2. INSERT IMAGE IN BACKGROUND
MAKE SURE IT FILLS THE SCREEN 100%
A MONTHLY SNAPSHOT OF
MOBILE NEWS, VIEWS, EVENTS
& DEVELOPMENTS LOCALLY
AND ABROAD
3. HOW TO USE THIS REPORT
This report is intended as an easy-to-reference tool
It is a resource that allows you to easily flip through in your
own time – and not to necessarily read it from front-to-back
4. CONTENTS
» Executive Summary
» Section 1: Mobile Landscape
» Section 2: Mobile Devices and Operating Systems
» Section 3: Mobile Networks
» Section 4: Social Networks
» Sources and Contacts
6. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
» More and more brands are building “second screen” apps and sites to bridge the gap between TV and mobile usage. In
South Africa, mobile is already considered the first screen, with many spending more time on their mobile phones than
watching TV.
» In a post-PC era, consumers carry mobile devices for up to 16 hours a day. For this reason, mobile searchis a huge driver
of conversions. A study by Google and Nielsen has proven that because of the convenience and immediacy, mobile search
can trigger, on average, at least two follow-up actions.
» Lean Start Up was a hot topic at this years SXSW. In an unpredictable, fast paced environment, this methodology is helping
big brands to get their products out quickly, while experimenting and learning from their customers.
» A key trend from the recent Mobile World Congress is enterprise-driveninnovationwhereby organisations invest in
entrepreneurs to develop ideas for their brands from untested environments and untested platforms. Mobility is also a key
driver of this trend as changing mobile lifestyles affects the way people live and conduct business.
» Smartphones are expected to outsell feature phones for the first time in 2013, while tablets are set to explode in emerging
markets as the their hunger for smart connected devices continues to grow and the increasing availability of affordable
devices makes them more accessible.
7. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
» Absa made a big announcement that it is ready to launch its long awaited banking app to the public on 10 April 2013. Absa is
the last of the “big four” consumer banks to launch a smartphone banking app. Hot on Absa’s heels is Investec, who is also
set to launch its own smartphone banking app 5 days before Absa on 5 April 2013.
» Samsung unveiled the new GalaxyS4 with an array of innovative features, taking mobile handsets to the next level. Launch
details are yet to be confirmed but it is believed that it could be available from April 2013.
» Telkom made a big announcement with the launch of Telkom Mobile, and unveiled a new logo. Telkom Mobile will
become the umbrella brand for the group’s mobile business and 8ta will remain a sub-brand.
» Telkom also said that its 4G/LTE broadband products were nearly ready for launch, Vodacom became the first network in
SA to offer LTE services for prepaid customers, and MTN is set to charge a subscription fee to access its LTE network.
» Mxit reveals its true numbers with the latest stats showing that Mxit has 4.5 million active users in SA over a seven day
period and 2.8 million users in a one day period.
» YouTube hit one billion monthly users and Twitter celebrated its 7th birthday.
» To mark Mandela Day and Madiba’s 95th birthday, Nelson Mandela’s grandchild will be launching Mandela.is, a social
network built around the idea of giving to the community.
9. TABLETS SET TO EXPLODE IN
EMERGING MARKETS
» Tablets use is set to rapidlyescalate in emerging markets as their hunger for
smart connected devices continues to grow.
» According to tech research company IDC, the smartconnected device
volume in emerging markets grew by 41.3% in 2012 with the tablet volume
growing by 111.3% and smartphone volume by 69.7% yearon year. Desktop
and portablePC shipments meanwhile shrank by 3.8% and 0.8%
respectively.
» The upward growth of tablets and smartphones in emerging markets is likely
being driven by the increasing availability of affordabledevices among
populations with increasing amounts of disposableincome. That kind of
growth is less surprising when you bearin mind that, aidedby huge numbers
of cheap, locally producedAndroid devices, China has alreadyovertakenthe
US to become the world’s largest smartphone market. India and Brazil
meanwhile aren’t far behind.
Source: Memeburn , 27 March 2013
10. WHY THE "SECOND SCREEN"
INDUSTRY IS SET TO EXPLODE
» Watching television while also using a smartphone or tablet is one of the most
popularleisure activities of the mobile era.
» The mobile industry is working hard to create mobile apps and sites that
relate to what's on TV, in orderto capitaliseon this behavior.
» This approachis often referred to as the "second screen," the idea being that
the tablet or smartphone becomes a TV companiondevice, allowing for
addedlevels of interactivity— whether on social networks or dedicated
second screen appsand sites that complement on-air content.
» Second screen appsand sites are bridges. They bring together the powerful
but increasingly fragmented world of television media,and the fast-growing
but still undeveloped digital realm. For TV-centric advertisers and content
producers,second screen provides a channel through which to test out digital
strategies while still remaining tied to familiarterritory.
