It is no longer news that the mobile phone is a multi-functional device. Mobile phone users all over the world are doing much more with their phones than just making phone calls. To them, the mobile device has become an indispensable part of their everyday lives.

The question however is, ‘How are South Africans using their mobile phones?’

To give us an idea, we refer to a study carried out by a Johannesburg-based research company Synovate.

According to the study, 84% of South Africans say they simply cannot live without their mobile phones and that they use them for all kinds of things. Nothing new there. The question is, what are those things and in what proportions are they used?

Here are key points from the study:
• 87 percent use the alarm-clock function.
• 82 percent use their phone cameras to snap pictures.
• 66 percent listen to or download music on their phones.
• 71 percent play games on their phones.
• 46 percent use their phones for internet browsing.
• 47 percent watch video clips on their phones.

Now that you have an idea, we would love to hear from you. How are you using your mobile phone?

The information above was lifted from the Y’ello magazine, a quarterly magazine published by MTN South Africa.

The Nokia E71 is a phone that was released at a time when there existed in Nokia a dichotomy between enterprise and multimedia smartphones. The Nokia E71 belonged in the category of the E-series devices with the E tag standing for enterprise. Thankfully, today that dichotomy no longer exists. In my opinion, the distinction between those two categories was pointless.

It’s been three years since the release of the E71, and I am amazed at how much relevant it still is in today’s smartphone space. While the E71 has limitations due to lack of certain hardware and perhaps software present in today’s smartphones, you still will not feel very much left out carrying one around today.

My reason for saying this is really simple: much of what can be done with today’s smartphones can also be done with the E71. Period.

I have been carrying one around for a week now, and eish! It is delivering very well.

1. This is still a very beautiful and very well built phone
2. It is still enjoying support from the manufacturer.
3. This guy takes care of all my social networking needs.
4. I am able to edit and view office files on it, be they Word, Excel or Powerpoint. As a matter of fact, I am writing this article with the E71.
5. With Joikuspot Premium installed, I am able to use it as wi-fi hotspot.
6. This baby lets me use keyboard shortcuts when typing and editing documents.
7. It’s got very impressive battery life.
8. When it’s time to get my groove on, I launch the music player and blast away. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the gist.
9. While I won’t get the Nokia N8 picture quality from it, the 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash manages to snap decent photos.
10. I know I won’t be able to have an erotic conversation with the delectable lady Siri on the E71, but I am still able to initiate a call by telling my phone to call someone from my contact list using the voice command feature.

There you have it! Three years running, and the E71 is still rocking. That’s impressive.

I must admit, to my shame, that I am one of those Nigerians who think that the price we pay for internet access is exhorbitant. Of course, this kind of thinking is based absolutely on ignorance of what is happening in other parts of the world. Had we been properly informed and educated, we would know that we are in Heaven in Nigeria as far as internet access is concerned.

For example, when you recharge with N200 on Etisalat, you get 15MB of data free to use for the monthweek. We should simply ask ourselves, Does this happen on Etisalat in other parts of the world? While I haven’t done my research, my guess is that the answer to that question will most definitely surprise us.

I recently came to South Africa to live and work. Naturally, I would need to choose an internet plan to use so I can continue to represent Mobility and keep in touch with the world. I had been told that as far as tarrifs go, MTN is the network to look at. So I decided to continue the tradition of “Every Where You Go”.

You can imagine my surprise when I checked out their prices for the different range of internet bundles they offer, and compared it with what obtains on MTN in Nigeria. The difference was too clear. The tariffs for internet access on MTN South Africa are certainly higher than that of MTN Nigeria.

Here Is The Comparison
For starters, Pay-as-you-use internet on MTN SA cost R2.00 Per MB (N40.00).
On MTN Nigeria, it cost 155kobo per KB which translates to N50.00 per MB

1day plan with 150MB data cap on MTN SA cost R50.00 (N1,000.00).
The same plan on MTN Nigeria costs N500.00

1GB data plan on MTN SA cost R289.00 (N5,780.00)
The same plan on MTN Nigeria costs N5,000.00

2GB data plan MTN SA cost R389.00 (N7,780.00)
5GB data plan MTN Nigeria cost N8,000.

As we can see, the figures speak for themselves. In my uneducated opinion, I would expect that internet tarrif in SA would be cheaper as they don’t need to power their cell sites with generators, and they do not need to spend money on diesel to keep those generators running like their Nigerian counterparts do.

For all it is worth, MTN Nigeria and other networks are working miracles to bring us internet access at the price they do, given all they have to deal with in our environment.

If your device runs Android 2.2 and above, you can expect an update to the Android Market app on your device in a couple of weeks time.

Google has revealed, through it’s official blog, that an update to the Android Market is due in a couple of weeks. This update brings a new and improved UI to the market and makes it much more easier to find apps.

Besides bringing users new ways to find great applications and games, U.S-specific additions include the ability to purchase books, and rent movies. This means that U.S. users will be able to rent thousands of movies, starting at $1.99, right from Android Market on their devices.

