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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Microsoft Mobile’s Affordability Strategy

Jul 22, 2015 |

The Transition Following the purchase of Nokia’s Devices and Services division for US$7.3million and rebranding it Microsoft Mobile Oy, Microsoft has continued to build on the Lumia range, which included the 800 and 1020 (with its 41 megapixel camera). Since completion of the acquisition in April last year, they have launched, in the SA market, the Lumia 930 (June 2014), the Lumia 630 (June 2014), the dual-sim Lumia 730 (October 2014) and the first Microsoft-branded Lumia 535 (January 2015). While we are still waiting for what could be considered a ‘flagship’ Microsoft-branded Lumia device,...

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Man Of Steel

Jun 10, 2013 | ,

It looks like film is the new battleground for cellphone manufacturers. The first instance I really remember of a phone having a significant 'role' in a film was Nokia's 3110 in the Matrix. More recently, Sony Xperia T has been pushed as the 'James Bond' phone and I've been to a couple of film premieres that were sponsored by smartphone manufacturers. The latest in this budding relationship between smartphone, in this case Nokia, and film is Man of Steel. Like many kids who grew up in the 70s and 80s, Superman was THE superhero. At some stage, the superhero space became extremely saturated...

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Future of African Media?

Oct 6, 2010 |

As some may know, I have a weekly column in the South African newspaper, City Press' lifestyle supplement 7 in which I explore different aspects and thoughts on popular culture, ranging from media, music, lifestyle, art, theatre, entertainment, etc. Below is my most recent column. You can also access this and past pieces in the columnist section of their site. Mid-September. London. Tim Kring steps on a stage at Nokia World. The creator and executive producer of the TV series Heroes, he falls within the same category, for me, as TV producers and writers like Tom Fontana (OZ), Dick Wolf (Law...

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Nokia Is Back!

Sep 14, 2010 |

Nokia World 2010 Nokia World 2010 kicked off this morning in London with attendees from across the world including journalists, bloggers, distributors, suppliers, etc all anticipating insight into Nokia’s global strategy over the next year. The day kicked off with a welcome from Niklas Savander, Executive Vice President, Markets who went straight to some of the things that are being said about Nokia and the challenges to its market share over the last couple of years. According to Mr Savander, 260,000 Nokia smartphones  are bought every day and, in the last quarter, more people bought Nokia...

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Nokia Ringaz Blog

Jun 23, 2010 |

Nokia just announced the launch of Nokia Ringaz Blog in South Africa and are looking for a blogger to join their team of bloggers. The selected blogger needs to be comfortable with scribbling thoughts, be open to initiating conversation and engaging with people. Nokia Ringaz is to become the heart of the community, its people, trends, products, etc and, therefore, the selected blogger needs to be passionate about technology - especially the mobile phone - but also be tuned into and interested in what is happening around them. If you feel you are that person: "There is no onerous list of...

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