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MAKE SURE IT FILLS THE SCREEN 100%
A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF
MOBILE NEWS, VIEWS, EVENTS
& DEVELOPMENTS LOCALLY
AND ABROAD
4. CONTENTS
» Executive Summary
» Section 1: Mobile Landscape
» Section 2: Mobile Devicesand Operating Systems
» Section 3: Mobile Networks
» Section 4: SocialNetworks
» Sources and Contacts
6. EXECUTIVESUMMARY
1. TopwebsitesinSouthAfricahavebeenidentified
2. Every1MobilereachesintoAfrica
3. EUlowersmobileroamingrates
4. Apple’snewIOSandmusicstreamingservice
5. ProjectRaywiththeworld’sfirstsmartphoneforthevisuallyimpaired
6. NewKenyanmodemtospeedupinternet
7. GoogleDriveisnowavailableinZuluandAfrikaans
8. VodacomBusinesshasadvocatedtheuseofsmartmobiletechnologytomitigateenergycapacityandconsumption
concerns
9. MicrosoftOfficearriveson theiPhone
10. GoogleprojectLOON:Balloon-poweredinternet
11. SamsungGalaxyS4Zoom:Camera-SmartphoneaswellasthreenewGalaxyTab3tablets
12. Sony:theSmartWatch2 andanewlow-costSonyXperiaCdual-SIMsmartphone
10. EVERY1MOBILEREACHES
INTOAFRICA
» Every1Mobile,whichspecialisesinbuildingmassaudiencesviamobilein
sub-SaharanAfrica,recentlyannouncedthatithasraisedR18millioninangel
investment.
» Every1Mobile,foundedin2010,usesthepowerofmobile-enabledsocial
networkstotransformhoworganisationsengagewithyoungpeopleaged
15-35insub-SaharanAfricaandotheremergingmarkets.
» E1M'sultimateaimistohelpyoungpeopleinemergingmarketsenterthe
formaleconomy.Thecompanyrunsninemobilesitescoveringeducation,
health,jobsandentertainment.
» Thecompanyalreadyrecordsover3millionmonthlyvisitstoitssitesand
serves25millionpageseachmonth.Usersareequallysplitbetweenmale
andfemaleacrossSouthAfrica,Nigeria,Ghana,Tanzania,Kenyaand
Zimbabwe.
» ‘Bybuildinglargemobile-basedcommunitiesofhighlymotivatedand
educatedyoungpeoplewhoarefasttrackingintotheformaleconomy’E1M
isbecomingthegate-keepertoanaudiencethatisinhighdemandfromthird
partiessuchascorporations,governments,foundationsandNGOs.
Source: Bizcommunity , 14 June 2013
11. EULOWERSMOBILE
ROAMINGFEES
» Checkinge-mailorsurfingthewebonamobilephonewhiletravellinginthe
EuropeanUnionwillbeathirdcheaperfromJuly 1thankstoroamingcuts
enforcedbytheEU’sregulator–just intimeforthesummerholidayseason.
» TheEuropeanUnionhasbeeneagertoshowitsrelevancetoEUcitizenswith
measurestocutthecostofconsumergoodssuchasflightsandroaming
fees,withmobilechargesaparticularlypopularstepoverthepastseveral
years.
» “TheEUhastoberelevanttopeople’slives,”theEU’stelecomsregulator,
NeelieKroes,saidassheannouncedthe36percentreductioninroaming.
» FromJuly1,thecostofusingtheinternetwhileabroadfallsto45centsper
megabytefrom70cents..
» Thecostofmakingcallsdeclinesto24centsperminutefrom29cents,and
receivingcallsto7centsperminutefrom8cents.
» Thecostofsendingtextmessageswillalsogodown,from9centsto8cents
Mobileusersdon’tpayforreceivingtextmessageswhiletravellinginthe
EuropeanUnion.
» AllofcostswillfallagainonJuly1nextyear.
Source: MyBroadband , 27 June 2013
12. SMARTPHONESBLOOMIN
EMERGINGMARKETS
» Globalsmartphoneshipmentsareexpectedtoreach958.8millionunitsin
2013,surpassingfeaturephoneshipmentsforthefirsttime,theIDCsays.
