Author: Marcé

When anyone based in Europe sets up an Android device, they have a choice of Google Chrome (which also owns Android), along with three other search engines listed. Turns out Google was charging these search engines a pretty penny to make the list. Now, Google is changing the way this search engine choice screen works, following complaints from competitors.  Google dropping ‘pay to play’ Google was hit by a $5 billion antitrust fine in the region in 2018, which prompted its response giving other search engines the opportunity to be the user-elected search platform on a new Android phone. The…

Fall through interdimensional portals and explore vivid, dynamic worlds that defy space and time with the unconventional Lombax/robot duo in Insomniac’s PlayStation 5 title Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Don’t know what a Lombax is? Don’t even worry, bud. Because Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is just as much accessible to new players as it is part of an ongoing series.  Fans of the original title, the remakes or any of the spinoffs will fall into a familiar space with the latest game. Of course, it’s been completely optimised for this generation of PlayStation, featuring some of the fastest load…

If anything could survive a global pandemic, it’s the trusty Nokia 3310. While they’ve retired, Nokia’s still going strong, bringing us good quality handsets at a more affordable price.  Earlier this year, HMD Global revealed the latest in its smartphone lineup, which included the super-budget Nokia C10 and C20 smartphones. Both will make their way to South Africa under the R2,000 mark.  Meet the entry-Nokias If you’re not acquainted with recent Nokia devices, you can expect great battery life, decent processing power and simple displays — it all sounds remarkably average, but rest assured it’s good quality for the price.…

The second phase of South Africa’s vaccine rollout is well underway, and the government has asked businesses (through Business for South Africa’s appeal) to help get employees and customers registered through its official portal. First National Bank (FNB) has responded by announcing it will help pensioner customers (over the age of 60) through the registration process. FNB fighting the good fight Registering through the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) is the only way to lawfully acquire a COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa. Phase 2 of the rollout is arguably the most important, aimed at SA’s elderly population who are most…

We all know that the advertising industry is always up to questionable practices, especially when it comes to social media platforms. Not to be outdone, Twitter is looking for additional revenue sources and is now testing a new feature called Super Follow, that’ll allow Twitter users to pay their favourite tweeters on a subscription basis.  But it looks like not just anyone will be allowed to charge for access to their fire tweets. New reports suggest that accounts will need to meet specific criteria if they want to charge followers a Super Follow subscription fee. Paying a fee will grant…

Last week Huawei finally revealed its ready-for-market proprietary operating system called HarmonyOS 2.0. That means a handful of its consumer devices (like the Huawei P40, Mate 30, Mate 40 and the MatePad Pro) can now opt for Harmony in lieu of open-source Android. Yeah, the devices that don’t support Google Services and apps.  Since its release, tech journalists and analysts across the globe have installed the OS on supported devices to test it out. Unfortunately, Stuff doesn’t have access to a supported Huawei device right now, but from current reports, we can gather what the OS looks like and how…

Samsung’s next OLED device will track your health In today’s segment of ‘things sci-fi movies inspired’, Samsung’s working on a flexible OLED display that’ll work as a skin patch which, in turn, will work as a fitness tracker. This flexible display technology is called “stretchable electronic skin.” The device was developed by researchers at the

Whether you want to believe it or not, the TV business is changing. Hollywood and its conglomerates are seeing fewer and fewer people attend silver-screen cinemas (even before COVID did its thing), while streaming services like Amazon Prime Video acquire major movie studios like MGM. Local broadcaster Multichoice has been vocal about its dislike toward international streaming services stepping into its territory. But, according to a recent report, Multichoice (which owns DStv) is set to make a 25% to 30% higher profit than last year. This is according to a published trading statement for the year ended 31 March 2021…

While smartphone designs seem to stick to the basic, recognisable form factor of large black rectangle, smartwatch designs are ever-evolving. Probably until they find a shape that works, right? In 2020 we saw Huawei unveil the wonderfully compact Huawei Watch Fit. Now, it’s revealed the Huawei Band 6 that retains its small slab form factor.  Combine the comfy-looking fit with updated features like SpO2 monitoring, a slightly larger display and the kind of long battery life you can expect from Huawei, and you have a beast of a smartwatch on your wrist. Retailing from R1,700 (depending on the retailer), this…

In 2019 MTN debuted the ability for its customers to buy airtime directly through popular chat app WhatsApp. The feature was the first of its kind in South Africa, and now the mobile operator is launching the ability to buy airtime and data bundles through EFT.  Called MTN Chat, some users may recognise the portal on their WhatsApp chat history. Now the portal built by Clickatell has announced its integration with another local fintech company called Ozow to offer electronic bank transfers through the Facebook-owned messaging app.  MTN Chat’s levelled up “Giving customers the ability to transact seamlessly on WhatsApp…