All posts in Mobile

I was recently invited, free of charge, to attend a seminar on reducing technology stress in a wireless world at the Cullinan Hotel hosted by BulkSMS.

There were 5 main topics to be discussed:

• 10 Steps for Cleaning up Information Pollution
• The Mobile Worker in South Africa
• The Multitasking Myth
• Increasing Focus and Productivity in the 21st Century office
• Strategies for the Automated Lifestyle

Dr Piet Streicher opened up the day with an interesting mashup between pushing BulkSMS in a clever way along with ways to reduce stress. Piet is an interesting chap and is very rehearsed when it comes to text message technology. I don’t think he’s a big one for public speaking and especially not in his first language, but he gave an enjoyable and interesting speech none-the-less.

Next up was Ramon Thomas, who is a fantastic public speaker and from the minute he opened to the minute he closed, I was hooked to his every bit of information. Ramon clearly has a fantastic understanding of technology and a ton of experience, this coupled with his passion for understanding and psychology brought us an incredible speech.

There were some interesting view points for various areas of the telecommunication technology, such as: about 10 years ago or so, we’d have to contact each other via land line, which often involved the continual repeating of calls to get hold of someone.. remember? These days, when you call someones mobile, if the person doesn’t answer, it’s not because they aren’t home, it’s because they actually can’t take a call. I hadn’t ever thought of this. To go with this, one tip was to sent the person an sms instead of leaving voicemail, because voicemail is a mission to actually check – interesting point!

All in all, it was a good seminar and one definitely worth going to!

I was chatting to local fring rockstar blogger, Simon, earlier this evening about fring’s movements towards supporting iPhones and he directed me to his latest post:

So for those of you who missed the techcruch article from earlier today, (amazing how news gets out before it even happens) well the news is now officially out, if you happen to be one of the lucky people who owns an Apple iPhone, you just got even luckier.

We’ve just released a special pre-release R&D version of fring for your iPhone – What a mobile VoIP app publicly available for the iPhone?… Is this for real? yip this is no late April fool joke this is the real McCoy and it’s a world-first!

This special pre-release version of fring, developed in conjunction with the Holon Institute of Technology academic research labs is a direct response to iPhone users kicking our butts to get fring for their WAY COOOOOL devices.

Part of the objective here (besides getting you all excited with fring for iPhone) is to get feedback prior to release of the full-feature version and create a truly superb user experience for iPhone users. Guys please note that because this is a pre-release R&D version, there may be a few things that don’t work as great at they should, in other words the more feed back you guys send us the faster we can fix these things and get an even better version out. Also the most important thing to remember guys is that this version will only work on ‘opened iPhones’, so for the moment anyone who doesn’t have an ‘opened iPhone’ will not be able to install this version of fring.

[via: fring blog]

Yeigo Communications, SA’s first mobile VoIP company, seals groundbreaking multi-million dollar investment with US based mobile handset distribution firm.

Cape Town/Orlando 7 April 2008 – A year after bursting onto the market, South African based Yeigo Communications, driven by three savvy technology UCT graduates, has sold a stake to US based, Quality One Wireless (Q1W), for an undisclosed but heavily speculated, multi-million dollar investment.

Q1W has a substantial history in the distribution of mobile handsets and accessories and consequently strong and extensive relationships with carriers of all tiers and players in the telecoms space. In their view, software platforms such as Yeigo’s, will be key in the telecoms environment going forward, in order to easily and quickly provide new services on mobile devices beyond voice and data that are now considered by the industry and users alike, as standard.

This made the decision to invest in the high-potential company, a relatively simple one, given that Yeigo has consistently proven its worth over the intervening 12 months with steady growth of its unique service proposition.

“Differentiation and value-add, through new services such as data recovery and inexpensive conference calling that can be fully integrated on the Yeigo platform, will be pivotal for players in the global telecoms arena going forward. Not only will it create opportunities for new revenue streams, but will also attract and retain users through appealing value adding services. By partnering with Yeigo, we are guaranteed to receive evolving innovation that keeps up with the high demand of these users.” said Q1W President John Chiorando.

The outlook for Yeigo themselves is more than promising. “Partnering with Q1W will now provide us with our desired global platform for greater access to new markets and the capacity to conclude major licensing deals” concluded Rapelang Rabana, CEO Yeigo Communications.

Yeigo will continue to house its headquarters in Cape Town and will continue to employ and train young South Africans in the rapidly developing mobile telecoms market.

About Quality One Wireless (Q1W):

Quality One Wireless, LLC, is a leading global distributor of cellular handsets and other related wireless goods. It is a company with multiple affiliates in the wireless device sales, service, and distribution industry. The Nevada based Q1W with its Headquarters in Orlando, Florida distributes mobile phones and other related wireless communication equipment globally.

