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TECNO Camon 12 | Review of an amazing smartphone with premium features at a sweet price point

Feritter Owich
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TECNO Camon 12 | Review of an amazing smartphone with premium features at a sweet price point

The new TECNO Camon 12 is an amazing smartphone with premium features—amazing imaging, speed, latest in innovation and technology with all-round beauty—is not very common in this clime. TECNO has a knack for making this possible. They have just released a phone that will deliver premium features at a sweet price point. What phone?

TECNO just unveiled the 6th generation of its Camera-centric line, the Camon 12 series, which has the Camon 12, Camon 12 Pro as well as the Camon 12 Air.  The first impression and unboxing videos I have watched on YouTube showcased a smartphone that is beautiful with impressive specs.

Out of the box, the Camon 12 comes in a Nebula gradient inspired look, which is patterned after the star lines. This is one element that cannot be overlooked, as it gives the device, an impressively stylish yet glossy look that reflects under light conditions.  Also, the Camon 12 comes in three colors –Bordeaux Red variant, Aqua Blue variant and Midnight Black variant, which gives you three lines of choice to pick from when choosing one that/to suit(s) your personality.

Did I also mention that the device is impressively light? Yes, its 8.2 MM thickness makes it very light and fits the hands properly when held – not to forget that the device is also very trendy and stylish.

The Camon 12 comes with an anti-slip phone cover,  white earphones, a white USB cord, and a three-pin charger to go with it. You will also find an instruction manual; a warranty certificate; a Sim ejector as well as the Camon 12 in whatever color variant you have decided to buy in the box when you open it.

The TECNO Camon 12 is further proof that the brand is really big on Smartphone photography by packing this device with a handful of advanced camera feature updates.

As a user of Camon 12, you get to enjoy the 16 MP front camera, which is flanked by dual flashlights to enable you to take crystal-clear selfies under lowlight conditions. It is great to state that, this is a visible upgrade from its precedent, which was launched last year with a single front flashlight.

The device also comes with an upgraded Beauty mode, which has an advanced 3D stereoscopic facial beauty to make your selfie more natural and charming, interestingly, the beauty mode also expands its scope to body beauty and video beauty.

A Micro Image Taken with the Camon 12

Far from the usual selfie DNA of the Camon Series, the Camon 12 packs a lot of improvements with its Max Triple AI Rear Camera, of 16 MP+ 2 MP + 8 MP which indeed guarantees you the perfect picture output – as you can now enjoy close-up shot without losing the smallest details due to the inclusion of a 2CM Macro photography feature on this new device. The macro photography mode will come in handy in scanning documents, or just simply goofing around capturing images close up for fun or to showcase close up details of a product.

A Detailed Macro Picture Taken With The Camon 12

The above image shows the exact picture quality you can get when using the Rear Camera of the Camon 12 to take a close-up shot, no fears TECNO has got you covered with the littlest of details when taking the perfect picture within a close range.

Also, with the rear camera, wide-angle photography takes a new stand, as users can enjoy up to  120° super-wide-angle shots –giving you the ability to capture amazing landscapes, cityscapes, and indoor architecture, without any hassle.

Sample wide-angle picture taken with the Camon 12
Close up shot of an ANT with the Camon 12

You do not have to worry anymore about that not so fantastic background when taking your pictures, the Camon 12 has an impressive Bokeh effect that helps you blur out the background, leaving you with a flawless image. You could give it a try.

Sample Of Bokeh Effect From The Camon 12

Powered by MediaTek’s Helio P22 chipset which makes possible Smart AI imaging, AI Camera, reliable connectivity and power efficiency — trust me, with all the power packed in the Camon 12, the device would not get hot while performing powerful functions due to this new premium chipset.

I must commend the longevity of the Camon 12 battery after a single charge. I sent a lot of emails, instant messaging, took photos, watched movies, listened to music and played games on its 6.52 HD dot-notch screen, which guarantees an amazing cinematic experience and I still had some juice (battery) left at the end of the day.

The Camon 12 comes with top-notch security features, worthy to mention is the rear-mounted fingerprint and Face ID unlock, which makes the device really cool. The speed the Face ID works at makes it my most preferred method of unlocking the phone.

All these features and the Camon 12 sells for only ₦47,500 in Nigeria, approx. Ksh. 15,000. That is premium features at a sweet price point as I mentioned from the start.

There is more. When you purchase the Camon 12, you’ll also be given a raffle ticket that entitles you for a raffle draw to win a trip to Europe courtesy of TECNO.

If you are looking out for my evaluation of the device, then here you have it, the Camon 12 is an amazing device to have. I score it an 8/10.

TECNO unveils another great smartphone line-up in Kenya, TECNO Camon 12 Series

Feritter Owich
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0
TECNO unveils another great smartphone line-up in Kenya, TECNO Camon 12 Series

It’s no longer news that Africa’s most preferred smartphone brand has released another device into the Kenyan market, TECNO Camon 12 series. The device is the 6th generation of the brand’s camera-centric Camon Series comes with a long list of added values and updates from its predecessors.

The Camon 12 series comes in three sizes and color variants – the Camon 12, Camon 12 Pro and Camon 12 Air. The device can be gotten in an Aqua Blue color variant, a Boudreaux Red color variant and a Midnight Black color variant. All variants of the device come in a nebula gradient inspired look – a design patterned after the starlight that reflects beautifully in light conditions making the device very attractive. In addition, putting into consideration its 6.52 HD AMOLED DOT Notch display and 7.88 thickness, it is safe to conclude that the device is very light and fits perfectly into the grip of a user.

The Camon 12 comes with a 16 MP front camera and accompanied by a pair of dual flashlights to enable users to take crystal clear selfies under lowlight situations – this a visible upgrade from its precedent which spots a single flashlight.

Triple AI Max Camon 12 Camera

In addition, the focus on camera quality took a new dimension with the Camon 12. TECNO introduced a Triple AI Max Camera of 16+8+2 MP to the Camon 12, which gives users the opportunity to take up to 120° super-wide-angle shots – thus, with this device, capturing images of amazing landscape, cityscapes and indoor architecture have become stress-free.

The 2 CM Macro photography feature included on this device makes it possible to take a close-up shot without losing the smallest details on the object a user intends to capture – to mention also, is the bokeh effect that helps users tackle background issues by placing a clearer focus to the object in focus as against the background.

In terms of battery, the Camon 12 packs an irremovable 4000mAh battery with super-fast charge, and can stay on standby for 24 hours after a single charge.

The device is powered by MediaTek’s Helio P22 chipset which makes possible Smart AI imaging, AI Camera, reliable connectivity and power efficiency — trust me, with all the power packed in the Camon 12, the device would not get hot while performing powerful functions due to this ‘new premium chipset which sells at a sweet price point.’

Worthy to mention is the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, Face ID unlock, Pin and Pattern features added to the device to help users maximize privacy on their smartphone.

The Camon 12 sells for approx. Ksh.15,000 (₦47,500) at any authorized TECNO dealer store across the country. Do not forget to collect your raffle ticket as you might be the lucky customer to go an all-expense-paid trip to Europe courtesy of TECNO.

Instagram might get group stories after Facebook ditched it

Feritter Owich
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0
Instagram might get group stories after Facebook ditched it

Earlier this year, Facebook launched group stories on its platform but the social media giant soon removed the feature after it wasn’t very well received by users. The social media giant says that they want users to have groups to engage in discussion and connect with others with similar interests instead of simply sharing stories.

At the moment, the company appears to be taking the feature to Instagram after ditching it. However, we do think that it can find a valuable place in a more photo-friendly platform.

According to app researcher Jane Mancun Wong, the company is currently testing out this feature in one of the app’s test builds.

Wong posted a tweet with some screenshots that indicate once you snap a photo from the stories’ camera option, it’ll let you post it to your stories, stories visible to only close friends, and stories for a group. Plus, you’ll be able to create a new group and post your story there too.

This means that, if the feature does go live when you create a story on Instagram, there will be a new option for “share to Group Story.” If you happen to select this option, the story will only be visible to members of that group message thread. Essentially, think of it as stories for an even more refined group of followers than Instagram’s Close Friends feature.

This Group Story feature could be useful if you had a group of friends attending the same event because it would allow you to share your stories about the event in one place. Additionally, if you had a group dedicated to a certain topic, such as a specific football team, you could post content about that team to your Group Story instead of your public story.

Although there’s no word on when this feature will be available for users at the moment. We’ll keep an eye out for you, and update you the moment it releases.

However, apart from the Group Stories feature, Instagram is also testing GIF Story Replies which was a popular demand by a section of Instagram users since its already available on Twitter and other apps.

This is a feature that will also allow you to respond to your Instagram Stories with a GIF. To use this feature, you simply need to click on the GIF button available beside the text field after which a pop-up with different GIF options will show up. Find the GIF of choice and post it.

Microsoft is back in the phone game with an Android dual-screen device called Surface Duo

Feritter Owich
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0
Microsoft is back in the phone game with an Android dual-screen device called Surface Duo

Last week saw a huge surprise with Microsoft announcing its return to the smartphone market at its big October event. The company’s new handset is called the Surface Duo which is a dual-screened Android device, and it was announced alongside a number of other new devices in Microsoft’s Surface line of premium laptops and 2-in-1 devices.

In 2017, Microsoft had to close its Windows Phone business due to low phone sales, and recently the company confirmed support for Windows Phone devices will end in December 2019. Since then, this is Microsoft’s first phone in over two years and while the company may be returning to smartphones, it also confirmed to CNET that it won’t be reviving Windows Phone anytime soon.

Some of us may have thought that Microsoft announcing its intentions to re-enter the phone space may rejuvenate the Windows Phone platform, but it seems that the company is entirely focused on Android.

However, the Surface Duo won’t be made available until the holiday season in 2020, but it’s a bold move from Microsoft that could shake up the smartphone industry.