Source: Business Insider 27 March 2013
11. MOBILE TO REPLACE TV AS 1ST
SCREEN OF CHOICE
» The latest in-depth TREND. Dissect report on mobile, entitled, ‘The First
Screen’, co-sponsored by Prezence Digital and M&C SaatchiMobile, asks
whether marketersare doing enough with mobile; whether mobile is being
properly integrated into brandcampaigns; what is the key to great mobile
content and creative; and where the opportunities lie for brands in the future?
» Mobile is alreadythe first screen for many of us and will be the first screen for
most of the world’s population, particularlythe way it is being integrated with
television viewing. Yes, TV is still the first screen and mobile the second
screen for many, particularlyin their leisure time after hours, but it won’t be
for long.
» With integration and further innovation in this space, there will be no
difference as TV’s are integrated with our mobile phones and mobile devices
include television.
» There is still a disconnect between agencies, media owners and marketers,
which are all struggling to understand and optimise the new marketing
channels and technologies.
Source: Marklives.com 20 March 2013
12. MOBILE SEARCH MOMENTS
STUDY
» Google and Nielsen conducted a study to help understand how mobile drives
conversions through search.
» Here is a summary of key findings:
– Context-driven: at home, vs. in-store, vs. on the go, etc. Mobile search is
always on, happening on the go (17%) at home and at work (77%)
– Action-oriented:“find more information”, “book a table”, “share with your
friends”, etc.. 3 out of 4 mobile searches trigger follow up actions, whether it
be further research, a store visit, a phone call, a purchase or word-of-mouth
sharing. On average,each mobile search triggers nearly 2 follow-up actions
– Convenience and immediacy:right here, right now, at a click of a button.
Mobile search triggered follow-up actions also happenvery quickly. 55% of
conversions (store visit, phone call or purchase) happenwithin an hour
Source: Google, March 2013
13. SXSW: LEAN STARTUP FOR BIG
BRANDS
» Eric Ries’s Lean Startup methodology was one of the hottest discussion
topics of 2012 and was backagain this year at SXSW with a whole day of
panels. Central to this line of thinking is the Minimum Viable Product (MVP),
which represents a startup’s first test to judge the customer's interest in their
offering, with a rough, often flawed version of their product. This strategy
helps companies avoid early investment in unproven products or
technologies and ensures efficient use of precious capital,all going directly
towards iteratively rebuilding the MVP into what will eventually be the
company’s core offering.
» Ries positions his methods as useful to both entrepreneurs and those looking
to innovate from within established organisations. And, while an
entrepreneurial attitude and management-style can bring a lot of value to an
incumbent company,the considerations for the launch of an innovative
enterprise differ dependingon the context. This year at SXSW, the Lean
Startup stage welcomed a number of successful entrepreneurial test cases
that exemplified a number of overlaps and differences for innovation at
startups vs. established brands.
Source: Design Mind, 10 March 2013
14. WATCH OUT FOR ENTERPRISE-
DRIVEN INNOVATION
» Large organisations with extensive reach and the means to finance
innovation are investing in entrepreneurs to take their brandsto new places.
This was one of the key insights revealed during the recent Mobile World
Congress in Fira Gran Via,Barcelona,says Angus Robinson, Director of
Mobile for NATIVE.
» Mondelez International and Unilever are among the big names putting
money asideto get entrepreneurs innovating about their brands.Keith Weed,
Chief MarketingOfficer of Unilever, said Unilever does not have all the
answers for taking its brands into the future and is calling on entrepreneurs to
bring innovative ideas focused on its brandsto the table.
» “There’s no denying that innovation is going to be the buzz word for this year.
Organisations that are not investing in, embracingand adaptingto these
innovations will find themselves playingthe catch-up game. It’s an exciting
time for entrepreneurs and creative thinkers,” concludes Robinson.
Source: NATIVE, 20 March 2013
15. MOBILITY IS CHANGING THE
WAY WE LIVE: HERE’S HOW
» The momentum has shifted steadily in favour of gadgets and services that are
portableor mobile and those that deliver networking capabilitiesand
entertainment. And that’s changing the way we live in profound ways that you
might not have even noticed yet.
» According to tech research company Gartner,the most profound changes
are occurring in the way people organise their lives and the spaces they live in.
» Early adopters tend to leave the home laptop in the bag and are abandoning
the home office in favour of the lounge room couch or bedroom to do online
activities in a more comfortable environment using a tablet or smartphone,”
says Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at Gartner.
» “This early adoptertrend is becoming mainstreamconsumer behaviour”,
says Ingelbrecht. “Consequently, technology and service providers are faced
with no alternative but to innovate for mobility. If they do nothing, they face a
potential train wreck as consumers abandongadgets, services and
applicationsthat do not fully support changing mobile lifestyles.”