» AccordingtotheInternationalDataCorporation(IDC)WorldwideQuarterly
MobilePhoneTracker,smartphonesareexpectedtoaccountfor52.2%ofall
mobilephonesshippedin2013.
» Thefirmexpectsthetrendtocontinue,withsmartphoneshipmentsgrowing
mostrapidlyinemergingmarkets,whichwillaccountfor64.8%ofunits
shippedin2013.
» Drivingsmartphonesforwardhasbeenaperfectcombinationofstrong
demandfromendusers,greateremphasisbybothcarriersandvendors,and
adeepselectionofdevicesavailableatmultiplepricepoints,theIDCsaid.
» Withtheriseinglobalsmartphoneshipments,demandhasquicklyspread
fromdevelopedmarketstoemergingmarkets,theIDCsaid.
» Asaresult,smartphoneaveragesellingprices(ASPs)havedeclinedto$372
in2013,downfrom$407in2012and$443in2011.
Source: BusinessTech by MyBroadband, 15 June 2013
14. APPLE‘SNEWIOSANDMUSIC
STREAMINGSERVICE
» AppleIncunveilediTunesRadio,afreemusicstreamingservicethatisakey
partofoverhauledmobilesoftwarethatthecompanycalledthemost
revolutionaryre-designofitsoperatingsystemsincetheiPhonewas
introducedin2007.
» AsApplekickedoffitsannualconferenceinSanFranciscoforitsdevelopers,
executivesalsoshowedoffanewlineofMaccomputersandsaidthat
updatedSirivoicesoftwareusedontheiPhonenowincorporatesMicrosoft
Corp‘sBingsearchengine.
» iTunesRadio,whichwillcompeteagainstPandoraMediaInc,allowsusersto
customisebygenreandpersonaltaste.
» TheserviceisfreewithadsacrossApple’sdevices,includingAppleTV.Itis
freeofadsforsubscriberstoiTunes’Match,adigitalcontentfeature.
» CallediOS7,thesmartphoneandtabletplatformredesignedbyresident
creativehonchoJonnyIvecomeswithanewedge-to-edgelookthatuses
translucencytohighlightunderlyingcontent,newtypefaces,andnewicons.
AppleplanstomakeiOS7availableinthefall.
Source: BusinessTech by MyBroadband, 10 June 2013
17. GOOGLEDRIVENOWINZULU,
AFRIKAANS
» GoogleDrive,thesearchgiant’sonlinestorageanddocument,presentation
andspreadsheetcreationservice,isnowavailablein18newlanguages,
includingAfrikaans,Amharic,SwahiliandZulu.
» ThisbringsthetotalnumberoflanguagesDrivesupportsto65.
» ThenewadditionsareAfrikaans,Amharic,Basque,Chinese(HongKong),
Estonian,French(Canadian),Galician,Icelandic,Khmer,Lao,Malaysian,
Nepali,Persian,Sinhalese,Spanish(LatinAmerica),Swahili,UrduandZulu.
» Userscanswitchbetweenlanguagesatanytimefromthesettingsmenuin
GoogleDrive.Theserviceallowsuserstocollaborateondocuments,
spreadsheetsorpresentationsandtheywillcontinuetoenjoythis
functionalityeveniftheirDriveissettoadifferentlanguagethanthatofthe
personwithwhomthey’recollaborating.
» ThenewlanguagesalsoapplytoGoogleDriveformobiledevices.
Source: TechCentral, 12 June 2013
18. MOBILETECHTOMITIGATE
LOAD-SHEDDING
» Followingtherecentannouncementthatload-sheddingschedulesarelikely
totakeeffectacrossSAthiswinter,VodacomBusinesshasadvocatedthe
useofsmartmobiletechnologytomitigateenergycapacityandconsumption
concerns.
» Vodacom’sbusinessarmsayssmartmetering–asystemthatenablesthe
gatheringofdataforremotereporting–canhelptorestrictload-shedding
andthepotentialelectricity-supplyconstraintsnegativelyimpactingthelocal
economy.
