Mobile Archives - Memeburn

Mobile in SA Report 2017: Vodacom, Samsung have handy lead
By Hadlee Simons on 30 May, 2017
Tracking firm Effective Measure has released its Mobile in South Africa Report for 2017, having surveyed 4993 mobile internet users from November 2016 to January 2017. For starters, the company found that almost 70% of South African users were browsing the web from their phone, representing a 15% increase from 2015. Who/what reigns supreme? In the network department, Vodacom sat pretty with 53% of the pie, followed by MTN (30%), Cell C (12%) and then Telkom Mobile (4%). It's not immediately clear if Telkom Mobile grew significantly, in light of last year's attractive FreeMe packages. Although a 2016 MoneyWeb report claims that the...
The ultimate guide to building apps in 2017
By Hendri Lategan on 24 April, 2017
This article is, more than anything, about user experience. Whether it’s an app, a website or something in between, your mobile platform of choice represents an unprecedented opportunity for you to connect to your customers no matter where they are. Connection follows us everywhere we go and permeates every second of our day. However, earning your time and engagement with the millions of mobile users in the market today, means creating an experience that will add true value to the their lives. I’ve long believed that in order to extract value from your consumers you need to create value first. Engagement...

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Facebook videos will now autoplay on your phone with sound
By Julia Breakey on 15 February, 2017
Facebook announced yesterday that it will roll out a feature that plays sound on videos whenever a phone's sound is on. "People are watching and sharing more video on Facebook than ever, and we’re focused on continuously improving the video experience," the statement read. In the future, when a user is scrolling their feed with sound on, the sound for videos will fade in and out. They do not specify how long the video will be on screen before the sound will play. To keep sound off, users will have to keep their phones on silent, or disable the setting within the...

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#SONA2017: Govt plans to drop data costs for South Africa’s youth
By Andy Walker: Editor on 9 February, 2017
Amidst a bevy of chaos, President Jacob Zuma eventually got his State of the Nation Address across to the seated members of Parliament and South Africa at large. Although many points regarding South Africa's future for 2017 were made (including land claims, black business growth and agriculture), one in particular stood out for us. And that's the cost of data. President Zuma announced that the government will ensure that dropping the cost of data will be one of its most important focus points in 2017. He emphasised the youth in particular. President Zuma: We assure the youth that the lowering of the...

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Africa’s mobile growth: Opera publishes its State of Mobile report
By Andy Walker: Editor on 11 November, 2016
Norwegian internet company Opera isn't quite as well known in the desktop browser space, at least in terms of usage figures. Globally, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer still command the lion's share of users' internet tabs. When it comes to mobile browsers though, the firm has historically had a huge following in Africa. The company this week published its State of Mobile Web Report for Africa 2016, and with it, a slew of insights into Africa's voracious mobile device and web usage using its software and services as a lens. So, what are some of the key takeaways? More...
Lenovo lays off a ton of Motorola staff – report
By Hadlee Simons on 27 September, 2016
Lenovo has reportedly laid off "hundreds of employees" working at Motorola, apparently leaving less than 50% of the workforce remaining. One source told Droid-Life that over 700 employees out of 1200 will be laid off, while another claimed that Lenovo was moving more operations to China. The Chinese tech firm confirmed the news in a press statement, saying it was part of "ongoing strategic integration" between the two. Lenovo said the Motorola layoffs were part of plans to "streamline its portfolio" of products "Lenovo today announced a resource action impacting less than 2% of its approximately 55 000 employees globally. The majority of the positions being eliminated...

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SNAPnSAVE hits 150 000 downloads, R1m in cash returns
By Andy Walker: Editor on 15 September, 2016
South African loyalty shopping app SNAPnSAVE today announced that it has reached a new cash-back milestone of R1-million given to shoppers subscribed to its service. Users get cash back on items by scanning their till slip from selected retailers and uploading it with the SNAPnSAVE app. Shoppers then accrue a percentage of the till slips' value in return via a wiCode, which can be redeemed at 13 partner retailers. SNAPnSAVE: this new SA app lets you earn cash by scanning your till slip This is interesting. It's a new South African app called SNAPnSAVE and it allows you to earn cash by scanning your...