Details about the device are pretty scarce for now, but what we know is that each side uses a 5.6-inch display that comes together thanks to a 360-degree hinge. When it’s time to take a phone call, you can simply fold one of the screens behind the other to make the Duo easier to hold. And it can fold 360°, which offers the best of both worlds – you can close it to keep the screens safe, open it to use both screens or flip it 360° to use just a single screen one-handed.

Wired also points out that just like most of the flagships we’ve seen this year, the Surface Duo uses one of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 chipsets. It is certainly not a bad choice, but a bit worrying because, by the time the phone goes on sale during the 2020 holiday season, it’ll be a full generation behind the curve.

There are no more details about the Duo, other than it will run Android instead of some form of Windows.

Microsoft talked about how its new Surface Duo, sporting two 5.6-inch screens and coming next year, will make us more productive. The company said that the device will more effortlessly blend the computer and phone worlds.

“We think of these not just as products, but the beginning of a new category, dual-screen computing,” Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president for Microsoft’s modern life, search and devices group, said in an interview. “We’re in the beginning of a new wave of innovation.”

It may be easy to look at the Surface Duo as just a very interesting phone, but Microsoft corporate vice president of devices Panos Panay stresses that it’s a proper Surface first and foremost.

“We absolutely know scientifically that you will be more productive on two screens,” Panay said. “This product brings together the absolute best of Microsoft, and we’re partnering with Google to bring the absolute best of Android in one product … This is industry-pushing technology.” Panos Panay said of the Surface Duo during the event.

Things to Consider Before Doing Windows Replacement in Your Home

Intizar Ali
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Are you planning to do windows replacement in your home? Well, do you know they are just but the eyelashes or even the face of your home? Maybe you never knew. The exterior part of your house gives the first impression of your home.

In this Total Home Windows and Doors, we will highlight six crucial things to consider before doing windows replacement project. Take a peek.

  1. Consider Your Environment

The area location of your home determines a lot when it comes to windows replacement. Are you located in a desert, coastal region or harsh winter region? Well, no doubt you would want your windows to perform maximum. In this case, you are required to keep visiting Weatherscientific and consult Total Home Windows and Doors to let you know the most suitable window for your environment. Different attitudes, moisture levels, temperatures call for different types of windows 

2. Think Outside The (Existing) Box
Sometimes windows tend to underperform against house owners expectations. 

Before doing window replacement, you can try to look around for other options. Inadequate light energy is one of the most factors influencing homeowners to replace windows. In less than 30 minutes, try to figure out what else you can do to your windows to improve light efficiency. For instance, it can be expanded. Have you ever heard anyone claiming excess sunlight in the house is bad? Fine, you can also think of relocating some items blocking the light, put a slender mirror other than a picture window when need be. Simply, see what you can do first before replacing the window.

Again, creativity might apply better in tricky spaces. In absence of natural light, the house might be very scary. Mind this, where the roofline is very tricky, get a square window and try to rotate it, taking different shapes such as diamond and it might work greatly depending with the slope of the roof. Without a doubt, incorporating some creativity will make it look like magic.

3. Consider How The Light Would Pass Through Your House During The Day

Of course this is more natural and it might be tricky to control. Well, ensure you mind your bedroom light, especially if you sleep for longer hours, don’t install wide windows especially on your eastern wall during window replacement. For your kids’ bedroom, it can be a pretty big deal to put a big window there. This will train them to wake up early as the sun rises. With the dining room, the same applies. Consider the time you love sitting for dinner with your family. If it is between 5pm to 6pm, the light might be intense. Avoid windows at the western wall. It is likely to blind you and your family. 

4. Keep Your Home’s Style in Mind

Mind affecting the architectural design of your house. Before installing your windows, you can first google or check in Pinterest, see whether there are other similar architectural designs of the same kind. What kind of windows are installed there? Are they gridded? What kind of picture does it portray? Do they have double sashes? Which colour is applied along the window frames? Is it nice for you? Such questions will give you a clear picture of what your house deserves. Just ensure you get answers to all these queries. Don’t hold anything back when it comes to home style. Give it the best.

5. Plan Ahead

There is so much that goes into planning for your windows replacement. After getting the right window styles and material to use, you need to prep your home for the window replacement process. Also, you need to decide in advance whether to replace some of the windows or all the windows.

6. Think Of Windows As An Investment Rather Than An Expense
Think of windows replacement as a way of reducing high energy costs during the winter as well as the summer season. Good windows reduce mold during the wet season. It has a positive impact on the functionality of your home as well as eradicating the instances of respiratory complications amongst your family members. Besides, windows are a structural part of your house. Installing the right style of windows which are energy efficient also guarantees you that you will get high quotes for your home in case you plan to sell it in future.

Read More About To Get The Information By Clicking On: Pewter Colors

BrighterMonday launches new tool to grow its recruitment agency revenues

Dinah Kanana
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BrighterMonday has introduced a new product designed to make the process of finding the best candidates more efficient for human resource professionals, business heads and entrepreneurs looking to hire quality talent. 

The tool dubbed ‘Best Match’ aims to cater to growing organizations with limited access to niche talent, those with mass recruitment needs as well as organizations that were not savvy enough to use digital recruitment solutions.

“Employers who use the Best Match product will get up to 10 best matches within the first 7 days of their job posting going live,” said BrighterMonday CEO Emmanuel Mutuma.

Best Match aims to save time for the employer, and for those that are not too tech-savvy.  In addition, employers get access to over 1 million candidates in the BrighterMonday candidate database, 80% who are fully profiled and have undergone behavioural tests.

The Best Match uses a mix of HR experts and automated matching algorithm to sort and rank candidates that best match the criteria an employer is looking for in a role.  The mix ensures that science and experience are combined effectively in order for the  employer to get  the very best out of the candidates that have applied for the role.

“Recruiting talent is an arduous and expensive task for employers as it involves a lot of administrative filtering. Many growing organizations struggle with identifying people who would take their business to the next level. With increased demand for jobs, employers receive hundreds of applications for a vacancy and have to sort through heaps of CVs and profiles to find candidates that best fit what they require for the role,” noted Mr. Mutuma.

The Future of Jobs 2018 Report courtesy of the World Economic Forum cited that many employers’ retraining and upskilling efforts remained focused on a narrow set of current highly-skilled, highly-valued employees. However, in order to truly rise to the challenge of formulating a winning workforce strategy, businesses were challenged to recognize the human capital investment as an asset rather than a liability. This means hiring the best fit.  With this new value proposition, BrighterMonday is guaranteeing employers the Best Match for their organizations.

Your WhatsApp chats can be hacked by a malicious GIF if not updated now

Feritter Owich
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0
Your WhatsApp chats can be hacked by a malicious GIF if not updated now

WhatsApp users are being urged to update the app to avoid a dangerous cyber attack from a security vulnerability.

WhatsApp recently fixed a security vulnerability in its Android-based applications after a security researcher reported the issue almost three months back.

The researcher who goes by a name Awakened reported that the vulnerability could have allowed hackers to compromise Android devices remotely, allowing them to steal files and chat messages. Named CVE-2019-11932, the vulnerability is a double-free memory corruption bug that exists in the open-source GIF image library that WhatsApp uses to generate previews for videos, images, and GIFs.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a double-free vulnerability refers to a memory corruption anomaly that could crash an app, or in a worse case, open up an exploit vector that attackers can abuse to obtain access to your device. All it takes to perform the attack is to craft a malicious GIF and wait for the user to open the WhatsApp gallery.

Awakened stated that the flaw allows the attackers to execute arbitrary code on targeted devices. To exploit this flaw, an attacker needs to send a specially created malicious GIF that is specifically targeted to Android users. The malware triggers when the user opens the image in WhatsApp.

“The exploit works well for Android 8.1 and 9.0, but does not work for Android 8.0 and below. In the older Android versions, double-free could still be triggered. However, the app just crashes before reaching to the point that we could control the PC register.”

Awakened.

“WhatsApp users, please do update to latest WhatsApp version to stay safe from this bug,” Awakened warned in a blog post about the flaw.

“Facebook acknowledged and patched it officially in WhatsApp version 2.19.244. WhatsApp users, please do update to the latest WhatsApp version (2.19.244 or above) to get rid of this bug,” the researcher added.

Today, the short looping clips, GIFs are everywhere—on your social media, on your message boards, on your chats, helping users perfectly express their emotions, making people laugh, and reliving a highlight.

Therefore, to protect yourself against any exploit surrounding this security vulnerability, you are recommended to update your WhatsApp to the latest version from the Google Play Store as soon as possible.

WhatsApp for iOS is not affected by this vulnerability. But apart from this, since the flaw resides in an open-source library, it is also possible that any other Android app using the same affected library could also be vulnerable to similar attacks.

However, this is not the first time that the Facebook-owned app is dealing with such vulnerabilities in its software. Recently, Symantec’s Modern OS Security team discovered a flaw affecting WhatsApp accounts for Android devices. The flaw allows malicious attackers to manipulate and expose media files in WhatsApp.

The security flaw, dubbed Media File Jacking was reported by Symantec to affect WhatsApp for Android by default if certain features were enabled. If exploited, the flaw allows the attackers to misuse and manipulate sensitive information like personal photos and videos, corporate documents, invoices, and voice memos.

Bolt engages NTSA on Road Safety awareness campaign

Feritter Owich
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0
Bolt engages NTSA on Road Safety awareness campaign

Bolt, the leading on-demand transportation platform in Europe and Africa, has engaged The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to train motorists on its platform on road safety. 

Bolt has more than 25 million users in over 30 countries globally and its services range from ride-hailing to micro-mobility and food delivery. Founded by Markus Villig, Bolt launched in 2013 and is one of the fastest-growing transportation platforms in Europe and Africa with investors including Daimler, Didi Chuxing, Korelya Capital and TransferWise co-founder Taavet Hinrikus. 

