The mobiles we use often say something about our persons. This is because, there is probably no other tool that is as personal as the mobile phone is.

How well do you know your partner? How well can you pick a phone that your other will really love? Would you pick the same brand and type he or she is using right now, or get something different?

If you have a spouse or partner, judging from their habits, needs, and past preferences, what mobile phone would you get him or her as a gift? How sure are you, on a scale of 1 to 10, that he or she would love your pick?

Do share!

I was involved in the New Media & Governance conference, a two-day event that took place at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja. My role was that of social media surgeon, manning a booth where I attended to individuals who had questions or needed assistance with using mobile phones and apps for social media purposes.

First up, there is no question about the fact that mobile technology is behind the massive uptake of social media in Nigeria. Mobile internet usage here is predominantly social, regardless of platform.

Secondly, my experience at the Social Media booth tells me Nigeria has a long way to go with using social media. Even among enlightened people, when social media is mentioned, the focus seems to be on just Facebook and Twitter, as if those are all there is to the subject. That is a mistake, of course.

Who is engaging the millions of young Nigerians on MxIT, Mobofree, Tagged, 2Go, & Eskimi? Millions. Most of those using these other services have no access to smartphones. They are the masses using feature phones.

Because mobile is the predominant driver of social media uptake in Nigeria, what can we do to push the boundaries of social media even further? We need even lower data tariffs. We also need more internet- enabled devices at lower cost.

At the social media surgery booth that I manned, a gentleman came to learn how to use Wifi on his N30,000 tablet. It wasn’t the best tablet, and the brand is unknown to me, but it met his needs. We must never forget that it doesn’t matter how enamoured with Samsung’s Tabs and Notes that we get, those are absolutely out of reach of the vast majority of Nigerians.

Another man (deaf and dumb) came with a lowly Nokia featurephone which I configured for internet. Then I got him using Twitter mobile on OperaMini with it. He was excited, to say the least!

The numbers are at the grassroots. If we get them using social media, we get more done. That means cheaper devices and data plans. We have lots of educating and training to do. Right now, we are still scratching the surface.

And when I say educating and training, I do not mean seminar style where people get up on a podium to talk. We love talking in these parts. In my opinion, the key is to demonstrate; not tell. Mostly, what we do now is talk. We need to demonstrate to the average person what these devices are capable of and show them how to use them.

This is why I think that the idea of the social media surgery booths at the New Media & Governance conference was a brilliant one. Such should be given more prominent focus in our drive to promote sustainable development as a nation.

Yesterday, I spent some time with Femi Alade, CEO and chief ideas man at PlirisMobile. He came along with a pre-production model of the Blaze+ for me to play with. The Blaze+ is the next generation PlirisBlaze smartphone, and it is looking like a winner. Join me as we examine this interesting device.

At first glance, the Blaze+ looks and feels decidedly superior to the original Blaze. This is a well built smartphone.

The first thing that I checked out on the Blaze+ is the display, and I was pleasantly surprised. The 4.3-inch capacitive display is super responsive and matches anything that I have seen from any manufacturer. Yes; any manufacturer. Swiping is buttery smooth all the way.

There’s 2.5GB internal storage, and there’s a microSD expansion slot with support for cards of up to 32GB storage. PlirisMobile say they are shipping the Blaze+ with a 4 or 8 GB card.

Like its predecessor, the Blaze+ is a dual active SIM device with 3G capabilities available to both SIMs. The dual SIM functionality works fine too. There’s a 2200 mAh battery to provide juice. According to Femi Alade, the Blaze+ runs for a full day with an always-on 3G connection, active GPS, some game play, among regular phone activities. Sounds nice.

While the pre-production model that I played with ran Android 4.0.3 (ICS), I was told that the device will be shipping with Gingerbread (2.3.6), because of certain issues with getting ICS to run properly. I don’t have all the technical details of that though, but that is the information I have.

In terms of performance, the Blaze+ runs like a champ. Everything that I tried on it ran smooth, including playing Samurai Vengeance. The 1.2GHz processor seems to handle everything without any stress during the period that I had the Blaze+.

For cameraphone enthusiasts, the Blaze+ has an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash built in. I didn’t have the time to give it a run though, so you will have to wait for the full review when the phone hits the market.

Conclusions
The Pliris Blaze+ is very promising. I am certainly excited and looking forward to seeing this out soon. With a target sales price of N40,000 (fourty thousand naira) only, this looks like a winner.

Short Message Service (SMS) is a basic service that is supported by every GSM phone manufactured. As such, it has become ubiquitous and so a strong source of income for mobile network operators.

In recent years, we have seen the rise of instant messaging and social media services such as Yahoo Messenger, 2Go, MXit, Eskimi, Skype, BBM, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, among others. Millions of people worldwide use these services – especially for their everyday basic communications.

It is easy to see how WhatsApp, BBM and Skype are eating into operators’ revenues, as they clearly take some traffic away from both SMS and voice. What may not be so obvious is the fact that Facebook messages and Twitter Direct Messages are being used in place of SMS by lots of people – and the trend is growing.

With SMS, the subscriber is billed for every message sent. In using social media and instant messaging services, the subscriber is billed a very minutes amount, because the services run on packet data e.g. GPRS, EDGE, 3G, 3.5G, 4G, etc. At times, several messages do not amount to anything more than N1.00. It is great cost-savings for the subscriber, but conversely also significant revenue loss for the operator.

As far as I can see, there is no way around it. This trend is the future. Communications will largely be routed via packet data. Who knows? Even SMS may eventually function that way, if the operators wake up to the realities on ground and embrace it.

Do you use any instant messaging service regularly in place of SMS? Do you use any in place of mobile telephony? How about messaging via social media?

Do share your experiences.

If you haven’t read Animal Farm by George Orwell, you should. The plot of the fictional work is summarized in the following statement: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” It portrays the injustice that exists in this world and that will run its course till aliens wipe humanity out – or humanity wipes itself out.

Remember the superb Maemo/MeeGo smartphone from Nokia, the N9? It was shipped with a PenTile display. Of course, all hell was let loose by critics. There was nothing that was said in favour of PenTile technology that was acceptable to people who had dug their heels in.

Those of us who owned and used an N9 sang the praise of that display. It really is good. But it isn’t good enough in Animal Farm. As far as critics were concerned, the fact that with PenTile, each pixel is composed of two subpixels rather than three as obtains on RGB meant that it was a dealbreaker. They simply swore that it messed up the N9 and that they wouldn’t buy it for that. It didn’t matter that the N9 has an amazingly sharp display and that the side-effects of PenTile are not visible on it.

Fast-forward to 2012, we see that Samsung has put PenTile displays on their top devices: Nexus One, Galaxy Note, and Galaxy S III. Samsung has issued glowing statements defending their choice of PenTile over RGB – and, well…PenTile has suddenly become a toast.

Yes; there have been some initial complaints about PenTile on the Galaxy S III, but the same folks who crucified the N9 for this are now giving the Galaxy S III the benefit of doubt on the same issue, saying that the side-effects of PenTile technology are not visible on the device anyway. True. And they aren’t visible on the N9 either.

There’s no justice in the world. What is good for the goose is not always good for the gander. Here are a few lines from Lemar’s hit track, “If There’s Any Justice“:

If there’s any justice in the world,
I would be your man, You would be my girl,
If I’d found you first you know its true,
He would be alone, I would be with you

Both George Orwell and Lemar, though existing generations apart, were spot on.

Your precious smartphone has been running fine for months, then suddenly you notice that it starts misbehaving. Before now, it generally ran smooth. Now, it freezes, hangs, or even reboots.

In my experience, the first thing to do is take a look at which applications were recently installed on the phone just before the instability started. If you did install some apps around that time, chances are that one or more of them are responsible for the instability.

Uninstall all the apps that make that list. If your phone runs better after that, then you are sure that one or more of them is the culprit. If they are all non-essential apps, you can go on with your life.

However, if one of those apps is important to you, you may want to pinpoint the particular rogue app. Re-install the deleted apps one at a time and check to see how your phone behaves after installing each. You should be able to narrow down the list to the particular app that is messing things up.

Once confirmed, delete that app and keep the others.

Saheed Adepoju is CEO of Encipher, manufacturers of the Inye tablet. He was at the New Media in Governance conference today and had a pre-production unit of Inye 2 tablet with him. He has happily let me have it till tomorrow.

Hardware
The first impressions of the Inye 2 is that it is beautiful. Really beautiful. The white casing in front makes it stand out, and the patterned black rear has the Encipher logo .

Inye 2 has an array of connectivity ports including:

• microSD slot
• 3.5mm audio port
• microUSB port
• USB host port
• HDMI port
• Standard SIM card slot

With all those ports, including a full USB host port (letting you plug in your flash drive), Inye 2 looks set to replace your PC than most other tablets.

Software
On the software front, Inye 2 runs stock Android 3.0 Honeycomb, a version that was designed for tablets. Honeycomb looks good too. Really good. Inye 2 has access to all Google services, including the Play Store. Thousands of third party apps are available for download from the Play Store.

Performance
This is a pre-production unit, so it is not quite right to comment on performance at this stage. I do look forward to doing that when the device rolls out of the factory.

Key Specifications
A mobile device is more than just specifications these days. It is about how it performs in meeting specific needs. Still, for the geeks out there, here are a few key specs that might interest you:

• 1 GHz processor
• 8 GB internal storage
• 16 GB microSD card included
• 3G access via regular SIM
• custom app for loading airtime and subscribing to data plans on all Nigerian GSM networks
• 5-point capacitive touchscreen
• 8-inch display
• Up to 8 hours of mixed usage

I do not have a confirmed launch date for Inye 2, but I will publish that as soon as it is made available. In the meantime, I still have Inye 2 with me to play with till tomorrow afternoon.