» HeadofVodacomBusiness,VuyaniJarana,says,globally,utilitieshave
successfullyusedsmartmeteringtounderstandelectricityusageandsupply
management.“Locally,theintroductionofsmartmeters,whichislegislated
intheElectricityRegulationsActof2006,willallowtheutilitytoimplement
newbusinessmodels,suchastimeofusetariffs.”
» Hesaysthistypeofmobilemonitoringwillhelptheutilitytoreducepeak
demandwhileend-userswillstarttosavemoneyasaresultoftheinsights
gathered.
» SmartmetersareacomponentofM2Mcommunicationandarebeing
introducedaroundtheworld.
Source: ITWeb, 14 June 2013
19. MICROSOFTOFFICEARRIVES
ONTHEIPHONE
» SoftwaregiantMicrosoftseemstohavemeltedandalloweditsmobile
versionofOffice365tobeinstalledontheiPhone.
» OfficeMobilenowletsiPhoneusersaccess,view,andedittheirOffice
documentsanditissurprisinglysimilartowhatisalreadypreinstalledtoday
onWindowsPhone8.
» BecauseOfficeMobileisfromMicrosoft,yourformattingandlayoutremain
intactwhenviewing,editingoraddingcomments,thankstosupportfor
charts,animations,SmartArtgraphicsandshapes.Whenyoureturntoyour
PCorMacyourdocumentlookslikeitshould.
» Sinceitwasreleased,MicrosofthasaddedSkypecalling,andnewOneNote
featurestoOffice365.
Source: TechEye, 14 June 2013
21. YOUNGPEOPLEMOREWILLINGTO
PAYFORDIGITALNEWS
» Youngpeoplearemorewillingtopayforonlinenewsthananyotherage
group,accordingtoamajorstudyof Internethabits.
» Thesurveyof11,000internetusersinninecountriesincludingtheUKfound
that25-to34-year-oldsaretwiceaslikelytopartwiththeircashfordigital
newsthanolderreaders.
» "Paywallsandappsarenolongerregardedasnovelties,butarenow
increasinglypartofeverydaylifeformanyofthosewantingaccesstonews.”
» Otherfindingsfromthesurvey,compiledbyindustrymarketingbody
Newsworks,showthat49%of18-to24-year-oldsreadadigitalnewspaper–
thehighestreachofanyagegroup.
» Morethantwo-thirdsofthisagegroupsaidtheyhadreadanational
newspaperinanyformatintheweekbeforethesurvey,comparedwith72%
ofthoseagedbetween25and34.
Source: Guardian, 20 June 2013
22. SAMSUNGGALAXYS4ZOOM
» ThefolksatSamsunghavebroughtfourtharatherlargeamountofmobile
devicestotheir‘Premiere’event inLondon,theGalaxyS4Zoomnotleast
strangeamongstthem.
» Thisdeviceisahybridofwhat’sgenerallyconsideredasmartcameraanda
smartphone–orapoint-and-shootcamera,ontheotherhand,andtakesa
middle-pointstancebetweentheSamsungGalaxyCameraandthe
SamsungGalaxyS4.
» Onthismachine’sbackisa4.3-inchSuperAMOLEDdisplay,coveredwitha
paneofGorillaGlass3,andupfrontisa16-megapixelCMOSsensorwith
opticalimagestabilisationworkingwith24-240mm10xopticalzoom,anda
F3.1-F6.3lenstoboot.
» Thisdeviceworkswithaphysical‘SamsungZoomRing’too–thusbringing
furtherdifferentiationbetweentheGalaxyS4ZoomanditsGalaxyCamera
predecessor.
» Thisringactsasaguideforthiscamera’sopticalzoom,butcanalsoactivatea
featurewhiletheuserisinaphonecall.
Source: SlashGear, 20June 2013
24. SONY’SSMARTWATCH2
» SonyhaslaunchedtheSmartWatch2duringapressconferenceatthe
MobileAsiaExpoinShanghai
» TheSmartWatch2hasa1.6-inchLCDdisplay,witharesolutionof220x176,
andismadefromacombinationofaluminumandplastic,whiletheincluded
strapisstainlesssteel.Thewatchsectionis9mmthick.