After recently expanding into Tanzania to cover more cities in its pan-African expansion move, here in Kenya, the engagement with NTSA is part of Bolt’s broader strategy of ensuring high road safety standards and compliance with public transport regulations by the motorists using its platform. 

The training was conducted at Bolt Nairobi office as part of a Monthly Driver Focus Group that educates the driver-partners on Bolt’s road safety policies. It involved the implementation of a number of proven measures that address not only the safety of the road user but also vehicle safety, the road environment, and post-crash care. For more Road Safety Guidelines, you can check autocollisionlegal.com for more information.

Jacob Karari- NTSA officer, conducting training for Bolt drivers on Road safety during Bolts October Monthly Driver Focus Group

“Our ride-hailing business is built on efficiency so that we could offer our drivers and passengers the best deal on the market. We are working every day to ensure the driver-partners are safe and are providing innocuous services to passengers. This training is meant to build capacity and ensure the provision of safe, reliable and efficient road transport services.“

Ola Akinnusi, Country manager for Bolt Kenya.

This comes as the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officers and Nation Police Service (NPS) are set to commence a road safety awareness campaign on major roads meant to contain the rising road carnage. In the performance of its functions, the Authority is mandated to among others, facilitate the education of members of the public on road safety, conduct research, and audits on road safety. 

The training stems just a few days to customer service week celebrations and aims at equipping motorists with necessary skills relating to road transport and safety regulations.

WhatsApp may soon let you send messages that self-destruct after a set time period

Feritter Owich
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0
WhatsApp may soon let you send messages that self-destruct after a set time period

Popular messaging platform WhatsApp is testing a new feature to give its users an ability to send messages that will self-destruct after a set period of time.

This new “disappearing messages” feature was first spotted in version 2.19.275 of the Android app, although known WhatsApp tipster, WABetaInfo, who first discovered the feature, notes that it might not be available to everyone on the beta just yet. It is currently said to be in development and is not available for public usage, even as a part of the beta version.

This WhatsApp self-destructing messages could be useful to anyone who needs to send sensitive pieces of information that they don’t want to be permanently available. Previously, we’ve seen the feature used the rival messaging app Telegram, which lets you send self-destructing messages using the app’s Secret Chats feature. Gmail also added a similar feature in its redesign last year.

According to WABetaInfo, the Facebook-owned platform is actively working on the feature and it will be released “bug-free” as a part of a future WhatsApp update.

“As the name suggests, any message eligible to be ‘disappeared’, will be automatically deleted from the chat!” said the website

Once the chat is marked as “disappeared,” all messages will be automatically removed after a certain interval.

WhatsApp self-destruct messages feature

In its current form, WhatsApp lets you set messages to delete after either 5 seconds or an hour; there’s no in-between. Do remember, this is still the beta version, and more duration options could be added.

The feature also only appears to be available in group chats, where you have to commit to having every message sent in the chat deleted after a set period of time. It is expected that when these messages are deleted, they will not leave behind a message that indicates that a message from the chat flow has been deleted—these will simply disappear into the night.

However, WABetaInfo doesn’t have any details on when the WhatsApp self-destruct messages feature might be available for everyone, or the kind of capabilities it will eventually have. Although, the promise of a little bit more security in the world’s most popular messaging app is no bad thing at all.

Motorola RAZR 2019 | Yet another folding phone hitting the market this year

Feritter Owich
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0
Motorola RAZR 2019 | Yet another folding phone hitting the market this year

Motorola Razr 2019, the foldable phone from Motorola, that has been a talking point for quite some time, maybe announced quite soon. In fact, a new report has stated that this folding Moto phone could hit the market by the end of 2019 to compete with the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X.

However there is no official confirmation on the release date but the company still plans to announce its device by the end of the year, as reported by CNET. According to a report by the Dutch publication Letsgodigital back in August, the device was speculated to be released in Europe on December 2019 or January 2020 with a price tag of around EUR 1,500.

Though the initial release of the device had been planned for somewhere in the summer of 2019, the reason for the delay hasn’t been specified in the report.

Motorola seems to be following the tracks of Samsung and Huawei as both companies were going to introduce foldable devices by mid-2019 and then race amongst themselves to be called first with the technology. But we all know that the plan didn’t work out. The initial designs got a great response online and it seemed like people were totally waiting for the foldable phones. However, things turned upside down again when the phones didn’t perform so well on the market.

After rivals Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X were both delayed, the lack of news around the new Razr had led many to conclude the project had been ditched. Truth be told, Motorola’s smartphone makers were also facing the same production issues Samsung and Huawei faced, given the delicate screens on these phones, unlike normal phones. These foldable displays are usually made up of plastic, which causes them to easily fall victim to scratches. Motorola’s original Razr flip phone (Razr 3) is still one of the most recognizable phones of all time and continues to be immensely popular among old-time users.

Motorola seems like it’s finally all set to take advantage of the Razr’s success now that the new touchscreen Razr 3-like foldable smartphone will be Motorola’s latest addition to the luxury segment. This could also mean that the phone may be an exclusive deal with limited numbers only. But as much as Razr is a household name, Motorola’s luxury segment has been close to nonexistent for a while now, which raises the question; Will Motorola be able to come up with a sufficiently large marketing budget and product lineups, like its rival brands Samsung and Huawei?

News going around is that Motorola had been working on this secretive foldable phone for a while now, and it honestly seems like a revival for the good old Motorola Razr brand. According to a patent from 2 years ago, the Motorola Razr 2019 will have a screen that is inwardly foldable like the classic Razr flip phones.

Although over the course of the last few months, some details about the Moto folding phone have leaked confirming the patent that the phone will have a clam-shell design like the Moto Razr phone.

Moto Razr folding phone could reportedly be hitting the market by the end of 2019
Moto Razr fold renders.

Concept renders of the Motorola Razr 2019 floating around for quite some time show the phone folding from top to bottom like the original Razr instead of the inwards and outwards folding Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X. Similar to the original Moto Razr, this new one is also likely to have a small secondary display which will show notifications, time and more.

The new foldable device will also not be very spec-heavy if the past rumors are anything to go by, as it is expected to sport a Snapdragon 710 chipset with up to 4 or 6 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of storage. It’s rumored to be powered by a 2,730 mAh capacity battery which indicates Motorola’s inclination towards a slimmer device. The screen inside was said to be a 6.2-inch panel with 876 x 2,142-pixel resolution, while the outer panel will settle for 600 x 800-pixel resolution.

An upside is that this new foldable Moto Razr will definitely be cheaper than its counterparts by Samsung and Huawei, but certainly more expensive than top-tier non-folding smartphones. We will have to see how it holds out in front of the consumers.

7 Key Factors to Consider When Choosing An Electricity Provider

Sarah Williams
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7 Key Factors to Consider When Choosing An Electricity Provider

There is perhaps nothing more mundane than the task of choosing an electricity provider. But carefully picking an electricity provider now will prove to be worthwhile in the future, both in terms of services and savings. 

The ideal electricity provider offers the comfort of consistent service at an affordable price. With more and more suppliers joining the market, you should definitely take advantage of the competition. If you want to compare the best electricity rates in under a minute, you can check out ElectricityRates.com to find the best plans and start saving

To make things easier for you, we have outlined the key factors that you should consider when choosing an electricity provider.

Company’s background & reputation

Learning about a company’s background will help you determine it’s reputation and legitimacy. There are many suppliers entering the market with the motive of deceiving customers. You can gain a lot of information regarding the company’s services simply by checking out its website. 

From the number of years of experience in the industry to information regarding certifications and accreditation,  you can easily find these essential details. In addition to this, you can seek help from retailer vetting websites that will screen electricity retailers for you. They assess retailers on different aspects to help consumers make an informed decision.

Plan length

When comparing energy providers, you should look at the various plan lengths they offer. Consider your consumption and the risk you are willing to take and accordingly choose between long-term and short-term plans.

Typically, the rates for short-term plans are higher than rates for long-term plans. 

Cancellation fees     

A quality company won’t charge you for switching to a new plan or terminating the current one. So you should look for a company that doesn’t charge cancellation fees. Alinta Energy is a reputable provider for residential and business energy that doesn’t impose exit fees. 

Rates

The electricity market can be highly unpredictable. Various factors such as wholesale costs, network charges, environmental costs, retail margin, time of the year and so on, impact the price rate. 

In such cases, it would be wise to stay on the safer side by picking a supplier offering fixed-rate plans. This will protect your energy bills from the ups and downs of the market. A fixed-rate plan is suitable for those who consume energy mostly during peak hours.   

On the other hand, if you typically use less energy during peak hours then a variable-rate plan will be beneficial. It will allow you to save more when the prices go down.  For example, if you are a resident of the US and living in Texas you can use the comparison website called HomeEnergyClub where you are able to choose your energy plan from the best energy companies, considering that there are excluded the Texas electricity rates which are filled with gimmicks and likely to cause a billing surprise.

Service areas

To get the best deal possible, look for a provider that’s well-versed with the local laws of your particular state. Tax incentives, regulations, prices, etc. tend to vary from state to state. 

Range of services

An energy supplier should be versatile enough to meet your changing needs. If you use more than one energy provider for your needs, chances are you’re paying way more than what you need to. 

With the imminent danger of climate change, people are switching to green energy. Go for a company that supplies renewable energy in order to reduce your carbon footprint and save our planet. 

So, when you are selecting an energy provider, ensure that they are capable of providing a wide range of services.

Customer service

Electricity is consumed constantly. So naturally, any issue or concern can’t be postponed. It demands immediate attention. For this purpose, customer service is as much of an important factor as the price. 

Customer service should be available 24/7. An easy way to test this out is by calling prospective energy providers for consultation or queries. The manner in which they communicate and how quickly they get back to you will help you determine if their customer service is good enough.   