I had a chat with a friend yesterday afternoon. During the course of our discussions, she asked if it was true that one needed a BlackBerry in order to use the PlayBook tablet. She narrated how almost everyone that she had spoken with about the PlayBook responded that a BlackBerry smartphone is absolutely required to use the PlayBook.

It is simply amazing the level of ignorance and misinformation that is peddled by people. I keep telling people to be careful who they listen to. Many times, people who talk are just full of bird poo. It is not true that the PlayBook requires a BlackBerry smartphone for use. Actually, in terms of connectivity with other mobiles, the PlayBook is the most open tablet that I know of.

Internet via Wi-fi
The PlayBook has wi-fi functionality, meaning that you can use it at hotspots – even mobile hotspots that you create on your mobile. It is a bit choosy in what kind of hotspot it connects to for initial setup, but once setup, it is more accommodating.

Internet via Bluetooth
You can share any regular data plan on any smartphone with your PlayBook via Bluetooth. Did you get that? If your smartphone does not have a wi-fi hotspot (or the wi-fi hotspot empties your battery too fast), you can use Bluetooth instead to share your mobile internet with the PlayBook. This works for smartphones by other manufacturers too.

This feature is not common on other tablets.

BlackBerry Bridge
Blackberry Bridge lets you connect your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to your smartphone via Bluetooth, so you can use your Blackberry Internet Subscription (BIS) and access your BlackBerry smartphone’s files and services on your PlayBook. See my review of BlackBerry Bridge.

Conclusions
The PlayBook does NOT require a BlackBerry smartphone to be used. You can use it as a standalone tablet, or with any other phone. Of course, you can also use it with a BlackBerry smartphone to take advantage of Bridge features.

Minus quantity of apps (an area which the iPad and Android tablets have greater advantage), the PlayBook is the most versatile tablet in the market and beats the competition on most other fronts.

I recently came across this image of an app that portrays the “There’s an app for that” phrase made common by Steve Jobs/Apple. But seriously, for a boyfriend?

The application is Cosmo For Guys (CFG), an iPad-only magazine that claims to help guys make better relationship decisions. I would have loved if there was an Android version for this, but sadly, there isn’t. But do consider that years ago we couldn’t imagine that we would be getting relationship advice from a tablet.

What do you think? If you owned an iPad, would you install and use this app?

One-month used Samsung Galaxy S II for sale. Extremely neat condition. Full sales pack and accessories. Price: N70,000.

Call 08031991363.

12% of moms featured in a recent survey admit to having used their phones during sex.

I don’t get it, but if it is true that some women really use their phone during sex, that must be some awfully terrible sex. Either the dads are super lame (and their women should go find real men) or the moms are deadwood (and their men should discard them ASAP). Something is certainly wrong somewhere.

Dear Lord! Have mercy!! What would those moms be using their phones for while getting some? Updating Twitter or Facebook status? Sending a text or BBM message? Or chatting with their girlfriends about their latest purchases? My usually unlimited imagination fails me on this one.

I can imagine that the other 88% of women are shocked as I am to hear that some members of their specie are involved in such shocking behaviour.

Source

Many modern phones come with a Flight Mode option. In Flight Mode, the wireless radio of your device (the part that connects to a mobile network) is turned off while the device itself remains on. As such, access to your operator’s network (or any operator’s network at all) is cut off. This feature lets you use the device for other tasks e.g. typing a document, listening to music, or even watching a video without radio transmission.

Scenarios in which this is important include air flights (which is why it is named Flight Mode), some hospital settings or other areas where electronic wireless transmission can cause problems.

I have taken a few air flights in my life, and even when I put my phones on Flight Mode, the hostesses insist that I turn the device off completely. Of course, I don’t want to cause a scene, so I always obey.

Of course, that leaves me wondering, What is the use of Flight Mode if it is not acceptable when flying? Of course, it could just be that I am flying with pre-historic airlines and need to hunt for a more civilised airline.

What has been your experience with Flight Mode on the airlines that you fly?

By a stroke of unexpected events, we have in our hands the HTC One X, one of the first quad-core processor smartphones, and a review is on its way.

In the meantime, a few details about the phone.

It has a 1.5 GHz, quad-core processor, a 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 pixel resolution touchscreen, and runs Android™ 4.0 with HTC Sense™ 4. There’s NFC and an 8 megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording. HTC also say that it has got a polycarbonate unibody.

This is the first 4.7-inch smartphone that I am reviewing. The HTC HD7 and Samsung Galaxy S II come next at 4.3-inch displays. This looks to be an interesting device, So hang around. Let me know what you think and any specific things you want me to mention in the review.

Bola opened her eyes as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed across the hallway. She was lying on the single bed in the small cell. She found the environment damp, poorly lit and poorly ventilated. It was the second day since she had been remanded by the police. She had heard of the terrible condition of police cells, and now she was experiencing the horrors in person.

Roaches, mosquitoes, flies, and mice were her constant companions in here too. It was a horrid experience all the way. She longed for the clean, decent environment that home was. She longed for a proper bath. She longed for a proper meal. She longed to have her life back.

In spite of the depressing state of affairs, Bola held on to hope. Her legal counsel was busy doing what he did best on her behalf. Nnamdi had been a darling all the way, showing up and bringing her the things that she needed. Sometimes, her mind seemed to falter and begin the slide into a place of numbness where she felt nothing. This afternoon had been one of those periods.

The approaching steps jolted her back to reality and she stared out through the bars. The uniformed police officer walked up to her cell. “Madam, oga wants you.” He was already putting in the key to open the door.

She pulled herself up from the bed and walked to the cell door as it swung open. She wondered what it was about this time. Had John Makama succeeded in securing her release? She hoped. And longed.

“Please have your seat, madam,” the detective named Segun said after she was ushered into his office. She took the nearer seat across his desk and waited.

“I have good news for you,” the officer said. “We have apprehended the culprit behind the robbery. We have recovered some of the stolen money and have a full confession. You are a free woman.”

The news was received by Bola in a daze. Her ears heard it clearly, but for some reason her mind struggled to process it. She was free? It was good news, but the whole experience had numbed her senses. She leaned forward and put her hands on the desk.

“You have caught the culprit?” She asked, as if she hadn’t heard or understood the detective’s words.

He nodded.

“I am free to go?” She prodded again.

“Yes. I apologise for the inconveniences. We have called your lawyer to notify him of this development. He is on his way here now.”

—

Johnny’s imagination had taken flight on hearing of the two million naira in cash. His mind played pictures of a life of abundance, and of a revitalised business. He could use that kind of money now. He really could. His depressed mind toyed and played with the idea of being two million naira richer.

“You know where madam’s house is naa! Yes; that white house on the same street as the Catholic church! Yes!! Yesss; go now! The money dey there!”

Johnny looked up and recognised the voice.

—

The detective spoke slowly, but clearly as he explained things to Bola. “We got a call from Madam Tuska a few hours ago. She wanted us to come over to her shop right away. We got there and listened to a story that nailed the mastermind behind the robbery.

“It wasn’t only you that overheard her telephone conversation. Both her neighbour and someone else did as well.

“That day, her neighbour at the store overheard her discussion and then overheard someone else giving instructions shortly after about how to locate the house and the money.”

Bola listened attentively. She felt relief. She was really off the hook. But she wanted to know who the culprit was. Who was behind the robbery at Madam Tuska’s residence? She asked.

Segun leaned back. “The person that Mister Johnny, her neighbour at the store, overheard and saw giving those instructions was Salami, Madam Tuska’s driver. We found some of the stolen money and a few other items taken from her house during the robbery. He has named his accomplice and we have him in custody too.”

Bola sighed. She felt like screaming at the police officer, or tearing his head off. But her head told her that it would do no good. She had been held by the police without substantial reason. However, the important thing now was that she had her life back. That was all that mattered. She stared at the detective for a few moments, then stood up and without saying a word, headed for the door.

Okay. So I don’t usually do this kind of post but it is the weekend so you can excuse me. Recently, I started to incorporate a workout into my daily schedule. As a result, I make sure that I work out at least 20-30 minutes daily. With how busy a typical day can be, creating  a dedicated workout time is something that is difficult to start or maintain, whichever the case may be.

I decided to wing it and hit the Google PlayStore to check out which (free) app can help keep me in shape. I installed several before I eventually installed Cardio Workout which I currently use.

Cardio Workout is a workout app that instructs you via video so you actually see how you are supposed to do the current workout. It doesn’t stream the video because it is part of the installation.

Okay, so maybe I may be exaggerating here about the app giving me abs but I have been training with it practically almost everyday for the past two months. You too can start doing this irrespective of the platform that you use. It is all a matter of searching for the right workout app that suits your need. For me, it’s Cardio Workout.

If you use Android, you can grab Cardio Workout in the Play Store, for other platforms you can do a Google and/or respective market search. The grid was added using Photo Grid and a custom filter added with Instagram all on Android (you can add your opinion on what you do with mobile technology here).

And yeah, you can compliment me on how great my abs are. Have a happy weekend, Cheers!

You guys have regularly complained that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) isn’t doing enough as a watchdog over the telecoms industry. Well, NCC is finally showing that its bite is worse than its bark.

NCC had in the recent past warned mobile network operators about the need to improve QoS on their services or face fines. In line with this, all four GSM networks have been issued fines to the cumulative tune of N1.17b for poor quality of service on their networks. The brokendown figures are:

- MTN: N360m
- Etisalat:N360m
- Airtel: N270m
- Glo: N180m

The fines are to be paid up by May 21 or an extra N2.5m daily will accrue for each defaulting operator.

Source

Johnny had arrived at the small store that he managed at Ikeja that day in a state of depression. He was a particularly frustrated human being, and that frustration had grown on him year after year. Now, he would often go for weeks in a sour mood, barely speaking to anyone except when absolutely required.

