We are almost at the end of October 2014, and what a month it has been. This week in technology we saw Samsung launch the Galaxy Note 4. The Galaxy Note 4 was unveiled at an exclusive event, which was held in Cape Town – South Africa. Also making the headlines this week was mobile phone manufacturer, Wiko. Wiko has set its sights on Nigeria’s mobile phone market and is planning on introducing ten of its devices to the country this month.
Also making waves across the social media scene was Oscar Pistorius. The former athletes sentencing sparked up quite a buzz on social media. Moving over to Nigeria, researchers are looking to Nigeria’s utilisation of 21st Century technology to study exactly how Africa’s most populous country was able to contain the deadly disease.
Africa is definitely booming, especially when it comes to the start-up scene. This week we highlighted the Top 10 African tech start-ups to look out for. We hope you have a fantastic weekend. Be sure to check out the top stories of the week below.
News
Social media reacts to Pistorius sentencing
Oscar Pistorius has received a five year sentence for culpable homicide. The judgement came after a seven-month trial in the North Gauteng High Court for the death of Reeva Steenkamp at his luxury Pretoria home in February 2013. Read More.
Wiko sets sights on Nigeria’s mobile phone market
Wiko has set its sights on Nigeria’s mobile phone market. The mobile phone manufacturer intends to introduce ten of its devices to the country on 22 October 2014. Read More.
BCX & Telkom still awaiting regulatory approval
Business Connexion (BCX) and Telkom are still awaiting regulatory approval, in a number of countries, for Telkom’s takeover of the company. Read More.
Millicom & Deezer partner for Tigo Music in Africa
Telecommunications and media company Millicom has extended its partnership with music streaming service Deezer to five Tigo markets in Africa. Read More.
Liquid Telecom to bolster research progress in Kenya
Liquid Telecom Kenya has installed a Sh400m fibre optic network connecting 25 Kenya Agricultural And Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) centres and enabling the country’s agricultural research institution to use technology to bolster its research progress. Read More.
Samsung donates 3000 smartphones in fight against Ebola
Samsung Electronics South Africa has revealed that the company will donate 3000 smartphones, worth about USD 1 million (ZAR10,9 million) to support the ongoing fight against Ebola. The smartphones to be donated through the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA), will be used in the Humanitarian Connectivity Project, the UN’s IT project that utilises mobile devices to provide humanitarian support in disaster areas.
MTN SA introduces iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus to SA
MTN today announced it will offer iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, the biggest advancements in iPhone history, beginning on Friday, 24 October in MTN Branded stores. iPhone 6 will be available starting at R499 per month and iPhone 6 Plus will be available starting at R649 per month. MTN will allow iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus customers to connect to MTN’s 4G LTE network. Read More.
Opinions
Is Innovation in the Clouds?
Cloud computing and more increasingly cloud services have put us on the cusp of a massive shift in how we work, communicate, and solve the big problems which also constitute the biggest market opportunities. Research by IDC suggests that revenues from cloud innovation globally could reach $1.1 trillion per year by 2015. Read More.
Interviews
Video Interview: Simple supply chain into complex supply chain – SYSPRO
Meryl Malcomess is the Marketing Director at SYSPRO. She has been with SYSPRO for over 18 years and is involved in determining the strategic direction of its marketing activities. Watch the interview here.
Video Interview: Top 5 software challenges faced by SA companies – HP
As a veteran employee at HP, Lorna Hardie, in an exclusive interview with IT News Africa, details the top 5 software challenges faced by South African companies. Watch the interview here.
Top Feature
Researchers looking to Nigeria for tech to suppress Ebola
he Ebola outbreak hit Nigeria in July when Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian-American, flew into Lagos plagued by the virus, contagious and nearing his last days. The initial outbreak fueled health officials’ concern about the country’s ability to control the virus. After all, Lagos is Africa’s largest city and a major transportation hub. Read More.
Top List
10 African tech start-ups to look out for
Africa is bursting with potential, especially when it comes to the tech start-up scene. A great number of companies have entered the African tech scene recently; however, 10 of these start-ups have shined, much like the glorious African sun, in the eyes of IT News Africa. Read More.
Gadgets and Gaming
Hands-on: Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Last week Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 4 at a rather prestigious event held in Cape Town, South Africa. At the event, IT News Africa had the opportunity to get some hands-on time with the Galaxy Note 4. Read More.
PS4: Major 2.0 update incoming
Sony PlayStation is setting up to roll out a rather major update to PlayStation 4 consoles across the globe. According to PlayStation, the update will offer up Share Play, YouTube and a host of other features. Read More.
Darryl Linington