» It’scompatiblewithmost24mmwatchstraps,andthewatchsectionisIP57
splashproof.AccordingtoSony’sspecs,thebatteryisgoodforaboutsixdays
lowusage,orfourdaysforregularuse.
» ItconnectsAndroiddevice–nomatterwhetherit’saphoneortablet–
runningAndroid4.0orlater,butlikeitspredecessor,isn’tcompatiblewithiOS.
ItusesNFCforone-touchpairing,andmaintainstheconnectionusing
Bluetooth3.0.
» It’scompatiblewitharangeofnotificationsandevents,suchasSMS,MMS,
Facebook,Twitter,Google+,Gmail,andmissedcalls,plusotherapps
includingthemusicplayer,yourphonebook,theweather,calendar,andthe
calllog.
» Ownerswillalsohaveaccesstothe200-plusapplicationsdesignedforthe
SonySmartWatchwhicharealreadyavailablethroughGooglePlay,and
therearesuretobemoretocomeinthefuture.
Source: DigitalTrends, 25June 2013
28. MICROSOFT:THELATESTCHANGES
TOITSWINDOWS8.1
» MicrosoftismakingadjustmentstoitsWindows8operatingsystem,
beginningwiththeresurrectionoftheStartbutton.
» ThecompanyalsounveiledimprovementstoitsBingsearchengine,built-in
supportfor3-Dprinters,anupdatedXboxMusicapp,andnewtoolsfor
developersmakingWindows8applications.
» ThecompanyannouncedafewnewapplicationsforWindows8,includingan
officialFacebookapp,FlipboardandNFLFantasyfootball.
» ThoughtherewasabriefpreviewofanewversionofPowerPointfor
Windows8,thenextversionoftheMicrosoftOfficesuitewon'tbereleased
until2014.
» AfreepreviewversionoftheWindows8.1updatefordevelopersisavailableto
anyoneinterestedininstallingit.Theversionforregularconsumerswill
comeoutlaterthisyear.
» Otherchangesincludetheabilitytobootdirectlyintothedesktop,more
flexibilitywiththetilesontheStartscreen,supportforhigh-resolution
displays,andgreaterBingintegration.
» ThebigXboxMusicupdateisaradiofeaturethatbuildsastationforlisteners
basedonasong,muchlikePandora.
Source: CNN, 26 June 2013
29. MICROSOFTRELEASESINTERNET
EXPLORER11
» InternetExplorer11isoutinprevieweditionwithbettertouchperformance,
fasterpageloads,andanintegratedbrowsingexperienceacrossallyour
Windowsdevices.
» Thenewbrowser’stouchperformancebenefitsfromGPU-enhanced
performanceforpanning,zooming,andswipingthatoffloadsimage
processingfromtheCPUtosavebatterylifeandimprovingresponsiveness.
» MicrosoftistakingapagefromApple’sbookwithsharingofyouropentabs,
favorites,usernamesandpasswords,andhistoryfromPCtotablettophone,
allviaSkyDrive.
» Thosewholovetabswilllikethenewbrowser—IE11supportsforupto100
opentabsatanygiventime.
» “Themostimportantpartofthescreenisavailableforyoursiteswithasingle,
unifiedinterfacewithtabsandaddressbaratthebottomoptimizedforfast
accessandtouch,”Microsoftsays.
» TogetthenewIE11,you’llneedtodownloadtheWindows8.1previewfirst.
Source: Venture Beat, 26 June 2013
30. OFFICE365EXPANDSTO9NEW
TERRITORIESINAFRICA
» MicrosofthasannouncedtheavailabilityoftheentiresuiteofOffice365
packagesinninenewterritoriesacrosstheAfricancontinentwhichincludes
Angola,Cameroon,CapeVerde,Coted’Ivoire,Ghana,Mauritius,Rwanda,
SenegalandZimbabwe.
