mobile report september 2013

Mobile Report SEPTEMBER 2013

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A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF

MOBILE NEWS, VIEWS, EVENTS

& DEVELOPMENTS LOCALLY

AND ABROAD.

HOW TO USE THIS REPORT

This report is intended to be an easy-to-reference tool.

It is a resource that you can flip through in your own time –

and not necessarily read from front-to-back.

CONTENTS

» Executive Summary

» Section 1: Mobile Landscape

» Section 2: Mobile Innovation and Campaigns

» Section 3: Mobile Devices and Operating Systems

» Section 4: Mobile Networks

» Section 5: Technology

» Section 6: Social Networks

» Section 7: Facebook Statistics for Africa

» Sources and Contacts

Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Africa’s mobile market is predicted to quadruple by 2020

2. Africa’s top ten largest mobile markets identified

3. Nigeria’s GT Bank to sell prepaid airtime

4. Free DSTV Mobile with Samsung deal

5. Chrome celebrates its 5th anniversary

6. Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s handsets and services business

7. Android Kit Kat: the new Android version revealed by Google

8. Firefox is now available in Xhosa

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

9. Two new phones from Apple: iPhone 5S and 5C

10. Vodafone plans to launch its own-brand 4G smartphone

11. Telkom Mobile tested free WiFi

12. Facebook tests Twitter-like feed

13. World Wide Worx released its research results about South Africa’s social media landscape

14. Facebook statistics for Botswana, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Lesotho and Swaziland

Mobile Landscape

SECTION 1

FNB IN-CHAT MONEY TRANSFER

PATENT

» First National Bank (FNB) has registered a patent in South Africa for a

method of transferring money using an instant messaging service and has included the functionality in its smartphone app.

» This is according to the head of FNB Connect, Farren Roper.

» Roper said that although instant messaging and mobile banking on their own aren’t patentable, the combination of the two is what makes the technology unique and patentable.

» Users of the FNB app can send money to a contact as an instant message in much the same way as they would send a photo.

» Funds are sent from and received by an FNB eWallet, a service which is open to non-FNB customers and linked to your cellphone number.

» Users who aren’t FNB customers can only load money into their eWallet at an FNB ATM that supports automated deposits (FNB ADT) after registering at an FNB EasyPlan branch.

» FNB promises that this registration is an easy process and that it only requires a green bar-coded South African identity book.

Source: mybroadband, 1 September 2013

OVER 800,000 GHANA MOBILE

SUBSCRIBERS PORT NUMBERS

» Close to one million mobile subscribers in Ghana have switched networks

by porting their numbers.

» This is according to Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA), which says that during August the number of subscribers who successfully completed ports reached 817,202, two years after the NCA introduced Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in the country.

» MNP allows mobile telephony customers to move from one service provider to another while retaining their old mobile number.

» And according to the NCA, 447,095 mobile phone subscribers successfully ported their numbers in the second year of the MNP process, which ended July 7. This in turn has depicted an increase of 21% over the corresponding period last year.

» “Current figures show that the net impact on each operator ranges from a positive of 5% to a negative of 2% of their respective subscriber bases, with new ports typically running between 25,000 and 50,000 per month,” said Paarock Van Percy, he director general of the NCA.

» Mobile operators in Ghana include the likes of MTN, Glo, Tigo and Airtel.

Source: ITWeb Africa, 4 September 2013

‘AFRICA’S MOBILE MARKET TO

ALMOST QUADRUPLE BY 2020’

» Africa’s booming mobile phone market is forecast to almost quadruple in size from a value of $60 billion in 2013 to $234 billion by 2020, say researchers.

» US-based research firm Manifest Mind LLC forecasts that the African mobile market is to grow at an annual rate of 21.27% from 2013 to 2020 to reach the above-mentioned target.

» Africa’s telecoms sector growth has surged in the last ten years as the continent has overtaken Europe and Latin America to become the second biggest market in the world for handsets after Asia, according to global mobile phone body, the GSMA.

» Figures from the GSMA also indicate that from 2007 to 2012 mobile connections in Africa more than doubled from 283 million to 735 million.

» In 2005, the number of mobile connections in Africa amounted to just 15% of the continent’s total population, according to the GSMA.