Three years earlier, he had completed his studies at the state university. He had been an average student and graduated with a second class lower in Computer Science. Not that it meant anything. Not once in the four years he spent in the school did he take apart or use a computer. Yes; a computer science graduate without any computing experience. It was a farce.

The compulsory one-year national service had been a monumental waste of his time too. Posted to a village in the Niger Delta area, and assigned to teach at a local school proved to be just that. Learning facilities were a joke, and the students had no interest in learning whatsoever. Who wanted to learn anything in school when it was easier to strike gold by becoming a politician, joining a militant group, or kidnapping foreigners? It had taken all of the discipline that he could muster to stick with the programme.

Getting employment on completion of his year of service to the nation was even tougher than teaching at a school. He had roamed the streets for a year, submitting applications and hunting down vacancies. He had submitted application after application. He was disappointed again and again.

Eventually, he had approached his brother for help in setting up a small shop to sell electronic items. It took some time, but the assistance came. Excitedly, he had rented the small space and stocked it ready for business. How could he not make it? He was enthusiastic and determined!

He hadn’t seen it at first, but it hit him soon enough: sales were not what he had expected and he was not making enough to keep the store stocked up as it should be. Months passed as he watched his beloved store fade away into a shadow of itself. Then the depression began to creep in.

This morning, he unlocked the doors and devoted 15 minutes to his daily prayer time, asking for God’s blessings on his business and calling for vengeance and retribution on anyone with a hand in his troubles. The prayer time was sprinkled with intermittent singing. What was a vibrant prayer time without songs? It was a daily ritual that he never missed.

Done with the blessing and cursing from the same mouth, Johnny got ready to welcome his customers for the day. He was sure that it was going to be a great day! Something was going to happen!! A powerful prayer time always lifted his spirits, and for now the cloud of depression was lifted.

All morning, he stayed expectant, but then the hours crawled by without a single purchase made from his store. He had seen this picture before, but he was bent on staying positive. He fought the depressing thoughts for a while and won, but not for long. Who was he kidding? What would he sell from the sparsely-stocked shop that would turn his life around? He needed a miracle. Something out of the blues.

—-

It was late afternoon now. Johnny was sitting outside the shop to get some air. It was extremely hot inside the small space. Sitting outside always provided some relief from the stuffiness and heat indoors.

That was when he heard the voice. He put his head in his hands and wondered why people must talk on the phone at the top of their voice. This woman would drive him crazy one day!! Johnny knew from his studies and extra interest he had taken in mobile technology that the microphones in those devices were super sharp and could accomodate very quiet speech. Why anyone would choose to shout into a mobile phone all the time was beyond him.

If on a call and the line was not clear, the thing to do was to adjust location a bit and if still not clear, terminate the call and re-dial. In all his years of owning a mobile phone, he had conducted his phone conversations without shouting. It was also good etiquette. Here he was the poor man with good telephone manners, and there she was the rich madam without a clue. Johnny concluded that justice didn’t exist in this world.

Week after week, he had endured Madam Tuska’s ear-splitting telephone conversations. Her store was adjacent to his and so he had the privilege of being subject to the barrage whenever she was on a telephone call. Why did she always converse like she was at war? After many months of this experience, he would have loved to say that he was now used to it, but the truth was that it still grated on his nerves each time.

This afternoon was no exception. He sat there, his ears filtering the big woman’s words. At first, he had not taken an interest. Then somewhere in the middle of it all, he heard her mention money kept in her house and his mind automatically locked on. Nothing like the mention of money to get a man’s attention. Then he heard the figure of two million naira. That was when his imagination kicked in and a plot began to take shape in his mind.

The day was not over yet, and it looked like something was was indeed going to happen.

My friend, Kathleen Ndongmo, wrote an interesting lifestyle piece about why she recently ditched smartphones for featurephones. She used to own a BlackBerry, but replaced it with a lowly Nokia 6303i. Her reasons include freedom from nursing a smartphone, portability, and security/privacy issues. You should read her piece titled “Long live Dumbphones!”

I will not be addressing her reasons for crossing over to the dark side. Those will be for other articles. In this article, I am exploring why I would consider using a dumbphone today. I do not see myself dumping smartphones entirely like she has done, but I do know that in recent times, I have considered using a feature phone as my primary mobile phone. Come with me as I paint the picture.

I have a tablet device, the BlackBerry PlayBook, that does a good job of giving me all smartphone functionality minus voice calls and SMS. It also does a fairly good job of replacing my laptop for most tasks. I also carry a BlackBerry smartphone which is a perfect companion to the PlayBook. I am able to share my BlackBerry internet subscription with the PlayBook, among other benefits. My BlackBerry is not my primary mobile, so I do not use it for calls and SMS.

My primary mobile at the moment is a Samsung Galaxy S II, and for the most part apart from voice calls and SMS, it is just generally lying idle. I barely touch it anymore. Get the picture? I can easilly replace the S II with say a Nokia Asha 302 without missing anything, afterall, my primary phone is required for only voice calls and SMS. I very well intend to. Nokia only needs to implement Mail for Exchange as promised, so that I can sync my contacts and calendars with the device, and I am good to go.

Between my BlackBerry and PlayBook, my mobile office and entertainment needs are met. For voice and SMS, I really do not need more than a dumbphone. Of course, I also want to use a dumbphone as an everyday phone, so as to have some more insight into what roughly 90% of Nigerian mobile subscribers use every day.

Back to Kathy though, I wonder how well and for how long she can cope with the more limited experience of a dumbphone without another smarphone to fall back on. Twitter? Facebook? WhatsApp? Without multi-tasking, switching between those tasks will be a bit frustrating and of course slower than what she is used to. Also, the regular phone keypad would just kill me immediately. Any feature phone that I use must have a hardware QWERTY keyboard. It is why I am eyeing the Asha 302.

For different reasons, and from different perspectives, both Kathleen and I say, Long live dumbphones!

How about you? Would you dump your smartphone for a feature phone under any circumstances?

Earlier yesterday during some free time, I watched the video of “Ta lo so be”, a music track by a team of Nigerian artistes led by Omo Akin. The video is a superb work and very entertaining.

One thing led to the other, and I made reference to my “Oliver” video recorded on my Nokia E7 and uploaded here for public viewing last August. It was a comic production that has had everyone who watched it rolling in laughter.

Someone subsequently asked, “On Mobility blog? Why?” My response was my standard answer that Mobility Blog isn’t just about mobile technology, but what you do with it. Then I mentioned that the video in question was shot on a Nokia E7.

Someone else stepped in with the following profound statement: “Hence, the go-to place. Anyone can exhibit phones but educating on the pros and cons takes knowledge.”

That hit the nail on the head so much. Where else to showcase a video shot on a mobile if not a mobile lifestyle blog? All the enthusiasm about mobile technology in itself is basically a geek thing. What is really important is what the technology is being used for. Different phones and platforms have their pros and cons. We will keep highlighting those, though fanboys get edgy when the cons of their platforms are highlighted.

It is why we will focus more and more on articles that showcase, highlight, or demonstrate the possibilities, limitations and diversities of mobile technology.

Like shooting a crystal clear video for public consumption, like writing and publishing articles for blogs, managing work email better, consuming media content, or running your business on a mobile device. Different devices and platforms handle these differently – and it matters.

This is what stands Mobility blog out – we’re not just talking about technology. We tell stories and share from our wealth of knowledge gleaned from both our experiences and the experiences of others – to inspire, teach and show what is possible.

Our goal – to assist every reader in putting mobile to more beneficial use in their everyday dealings and lifestyles.

I type, edit and publish over 90% of my blog articles on a mobile device. That includes formatting text and embedding images. As such, an image editor is a must-have for me on my mobile devices. Sometimes, an image is too large for publishing and must be resized, or a section needs to be cropped to focus on a specific portion. There are times that I need to rotate, adjust contrast or fool around with the image in different ways.

Note that I have access to at least two PCs. However, for the most part, I just cannot be bothered to boot up a PC and sit to do all these anymore. My mobiles handle the task conveniently, so why bother?

My first ever experience with image editing on a mobile device was with Nokia’s line-up of Symbian smartphones. The built-in image editors were so good that I never needed to look for a 3rd party app. I have since used image editors on iOS, Android, Maemo/MeeGo, and BlackBerry as well. Till today, it is my conviction that Nokia’s built-in editor is the best of any built-in editors on all smartphone platforms.

On the Samsung Galaxy S II, the built-in image editor for example does not offer image resizing. The least that I expect any image editing app to be capable of is resizing. Cropping would be next, and anything else can follow. In its place, I downloaded a 3rd party app named “Photo Editor” from the Play Store. It is by far more comprehensive than Samsung’s built-in app.

BlackBerry does not offer a built-in image editor and I have been unable to find a 3rd party option. However, on the PlayBook, I use the 3rd party app by the name “Photo Editor Ultimate Free”. It is available in the BlackBerry AppWorld, is quite comprehensive and meets all my needs too, The image above is a screenshot of the app in use.

On iOS, I used a 3rd party app too, the name of which I no longer remember.

All in all, as said earlier, image editing on mobile is essential to my work. I would be handicapped without this.

It isn’t about mobile technology
I keep saying that it isn’t about mobile technology, but what you do with it. Do you do any image editing on your mobile? If yes, to what end? What application or combination of applications do you use? Do share your experiences.

Given a chance to pick between the Bold Touch 9900 (left) the Torch 9810 (right), which would I choose? Actually, I have used both devices, and my experiences with them are the reason for this post.

The basic understanding is that the two are essentially the same under the hood – Blackberry OS 7, 1.2 GHz processor, 768 MB RAM, 8GB internal storage, 5 megapixel camera, 720P video recording, GSM/EDGE/3G/HSDPA/HSUPA.