» “Office365isavailableinvariouspackages,eachonespecificallydesignedto
meetaparticularneed,”saidMarcIsrael,OfficeDivisionGroupLeadfor
MicrosoftWest,EastandCentralAfricaandIndianOceanIslands.
» “Thismeansthatwhetheryouareaconsumer,educationalinstitution,small
tomid-sizebusinessoralargeenterprise,wehaveanOffice365packagethat
willmeetallyoursoftwarerequirementsinanalways-up-to-datecloud
service,atapredictablemonthlycost.”
» “OneofthebiggestchallengesSMEsfaceintoday’sharsheconomic
conditionsisfindingtechnologythatmeetstheirneedswithoutbreakingthe
bank,”Israelexplained.
» MobilityisalsocriticalintheAfricancontextandOffice365allowsusersto
accessfunctionalityacrossmultipledevicesatnoextracharge.
Source: Venture Africa, 27 June 2013
32. SONYXPERIACDUAL-SIM5-INCH
SMARTPHONEFORR3000
» AlongwiththeXperiaZUltra,Sonyalsounveiledanewlower-cost
smartphonetheyarecallingtheXperiaCwhichissettogoonsaleinSouth
Africa,September2013for underR3,000.
» Notonlywillthedeviceboasta1.2GHzquad-coreprocessor(albeitthe
MediaTekMTK6589Cortex-A7),butalsoa5″displayrunningataresolution
of540×960.
» ItrunsAndroid4.1,takestwoSIMs,andhasanFMradioappwhichlikemost
cellphone-basedFMradiosusestheheadsetasanantenna.
» SonySA’sheadofmarketing,AndrewFraser,explainedthatthedevicewas
designedwiththeexpresspurposeoftargetingemergingmarketsandso
won’tseereleaseinthedevelopedworld.
» AskedthroughwhichchannelsthedevicewillbeavailableinSouthAfrica,
FrasersaidthatsofarCellChasexpressedinterest.
» VodacomandMTNhavenotseemedkeenondual-SIMdevicesinthepast,
withaVodacomspokespersongoingsofarastosaythatoneofthereasonsis
thatsuchdevicesdon’treallyinspirecustomerloyalty.
Source: MyBroadband, 27 June 2013
34. VODACOMHUNTS30,000SME
CLIENTS
» Vodacomistargeting30,000subscribers,or6,000newSMEcustomers
throughitsnewValueAddedService(VAS)offering,OneNetExpress.
» Thesolutionprovidesacustomerwithtraditionalswitchboardfunctionalityon
cellphones,and3Gdeskphonesshouldthecustomerrequireageographic
telephonenumber,allhostedinthecloud.
» GaryHart,executiveheadofmanagednetworkservicesatVodacom
Businessnotedinapresentationatthecompany’sheadquartersinMidrand
thatOneNetExpress,whichprovidesbigbusinessswitchboardbenefitsto
smallbusinesses,isalreadyinusebyovertwomillionVodafonesubscribers
acrosstheUKandEurope.
» “Togetherthesecustomershaverealisedsavingsofover£1billioninjustone
year,”hesaid.
» TheVASisavailableforunderR149permonthperdevice(user)andis
specificallydesignedforcompaniesemployingupto100employees,
Vodacomsaid.
Source: BusinessTech by MyBroadband, 6 June 2013
35. VIRGINMOBILECEOSLATES
VODACOM,MTNINREPORT
» VirginMobileSouthAfricaCEO,JonathanMarchbankhasblamedVodacom
andMTNandtheir‘unregulated,anticompetitivebehavior’formakingittough
forsmallerplayerstoenterthemarket.Thisisaccordingtoareportinthe
SundayTimes.
» Accordingtothereport,VirginMobileSA,withonly500,000customers,is
findingitchallengingtoentertheretailmarket.
» Retailers,saidMarchbank,arereluctanttoofferVirginMobileproductsto
customersbecausetheywilllose‘trailingrevenue’fromexistingpartnerships
withVodacomandMTN.
» AccordingtothereportMarchbanksaidthathehasgivenuptryingto
competeagainstVodacomandMTN,andisrathertryingtobuildaloyalVirgin
Mobilebrandfollowing.
