This week in technology has been a great one. Not only has Vodacom launched LTE in Lesotho, but handset sales have boomed in the Middle-East and Africa. Also gracing the headlines this week was Paygate. Paygate has estimated that card payments will essentially be mobile in the next 5 years.
Moving over to Rwanda, MTN has unveiled cross-border money transfers. Moving into Nigeria, Alcatel-Lucent is looking to boost connectivity with Ultra-Broadband connectivity.
Also making waves in tech this week was the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. The team at IT News Africa hopes that you have a great weekend.
News
Vodacom launches LTE connectivity in Lesotho
Vodacom has launched the Long Term Evolution (LTE) service in Lesotho. According to Vodacom, the service will bring high-speed mobile internet to the people of the Mountain Kingdom as well as address the relative scarcity of fixed line connections in the country. Read More.
Handset sales boom in Middle-East and Africa
The Middle East and Africa (MEA) handset market grew to its largest size in ten quarters in the second quarter of 2014, expanding 27 percent year on year to 64 million units, according to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC). Read More.
PayGate predicts card payments will be mobile in 5 years
Payment service provider PayGate recently added mobile payment system Zapper to its payment options. With the addition of Zapper, PayGate has also predicted that half of card payments will become mobile in the next 5 years. This is according to general manager for business development, Brendon Williamson, as the company gears up for a predicted mobile boom. Read More.
Rwanda: MTN to unveil cross-border money service
MTN Rwanda will integrate its mobile money system with that of MTN Uganda this coming November. This will, according to the company, allow subscribers to send and receive money between the two countries. Read More.
Nigeria: 100GB Ultra-broadband set to boost connectivity
Alcatel-Lucent is preparing to open up Africa’s most populous nation to the benefits of ultra-broadband connectivity by launching a 100 gigabit-per-second fibre-optic network with MTN Nigeria. Read More.
Samsung to launch Galaxy Note 4 in Nigeria
Samsung has revealed its plans to launch the Galaxy Note 4 in Nigeria on 24 October. The device will be available for purchase through all authorised Samsung partner stores and telecom operator stores nationwide. Read More.
RingCredible app slashes African calls by 50%
Due to ease of use, a clear proposition and unbeatable rates, phone app RingCredible is rapidly conquering the international call market. After the earlier acquisition in May in Hong Kong of Yeloworld, RingCredible has now acquired African Jabbaworld. Read More.
Opinions
Security challenges driving the need for security policies
Businesses today face myriad complex threats coming at them from every angle. From hackers and hacktivists, to sophisticated cyber criminal gangs and nation-state funded advanced attacks, these threats can be catastrophic to the business. Read More.
Securing the cloud: The art of developing strong passwords
Imagine if, within the space of a few hours, all your accounts in the cloud got hacked and you lost all your personal documents. That is exactly what happened to John, who, in keeping with the technological advancements, started saving all his personal information in the cloud. But one day he woke up to find that not only were his documents missing but his social media profile was compromised, his photographs were stolen, and all his friends and followers were getting lewd and racist messages – supposedly from him. Read More.
Top Feature
The $50 smartphone will drive mobile in Africa
The Tech4Africa “un-conference” is underway at the SciBono Discovery Center, Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown, Johannesburg. IT News Africa caught up with Gareth Knight, creator of Tech4Africa in order to discuss the concept of the USD $50 smartphone as well as its impact on Africa.Read More.
Top List
Top 10 benefits of the $50 smartphone in Africa
IT News Africa caught up with Gareth Knight, creator of Tech4Africa, in order to discuss the top 10 benefits of the extremely sought after USD $50 smartphone. Read More.
Gadgets and Gaming
Vodacom launches low-cost Smart Tab aimed at SA
Vodacom has revealed a new 3G tablet designed specifically for the South African market. Called the Vodacom Smart Tab 3G, the 7-inch tablet will run on the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. Read More.
PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup October 2014
The PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup for September 2014 was rather stellar. We received titles like PlayStation Allstars Battle Royale, Velocity 2X, and host of other great titles. This month, the folks over at Sony are treating players to a rather epic lineup. While we are still battling it out in PlayStation Allstars Battle Royale, here is what you can expect to experience in the PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup for October 2014. Read More.
10 Games that need to hit PlayStation Plus
The PlayStation Plus Free Game Lineup for October 2014 has been revealed. While the lineup is rather epic, the folks over at Sony need to start integrating some of the launch titles into the monthly PlayStation Plus Lineup. Granted, some of the indie titles have been rather amazing to experience, but players need a little more at times. Read More.
Darryl Linington