About Yeigo Communications:

Yeigo Communications (Pty) Ltd specialises in the development, implementation, and marketing of software-based communications solutions that take full advantage of convergence trends within the mobile arena. The company’s core business strategy is focused on partnering with internet, and telecoms service providers with the intention of offering our mobile VoIP communication solutions as an integrated part of their service own offering.

~ Steve Preston (media [at] yeigo [dot] com)

Review: The GRID

What is The GRID?

People, places and stories are all connected and the GRID is the tool that makes this a reality. Wherever you go take your friends with you. Post text, images, video and sound as content on the map for your friends or the world to see. Use the radar to find whatever you’re looking for, rate it, comment on it, forward it to your friends or subscribe for updates. Share your world on the GRID.

How do I join?

SMS “grid” to 33313 or receive an invite from a friend already on the GRID. You will receive an SMS message containing the details of how to register. Open the registration link in the message. You will be directed to the registration page on the WAP site where you will be prompted for your registration information such as username and password. You must accept the terms and conditions before being allowed onto the GRID.

Want an Apple iMac & an iPod Touch?

Sign up for The GRID now and stand a chance to win these fabulous prizes!

Right folks, another version of MXit has been released and you can grab it now! Thanks to the Web AddiCT(s); for pointing this out!

Other MXit Posts

• MXit Desktop PC Client now Available!
• MXit on your computer

Enjoy the latest version everyone!

Saves treasured SMS messages: in case you lose your phone, when you upgrade, because your SMS messages are important and wonderful; and just because…Forward your SMS to the standard rate mobile numbers (works globally) or archive over a data connection on iPhone. Do more with your SMS with RSS and Text Stream pages.

Link: Treasuremytext

Vodafone Group Plc is in talks to buy a stake in MTN Group Ltd.’s international operations, the Sunday Times reported, citing an unnamed MTN official and a person with knowledge of the discussions.

Vodafone initiated the talks after being blocked by South Africa’s government from taking a bigger stake in Vodacom Group Ltd., which it jointly owns with Telkom South Africa Ltd., the Johannesburg-based newspaper said. The proposed deal won’t include MTN’s operations in South Africa, where it competes with Vodacom, the Sunday Times said.

MTN Chief Executive Officer Phuthuma Nhleko confirmed that Vodafone was among companies that had approached it about a partnership, the Sunday Times said. There was no “serious approach” yet that would compel MTN to inform its shareholders, the newspaper quoted Nhleko as saying. Vodafone spokesman Bobby Leach denied that talks were taking place, the newspaper added.

[via: Bloomberg]

Are you the sort of person who just walks away from your computer and doesn’t think about locking it? I know I’m guilty of this, I never lock my computer. Fortunately the people I work with are not the type to snoop, so I’m alright, but in a bigger environment, you never know who could be looking out for some inside information. I have tons of information on my computer which is actually very important and after reading about Bluelock, I realised that I should probably just start locking my computer as habit.

Locking a computer is a fairly simple task. The Windows+L key combination will lock your computer instantly. It is still easy to forget though, so why not automate it with a little help from Bluetooth!

Bluelock is a software application for windows which runs in your task tray. It detects if you (your mobile) has moved away from your computer. If your mobile goes out of range, Bluelock will notice and it will automatically lock your computer. When you return, you can quickly log back in by entering in a password.

In terms of getting things setup, there is no installation required for your computer or your mobile, which makes it a quick task to get things going. The only things you will need is bluetooth on your mobile and computer. Most mobiles have bluetooth and in terms of computers, a number of laptops come with bluetooth, otherwise, you can cheaply purchase a bluetooth dongle for about 100 bucks.

One catch is that newer bluetooth devices can transmit signals up to 100m, which would mean you need to be 100m away from your computer for the software to lock your computer.

You may download Bluelock, as well as, the source code by clicking here. For further instructions, view Wuul’s website.

Mippin is the revolutionary new service from Refresh Mobile – innovators of the award-winning Mobizines.

Mippin optimises the latest content from websites into the perfect format for mobile phone screens. It provides users with instant and convenient access to the most up-to-date news, blogs and other business and lifestyle information.

Mippin also brings direct benefit to online publishers and advertisers. It allows them to effortlessly distribute their web content and targeted branding messages to mobile audiences.

Judy Gibbons, Non-Executive Chairman says,

“I love the way I can use Mippin on a Blackberry to keep me up-to-date with my favourite blogs and sites when I’m on the move.”

Judy is a Venture Partner at Accel Partners in London and Non-Executive Chairman of Refresh Mobile. She has over 25 years’ experience in the computer industry, with a focus on software, digital media, online advertising and consumer Internet. Prior to joining Accel, Judy was Corporate Vice President of MSN Global Sales; Marketing at Microsoft, where she spent ten years in online. She has also held senior product development and marketing positions at Hewlett Packard and Apple Computer and was non-executive director on the board of O2 PLC prior to its acquisition by Telefonica.

View the Mippin website or blog and have a read!