HTC starts pushing Android 8 Oreo update to their U Ultra units

March 9, 2018

More than eight months after HTC told users of their U Ultra that they would be getting the Android 8.0 push, the Asian OEM is now making good on its promise. If you have kept to your unit since the time of the announcement, you should be happy to know that the Taiwanese phone brand has now begun to serve the newest Android dessert to its U Ultra devices.

For now, it is confirmed that the update is rolling out in just India, Taiwan and Italy. After these regions though, it is sure that the update would move to other regions too. You should keep tapping the update button if you are impatient or just wait for the notification to show up on your device.

Before the update hits your unit, you might want to free up about 1.6GB of space. You should also plan ahead to use a strong WIFI network unless you are ready to incur additional mobile data charges. That being said, the massive download does not just bring the Android 8 Oreo on board. Even though that is what takes up the lion’s share, the update also comes with the January security patch. Now that we are in March, that is coming a little late. However, it is always better late than never.

During the first announcement of what devices would get the Oreo as at last year, HTC made mention of their U11 and HTC 10 units too. Both have already gotten their own pushes, so the U Ultra just rounds up the formation

First developer preview for Android P launched as timeline for development revealed

O. Christopher

March 8, 2018

First developer preview for Android P launched as timeline for development revealed

We are still loving the Android 8 Oreo dessert that Google has put on the table, but the Android OS giant might have set its sights to even bigger things.

According to a new report from the Android Developers website, the Android P beta will be out on the market as early as May. For those that do not know, there’s already a developer preview of the Android P in the market, and it came out yesterday (March 7).

When the second developer preview comes out for Android P in early May, that would mean the software has exited its alpha stage and moved onto beta testing. From there, we could have the possibility of an open beta testing where any and all members of the public will be able to check out what the Android P will entail upon launch.

As the timeline progresses into early June, we will start to get their developer preview. That will be accompanied by updates such as the addition of final APIs and Play publishing. DP4 will be the version that the candidate can go on to test again. While that would still be unstable, we would be getting ready for the final thing. By the time we get DP5 in August, there would be just a matter of few weeks before the official version of the new dessert is unveiled.

From now, that is a good six months to look at. Of course, we are excited to learn everything that Google plans for us this time around. While we wait though, would you like to guess what the P could possibly mean?

Google updates Search app for iOS, includes iMessage support, ‘drag and drop’ and more

O. Christopher

March 6, 2018

Google updates Search app for iOS, includes iMessage support, ‘drag and drop’ and more

Google announced sometimes last week that they are actively working on some changes to the Search app that will make searches even better for users. They have started to keep to their word with a new improvement, but only iOS users can have it for now.

According to a new announcement by the Android OS giant, Apple-ware users now get a handful of new features on the Search app. Of all the changes the app gets, the most important one is the iMessage extension. Users can use this to search and share media (GIFs, videos, pictures, etc) when chatting with contacts. Locations of places such as restaurants and bars are not also left out of things that can be shared with this extension.

New icons such as ‘Food’ and ‘Nearby’ now ensures that iOS users can share their favourite places, share a card into an ongoing conversation and perform searches between chats. The great news is that you don’t have to update your app to get these new features, provided you already have the Google app installed on your unit.

Asides the iMessage support, Google also includes a neat feature that helps you explore the web better from your Safari browser. Sharing a webpage with the Google app will lead you to various suggestions about related content, helping you learn more about the topic you have shared about. We should note that this feature can be used with other browsers in your phone asides Safari too.

With an iPad that runs at least iOS 11, you will find out that you can now use the drag and drop feature to search, save or share files. Be it a text, image or link, everything can be dragged and dropped from the comfort of the all-new Google app.

For now, this iMessage support is being rolled out in the US. As time goes on, Google promises to make it available for even more regions to take advantage of

Groupe PSA captures 11.6% market share in Africa, sees revenue rise by 20.7% overall

O. Christopher

March 5, 2018

Groupe PSA – the brand that is behind the likes of OPEL Omega and Citroen – has posted its earnings for the year 2017, and they would hope to keep soaring in this new way. According to the data released by the company, the internal revenue has climbed a massive 20.7% as compared to what was obtainable in the year 2016.