Other new features that have also been added include: “Staff Choices” and “Editor’s Choice”. These are supposed to help you see what apps Google staff are using on their Android devices.

The Google Mobile blog says:
You’ll be delighted to find we’ve overhauled Android Market to make it faster, easier, and more fun to discover great apps, movies, and books. We’ve created more space to feature some of the most interesting content of the week on the home page. We’ve added more top charts, with newer, more relevant items, and we’ve made it easy to swipe through these charts as you browse the store. We’ve also introduced new collections of great content, like staff picks and Editors’ Choice apps.

We will bring you more when we have spent some time with it. In the mean time here are some screen shots of what it looks like on the Galaxy Tab.

Source

It is no news that the iPad (like all other iOS devices) does not play Xvid/Divx, MKV and other video codecs out-of-the-box. It is the Apple way, and there are only two choices available to you:

1. Conform – convert all your video files that are not compatible with the iPad’s video player to a compatible format
2. Work around it – you will need to find an alternative to the built-in video player to play almost all video codecs, so that the need to convert is completely eliminated

The question then will be, Which do you prefer? Me? I prefer the workaround for a very simple reason – Freedom. I am able to freely use my videos on any platform that I choose. For those of you that are like me, who prefer the alternative, I present to you OplayerHD Lite for iPad.

OplayerHD Lite for iPad is a free (yes, you heard right, I said free) multi-format video player built specifically for the iPad. It does its job well for an application that is free. I threw all manner of 720p HD videos at it, and it played them smoothly without issues. The majority of my video files are Xvid/Divx and MKV and the application plays them well.

A plus for this video player is that it allows you to choose the aspect ratio you prefer to watch your videos in, whether it’s the 16:9 or 4:3. I particularly like the 4:3 aspect ratio as it allows the video to fill the whole screen. I must say that this is not the default aspect ratio, and you will have to go to the settings to change it.

Be warned that because this application is free, it is ad supported. The adverts are displayed while your video is playing, but they do not get in the way. In my case, the adverts are a minor annoyance that I can live with, since as I said before, they do not get in the way.

Once the application is installed, the only other hurdle to jump is actually getting your video files onto it so you can enjoy watching them. In order to do that, you will have to read Yomi’s tutorial on how to transfer your Documents to the iPad. The process is the same.

Now that your videos are on your iPad, it is time to bring out the pop corn, sit back and enjoy your movies. OplayerHD Lite for iPad is available for download from the Apple app store.

Over the weekend, I successfully updated the firmware on my Samsung Galaxy Tab to the latest version. No, it’s not Android version 2.3 (Gingerbread). I know that’s what most Galaxy Tab owners are looking for. Unfortunately that’s not what I got.

It has to be said, though, that the update is a very welcomed one. As a matter of habit, every now and then I plug my Tablet to the computer and launch Samsung Kies just to see if an update was available for the Tab. On Sunday night, after connecting the Tab to my computer, I got a prompt notifying me that there was a firmware update available for my Tab. The prompt showed my firmware version before the update as PDA: JJ1/PHONE: JI4/CSC: JK3(ECT) and the latest version to update to as PDA: JMS/PHONE: JM2/CSC: JM5(ECT).

I clicked the update button and got the Tab updated to the latest version. After the tablet did a reboot, the first thing I noticed was that the general display of the Tab was cleaner and smoother. Colours used in the different built-in applications’ menu interface were made lighter which made it feel like I was interacting with a different device. Another aspect of the visual improvement that came with the update is seen in the on-screen QWERTY keyboard.

Beyond cosmetics, the update brought additional functionality to the Tab. I immediately noticed that a calculator application came with the update. You see, the Tab didn’t originally come with a calculator (an omission that didn’t make sense). Also, Social Hub was added to the feature list of the Galaxy Tab, but I am not sure anyone will use it much. It’s a pointless addition, in my opinion. The contact application got both a facelift and added functionality that reduces the number of steps it takes to make a call.

It would have been great though if this was implemented in all the applications. It takes too many steps to get anything done in Android, and that is what irritates me the most about the Android UI.

As I notice other changes brought by the update, I will definitely let you know. In the meantime, the Galaxy Tab feels different, though I would have loved to see Gingerbread right now instead.

In considering buying a Tablet PC, what screen size would you consider just the right size for you and why?

Yomi has said that the 8.9-inch size is his cup of tea. Me? I prefer the 7-inch screen size. My reasons are simple.

1. I am able to conveniently carry it around without a carrying case.

2. It fits well into most of my trouser pockets; and no, they were not bought with the Tab in mind.

3. Typing on the on-screen keyboard in portrait mode is just perfect. Any screen bigger than this will be uncomfortable for me in my opinion.

So there you have it – some of the reasons the 7-inch screen size is just right for me. The floor is now yours. Use the comments segment to tell us what screen size is your cup of tea.