Source: Memeburn , 15 March 2013
16. MOBILITY EXTENDS THE
REACH OF THE BUSINESS
» Mobility enjoys such acceptance in the marketthat many new enterprise
applicationsare now built for mobile access first and for other devices only as
additionalchannels.
» In short, mobile is the majorgrowth area of the moment; and the success of
appsthe reason for its popularity. Unlike Internet-enabled enterprise mobility,
appsoffer a far more streamlined, tap-once experience.
» The most obvious call for enterprise mobility is from companies with field
workers such as sales reps, work-from-home staff or roving employees.
Mobile also offers much more opportunity for self-service, for instance flight
check-ins, hotel room bookings or reservations. Airline ground staff can
check online seating plans on tablet devices while on-board the aircraft.
» With mobility increasing its advancein the enterprise it is important to
seriously consider the implications of issues like the bring-your-own-device
(BYOD) trend and the demandsit places on security and systems
management.
Source: Realmdigital, 25 March 2013
17. 'HAPPINESS' MOBILE APP TO
TRACK EMPLOYEE MORALE
» JWT in Indonesia launched an in-house mobile "Happiness App." According
to Kevin Mintaraga,CEO of XM Gravity in Jakarta,"both online and offline
experience have to work together."
» One reason Mr. Mintaragastarted the appwas that he no longer has time to
hold twice-a-year,hour-long sessions with each employee to see how work
is going. He did it when his company had only six people, but now it's at 135.
» The app's"Mood" function asks users to choose from nine emotions,
including excited, challenged, madand stressed. The "News" function
includes not only internal notes about the annual companytrip, but
announcements about free ice creamin the pantry and polls to choose which
film to screen at office movie night. Going forward, it could be used in ways
such as introducing new employees in a short video.
» The agency aims to use the app to mobilise its own people to help spread
social media campaignsthey have done for clients.
Source: Adage, 15 March 2013
18. MOBILE BANKING IS STILL
WAITING TO TAKE OFF
» The growth of mobile money will continue at a rapid rate this year, global
mobile industry body GSMAsaid in a recently released report titled The
Economy of Mobile 2013.
» GSMA said in its mobile bankingreport that the prohibitively high cost of a
traditional,physical bankbranch and the lack of other basic infrastructure,
such as point-of-sale terminals, have until recently madethe provision of
such services impossible to a significant section of the world’s population.
» MTN and Vodacomand banks have some form of mobile paymentand
bankingservices that they provide to their customers. However, despite the
roll-out and investment madeby companies,GSMA counted six mobile
money services that have more than 1-million active customers globally,
three of which crossed the "1-million active" barrierduring last year.
» According to the report, there are 3.2-billion mobile customers globally. A
further 700-million subscribers are expected to be addedby 2017 and the 4-
billion markto be passed in 2018.
Source: Mobile Money Africa, 20 March 2013
19. ABSA FINALLY READY TO
LAUNCH BANKING APP
» Absa has announced that it’s finally ready to launch a smartphone banking
app,sometime after its competitors. The bank,which is a subsidiaryof
BarclaysBank, has sent out media invitations confirming an official 10 April
launch date.
» ABSA is the last of the “big four” consumer banks in South Africa to launch a
smartphonebanking app.First National Bank (FNB) led the way by launching
its app in mid 2011, while StandardBank and Nedbanklaunched theirs within
a couple of days of each other in mid 2012.
» At this stage it’s unclear which platforms the Absa app will launch on first. It’s
a fairly safe bet however that there will be iOS, Android and BlackBerryapps
from the get go.
» It’s also unclear what features the appwill launch with, although it will have to
come up with something fairly innovative if it wants to be competitive in the
space.That’s especially imperative if the bankis to reverse its trend of losing
customers.
Source: Memeburn , 28 March 2013
20. BROADBAND FOR ALL IN SA:
CISCO TO HELP
» A public-privatepartnership is the only way to ensure that all South Africans
will get access to broadbandby 2020, as envisaged by the Department of
Communications. This is according to Alpheus Mangale,ManagingDirector
of Cisco South Africa.
» Speakingat the Cisco Expo South Africa 2013, Mangalesaid that they are
committed to assist government in the development of ICT policies that aid
the accessibility and adoptionof ICT.
» One of the government projects which Cisco is particularlykeen to boost is
the planto provide all South Africans with broadbandaccess by 2020.
» To achieve this, said Mangale,will require a public-privatepartnership where
government makes it easy for telecoms operators to invest in networks,
especially in rural areas.
» The biggest challenge, said the Cisco SA MD, is to get operators to invest in
rural telecoms networks which are not profitable. Here, he said,government
should step in to makesuch investments more attractiveto operators.
Source: MyBroadband, 10 March 2013
21. YOUNGER CONSUMERS ACCOUNT
FOR ¾ OF SA’S INTERNET USERS
» Only one-third of South Africa’s populationused the internet in 2012,
accordingto a December report from the South African Network Society
Project (SANSS) at the University of Witwatersrand, conducted by Research
ICT Africa (RIA).
