Playing With The Sony Xperia Z5

Feb 29, 2016 |

Have you ever thought about what truly influences your smartphone spending habits? With the exponential improvements to smartphones that have happened over the last couple of years, I was often mesmerised by the specs and features. For example, the higher the megapixels the phone’s camera had, the more excited I was, as an amateur mobile photographer. Until I saw my pictures. And then I wasn’t so excited anymore. As a side note, in a discussion about smartphone cameras, someone (can’t remember who so can’t give credit) made the comment that, as important as the camera specs is the actual...

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Need Extra Money?

Jan 27, 2016 | ,

The first cellphone I owned was a Nokia 2110 in 1996/97. A hand-me-down from my father, who got it while doing work at CSIR in Pretoria. Vodacom had just setup a deal to provide cellular services in Lesotho, creating Vodacom Lesotho. I was literally given a list of numbers to choose from. Since then, I have had countless phones and have written on them relatively extensively for a variety of spaces, also having the opportunity to go to launches both locally and internationally. I’m actually reviewing the Sony Xperia Z5 right now. I have also had two phone contracts for ten years which means...

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Intel Powers Convergence

Jan 11, 2016 |

Convergence. A word that has, over the last decade or so, taken on added meaning as technology has evolved and we have made the transition from single-purpose devices to multiple purpose devices. The PC, followed by the laptop, and the birth of the mobile device, whether smartphone or tablet, have created proper confusion when it comes to how we divide up our time because everything purports to do everything, just not always well. Not too long ago, I struggled with the idea of watching video on a laptop or reading books on a tablet.  The screen felt too small for video and I still preferred...

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WeChat’s Digital Wallet Service

Dec 3, 2015 |

It has been interesting watching WeChat’s push to entrench itself not just in South Africa but across the African continent. Because it is perceived as direct competition to Whatsapp, which has had a significant head start in establishing itself as the leading IM service globally, the WeChat Africa team, based in SA, have made strategic moves to find other ways of penetrating the respective markets. In SA, this has involved initiatives like the partnership with the Cape Town based “on-demand goods collection and delivery service” Picup, which I wrote about after attending an event earlier...

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Huawei Launches The Mate S

Nov 19, 2015 |

Why do you choose one smartphone over the other? What influences your purchasing decision? Is it the specs? The design? As these little devices have taken over all aspects of our lives, I believe that simply specs become less important. The reality is most, if not all, smartphones do the same things, have the same apps, etc. Apple showed the world how design in the tech space drives many of our purchasing decisions because it is about how you connect with something emotionally. When you buy a pair of jeans, you may take note of the stitching but the decision to purchase is influenced more by...

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Showmax Steps Into The Arena

Nov 9, 2015 | ,

The music industry has been called ‘ground zero’ for true digital disruption of an industry. Being a music fiend, I have followed, and participated in the evolution of music access, jumping onto nearly every platform, especially now with streaming leading the way. I have, or have had, accounts on simfy Africa, Apple Music, Deezer, Tidal, Nokia Music and even Spotify, in addition to Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and online radio through TuneIn Radio and RapStation. In the last few years, video seems to be following suit. Traditionally a big lover of series as much as the next person, in the days of...

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