Starting with first services on some of the new Nokia devices in July and August, Ovi services will be rebranded as Nokia services in a transition expected to continue into 2012. Each of the services under the Ovi umbrella will simply be rebranded as Nokia, with no planned dispruption to the service roadmaps.

This was reported on Nokia Conversations this morning, and I dare say a very much welcomed one. Here at Mobility Nigeria, we have always thought that Nokia differentiating their services from their devices was a bad idea, as it created confusion for the average consumer. Fortunately, Nokia’s EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Jerri DeVard shares our sentiments.

Here is what he said:

“The reasons for this decision includes the fact that Nokia is a well-known and higly-loved brand the world over. Our mobile experiences are tightly integrated with our devices- there is no longer a differentiation.”

So from July, we should begin to see the word Ovi replaced with Nokia, on all services.

After spending about three months with the Samsung Galaxy Tab, I thought to myself that I had had enough and it was time to move on to something else.

So I sold it and got myself a regular smartphone. What I bought was a physical QWERTY keyboarded candybar smartphone. While the phone was able to carry out most of the tasks of the Tab, it offered a user experience that was far less than I enjoyed on the Tablet. It turned out that the modern day smartphone will need more than just functionality to win the hearts of consumers. It will need to be able to offer alongside it’s functionality an excellent user experience. By way of an example, the complaints of the Symbian browser is not so much that it lacks functionality, but that it offers less than satisfactory user experience.

Whether we are conscious of it or not, using our phones evoke emotions in us. And the kind of emotion we feel while using a phone is largely determined by how the device is delivering on the task we are using it for.

The one week I spent with the other phone was really a frustrating one. I was less productive that week, and had to solely depend on my PC to get work done that I would normally have gotten done on my phone. This basically was what led me back to the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

I am not saying that the Tab is a perfect device. It has its flaws which were highlighted in my review of it’s first coming. But for the tasks I use the Tab for daily, I must say that it shines. To use a word that has recently gained popularity in the entertainment industry, the Tab has got “swagger”. I will definitely write a sequel to this article this week to enumerate the things that made me go back to theTab. However, permit me to ask this question, “Does your phone have swagger?”

Call me old school, but I will always cherish and value connecting with people physically. I doubt if I’ll ever be able to allow social networking erode my need to have a relationship that involves eye contact, personal, one-on-one communication with those that are dear to me. I will always cherish seeing their facial expressions as they react to things I say, as opposed to an emoticon mimmicking the real thing. I will always prefer hearing them laugh to seeing abbreviations like LOL and LWKMD on my screen.

You see, I grew up at a time when the Internet didn’t exist. That was a time when there was no email, chat, Facebook, Twitter and all the other social networking tools you can think of today. At that time, even the mobile phone that has helped in spreading and giving social networking a wider reach wasn’t available. That was a period when friendship was really valued (this of course is my personal opinion of that time and period). And that is why I will always keep social networking in its place.

For me, social networking is supposed to help me keep in touch with the people I care about when they are not near me. It should help bridge the distance between people, but not replace the need for real physical interactions. However, the trend that I see today, especially among younger people is that they prefer to social network than actually enjoy the physical presence of a friend.

This fact came home to me recently as I sat having a meal at a popular eatery in Lagos. The table adjacent the one I was sitting had four lady friends hanging out. However, for the period of about 30 minutes of watching them, not one of them spoke one word to another. They all had a Blackberry phone each, and instead of enjoying each other’s presence, they were all busy tapping away at their phones. I had to wonder what the point of their hanging out was.

Do you still physically hangout with your friends? When you do, do you really hang out or are you so taken over by the mobile rave that your being together actually becomes pointless?

Symbian^3 is definitely getting a lot love these days. One of the latest coming out of Nokia Beta Labs is Nokia Sleeping Screen.

This app removes the standard screensavers on Symbian^3 devices and replaces it with a new one. According to Nokia Conversations, Nokia’s official blog site, Sleeping Screen has a selection of eight different screen savers. Each one has a different style and shows you a different image when it’s in use.

For those of you with a Symbian^3 device like the Nokia N8, C7 and E7, you should give it a go and let us know what you think about this app. You can download Sleeping Screen from Nokia Beta Labs.

Our mobileRave magazine generated a lot of buzz before its launch, and we are happy to tell you that it hasn’t lost its steam.

Since it became widely available, we have had quite a number of new readers of our blog who are also becoming regulars. We thought we’d stir things up a bit some more and get more people in on the fun and excitement. Please don’t miss out, as mobileRave will continue to improve.

A quick run-down again: mobileRave magazine is a quarterly 12-page full-colour electronic publication, presenting consumer-targeted information on mobile devices and services in Nigeria, including prevailing voice, SMS and data tariffs, plans and configuration settings. Our popular Guide to Mobile Internet Usage in Nigeria is now part and parcel of mobileRave mag.

For just N2,000 per year (4 editions), you will be getting a loaded package and helping to support your favourite mobile news website. What are you waiting for? Join the exclusive club now by subscribing to mobileRave magazine.