The African Smartphone

At long last! Africa is finally taking a big step into the world of the portable electronic device. A smartphone and tablet said to be the first designed by an African company have been launched. The products, designed by Congolese entrepreneur Verone Mankou, are manufactured in China.

His company VMK's devices run Google's Android software. They will retail at $170 (£105) for the smartphone and $300 (£185) for the tablet.

"Only Africans can know what Africa needs," said Mr Mankou at the Tech4Africa conference in Johannesburg. "Apple is huge in the US, Samsung is huge in Asia, and we want VMK to be huge in Africa."

I know from my own visit to Ghana in 2009 that landlines are few and far between. Everyone seems to somehow have a mobile. That is in Ghana, right enough, which is a pretty affluent West African nation and is politically stable. I obviously can’t speak for the entire continent, as there are still some very dangerous places and areas, coupled with the annual threat of an aid crisis, either caused naturally or by man.

Source: BBC News

Read the article in full: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20850778

Apple's new smartphone: the iWatch

More information on apple’s planned rival to the smartphone... what has been dubbed the iWatch:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/12/28/links-28-dec-are-we-now-waiting-for-apples-iwatch/

#business #apple #iWatch

Samsung become the number one in the global smart phone market

Samsung overtook Apple in the first three months of the year to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor and ended Nokia’s 14-year run as the largest maker of all phone handsets by volume, according to research release Friday by Strategy Analytics.

The South Korean electronics giant reported Friday a record net profit of $4.44 billion in the first quarter, led by strong mobile sales.

“Samsung’s global smartphone shipments rose 253% annually to 44.5 million units, as demand surged for its popular Galaxy models such as the Note, S2 and Y,” Alex Spektor, associate director at Strategy Analytics, said in a news release.

Apple’s sales of 35.1 million iPhones in the first quarter helped lead the company to double first quarter profits. Nokia sold 11.9 million handsets January through March, more than half as many the Finnish firm sold year on year, eroding its smartphone market share to 8.2% from 23.5% in 2011.

Source: CNN Business