» But by 2012, this percentage had jumped to 72% of Africa’s estimated one billion population.

» Mobile network operators are to be the largest beneficiaries of the growth during the forecast period, followed by mobile distributors and retailers, says Manifest.


GSMA TO ACCELERATE AFRICAN

BROADBAND ROLL-OUT

» Six sub-Saharan African countries have joined forces with the global association for mobile operators, the GSMA, to try to accelerate the roll-out of mobile broadband in the region.

» Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia together with the GSMA have agreed to a series of measures, including the creation of a ‘Joint Task Force’ to strengthen regional cooperation to support investment in mobile broadband.

» According to a GSMA statement, the mobile ecosystem currently contributes 6.3% of GDP across sub-Saharan Africa and could grow to 8.2% by 2020 with the right policies to encourage investment.

» And the agreement between the GSMA and the six countries is further expected to help create an additional 3.2 million jobs in the region by 2020.

» “The provision of universal broadband access is vital in driving economic growth and improving the quality of life in Botswana and across southern Africa,” said Nonofo E. Molefhi, Minister of Transport and Communication.

» “With greater coordination between regional governments and between the public and private sectors, mobile broadband can play a critical role in closing the digital divide,” said Nonofo.


MOBILE CLOSE TO 20% OF INTERNET

TRAFFIC GLOBALLY

» According to data from StatCounter, mobile devices now drive almost 20% of all global internet traffic.

» In Africa, it’s 25%, while in Asia it’s nearly 30%.

» 1 in 4 smartphone users globally now being Chinese.

» India is the most mobile-centric country in the world, with 61% of its internet traffic coming via mobile devices.

» Google’s mobile OS is growing at a break-neck speed. Android has gone from making up a mere 1.6% of total smartphone sales in Q1 2009 to accounting for a whopping 74% of total global smartphone sales in the first three months of 2013.

Source: Marketing Land, 4 September 2013

NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT ORDERS 53

GOLD IPHONES

» To mark Nigeria’s upcoming independence celebrations, the country’s government is reported to have ordered 53 customised gold-plated Apple iPhones.

» Nigeria is to hold celebrations on October 1 to commemorate its independence from Britain in 1960.

» And according to reports, the federal government has commissioned British luxury products company, Gold and Co, to engrave 53 Apple smartphones in gold with Nigeria's coat of arms.

» Founder of Gold and Co Amjad Ali, whose clientele include royal families, governments and wealthy individuals, told the UK's Independent newspaper that the Nigerian government had made the order for the special gold plated phones.

» It has also been reported that the phones could cost anything between £3000 and £50,000 (N750,000 to N12.5 million).


AFRICA’S TOP TEN LARGEST MOBILE

MARKETS

» From 2007 to 2012, Africa’s number of mobile connections more than doubled from 283 million to 735 million, according to global mobile communications industry body the GSMA.

» In the last ten years, Africa has also overtaken Europe and Latin America to become the world’s second biggest market for handsets after Asia, says the GSMA.

» And US-based research firm Manifest Mind LLC forecasts that Africa’s booming mobile phone market is to almost quadruple in size from a value of $60 billion in 2013 to $234 billion by 2020.

» In light of these key figures regarding Africa’s mobile phone market, ITWeb Africa has put together a list of the continent’s top ten biggest mobile phone markets.


AFRICA, MIDDLE EAST MOBILE PORN

AUDIENCE TO HIT 24MN

» Pornography could be viewed by 24 million people in Africa and the Middle East on mobile and tablet devices by the year 2017, according to Juniper Research.

» In a report called ‘Mobile Adult Content Monetisation, Technologies & Legislation 2013-2018’, Juniper says a total of 243 million mobile content users across the globe could be using mobile and tablet devices to access adult content by 2017.

» Content that these users are expected to consume includes adult mobile subscriptions, adult mobile video chat, adult SMS and adult mobile video content.

» The report adds that of the forecast 243 million mobile adult content users, 10.6% of these are expected to live in Africa and the Mideast.

» “The proportion of users in Africa is remarkably similar for 2013, at 10.5% of the global mobile adult user base,” author of the report, Siân Rowlands, told ITWeb Africa.

» In addition, Rowlands says the rise of the mobile internet facilitated by the growth in smartphones has enabled more users to access websites and navigate them with ease.


