My gamertag is more useful than a business card. I write about the tech industry, hardware, software, games, and motoring.
South Africans have the ability to (more so than many other nations) lose their things. Mostly things worth a lot of money. Most of the time those things weren’t lost, but stolen. Which is why Samsung’s SmartThings Find feature will be a massive advantage here. According to reports, Samsung’s SmartThings Find feature is finally rolling out globally. It was previously only accessible in the US, UK and South Korea as a trial of sorts, but Samsung reckons the tech is ready for the mass market. SmartThings Find will allow Samsung device owners to locate not only their Samsung smartphones, but…
The one thing we’ve always felt a computer mouse needed was a… gigantic trackball. That’s what Logitech reckons, as it unveiled its brand new Ergo M575, a wireless trackball mouse that looks similar to the iconic M570 model. This time, however, we’re graced with some Bluetooth LE functionality that the predecessor lacked. If you think about it, the addition of Bluetooth LE support makes the M575 feel slightly late to the party, but it’s a welcome one. This will allow users to use the M575 with just about any desktop, laptop or mobile device including iPad, MacBook or PCs that…
The internet loves to hate on Rain, South Africa’s first data-only network that made headlines because of its low-cost data bundles. It charges R50 a GB and has fairly affordable uncapped LTE plans, which makes it ideal for the South African market. It’s just always lacked one thing — a good app where you can manage data spend and pay your account. Historically, we have always put off paying our Rain account just because the website is clunky and not mobile-friendly at all. You have to a) sit in front of a desktop/laptop and 2) remember your card information every…
Don’t always believe the rumours. Recently, the internet was abuzz with reports of a potential second hard-lockdown. President Cyril Ramaphosa quickly denied the claims, but that doesn’t mean the government won’t monitor the situation. That’s where the new COVID symptom tracking app CoughWatchSA comes in. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has announced that it is preparing to monitor the potential for the second wave in South Africa using the app, which is still in development. It’ll track symptoms that cover a range of diseases like influenza, RSV and COVID-19. Watch that CoughWatch “Through the CoughWatchSA application, users can…
It looks like we have our first Oppo smartphone in SA to review, so tickle us fairly impressed. Oppo devices have been available in a select few countries the world over. Now, it has finally decided to launch into South Africa with a decent budget device in the form of the A72. We had some time to play with the R7,000 Oppo A72 recently. You know what we found? Oppo succeeds in bringing us dashing good looks, capable cameras and a battery that is impossible to kill in a day. As with any budget device, there are a few drawbacks,…
Probably the most controversial thing announced at the recent Apple keynote event, is that the new iPhone 12 devices won’t come bundled with a charger block and earphones. This was done under the guise of ‘sustainability’, but we all know Apple’s just trying to milk its users even more. Unfortunately for us, it looks like other smartphone manufacturers may follow suit. According to a new report, it looks like the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S30 (or S21, we don’t know yet) may come without a charger or earphones in the box. A Korean site called ChosunBiz published the claims this week, citing…
Just as you think we have enough banks in South Africa, another one peeks its sneaky head out. The same is true for Bank Zero, ex-FNB CEO Micheal Jordaan’s new zero-fee bank. It’s taken its time to launch officially, but the fee structures have been revealed for the digital bank, and tickle us impressed. A few months ago Bank Zero launched internally and was available to a small group of customers in a closed beta. We do know that it will launch officially in 2021, so these tests were clearly conducted to iron out any issues the system may have…
South Africa is facing the two big L’s: Lockdown and Loadshedding. Both mean that people need to be ever more aware of safety at home and while travelling. Criminals thrive in situations where they have the upper-hand, which is why this new South African safety app CrimeSpotter is the perfect companion for everyone. “The citizens of a country feel the effects of crime the most, and should be given more direct participation in the reporting and discussion of crime. More needs to be done to intensify the fight against crime by using what is available today to improve communications and…
It may just be the next big ‘fad’, but every second big tech corporate is jumping onto cloud gaming. It’s surprising in that not many have found success. Google Stadia has been a monumental flop, Amazon’s Luna hasn’t yielded much yet and Xbox’s xCloud (well… this one’s doing great though). Now Facebook reckons it can give cloud-based gaming a shot. Clearly everyone sees a future in cloud-based gaming, which works by allowing users to play games over an internet connection without the need to install any physical files. What makes Facebook’s platform different from established services, however, is the fact…