Customer reviews

Go on consumer forums, Facebook groups and other review platforms to check energy providers’ ratings. There is no better source than a direct assessment from the consumers. 

In conclusion, take time to review your options. Hopefully, these factors help you find the right provider for your requirements and budget. 

Reasons You Should Avoid Posting Your Child’s Face On Social Media

Vanessa Waithera
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Reasons You Should Avoid Posting Your Child’s Face On Social Media

Your child’s safety is your priority.

Every now and then we post a lot of our lives on social media. Most of us want to show people how well we are doing or just enlighten people about something in particular. However, when it comes to your child’s safety how far are you meant to go to protect him/her? as far as possible. In this day and age it’s easy to post something to make us feel less alone and parenting is just one of those things you’d like to post to get advice and feel less lonely. Should you really be hitting publish?

1. Invasion of privacy

Think about it, your child doesn’t know that you’re posting him or her. If you start posting your child from a young age they may end up becoming quite popular for whatever reason and before you know it, when they start being aware of their environment they may feel embarrassed about the content you are posting. The only way to avoid is by being careful about the content you actually post. You never want your child to feel like you’ve infringed their rights or becoming a potential slogan that will make them ridiculed or feel less secure.

2. Social media posts may be used for bullying

Let’s be honest, social media has a lot of bullies. Bullies who don’t care if it’s a baby or not. You might be able to protect them with your response but how will you protect your child when they are older and perhaps someone took a screenshot and started sharing it with other people? What will your child think and feel if they see your social media audience doesn’t react well to your update?

3. It can impact your child’s future

You don’t know what your child will choose to be in future but remember the internet never forgets, so what you choose to share can impact his/her life negatively. Think about how your post can affect their life especially if they would want to run for office or if their future employers does their own research and finds sensitive childhood memories there.

4. Puts them at risk for digital kidnapping

Yes, there’s something like digital kidnapping and it happens a lot more than you would expect. There are have been cases where someone can use your child’s photo and pretend like it’s their own. Someone might also use your child’s photo for an Ad or a post on website and originally someone should pay you for this but yet again you’ve given strangers the right to post your child’s photos without your consent or your child’s consent.

5. Your photos may be used by dangerous people

The online space is not always a safe space for children or for anyone. Imagine finding your child’s photo on a disturbing website that is for pornographic material?  Keep in mind, if you post your child’s photos online and include the location, the school they go to or even where you live you’re actually putting your child at a great risk of actual kidnapping.

 

Equity celebrates 35 years of existence and unveils a new look

Feritter Owich
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Equity celebrates 35 years of existence and unveils a new look

Yesterday, Equity Group celebrated its 35 years of existence in the Kenyan market after having started its journey back in 1984. At the celebration, the company unveiled a refreshed identity in line with the ongoing journey of transformation and regional expansion.

https://twitter.com/KTNKenya/status/1179438188651323396

The new identity is aimed at creating sustainable growth path and service delivery in today’s rapidly changing financial services environment.

Going forward, Equity will present itself as a unified brand, with one basket of products and services under one roof; ranging from banking to insurance and investment. From an identity perspective, the new logo now features “Equity” without an entity name such as Group, Bank, Insurance, or Investment Bank.

Commenting on the move, Equity Group CEO and Managing Director Dr. James Mwangi noted that the refreshed positioning follows an extensive three-year process of sounding out its current and future customer segments. “The evolution of our brand is an important part of our strategy for continued market leadership as well as being integral to the promise we made to all of our stakeholders when we began our journey of transformation to modernize and do all we can to get closer to and better serve our customers,” he said.

“We are proud of the role Equity has continued to play in the growth and prosperity of Kenya and its people. Our brand has carried us through a disruptive and trailblazing 35 years’ period. During this period, we have evolved from a small building society to a leading bank in East and Central Africa. We have become a leading digital bank while our social impact investments hold promise to secure our young people as our future servant leaders.

Equity Group New vs. old logo

The refreshed brand identity reflects the future we envision, one which communicates our global capability, strong heritage, innovative culture and agile business model that will carry and give the brand momentum to scale its strengths across Africa and the world,” Dr. James Mwangi added.

The refreshed look will first roll out in Kenya and eventually in all other markets where Equity Group has established its presence including Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and now, Zambia, Mozambique, and Ethiopia.

Equity maintains that the fresh identity matches the new realities, business model, customer segments and preferences and the evolving digital space; enabling it to focus on key areas that will see it remain relevant to the diverse and current consumer needs. This, it adds, will be achieved through spurring economic growth by empowering consumers; businesses and enterprises through innovative solutions, infusing digital capabilities at all touchpoints while nurturing existing and building new relationships.

In a bid to unlock new opportunities within the growing digital banking space, Equity bank will continually focus on operational efficiencies driven through innovations and re-engineering of its value chain.

Customers will be further enabled to interact with the bank on self-service channels of mobile and internet devices or on the 3rd party low variable cost infrastructure of over 46,000 agents and over 27,000 merchants.

“In developing this identity, we emphasize that our customers come first and that our primary focus is to ensure we are prepared and well-positioned to meet all the needs of our stakeholders in the most effective and seamless manner.

From tomorrow you will see the new signage in all our branches, as part of our refurbishment plan to modernize and update its distribution network which includes branches, ATMs online platforms and third-party outlets such as Agent and merchant locations.”

Dr. Mwangi

Google announces new privacy tools, including Incognito Mode in maps

Feritter Owich
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Google announces new privacy tools, including Incognito Mode in maps

Google has announced three new privacy tools that will allow its users to hide their personal activity while using Maps, YouTube, and Assistant. For instance, incognito mode in maps is now available for users.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and these features were announced to mark the occasion. Users can now control their privacy in ways they couldn’t before while using Google’s services.

Here is an overview of everything that was announced.

Incognito Mode in Google Maps

Incognito mode in Google maps arrived a couple of weeks ago for testing but is now making its way to all users. It is quite similar to Incognito mode for Chrome and YouTube, turning the feature on means Maps won’t be able to save the locations and the directions you look up, or to associate them with your profile.

You’ll simply have to tap on your profile picture and switch modes in order to activate it. Although you might not be able to use it right now because Google is scheduled to roll out the feature to Android users this month. It’s also “coming soon” to iOS, but there’s no concrete release date for Apple’s mobile platform yet.

Google introduced incognito mode first in Chrome in 2008, then added it to YouTube earlier this year. Now that Incognito mode is available in Google Maps, it will allow people to utilize the app without their activity being saved in their Google account.

Google Announces New Ways to Hide Personal Activity, Including Incognito Mode in Maps

Auto-delete YouTube activity

Google promised Incognito for Maps at I/O 2019 in May, where it also announced the availability of filters that auto-delete location history, as well as web and app activity. At the moment, auto-delete is also coming to YouTube History.

You will be able to set a schedule for your history purge, say, every 3 months, 18 months or every year. After that, YouTube will automatically wipe it clean for you.

Managing privacy in Google Assistant

For those who are more concerned about what Assistant hears, though, you can put the voice AI’s new commands to good use. You will soon be able to issue voice commands to clear Assistant’s history.

To be able to delete their Assistant activity, users will do so by simply saying commands such as “Hey Google, delete the last thing I said to you” or “Hey Google, delete everything I said to you last week.”

It’ll be available in English next week, and it’s rolling out in all other languages next month.

Google Announces New Ways to Hide Personal Activity, Including Incognito Mode in Maps

When it comes to more security-related improvements, Google said that it would also introduce to its password manager  a new feature called Password Checkup that will tell you if any of your passwords are weak, whether you’ve reused them across multiple sites or if Google has discovered they’ve been compromised. This is currently available at passwords.google.com but is being added to Chrome later this year.

PWCheckup Gif 1

YouTube Music Now Comes Pre-Installed on Android 10, Replacing Google Play Music

Feritter Owich
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0
YouTube Music Now Comes Pre-Installed on Android 10, Replacing Google Play Music

Google has taken a big step towards increasing the presence and credibility of its music streaming service YouTube Music by making it a pre-installed app for new Android 10 and Android 9 Pie devices that come with full Google services.

This simply means that most new Android smartphones will now come with YouTube Music pre-installed, and therefore replacing Google Play Music which used to be the default music player.

Ever since the launch of YouTube Music in November 2015, Google has operated two separate music services with the other one being Google Play Music, launched in 2011. Weirdly, YouTube also offered a subscription tier, originally called YouTube Red and rebranded later to YouTube Premium, which would provide access to both Google Play Music and YouTube Music. That’s not all, Google Play’s subscribers would also receive access to YouTube Premium. Plus as of last May, Google also allowed you to buy YouTube Music separately if you’d prefer. All so confusing!

The Mountain View, California-based company made the announcement of YouTube Music being pre-installed on new Android devices through their official YouTube blog. However, Google hasn’t specified which devices will have the app pre-installed but has mentioned that the Pixel series will be included in this new move. Presumably meaning that YouTube Music will be the default music player on these smartphones.

“Music fans on Android phones can now easily unlock the magic of YouTube Music, which will come installed on all new devices launching with Android 10 (and Android 9), including the Pixel series,” said Google.

Although for anyone who doesn’t have YouTube Music pre-installed, it can easily be installed through the Google Play Store. And even though YouTube Music will now be pre-installed on some devices, Google Play Music still remains an option for those who want it and can be installed through the Google Play Store.

“Music listeners with new Android 10 devices can continue to enjoy Google Play Music by downloading it from the Play Store and logging in to their accounts,” YouTube Music’s product manager Brandon Bilinski wrote in a blog post.

In comparison, Google Play Music also has a subscription tier but has a different music library and YouTube Music, on the other hand, gives users access to the entire catalog of music uploaded to the YouTube video streaming platform, giving both video and audio-only streaming for music tracks.

Everything you need to know about online installment loans?