NIGERIA’S GT BANK TO SELL PREPAID

AIRTIME

» Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust (GT) Bank has partnered with global mobile messaging and transaction services firm Clickatell to provide a virtual airtime top up (VTU) offering to banking customers.

» As a result, GT Bank customers are set to be able to buy prepaid airtime via mobile money, mobile banking or internet banking services thanks to the development.

» According to a press statement, the next phase of the partnership is planned to include prepaid data, prepaid fixed lines and prepaid BlackBerry bundles.

» “I think VTU will be a great mobile prepaid product distribution technology that will revolutionise the telecoms distribution space because of its ease of usage, security and availability,” said Samson Isa, director of Clickatell West Africa in a statement.


Mobile innovation and

campaigns

SECTION 2

SEACOM PARTNERS WITH FRANCE-IX

FOR FRENCH CONTENT BOOST

» Africa may get faster access to online French language content thanks to

pan-African broadband service provider Seacom and internet exchange operator France-IX forming a partnership.

» An IX (internet exchange) or IXP (internet exchange point) allows service providers to connect directly rather than through one or more third-party networks.

» The 17,000km Seacom subsea broadband cable connects Africa’s eastern coastline to Europe and Southern Asia.

» The cable has what Seacom officials call point of presence areas in places such as Nairobi in Kenya and Maputo in Mozambique.

» But the company says it also connects to West Africa via ‘meet me points’ that connect to partner cables in countries such as Ghana and Nigeria, which have large francophone neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso.

» Seacom says the commercial offer is planned to be officially launched in September during the Africa Interconnection and Peering Forum (AfPIF) in Casablanca.


FREE DSTV MOBILE WITH SAMSUNG

DEAL

» Samsung South Africa has partnered with DStv to offer consumers a three month DStv Mobile subscription for free when buying the newly launched Galaxy tablet and Drifta mobile decoder for Android bundle.

» The Galaxy tablet and Drifta mobile decoder bundles are available at network operators and leading retailers.

» “This partnership enables us to offer a mobile broadcast entertainment experience, in line with our philosophy to assist consumers to enjoy a more connected lifestyle,” said Craige Fleischer, Director: Mobile Communications at Samsung SA.

» “This limited edition bundle with Samsung is another step in our journey to bring the exciting realm of mobile television to more South Africans,” said Mark Rayner CEO of DStv Mobile.


Mobile devices and

operating systems

SECTION 3

CHROME CELEBRATES IT’S 5TH

ANNIVERSARY

» Google's browser celebrates its 5th Chrome-iversary, and is now a driving

force behind cutting edge web innovation that commands around 17% of the global market. And Chrome's not done with you yet.

» Not long after Google delivered its Chrome browser to an unsuspecting world, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer downplayed the significance.

» "Open source is interesting," he said at a Microsoft conference in Australia, describing WebKit, the rendering engine that Chrome was founded on.

» At the time of Chrome's launch, Microsoft's much-derided but dominant Internet Explorer commanded around 72% of the market, with Mozilla's Firefox holding close to 20%, Safari taking just under 7%, and Opera and other browsers making up the remainder.

Source: CNET, 2 September 2013

MICROSOFT TO ACQUIRE NOKIA'S DEVICES &

SERVICES BUSINESS FOR AROUND $5 BN

» According to Nokia, Microsoft will purchase "substantially" all of Nokia's device and service arms as well as licensing the phone maker's patents and mapping know-how.

» The Redmond company will pay Nokia 3.79 billion euros ($4.99 billion) for the business, and 1.65 billion euros ($2.18 billion) for its patent armory.

» Microsoft hopes that allying with its biggest Windows Phone manufacturer will speed up growth (and improve its smartphone market share) -- the company is already promising "increased synergies.”

» CEO Steve Ballmer added: "It's a bold step into the future - a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies.

» According to the companies' press releases, 32,000 people will transfer across Microsoft, including 4,700 people in Finland and 18,300 employees directly involved in product manufacture.

» Microsoft will also take into ownership Nokia's Asha range of feature phones.

» Patent-wise, Microsoft gets 10-year non-exclusive license to its Finnish partner's library of ideas and "reciprocal rights" to use Microsoft patents within its HERE mapping services.