» MarchbankwasannouncedasVirginMobileSACEOinAugust2012.This
followedstintsastheheadofVirginMobileMiddleEastandAfricaGroup’s
activitiesinAsia,andChiefOperatingOfficerforVirginMobileUSA.
Source: MyBroadband, 9 June 2013
38. ORANGETEAMSUPWITH
NASHUA
» OrangehasexpandeditsreachinSouthAfricathroughadealwithNashua
Mobile.
» AccordingtoareportbyTechCentralaheadofapressconferenceplannedfor
Thursdaymorning,Orange,throughthedealwithNashuaMobile,willbe
extendingitsbrandpresenceinthecountrywithproductsaimedatSouth
AfricanswhotraveltocountriessuchasFranceandBotswana.
» TheOrangecountersatNashuaMobilestoreswillsellSIMpackageswhich
workinFranceandBotswana,thereportsaid.
» TheMobicarteHolidaypackageisaprepaidSIMthatisvalidfortwoweeks
afteractivationandofferstwohoursofcalls,300SMSes,500MBofdataand
unlimitedaccesstoWiFihotspotsinFrance,thereportsaid.
» Additionally,pre-existingOrangecustomersfromFranceandBotswanacan
useNashuaMobilestorestomanagetheiraccounts,thereportsaid.
» TheNashuastoresinwhichOrangewillhaveabrandandsalespresenceare
inSandton(SandtonCity),Pretoria(BrooklynMall)andCapeTown(Canal
WalkandtheIconCentre),accordingtothereport.
Source: BusinessTech by MyBroadband, 13 June 2013
39. MTNREVISESBISPLANS
» MTNhasreviseditsBlackBerryInternetService(BIS)portfolioinwhatitsays
isanattempttooffercustomersplansbasedontheirparticulardatausage
patterns.
» Thenewplans,saysMTN,willbeeffectiveasof14Julyandincludeaccessto
allorsomeoftheusualBISservices,includingBlackBerryMessenger
(BBM),BlackBerrye-mail,instantmessaging,internetbrowsingand
BlackBerryAppWorld.
» “BlackBerryMTNcustomerswillbeabletoenjoycompleteandunlimited
BISforR59permonth.”Inadditiontothis,theoperatorwillintroduceBISLite
forR39.95permonth,witha200MBcap.
» MTN’srevisedplansofR29.95(100MBcap),R19.95(40MBcap)andR14.95
(30MBcap)permonthcorrespondtotheBISplansthecompanyintroduced
lastyear (theSocialandEmailplan,the Socialplanandthe Messagingplan
respectively)– apartfromthefactthatthecapshavebeenincreased.
Source: ITWeb, 20 June 2013
40. VODACOMOUTLINESFIBRE
BROADBANDPLANS
» ExecutiveheadofaccesssolutionsatVodacom,JanineRebelo,hasrevealed
thatthecompanyplanstorolloutfibreaccesstoselectedbusinessparksin
Johannesburg,Pretoria,CapeTownandDurbaninVodacom’sfinancialyear
toMarch2014.
» Fromnextyear,assumingthedeploymentshavemetthecompany’s
expectations,theplanistoacceleratethebuildtomorebusinessparksand
alsotoincludeprivatehomesinresidentialestatesinthemix.
» Consumerswillbeofferedspeedsashighas100Mbit/sandthereareplans
tooffervideo-on-demandandsimilarentertainmentservicesdowntheline.
» Intermsofcontentservicesoverbroadbandforresidentialusers,Vodacom
intendsofferingMultiChoice’sDStvchannelsoveritsfibrenetworkforestates
thataskforit,aswellasvideo-on-demandservices.
» AccordingtoRebelo,Vodacomhasengagedwithseveralbusinessparksfor
thefirstphaseofthecompany’sfibreaccessplans.
» Vodacomhasbegunworkonaprojecttoidentifyopportunitiesforproviding
fibre-basedbroadbandintheresidentialmarket.Butfornow,thecompany
doesnotplantoofferfibretostandalonehomesalongresidentialstreets.
