HP Sprout Pro launched at Rs. 150,000

January 21, 2016

American global IT firm, Hewlett Packard, has announced an upgrade to its creative Sprout computer, tagged the HP Sprout Pro.

The HP Sprout, launched nearly two years ago, is HP’s effort toward re-imagining the venerable personal computer by merging a 3D scanner and projector with an all-in-one PC to create an ensemble it hopes will rekindle industry interest.

The computer is meant for product designers, sporting a touch-sensitive mat, and ability to measure 2D and 3D objects that are placed on it. It however is not limited to designers alone and has many other uses.

The new variant offers specifications upgrade over the original Sprout, coupled with a range of suites. It has a starting price of $2,199 (roughly 450,000 Naira) and will begin shipping in select regions as from next month.

The HP Sprout Pro sports a 23-inch full-HD display (1920×1080 pixels) with support for 10-point touch. The PC is powered by a sixth-generation Intel Core i7-6700 processor with Nvidia GeForce GT 945A (1GB GDDR5) graphics card and 8GB of DDR4-2133 SDRAM- which is expandable up to 16GB. The Pro version of the HP Sprout also comes with 1TB SATA solid state hybrid drive with an 8GB flash drive. A 1-megapixel webcam was also added to the mix.

Other features of the computer include the HP Illuminator, a built-in projector sporting up to 14.6-megapixel camera and the Intel RealSense 3D camera which is expected to instantly capture 2D and 3D objects.

There’s also a 20-inch mat called the ‘HP Touch Mat’, which features 20-point touch-enabled feedback with an ultra-resistant top coating. It serves as a second monitor as well as keyboard and mouse input devices. The company also offers the Adonit Jot Pro stylus to write and draw. The PC runs Windows 10 Pro out of the box.

The HP Sprout Pro supports 10/100/1000 Base-T Network, Bluetooth 4.0, and Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n featuring dual-band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) 2×2 MIMO technology. There are two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, and an HP 3-in-1 media card reader on the desktop computer.

HP also announced a range of new apps that will go along with the HP Sprout Pro. One of them is HP Scan, which brings professional-level document scanning, and HP External Display Mixer.

BBM design contest launched in Nigeria; winner to get N500k

Emmanuel

January 20, 2016

Blackberry Limited in a move to add distinctly local chat icons (aka Stickers) to the BBM messaging app has launched a BBM design contest in Nigeria.

In order to participate, interested candidates only need to create their signature stickers and enroll in the contest. The designs will then be subjected to votes and twenty packs with the most votes will be selected. A BBM jury will be appointed to select 3 top winners and 10 runners-up out of the pack.

To stand a chance of coming out tops, candidates can encourage their friends and family to vote online for their sticker pack. They can also promote what they have created via social media. Interested candidates are required to register on or before February 12, 2016. Voting will begin on February 8 and end on February 19. The winners of the contest will be announced on February 22.

First prize winner will cart home NGN 500,000 while the second and third place winners will be awarded NGN 250,000 and NGN 125,000 respectively. The 10 runners-up will receive NGN 25,000 each while NGN 10,000 worth of recharge card will be awarded to 20 voters. Also, all top 3 winners will be featured on the BBM Sticker Shop and receive sales revenue.

Senior VP at BlackBerry, Matthew Talbot, is expecting a huge turnout.

“In Africa, the BBM Shop gets over 20 million views each month and has tallied 60 million total stickers sent and received,” he said.
“This contest opens the doors for more talented artists and designers to make their own unique stickers come to life in BBM, and we are hoping to see huge enthusiasm in Nigeria,” he added.

Interested candidates can visit the BBM Stickamania page to learn more, read the design guide and register.

The contest was held in South Africa last year and winners . The winners won exciting prizes including iMac, MacBooks and Blackberry Z10.

Sony PlayStation VR Headset gets Priced in Switzerland

Jia Khan

January 20, 2016

2016 is definitely going to be the year of VR. With Oculus, HTC and Valve unveiling their VR headsets at CES 2016, the show was dominated by VR.

In the midst of this VR hype, Japanese multinational Sony is set to release its PlayStation VR headset later in 2016. Thus far, Sony has maintained a strict radio silence on the pricing as well as the launch date of this headset, codenamed Morpheus.

The surprise came in from Switzerland, where the Sony PlayStation VR headset was spotted on the websites of three online retailers. The website listings give out the price of the Sony VR headset.

Sony PlayStation VR headset will be available for purchase at 498 Swiss francs which is equivalent to £347. This implies that Sony PlyStation VR headset will be competitively priced because the listed price is considerably less than that of Rift VR which is priced at £499.