Source: Engadget, 2 September 2013

LOW COST ANDROID SPURS 208% TABLET

GROWTH IN MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA

» Tablets have passed PC growth for the first time in the Middle East and Africa region, according to IDC data.

» Tablet shipments for the quarter were up an enormous 208% year on year - managing 2.79 million units.

» By vendor, Apple was on top, but the Android OS was to thank for the most growth - grabbing 2 million of the total.

» Windows OS did not gain much traction.

» IDC Middle East, Africa and Turkey analyst Victoria Mendes said Apple's iPad mini launch did not stop the company losing share to Android, particularly as customers in the region were cost conscious.

» Apple's market share for the second quarter, 2013, was 24.44% - with Samsung not far behind at 22.48%.

» Next of the typical big brands were Lenovo, Asustek, and Acer, although other brand tablets took a formidable 40.82% of the whole market.

» This is in line with Mendes' insistence that low cost tablets are spurring demand in the region - whether they're from the expected multinationals or from other APAC brands.

Source: TechEye, 3 September 2013

ANDROID KITKAT REVEALED BY GOOGLE

» In what can only be a massive marketing boost to Nestlé, Google has

announced the name of the forthcoming iteration of its Android mobile operating system (OS).

» The name is not Key Lime Pie, but rather Android 4.4 (KitKat), after Nestlé’s popular chocolate and wafer confectionery.

» In order to mark the release of Android KitKat, more than 50 million specially branded KitKat bars will be available in 19 markets including South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Middle East, Russia, the UK as well as the US.

» Nestlé stated that these packs will lead consumers to the website android.com/kitkat, where they will have the opportunity to win prizes that include a limited number of Google Nexus 7 tablets, and credits to spend in the Google Play app market.

» Android is the world’s most popular mobile OS, powering a commanding 79.3% of all smartphones shipped during Q2 2013, according to the latest figures from market research firm IDC.

» Various iterations of the platform have sported sweet-themed names ever since the release of Android 1.5 Cupcake back in 2009. Cupcake was followed by Donut (Android 1.6), which was succeeded by Eclair (Android 2.0), itself followed by Froyo (Android 2.1, Frozen Yoghurt).

Source: techsmart, 4 September 2013

GOOGLE RELEASES ANDROID USAGE DATA

» In the wake of its crunchy KitKat news, Tech giant Google has released the

latest Android mobile operating system (OS) usage data, revealing which version of the platform is doing duty on users’ smartphones and tablets.

» Android Jelly Bean (Android 4.1 - 4.3) continues to boost its usage rates quicker than the wink of an eye. Jelly Bean now powers 45.1% of all Android-running mobile devices compared to four out of every ten (40.5%) last month.

» Among others, Jelly Bean’s growth has come at Android Gingerbread’s (Android 2.3.3 - 2.3.7) expense, as it dropped its usage share from 33.1% to 30.7% currently.

» Also melting a bit in the adoption heat of Jelly Bean is Android Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.3 - 4.0.4), with a share of 21.7% that is slightly down from last month’s 22.5%.

» The tablet-loving Honeycomb (Android 3.2) is still clinging on for dear life, handling the operating on 0.1% of Android-powered devices.

» Honeycomb’s Android retirement village neighbour, Froyo (Android 2.2), possesses a 2.4% Android usage stake. Donut (Android 1.6) and Eclair (Android 2.1) have finally been put out to pasture as both these outdated iterations of Android no longer even feature in Google’s usage data summary.

Source: techsmart, 6 September 2013

FIREFOX FINALLY AVAILABLE IN XHOSA

» Web browser Mozilla Firefox is now available in South African language

isiXhosa, thanks to global language service provider Rubric.

» isiXhosa is South Africa’s second most widely spoken language after Zulu with 16 million speakers according to Statistics South Africa.

» Meanwhile, Firefox is the world’s second most popular web browser after Google Chrome, say W3schools.com figures.

» The Firefox browser, which is developed using an open source model, already has software packs for South African languages such as Afrikaans, Zulu and even Venda.

» And isiXhosa speakers now have this luxury as well, thanks to Rubric translating 30,000 words contained in the Firefox browser into isiXhosa and donating the language pack to the open source community.