The Differences

• Form Factor: The 9900 is a bar, while the Torch 9810 has a slider QWERTY
• Display: The 9900 has a 2.8 inch display, while the Torch 9810 has a bigger 3.2 inch display
• Battery: The 9900 has a 1230 mAh battery, while the Torch 9810 has a 1270 mAh unit
• Camera: The 9900′s camera is fixed focus, while the Torch 9810′s camera is an autofocus unit
• NFC: The 9900 has NFC on board, while the Torch 9810 does not have it

My Choice?
Initially, I was leaning towards the 9810 because of the slightly larger display, bigger battery and the autofocus camera. However, over time, I have found myself longing for the more compact form of the 9900, though I will have to settle for poorer battery life and a slightly smaller display. Perhaps having the PlayBook means that a large display on mobile is no longer essential. Perhaps not.

Oh, then there’s still the nagging WordPress app issue. WordPress for BlackBerry still does not make a connection on my 9810 though I had no issues with it on the 9900. This hampers my productivity in some way and could be a strong influence in my current leanings.

Given a choice, which of the two will be your choice?

LG recently announced the Optimus LTE2 which comes with a whooping 2GB of RAM. Other features that the phone packs are :

• 720p True HD IPS Display
• 2,150mAh battery
• Android 4.0
• 2GB RAM

I think that this is another great innovation from LG and this phone is likely to be a competitor for the recently released Samsung Galaxy SIII. What do you think?

Image Credits: GSMArena
Source

Recently at a Blackberry developer event, RIM (Research In Motion) gave out prototype devices to around 2,000 attendees to demo the new Blackberry 10 user interface. The interface is a huge departure from what we are accustomed to getting on Blackberry and it has a lot of gesture integration that was really smooth and nice.

That Blackberry usage in America and Canada is dwindling is no more news. What is news is the fact that it is doing well in Africa and Asia. RIM have not quite been able to respond to the iPhone and subsequently Android for whatever reasons.

The prototype given out is a 4.2 inch device with a screen resolution of 1280×768 that utilizes a full touch screen display that departs from the trademark QWERTY keyboard that comes with most Blackberries. There have been outcries from certain quarters about the lack of a physical keyboard by certain Blackberry users but RIM has promised that they will produce BB10 devices with a physical keyboard.

If RIM can get it right with Blackberry 10, they will be able to position themselves as competitors to Android and iOS in America and Europe while adding more users in continents like Africa and Asia/Middle East where they are dominant at the moment.

It is not clear whether the first wave of BB10 devices will be full touch devices, but if RIM are able to make the transition without alienating their loyal fanbase (and so far, it looks so), they should very well be on their way to a comeback.

It was just yesterday that I published a review of an online service that allows subscribers to convert and download YouTube videos to their devices for offline consumption.

I keep wondering how the combination of internet and mobile impact the entertainment industry in terms of income generation. Consider that a producer releases an audio track, a music video, or even a movie one day, and it is on YouTube the very same day for anyone to download. How do these guys sell?

In some cases, these media items are even available for free download weeks before the official launch.

The terrain seems to be changing fast. The game is certainly changing too. Are you an artiste or producer? How have you adjusted to this trend? How are you taking advantage of the situation to boost your sales?

For example, the recent launch of Don Jazzy’s Mavin label saw a promo rack being made available for download online via web and mobile. Other artistes have done similar campaigns involving audio and video. However, how does this play with regards commercial works being put up by 3rd parties for free download?

Are you a subscriber or user? What is your take on this trend?

I spoke with one of my clients today and he mentioned having issues with his Starcomms internet connection. According to him, when he called in the error, a staff told him that Starcomms has recently acquired Multilinks and MTS Wireless, and that they were currently upgrading their systems.

This is unconfirmed and the Starcomms staff may not have known what he was talking about.

However, if this is true, perhaps there is hope for CDMA mobile technology in Nigeria after all. That would mean that we have two fairly large CDMA networks on the field – Visafone and Starcomms.

If this is true. IF.

I do know that back in 2010, it was reported in the news that MTS was looking to sell off its spectrum to Starcomms. Also, in 2011, Starcomms was reported in the news as being in talks to acquire Multilinks.

Does anyone have a confirmation of this news? Do share!

Gone are the days, it seems, that phone design teams revolved around crazy ideas. With Apple’s new bully attitude, it seems that phone design teams will revolve around lawyers – to keep brands from getting sued.

The guys at Android Police think that the Samsung Galaxy S III was designed by lawyers, and the facts are there for all to see.

Personally, I agree.

Take a look at Apple’s claims against Samsung in court and see if the Galaxy S III doesn’t side-step them all:

- a rectangular product shape with all four corners uniformly rounded;
the front surface of the product dominated by a screen surface with black borders;

- as to the iPhone and iPod touch products, substantial black borders above and below the screen having roughly equal width and narrower black borders on either side of the screen having roughly equal width;

- as to the iPad product, substantial black borders on all sides being roughly equal in width;

- a metallic surround framing the perimeter of the top surface;
a display of a grid of colorful square icons with uniformly rounded corners; and

- a bottom row of square icons (the “Springboard”) set off from the other icons and that do not change as the other pages of the user interface are viewed.

Apparently, the fear of getting sued is the beginning of wisdom.

Read the Android Police article for the full gist: Source.

Twhii is a Twitter client for java phones. That means it should run on both feature phones and smartphones with Java support. That is covering a wide base.

Twhii features in brief

A quick summary of features supported by Twhii:

• Timeline
• Mentions
• DM
• Favourites
• Reply, retweet and quote
• Multiple Twitter accounts
• Web-based management system
• Trends
• Search
• image preloader with support for Lockerz

A look at the above summary reveals that this is a very comprehensive Twitter app. Actually, it is one of the most comprehensive Twitter app available for java phones that I have seen.

Web/Mobile based Account Management

Twhii has a web-based account management feature on the Twhii website. You need to register there to setup a Twhii account before being able to use them on the java app. If all you have is your phone, you can also manage your account via a mobile site at http://m.twhii.com/login.

Once you have setup your Twhii account online, you can add multiple Twitter accounts, and then use these on the java app on any compatible phone. The online management system lets you change your Twhii password or even delete your Twhii account completely should you choose not to use the service any more. In setting up or changing your Twhii password, a minimum of 6 characters is required.

Twhii on the phone

On the phone, simply launch the app and login with your Twhii details. A landing page loads with the Twitter account/s that you have added online displayed and waiting for your use.

The menu soft key (on the left) gives you access to features such as Tweet, Timeline, Mentions, DMs and more.

There is also a nifty visual notification system that shows you when new tweets and mentions are waiting. You can see the small “@” and envelope icons in the top right corner of the close-up photo below. Really nice.

Mentions on Twhii:

To reply, retweet, quote, DM or access favourites, there is a right menu which is accessible using the phone’s navigation button. When using Twhii, push the navigation button to the right, and that menu pops up, giving you access to carry out any of the listed functions.

I personally think that an alternative, more instinctive access to these functions should be implemented. It didn’t occur to me naturally to look for them using the navigational button.

The support of retweets and quotes is quite nice to see at this level. I was able to quote tweets without issues.

Direct messages (DMs) are also supported on Twhii. The app lets you both receive and send DMs.

For a Java app, Twhii is impressive. It gives advanced twitter users all the flexibility that they need, and it is also perfectly usable by more basic users. Links in tweets, mentions and DMs are clickable to launch the built-in web browser on your phone.

No Image Upload

One thing that Twhii currently lacks is support for uploading photos. This isn’t a deal breaker for me, but it would be nice to see it there anyway. Hopefully, the developer will incorporate this at some time.

Conclusion

Twhii is currently on version 0.9.22, and very usable. My review device was the Nokia Asha 302. While it is designed for a broad support of java phones, it is possible that it may not work on certain phones. The interface is light, breezy and easy on the eyes. Twhii comes highly recommended.

Twhii can be downloaded from the Twhii homepage: http://twhii.com/.

I have been unable to publish Mobility blog’s ritual State of the Mobile Web report because of issues with the particular software that we used in generating that monthly report. Till date, we are still unable to get it functioning properly.

But in the meantime, if we cannot have the full meal, we can have snippets and snacks to consume. Here I present the statistics of the top mobile platforms that accessed this blog in April 2012. Mobile web share of traffic to the blog dropped from the average 65% to below 50% during the period, so more people accessed the site via PC than mobile.

Surprise, surprise – Blackberry is at the top. And in another surprise, Android is in 2nd position.

This is just statistics for Mobility Blog, so it is not a foolproof reflection of the Nigerian environment. Still, the wide berth that BlackBerry gives everyone else perhaps is a reflection of the statistics published earlier about Blackberry now being the number one smartphone OS in Nigeria.

While the iPad and iPhone are listed separately, they do run the same OS, so that comes to a cumulative of 2,321 for iOS. Still 3rd place behind Android. But not bad at all.

As you can see, Symbian web usage here has dropped considerably. Does that tell us anything? What about Windows Phone? At only 58 visits, that platform looks set to remain on the fringes in these parts.

In the meantime, feature phones make it into the top list too, but at a cumulative of only 344 visits shared between Nokia and Samsung. Nigeria may be a feature phone market, but Mobility Blog is clearly a smartphone community.

Your comments please!

We all use a Mobile device of some sort, be it a phone or a tablet. I use a phone. I have observed that I use it the most when I’m in transit. I am on the road a lot, so this works for me. Things I do mostly on my phone are internet surfing and magazine reading.

Under what situations do you use your phone the most and what do you do use it for?

