Author: Trent Meikle

The Vivo X200 Pro is officially available in South Africa – a first for the Chinese company, which has thus far been reluctant to introduce its flagship line-up to South Africa. That all changed this evening at the company’s launch event in Midrand. There’s just one problem: taking Vivo’s flagship X200 Pro under your wing isn’t cheap, setting you back a whopping R40,000. We found the X(200 Pro) “X200 Pro is crafted for those who seek the utmost in smartphone technology,” said Tony Shi, Vivo’s GM for South Africa. “Whether you’re a passionate photographer, an avid mobile gamer, or someone…

January 2025 is running out the clock, which means, among other things, that Samsung is gearing up to host its first Galaxy Unpacked of the year, delivering the usual slew of flagship devices. In this case, that’ll be the three-strong Galaxy S25 family – though it might breathe some fresh air into the proceedings with a new addition – the Ring. Unpacking Samsung’s intentions Samsung has remained quiet, preferring to keep its intentions private — as if it hasn’t stuck to the same old schedule for the past couple of years. We’re reasonably confident the S25 will attend the first…

CapCut (for Instagram) If you’ve done any video editing, you’re likely already familiar with CapCut, ByteDance’s feature-rich mobile editing app. Then you’ll probably already know that it disappeared in the US over this weekend, alongside TikTok, Marvel Snap, and a whole host of other apps. Meta unashamedly leapt at the opportunity to fill the gaping hole left by CapCut, and announced Edits – its own mobile editing software. Instagram head, Adam Mosseri, announced Edits in a post on Threads, diving into its many features, and why it deserves your time more than any other app (not pointing figures at which).…

With only two short weeks to go before the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) officially adjusts South Africa’s fuel price, the Central Energy Fund (CEF) has provided us with yet another fuel price snapshot (captured 17 January), to help motorists prepare for what’s to come in the following weeks. Unfortunately, it’s not looking good – for anybody. Despite the fairly large increase motorists were slapped with back in January, the DMRE is looking to fix a R1+ increase to the price of diesel, while petrol drivers have been let off easy with a still-painful R0.80c hike expected. Bad…

If you’re wondering why your work’s Gmail account, Docs, and just about every other Google-branded product is suddenly infested with the company’s Gemini AI assistant, it’s because our search overlords have willed it. This accounts for them ditching the $20/m per user entry fee previously required for such… functionality. The addition of AI tools into the very fabric of Google’s Workspace suite is technically an upgrade over the old model, except you’re stuck footing the bill. Before, the basic plan would set you back $14/m (R260) per user. Now Google’s upped that by $2 across all plans, bringing the total…

The service formerly known as Office 365 (now Microsoft 365), which provides access to tools like Word, Excel, and Outlook, has been hit with a massive price hike, effective immediately. The hike, targeting both the Personal and Family Microsoft 365 plans, is part of a global restructure that the company blames on the addition of Copilot—Microsoft’s AI “assistant”—and its Designer app, whether you like it or not. “To reflect the extensive subscription benefits that we’ve added over the past 12 years and enable us to deliver new innovations for years to come, we’re increasing the prices of Microsoft 365 Personal…

It finally happened. After months of playing the “will they, won’t they” game, Nintendo has decided to end our suffering. Here is your first look at the now officially titled Nintendo Switch 2: https://youtu.be/itpcsQQvgAQ Everything we ever dreamed of (and more) Although it only features two minutes and change of footage, and there are still plenty of kinks to be worked out over the coming months, this trailer put to bed a host of rumours swirling around the console – like the bigger, magnetically-attached Joy-Cons – or the existence of the mysterious “C” button under on the right Joy-Con. We…

Believe it or not, Vivo isn’t all about taking your budget bucks. It occasionally explores the realm of flagship tech capable of putting even Samsung’s next big thing to shame, even if South Africa isn’t always privy to those developments. That’s all set to change very soon. But in the meantime, the company has released its Vivo Watch 3 – to the tune of 5,700 of your definitively not-budget bucks. Having recently defected from Samsung’s Galaxy smartwatches, we were sceptical of Vivo’s ability to keep us around for the long haul, especially since we missed its last time-telling venture. The…

In May, Pac-Man will be 45 (years old), and Casio appears to be the only one willing to celebrate the yellow fella’s big day. Yep, that’s the watch-makers we’re talking about, which recently announced a line of – you guessed it – watches to get fans in the Pac-Man mood and celebrate the milestone in, er, style. And tell the time, of course. (This time for Africa?) Specifically, Casio has four Pac-Man-themed watches ready to go. There’s the CA-53WPC-1B dipped in a vat of the iconic Pac-Man yellow, or the ABL100WEPC-1B (we’re sensing a theme here) – a Bluetooth affair kitted out in a shade…

Feeling a little sheepish about the number of DNFs on your 2024 reading list? Trying to up those rookie numbers in 2025? You’re not alone. It’s hard – true, but there is an answer: audiobooks, an industry currently led by the Bezos empire. If you’ve yet to go down the Audible rabbit hole, Amazon might just convince you to give it a go. Audible Premium Plus (Pro Max) Newcomers to Amazon Audible can (and should) get access to the service’s Premium Plus plan for $1 per month – for the first three months. That’s $3 if you’re having trouble totting…