Author: Marcé

The world is bound to be one bakkie richer soon. Ford has revealed its next-generation Ranger, complete with a V6 diesel variation and improved tech. That’s excluding the updated exterior design that’s reminiscent of the brand’s much-loved F-150.  As expected, we’ll see the new ranger arrive in three variations: the XLT, the Sport and the Wildtrak. They all come with a completely new grille design, LED C-clamp headlights framing it, a shoulder line down the sides and bolder wheel arches. Within the wheel arches, you’ll have the choice of 17in alloy wheels or 20in machine-face multi-spoke alloys. Stranger Ranger Let’s…

There are two types of Black Friday shoppers. Those who research a product for months in advance, and know exactly what it costs, and those who decide to buy a good-looking special on a whim. Considering Takealot’s questionable history of price-fixing, it’s a good idea to check a product’s price history. And there’s an app for that.  Serval is a third-party web application developed out of classic consumer frustration. “Born out of the frustration of not knowing whether a product really is on special, Serval tries to give you some price history on the products,” the app’s about section details. …

Showmax, the Multichoice-owned local streaming service, has announced its Black Friday special offer, and it’ll bag you two months access to the service, for the price of one month.  This special offer will run from 25 November, until 9 December 2021 as part of the global Black Friday phenomenon. It’ll include all of the service’s streaming packages, including the base option, Mobile, Pro and Pro Mobile.  The base option goes for just R100p/m currently, which means you’ll get two months’ value out of 100 bucks. On the lower end, Showmax Mobile costs just R40p/m, while Showmax Pro costs a whopping…

While South Africa’s historically been at the bottom of the priority list when it comes to launching streaming services (ahem… Disney…), Amazon Prime Video’s been available here for some time. Although, users have been paying a converted Euro cost monthly for their subscriptions, until now.  The Amazon’s in Africa Amazon Prime Video users in the country will now be billed in rands, R79 of them to be exact — this is according to an email sent to subscribers. “This change happens automatically this month… and there’s nothing you need to do,” the email reads.  When it launched in South Africa…

Thanks to a nationwide backlog of driver’s licence renewals at the Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTC), 1,476,853 South Africans have expired licences. That’s a very specific number. With that in mind, Gauteng’s Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo gazetted changes that will allow the Gautrain to help service these people.  But you can’t drive the trains This means the trusty Gauteng-based railway system’s stations will now function as a DLTC in some respects. It won’t have the ability (or permission) to test for driver’s licences, for example. It will be able to a) substitute a driving licence of…

We’ve been reporting on the phenomenon that is the wonderfully agile Spot quadruped robot for a few years. Boston Dynamics developed the Spot platform and the bots quickly went viral on the internet for their ability to traverse just about any terrain. Spot is now officially available in South Africa via an authorised reseller, but it looks like they’re destined to remain underground.  Dwyka Mining is bringing the Spot Enterprise version into South Africa, specifically for the mining industry. Spot’s unique walking capabilities and near-autonomous traversal of most terrains make it the perfect tool for many underground applications.  “Spot is…

Nokia, one of the mobile and feature phone pioneers of our age, has now announced several Software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings as part of a subscription-based model. That doesn’t sound like… an updated 3310, or any device for that matter? That’s because Nokia and its parent company HMD Global has increasingly been focused on software in recent years.  Nokia’s shift to the Cloud These specific ones are aimed at communication service providers and include services that offer solutions for analytics, security and data management — to name a few. According to the report on TechRadar, Nokia plans to launch some of the…

The Shoprite Group recently launched a mobile bank on the down-low, making transactional banking on-the-go available to 20 million of its customers. The bank will function via the Xtra Savings rewards cards available through Shoprite and Checkers.  Customers holding the bright orange rewards cards are all eligible to access the mobile banking features. If you’re one of them, make sure to register for the Money Market Account to enable banking on your existing card.  “The Money Market Account, which was launched in August last year, has over 530 000 customers, which the group says indicates that ‘customers see its value’.…

The world isn’t ready for the lighting-fast charging tech originating from China in the coming months. One of Xiaomi’s 120W fast-charging devices, the 11T Pro, was recently launched in South Africa, with the power brick actually included in the box. That one’ll top up the 5,000mAh battery in just 17 minutes.  But a new report suggests that consumers may see 150W chargers hit the market soon. This leak comes courtesy of a Weibo tipster called Digital Chat Station, a trusted leaker according to Android Authority. The leaker simply posted ‘150W’ on the Chinese social media platform, followed by a comment…

If lockdown’s taught us anything, it’s that you can have pretty much anything delivered to your doorstep in no time. Local e-commerce ventures exploded, offering unheard-of delivery times and special offers for online shoppers. Checkers’ Sixty60 offering is still hailed as one of the best options in SA, and the holding company, Shoprite, has launched a dedicated channel for booze called LiquorShop Online.  The Shoprite Group launched the online liquor store today, offering more than 3,000 alcoholic options via the site at launch. It offers a variety ranging from basic beers and ciders to wines and mixes, up to higher-end…