BlackBerry World 2012 / BlackBerry 10 Jam – Orlando, FL – Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today unveiled its vision for the BlackBerry® 10 platform at the BlackBerry World™ conference in Orlando, Florida and released the initial developer toolkit for native and HTML5 software development. The toolkit is available in beta as a free download from http://developer.blackberry.com.

“BlackBerry 10 builds upon the core values and exceptional user experiences that have attracted more than 77 million BlackBerry customers around the world today,” said Alec Saunders, Vice President, Developer Relations and Ecosystems Development. “Developers building for BlackBerry 10 will be able to easily create the kind of cutting-edge apps that deliver truly engaging experiences and ‘wow’ customers, whether through integration with native features and other apps like BBM or by leveraging the new signature design elements of this new and powerful mobile computing platform.”

“There is tremendous interest, anticipation and momentum building toward the launch of BlackBerry 10 devices, and today we’re extremely excited to release the BlackBerry 10 developer beta tools for general use,” said Christopher Smith, Vice President, Handheld Application Platform and Tools at Research In Motion. “Developers can use this first beta of the tools to get started building apps for BlackBerry 10 and as the tools evolve over the coming months, developers will have access to a rich API set that will allow them to build even more integrated apps. The toolkit we are delivering today also meets developers on their own terms. Whether using the powerful Cascades framework, writing direct native code or developing in HTML5, BlackBerry 10 will empower developers to create attractive and compelling apps that excite customers.”

The toolkit includes the BlackBerry® 10 Native SDK with Cascades, which allows developers to create graphically rich, high performance native applications in C/C++ or Qt. The Native SDK for BlackBerry 10 has a rich set of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that give developers access to core device features and a range of BlackBerry application services, such as Push and Payment services. Cascades is a powerful native application development toolset that allows developers to easily build visually stunning applications without having to write graphics code.

More

More details about the NDK for BlackBerry 10 are posted onhttp://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/05/blackberry-10-native-sdk/ and for Cascades at http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/05/blackberry-10-cascades-available-now/ .

The toolkit also includes support for HTML5 application developers with the BlackBerry 10 WebWorks™ SDK, allowing them to create native-like applications using common web programming technologies. The BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK allows developers to use HTML5 and CSS for building apps and provides JavaScript bindings to native device APIs along with RIM’s open source UI toolkit, bbUI.js, to create applications with native-like capabilities. In this initial release of the BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK, developers have access to a core subset of the full WebWorks APIs, including Identity, Application and App events, System and system events. More details about the BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK are posted on http://devblog.blackberry.com/2012/05/blackberry-10-webworks-sdk/.

Applications created with any of the BlackBerry 10 tools will run on BlackBerry 10 smartphones as well as BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablets when the new platform becomes available for the PlayBook. All of the SDKs will be updated to give developers access to more of the BlackBerry 10 unique capabilities over the coming months.

To further help developers get started on the BlackBerry 10 platform, BlackBerry 10 Jam attendees are being provided a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device. This testing unit is a further commitment from RIM to provide the developer community with the tools they need to build successful applications for BlackBerry 10 devices, so that they are ready when the first BlackBerry 10 devices are expected to launch in the latter part of 2012.

The NDK for BlackBerry 10, including Cascades, is available for download at http://developer.blackberry.com/native/download.

The BlackBerry 10 WebWorks SDK is available at http://developer.blackberry.com/html5/download.

Additional Useful Links for Developers:
BlackBerry Jam Zone: http://developer.blackberry.com
@BlackBerryDev: http://www.twitter.com/blackberrydev
Developer Success Stories: https://bdsc.webapps.blackberry.com/devzone/whyblackberry/stories

I had a long chat with Gbenro Ogundipe, the Brand, Relationships and Sales Partner at PlirisMobile, a Nigerian brand and makers of the PlirisBlaze. Time easily flew past as we discussed the story behind the company, the challenges they have faced along the way, and their successes.

It was fascinating stuff. What will probably interest you the most is the fact that Gbenro told me that PlirisMobile listened to ALL your feedback on the PlirisBlaze review and will launch the reloaded version with all those issues resolved.

I can tell you that the reloaded version is on the way with an 8 megapixel camera, 1.2 GHz processor and a 4-inch display.

Gbenro told the interesting story of how they were visited by SSS agents because of the large quantities of batteries they were shipping into the country (batteries contain materials used for explosives).

He told the story of the maverick geek, Femi Alade, who is the founder and ideas man – and forever playing with ideas, designs and tweaks.

He told the story of how PlirisMobile is building partnerships to get their products out in the open.

Gbenro also spoke about the challenges they face as a small player, about the factor of economies of scale, and of their balancing act to ensure profitability.

All in all, my conclusion is that the guys at PlirisMobile know what they are doing, and are crazy enough to push their ideas. I am excited about the PlirisMobile brand and look forward to playing with more of their devices.

I love music. I love to sing and dance, and I do both quite well. There are times that I can’t find a favourite track of mine to buy – especially oldies (I’m an 80s/90s guy). At such times, I head to YouTube to look for a video that I can convert to audio and playback on my mobile.

By default, on PC I use KeepVid. It is a web-based service that requires a Java installation running on your PC for it to work. Same goes for almost all the alternatives that I have found – Java is required.

The java requirement means that these services don’t work on smartphones and tablets. That wasn’t a good thing. You know, I am out and about, hear an old tune from Eddy Grant on the car radio and want to find it before I get busy again and forget. Dang! No PC available.

Anyway, I went searching and finally found one service that gets the job done without requiring a Java installation. It is called ClipConverter.cc (that’s the website address too). Its quite nice that the site has both a full desktop version (which loads when I visit on the PlayBook), and a mobile version (which loads when I visit on BlackBerry). Top marks for that!

ClipConverter.cc is a free web-based service that let’s you convert your YouTube videos to MP3, AAC, MP4, WMA, OGG, M4A, 3GP, AVI. MPG, WMV or FLV format, whichever you choose. As such, you can convert a YouTube video to a wide range of audio and video formats – whether you are on PC or mobile.

How it works? Find the YouTube video that you want to convert/download, copy the URL (link/address), paste in the provided text box, select the file format that you want to convert to, and click the ‘Start’ button.

Your video will be converted and a download link provided. Click that to download. Simple.

The resulting files are of superb quality. I am really stunned by the quality of audio and video reproduction.

If you are a music person like me, or into a wide variety of videos (comedy, documentary, et al), you should check out ClipConverter.cc!

Yesterday, for some reason BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) users were unable to change their Display Pictures (DP) for a few hours. I am guessing that it must have been frustrating for those people who change their DP 12 times daily.

As I do not belong to that category of BBM users, I didn’t notice a thing until some others began to complain of their inability to change their DPs.

Anyway, a BBM broadcast began to make the rounds. It got to me around 10pm. Here is the content of the broadcast in full:

This is the real broadcast from Blackberry© All rights reserved.

Broadcast this message to every single contact on your BBM© to reset your display picture, sorry for any inconvenience.

This message is to inform all of our users, that our servers have recently been really full, so we are asking for your help to fix this problem. We need our active users to re-send this message to everyone on your contact list in order to confirm our active users that use BlackBerry Messenger, if you do not send this message to all your BlackBerry Messenger contacts then your account will remain inactive with the consequence of losing all your contacts.

Symbol will automatic update in your BB when you broadcast this message. Your blackberry will be updated within 24 hours it will have a new lay out and a new color for chat.

Now, it is difficult for me to see how people could believe this and then re-broadcast, but they did. Immediately I read it, it was clear to me that it was a hoax. I had to point this out to the sender.

You are not going to lose your contacts or have your BlackBerry account de-activated because you didn’t re-broadcast a message. RIM won’t update your BlackBerry OS or user interface or DP either because you re-broadcast any message.

Anyone should be able to see through these horror chain message hoaxes by now. You know those superstitous religious messages that say you have to forward same to 10 contacts within 3 days or something bad will happen to you?

Duh! Pile of bird poo. That’s exactly what the above message is like. Same script; different cast.

Later, I ran into a tweet, apparently refering to this broadcast, that said, “It is so disheartening when Dumb people send Dumb BCs from their SMARTPHONES… Smartphones should be used by smart people..!”

Err…I wouldn’t have put it that harsh, but I needed a title for this post. A catchy title. Now you know where I got the title from. No offence intended.

The Galaxy Note by Samsung is a hybrid device that was made by Samsung to fight on two battle fronts. It is a hybrid device for those that want to get a tablet but still want it to be pocket-able enough to be carried around and used as a great mobile device. Let’s begin!

Quick Specifications

• 5.3 inch, 1280 x 800 pixels, touchscreen display.
• 1GB RAM
• 1.4GHz Dual Core Processor
• 16GB Internal memory + microSD (up to 32GB)
• Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread
• 8 MP camera with LED Flash / Front : 2 MP
• GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA+
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct
• Standard battery, Li-on 2,500 mAh

Display

First off, I must admit that the display is gigantic for a mobile device and considering that I’ve been using it as my primary phone for close to a week now, it still feels big. The resolution that the Galaxy Note packs is equal to what obtains on some computer monitors. The fact that this is packed into such a small package makes it absolutely gorgeous to use.

Camera
The Note comes with an 8 megapixel camera that doesn’t disappoint plus it shoots full High Definition (HD) video at 24-30 frames per second. It also has a scene mode, smile detection mode and a very bright LED flashlight.

General
The Note comes bundled with a stylus called the S Pen which you can use to take notes and navigate through the interface. The Note also is no slouch when it comes to multimedia. The dual core processor ensures that it shoots and plays back full HD video smoothly. Of all the phones that I have used, the Note is the one that got people asking me more questions than usual. The screen also always make all other Smartphones look tiny.

Bundled accessories are a carrying pouch that replaces the Battery cover, one piece earphones with replacement ear buds and a detachable USB charger.