The website also revealed that Sony VR headset will be available for purchase from 30^th June.

The recent leaks signify that Japanese tech giant is nearing the announce of a release date for PlayStation VR ensuing pre-order of the RIFT in the previous month.

In addition, a NeoGAF user also released screenshots of the bill for the PlayStation VR, with cost around €450 to €500. The price is in accordance with what professionals have already predicted for the device.

Sony’s CEO (entertainment section) reported last year that the device would cost same as any fresh gaming platform. The recently revealed price tags are in accordance with the statement. Sony said previously that

“VR rewrites the rule book on how you can create games. You’re seeing a large amount of interest and work happening among smaller teams, because it’s possible to create something in VR that is very simple but still very magical.”

Since the company is still silent regarding the VR headset price, the costs mentioned on these websites could serve as an educated guess.

Nigeria-Cameroon Submarine Cable System is live

Emmanuel

January 12, 2016

Installation of the Nigeria-Cameroon Submarine Cable System (NCSCS), which started in July 2015, has been completed and the system has now gone live.

The infrastructure was built following a tripartite partnership between leading telecoms and network service provider, MainOne, Cameroun’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, and Huawei Marine Networks.

The submarine cable system which connects Lagos in Nigeria and Kribi in Cameroon was built to address increasing demand for reliable broadband connectivity in Cameroon. It is also a key component of the country’s plan to provide internet access to its citizens via a National Broadband Network.

The six-pair 1,100 kilometer repeater submarine cable system is expected to deliver up to 12.8 Tbps to broadband users in Cameroon and was lit with a 40 GB capacity from Day 1.

The system is also expected to boost Cameroon’s extremely low broadband penetration which is currently estimated at five percent (5%).

“The NCSCS system enables us to provide users with faster bandwidth connectivity at a significantly lower cost,”

General Manager of Cameroon Telecommunications Corporation (CAMTEL), David Nkoto Emane, said in a press release.

“By providing direct connection to Nigeria, the cable system will also serve to enhance Cameroon’s position as the major bandwidth hub in the region and internationally to Europe and beyond,”

he added.

MainOne’s Regional Executive for West Africa, Kazeem Oladepo, corroborated this assertion.

“Nigeria’s South-South region and Cameroon now have the platform to leverage the same quality of access to the Internet to catalyze social, economic and technological development,”

he quipped.

“As part of our strategy to boost West Africa’s economic and commercial development, we will continue to make deliberate and significant investments in connectivity projects that will facilitate increased access to broadband,”

he added.

The submarine cable system was built with branching units for extension of its connectivity into Nigeria’s Escravos in Delta State, Qua Iboe in Akwa Ibom State, and Bonny Island in Rivers State.

Also, plans for a distribution hub in Port Harcourt has been concluded. The hub will be designed to bridge the technology gap between the South-South and the rest of Nigeria.

Silver Internet Holdings budgets $10m for African tech startups

Emmanuel

January 12, 2016

South African company, Silver Internet Holdings (SIH), has announced that it is setting aside $10 million to invest in African Startups in 2016 through its investment arm, Silvertree Capital.

The company has an array of eCommerce platforms including Click ‘n’ Compare, Healthcart and PriceCheck which it recently acquired from Naspers. These platforms helped the Cape Town-based firm to have a successful year 2015.

SIH managed to close the year at a 330% p.a growth with a 25 million consumer base. This brought the revenue it has made since it began operation- which is just shy of two years, to $10 million.

The company is now looking to invest the $10 million it has made in upcoming talented online companies to join its fast-expanding owner-operator portfolio.

Managing Director and Founder of SIH, Manuel Koser, is looking forward to more acquisitions.

“Our meteoric growth in 2015 has been driven by execution-focused delivery across all of our portfolio companies, as well as a number of company acquisitions that are already delivering positive returns,”

he proclaimed.

“Our job now is to build on this momentum to maintain our aggressive growth trajectory and cement our dominance in the African eCommerce and price comparison markets,”

he said.

“We are in the business of building businesses, through accelerated, highly targeted investment and growth strategies, with proven businesses,”

SIH co-founder Peter Allerstorfer pointed out. According to him, the company is neither an incubator nor a VC.

“We are entrepreneurs who invest in like-minded entrepreneurs. Our search for young, dynamic, hungry talent who want to scale faster and outpace their competitors, will be a key focus for us in 2016,”

he said.

The South African Company looks to invest in tech-powered, niche commerce companies, first in South Africa and then spreading to other emerging markets in Africa.

