Standard Bank has announced it’ll release a dedicated Apple Watch banking app by the end of September. The app is currently in a pilot phase with a limited number of users, presumably in-house testers. The bank recently added support for Apple’s Touch ID to its mobile banking app for iOS-powered devices like the iPhone and iPad. “We are continuously looking for ways to make our customers’ lives easier and to make banking a seamless part of their daily lives. With our smart watch app we are providing greater choice to customers about how they would like to stay in control of…
Author: CraigWilson
Cell C has renegotiated its roaming agreement with rival Vodacom to include access to Vodacom’s 3G services. This should mean better data coverage for Cell C customers, even in outlying areas, given Vodacom’s extensive network. At its recent results presentation Cell C also talked up its own substantial investments in its network infrastructure and says its deal with Vodacom will help improve its customers’ experiences. “With over R4 billion in investments over the 2014 and 2015 financial years for increased coverage and capacity, we felt that our next step was to bolster those areas where we have limited coverage and this…
Microsoft has launched three new Lumia smartphones in the South African market and the cheapest among them, the dual-SIM Lumia 430 is priced at R999, making it the first sub-R1,000 Lumia handset. The other two newcomers, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640XL, are also both available in dual-SIM variants which is pleasing giving the growing number of options — like me&you and FNB Connect — available to South African consumers. The Lumia 640 and it’s bigger sibling the 640XL both support LTE/4G and come with a one-year subscription to Microsoft’s Office 365, which includes 1TB of OneDrive storage. Both devices…
There’s a new project from the Google stable called Soli that has the potential to bring gesture controls to all sorts of hardware, including wearables. The example gifs below make it look like some kind of telekinetic voodoo, but in reality the gestures are made possible by a new “interaction sensor” that uses radar technology to detect and recognise movements made near it.Google quietly unveiled Soli at its recent I/O conference and while the initiative is still in its infancy, expect to see an API for developers in coming months.Here’s a video showing just some of the potential use cases…
As predicted, Apple unveiled its own streaming service at this year’s instalment of its annual developer conference. Called Apple Music, the new service allows users to stream any of the millions of tracks in the iTunes Store, listen to a dedicated 24-hour radio station called Beats 1, or choose from a range of customised and curated playlists. In other words, Apple has Spotify firmly in its sights. Apple Music also has a feature called Connect, which acts like a social network for artists and bands to share content with fans using the new service. And if there was any doubt…
From 15 June FNB will offers it customers the options to buy SIM cards directly through it’s FNB Connect arm, which already offers ADSL and 3G data. This means FNB is now a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). FNB is using Cell C’s network to offer its new services. The move makes sense given the bank’s drive in recent years to improve mobility for its customers by increasing the functionality of its online and mobile banking portals and by offering its customers smartphones and tablets. SIM cards will be standalone products and won’t be bundled with devices purchased through FNB.…
South Africa’s two largest mobile operators are duking it out in the entry-level smartphone market, and cutting out the big-name handset manufacturers in the process. Vodacom this week announced the Smart 6, a 4-inch handset running Android 4.4 (KitKat) that includes 4GB of storage, support for microSD cards up to 32GB and a 1 400mAh battery. Almost simultaneously MTN announced it was cutting the price of its equivalent devices, the Steppa 2, from R999 to R799. The Steppa 2 runs Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), also sports a 4-inch display (with the same 800×480 resolution as its opposite number), the same…
A new web-based service called Zaparide wants to help reduce congestion on Gauteng’s roads by enabling people who have similar commutes and similar interests to find one another and share lifts. Users can login to Zaparide using Facebook, or can create a standalone account and link it to Facebook thereafter. They can then post trips they make regularly or look for trips that other people have posted that suit their needs. It’s a bit like online dating, but instead of two people being matched because they both like long walks on the beach and existentialist zombie novels they’ll get matched…
Mobile application Feedie turns participating restaurants and their patrons into philanthropists (albeit, lazy ones) by turning photos of ordered meals into actual meals for the hungry. Users download the Feedie app (available for Android and iOS), connect it to their social networks and then use the app to capture and share pictures of their meals at participating restaurants. These restaurants, in turn, commit to paying for a meal for a child in need for each picture shared. Users of the app can follow other users or restaurants and can share info on the restaurants they visit with other users.The Lunchbox Fund, a…
South Africa’s first car-sharing service, Locomute, launches in Gauteng next Monday (1 June) with a fleet of 26 Fiat 500Ls. Once users have signed up for the service they can locate and book available vehicles online or via the Locomute mobile app. Users unlock the car using a supplied smart card and can book for a either a round trip or a one way trip. At the end of their journey the user leaves the car in a designated Locomute area for the next user. CEO Tumi Marope says the service will be available in Gauteng initially but that it expects to roll out…