Author: Kaluka wanjala

Yesterday, Google released the first preview version of Android N about two months before its annual I/O conference. With this announcement, Google also launched the new Android Beta Program for those who want to test out this developer release and any future releases. Before this launch, those who wanted to test out new Android releases had to do so by downloading the factory images and flashing them on their devices. The whole process is not very complicated but can be challenging from those who don’t know their way around. This new program can hopefully make it easy and will probably…

Equity Bank’s mobile banking platform Equitel recorded a 1000 per cent growth in transactions from 13.7 million in 2014 to 151milion in 2015 following its official launch in August. Speaking during the release of the 2015 full year financial results, Equity Group Holdings CEO Dr. James Mwangi said Equitel customers transacted over Sh115 billion in 2015 compared to Sh4.7 billion in 2014, a move that is now helping the bank cut its cost of operation. “Mobile and online banking have become key platforms for our customers hence this will remain a priority as we switch into digital banking,” said Dr.…

Tablets are not that popular with most consumers and currently they are widely used in business settings. Most consumers who are targeted by tablet manufacturers tend to get phablets instead of tablets and this hurts shipments and sales. 2016 will not be a positive year for tablet manufacturers as shipments will decrease by 5.9% according to IDC. The research firm said that as tablet shipments drop, we will see a rise in the shipment of 2-in-1 devices which act more as laptops and tablets at the same time. This was meant to happen at some point and it looks like…

Facebook highlighted its commitment to Nigerian content partners and developers with a full calendar of workshops, masterclasses and events at Social Media Week in Lagos, held from 22 to 26 February. The weeklong conference was an ideal opportunity for Facebook to showcase its commitment to local partners as well as share its latest best practices with Nigerian content companies and developers. Emeka Afigbo, Product Partnerhsips Manager at Facebook, said: “With 16 million people in Nigeria visiting Facebook each month, we are constantly looking for ways to deepen our partnerships in the country. Social Media Week in Lagos was a perfect…

Android Marshmallow is finally picking up according to the latest Android distribution numbers released by Google. According to these numbers, Android Marshmallow is installed in about 2.3% of all Android devices. This a growth of over 100% from the numbers recorded last month. Read More: Android Marshmallow Is Installed in Just 1.2% Of All Android Devices It is a good thing to see the latest Android iteration growing steadily and especially as we anticipate the release of Android N later this year. I just hope that it will continue growing as manufacturers keep updating their existing devices and releasing new…

Truecaller has announced the introduction of new features on its mobile application that will see it replace all unknown numbers in your call history with a name and picture. The new features, Smart Call History, Availability, and a brand new dialer are expected revolutionize the way people make and take calls by making communication safer and more delightful, by giving you more information about those you communicate with, is core to Truecaller’s mission. With the integration of the new features, Truecaller becomes an essential app for anyone looking to have more control over their incoming and outgoing calls. The latest…

Instagram is not a huge fan of the Windows platform and its app for Windows Phone 8.1 has been in beta mode for as long as I can remember. Some people even said that the main reason why the Instagram app for WP 8.1 is still in beta is because Microsoft refused to pay Instagram as that is what the latter wanted. This was and still is just a rumor that was never confirmed. Back to Instagram for Windows 10 Mobile, the app is finally available for users to download. Those who have installed that app report that it is…

Intel Corporation is this year celebrating women in Kenya through mentorship and training in technology.  The mentorship and training, are being championed by the Intel She Will Connect program, which aims to leverage collaborations with select women in various spheres of influence, to encourage women and girls to connect to the internet and use technology to better their lives. The Intel She Will Connect program targets to connect more than 5 million women in Sub Saharan Africa to the internet by 2020. Since its inception late last year, more than 800,000 women and girls have already benefited from the program…

Facebook has started rolling out a new update for its messenger app that will see it adhere to Google’s Material Design guidelines. Some users in some countries already have had this update for a while but this was a controlled roll out meant for testing purposes. The updated version of Facebook Messenger will be added to the play store anytime from today. This is the first version that adheres to Google’s Material Design guidelines and comes almost two years after the new guidelines were introduced. It even gets the Material Design treatment before the official Facebook app. Over the past…

Last Tuesday we told you about Oppo’s plans to unveil its next smartphones, the Oppo R9 and R9 Plus, later this month. This was just a rumor back then but Oppo has finally confirmed that it will be unveiling these two smartphones on March 17. Both these smartphones have been certified TENAA and through this we got to see some of the specs they will come with. Some of these include a 5.5 inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution for the Oppo R9 and a 6 inch AMOLED display with a 1080p resolution for the Oppo R9 Plus. Both…