Source: TechCentral, 26 June 2013
43. MTNCAMEROON:CANAL+/CANALSAT
PAYMENTVIAMOBILEMONEY
» MTNCameroonhasofficiallyannouncedthatitisprovidingitsclientelewitha
simple,rapid,secureandanaffordablemeansofpaymentwithregardtore-
subscriptionwithCANAL+/CANALSATviaMTNMobile.
» CANAL+CAMEROONisthesubsidiaryofCANAL+AFRIQUE,TVoperatorby
satelliteinAfricaandpresentinover30WestandCentralAfricancountries.
» TheCANAL+/CANALSATBillPaymentpackageenablesMTNclients,
holdersofaMobileMoneyaccounttopaytheirCANAL+/CANALSATre-
subscriptionorthatofathirdpartybysimplydialing*124*2#.Itisuser-
friendlyandavailable24H/24and7D/7.
» InCameroon,theMTNMobileMoneyserviceisavailableforallMTNclients
since2010,betheyholdersofabankaccount,ornot.The
CANAL+/CANALSATre-subscriptionpackagethereforeaddstothelistof
transactionsalreadybeingcarriedoutviatheMTNMobileMoneyservice.
» Suchtransactionsincludeespeciallypaymentofelectricitybills,purchaseof
airtime,moneytransfer,paymentofschoolfeesandpurchaseofgoodsand
servicesfrompreviouslyselectedpartnersincludingsupermarketsand
restaurants.
Source: MobileMoneyAfrica, 27 June 2013
45. NEOTELSALERUMOURS
SWIRLINGAGAIN
» AlthoughTataCommunicationshastwicerubbishedtalkthatithasanyintentionof
sellingitscontrollingstakeinNeotel,themarketwasagainawashwithspeculation
thatsomesortofdealmaybeonthecards.
» TheSundayTimesnewspaperquotedunnamedsourcesassayingthatformalbids
tobuyNeotelwereduebythe endof themonth.VodacomandMTNareunderstood
tohavehaddiscussionswithNeotelanditsshareholdersoverthepastfewmonths.
» Itremainsunclearwhetheradeal,ifithappened,wouldinvolveasalebytheIndian-
headquarteredTataCommunicationsorwhethersomesortofjointventureisonthe
cardstoexploitNeotel’sradiofrequencyspectrumassets.
» IfMTNandVodacomarethetwocompaniesintherunningtobuyastakeinNeotel
ortoenterintosomesortofjointventurewithit,it’sclearthey’dbeinterestedintwo
assets.ThefirstisNeotel’sextensiveintra-cityandmetropolitanfibre-optic
infrastructure;thesecondisitsaccesstoradiofrequencyspectrumthatcanbeused
tobuildnext-generationmobilebroadbandnetworks.
» NeotelistheonlyoperatorinSouthAfricathathasaccesstotheso-called“digital
dividend”bandaround800MHz,whichisideallysuitedtodelivering4Gservices,
especiallyoutsidedenseurbanareas.
» Italsohasaccesstochunksofspectrumaround1,8GHzand3,5GHz.BothVodacom
andMTNhavesignificantlystrongerbalancesheetsthanNeotel,whichwouldallow
themtoexploitthespectrumassetsmorefully.
Source: TechCentral, 30 June 2013
47. TOPTWITTERUSERSIN
SOUTHAFRICA
» SouthAfrica’sTwitteruserwiththemostfollowersiscomedianTrevorNoah,
followedcricketerABdeVilliers,andSouthAfricanYouTubecelebrityCaspar
Lee.
» Twitterhasbecomeoneofthebiggestsocialnetworksglobally,withover200
millionactivemonthlyusers.
» Internationallywell-knownmusicsuperstarsJustinBieber,LadyGaga,and
KatyPerryaretheTwitteruserswiththemostfollowersglobally.
» InSouthAfrica,singersarenotdominatingtheTwitteruniverse(asinthe
UnitedStates),butratherentertainers,sportsstars,andpoliticians.
» The tableprovidesanoverviewoftheTwitterusersinSouthAfricawiththe
mostfollowers.Pleasenotethatthesenumberswererecordedon4June
2013.
