African Technology News, Startups, Mobile and Social Media

Page 534

Wed, January 16th, 09:45 · Brandon Gregory

Digital Migration 2015 target could be missed by three years – South African government

The Department of Communications (DoC) in South Africa has warned the country will miss the internationally agreed deadline to migrate to digital signal by 2015 if the South Gauteng High Court ruling is put into action. → Read more
Wed, January 16th, 09:10 · Paul Adepoju

MasterCard President decries high volume of cash transactions, supports CBN cashless policy

Despite the immense advance in mobile retail technology, around 85 percent of all transactions are still being made with cash, which will only change with the “will of the people”, according to the President of MasterCard Worldwide. → Read more
Wed, January 16th, 08:59 · Paul Adepoju

New ICT tool introduced to combat Abidjan traffic woes

A new crowdsourcing ICT tool called CivRoute has been developed by four tech-savvy Ivorians to help citizens overcome traffic problems in the capital city. → Read more
Wed, January 16th, 08:40 · Robin Okuthe

Facebook launches Graph Search

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has announced a new type of search engine on the social networking site, providing users with a new way to search for photos, people, interests and places. → Read more
Wed, January 16th, 08:03 · Vincent Matinde

MasterCard partners with Equity Bank to boost cashless transactions in Kenya

Kenya’s Equity Bank has entered into a joint venture with global payments leader MasterCard in a deal that will see five million credit and debit cards released into the local market to encourage cashless and contactless transactions nationwide. → Read more
Wed, January 16th, 07:34 · Richard Cutcher

OPINION: South Africa’s communications regulator given little room to work and fails to impress

As Communications Minister Dina Pule announced she was appealing the court’s decision to hand control of the set-top-boxes essential to digital migration to SABC, e.tv and free-to-air broadcasters, a familiar response emerged from the industry’s regulator - silence. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 19:15 · Paul Adepoju

Research agency predicts boom in mobile, online display and social media

Global research agency Millward Brown has revealed its latest top ten digital and media predictions including how using “mobile as remote” will become the “brains” of utilities. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 15:44 · Paul Adepoju

Q&A: Obi Asika, Lagos Chairman of Social Media Week

Nigeria’s commercial city of Lagos will host Social Media Week (SMW) from February 18 to 22 - the first time an African city has hosted what has become a major global event. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 15:30 · HumanIPO

Females in tech industry a question of action rather than debate

With the male-dominated tech industry, the many female contributions are often overlooked, according to Mariska du Preez, Developer Relations Ninja at Mxit, co-founder at HackSTB and founding member at Geek Girl Dinner Cape Town. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 15:05 · Gabriella Mulligan

Pill-sized camera may assist early cancer detection

US doctors have created a pill-sized camera which can take detailed images of a patient’s gullet, potentially improving cancer early-detection rates. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 14:54 · Nanine Steenkamp

Fingerprint phones progress surpasses expectations

Fingerprint phone production is ahead of schedule as fingerprint card orders soar unexpectedly high. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 14:42 · Tom Jackson

ICASA issues new regulations on devices

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has published new draft regulations aiming to “address the approval and certification of electronic communications equipment in the country”. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 14:23 · Vincent Matinde

Etisalat’s Eazywallet leads way in Kalahari Mobile Money Award nominations

Etisalat Nigeria’s Eazywallet product has received the highest number of nominations for this year’s Kalahari Mobile Money Awards slated for February 6. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 14:00 · Kamau Mbote

Microsoft Surface RT tablets sales below target in Q4

Microsoft Surface RT tablets sold just one million devices in Q4 of last year, falling well short of the targeted two million, with UBC analyst Brent Thill claiming the low figures proved customers still prefer iPads to Surface tablets. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 13:41 · HumanIPO

SA Chipmaker achieves successful LTE results

The South African Long Term Evolution (LTE) chipmaker Sequans Communications has released favourable results of a technical trial administered by the Japanese mobile operator Softbank. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 13:31 · Vincent Matinde

Huge Internet gender gap in Sub-Saharan Africa cause for alarm

Low Internet penetration among women and girls in developing countries is a major decelerator of their development and education, according to a new report by technology firm Intel. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 13:24 · Brandon Gregory

No Strings Attached, South Africa’s latest social media site

“No-strings” is the driving concept behind a new South African social network, or “hookups” site, creating a one-stop profile and chat site for the more promiscuous seeking similar encounters. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 13:06 · Paul Adepoju

Nigerian government insists farmers need phones

The last may not have been heard on the 10 million phones the Nigerian government is planning to procure and distribute to the nation's farmers after the nation's Agriculture Minister, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, said in spite of the criticism, he still believes the devices are needed. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 12:32 · Brandon Gregory

Airtel Zambia ends 2012 with 4.6 million subscribers

Airtel Zambia ended 2012 on a successful note with more than 4.6 million subscribers to its networks and after expanding to include 140 areas previously without any mobile coverage. → Read more
Tue, January 15th, 11:29 · Paul Adepoju

Truce yet to be reached in dispute over AFCON broadcast in Nigeria

The Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON) has revealed no solution is in sight on the dispute over who will screen the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), despite the competition kicking off in South Africa on Friday. → Read more