» The makeupof internet users in South Africa skews extremely young. The
study found that nearly three-quarters of the total internet population were
between the ages of 15 and 34. Unsurprisingly, internet users were also
more likely to be wealthy; almost three out of five internet users came from
the middle- to high-income range. Still a notable two out of five internet users
were low income or lived below the poverty line, suggesting that the internet
is beginning to reach a wider swath of the country.
» As in other developing internet markets,access is primarily on mobile
phones. The report put ownership of internet-capable mobile phones at 15.7
million vs. 6.4 million consumers who owned a computer. Not all owners of
internet-capablemobile phones have internet access on the devices, but
propensity to access via mobile is much higher among these users.
Source: eMarketer, 25 February 2013
22. HOW DO SOUTH AFRICANS
SPEND THEIR TIME ONLINE?
» Can you believe South Africans spend more time on their mobiles than they
do watching TV, listening to the radio,or reading newspapers and
magazines?
» A new report examining the habits of South African’s Internet users shows
that non-digital media are losing ground to online channels; this is according
to a report commissioned by the Digital Mediaand Marketing Association
(DMMA). The survey was conducted among 2,263 South African Internet
users between 21 Septemberand 5 October 2012.
» The report is meant to assist advertisers in understanding South African
online consumers better. A full 95% of respondents said they used the
Internet mainly for e-mail, while 84% used it for web browsing, and a
whopping 78% madeuse of social networks.
Source: Digitlab , 4 March 2013
24. SMARTPHONES TO OUTSELL FEATURE
PHONES IN 2013 FOR FIRST TIME
» For years, analysts have been predictingthat smartphones would one day
supplantbasic feature phones in terms of worldwide sales, and that day is
expected to finally come in 2013.
» MarketresearcherIDC estimates that manufacturers will ship 918.6 million
smartphones in 2013, which is about50.1% of the industry's total shipments.
This number is expected to grow to 1.5 billion in smartphone shipments by
the end of 2017, which will be represent about two-thirds of the total cell
phone shipments.
» IDC says there are two main reasons why smartphones -- which can surf the
Web, access e-mail, act as GPS navigation devices, and check you into your
favorite coffee shop via dozens of social media apps-- are so popularright
now. The most importantis the fact that prices have fallen dramatically
across the globe on smartphones. But also importantis the fact that carriers
around the globe are starting to deploy faster 4G, or fourth generation,
cellular networks.
Source: CNET, 4 March 2013
25. APPLE BETS AUGMENTED REALITY WILL
DRIVE NEXT WAVE OF MOBILE GROWTH
» Apple has been awardeda new patent related to an augmented reality
system, makingit the latest handset manufacturer to place a bet that the
technology will play a key role in next generation mobile experiences.
» Google, Nokia and Samsung, as well as marketers,are also supporting
augmented reality in order to get ahead of what is expected to be a significant
wave in consumer demandfor these experiences. While the technology is
still in the early stages, the expectation is that it will play a bigger role going
forward in how consumers access a variety of types of content.
» “As mobile industry transitions from keypadto touch screen as the new
interaction mechanism, Augmented Reality based interaction will drive the
next wave of growth ,” said Neil Shah, senior analyst for the global wireless
practiceat Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA. “As a result, companies such as
Google, Apple and Samsung are investing in this area.
Source: Mobile Marketer, 20 March 2013
26. SAMSUNG GALAXY S4
OFFICIALLY UNVEILED
» Samsung unveiled the Samsung GalaxyS4 at the Samsung Unpackedevent it
held in New York . As usual many rumours were confirmed while many others
were refuted.
» Among the features whose details leaked before the Samsung event include
SmartScroll, SmartPause, Air View and Air Gesture
» Features announced at the event that didn’t make it into “leaks” include Dual
Camera,S Translator, Samsung Knox and Group Play
» Other hardwarefeatures not listed above include an infrared (IR) LED that offers
television remote control functionality, similar to that announced for the HTC One
earlier this year.
» The SamsungGalaxy S4 also include a temperature and humidity sensor, as well
as an IR gesture sensor, Samsung said.
» The Long Term Evolution (LTE) model of the device would be availablea bit later
this year,Samsung said.
Source: MyBroadband, 15 March 2013
27. THE STATE OF THE
SMARTPHONE WAR POST-S4
» The unveiling of the long-awaited Galaxy S4 by Samsung has upped the ante
in the alreadyhighly-competitive smartphone space – which has long been
called a two-horse race at the top, between Samsungand Apple.
» Following Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller’s uncharacteristic “trash
talking” on the eve of the Galaxy S4 launch, Apple has taken it another step
further and released a new ad campaignpunting the iPhone with the tagline:
“There’s iPhone. And then there’s everything else.”