Operating System and Software
The Galaxy Note runs Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread. Samsung has promised that Ice Cream Sandwich is coming soon as an update. Other phones – even Samsung’s Galaxy S II – have been updated to ICS but the update is still not available for the Note yet. I suspect that it is the bundled S Pen that is delaying the update.

Samsung Nigeria also bundled some apps like Afrinolly and Opera Mini. Other bundled software worthy of mention are apps like Kies air which you can use to transfer files to your phone via your browser and Polaris Office software which handles Office files.

Battery Life
The Note packs a 2,500 mAH battery and that is more than enough for the power guzzling Android OS. Most flagship phones ship with almost half of that and this plays in the Note’s favour. By the end of each day, I usually have at least 35-40% charge left.

Performance 
The Galaxy Note is a snappy device with minimal lag throughout the interface. It has a 1.4Ghz dual core processor, which makes for a good experience. However there  is some lag, which I think is caused by Samsung’s Touchwiz launcher that is baked into the device.

Shortcomings
The Note will certainly be considered too big by some people> In my experience, the pocketability is difficult sometimes. Another issue is that the Galaxy Note is more expensive than all current Galaxy Tab models including the 10.1 inch version.

Conclusion
The Galaxy Note is a device that is fighting on two fronts and it does it fairly well. As a phone it does well until you actually put it up to your ear to make or receive a phone call and that is when it looks/feels awkward. As a tablet slab, it actually does well. The HD screen is super sharp despite the fact that the technology used for it is Pentile.

All in all, it is a great device for people that want the best of both worlds with an added advantage of a solid battery and promise of the latest Android update.

The ranks of CDMA operators in Nigeria keep being decimated year after year. It is no news that CDMA networks have been struggling to keep head over water for years.

One by one, they have given way to the invading forces of GSM technology. As such, the news of Zoom Mobile shutting down its switches across the nation is no surprise. The question had been, How long would they be able to hold out?

The issues bedevilling CDMA operations in Nigeria have been clear for years. They include:

1. Operators were mostly small players with limited reach

2. Initial business model was small reach and high margins, resulting in expensive products and services

3. Infrastructure problems – lack of power supply, high taxes, etc

4. The latest mobile phones and devices are mostly available on GSM networks, while CDMA operators largely sold outdated gear

5. The flexibility that being able to swap SIMs between GSM devices offered was largely unavailable to CDMA users

6. CDMA devices often were more expensive than equivalent GSM devices

There may have been other issues on a case by case basis, but the above points cut across board of CDMA operators in the country.

Zoom Mobile say they are hunting for new investors to resurrect the company. I wish them luck with that. It is a tough environment for anyone to operate in. An economy in which the nation’s top employers – in this case banks – are sacking staff in droves is a shaky one.

“Just because she was there during the conversation does not mean anything! It is not evidence!” The voice was strong and firm. The bearer was a clean-shaved young man. He had on a white shirt over a pair of Black trousers. The shirt’s design gave his profession away.

John Makama was a well-renowned legal counsel. His brilliance and tenacity ranked him among the very best – men of more years than his. Afterall, it wasn’t everyday that lawyers become Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) at the age of 30. But John had. He knew his books and he knew his job. Right now, he was on the verge of detonating the equivalent of a thermonuclear bomb.

Two pairs of eyes watched him as he stood up. One pair belonged to the detective who had picked up Bola at her office earlier. He sat across the single table in the room. His arms were folded across his chest. His face was blank and almost emotionless, but his eyes stayed on the lawyer.

“You have been a Police officer long enough to know that you have no case against my client. Yes; she was privy to a telephone conversation in which sensitive information was divulged. But no; that doesn’t mean that she did anything with that information!” John paused before looking at the detective in the eye. “You cannot hold her. Detective Segun, you know how baseless this is.”

The second pair of eyes belonged to Bola. She sat across the table from the police officer and right next to John. Those eyes stared into nothing. He had been listening to the exchange between John, her legal counsel and Inspector Segun Goriola. But it was fast becoming a drone. She was draining of energy quickly.

It had been four hours now since she had been “invited” by the police to “assist” with investigations. On getting to the police station, it had turned out that she was prime suspect in the robbery incidence.

It was true that at the store the previous day, Madam Tuska had given out sensitive information on the phone. Information like the precise description of where a certain two million naira was kept at her residence. Bizzare why anyone would stash that amount of money in cash at home. But this was Nigeria. Worse things had been reported. What was two million naira in cash?

Apparently, someone had heard that bit of information and acted on it. In less than an hour, her residence had been broken into, and Madam Tuska’s assistant – the very lady at the other end of the phone conversation – was ordered at gunpoint to fetch the stash. The thief got away with the money but not after the young lady was shot in the left leg. Reason: she panicked and screamed for help.

Under questioning, Madam Tuska had mentioned that Bola was the only person in the store during that critical phone call. That made her a suspect.

It all seemed like a dream to Bola. This was not supposed to be happening. She had only wanted new items for her wardrobe. Madam Tuska’s loud drama on the phone had been interesting at first, then she had tuned off as it dragged on. She remembered playing two quick rounds of Angry Birds on her phone to kill time as Tuska had chatted and pranced on. After the second go at the game, she had grown tired of that too and put the phone aside to wait for the end of Madam Tuska’s conversation. That was when she had heard her speak of the money. Of course, she had done nothing with the information. From the store, she had driven straight home, getting there around 6pm and spent the rest of the day indoors cooking and then resting for the most part.

The police were not convinced that she was being truthful. As far as they were concerned, she had left Tuska, and made arrangements via telephone for someone to break into Tuska’s residence. Bola’s phone logs had no telephone records to back that position up, but they insisted anyway. She could have easilly made the call from any roadside call centre, they said.

Nothing definite. Nothing conclusive. No evidence. But she was considered guilty already. Justice according to the Nigeria Police. An accused was presumed guilty until and unless otherwise proven.

The detective tapped on the desk a couple of times and spoke, “I’m sorry, Mr. Makama, but we cannot let her go now. She has to remain in custody pending conclusion of our investigations.”

John Makama had been through this too many times. He knew the game, and it frustrated him to no end. They would keep her anyway. He would file to secure her release on bail, but that process could take weeks. Whatever. His client would suffer in a hell-hole all that time. The law was a pain in the butt here. The police did not respect anyone’s constitutional rights. They simply did as it pleased them. Often, they were judge, jury and executioner rolled into one. The system was so messed up that it was an insult to call it a system at all. It was more of a jungle. Chaos. The very lack of order.

John swore that when the Bible spoke of the earth being without form and void in the beginning, it was Nigeria that the writer had in mind. He had thought of leaving the country a few times, but always eventually renewed his resolve to stay and fight what was clearly going to be a very long battle.

“Mister Makama, this is our job. This woman may look sweet and nice to you, but we have seen worse.”

John interrupted him, “Every case shall be treated on its own merit. You have no right to pre-judge my client based on anything else you have seen. She is innocent until proven guilty! I have seen killer cops, you know. By your line of argument, we should assume that you are one.”

The detective was unmoved. He stood up. “She will remain with us here for now. You know what to do if you disagree with our position.”

That was it, thought John Makama. The ball was in his court from here. The idiot had spoken. Bola would have to be strong while he fought for her. But he would fight. And he would win, regardless of how hard or long it would be. He put his left hand on her shoulder gently but with a reassuring squeeze. “I will get you out of this.”

Emmanuel Olalere is one of my guest bloggers here on Mobility. He has a passion for mobile and regularly churns out great posts. He is an Android fan to boot – something that I am not. He has written posts that have helped Android users on this blog.

Emmanuel is also very young and talented. Much younger than I am. I like to hang around great guys like him. He is the future.

Yesterday, I published a post of his titled, To root or not to root. It was a nice post in which he talked about his dilemma about whether to root and flash his new baby, the Samsung Galaxy Note.

His article began to gather interesting comments. People engaged him on the subject. That’s what blogging does – a writer shares his thoughts, and readers engage. Everything was cool.

Then showed up two spoilers. Here are their comments. The first was from one Gabriel:

Is this suppose to be a blog post? The ‘article’ offers no help or insight to the readers.

Here’s the second spoiler from one TeeBee:

Is it just me or has the quality of articles on mn dropped?.. I was expectin something like what rooting is exactly and the pros and cons. This article, sorry blog entry is more suited for a facebook note or maybe blogger or something. Last I checked mn was a world class naija website.

Really, guys?

Let’s start with an examination of TeeBee’s comment. This blog (yes; blog – that’s why its name is Mobility BLOG) was rebranded from Mobility Nigeria (MN) over a year ago, and someone still calls it by the old name in a critique? How does he expect anyone to consider him a serious person?

Yes; Mobility blog is a world class website. It really is. But then, a blog is a website. By the way, is Facebook not a world class website too, though TeeBee recommends that Emmanuel’s article be posted as a note there instead? And Blogger? Duh!

As for quality of content, double duh! We get accolades EVERYDAY from around the world. We still received one yesterday. Yes; right after the rooting article was published.

I think that both Gabriel and TeeBee don’t know what they’re talking about. To examine the subjects of quality of content and whether or not the said article qualifies as a blog post, let’s answer the simple question, What is a blog?

What exactly is a blog?
To answer this question, I will not be re-inventing the wheel. I hereby publish word-for-word the definition of a blog from Blogger.com:

A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules.

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what’s new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

Did we read that definition? Are Gabriel and TeeBee in class? That’s a rock solid definition of a blog, and I didn’t make it up. A blog post doesn’t always have to teach or provide an insight. Not always.

At times, a blog post is just about the thoughts or experiences of the writer. At times, the writer is simply thinking out loud.

Now that we know what a blog is, exactly what is it about that blog post by Emmanuel that makes it invalid here on Mobility blog, or makes it of poor quality for world class rating? What about it detracts from the global standards of blogging?