“Searching for top tier talent to invest in and work with will be a key focus for the Silvertree team in 2016, starting in South Africa, but with an eye on other emerging markets on the continent, specifically Nigeria and Kenya,”

Silvertree founder and MD, Paul Cook said.

Nikon announces D5 and D500 DSLRs, KeyMission 360 Action Cam

Jia Khan

January 9, 2016

Japanese multinational Nikon’s press event at CES 2016 featured the company’s latest baby- action snappers.

Dust had not even settled over Nikon’s previous disclosure of the D5, the latest 4K DSLR flagship, when the new surprise was revealed.

KeyMission 360 is a 360-degree, 4K resolution action shooter constructed with virtual reality approach. The company has confirmed that a new line of action cameras is on its way.

Although detailed information is yet to be divulged, Nikon KeyMission 360 encapsulates a cuboid design.As compared to GoPro Hero4 Session, the size of KeyMission 360 is a bit on the larger side.

The Nikon KeyMission 360 is shockproof to 6.6 ft (nearly 2 meters) and is also water-resistant up to 100ft. The design of the camera is such that it can be seated on different platforms.

As per the specifications on the cover, it appears that this latest action camera from Nikon will come with an inbuilt Wi-Fi and Bluetooth options, apparently to allow a tablet or a smartphone to act as the camera’s viewfinder.

Nikon D5 and D500 are also inline. These flagships are company’s two latest digital SLR cameras. D5 flaunts a FX format CMOS 20.8MP sensor that comes with an ability to capture 4K UHD 30P videos.

The Nikon Camera also features an auto-focus Multi-CAM sensor module. Other specs include 100% inclusion viewfinder, Ethernet for quick file transferring and double memory card support.

D500 on the other hand comes with a DX-Format 20.9MP CMOS sensor. The device also encapsulates an ability to shoot 4K UHD videos and sports auto-focus multi-CAM 20K sensor module.

In terms of price, the D5 (only body) will cost around $6500 whereas D500 (only body) will set back its users around $2000.

The details regarding battery life, pricing and market launch of KeyMission 360 action camera are yet to be revealed.

The action camera arena has largely been dominated by Go Pro. Inclusion of big wigs like Nikon will toughen up the race.

Samsung brings Slim, Sleek models of the Notebook 9 Series

Jia Khan

January 9, 2016

The South Korean electronics giant Samsung has added two new models to its Notebook 9 series. The newly released notebook versions are available in 13.3-inches and 15-inches respectively.

These latest additions to Samsung Notebook 9 lineup are super slim and absolutely light weight. The design and manufacturing of these two notebooks have exclusively been focused on flexibility, efficiency and performance. Therefore, magnesium metal alloy has been used for design and manufacturing purposes.

The 15-inch model weighs around 2.84 lbs and comes with 346.5 × 236.8 × 14.5 mm dimensions. On the other hand, smaller 13.3-inches variant has been measured at 313.8 × 218.5 × 13.4 mm.

Both laptops feature the fast charging technology which allows the gadgets to charge at a super-fast rate. These laptops can be charged in a mere 20 minutes with the battery lasting for approximately 10 to 12 hours.

Other details include full HD PLS display that comes with a wide viewing angle. Samsung Notebook 9 series laptop display also embraces180 degree axis.

Both versions come with an anti-glare coating that allows users to conveniently use the device in the daylight. The device is powered by Windows 10 OS and uses Sky-Lake U sixth-Gen by Intel platform.

In terms of storage both the models share similar specs that are 128GB/256GB and 4/8GB of RAM respectively. The 15-inches version offers 39 Wh battery whereas 13.3-inch comes with a 30 Wh battery.

As per company’s senior VP Gary Riding, the new Notebook 9 devices will provide all-day battery support, astonishing displays, efficient connectivity options and superior functionality. For now, there has been no word regarding the cost of these devices.

Apparently the devices are targeted at those Samsung consumers who are eager to do more work in less time and for those who favor amenity and automation approach.

And this is not it. Besides making excellent user-friendly devices for workaholics, the company is also taking it a step further by upgrading their internet of things (IoT) and other home devices.

Samsung new Notebook 9 laptops launches

Emmanuel

January 9, 2016

Samsung has introduced two new ridiculously light and beautiful Notebook 9 laptops at the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas.

The Notebook 9 laptops are in two variants – a 13-inch and a larger 15-inch variant. The 13-inch variant packs a 13-inch display with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels while the 15-inch variant sports a 15 inches FHD display with the same resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels.

The full-HD display is touted to provide superior brightness with a wide angle and low-reflective screen. It is expected to offer a comfortable viewing experience from a variety of positions.