» Samsung, along with other Android competitors such as HTC have upped
their game, offering handsets with specs that go well beyond what the
current iPhone 5 (which was released in Septemberlast year, and is only
rumoured to be receiving its next update in August this year) has to offer on
paper.
Source: ITWeb, 18 March 2013
28. SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 SA
LAUNCH WINDOW EMERGES
» Vodacomand Virgin Mobile will be offering the Samsung GalaxyS4,
spokespeoplefor the networks recently told MyBroadband.
» Samsung announced that the GalaxyS4 would be available from 327 mobile
operators across 155 countries, starting from April 2013.
» However, Vodacomsaid that it would confirm launch details “in due course.”
» Virgin Mobile said that they have not received formal confirmation yet from
Samsung, but addedthat they expect to launch the device in early April 2013.
» The exact recommended retail price is also not available,Virgin Mobile said,
but estimated that it will be between R7,000 and R8,000.
Source: MyBroadband, 18 March 2013
29. SAMSUNG EXEC CONFIRMS
UPCOMING SMART WATCH
» Samsung's mobile executive VP Lee Young Hee has come out and confirmed
that the company is hard at work preparinga new smartwatch.
» Bloomberg reported in the news, addingthat the he indicated a desire to be
first to marketwith a new breed of smart watch, saying: "The issue here is
who will first commercialise it so consumers can use it meaningfully."
» He is, no doubt, referring to the rumors which continue to swirl regarding
Apple's plans to enter the smart watch arena. Arguably, if anyone can get a
smart watch to marketit's Samsung—because it alreadyhas a rich history of
producing watch-phone double acts. They just haven't been very good.
» There is, of course, no word on what Sammy'snext watch might be like.
Source: Gizmodo, 19 March 2013
30. SAMSUNG TO GIVE SA USERS
FREE WI-FI FOR A YEAR
» Samsung announced that it will be giving its South African users 1GB of free
Wi-Fi access a month.
» “We live in the connected age and it makes sense for Samsung to incorporate
a service offering that combines innovative mobile devices with national
wireless connectivity,” said Craige Fleischer, director of Mobile
Communications at Samsung Electronics South Africa.
» The deal,which will be extended to all Samsung devices bought in the country
over the past three years, represents a potential boon for the manufacturer.
» Despite a series of price wars between South Africa’s mobile operators, data
remains pretty expensive in the country. “This offering is our way of thanking
our local customers for their loyal support.” said Fleischer
Source: Memeburn, 14 March 2013
31. SAMSUNG TO ROLL OUT MOBILE
HEALTH CENTRES ACROSS AFRICA
» Samsung recently launched its solar powered health centre model in Cape
Town, markingthe start of what it says will be a large-scale medical initiative
across Africa. The mobile centres are built for use in remote rural areas,and
intended to eliminate the economic and geographicbarriers that prevent
people across Africa from obtaining quality medical treatment.
» The solar-powered health centre is designed to reach as many people as
possible, as regularly as possible. Samsung says that it wants to reach one-
million people through its solar powered health centres by 2015 — as partof
its broadergoal to positively impactthe lives of five-million people in Africa by
2015.
» According to the World Bank, more than 60% of people in Sub-Saharan
Africa live in rural areas. These people often lack the time and resources to
reach clinics for proactive medical care, and particularly if they are ill and
unable to makelong journeys.
Source: Memeburn , 15 March 2013
32. SAMSUNG SA OPEN TO MTN,
CELL C AND 8TA PARTNERSHIPS
» Samsung South Africa and Vodacom’sbusiness arm have entered into an
agreement that will see the two companies collaborating on mobile and
network infrastructure services for businesses.
» Samsung South Africa has said that the deal with VodacomBusiness to
provide“premium services” to enterprise is non-exclusive, and that it’s open
to forming similar relationships with other operators.
» The initial phase of the agreement is focused on mobile solutions for the
enterprise, but will be extended to other multimedia devices down the line,
dependingon the company’s needs.
» Speakingto media at the SamsungAfrica Forum in CapeTown, Samsung
South Africa head of Mobile, Paulo Ferreira said that working with the other
operators is “a matter of time”. “Samsung is equally open to engaging in
similarpartnerships with other South African operators,” he said.
Source: BusinessTech, 17 March 2013
33. APPLE CEO PAID LESS THAN
NOKIA CEO
» Even though the iPhone routinely outsells the Lumia lineup, Nokia CEO
Stephen Elop was compensated more last year than Apple CEO Tim Cook.
» According to the Nokia Blog, a recent filing showed that even after taking a
pay cut, Elop maderoughly $5.63 million last yearcomparedto the estimated
$4.2 million that Cook made in 2012. Don't feel too bad for Cook though, as he
has been with Apple for a long time and I'm sure he has accrued a lot of
valuablestock over the years.