While the company has been able to record a larger percentage of their sales in the European markets, they also have the Middle Eastern and African markets to thank for this massive upwards trend.

Speaking on the new, impressive statistics, the Chairman of the Groupe PSA Managing Board, Carlos Tavares, said

Our agile, customer focused and socially responsible approach is making the difference.

A lot of the success that Groupe PSA has recorded can be attributed to a series of executive decisions that they have made over time. The Groupe was able to bear the effect of negative exchange rates by releasing new models that more than compensated for their losses.

They then went on to initiate a product mix and various cost reduction strategies which saw them keep their heads above water even when the prices of raw materials were further going up through the roof.

In the African markets, Groupe PSA proudly sold a massive 618,800 units. The OPEL brand was well represented, taking no less than 26,800 of the total number. That ensures the brand can now lay claim to a market share of 11.7% while still gunning for their goal of selling 700,000 units in the region by 2021.

At this rate, and with the expert management the company is under right now, that doesn’t seem like such a fleeting idea.

To further cement its drive, car manufacturing plants have been set up in each of Morocco, Kenya and Ethiopia. Still expanding its base, pen has been put to a contract that would see one of such local manufacturing points spring up in Oran of Algeria.

Microsoft makes special version of Skype to work on older models of Android

O. Christopher

March 2, 2018

Microsoft makes special version of Skype to work on older models of Android

Microsoft is crossing the OS barrier to please Android users who are still using old models of phones run on the operating system. In recent news, the Mountain View company announced that they have optimised their Skype for Android application to work well on older units of Android.

For now, that support is extended to those who have Android devices still on versions 4.0.3 to the 5.1 Lollipop.

The optimised Skype has a smaller size compared to the normal one and will take less memory too. All that will ensure the app runs smoother, better and makes better audio/ video calls.

Microsoft even promises that the application will be able to cope better in areas with challenging network conditions. It almost seems like this is a Lite version of the application as many top app developers have now been releasing.

The application is yet to hit the Play Store. It is expected that initial rollout starts in a few days. Still, it would take a few days before the application reaches all regions.

Lagos State Government to train 1 Million Coders by 2030

O. Christopher

March 1, 2018

Lagos State Government to raise 1 Million Coders by 2030

The Lagos State Government has a plan in place to ensure that more than one million people have been trained in the art of coding by the year 2030. This was made known at the sixth edition of Social Media Week that is scheduled to round up today, March 2^nd.

It is believed that this is just the kind of move needed to make residents not only marketable in the local job sector but able to compete effectively with other professionals in the international job market.

Rendering a speech titled ‘Teaching One Million Lagosians to Code,’ the Special Adviser to the government on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh said

The Lagos population is 65 percent young, so you have to give them skills that will make them successful. How do we ensure that the workforce in Lagos succeeds? Technology has to play a role. We want Lagos to continue to prosper and the average workplace continue to deliver.

Backing up the decision, Obafela continued that the skills acquired through coding will stay with one for life, and the proceeds would be beneficial to both the individual and the government in the future. He also stated that this is not something the government can take on alone.

He thus called on private and public bodies to rally behind the novel idea so as to make it possible.

Finally, he made known that the program will not be aimed at just teaching people. It would rather be directed at making sure everyone that partakes is empowered and given something they can fall back on.

Facebook Messenger gets new update, aims to improve businesses

O. Christopher

February 27, 2018

Facebook Messenger gets new update, aims to improve businesses

2018 seems to be the year of the Facebook Messenger application. Having already seen a number of updates this year, the application now has a new version that would help businesses interact with their customers better.

The new Messenger v2.3 packs tools such as customer chat, Quick Replies and message tags that would facilitate easier and smoother interactions between the business and the customer.

Quick Replies has been a Messenger feature since 2016 but it has now been improved to guide business bots on better ways of interacting with customers. One of the important improvements is a neat feature that allows you send an automatic message to someone who asks for your business information. Once such a request is made, the bots can easily fill in the contact addresses on your Facebook profile.

The newly-added support for Internet Explorer can be used to fully enjoy chat plugin supports across the new version. Notifications, persistent menu and such other relevant chat information can now be better customised to suit the business. That is also one way to keep track of the numbers.

