on data in the same period.

The Africom Super Data Promotion is a follow-up to the MiChoice Data offering that Africom has had going for about half a year. This time, Africom has come up with a promo that isn’t for browsing only or focused on social media, but is aimed at subscribers that want to enjoy internet downloads and streaming.

With an entry bundle priced at 50cents for 20MB and a 1GB bundle set at $10 the competition isn’t just Powertel (which has somewhat similar bundles that are more expensive), Africom has introduced the cheapest internet package in Zimbabwe.

It seems Africom is responding to a tougher economic climate just like every other service provider that is competing for subscribers’ attention.

The competitive prices for the Africom Super Data will likely be a very strong offer for subscribers keen on downloads that have established that Africom service is readily available in their areas. However, points for this promotion are dropped by the limited validity periods for the bundles that range from 24 to 48 hours, which extend even for the 1GB service.

TELONE UNVEILING A NEW LOOK

Time for a new experience? - TelOne is doing away with its old identity and is unveiling a new look.

Time to experience something different? – TelOne is doing away with its old identity and is unveiling a new look.

Any 2015 conversation around ADSL technology always has the same undertone. A lot of people, learned or otherwise, think the tech belongs to the 1980s. To be honest, in the face of rapidly changing communications standards and delivery options it’s hard to bring up colonial copper cabling solutions which just don’t sound sexy.

This is a bit of a challenge for an operator like TelOne that has the distinction of being the Number 1 only local provider of ADSL broadband in an environment where the internet is experienced through mobile phones first, and fixed internet also means WiMAX solutions from every other competitor.

To its credit, TelOne has been trying a lot to adapt to everything around it. The highlight of all this will be showcased tomorrow evening. TelOne is unveiling two new products along with a new corporate identity.

According to information from reliable sources, TelOne is introducing its network of WiFi hot spots around Harare, dubbed Metro City WiFi. These WiFi hot spots are meant to give TelOne an access point to mobile broadband subscribers that already form a clear majority of internet users in Zimbabwe.

The second new product will be the TelOne Fibre to the Home (FTTH) service that has been a major focus of TelOne’s efforts of being an Internet-First operator.

The new brand identity is what TelOne has been teasing in print adverts this past week and will be represented by a new logo that we will see for the first time tomorrow night.

No doubt all of this sounds exciting for a host of reasons. The Fibre to the Home product is coming into a market that is being led by Liquid and ZOL, the force behind the ZOL Fibroniks package that is meant to make Fibre a reality for Zimbabweans with a $39 entry package as well as the most extensive fibre network in the country whose density is remarkable when compared to other countries in Africa.

TelOne currently sits on the second largest fibre network in Zimbabwe and has been offering somewhat reasonable pricing for its ADSL package. The hope is that this same competitiveness will extend to its fibre service.

At the same time, the Metro City WiFi service gives TelOne a shot at competing with mobile telecoms operators, something that it hasn’t been able to execute with a mobile network operator licence that it never used.

Hopefully TelOne will compete aggressively in terms of service delivery and not just pricing.

NETONE APPLIES FOR THE BROADCASTING OF DATA

According to a notice in the Herald, state-owned mobile network operator Netone has applied for a national datacasting licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe.The datacasting licence is one of ten broadcasting licences offered by the regulator.

 Image courtesy of TECHZIM

Datacasting, or the broadcast of data, is a service that delivers information via radio waves in varied forms which include text, data, speeches and images to any receiver or equipment that can accept or process the information.

It usually works in the distribution on topical information in fields that can be as varied as traffic updates, weather, health, education and even retailing.This looks like part of Netone’s efforts at improving their performance by providing a wider range of product services. Currently every network operator needs to and has been making attempts at expanding its product range beyond the declining voice call offering.

NetOne’s two competitors Econet and Telecel have been aggressively pushing data centric OTT services that include WhatsApp bundles and different Facebook promotions, lines of service which NetOne hasn’t offered on its own network. It has however been engaged in mobile money services which have provided a healthy revenue stream for local telecoms.

NetOne is likely to be leaning on its relationships with Chinese hardware and telecoms infrastructure giants Huawei in the roll out of this service.Huawei is already tapped to pick up Netone’s $218 million broadband expansion project which will focus on equipment upgrade and LTE service provision.

PAYMENTS THROUGH MOBILE MONEY SERVICES SUSPENDED

DStv Zimbabwe has just announced that it has suspended payments through mobile money serviceEcoCash, something that ought to put a damper on any attempts at beating holiday queues through m-commerce convenience.

According to a post published on the DStv Facebook page, this temporary disruption has been caused by technical challenges and it is indefinite. In responses to questions asked in the comments section of the Facebook post, DStv Zimbabwe also pointed out that payments through Telecash are also suspended. This means that payment through the Telecash GoldCard and the EcoCash Master Card aren’t possible as well.

The only mobile money option that is still working is financial institution CABS’ Textacash, an option that might provide relief to its 300,000 plus subscriber base but still leaves the bulk of mobile money subscribers who use EcoCash and Telecash in a fix.

The traditional payment options, that is the financial institutions like CBZ Bank, NMB Bank, ZB Bank, Stanbic, Standard Chartered, Steward Bank, FBC Bank, Met Bank, CABS and POSB (and are now ironically becoming the alternative solutions) are still available. The biggest frustration there is the fact that banks aren’t as flexible in terms of operating hours, something that rules out payment over the holidays like Easter that starts tomorrow.

Still, if you have made a payment via Textacash and want to follow up n it this holiday, DStvZimbabwe walk-ins will be open on Saturday until 2pm and there is the call centre option that you can access until 5pm