» “Google Chrome and Internet Explorer already exist in isiXhosa, but an advertising duopoly is not a good thing for diversity,” Ian Henderson, Rubric chief technology officer, has told ITWeb Africa.

» “Our effort is to get isiXhosa to as many people as possible without having to give away personal details which get hovered up by Google and Microsoft in order to target their adverts more closely,” Henderson has explained.


APPLE UNVEILS TWO NEW IPHONES:

THE 5S AND 5C

» For the first time ever, Apple unveiled two new iPhones – a traditional upgrade of its iPhone 5 as well as a simpler, cheaper version.

» Apple CEO Tim Cook said the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C are a reaction to a changing smartphone market.

» The iPhone 5C will sell for as little as $99, for a 16GB version, and $199 for one with 32GB of storage.

» The 5S features a handful of performance upgrades, including what Apple calls a dramatic increase in processing speed. It will have the first 64-bit chip in a smartphone -- Apple's A7 -- which is tested to be at up to twice as fast as the iPhone 5's processor.

» The list of new features include: a motion co-processor, that will let the phone be used as a fitness tracker along the lines of a FitBit.. Battery life will be "the same or better" than the iPhone 5 and its camera will have 15% more active sensor space, improved white balance and auto-focus, and a new flash.

» Its camera will, for the first time on iPhone, allow video in slow motion.

» The most dramatic new feature on the phone is Touch ID, a fingerprint scanner for added security.

» The iPhone 5S will sell for $199 for a 16GB version, $299 for a 32GB model and $399 for the top-end 64GB phone.

Source: CNN, 11 September 2013

VODAFONE SET FOR OWN-BRAND 4G

SMARTPHONE LAUNCH

» Vodafone Group appears to be planning an own-brand 4G smartphone, with the device having recently passed through the approvals process with the US Federal Communications Commission.

» According to documents cited by Engadget, the device is a rebadged Coolpad 8860U from Chinese vendor Yulong – one of the top three smartphone vendors in its home market.

» The Android device has triband LTE support (800, 1800, 2600MHz) alongside 2G and 3G connectivity.

» What is not immediately clear is the target market for the device: Vodafone’s own-brand devices have traditionally been aimed at cost-conscious customers, while its 4G connectivity plans target higher-spending customers (its cheapest UK SIM-only offer is £26 per month).

» With LTE still in its infancy in the UK, and Vodafone’s rivals continuing with their positioning of it as a premium service, there seems to be little incentive for the company to push 4G adoption further into the mass market.

Source: Mobile World Live, 18 September 2013

BBM LAUNCH FOR ANDROID, APPLE

SUSPENDED

» Smartphone maker BlackBerry has failed to deliver on its promise of fully launching its messaging application for Apple and Android devices by the weekend of 23 September 2013.

» The struggling Canadian smartphone maker said that BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) would be available as a free download for Android smartphones on September 21, while Apple iPhone users would be able to download the app on September 22.

» But after a leaked version of the Android version of the app was released, the smartphone maker has decided to temporarily suspend the launch of the application.

» “Prior to launching BBM for Android, an unreleased version of the BBM for Android app was posted online,” said BlackBerry on its blog.

» “We are pausing the global roll-out of BBM for Android and iPhone. Customers who have already downloaded BBM for iPhone will be able to continue to use BBM. The unreleased Android app will be disabled, and customers who downloaded it should visit www.BBM.com to register for updates on official BBM for Android availability.”


Mobile Networks

SECTION 4

AFRIHOST MOBILE: 10GB FOR R197

» Afrihost has unveiled its latest mobile data prices, which include a 10GB pre-paid mobile data product for R197.

» Afrihost said that its new mobile data products will be launched on 5 September 2013, which will include a “3GB + 7GB” package for R197 – a price which is guaranteed until 30 November 2013.

» “After 30 November this offer will be revised or extended,” Afrihost said in a press statement.

» Afrihost will also introduce standard Topup rates at R99 per GB – as opposed to out-of-bundle data charges. All Afrihost Mobile data products will be month-to-month.

» Afrihost will be introducing a range of mobile devices in addition to its Huawei E5331 HSPA+ 3G MiFi device priced at R996.