Milcah Lukhanyu
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Any person can run into a little cash emergency now and then. Plenty of reasons are there for emergency cash requirements and you will need to find a small loan to tide you until the next payday. Therefore installment loans have become a popular topic in today’s world. From this article, we will help you to get a better overall understanding about online installment loans instant approval.  

Installment loans, which are also considered as cash advance loans, are a small cash loan that is from $100 to $1000. Plenty of installment loan lenders are there in the world and they will assist the people to get the cash advance loan with less hassle. 

How can you obtain an installment loan? 

If you are going to obtain an installment loan for the first time, it is better to have an idea about the process. This will assist you to apply for the installment loan with less hassle and get the money to your hand as soon as possible. Applying for an installment loan is an easy process in the present world. The installment loan lenders are flexible and they will assist you to get the loan. However, the cash advance loan borrowers will have to fulfill some requirements in order to be eligible for an installment loan. 

If you need to borrow an installment loan, you must not be below 18 years of age. If you are not a citizen of the country you reside, obtaining a cash advance loan from a lender in your country will not be the correct option for you. It is essential to have a regular source of income in order to get the cash advance loan with less hassle. If your monthly income is somewhere around $1000, there is a high chance of getting your loan approved within few minutes. Almost all the payday lenders in the world prefer to deposit money into your bank account. It will be easy for you as well as for the lender and they will be able to credit the money to your account within 24 hours of the approval. 

Payday lenders in the world have their own websites to offer the loans. Therefore you can select a reputed lender and apply for a cash advance loan within few seconds. They will give you an online application form to fill, so you will have to fill it with your details and submit. Then the lender will review your application and credit the money to your bank account within 24 hours.

The process is extremely simple and any person can do it. They will automatically take the money from your bank account in the next payday. If you need to extend the due date, you can talk with the lender and do it with less hassle. Therefore you will not have to worry about the urgent cash requirements anymore. 

What are the benefits of online installment loans? 

Now you have a basic understanding about the process that you should follow in order to get your hands on online installment loans. Following are a couple of benefits that you can experience through this kind of a loan.

  • You will be able to get money faster 

During an emergency, you are looking for a method to get money to your hands within the shortest possible time. Online installment loans would be the solution available to consider. When you are trying to obtain a loan from a bank or a traditional lender, you will have to spend few days for processing. This can be frustrating. That’s because they will take a look at your credit score, gather information about your finances and even do a background check about you. This will increase the time taken for you to qualify for the loan. If you don’t want to go ahead with such a lengthy process, you can take a look at the online installment loans. You can simply complete the application and submit it. Then you will be provided with an instant decision. This is one of the quickest methods available to lend money as well.

  • You don’t need to submit a lot of information 

You will have to submit minimum personal information when applying for the online installment loan as well. For example, you have to submit your tax documents, bank statements and few other documents to prove your identity. You can easily locate these documents and submit. Then you will be able to receive the installment loan amount.

Now you are aware of the benefits that an online installment loan can deliver to you as well. While keeping these benefits in mind, you should proceed to the next stage and apply for the loan. It can help you to get money instantly. 

9 Mistakes You’re Probably Making With Your LinkedIn

Vanessa Waithera
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9 Mistakes You’re Probably Making With Your LinkedIn

We understand that looking for a job is not as easy as it sounds.

However, if you have a LinkedIn account then it is time to utilize it and put it to good use. We understand that you may think it won’t come in handy especially if you don’t believe in the power of social media, however it can actually work if you do it the right way. In case you’re not aware may recruiters actually check your social media before accepting you and sometimes if your LinkedIn looks dead it doesn’t really help. Here are the mistakes you need to stop making.

1. You have no profile picture

Not putting a profile picture gives the impression that there’s something wrong with you. Most recruiters will assume you’re trying to hide something which will obviously not land you into the job you want. Can you imagine someone sending you a friend request and they don’t have a picture? Well, it’s the same thing with LinkedIn.

2. You have a horrible profile picture

Take this part very seriously. A picture with your dog is not going to cut it if you want to get hired. If you have a blurry or a horrible picture there’s a low chance of anyone opening your account. Take a professional picture that is going to stand out, don’t forget people are naturally more visual.

3. You have typos

Always proofread your work, otherwise no one is going to take you seriously. If you have many typos someone will look at your work and think you’re a joker and will not take the time to get to know you better.

4. You have too many connections

Avoid building connections that have nothing to do with your career. Most recruiters will look at your connections and will assume that you’re confused if you’re connected to everyone. It also doesn’t make sense if you recently started your career and you already have 10k connections.

5. You say too many things

Never put too many things on your profile LinkedIn is not the place to ramble on and on and tell your long stories. Keep it short, straight to the point, compelling and interesting.

6. Your headline is boring

A headline is always important because this is what will get the recruiters attention. If your headline is too long or just seems off it will not work. Make sure you use relevant keywords that if anyone searches they will automatically get your profile.

7. Your summary is not interesting

Always show how indispensable you are in your summary if you sound like all the thousands of people on LinkedIn then you might as well go back to sleep and forget about a  job. If you are totally stuck, you can use a guest posting service provider to hire someone to write for you an interesting summary.

8. You’ve put the wrong skills

Always put the skills that are relevant to your career adding that you love reading or that you can cook and you’re trying to get a job as an engineer will not help you.

9. You’re not engaging your LinkedIn

Don’t just upload your career information and then fail to keep it active. Engage with the community make your account look active and allow your connections to know you better.

Lori | Kenyan E-Logistics Start-up announces its expansion to Nigeria

Feritter Owich
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Lori | Kenyan E-Logistics Start-up announces its expansion to Nigeria

Kenyan e-Logistics company, Lori, has officially announced its expansion to Nigeria in a bid to cement its footprint across Africa.

The company, which is the largest e-Logistics service provider in East Africa, launched in Kenya in 2016 to seamlessly connect cargo owners to transport in frontier markets.

Over the past 10 months, Lori has completed a successful pilot in Nigeria with some of the country’s top cargo companies including Olam, Honeywell Flour Mills, and Flour Mills Nigeria.

This expansion presents a massive opportunity for Lori, as the company seeks to facilitate and connect technology innovation, smart policy and government partnership, and seamless operations to continue to lower the cost of goods.

As Africa’s largest single market, Nigeria faces challenges with a congested port and a shortage of transport options.

In July, Lori announced the appointment of new global leadership to drive the company’s expansion efforts across Africa.

“Lori is at the forefront of revolutionizing cargo transport across Africa from the ground up,” said Uche Ogboi, Lori Chief Operating Officer

“Our mission in Nigeria is to create a more efficient logistics experience for cargo owners who are burdened with the task of moving their goods across the country. We have successfully created a digital platform to enable the movement of goods through a transparent supply chain management system that is affordable, reliable and flexible,” she added. 

As a digital marketplace and e-Logistics service provider, Lori provides value to clients in three key areas: Technology, Operational Excellence, and Customer Service.

For cargo owners, Lori offers reliability by working with high-quality transporters who have been vetted, verified, successfully onboard, and constantly rated on performance. Lori is developing the most sophisticated technology tools available in the market to package and deliver meaningful data to provide management teams with insights for better control. These tech tools also allow for better tracking with greater context for goods on the journey. Ultimately, cost savings are achieved directly and indirectly with better end-to-end coordination with transporters.

For transporter partners, Lori optimizes truck and asset utilization for on-boarded trucks by up to 5 times through access to its pool of cargo owners and with quicker turn-around times and through our proactive loading and off-loading activities. Lori also offers access to working capital in the form of fuel financing and insurance, with better payment terms, so that there is no delay in getting trucks on the road. Lori has also developed proprietary systems and software for automatic invoicing to relieve the administrative burden.

Lori’s mission is to solve the problem of high cost of goods across Africa where in certain countries, up to 75% of the cost of a product on the continent is attributed to logistics, compared to only 6% in the U.S. The company aims to achieve this by eliminating customer pain points along the cargo journey with new technologies and superior user experience.

Cellulant’s Mula rebrands to Tingg; Launches Africa’s first payments Super App

Sam Wakoba
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Cellulant’s Mula rebrands to Tingg; Launches Africa’s first payments Super App

Cellulant, the pan-African payments firm has been quietly building a payments super app to bring bill payments, remittances, lending, group investments, food and gas orders in one app in its eight markets across Africa.

The firm has now announced a major rebrand of its consumer brand Mula to Tingg- a unified platform that will offer all that comprehensive list of digital financial services we listed above; making it Africa’s first payments super app.

According to the rebrand communication from their official LinkedIn account, Tingg is their new and unifying brand identity that will deliver on the promise of a robust single payments platform for Africa’s marketplace, layered to cater for different value chains.  The new brand combines all the best features that made Mula- a bills payment platform great, and what the original mark -Cellulant- stands for, whilst simultaneously moving the brand forward. 

Cellulant’s dream of a Single Consumer Brand Across Africa

When Cellulant founders Ken Njoroge and Bolaji Akinboro wrote the company’s mission on a serviette 17 years ago, they envisioned building a single platform, a consumer product with a unifying promise across Africa that would signify their uniqueness, dependability, innovative agility and most of all, the pride of building practical technology-based solutions for everyday Africans, wherever they are.

4 years ago, Cellulant launched Mula, an innovative payments service that changed how consumers managed and paid their bills. Finally, one no longer needed to remember all those pay bills and account numbers or when the utility bills were due.  With Mula, you could pay all your utility bills, purchase airtime, all within one service that managed all your payments, send you reminders and even enabled you to link all your payment methods such as mobile money debit/credit card or even to your bank directly. 

A lot has changed in those 4 years in the payments landscape across Africa with customers and businesses alike looking for integrated ways of accessing services. Tingg promises to address these challenges by providing an amalgamated platform that overcomes regional barriers and provides a seamless payment experience for businesses and customers across Africa. 