Speaking of numbers, open messaging and new messaging conversations are two new metrics that have been put in place to help businesses better determine how much people engage them. To cap it all off, message tags – similar to the smart reply system on Gmail and related Google applications – now make a faster way to reply questions issued by customers.

Don’t forget to put a personalised feel on everything lest you lose customers.

9Mobile sale: Barclays declares Teleology Holdings the preferred bidder, could still lose spot to Smile Holdings

O. Christopher

February 22, 2018

9Mobile sale: Barclays declares Teleology Holdings the preferred bidder, could still lose spot to Smile Holdings

Barclays Africa has put a much-needed end to the debate that has ensued in the case of who gets the remains of 9Mobile – the network that metamorphosed from the Etisalat brand name.

While speculations had already pointed fingers at Teleology Holdings, an official letter from the financial advisor confirms this. In the letter, it is also stated that Teleology pays a non-refundable sum of $50 million on or before 21 days to the time of writing the letter. For the records, the letter was dated 21^st February.

On February 11, 2018, the NCC claimed that it had no information as to whom the new owner of 9Mobile would be since they were yet to receive any information from Barclays. As from now, Teleology can now count themselves the lucky owners of 9Mobile after a dragged-out acquisition process.

Emerging as the preferred bidder, Teleology was granted a 30-day timeframe to conduct all inside checks and finalise financial aspects of the deal.

Some of the privileged information that the communications house will be privy to include, but are not limited to, financial records of 9Mobile and the opportunity to seek further clarifications as concerns the brand.

Currently, the onus is on Teleology to either go forward with the deal or like Airtel, pull out at the last minute too. As a precaution, the preferred bidder spot will be lost to Smile Holdings Limited. This provision will kick into play should Teleology fail to follow through with the indicated amount and in the stated time frame too.

Nuance Communications announces an end to Swype keyboard, focuses on AI for Business

O. Christopher

February 20, 2018

Nuance Communications announces an end to Swype keyboard, focuses on AI for Business

Swype – one of the most popular keyboard units on the Android operating system – will no longer receive updates. This was made known by the management of the company behind the keyboard technology, Nuance Communications, who have decided to discontinue the application altogether. It should be noted that this is coming at a time when several users of the keyboard are still reporting bugs on the application.

Nuance might have no plan to pull the application from the Google Play Store though. Should a user still be interested in it, they can get the latest version. However, on the iOS app store, there will be no traces of the application whatsoever.

In the starting days of Swype, they were able to break into a lot of markets and gain popularity due to being the official keyboard app that came with most Huawei devices. Now, the business would be looking at focusing on AI solutions that could be sold directly to the top buyers – businesses.

That is surely going to be a major blow to those who have come to trust the keyboard for all their typing needs. The good news is that there are still a number of great choices worth considering out there. One of them is the Gboard offered by Google, and another is the SwiftKey application developed by Microsoft. Both are still available on the iOS and Android stores and get regular updates to keep them going.

Samsung patents wearable technology to measure your blood pressure

O. Christopher

February 15, 2018

Samsung patents wearable technology to measure your blood pressure

Samsung – and a good number of other brands – have been able to work the technology behind smartwatches (and even bands) measuring the heart rate of the wearer. However, there has not been any announcement as to the measurement of blood pressure.

That is because to obtain such data as the blood pressure of a person, you would need something that fits tight. Samsung believes a tight-fitting wearable is not going to be fun, so they might be working towards a light-fitting one instead.

According to drawings from a new patent filed by the South Korean tech giant, the world might be looking at the first blood pressure wearable in a few months or years to come. The patents are for a unit named the Samsung Gear X with drawings accompanying them on what the unit would look like.

Anyone would agree that these are not different from the other Gear wearables from the same manufacturer, so it might just be the addition of this feature that sets it out from the rest

To the inner workings, the watch would shine polarised light into the skin and through some complex calculations, measure the scattering of the light. With that, it would be able to relay the blood pressure of the user. For this to happen though, you will have to keep the watch tight on your skin. Before you make a complaint, remember that wearables with heart rate sensors only work when they are kept tight too.

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