STANDARD BANK’S PAYMENT APP

MODEL WINS MTN AWARD

» SnapScan, a Standard Bank-invented payment app model which is

currently being piloted in parts of South Africa by Standard Bank’ South Africa’s +innovation hub Beyond Payments, has been awarded the 2013 MTN Business App of the Year.

» The app permits clients to use their phone to make payments at any merchant point showing the SnapScan logo, without having to pop in an electronic wallet.

» After the app is downloaded users can scan their credit or debit card details, and use their phone to pay,.

» SnapScan cuts payment periods, eliminates any need to carry cash around while also allowing receipts to be emailed to customers.

» SnapScan was started in 2013 and is currently being piloted in the Western Cape region, among local traders and retailers in and around the Stellenbosch area.

» “Merchants range from small scale curio and handcraft traders to high-end delis and restaurants, and even a fuel filling station,” John Campbell, the head of Beyond Payments, said in a statement.

Source: Ventures Africa, 2 September 2013

MTN SA SLASHES AFRICA CALL RATES

» Mobile operator MTN has slashed call rates to five African countries for its South African subscribers.

» In a press statement, MTN says calls to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Nigeria, Lesotho and Swaziland are set to cost R0,75c per minute.

» MTN SA chief marketing officer, Brian Gouldie, says in a statement that MTN observed a need among a large base of its customers to make calls to African countries.

» “We are introducing an offering that would address the growing needs of our customer’s to make cheaper calls to international destinations either for business or for personal reasons,” says Gouldie.

» “We understand that these are financially strenuous times and it is of important that we boldly bring products that seek to address customers’ needs for affordable value,” Gouldie adds.


TELKOM MOBILE FREE WI-FI TESTED

» Telkom Mobile is offering 60 minutes of free, unlimited Wi-Fi every day to all

consumers in a promotion which runs from 8 August to 15 December 2013.

» Telkom Mobile’s free Wi-Fi service is available in areas where the company has coverage, which includes shopping centres and other public areas.

» MyBroadband tested the service to see what people can expect from the service. The Centurion Mall was selected as the testing ground.

» To gain access to the free Telkom Mobile Wi-Fi service, you have to SMS the company, after which an access code and PIN will be sent. This process worked perfectly.

» MyBroadband tested the service by doing what most people are likely to do on a free Wi-Fi service – checking e-mail, surfing the web, and downloading a few small files.

» What became very clear, very quickly, was that the service was not stable. In terms of downloading files, checking e-mail, or doing speed tests.

» Telkom Mobile’s free Wi-Fi service was frustrating to use because of the relatively poor performance, but it is a free service.

» If you do not have another options and you want to check your e-mail or visit a website, it serves its purpose.


TELKOM TO DOUBLE SA ADSL SPEEDS

» South African fixed line operator, Telkom, plans to double ADSL speeds by

the end of this year at no cost to customers.

» Download speeds of 1,024 Kbps (around 1 Mbps) will be migrated to 2,048 Kbps (2 Mbps) and 2,048 Kbps (2 Mbps) will be migrated to 4,096 Kbps (4 Mbps).

» Meanwhile, subscribers with 4,096 Kbps (4Mbps) lines will be migrated to 10,240 Kbps (10 Mbps) speeds.

» According to a company statement, the upgrade is expected to take place in a phased approach commencing 11 November 2013.

» The statement also reads that “users are set to benefit from planned speed upgrades at no additional cost”.

» Telkom has said migrating to better ADSL lines is part of its planned ‘Network Transformation Programme’, which is expected to increase the performance of the lines and meet the country’s growing broadband demands.

» He added, “These speed enhancements will contribute to driving fixed broadband penetration in the South African market as it facilitates the access for ISPs’ customers to rich media content such as video, music and seamless live streaming.


Technology

SECTION 5

SAMSUNG, QUALCOMM MAKE

FORAY INTO SMARTWATCH MARKET

» Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm unveiled smartwatches, tapping a

potential "wearables" market worth an estimated $50 billion as the high-end mobile phone market becomes saturated.

» The companies launched the devices at nearly simultaneous events in Berlin and San Diego, and some analysts immediately questioned whether the devices were too costly, with expected prices of near $300.

» Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch works as an accessory to its market-leading Galaxy smartphone, with a small screen offering basic functions such as photos, hands-free calls and instant messaging.