Tingg delivering economic inclusion in Nigeria 

In Nigeria, Tingg has been operating very successfully as a fully-fledged comprehensive digital financial services product. Its genesis was the implementation of the GES project in which Cellulant developed a mobile e-wallet to facilitate the transfer of mobile money to farmers as subsidies from the Nigerian Government. The GES project went to become one of the largest and most impactful Agritech solutions in Africa.

Cellulant in Nigeria has been rolling out the Tingg Pay, Tingg Neighborhood Bankers Service (Tingg NBS) and Tingg Marketplace- innovative mobile-powered financial services that provide solutions to three market segments; Consumers, corporates & governments and traders. Businesses, banks, and government agencies are leveraging on the Tingg marketplace solution to perform the last mile payment for farmers and the unbanked in the rural areas.

Tingg has since become the new way of banking for many in the rural Northern parts of Nigeria without access to formal banking services and to urban dwellers, an easier, safer and faster way the making payments to collect digital payments, send and receive money at a low cost, using various channels as well as a marketplace for traders to grow their business through easy access to financial services, markets, and extra revenues.

What is Tingg and how different is it from Mula

Unlike Mula which has become synonymous with bill payments, Tingg is a more layered digital payment & commerce platform that will cater for different consumer and business segments in sectors such as banking, eCommerce, hospitality, food, travel, logistics and Agriculture enabling to access to financial services anywhere across Africa. 

Tingg has a comprehensive list of services for consumers and businesses. Depending on which country consumers can use the Tingg service either via mobile app, web, POS or from a Tingg banking agent to carry out P2P money transfers, group payments, shopping online, group investments, lending and link all mobile money, debit/credit cards and banks with ease from their mobile phones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yEfX5QG7AY

We spoke to Divine Muragijimana, the Cellulant Chief of Brand on why they rebranded and consolidated their brands- 

“Fundamentally, when you think about our vision of connecting everyone to everything, it boils down to providing an inclusive platform where commerce takes place seamlessly. Technology is making payments easier, faster and cheaper thus putting the focus on the exchange of goods and services and adding value to the end-consumer. This is what Tingg offers for individuals and businesses who are looking for a simplified, personalized one-stop-shop for their lifestyle needs,” she explained.

She also shared some insights on the importance of solving the challenge of fragmentation that fintechs, banks, and mobile operators across the continent continue to grapple with.

“ No matter how you look at the future in Africa, it is centered around using mobile technology to solve everyday challenges. According to worldbank 66% of adults in sub saharan Africa have no bank account. The impact and role of mobile continues to bridge this gap and payments as a service continues to move from being a mere in person exchange of value to being a highly accessible autonomous enabler of all sorts of services. Basically, today, everyone has the potential to be a merchant where buyers are becoming sellers and sellers vice versa. Payment gateway providers such as Cellulant make it possible for such interactions to happen.” 

The race to become Africa’s super app

By launching Tingg in 8 African markets, Cellulant’s digital payment infrastructure will connect consumers and businesses to over 120 banks, 40 mobile network operators in one inclusive network allowing for interoperability that has eluded numerous players in the African payments space. This sets Tingg on the path to accelerate Africa’s digital transformation by connecting consumers and businesses to a simple, fast, secure and more superior financial services experience.

Bitcoin Wallet Accounts Now Exist to Earn Bitcoin Interest

Fredrick Gitaka
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Bitcoin Wallet Accounts Now Exist to Earn Bitcoin Interest

If you are planning to invest in the Bitcoin, then you need to manage all your Bitcoin accounts safely. Buying and selling the Bitcoins is not a right-hand task. You need to learn so much about the minor and significant rules as so many accounts now exist to earn bitcoin interest. But the real beauty of the Bitcoin is that you are the boss of your bank. You manage your entire Bitcoin through the use of the wallet. Let’s have a small discussion about the Bitcoin wallet accounts for you:

Introduction About Bitcoin Wallets

A bitcoin wallet is just like any digital-based bank account. You can send as well as receive and manage the whole Bitcoin on your own. Do you want to know how it will work for you? As you will be purchasing the Bitcoin at the BTC Direct, you will be sending it straight into the wallet. Into your portfolio, you will be managing all your accounts. If you want to send the Bitcoin to some other place, then you have to choose the option of send and enter the specific address or the receipt where you want to send the amount.

Overview on Different Bitcoin Wallet Accounts to Earn Bitcoin Interest

There have been so many Bitcoin wallet accounts out of which you can choose the one that stands suitable according to your requirements and needs. The types of wallet you will be selecting somehow depend on so many factors. It is a natural process to use the Bitcoin wallet. There are three main types of wallet accounts for Bitcoins, as mentioned below:

Mobile Wallet Type

  • It manages all your coins using a smartphone platform. 
  • You can carry your wallet all along with you.
  • It is completely free to use. 
  • It is safe to use. 

Software Wallet Type

  • It manages all your coins using a computer platform. 
  • It is completely free to use. 
  • It is safe to use. 

Hardware wallet

  • It will be managing all your currencies through a physical procedure.
  • It has the safest method of storage.
  • You have to buy your device.

Now many beginners want to know about how they can easily create the Bitcoin wallet! If you have just started buying the Bitcoin, then you should choose the system of an online wallet as being one of the simple methods of managing the Bitcoin coins in a user-friendly process. One of the best wallet recommendations will be BRD. It also supports so many other coins and helps you to disclose interest for bitcoin tax. You can create the account in a few simple steps as mentioned below:

  1. Visit the Google Play Store to download the BRD application.
  2. Now you have to open the application and add your digit pin code. You will need this pin every single time you will sign up into the app.
  3. You have to enter 12 correct words in the app, and you will straight away be given the access to have your wallet.

Why Startups Should Consider Outsourcing

Fredrick Gitaka
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As startups grow, it’s time to start thinking of creative ways to operate on a lean, efficient scale. Peter Drucker, a famous management consultant, once said, “Do what you do best and outsource the rest.” Simply put, you cannot have all the talent you need in-house during early stages. The cost of a salaried employee—not to mention the cost of finding them—can be staggering. 

Furthermore, many startup founders are fearful of outsourcing any piece of the internal processes because they fear they’ll relinquish control, but this is more of a myth than anything (and you’ll read more about myths later). To compete amongst the hoard of startups popping up every year, you have to make quick, smart decisions. And chances are, you can’t do it all on your own. Here are a few reasons why you should consider outsourcing: 

Saves You Time

As a startup founder, there are a myriad of things you’ve got to take care of. Chances are, you find your to-do list growing longer and longer each day, and each task seems more complex than the last. Outsourcing some of those tasks could save you a great deal of time. During the initial stages of your startup, you’ll face a couple hardships, and funds and short-staffed office environments are one of them. Trying to save time while trying to save money can feel like a double-edged sword, however, when you attempt to spearhead all the tasks yourself, you’ll quickly discover that you become a bottleneck for progress. When you remove yourself as a bottleneck, you’ll find that milestones are achieved much more fluidly. 

Cost Efficiencies

You’ll benefit from a myriad of cost efficiency when you outsource. With the majority of startups failing within the first five years, you can’t afford to waste time trying to find people to fill the roles you need most. Hiring employees, handling the resources they consume, offering benefits, and training them are all key costs. And this isn’t considering the cost of making a bad hiring decision, which can cost about one-third of that employee’s overall salary. You could save plenty of time, money, and effort when you outsource to other professionals. 

Tailored Expertise 

One of the biggest pros for outsourcing is that you can benefit greatly from tailored expertise. For example, let’s say you want to outsource your web hosting support to a team like IP Geeks. IP Geeks focuses exclusively on technical support solutions for web hosting companies, giving you tailored, niche services. On the other hand, if you wanted professional, vetted writers in a specific field, you might use the Scripted service, which authenticates writers and pairs them with agencies depending on their editorial needs. Search engine optimization, billing, and web design are other areas that you might consider outsourcing. 

Many Myths Are False

Business tycoon Azim Premji once said, “The important thing about outsourcing or global sourcing is that it becomes a very powerful tool to leverage talent, improve productivity and reduce work cycles.” Yet, although many entrepreneurs, business consultants, and business owners have praised the benefits of outsourcing work—especially during early stages—some startup founders have general misconceptions about what outsourcing actually entails, and this prevents them from making a move. 

As previously mentioned, you don’t lose control of your business. There are standard protocols and processes to ensure you retain all the rights to your work, and when you’re dealing with software and development projects, there are multiple safeguards in place to protect your code—especially if you’re working with a reputable development agency. From non-compete clauses to stellar security, your business will be treated with the utmost integrity when it’s being handled by the right people. 

But there are other myths that keep people away, too. Those who care for their local economy may falsely believe that by giving a job or certain tasks to a foreign worker, for example, that they’re impacting jobs in their hometown. The truth is actually the opposite: when you outsource and grow, you may be able to offer additional benefits to your country. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Heritage Foundation found that, over the past decade, there have been 8.11 million jobs added to the American economy as a direct result of outsourcing. 

It’s also important to note that there’s different offshoring terminology. Not all “outsourcing” jobs leave the country; you can outsource tasks in your own backyard, too. This is also called onshoring. 

Apple Will Now Warn If Your Screen Is Not ‘Genuine’ After Repair

Feritter Owich
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0
Apple Will Now Warn If Your Screen Is Not ‘Genuine’ After Repair

Apple has never been friendly to user repairs and yet again the company has stressed its disapproval of using third-party spare parts to repair its devices screens.

Screen and battery replacements are two of the most common smartphone repairs and Apple is targeting both. Last month, the company changed its battery health messaging in an attempt to scare users into only using Apple-authorized repair services.

The warning message that Apple rolled out earlier this year for the iPhone XR, XS and XS Max said: “Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple battery. Health information not available for this battery.”

The company activated this particular warning with iOS 13.1, and it may also tell users that the company “has updated the device information for” an iPhone.Meaning, the device will make a note that it has an unauthorized part for service needs and safety analysis.

