InMobi, which claims to be the world's largest independent mobile advertising network, on Tuesday provided a snapshot of mobile advertising trends on the African continent, showing that 8 out of 10 mobile adverts in Africa are delivered on either Nokia or Samsung devices.The company notes that when it comes to smartphones in Africa, RIM reigns supreme, although RIM/iPhone OS/Android collectively only represent 4.1% of the total Africa ecosystem.In fact, in just two months, RIM has grown 2,5% share ...

Emerging market startups are coming into their own and increasingly appearing on the radar of mainstream venture capitalists in established markets. Skype recently announced its interest in investing in Chinese startups. The VoIP service is not the only player seeking a slice of the emerging markets pie - the list of startups grows everyday.Here are 12 of the many companies staking their claim in up and coming emerging markets:DianDian, ChinaDianDian which means "bit by bit" was founded by Chinese ...

The general consesus emerging amongst the chattering classes is that tomorrow's elections in South Africa will become known as "The Toilet Elections of 2011." However, had that matter not so spectacularly erupted in the face of both major political parties, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the African National Congress (ANC), this election could have very well become known as South Africa's Social Media Elections of 2011.Just as electioneering has stormed through social networks across the world in other countries -- ...

The Chinese government recently announced its latest contraband: time travel. Or at least time travel as it’s depicted in fictional enterprises such as films and television.The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) cautioned filmmakers and producers that movies with time-travel thematics tend to “casually make up myths, have monstrous and weird plots, use absurd tactics, and even promote feudalism, superstition, fatalism and reincarnation.”Although China has not issued an outright ban as yet, its firm censorship laws in ...

When one thinks of Iraq, the last thing on one's mind is innovation in the tech sphere, however that is just what is happening. Following in the footsteps of the very successful M-Pesa of East Africa, Baghdad is hoping to close the gap by getting people to open accounts, make payments and transfer cash -- all via mobile, as only one-fifth of Iraqis have bank accounts, but 70 percent have mobile phones.In a country that is one of the most ...

Four years ago, in what was widely seen as a ill-conceived move, Finnish mobile giant, Nokia, announced the launch of Ovi. Finally, after sticking with the venture for what many feel has been way longer than necessary, Nokia has decided to move on... well sort of...Ovi was seen as Nokia’s answer to Apple’s wildly popular iTunes and as such was the brand under which Nokia sold music, games and apps for its mobile phones. Although initially Ovi was slated, by ...

China's spiralling online numbers have turned the internet into a forum for citizens to express their opinions, albeit covertly.The number of internet users in China, already the world's largest online market, hit 477 million at the end of March, a senior government official was quoted by state media as saying on Monday.The growing strength and influence of the web population has prompted concern in Beijing about the internet's potential as a tool for generating social unrest, and authorities have stepped ...

The idea of being able to watch live satellite TV on my iPad, iPhone and laptop sounded just too good to be true. So it wasn’t long before I had the Drifta, DSTV’s much-publicised DVB-H mobile TV decoder, in my hands. It’s an amazing little innovation, designed locally, that brings nine selected DSTV channels like SuperSport, ENews and others to your laptop, iPhone, iPad or selected Nokia phones. There are also future plans to bring the broadcast to Android phones ...

On a recent trip to LA, once hotel check-in and bag-dumping was done, some colleagues and I went downstairs for a beer. Just the one, because by then the taxi was outside, and it was off to the nearest Best Buy. Not one, not two, but three grown men of otherwise thoughtful and pragmatic disposition were literally gagging to get their hands on an iPad 2.And they were not the only ones, because there was a waiting list at the ...

Adam Skikne recently noted in a column, that social media marketing tools are not really like "the intrusive, traditional forms of advertising that have continuously interrupted our daily lives since the 1950’s". He contends that they are "permission marketing," in that, be it by "Liking" a brand’s Facebook page or by "following" it on Twitter, you allow it to "interrupt" your daily life.However, a social media marketing campaign, when properly executed can and should be something far more ...