Author: Trent Meikle

Dread it. Run from it. Vodacom’s price hikes will arrive all the same. Following in the footsteps of its competitors, Vodacom has announced that it will be increasing subscription prices across a number of Red tariff plans from 1 April 2023. The company’s excuse for the increases will sound familiar to those aware of the MTN and Telkom increases. The company cites “increased battery theft, base station vandalism and a difficult economic climate with inflation, exchange rate pressures and intensified load shedding” as the reasons for charging its customers more this year. Don’t fret, Vodacom customers. Despite the hikes, Vodacom…

Streaming isn’t as great as it could be in Africa. Sure, we’ve got the big hitters like Netflix, Amazon Prime, MultiChoice’s Showmax and the abhorrent Disney+ app in South Africa. But compare our library to that of say, the US, and you’ll immediately notice some pretty big differences. That could be about to change what with MultiChoice’s announcement of a partnership between itself and Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky. The resulting new group will be known as Earth UK, which will trade as the Showmax Group. The new company is still majority-owned by MultiChoice with a 70% cut, NBCUniversal will own…

Prepare yourself (and your wallet) – Telkom is hiking prices across a number of products, including mobile, DSL, voice, and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services. Any customers currently paying for mobile, DSL, or voice services will have their bills raised on 1 April. Those using any FTTH services will avoid the hikes for a month longer, with their bills set to increase on 1 May. Telkom points towards the country’s record high inflation rate as the reason for the increase, stating that they were “necessary and unavoidable.” “The imminent price increases across fixed voice, ADSL, FTTH, and mobile offerings will ensure continued…

Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 is upon us. Like, physically upon us. That’s because the convention is showing a strong return to form after taking a short sabbatical back in 2020, and a rather muted online-only event the following year. With the show kicking off yesterday in Barcelona, we’ve still got three days of announcements – whether they be great, meh, or downright terrible – to get through. We’re sure all those downright terrible announcements will make it into another article eventually. So far though, the show has been a success, despite us only seeing a sliver of what the…

It’s official. The PSVR 2 has come to South Africa. It wasn’t without some work involved, mind you. The supplier suffered a nominal delay due to bad weather which complicated the VR2’s launch in the South African market. That’s no longer a problem. It’s here, and that’s all that matters. Sure, it’ll cost R13,500 to lay your hands on just the headset and accompanying VR2 Sense controllers. And yes, that costs more than a brand-new PS5 (this is still an accessory, despite what the price tells you). But if you’re here, you already knew that, right? Sitting on your head…

After a month of the Central Energy Fund’s predictions bringing us down, it’s time for the Department of Energy (DoE) to officially dash our dreams with March’s petrol and diesel prices. If you’ve been blissfully unaware of the incoming price increases, we hope you enjoyed your ignorance while it lasted. In fact, you should head out to your nearest petrol station and fill up as soon as you’re done reading this. Unless of course you aren’t phased by the increase or you don’t pay for your own fuel. In that case, carry on with your regular Tuesday. Read More: Eskom…

Oppo is back. This time it’s launching the A78 5G in the South African market, a mid-range device that should get the job done without breaking the bank. Oppo’s A78 5G officially hits South African shelves later this week and it’ll do so at less than R9,000. Sticking to a budget First, the important stuff. Oppo’s thrown in a 5,000mAh battery that competes with Samsung’s latest flagship: the S23 Ultra. Where Oppo loses that edge is with 33W wired charging, something that Samsung just managed to beat with 45W wired charging. At least this one won’t cost you R31,000, right?…

One of South Africa’s largest banks, Absa, is one of the few groups leading the development of the country’s renewable energy dreams. The bank reached a financial close last week on three new upcoming wind energy projects. Each is based in either the Western or Eastern Cape. Absa going green(er) The Western Cape will get two wind farms, each capable of producing 140MW, while another project is getting its life in the Eastern Cape, producing 84MW of green energy once complete. In total, Absa has spent R12 billion to get its three new renewable energy projects off the ground. “The…

We could see two more Apple mixed-reality headsets soon Despite insistent rumours that the world will finally get to see Apple’s first mixed-reality headset sometime this year, further rumours have sprung up claiming that Apple is already working on two new headsets. That’s according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says that Apple’s goal is to cover all bases with a premium and budget offering by 2025. From where Apple’s standing, a cheaper headset makes a lot of sense. If the rumours are true, Apple’s first foray into virtual and augmented reality will be an expensive one. As in $3,000 (R55,000) sort…

Barely a month has passed since Honor announced the X9a would be making its way to the South African market before it’s taken the wraps off its next South African launch. Today, it’s the Honor X7a’s turn in the spotlight. It’s about sending a message Other than the 6,000mAh battery, everything else about the X7a falls into the ‘budget’ category, which should keep the price tag in the realm of ‘attainable’. The 8GB of RAM is coupled with 128GB of storage which is made better with the ability to expand storage with an SD Card up to 1TB. The X7a…