I appreciate criticism and all that. I can even take jabs at my person. What I do not appreciate is BLIND and UNREASONABLE criticism that can discourage young and upcoming talents like Emmanuel.

To answer Gabriel’s question, No; Emmanuel’s rooting article is not supposed to be a blog post. It IS a blog post.

And to answer Teebee, No; the quality of content on Mobility blog hasn’t dropped. Its just you.

This post is my public stand for Emmanuel and others like him who take the pains to churn out great stuff here on Mobility blog and elsewhere.

People may not always like everything that you write, guys, but their personal preference has nothing to do with the quality of your blog posts. The problem is their subjective line of sight. And reasoning.

Keep churning out those great stuff, guys! Emmanuel, to you in particular, keep the Android materials coming in. I got your back.

Class dismissed.

The woman’s voice was distinct and clear. Bola could make out every single thing that she said, though the distance between her and the woman on the phone was over ten metres. She was that loud and clear. The lady’s voice was so loud that Bola was sure that everyone within a block could hear every bit of the conversation. At least her own side of it.

Besides talking at the top of her voice – screaming seemed more appropriate though – she walked up and down the store, then would walk out the open door, stand talking a few minutes, and then walk back in. All the time, she was gesticulating passionately. It was a highly animated drama.

Bola had come to her favourite boutique, Tuska, at Opebi to pick up some dress items. But now, she was forced to sit through what was turning into a marathon telephone conversation between Madam Tuska and someone she knew not. Bola had been amused the first few minutes of the telephone drama. Now, she was totally weary from waiting for it to end. Already, the phone call was in its eighteenth minute.

Bola had picked out a handful of items already – dresses, shoes, and jewelry. She just needed to go through her usual ritual with Madam Tuska to strike a deal on how much it all cost and when to pay. Yes; the perks of being a longtime – and hence a special – customer at a medium-sized store.

Thankfully, the call ended, and the big, boisterous woman known to friends and customers as Madam Tuska dropped the phone and turned in her direction with a wide beam, “My friend, shall we finish our business? I am really sorry, but I needed to make my instructions clear to that girl!”

“Not a problem,” Bola smiled. She was wise enough not to express anything that suggested that she was interested in whatever it was that the madam had been on about. Madam Tuska would simply dive into a session of storytelling that would take many more minutes of her time. If there was someone on God’s earth who deserved a Guiness record for talking, it had to be this woman.

Though Bola’s time had been wasted, it wasn’t so bad – and that was only because she had time on her hands today. She had taken the day off from work and so could afford to be gracious. Still, she considered her dues paid already and wanted out of there as fast as possible.

Madam Tuska pulled up a chair and sat, her mouth still in top gear about this and that. Bola maintained her polite smile as the store owner picked up her sales records book and began to scribble as they both went through the items that Bola had picked out.

7.45am the following day, Bola pulled her car into the company parking lot and found her favourite spot. In a few minutes, she was swinging towards the main entrance to her office building.

She stopped to sign in at the reception, bent over the register and froze as she was interrupted. “Miss Bola Akinola?” A male voice. She did not recognise the voice. She straightened and turned to face the owner of the strange voice.

Strange voice’s face was expectedly strange too. She was sure that she had never seen him before. Fairly light skinned, he was tall and had a clear athletic build under the white shirt and black trousers. Though he wore a polite smile, Bola felt slightly cold about him. Yet, he could be a prospect. She promptly warmed up.

“Yes; I am she.” She responded with a natural smile. “How may I help you?”

He flashed an ID card. A cop. Nigerian cops didn’t have those fancy badges to flash around like cops in Hollywood movies had. An ID card was all in these parts – and it was sufficient. Usually, it was a poorly done card too.

Badge or no badge, a cop was a cop. Bola felt her heart jump in her chest. She felt the rush of blood through her body. A momentary loss of bearing. She had never been approached this way by the police before. Ever. A million and one thoughts went through her mind but ended up a jungled mess that even she could make nothing of.

She did know that no matter how innocent you were, anything was possible in this environment. That was enough reason to panic. Justice was hardly ever served. But she pulled herself together. Whatever it was, it would be better handled with a clear head.

The officer stood there, watching intently.”You are wanted for questioning at the station with regards a robbery incidence at one Madam Tuska’s residence yesterday.”

“Madam Tuska?” Bola stammered the familiar name out. “Robbery? What happened? Is she okay?”

Bola distinctly felt her body go into panic mode again. What had been stolen? What did she have to do with the robbery? Residence? But she didn’t even know where Madam Tuska lived! How did the police trace her to the office? What sort of palava was this? Easy, girl; easy! She reigned her nerves and emotions in again.

The police officer nodded slightly, “Yes; she is okay. However, we need you to assist us with our investigations. I will give you details at the station.” He was polite, but the grave mien and tone told her that this was more than a request.

“Okay.” She turned to the lady at the desk. “Call admin! Inform them that I have been invited by the Police. What station?” The question was directed at the law enforcement officer.

“Alagbon”

“Alagbon,” Bola repeated to the lady at the desk. “Did you get that? If I am not back in one hour…”

The lady nodded. “Yes, miss. I will pass this across right away.”

Outside, there was an unmarked car waiting with a uniformed and armed officer standing by. Bola wondered that she hadn’t noticed the car when driving in earlier.

The uniformed officer got in in front beside the driver, who turned out to be another uniformed officer. She got in the back with the plain clothes officer, and the car pulled out of the parking lot.

PS: Continued tomorrow!

I am currently on my second Android device. The Samsung Galaxy S (SGS) was my first and my current device is the Samsung Galaxy Note.

I flashed my SGS with more custom ROMs than I care to remember and when Samsung officially said that they weren’t going to update the phone to Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), I just headed over to the XDA developers website and flashed about 12 variants of ICS onto it over a period of time.

I recently got the Samsung Galaxy Note and it shipped with Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread. I am so tempted to root it and flash it with one of several custom ROMs that I have been eyeing.

Rooting means gaining super user access to your Android phone. This enables you to do things like flash a custom firmware or do some things that you cannot otherwise do.

I am in a dilemma now as to whether I should root and satisfy my geeky curiousity or stick to the status quo and just enjoy the Touchwiz UI until Samsung officially updates the Note to Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sigh!

I got the chance to play around with an Amazon Kindle Fire a few days ago, and thought some of you would be interested in finding out how it went.

Intro
The Kindle Fire is an e-Book reader cum tablet based on Android OS – but a forked version. This means that the code is Android but has been so customised that it is almost totally unrecognisable as Android.

The entire interface is totally different. The primary purpose of the Kindle Fire is to serve as an ebook reader – and the interface reflects this. The homescreen is modeled after a bookshelf. There is a search bar at the top of the page and just below that a horizontal navigation bar with tabs for Newsstand, Books, Music, Video, Docs, Apps and Web.

You can tap the notification bar at the top of the dispay for a dropdown menu with options to lock the display orientation, adjust volume, brightness, wifi, sync and to access more settings.

At the bottom of the display are the following buttons – home, Back, Menu, Bookmarks, and a fullscreen toggle. Tapping the menu button throws up a pop-up menu that reminds you of the Fire’s Android roots.

Can you install apps and games on the Fire? Of course, you can, but not from the Google Play Store. As mentioned earlier, this device runs on a fork of Android. Part of what that means is that the umbilical cord to Google has been cut – no access to the Play Store, and no control whatsoever by Google over what runs or does not run on this baby.

The Kindle Fire has only two connectivity ports – a 3.5mm audio port and a microUSB port. Both are located at the bottom of the device.

Here’s a picture comparing the ports on the Kindle Fire with those on the BlackBerry PlayBook, another 7-inch display tablet.

The Fire has a 7-inch dispay that is gorgeous. The device is designed to be held in portrait mode by default. As far as build quality of the device is concerned, this is a solid piece of work.

A Multi-purpose eBook Reader?
The Kindle Fire isn’t just good for ebook reading only. It plays back audio and video too, among other things. I wasn’t able to test whether files can be transfered to the device via USB cable, though I seriously doubt that.

You can order and read a wide range of magazines on the device too.

But I was totally overjoyed to find a comicbook collection available (10 titles in all), including my childhood favourites like Avengers and Iron Man. I was tempted to make away with the unit on account of this alone.

Connectivity and Web Browsing
The Fire connects to a wifi network for internet access. It easily found and connected to the Android hotspot on my Samsung Galaxy S II.

The Silk web browser is good, but has the reputation of being fast when connecting to Amazon’s services and slow with everything else. It did load and render the Mobility blog website accurately.

I ran a comparison test of loading the Mobility blog homepage on the Fire and the PlayBook. The Fire had a headstart of two minutes, yet the PlauBook loaded up the page completely at least a full minute before the Fire did.

Apps and Games

As mentioned earlier, apps are available for the Fire. Some of these include: Facebook, x-comics, IMDb, Pulse, Bible, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, QuickOffice, and Email.

Buying Books and Stuff
This is the tricky part if you live in Nigeria or one of the countries that Amazon does not support at the moment. You cannot download ANYTHING if you do not have a recognised debit/credit card.

You will need a US debit/credit card with a US address. Or a card and address from any other supported country. You either do or your Kindle Fire is a dud. There is no way around that.

Take note of this if you have your eyes on the Fire.

Conclusion
I find the Kindle Fire a nice piece of work, in terms of both hardware and software. During my hands-on, everything ran smoothly – except for when browsing outside of Amazon’s services.

In my opinion, it is a perfect choice for someone who’s primary goal is to read books, but who also wants to be able to do other things like watch movies, listen to music, and more.

It is compact and portable, well built, and above all more affordable than most other tablets with this quality of work put in. Highly recommended.

Taking a look at the newly announced Samsung Galaxy S III, the natural question that I find myself asking is, How many people will upgrade from the Galaxy S II to the S III?