» It is interesting to look at the head honchos' pay and compare that to market
share, as Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones last quarter comparedto the 4.4
million Lumia devices Nokia sold during its most recent quarter.With that
said,Elop and Cook are competing against each other but they're also facing
wildly different challenges moving ahead.
Source: The Full Signal, 7 March 2013
34. BLACKBERRY POSTS PROFIT IN Q4,
BUT LOSES 3 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS
» Revenue for the quarterwas approximately US$2.7-billion, down US$49-
million or two percent from approximately US$2.7-billion in the previous
quarterand down 36% from US$4.2-billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2012.
» Despite revenue falling though, its profit margin actually increased slightly.
» During the quarter,it also lost some three-million subscribers. It reports
some 76-million down from 79-million in the previous quarterand 80-million
a year ago. It says it sold six-million BlackBerrydevices over the pastthree
months, but only one-million of them were running BlackBerry10.
» The other big news form the company was the BlackBerrryco-founder Mike
Lazaridiswould be stepping down from the company’s board.
Source: Memeburn , 28 March 2013
36. SA'S MOBILE PRICE WAR SO
FAR
» Industry observers say 2013 will see the mobile price war that started around
the second quarter of last yearnot only continue, but actually heat up. With
the 1 Marchdrop in mobile termination rates (MTR or interconnect), mobile
operators have more margin to work with and analysts say this, together with
the ever-changing mobile landscapein SA, makesfor a “lovely war”.
» So far this year, Cell C kicked off the campaignfor its new Supacharge
product. Then Vodacomintroduced a new product suite for its vast prepaid
base,Free4Sho, MTN joined the prepaidfray with the introduction of a new
prepaidproduct - the MTN Mahalastarter pack,and then stepped up its
game by slashing dataand prepaidprices and extending its Zone offerings,
On 1 March–the day the MTRs fell to an all-time low – Vodacomwent Red
with limitless contract options. Last but not least, Telkom’s mobile arm 8ta
madewhat it said were “big changes” to its More prepaidcalling product.
Source: ITWeb, 19 March 2013
37. SMARTPHONE SHAKE-UP IN
SA FROM NEOTEL
» Neotel has launched the HTC Desire VC on its network, an Android
smartphonethat runs on both its CDMA network and has space for a SIM
from a GSM mobile operator.
» Billing the offer as a “mobile smartlandline”, Neotel was very careful about
the semantics of the offering.
» This is likely due to the fact that as a fixed wireless operator Neotel can take
advantageof far lower termination rates than mobile operators like Vodacom,
MTN, Cell C, and 8ta.
» Neotel highlights this as one of the value propositions of their service, saying
that NeoSmart“leverages both Neotel’s cost effective landline rates and
newly launched FreeCallZone”.
» FreeCallZone lets subscribers set up a “FreeTalkZone” for a fixed monthly
fee (R49) that allows Neotel users in that zone call each other for free.
Source: MyBroadband, 6 March 2013
38. TELKOM LAUNCHES
TELKOM MOBILE
» Telkom announced the launch of Telkom Mobile which it said is aimed at
data-hungry consumers that makehigh volumes of voice calls. 8ta will
remain as a “sub-brand”of Telkom Mobile, said Attila Vitai, managingdirector
of Telkom Mobile.
» The new Telkom Mobile is based on an existing robust and growing network
that will benefit from continuing infrastructure investment, Vitai said.
» The new brandis positioned to take advantage of changes in consumer
knowledge, expectations and behaviour, Vitaisaid.
» “Pretty much everyone has at least one mobile device and most use them for
more than basic calls and messaging. There is a significant core group of
consumers who expect to be able to do more with their devices in their own
time and on their own terms.”
» Vitai emphasisedthat 8.ta will continue to be the brandname for a core set of
products within Telkom Mobile, which is a business unit within Telkom
Group.
Source: BusinessTech, 19 March 2013
39. TELKOM 4G LAUNCH
‘WITHIN WEEKS’
» Telkom will launch commercial fourth-generation long-term evolution
(4G/LTE) broadbandproducts “within weeks”, Telkom Mobile MD Attila Vitai
says.
» In an interview with TechCentral, Vitai has disclosed that the companyexpects
to have “about a thousand” LTE base stations live when it launches the next-
generation broadbandnetwork. Coverage will be available in “sub-sets” of
Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and CapeTown at launch.
» The companyhas been running a trial of 4G/LTE since November 2012. This
trial is set to end on 31 March.
» Telkom Mobile is using the access it has to a huge chunk of radiofrequency
spectrum in the 2,3GHz band to build the LTE network. Unlike rivals
Vodacom,MTN and Cell C, Telkom is using a different type of 4G technology
used in China and India. The technology has also recently found favour in the
US.
