Author: Marcé

It’s an age-old pricing strategy, in which the same product will retail for more or less according to the location it’s sold and the target market it’s aimed at. Now MTN has announced that it is displaying specific data offers to people according to their market segment.  According to MyBroadband, which tested the network’s data offers on three different accounts, the mobile operator’s 30-day prepaid data bundle prices may go for 10% to 50% less than the listed price according to the user. “On three prepaid SIMs MyBroadband was able to buy 1GB of monthly prepaid data for R89 –…

While the world’s doing everything in its power not to fall apart, we may have forgotten that ex-US President Donald Trump and his administration tried their damnedest to keep Huawei from holding the top smartphone manufacturer spot. And it worked, mostly. Following multiple bouts of sanctions and having its name placed on unpleasant lists, the Chinese telecoms company powered through, admittedly releasing fewer devices but not compromising on hardware quality.   One of the main sanctions barred any US company from trading with Huawei without approval from the big guy. That meant its devices summarily lost access to Google’s Mobile Services…

South Africa’s latest entry to the skies — Lift — has announced that it’ll soon allow pets on certain domestic flights. The new airline, started by Kulula.com CEO Gidon Novick, former Uber CEO Jonathan Ayache and local aircraft leasing company Global Airways launched in South Africa in December 2020.  According to The South African, Ayache said, “We know that dogs are important members of our customers’ families, and we are proud to offer this new service that will enable them to travel safely with them in the cabin. Moreover, they want these four-legged family members to be included when they travel, and…

The green messaging app that simply can’t keep itself out of the news these days, WhatsApp, is plagued by a vulnerability that allows attackers access to your account. Not only will they gain access to the account, but they’ll have the ability to completely lock you out, essentially deactivating your account.  Luckily, however, it’s not easy to execute, according to the researchers who found the loophole. To carry out the elaborate WhatsApp account heist could take one around 36 hours — more than a good day’s work. Security researchers Luis Márquez Carpintero and Ernesto Canales Pereña found the vulnerability and…

Following the media launch event of Ford’s latest Ranger in the Eastern Cape, Stuff thought that another trip through pothole-central is in order. You know, to really put this utility vehicle through its paces and confirmed its comfort levels during longer journeys. Equipped with a cooler box, a fishing rod and the Ford companion app, we launched from our home base in Johannesburg to a destination somewhere along the South African coast. Hi St(Ranger) The entire Ford Ranger series is manufactured in South Africa and exported across the globe. And it’s easy to see why. South Africans are far more…

Being on a social media platform has almost become synonymous with having your digital information hacked/leaked/distributed. Early in April, Facebook suffered a leak of more than 500 million user profiles, a raft of data that included phone numbers. Linkedin followed, seeing publicly available user information listed for sale on a hacker marketplace.  Keep a lid on Clubhouse info According to new reports, a similar thing happened to the popular voice-streaming app Clubhouse. A total of 1.3 million user profiles were found on a hacker platform. It was originally reported that the information in the SQL database was gained through a…

Even when the world feels like it’s spinning out of control, we can always rely on one constant — Nokia’s handsets that’ll put a smile on any fan’s face. Yesterday, HMD Global, the Finnish company that manufactures Nokia phones these days, announced six new handsets that’ll make it to market this year.  The newly announced lineup is made up of two flagships (the X10 and X20), two mid-rangers (the G10 and G20), and the budget entries (the C10 and C20). All of the incoming devices run on Android 11 Go edition. Before Google’s Pixels were readily available in South Africa,…

Even if you don’t necessarily understand it, TikTok, the short-form video app, is a cultural phenomenon. In South Africa it has seen impressive growth, helping local creators establish a social platform, and in some cases even produce viral content.  Now the platform has signed a multi-year licensing deal with the South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and the Composers Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO) to pay South African musicians royalties. According to a report on Music Business Worldwide, TikTok’s new deal will cover all 58 countries on the African continent, so it spans even further than our local creatives.  Cash-out…

We may have lost a brother in arms when LG announced it’s dropping its smartphone business altogether, but we can still rely on decent audio and visual kit from the company. Now it’s officially announced a range of soundbars featuring impressive audio hardware and software tricks.  The eight soundbars were first revealed back in January, along with its new OLED Evo and QNED TVs slated for 2021. The range is completed by the SP11RA — a flagship soundbar equipped with a whopping 7.1.4 channels and some fancy up-firing drivers in its rear speakers. Meet LG’s sound-blasters The whole updated range…

If there’s something we can back, it’s increased internet speeds in South Africa. Even though we have 5G rolling out in patches, a large portion of the population still doesn’t have access to decent, reliable internet at home. Now Axxess has announced that it’s doubling its fibre clients’ internet speeds permanently — a move in the right direction. There are a few caveats, because of course there is.  Axxess clients that are on the Frogfoot Fibre network (they handle the infrastructure, like Vuma or Openserve), received a line speed upgrade on 1 April as part of a promotion. Now it…