Now the company has introduced similar messaging around Apple screen repairs.

In a new support page, the tech giant said iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max users will see an “Important Display Message” if they replace their screens with an aftermarket component. The message will say “Unable to verify this iPhone has a genuine Apple display.” However, the company has only announced this ‘feature’ for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max.

This warning is apparently displayed for four days and then moves to the Settings menu. After 15 more days, it’ll be moved to Settings -> General -> About, great news is that you only have to put up with Apple pestering you about non-genuine screens for the better part of a month before the company will deign to allow you to use your device in the manner you chose without nagging you about it.

iPhone

Considering that the messages are pretty hidden, they won’t have any impact on the way people use their devices. Nevertheless, Apple has issued a strong warning in the new support page, telling users that using non-genuine display parts and going to unauthorized service providers could lead to multi-touch issues, incorrect color calibration, and ambient light sensor problems, among others.

“Only technicians who have completed Apple service training and who use Apple genuine parts and tools should replace iPhone displays… Replacements not performed by Apple, authorized service providers, or certified technicians might not follow proper safety and repair procedures and could result in improper function or issues with display quality or safety. Apple displays are designed to fit precisely within the device. Additionally, repairs that don’t properly replace screws or cowlings might leave behind loose parts that could damage the battery, cause overheating, or result in injury.”

iFixit reportedly tested this behavior by swapping out the displays on several iPhone 11 models. The warnings weren’t present in iOS 13 betas or the final version of iOS 13 that shipped with the iPhone 11, however, it’s baked into the iPhone 13.1 iOS version that’s now being distributed. It’s obvious that Apple hasn’t truly baked anything into the device that can detect whether an authorized screen has been used.

Another thing is that iFixit still saw the same message when swapping iPhone 11 displays with other, 100 percent legitimate, Apple-manufactured iPhone displays.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is, without the software tools required to authorize the repair, the message is still shown. Whereby even swapping the FaceID hardware along with the display doesn’t make the message go away.

However, Apple has been clear on its goal to verify third-party repair stores. The company recently announced that it was going to begin opening up its process for authorizing more repair shops to become Apple-authorized resellers, but in the past, the repair programs Apple created for third-party shops did a very poor job of actually providing useful service.

Companies that signed up under these rules were almost always required to ship products back to Apple for repair rather than completing the work themselves. Apple still maintains that it can forbid any firm from performing Apple screen repairs for any reason and that completing all of its required coursework and certifications does not mean that a business will be allowed to qualify as an Apple-authorized repair center.

In August, the company said it’ll offer stores the same “genuine parts, tools, training, repair manuals and diagnostics” as Apple Authorized Service Providers. That means iPhone owners will have more options available to them and repairs will be undertaken using official processes.

How To Handle Negative Comments Online

Vanessa Waithera
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0

How do you handle negative comments online?

Social media can be a very dangerous to be in. People tend to hide behind their words more often than not and some people have no filter. Personally, I don’t know how to handle backlash from online haters but I am slowly realizing that there’s always a classy way of handling things and here’s how.

1. Say something positive

You can say something positive and by positive I mean sarcastic. You can respond to someone’s comment in a sarcastic but smart manner like Safaricom usually does you’re not starting an online war but by doing this you might just end up creating conversation which might be good for your brand.

2. Delete and block the person if need be

This works especially if it’s for your personal brand. Delete the person if you think that that particular follower is just a hater or delete and ignore the heckler.

3. Think before you respond to a comment

Always remember that when you respond to a comment even if you might end up deleting the comment someone is always fast to take a screenshot, so think before you take any action.

4. Tell your friend or anyone else to respond to the negative comments

So you can’t be the one to respond because you want to protect your brand? Take time and respond to comments using someone’s account instead, this way you will not get in any trouble.

4 Interesting Things You Can Do On IG

Vanessa Waithera
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0

I bet you just get on Instagram to like, comment and post photos.

However, Instagram is more than just a photo app. There’s so much more you can do on IG than you think. The more you know the better your experience will be on IG and you will end up discovering new things that will just change your user experience.

1. You can turn on notifications from people you follow

If there’s an account you’re interested in then it’s time to turn notifications on. Every time that person posts you will always get notifications. Click the drop down menu and you will find the options there for turning on notifications.

2. You can remove from tags from someone’s photo

Did someone tag you and you want to untag yourself? Fear not, here’s how to do it. Go to the photo you don’t want to be tagged in and select your username. You’ll then see two options: to either be removed from post or hide from profile choose either option as they will both work.

3. See recent posts you have liked

You can see the recent posts you have liked and what your friends have also liked which can be a bit stalkerish so don’t like creepy things as other people will see it. Simply go to your profile, click the three bars in the top-right of the screen, and then select Settings > Account > Posts You’ve Liked.

4. You can edit pics like a pro

Forget just filters, this is not the editing we are talking about. We mean you can make your pictures look totally different by using all the editing tools such as brightness, contrast, structure, warmth, and saturation.

5. Use less data while using IG

You know how IG takes up much data? Well, you can change that today. You can put you Instagram on data saving mode by choosing the Settings option, tap Cellular Data Use and then toggle Data Saver mode on.  Uploading videos may take a longer time but you save a lot of bundles.

How To Spot Fake News On Social Media

Vanessa Waithera
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0
How To Spot Fake News On Social Media

How do you spot fake news on social media?

Social media is the hub of all news, both real and fake news. How many people have been “killed off” because of social media? It is so easy to spread rumors on social media that it’s highly dangerous. The reason why governments threaten to shutdown social media apps during tense seasons is because of the influence behind it. But, because you are responsible for what you consume it is important to know how to spot fake news.

1. Is there any credibility?

First of all if the news your getting is from a website, check if the domain name is a credible one or is it random like “.com.co”. Who is the author of the information you’re checking? is it a celebrity writing? Is it a well-known person? If you see a screenshot of a story make sure you Google first before sharing it with anyone.

2. Spot the quality of the news

What is the quality of the news you’re reading? Does it have a lot of spelling mistakes? Does it look cheap and has poor standards? You can always know by the grammar used and quality of the work in general. If it seems like they have no standards then you need to search and find the same information from a credible and known source.

3. Use a fact checking website

If you found yourself on a random website while on social media and you’re doubting the information, verify the info using a fact checking website.

4. Check the source of the news

Where did they get their sources? Did they interview anyone? Do they have any valuable quotes? Is the same information on any credible site like BBC, CNN?

Always remember to not spread fake news unless you have the full story that is true and credible.

Samsung Galaxy A70s | Samsung’s first 64MP camera smartphone

Feritter Owich
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0
Samsung Galaxy A70s | Samsung’s first 64MP camera smartphone

Samsung has added a new smartphone to its Galaxy A-series lineup with the launch of Samsung Galaxy A70s in India. This is an update to the Galaxy A70. The A70s receives the new geometric pattern and holographic effect design like the current A50s, and it also gets a massive upgrade for its main camera.

For selfies, it still retains a 32MP front camera. On the rear, instead of a 32MP f/1.7 main camera, the upgraded A70s is now equipped with a 64MP f/1.8 main shooter. This may be a first for Samsung but Realme, Xiaomi, and Vivo were among the first brands to launch 64MP camera phones.

Samsung Galaxy A70s’ 64MP shooter is coupled with an 8MP 123° ultra-wide camera, and a 5MP live focus lens. which is likely to be a Samsung GW1 ISOCELL sensor that’s being used on the Redmi Note 8 Pro. The device is capable of shooting videos in 4K Ultra HD and gets Super Steady mode to shoot action videos and there’s also Night Mode for extreme low light situations.

Although the primary camera’s resolution seems very high, it would most likely only produce images of up to 16MP, combining four pixels into a single one for sharper images, especially in bad lighting conditions. This makes sense, as Samsung is boasting the A70s comes with a powerful night mode.

Samsung Galaxy A70s arrives with 64MP main camera, 4,500 mAh battery and new back design

The main visual change is around the back where we now have the 3D prism gradient design with a glossy finish while the rest of the hardware remains unchanged, with a choice of three colors: Prism Crush Red, Prism Crush White and, Prism Crush Black.

Looking at the front, you get the same 6.7″ Full HD+ Super AMOLED panel with an Infinity-U display that has an in-display fingerprint sensor. The 32MP selfie cam is housed under the waterdrop notch.

Under the hood, is the Snapdragon 675 SoC paired with 6 or 8GB RAM and 128GB of expandable storage. Powering the 64MP smartphone is a 4,500mAh battery that supports 25W Super Fast Charging via USB-C. Software-wise the A70s has the usual OneUI on top of Android 9 Pie. The A70s also comes with advanced software including an AI-based ‘Game Booster’ for an enhanced gaming experience, Dolby Atmos audio tuning, Knox security, and Samsung Pay.

Unfortunately, there’s no information regarding the device’s global availability at this point, but it could most likely be limited to India.

How Social Media Is Ruining Your Relationship

Vanessa Waithera
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0
How Social Media Is Ruining Your Relationship

Is social media ruining your relationship?

In this day and age we are all using social media to measure our success and to rate people’s lives and relationships. Millenials who constantly post their relationships online are more likely to breakup because of putting themselves out there. Privacy is such a sacred thing in any relationship and should not be taken for granted. Whether you realize it or not, here’s how social media is ruining your relationship.

1. You always seek validation in the online space

When you’re in a relationship that you keep posting online you end up seeking validation by the number of likes you keep getting online. You find yourself wanting to be acknowledged as a couple all the time and this becomes a toxic cycle.

2. You stalk your other half and it creates arguments

Ever found yourself stalking your other half online? You keep checking to see if him or her liked their exes pictures? You get upset if they don’t like your photos or they didn’t comment? Some people who have been in long lasting relationships claimed that it helped that they didn’t follow each other on social media.

3. You measure your love by how often your spouse posts you

Before you know it you get upset if your other half never posts you on social media again adding unnecessary pressure on your relationship which then becomes toxic.