Source: TechCentral, 19 March 2013
40. YOU WILL PAY MORE FOR
MTN LTE
» MTN will be charging an additionalsubscription fee to access its Long Term
Evolution (LTE) network, though the network was not able to give an
indication of what it will cost at this stage.
» Both Vodacomand MTN itemise LTE as a “value addedservice” (VAS) on
their deal sheets, but MTN’s general managerfor product,innovation, and
development, Mike Fairon said that they want the subscription to be visible to
the customer.
» “It’s not a fully penetrated service,” Fairon said,explaining that they want to
give customers the flexibility to opt for the service.
» The VAS will be free for the first three months so customers can test LTE, and
Fairon said that subscribers will be able opt out and not pay the additional
subscription should they no longer want it.
Source: MyBroadband, 11 March 2013
41. VODACOM LTE FOR PREPAID
OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED
» Vodacomannounced that it has become the first network in South Africa to
offer Long Term Evolution (LTE) services to all its customers.
» The service was initially launched to contract customers in October 2012, but
Vodacomsaid that with increased LTE coverage and a much wider range of
devices now available,they decidedto make LTE availableto its pre-paidand
top-up customers.
» “We started out with 70 LTE capablebase stations in Gauteng, and just five
months on [we're] approaching600 live LTE sites covering Johannesburg,
CapeTown, Pretoria and Durban,” said VodacomCEO, Shameel Joosub.
» Vodacomsaid it is investing more than R6 billion per yearin South Africa. At
current rates, the number of 3G base stations is growing at around 25% per
year.
» This is the reason Vodacom has 50% more 3G Internet than any other
operator,claimed the mobile network.
Source: MyBroadband, 25 March 2013
43. FACEBOOK REVAMPS NEWSFEED
WITH MOBILE-FIRST APPROACH
» Facebook HQ, Mark Zuckerbergunveiled a new look for news feed that uses
a “mobile-inspired” consistent design across devices, lets you drill into
specific content-type feeds, and offers larger images. Photo albums have
gotten a facelift as well to be more immersive, and links shared will have
longer blurb to preview what you’re about to click to.
» The roll out will be slow and careful so Facebook can get feedbackabout
what’s working and what’s not. Here’s our quick hands-on video of what the
redesign looks and feels like.
» Some other news feed design changes: check-ins to places now have a
larger map to show people exactly where you are; Pinterest posts to
Facebook are now more vivid,so what you see on Facebook “better reflects
what you see on Pinterest”; videos appearlarger; and if multiple friends share
the samepost, you’ll see their faces to the left of the post.
Source: TechCrunch, 7 March 2013
44. SA FACEBOOK USERS IN
ALARMING DECLINE
» Social network Facebook has continued to lose South Africa users in
February,accordingto data from social mediamonitoring firm, SocialBakers.
» The trend started towards the end of 2012, with Michal Wronski, MD of
information analysts,Fuseware, citing social media fatigue and boredom.
» Facebook has shed 293,000 users in South Africa in the last month alone, or
5.3% – only behind Japanout of the top 50 countries who boast the most
Facebook users. And worse still, as many as 815,040 users have left the site
over the past three months – a loss of 14.73%.
» South Africa is ranked32nd in terms of user numbers, with a penetration rate
of 11.29% comparedto the country’s populationand 89.75% in relation to
number of Internet users.
» The total number of Facebook users in South Africa now stands at 5.534
million, showing growth of approximately176,960 users in the last six
months.
Source: BusinessTech by MyBroadband, 8 March 2013
45. WHATSAPP TO EXTEND
SUBSCRIPTION MODEL TO IOS
» WhatsApp, the popularmobile messaging appthat eschews advertisingin
favor of a paid model, is getting ready to bring its iOS app in line with the appsit
makes for other platforms by turning it into an annual subscription service.
Jan Koum, WhatsApp’s CEO, says that the company is planning this yearto
shift its iOS appto one where new users would pay annually to keep using,
taking it away from a one-off download fee and bringing it in line with how it is
distributed on the Android, BlackBerry,Nokia and Windows Phone platforms.
» On the competitive landscape,WhatsApp is currently one of the most popular
messaging apps around,with 17 billion messages transmitted daily (7 billion
inbound and 10 billion outbound), with over 100 million users on Android
alone. But it is also facing challenges from the likes of messaging apps like
Line, which in January passed 100 million users across multiple platforms.
Line is free to download and it makes its revenues through in-apppurchases
for stickers and virtual currency for games and other content, alongside other
services like messaging and free voice calls, partof a strategy of presenting
itself as a social entertainment platform.
Source TechCrunch, 17 March 2013
46. MXIT LAUNCHES LATEST
J2ME APP
» African mobile social networking giant Mxit has launched the latest version of
it J2ME app,which it says draws heavily, when it comes to looks at least, from
its Android and BlackBerry10 apps.