» Qualcomm's "Toq" smartwatch can play music and handle phone calls and messages. It will be the first smartwatch with a touch-enabled "Mirasol" colour screen that can be viewed easily in bright sunlight.

» The market potential for wearable devices is significant. Leveraging advances in voice technology, biometrics, communications, cloud storage and power consumption, smartwatches and other wearable devices could be a $50 billion market by 2017, according to Credit Suisse.


LOVE FOR PERSONAL COMPUTERS

ON THE DECLINE

» Tablets have a small edge over laptops and desktops when it comes to customer satisfaction, but consumer love for PCs in general is down, according to a new American Customer Satisfaction Index report.

» The ACSI's Household Appliance and Electronics Report 2013 measured the satisfaction levels for personal computers (including desktops, laptops, and tablets) based on interviews with more than 2,700 customers.

» On a 100-point scale, tablets grabbed a score of 81, slightly outpacing laptops and desktops, which earned 79 points each. PC devices in general saw a 1.3% decline in satisfaction from last year, with a total score of 79.

» Among device makers, Apple took the lead with a score of 87, outshining Windows device makers by anywhere from 8% to 12%, according to ACSI. HP came in second with 80, followed by Dell with 79, Toshiba with 78, and Acer with 77.

» "Microsoft's revamped Windows 8 operating system does not seem to have provided a bounce in sales or in customer satisfaction for these manufacturers," ACSI Director David VanAmburg said in a statement.

» "Moreover, the vast majority of devices offered by HP, Dell, and other smaller PC makers are desktops or laptops -- a category that consumers find less gratifying than tablets.”

Source: CNET, 16 September 2013

Social Media

SECTION 6

FACEBOOK TESTS LINKEDIN-ESQUE

‘PROFESSIONAL SKILLS’ TAB

» With Facebook’s ongoing quest to combine every other social network’s features under its own blue slab, it appears Facebook is now adding a “Professional Skills” section where users can, well, boast about the things they’re good at getting paid to do.

» Currently in testing, the feature is reminiscent of LinkedIn’s Skills section where users can select an expert field, skill, or interest and have all this information encompassed under their Facebook profile’s About tab.

» The primary difference between Facebook and LinkedIn, however, is that with Facebook’s skill tab, you can click the skill to search for other people who’ve listed similar expertise.

» At the moment, LinkedIn does not let users find other job candidates with similar skill sets, though there is an ironically more social aspect since friends and colleagues can endorse you for whatever it is you say you’re good at.

» That isn’t to say that LinkedIn hasn’t been, say, inspired by Facebook’s features either.

» It also borrowed the infamous “Like” system so users can approve of posts and updates made by friends or companies they are following.

» There is no set date of when this feature will become available

Source: Digital Trends, 9 September 2013

FACEBOOK OPENS TWITTER-LIKE

FEED

» Facebook announced its latest bid to unseat Twitter as the hub for real-time online conversations: giving a few media partners the ability to tap into its “public feed” of all the Facebook posts that are made public by members.

» That means companies such as CNN and Slate will be able to see a real-time list of public posts related to certain keywords.

» Only posts that users have marked “public” will be available for this stream, though some users may be surprised to learn what they have made public.

» Facebook is on a long march to stake its claim to what Twitter has called the “global town square.”

» In June, Facebook officially rolled out hashtags, or keywords that are marked by “#,” after months of work.

» The hashtag was popularised by Twitter users about five years ago, as a way to easily group tweets on related topics.

» With the new changes, Facebook is trying to raise its profile as a place where people go to talk about what’s happening now.

» Media partners, including Buzzfeed, NBC’s Today Show, Sky TV, and Slate, will get access to what’s called a public feed API, meaning that they’ll be able to pull from Facebook’s firehose of public posts.

Source: Digital Trends, 9 September 2013

WORLD WIDE WORX: SA'S SOCIAL

MEDIA LANDSCAPE

» Twitter has grown in the past year from 2.4 million to 5.5 million users in SA. South Africans post 54 million tweets a month, with 85% of these originating from mobile devices.

» 9.4 million South Africans are on Facebook and 87% of users access Facebook from a mobile device.

» SA's top five most-visited sites are Google, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Yahoo.

