Mobile

WeChat gets serious about e-commerce with its latest update

WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, has unveiled an update to its Android app. In addition to some notable UI additions, the update sees…

We might be buying less stuff but mobile commerce is still booming

Mobile commerce is booming. Currently worth around US$1.5-trillion, the global mcommerce market is expected to be valued at around US$3.2-trillion by 2017. While that…

How long before tablet saturation? IDC predicts single digit growth by 2017

If you were one of those people who thought that the iPad was a giant, pointless version of the iPhone, chances are you’ve changed…

Here’s the problem with research that shows BlackBerry is still growing

The Mobility 2014 survey, released at the end of November, showed that BlackBerry had overtaken Samsung in South Africa. BlackBerry users had increased from…

Baidu reports 270m active Android users in China

If anyone is in the position to know what Chinese netizens get up to online, it’s Baidu, the nation’s top search engine. Baidu’s newest…

Mobile usage and apps in South Africa: the numbers you need to know

Sitting in your iOS 7 cocoon and assume everyone has an iPad? Or that SMS died out with the arrival of BBM? Perhaps you’re…

The key to USSD growth in Southern Africa

USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data), has enormous potential to deliver new products and services to mobile customers in sub-Saharan Africa, but has yet to…

The truth about BlackBerry’s encryption

I’ve been thinking of not writing this piece in order to let the criminal underworld continue to operate, wrapped tightly in the warm blanket…

How over-regulation has stifled the pace of mobile money adoption in Africa

In a continent where less than 20 percent of Africa’s population has a bank account and where latent demand for money services is so…

Competition is getting us all converged

Summer is almost here and in an unlikely turn of events, South African telecoms giant Telkom, decided spring day was the day it was…

Motorola Mobility’s Megan Nicholas on Googarola and the future of BlackBerry

At the recent South African launch event for the Motorola XOOM tablet and ATRIX smartphone, the lush gadgetry on offer was actually the last…

Why Kenya’s M-Pesa won’t work anywhere else

It’s the runaway success story: From a standing start just four years ago, over 15-million Kenyans now use the M-Pesa mobile money service to…

What lies ahead: Online mobile payments and Africa’s small merchants

I’ve been pondering small business, payments and incentives quite a bit recently. Partly because of the web startups I’ve been seeing crop up locally,…

Facebook targets emerging markets with Vodafone 555 Blue

The recent launch of the Vodafone 555 Blue in South Africa is an indication that social networks are more eager than ever to put…

The Amazon, Walmart & FT app rebellion: What it means for you

If you take the time to read some of the many articles on mobile app strategy, you’ll find that they focus on trying to…

Rumour: BlackBerry Messenger Music may be launched next week

Quoting what it calls “people familiar with the matter”, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported that Canada’s Research in Motion (RIM) is developing…

SMS is dead. Well, almost.

SMS is dead – more accurately, dying – and why wouldn’t it be? Hundreds of millions of consumers around the world are wising up…

Mobile and the future of African entertainment: Q&A

From rural communities to small business owners, the impact of mobile technology in Africa is widespread. In addition to the impact on commercial business,…

Huh? Why is BlackBerry being blamed for the London riots?

In recent days, the streets of London have descended into bedlam as riots and looting spread, sparked by a protest organised around the shooting…

Tech leaders look to Steven Spielberg for future of mobile

The pace of innovation and change in mobile devices is dizzying. At times it can be difficult to predict the winning platforms and products…

RIM shareholder: Android and Apple are kids’ games

The press was expecting an angry, mutinous mob at RIM’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders 2011 held at the company’s headquarters in Waterloo, Ontario last…

Broadband Africa Forum 2024

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German luxury cars require a rethink for China

Trump wins – Tesla goes beyond $1 Trillion