» In an official blog post, Mxit said that the updated appcomes with a number of
new features, including an improveduser experience, in line with the Android
appand improvedprofile building with the inclusion of a user’s relationship
status.
» The most significant changes however appearto be in imaging. People with
feature phones will now apparentlybe able to send and receive large files,
view images in higher resolutions, zoom into pictures and use full screen
avatars.
» Given that the vast majority of Mxit’s users are still on feature phones,
updatingthe J2ME experience makes sense.
Source Memeburn, 27 March 2013
47. TRUE MXIT USER NUMBERS
REVEALED
» South African mobile networking platform,Mxit is looking to be more
transparentand clear about its active user numbers, which is sitting at 7
million using a 30-day metric.
» Over the pastfew years,reports of exact user numbers on Mxit have been
“fuzzy” – with official figures reaching a high of 12.5 million, as reported by
former CEO, Alan Knott Craigin July 2012.
» According to Mxit, previous figures were based on a 90-day metric (number of
active users over 90 days); however, at the end of 2012, Mxit changed its
metric to a more industry-standard30-day period.
» Locally, the numbers are checked across smaller time intervals, which
shows that Mxit is seeing 4.5 million active South African users over 7 days,
and 2.8 million users in one day.
» According to Mxit, 68% of its user base is between 18 and 35 years old, and
the gender breakdownis 54% male and 46% female.
Source: BusinessTech, 24 March 2013
48. JOINS THE BILLION MONTHLY
CLUB
» YouTube, the video sharing site says it has hit one billion monthly users on the
platform joining the likes of Facebook in that rather exclusive club. In a recent
blog post the site confirmed that it has hit a new milestone: “YouTube now
has more than a billion unique users every single month”.
» “In the last eight years you’ve come to YouTube to watch, share and fall in love
with videos from all over the world. Tens of thousands of partners have
created channels that have found and built businesses for passionate,
engaged audiences,” says the platform on its blog.
» This massive growth that it has seen has also been noticed by advertisers.
According to the Google-owned site “all of the Ad Age Top 100 brands are
now running campaignson YouTube”.
» What one billion monthly users means for YouTube is that almost one out of
every two people on the internet visits the platform. That a pretty big
command of the Internet populace.
Source: Memeburn, 22 March 2013
49. TWITTER TURNS 7
» They grow up so fast, don't they? When Jack Dorsey was setting up his twttr,
even he probablydidn'texpect the service to be this popular,or that he'd
become a household name in the process. After seven years,the social
network has 200 million active users, pumpingout 400 million tweets per day
-- of which we'd roughly estimate 90% of which is people being snarky about
the TV show they're watching. To celebrate, the companyhas put together a
video to takeyou through how Twitter has influenced the world.
» According to Twitter, over 200 million active users send more than 400 million
Tweets every day.
» See the video here: http://youtu.be/Bl-FpuehWGA
Source: Engadget, 21 March 2013
50. TWITTER AD REVENUE TO NEAR
$1BN IN 2014, THANKS TO MOBILE
» If all goes well, Twitter’s global ad revenue should hit a billion dollars by 2014,
says a recent eMarketer report.
» The researchfirm says this number comes in the wake of advertisers
showing “more interest in spending money on mobile advertisements on
Twitter”, which suggests that Twitter’s reach is improving. With more than
200-million monthly active users, Twitter is one of the top tier social networks
so an improved interest in mobile advertising is hardly surprising.
» “Twitter has ultimately benefited from the increased focus on mobile by
competitors like Google and Facebook,which have both expandedtheir own
mobile ad offerings and worked to convince advertisers to shift dollars to
mobile devices, says eMarketer.
» The microblogging platform launched of an Ads API recently which
eMarketersreckons will also contribute to incremental growth for Twitter
this year.
Source: Memeburn, 28 March 2013
51. SOCIAL NETWORK LAUNCH TO
MARK MANDELA DAY
» NdabaMandela,founder of the Africa Rising foundation, the grandsonof one
of the world’s most beloved statesmen and his friend Matthew Michelsen,
CEO and founder of Backplane,a Palo Alto-based startup that has $5.8
million in venture backingand is responsible for the enormously
popularLady Gaga social network LittleMonsters.com.
» Mandelaand Michelsen will launch Mandela.is,a social hub built around the
idea of giving backto the community. It will also help extend and amplify
celebrations around MandelaDay, which itself is meant to inspire change and
spur people to take action for the good of their communities.
» To mark MandelaDay and Madiba’s95th birthday,the grandchildrenare
hosting a series of high-profile events. The social network will help preserve
and protect Mandela’slegacy.
» At Mandela.is,people will be able to share thoughts and experiences via text,
photos, art, and video, as well as building up profiles on the site. Invitations to
use the site will at first be contained to ensure a steady build up of content and
quality.
Source: Mackson Okotie, 17 March 2013
