Author: Cyrus

When Nokia announced the C3 in April and promised to have the phones in the market by the end or third 1/4 of the year, we complained. Now from the media assault launched in Nairobi through Radio, Newspaper and TV adverts, C3 is set to be in a shop near you from Wednesday. The C3 is designed in a way which reminds one of  Nokia devices such as the Nokia 6700 classic and Nokia 6300 phones. The C3 is a Series 40 Symbian device with Quad band phone calling, and both 3G/HSPA and WiFi internet connectivity. The phone comes with…

The world might be coming to an end because the internet monster which is facebook just went down. It is very interesting to see how people are now desperate and are looking for alternatives. Facebook has now been down for almost an hour and it seems not to be coming back. Lets wait and see how long it will take to resolve this. Early this week it was a teenager almost taking down Twitter and now Facebook is down. Maybe the world is coming to an end.

Essar Kenya has upped its data game by launching mobile chat and email with partnership with ForgetMeNotAfrica and its local partner Rapid Communications .The service will be aptly named Peperusha (swahili for convey). Yu will be relying on ForgetMeNot Africa’s Handset Initiation (HI) technology to enable its subscribers base to access email and online chat on standard SMS-capable mobile phones. Peperusha does smartphones, Internet connections, or even upgrade of devices. It is particularly attractive to the technically-literate youth of Kenya, who are already very familiar with email and chat. Peperusha incorporates popular chat services such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Windows…

SilverBird Cinemas is set to launch 3D screening 0n Thursday 23rd at Westgate Mall. The cinemas have been showing 3D movies in the past few weeks but now the establishment is inviting the media for official launch of the same. This is very interesting news for the Cinema lovers. And we will be watching The Last AirBender during the launch.

Good news to bloggers. The greatest motoroshow, AccessKenya Concours, in  East Africa just embraced us. If you can prove that you are a serious blogger then  you will get a media pass for the event. According to Nancy Imunde who is the communications manager at the NSE listed firm, bloggers and all other journalists will have space and fast speed internet connection. And if you dont have a laptop or fear coming with one, don’t loose hope because AccessKenya will have even free computers for you. You just need to prove your worth. This is good news and it seems…

SA phone addicts have every reason to smile. The latest Apple phone is in Africa and it is in two networks. You can choose either Vodacom or MTN to get your connection. That is good news as we in Kenya are still waiting for Orange Kenya to fulfill its promise of delivering the phone before year end. Apple store for South Africa also just announced the availability. I think it would be best if Zain or Safaricom and Orange all had the opportunity to market the phone locally. Though Apple exclusivity deals sometimes just don’t make sense to us consumers.…

Whenever we mention price wars in the Telecomms sector in Kenya, we get an image of Orange, Zain and Yu all ganging up against Safaricom. That is what the mainstream media has put in our mind. It is journalism which will never qualify to be fair because it lacks any professionalism. It is infact PR for Safaricom. I have nothing against Safaricom but I have every reason to hate bullies and even if the Safaricom PR wont deal with me, I wont give a hoot. It is monstrous to imagine the arrogance and chest thumping with which the phone giant…

Accfin East Africa, the local partners of Sage ACCPAC say they are building an applications innovation campus in Nairobi. The project expected to cost Sh120 million , they say, will see Accfin E.A. Ltd put up a dedicated Sage ACCPAC development, deployment and support centre in the city to serve the East African market. This is cool as  Google and Microsoft are already doing the same though ACCFIN EA says their campus will also serve as a Research centre for new products specifically for the region.

Kenya Airways is currently in the process of implementing the IATA electronic cargo platform E-Freight. This makes the national carrier the 2nd airline in Africa to achieve this. The move is to make KQ Cargo promises a more efficient and reliable air freight system. KQ Cargo General Manager Sauda Rajab said that implementation of E-Freight was part of a wider transformation exercise, where the cargo business had invested in modern information and communication systems to improve the cargo operations process. The Intergrated cargo System is expected to minimise if not completely wipe out the use of the paper based system…

Microsoft Corporation has launched its new web browser Internet Explorer 9. The company announced availability of its Beta version of the new Web browser. The new browser promises to deliver a fast, clean and trusted browsing experience that will take full advantage of the Windows 7 operating system, placing the focus on the websites. “Web browsing is one of the most popular everyday tasks for Microsoft Windows customers,” said Louis Otieno, General Manager, Microsoft, East and Southern Africa. “We’re proud to join our partners in releasing the beta of Internet Explorer 9, delivering a more beautiful Web to Windows customers…

Twitter is gaining popularity and many have different uses for the micro-blogging website. A twitter user going by the handle Pigspotter is giving police in SA hard time. The user has been warning motorists of where Police speed guns and roadblocks are situated. It has gained massive following currently standing at more than 10,000 followers and growing. Johannesburg Police expects to charge the user with “Obstructing justice” according to Johannesburg police. Many have praised his action and thanked him for saving them of money they could have spent on police fines while some view his actions as contravention of the…

John Waibochi who is the CEO of Virtual City Kenya has won the Nokia Growth Economy Innovation Challenge Award. The $1 Million award was initiated by Nokia is to invest $1 million in an innovator with the greatest on how people can use their Nokia phones better and also simplify and improve their lives. John was competing with innovators from more than 30 countries. The solution developed by John supports small and micro enterprises in emerging markets. John Waibochi will receive $1 million (USD) in venture capital and commitment from Nokia to help turn his idea into a business reality.…

KDN is changing strategy in the market. The company is known more for its data business than what it tried entering into, retail and content provision. But that is changing as the company is said to be realigning and now moving all the retail and content business to Swift Global which is still a sister company. The company will now be working with providers to help them reduce costs and increase the margin as well as transfer the savings to the consumers. The company has also laid a Fiber link from Mombasa (Kenya) to Kampala (Uganda). It also has a…

It is happening at Nokia World Conference in London. It is the launch of various hardware and software products for the clients, journalists and developers. But apart from all the niceties, Nokia is failing to innovate and is now going for full intergration. The following three products were launched by Nokia; Nokia E7 Nokia E7 boasts of many business features including Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, sports 4-inch touchscreen display, which uses Nokia’s ClearBlackDisplay technology for better outdoor visibility. Slide out four-row QWERTY keyboard and the E7 is only a 13.6mm thin. The device brags of an 8-megapixel camera and comes with…

Safaricom has this weekend unveiled another product (not a promotion) to maintain its grip on the sms market. Under the new tariff plan dubbed Masaa ya SMS, the listed giant’s 16 million-plus subscribers will be able to send text messages for as low as 20 cents each depending on the bundle they will choose. This is the lowest charge for a text message in the Kenyan market currently and will be enjoyed by the firm’s PrePay and PostPay customers alike. The innovative plan, launched under the tagline “Say more for less permanently, on the Better Option,” allows subscribers to send…