Source: MyBroadband, 11 June 2013
49. WHATSAPPPROCESSES27BN
MESSAGESIN24HOURS
» WhatsApp announcedthatithadprocessed27-billionmessagesin24hours,
anewrecordforthemobilemessagingservice.
» It’salsosignificantlyupfromitspreviousrecordof19-billionmessages
processedonthelastdayof2012.
» AccordingtoWhatsApp,thenumbercomprises10-billionmessagessent
and17-billionmessagesreceivedbyitsusers.Ifyou’rewonderingwhy
there’ssuchalargediscrepancybetweenthetwofigures,thecompanysays
thatit’slargelydowntogroupmessages.Itexplainsthat‘sendingone
messageintogroupchatof10peopleis1:10inbound:outbound’.
» CEOJanKoumrecentlyrevealedthattheservicenowhasover200-million
activeusers.ThatmakesitbiggerthanTwitter.
» It’salsostreetsaheadofBlackBerry’sBBM,whichoncedominatedthe
space.TheCanadiancompany’sservicenowhas60-millionuserswhosend
andreceivesome10-billionmessageseachday.
Source: Memeburn, 13 June 2013
50. #FINALLY.FACEBOOKADDS
HASHTAGSUPPORT
» Thebillion-strongsocialnetworkingsitehasannounceditwillnowmake
hashtagsclickable,inabidtomakeiteasiertodiscoverandjoinpublic
conversationsandfindoutaboutbreakingnews.
» FacebookproductmanagerGregLindleyconfirmedthelong-rumourednew
featureinablogpost,sayingtheteamaimstoofferusersa‘simplewaytosee
thelargerviewofwhat’shappeningorwhatpeoplearetalkingabout’.
» Thefirststepinthisprocessistomakehashtagsclickable,allowing
FacebookerswhoarealreadyfamiliarwiththehashtagfromTwitter(or
Google+,orInstagram,orPinterest,orTumblr,orPath…)todiscoverwho
elseistalkingaboutthetopicmentionedintheirlatestupdate.
» Clickablehashtagsaren’tavailableforallusersworldwideasyet,butwhen
therollouthitsthem,Facebooksaysuserswillbeableto:searchfora
specifichashtagfromthesearchbaronFacebook,clickonhashtagsthat
originateonotherservices,suchasFacebook-ownedInstagram,and
composepostsdirectlyfromthehashtagfeedandsearchresults.
Source: Memeburn, 13 June 2013
51. INSTAGRAMADDSVIDEO
» Instagramlaunchedavideo-sharingtoolon 20June,inamovethatwill
placetheFacebook-ownedcompanyindirectcompetitionwithVine,the
Twitter-backedvideoapp.
» InstagramCEOKevinSystrommadetheannouncementatFacebook's
MenloParkheadquartersinCalifornia,promisingthatInstagramvideowould
incorporate‘everythingweknowandloveaboutInstagram,butitmoves’.
» Instagramvideosdonot‘loop’inthesamewayasVine’s,buttheInstagram
formatoffersusersupto15secondsofrecordingtimeinsteadofthe
sometimes-limitingsixsecondsonVine.
» Instagram'spopularitywasinpartbasedonthespecialfiltersuserscould
imposeovertheirpictures,andInstagramvideohassimilarcapabilities–with
13speciallycreatedfiltersavailabletoprocessvideo.
» OneofthebenefitsInstagramvideowillhaveoverVineisthatitalreadyhasa
dedicatedaudience.Instagramhas130mactiveusers,Systromsaidatthe
unveiling,with1bnlikesaday.
Source: Guardian, 21 June 2013
56. CONTACTUS
Angus Robinson | Director: Mobile & Innovation
[tel] +27 (11) 555-3800
[cell] +27 (83) 635 4400
[fax] 0867210884
[email] angus@native.co.za
[twitter] @angusrobinson
Have a look at all previous Mobile Reports and other mobile work on our site -
http://www.native.co.za/home?keyword=mobile
Should you have any mobile insight, strategy, campaign or solution
requirements please contact us.