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Stop charging import duties on mobile phones – WASPA
By Hadlee Simons on 26 July, 2016
The Wireless Application Services Providers' Association (WASPA) has called on the government to stop charging import duties on smartphones, saying that they aren't a luxury. The association said that mobile use needs to be encouraged, because of the relationship between mobile data usage and GDP growth. It cited a GSMA study, which found that doubling mobile data usage resulted in the GDP growing by 0.5%. "Unfortunately, while cellphone handsets enable this GDP-boosting data usage, smartphones attract ad valorem duty, plus 14% VAT, when imported into the country," WASPA explained in a statement. Read more: Telkom reveals FreeMe - six rather attractive mobile data plans "WASPA...
Telkom reveals FreeMe: 6 rather attractive mobile data plans
By Hadlee Simons on 21 July, 2016
Telkom Mobile has announced the launch of its FreeMe mobile plan, offering six tiers of pricing. The pricing itself seems reasonable, but there are a number of surprising perks as well. All plans include free SMS messages (limited to 50 per day), zero-rated WhatsApp/Viber/BBM calls (2GB fair usage policy) and free access to over 6000 WiFi hotspots. The two most expensive plans (20GB and unlimited data) also include free calls to any network - albeit limited to only 1500 and 3000 minutes respectively. The other plans feature free on-network calls only, with a fair usage policy of 3000 minutes. Interestingly enough, the plans...

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Japan’s SoftBank to acquire chip designer ARM in $31bn deal
By Hadlee Simons on 18 July, 2016
Fresh off its spin-off of game developer Supercell, SoftBank Group (SBG) has announced plans to buy chip designer ARM Holdings for a gargantuan US$31-billion (R443-billion). ARM is responsible for the chip designs used in a variety of smartphones, as its designs are licensed out to the likes of Samsung, MediaTek, Qualcomm, LG, Sony and a host of other companies. In fact, Apple used to license out ARM's designs for its iPhones too, up until it launched a custom design for the iPhone 5. SoftBank's acquisition is set to be an all-cash deal, buying ARM's shares at a premium of 43%. The deal...

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10 examples of Pokemon Go going way too far on Twitter
By Hadlee Simons on 14 July, 2016
We're starting to get a little Drowzee tired of Pokemon Go news in the office this week, as people go to ridiculous lengths to play the game and make non-stop posts. Just how ridiculous can it get though? Well, Twitter users have done a good job capturing the world's obsession with the mobile title. So this Just happened... #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/PWZRxXHtcv — Ismail Amen (@bigish41) July 14, 2016 The world in 2016 #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/vEYMx0gpTA — Geoff D. ⭐ (@Geoffdx) July 13, 2016 Pokémon Go user playing while driving successfully catches a tree https://t.co/iFnyuzeGhN pic.twitter.com/TbjhubdCWy — Jalopnik (@Jalopnik) July 13, 2016 Ha! Just saw this over I-43 in Milwaukee. #PokemonGO...

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me&you mobile: SIM-only contracts are the future [SPONSORED]
By Staff Reporter on 23 June, 2016
Selling SIM cards isn't a new, brave business venture. Hell, your local corner shop probably sells spade-loads of them, and perhaps even allows you to RICA them as well. But moving this business entirely online is an interesting step that me&you mobile has undertaken. The company, now just over a year old, believes that SIM-only contracts are the future for consumers. But how exactly does me&you describe itself? "me&you mobile is a month-to-month, SIM-only mobile network offering the lowest call rates on the market," company brand manager Dean Ormsby explains. Currently servicing around 15 000 customers, me&you buys voice and data from...
Nokia study reveals reasons why consumers switch mobile networks
By Hadlee Simons on 9 June, 2016
A new study by Nokia has revealed the main reasons for people choosing their current mobile network. Of course, price was the number one reason, but there are a number of interesting trends nonetheless. Nokia's 2016 Acquisition and Retention Study polled over 20 000 users in 14 countries (including South Africa), covering both "mature" and "transition" markets. Why are people on their current network? The study unsurprisingly found pricing to be the main factor, with 45% of users choosing this as the number one reason for joining their carrier. It was a tight race for second place, as best network coverage/quality (26%), best geographical network coverage...
Microsoft sells its feature phone unit for $350m, Nokia devices coming
By Hadlee Simons on 18 May, 2016
Microsoft's mobile divisions are no stranger to upheaval. After all, the US company added Nokia's mobile unit to the stable several years ago and mobile saw plenty of layoffs last year. Now, there's more big news as the Redmond company is spinning off the feature phone unit. The US company has announced plans to sell the feature phone business to FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of manufacturing colossus Foxconn, and HMD Global for US$350-million. The deal will also see Microsoft selling its Vietnamese manufacturing facility to Foxconn. "Upon close of this deal, approximately 4500 employees will transfer to, or have the opportunity to join, FIH Mobile Ltd. or HMD Global,...

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On Nigeria’s digital integration: Q&A with Anakle COO
By Nur Bremmen: Staff reporter on 23 February, 2016
Nigeria's digital industry is getting very interesting. More social media campaigns are popping up and during the last elections digital ideas took centre stage. In September 2015 the number of mobile internet users on Nigeria’s telecoms networks clocked in at 97.21 million, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This is huge, according to the GSMA this is the largest mobile market on the continent. Nigerian digital agencies see this, they see the potential of an internet connected society and the are playing to that. In 2014, a cheeky little game pop up on the web call The Brideprice app....