Author: Brett Venter

There are a whole lot of things we miss as a result of lockdown. Sitting down somewhere while someone else does the cooking (and dishes). Seeing human faces. And group exercise, because we’re just overly-complicated primates at heart. But yeah, gyms aren’t going to be a thing for a while. Which might be why Samsung’s rolled out Samsung Health access for its 2020 smart TVs. No more couch potato It’s not going to replace that warm (but icky) feeling you get sitting down at a weight machine and realising that Carl forgot to wipe it down (again) but it will…

It’s against this backdrop and, seemingly, for this reason that Google has cancelled its Android 11 unveiling and beta, which was due to kick off later this week. 

When it comes to gaming, there are three camps — there are Sony and Microsoft fans, and then PC gamers who think they’re better than everyone else. There are Nintendo fans and mobile gamers as well but mostly it is PlayStation versus Xbox. Every time there’s a new generation, the battle begins anew. So it is with the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. In historical terms, we’ve seen the opposing factions alternating taking the lead, with Sony’s PlayStation 4 being the current ‘best’ console. Microsoft has placed most of its cards on the table so far and it’s…

When you’re stuck out in the middle of nowhere with nothing but two broken legs and a smartphone, how do you get medical care? It’s possible to contact someone but where do you send them? That’s the problem that addressing service what3words has attempted to er… address. And now, thanks to Vodacom, it may just save your life. The mobile service provider has zero-rated what3words on its network.

We can’t say we didn’t see this one coming from a long way off. Apple launched a physical credit card, then Huawei decided to take a shot at it. It was only a matter of time before Samsung did the same, followed by… well, any other smartphone maker that thinks it can also be a bank. To be totally fair the newly-announced Samsung Money card is a debit rather than a credit card — putting the South Korean company in competition with the likes of Google more than Apple or Huawei. Called it We’ve been expecting the launch, or something…

This year sucks. By any objective metric, more people are having a hard time in 2020 than are not. If you’re not feeling some kind of undue pressure, you probably employ a full-time chef. But, beyond the 2020 suck-factor, folks are still buying smartphones. In large enough numbers to keep the various players happy, it seems. But there can only be one leader. Unless there’s a perfect tie, and that seems a little statistically unlikely given the volumes smartphones move around in. The most popular smartphone of 2020 to date? That’d be Apple’s iPhone 11, which has shipped more than…

Private space company SpaceX is about to do something for the first time. This week the company launches its first human passengers into space, a major test for the Elon Musk-backed outfit and a stepping stone on its route to Mars. 

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 20 will be along a little later this year, even if the launch format is set to be a little… unconventional. This means, though, that it’s time for Samsung’s well-oiled leaks factory to spring into production and dribble out bits of totally-not-planned info for its fans. The latest bit of dribbling from the Samsung factory is a pair of new renders of the upcoming smartphones. They show that Samsung’s going big this year. Really big, at least as far as screens go. Screen test Samsung’s Galaxy Note series has long bridged the gap between smartphones and tablets,…

Apple gave the Apple Watch the ability to give its users an Electrocardiogram, or ECG, back in 2018. That was a great idea, since knowing what your heart’s up to is key to living longer. And almost all of us want to live longer. So it was only a matter of time before Samsung followed suit on the feature. Coming soon (but not here) Samsung’s first watch to feature built-in ECG is the Galaxy Watch Active2, a piece of kit you might already own. But yours… can’t check to see whether you have atrial fibrillation (AFib). It’s probably got the…

Just before South Africa’s lockdown kicked off, we started up a giveaway for an Epson Ecotank L5190 printer. We’ve been sitting on the winner’s details because, well… nobody’s been allowed to go out and deliver it to our lucky winner. That’s all changed now. Many of us’ll be working from home for a while longer, so an addition like the Epson L5190 is bound to be a welcome one. Unfortunately we only have one to give away — which is a pity because it’s an excellent piece of office hardware. Everyone should have one. Because of this giveaway, one person…