Both variants have various designs, including Material, Color Mg, Iron Silver and Modern Pink. The laptops are both pretty light – the 15-inch variant weighs 1.29 kg while the 13-inch variant weighs a mere 840 grams.

The Notebook 9 laptops under the hood are run by Intel’s SkyLake-U processors, and are available in Intel’s Core i5 or Core i7 processors. They also come with either 4GB or 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM.

As for the internal storage, Samsung is offering two options for both of the Notebook 9 variants: you can get 128 GB (SSD) storage or 256 GB (SSD) storage which is pretty good.

The 15-inch Notebook 9 comes with a 5,120 mAh battery while the 13-inch variant packs a 4,000 mAh battery.

The 15-inch variant can provide battery life for up to 12 hours, and it also comes with the Quick Charging feature which enables it to charge fully in just 20 minutes. The 13.3-inch version offers up to 10 hours of battery life on one charge.

The Notebook 9 also come with enhanced security. It sports the new Security CAM feature which allows users to take and send photos through an equipped camera to a pre-registered email in case of theft.

Other security features including Pattern Log-in, Secret Screen, and Record Block help users to protect their private files and information.

Samsung says the Notebook 9 will be available with Windows 10 Pro in early 2016, but didn’t mention anything about pricing details.

Chevy Debuts its Bolt Electric Car at CES, promises 200-Mile Range

John Adebimitan

January 9, 2016

Just as expected, Chevrolet unveiled its new electric automobile, the Chevy Bolt. The much awaited vehicle was unveiled after the company gave its keynote address at CES 2016.

Going at a retail price of $30,000 after all federal tax credits, the car will be sporting a 200-mile range; in addition to that, the car will also be coming with some other features that have made it one of the costliest electric cars around.

Due to its features and specs, the car will be going into stiff competition with other car makers like Nissan and BMW; the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3 do not run 200 miles on a charge, even the future Tesla’s low cost cars and Chevy’s very own Chevrolet Spark even costs much less than the Bolt and that’s why their range is quite less.

Over a year ago, the company had previewed the Chevrolet Bolt and from the preview, we saw that the car will be sporting Chevy’s MyLink infotainment system that comes with a 10.2-inch colored touch screen.

The car also comes with a rear camera mirror and a feature called ‘surround vision’. The surround vision uses four cameras to give the driver a 360-degree view of what is going on around the car.

The surround vision feature is only active while parking because the company has considered that it will be distracting drivers if the feature is used when driving. The rear camera mirror also works so well that not even the passengers or the seats in the back can obstruct your views.

You can also integrate the Chevrolet Bolt with your Smartphone and you will be enjoying a personalized home screen whenever your Smartphone is connected.

The Bolt which also supports a fast-charging mode features a support for Android Auto and Apple Car Play. The company also announced that it will be releasing a mobile app for the drivers in order to be able to know more about their cars on their mobile devices.

NASA gets $55m funding to build human habitat for Mars

Emmanuel

December 31, 2015

The American government has demonstrated its desire for NASA to speed up work on sending humans on deep space exploration missions, including Mars.

As a result, the United States has released a huge amount of money for building the Mars-bound space habitat termed “habitation augmentation module.”

Earlier this month, the United States Congress announced that it was upping its budget for NASA by $1.3 billion to $19.3 billion in 2016.

Recent developments have pointed to the fact that a chunk of that money was earmarked to help bolster the agency’s plans for a Martian mission.

It has now become evident that Congress directed NASA to use $55 million of its $19.3 billion budget to begin building a deep space habitat that will house astronauts during future exploratory missions to the red planet.

NASA was given until 2018 to develop a decent prototype model of the “habitation module,” and the agency is expected to produce a report on the status of the program in 180 days.

NASA said it hopes to launch a crewed mission to Mars by the 2030s, and to begin cislunar (between Earth and the moon) testing of a workable habitat by the 2020s.

Although the agency has already started working with companies like Bigelow Aerospace, Boeing and Orbital ATK to study habitat designs, the new funding and directive from Congress, could speed things up.

For now, though, very little is known about the habitat, including its requirements and how it will be built.

“It’s much too early for that,” Sam Scimemi, International Space Station director at NASA Headquarters said according to SpaceNews.

“As soon as I put a picture up there, somebody is going to assume what the configuration is,”

he added.

In a small yet significant preparation to send astronauts to Mars, NASA engineers have welded together the first two segments of the Orion crew module that will fly atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on a mission beyond the far side of the Moon.

SLS is one of the most experienced large rocket engines in the world, with more than a million seconds of ground test and flight operations time.

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