4. When you’re together you probably spend more time on social media than with each other

We understand that in this day and age it is almost impossible to live without social media. However, when you’re with your partner it is important to be present rather than ignoring the other person rather than ignoring him/her for online friends.

WhatsApp to stop working on some iPhone and Android smartphones in 2020

Feritter Owich
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0
WhatsApp to stop working on some iPhone and Android smartphones in 2020

Is yours on the list? This is what you should do.

WhatsApp is honestly one of the most popular used methods of communication these days because one can literally do everything, text, voice note, and video call.

One of the notable points is the fact that it works regardless of the type of phone you have, iPhones, Androids and so on, meaning it replaced iMessages and standard texts of course.

If WhatsApp is currently active on your iOS 8 device or Android versions 2.3.7 and older, you will only be able to use it until February 1, 2020.

Announcing the news in a blog post on the WhatsApp website, the company notes that because they won’t be developing for the aforementioned operating systems, the app could cease to work at any stage. Meaning that after February 1st, 2020, users of these phones will no longer be able to create new accounts or reverify them.

This measure is given with the objective that the company, now belonging to Facebook, can improve its service and the privacy of the application.

“On iOS 8, you can no longer create new accounts or reverify existing accounts. For the best experience, we recommend you use the latest version of iOS available for your phone.

We don’t explicitly restrict the use of jailbroken or unlocked devices. However, because these modifications might affect the functionality of your device, we can’t provide support for devices using modified versions of the iPhone’s operating system.”

Previously for Whatsapp to work on older devices, the company had to create a special update for the smartphones with the operating system mentioned. But the Facebook-owned app will no longer support them.

WhatsApp recommends changing to either Android running OS 4.0, iPhone running iOS 8 or Windows Phone 8.1+.

The company also mentions that Windows phones will no longer have more updates for WhatsApp after December 31, 2019. The company had also said that WhatsApp will not be available in the Microsoft Store after July 1, 2019.

WhatsApp has regularly been adding up new features and some of them require powerful phones as well as newer Android and iOS versions to function properly. Features like picture-in-picture video within chats, fingerprint authentications etc are resource heavy and require powerful phones with enough RAM and newer OS. Thus the company is ending the support because some of the phones won’t be able to support the features it plans to bring in the future.

“We’ll no longer actively develop for these operating systems; some features might stop functioning at any time. If you currently use an older operating system, we recommend upgrading to a newer version…,” WhatsApp said on its support page.

However, WhatsApp has said that its decision to end support of the Facebook-owned app for these Android phones and iPhones will not affect many users but only those people who are still using old Android phones and iPhones.

Unfortunately or fortunately the only solution for people with a device that has a backward operating system is to buy a new mobile with the updated software.

Also if you’re a hoarder and hold onto your messages from way back when… sadly you can’t export them to the new device. But, there is the option of sending your chat history in an email format (learn more about that here.)

How to know what version of Android I have

  • Open the “Settings” app.
  • Go to “System.”
  • In the search engine that will appear at the top, type “Android version”. Click on the access that will appear in the search results.
  • Then, your mobile will show the version of Android that you have installed

Huawei opens its first global flagship store in Shenzhen

Feritter Owich
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0
Huawei opens its first global flagship store in Shenzhen

The Chinese smartphone maker’s three-storey flagship store has been in the works since 2017. It spans 1,300 square meters and is manned by 120 consultants who hail from various fields including hotel, art, and aviation.

Chinese manufacturing giant, Huawei, officially opened its global flagship store on Saturday morning at Vientiane, the heart of Shenzhen’s vibrant MixC World and it is Huawei’s first direct-sale store in the world. Shenzhen is a huge commercial Chinese city and the Shenzhen Vientiane World was opened on September 27, 2017.

The Store which covers a total area of 1300 square meters has been in preparation since 2017 and customers can explore Huawei’s latest and most comprehensive products, experience the fastest 5G connection, relax and meet up with friends. Huawei’s global flagship store will have anything and everything with the Huawei label on it, hence why it is a “global flagship store”. According to the company, in the future, more major Chinese cities will have one Huawei flagship store.

“Shenzhen is an international technology and innovation center, we believe that Huawei Global Flagship Store will become the new Connecting Hub between Huawei and customers. MixC World is a gathering place where fashion, technology, and liberal art meet together and Huawei Global Flagship Store will become Huawei’s city living room connecting the consumers.”

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group

Huawei Global Flagship Store is a three-storey single-family building that adopts the design concept of “City Square”, which combines the traditional Chinese and western architectural philosophy. The facade adopts a large area of high transmission glass with rounded corners, feels like an exquisite Glass Enamel.

Huawei Global Flagship Store

It has a unique semi-open staircase that connects the square and the surrounding environment, presenting a borderless community atmosphere whereby customers can walk into the store without any restrictions, relax and meet up with friends.

The Shenzhen store boasts full 5G coverage and is equipped with Huawei’s Intelligent Environmental Control System, which runs on the vendor’s HiLink technology to automatically adjust the brightness, temperature, and humidity within the retail site. 

Huawei added that the store was built on environmentally friendly and recyclable materials. For instance, its ceilings and walls used felt made of recyclable plastic parts, while tables used nano boards that were touted to last more than 10 years. 

The Chinese smartphone maker described the store as its first “direct-sale store in the world”, but it currently operates 11 “concept stores” in Singapore, from which customers can purchase its products including the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and P30 Pro.

According to the company, its products and services are available in more than 170 countries and it has 16 research and development facilities worldwide, including in India, Germany, Sweden, and the US. 

On the open day of the global flagship store, there were already long queues of people who looking to purchase the Huawei Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro flagship smartphones. This is all because the launch of the new Global Flagship Store coincided with the Mate 30 series launch in China. So it’s no surprise that fans flooded the store in the hopes of getting a unit.

Huawei’s CEO, Yu Chengdong, spoke at the opening on the Huawei Mate 30 series. According to him, the Mate 30 series is already in short supply and the pre-sale volume is six times that of the P30 series. Within just three hours, pre-orders for the Mate 30 and Mate 30 Pro exceeded 1 million units. As always, the camera is the biggest selling point of the new Huawei models. In fact, the Mate 30 Pro has also surpassed the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G to become the highest-rated camera smartphone on DxOMark today.

Huawei has a 20 million shipment target for the Mate 30 series, and Huawei Mall announced that the sale amount for the Mate 30 series exceeded 500 million yuan ($70 million) in one minute. This just shows the popularity of the Mate 30 series, at least in China. According to Huawei officials, its latest series required a considerable amount of energy and research. About 3,000 people invested in the research and development of this series and the R&D cost exceed 2.1 billion yuan ($294 million).

Early this month at IFA 2019, Huawei unveiled a new P30 Pro that shipped with Google’s Android 10 mobile OS, despite a US trade ban that barred US companies such as Google and Microsoft from supplying technology to Huawei. Last month, Google said its license exempting it from the export restrictions still prevented it from supplying software for new products. 

Despite all these, Huawei has been developing its alternative Harmony OS, which recently was described as “completely different” from Android and Apple iOS. Yu said at the company’s developer conference in Dongguan: “It is a microkernel-based, distributed OS that delivers a smooth experience across all scenarios. It has a trustworthy and secure architecture and supports seamless collaboration across devices. You can develop your apps once, then flexibly deploy them across a range of different devices.”

Google celebrates it’s 21st birthday today with a special doodle

Feritter Owich
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0
Google celebrates it’s 21st birthday today with a special doodle

Happy Birthday Google!

Search engine giant Google is celebrating its 21st birthday today with a special Doodle of a throwback photo of a bulky computer, which shows a Google search screen.

Google celebrates it’s 21st birth anniversary today with a special doodle of a throwback photo of a bulky computer, showing a Google search screen.

Funny thing is that the real date when Google was founded remains something of a mystery that even the company admits it does not know exactly when it began.

The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two Ph.D. students, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at California’s Stanford University. And Google usually marks its birthday on September 27 each year.

Although without much explanation, Google’s birth date has changed over the years. In 2005 it marked the anniversary on September 7, supposedly marking the day it became an incorporated company.

However, the company actually filed incorporation papers on September 4, 1998, but has never used this date as its birthday. Additionally, to confuse us more, Google sent out their celebratory doodle on September 8 in 2003, and a day earlier in 2004.

Nevertheless, September 27 appears to have stuck through chance, because that’s the date when the company first celebrated its birthday, back in 2002.

“When is Google’s birthday? I’m not sure even we know,” wrote Google employee Ryan Germick in 2013, adding:

“Still, while there are some differing opinions about when to bust out the candles and cake, one fun fact is that our first Doodle was posted even before Google was officially incorporated (30 August, 1998 vs 4 September, 1998).”

1998 was a time when the World Wide Web was still an infant, but Page and Brin’s idealistic goal was to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”.

Two years earlier, Page and Brin had developed a search algorithm known as ‘Backrub’ and therefore chose the name Google for their new project because it recalled the word ‘googol’; a mathematical term meaning ‘10 raised to the power of 100’.

The verb ‘google’, meaning ‘to search for something online’, has become so widely used that it was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary and Oxford English Dictionary in 2006.

Initially, the search giant was overshadowed by rival search engines such as Yahoo and Ask Jeeves, but Google has grown to become the world’s most popular website, with more than 63,000 searches made every second.

Today, Google operates all over the world and in over 100 languages, answering trillions of search queries each year.

As of September 2019, Google’s net worth is estimated at around $300 billion and the parent company Alphabet is estimated to be worth $900 billion making them the third most valuable company after Amazon and Apple

“The relentless search for better answers continues to be at the core of everything we do. Today, with more than 60,000 employees in 50 different countries, Google makes hundreds of products used by billions of people across the globe, from YouTube and Android to Smartbox and, of course, Google Search.”

Google website
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