» Mxit has "lost its mojo", with 7.4 million active monthly users currently on the platform (down from 9.5 million a year ago)

» The top 200 YouTubers in SA each have more than 1.5 million account views but there are almost no celebrities among the top 100 of these YouTubers.

» In SA, there are 466 828 active Google+ users – 0.7% of the global Google+ base.

» There are 2.7 million registered LinkedIn users in SA, with the top demographic being those aged 25 to 34 (34%), the top industry being finance and the top category entrepreneurship.

» The top free app in Apple, Google and Windows app stores is WhatsApp. The Apple App Store's other top downloaded free apps are Instagram, followed by Darts, Facebook and YouTube.

» Google Play Store's other top downloaded free apps are Facebook, BBM for Android, BBM Android Registration and WeChat.

Source: ITWeb, 10 September 2013

TWITTER TO GO PUBLIC

» The leading social media platform is set to go public after it filed an

application for an Initial Public Offer (IPO) with the U.S security and exchange commission.

» According to an analyst, the news of the media’s IPO request is not surprising, given a successful move by social media giant Facebook, and expects the bird-logoed site to thread a similar path in extending its reach to mobile markets.

» The interactive platform which has attracted over 200 million active users since its launch in March 2006, hopes to become an active player in the mobile business industry, citing the success Facebook has enjoyed from exploiting potential-filled market.

» Twitter has gone one step further to ensure a smooth floatation by acquiring a mobile advertising business, MoPub, which would enable it buy ad spaces automatically.

» The buyout was finalised in a stake-swap deal worth $300 – $400 million, which will give the advertising firm a piece of Twitter.

Source: Ventures Africa, 13 September 2013

Facebook Statistics for

Africa

SECTION 7

BOTSWANA

» Active users: 420.000

» Penetration: 20.02%

» 280,000 Gaborone; 44,000 Francistown; 4,800 Molepolole; 780 Moshupa

» 46.9% Female; 53.1% Male

» The largest age group of users is 19-25, followed by the users in the age 26-35

» 37.6% college graduates are the largest group of users

» 85.7% mobile users; 14.3% non-mobile users

» 42.6% Android; 11% iOS; 46.4% others

Source: Social Times Me, 20 September 2013

ZIMBABWE

» Active users: 1.260.000


» 740,000 Harare; 28,000 Chitungwiza; 168,000 Bulawayo; 42,000 Gweru

» 37.1% Female; 62.9% Male

» The largest age group of users is 19-25, followed by the users in the age category of 26-35

» 27% college graduates are the largest group of users


» 76.9% Android; 10.8% iOS; 12.3% others


GHANA

» Active users: 2.400.000


» 1,400,000 Accra; 340,000 Kumasi; 56,000 Tamale; 9,000 Bolgatanga

» 31.9% Female; 68.1% Male



» 70.8% mobile users, 29.2% non-mobile users

» 74.6% Android; 11.6% iOS;13.8% others


LESOTHO



» 90,000 Maseru; 2,600 Mafateng; 1,160 Butha-Buthe

» 48.2% Female; 51.8% Male


» At 25% , college graduates are the largest group of users




SWAZILAND



» 43.7% Female; 56.3% Male






Sources and Contacts

SOURCES

» http://www.cnet.com/

» http://www.digitaltrends.com/

» http://www.engadget.com/

» http://www.itweb.co.za/

» http://www.itwebafrica.com/

» http://www.techeye.net/

» http://marketingland.com/

» http://www.mobileworldlive.com/

» http://edition.cnn.com/

» http://www.ventures-africa.com/

» http://mybroadband.co.za/news/

» http://socialdaily.me/

» http://www.techsmart.co.za/

http://www.cnet.com/








http://www.digitaltrends.com/








http://www.engadget.com/








http://www.itweb.co.za/










http://www.itwebafrica.com/








http://www.techeye.net/







http://marketingland.com/






http://www.mobileworldlive.com/








http://edition.cnn.com/








http://www.ventures-africa.com/










http://mybroadband.co.za/news/








http://socialdaily.me/






http://www.techsmart.co.za/










CONTACT US

Angus Robinson | Director: Mobility

[tel] +27 (11) 555-3800

[cell] +27 (83) 635 4400

[fax] 0867210884

[email] [email protected]

[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.



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