I have no doubt that the average techie/geek will splurge on this device. But I am also interested in those who are not techies.

Reasons To Upgrade
The display is much larger at 4.8 inches (720 x 1280 pixels).

There’s the Quad-core 1.4 GHz processor, which should make for greatly improved performance.

The 2100 mAh battery sounds like much, but it remains to be seen how the huge display and more powerful processor drain power.

So, that’s it – the only marked resasons to consider the S III as an upgrade to the S II.

Reasons Not To Upgrade
Both the Galaxy S II and the S III run Android ICS.

Same camera specs.

Everything else mainstream is pretty much the same. I know that the voice control feature and a few other nifty features are there, but those are still novelties.

Conclusions
The question for you, dear reader, is this: If you own the Galaxy S II, will you upgrade to the S III? If you don’t own an S II, are you getting the S III all the same?

Right from the word Go, PlirisBlaze is a Nigerian mobile brand that makes out like it means business.

A Nigerian smartphone brand? Does that surprise you? This is not the first time a Nigerian company is venturing into the making of smartphones. Anyone remember the Anabel smartphones? They were a range of Windows Mobile smartphones made by a Nigerian company. There was also Zico, though that was a feature phone brand.

My suspicion is that there are still other Nigerian brands that will make their way into this smartphone manufacturing space. However, the Pliris Blaze is already here, and we’ve taken it through it’s paces to see what it brings to the table.

Yes it does. At least, amidst other Nigerian mobile phone efforts. And I dare say that this is a Nigerian phone that shouldn’t be ignored. I also suspect that PlirisMobile Nigeria Limited, the company behind the Blaze mean business. Well, keep your fingers crossed and come with me as we explore this device.

Packaging & Accessories
The packaging is a winner – a white box with contents neatly arranged. But the accessories are just as good. They are all in white too, reminding one of Apple’s signature. Included accessories include: earphones, 4GB microSD card, microUSB cable, charging point, standard battery, and extended battery.

It is a complete package.

I See You…
Yes I know that it is said, Never judge a book by its cover. the Pliris Blaze, and it did not disappoint in the looks department. First and foremost, this is a gorgeous looking phone, even though at times I feel like I’ve seen this design before from another manufacturer. Never mind. What’s important is that it’s a well designed phone and feels solid in the hand.

Of course, it is the usual PDA-style slab design, with the 4.0 inch multi-touch capacitive screen occupying most of the front space. Above the screen, you find the Android label to show that this is an Android powered phone. There’s also a front facing camera (1 megapixel) for video calls, and an LED indicator. Below the screen, you get four capactive touch buttons that are not very sensitive to the touch, but on the average gets the job done.

The back of the phone is where its beauty really shines. The combination of off-white and silver colour for the back cover is really tasteful. You will also find a 3.0 megapixel camera with dual LED flash.

But Do You Have Character?
We have established that the Pliris Blaze is a beautiful phone. But then, does it have character? Will it be able to deliver on its promises? Our testing shows that this is a phone that passes, though not with flying colours as there are a few character flaws.

1. There’s Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) running in the veins of this baby. All the goodies of Gingerbread are here, multi-tasking, wifi-hotspot, plus all the apps available in the Google Play Store.

Well, that’s only half the story. The manufacturer has done a little tweaking of the OS to spice up your experience. For instance, Instead of the stock Android homescreen, you get an option of two homescreen launchers built into the OS. Zeam home screen launcher is enabled by default. But you can always change it by pressing the home button.

Also, there are a number of apps that do not come pre-installed on the stock Android OS that are here out-of-the-box. Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Angrybirds, Texty, etc. This is some serious savings on your precious bandwidth.

2. The Processor is a Qualcom chip clocked at 700Mhz with 512MB RAM to go along with it. While I would have loved to see a higher processor, this is good enough for most tasks.

3. Memory card slot with a 4GB card installed. If that’s not enough for you, you can get a card with higher memory up to 32GB and the phone will handle it without issues.

4. There’s HSDPA for fast Internet usage.

5. There’s multi-media catering to your photos, videos, and music needs. I must say though that pictures taken with the camera of this phone won’t impress your friends. It is only a 3 megapixel camera afterall. But the music and video players deliver well.

6. There’s a front facing camera for video calls and chatting.

7. The manufacturer has included an extra battery and a 10hrs extended battery pack in the box. This should supply all the needed juice for the phone to make it through the day.

8. There’s FM radio and terrestrial TV as the manufacturer puts it to keep you entertained and informed. I was able to watch local stations on the phone. Really nice.

9. There’s a dual SIM card slot, which means you’ll be able to use two numbers at the same time.

10. The music and video players deliver very well. The speaker on the back of the phone also produces good sound.

You Are Not Perfect
The only phone that is perfect is called “No phone”. Unfortunately, the Pliris Blaze is a phone and it is hereby imperfect. Yes, it’s got character, but it has also got some character flaws.

Dual SIM functionality: maybe it’s the unit that was sent to us, but the dual SIM functionality just didn’t work. The phone only registered SIMs in the first SIM card slot. I swapped the SIMs back and forth and it was the same result all the time. After several attempts, I just gave up.

Display/Screen: the 4.0 inch screen is very bright and remains readable under direct Sunlight. It is capable of displaying up to 16 million colours. However, touching the screen in use is a different ball game. It turns out that the screen is not very responsive to touch. And one cannot help but wonder if this is a capacitive touch screen.

Call Quality: Call quality is average on the whole. Occasional dropped calls, low audio during calls are some of the weak points of this device.

Camera: The 3.0 megapixel camera sports a dual LED flash. Just to put it bluntly, the camera on this device is not impressive at all.

Conclusion
This is a Nigerian phone that means business, despite its many flaws. The Blaze is currently sold in the market for N50,000. With right pricing, it should do well in the market.

Smartphones are great tools of productivity, multimedia and internet access but are not always the best choice – at least not in Nigeria at the moment anyway. The cheapest Android phone that you can get is around 25 to 29 thousand Naira (I stand to be corrected) and that for the everyday Nigerian is not cheap.
[Editor's note: There are N19,000 Android smartphones in the market]

Feature phones are most times seen as irrelevant and not special. In the media, especially on the American blogging scene,  feature phones are seldom mentioned because all they cover and post rumors or reviews about are smartphones with only few that do feature phones at all.

THAT will not work in Nigeria and I have reasons to back that up. Here are a few.

1. In a country of over 155 million people with a recent statistic saying that a huge majority depend on less than $2 dollars a day, using any kind of smartphone poses a challenge because they are out of reach for most people.
2. Many of those that do purchase smartphones eventually either underuse it or just carry it for the recognition factor and nothing more.
3. Blackberry was recently stated to be the number one smartphone OS in Nigeria ahead of Android, Symbian and iOS – and for good reason too. There is the incentive of the Blackberry Messenger that keep the owners connected and most Blackberries purchased are either London used or bought second/third hand.
   
   At an event recently held in Lagos sponsored by BlackBerry makers, RIM, a representative said that they do not accurately know the amount of BlackBerries in Nigeria because most were imported as used devices, so the devices still register as foreign
4. The prices of most of these uber-super smartphones cost more than an average Nigerian is willing or able to shell out for a mobile device. Even most people that use Blackberry carry mid range to low end models.

So what happens when you cannot afford a smartphone? Simple: you should consider a good feature phone that suits your needs.

The most painful aspect about this scenario is that Nigerian developers still fail to take advantage of the gold mine that is Java/feature phones.

A very good example of an app that is taking advantage of this is the popular 2Go chat client. Note that this app is not even Nigerian.

A good look around the interface reveals that it is bare-bones. There is nothing spectacular about this app, yet its popularity in the country is undeniable.

Conclusion
Feature phones are often times overlooked or marginalized but in our Nigerian economy today, they rule. Smartphones will only continue be used by a little fraction of the mobile phone community in Nigeria.

Anyone serious about mobile in the Nigerian market needs to explore the feature phone market extensively. That is where the numbers – and the money – is.

Yesterday when I published news of BlackBerry taking the number one smartphone spot in Nigeria, there were some concerns from those who felt that there was no way BlackBerry could have pushed Symbian aside that easilly.

Well, I have it on good authority that Nokia doesn’t really see Nigeria as a smartphone market. This is also the reason that the Lumia range is not sold officially in Nigeria yet. Don’t ask me for my sources. I cannot reveal them.

But the revelation is shocking; isn’t it? But that isn’t all. I also have it on good authority that Nokia is pushing the Asha range to take market share from RIM/BlackBerry. It sounds odd to me, as the Asha range is not a smartphone platform. Asha lacks multi-tasking and native 3rd party apps, but is loved by networks because operators get to keep all data revenues unlike the scenario with BlackBerry Internet Service in which revenue is shared.

I doubt if that means operators don’t like BlackBerry either. They clearly like it and are pushing it everywhere. That all-round data compression that BIS offers has been explained here before, and it is of great benefit to the operators’ networks.

But Nokia is certainly correct about Nigeria not being a smartphone market. About 80-90% of mobiles in use in the country are non-smartphones. Amazing, but true. As such, pushing Asha is not a bad idea. However, it means that Nokia is giving up the smartphone segment here.

It is then no wonder that BlackBerry found it easy pickings.

Still, I wonder if it would hurt that bad for Nokia to make Lumia devices available here, even if it is without any fanfare.

Intriguing stuff; right? What are your thoughts about all this – Nigeria being a feature phone market, no Lumia, and Asha versus BlackBerry?

It was last year that my older colleague and friend Emeka Okoye made the prediction that in 2012 BlackBerry would become the number one smartphone platform in Nigeria. Of course, I firmly believed that it wouldn’t happen – and I wrote an article to say so. That was in May 2011.

Well, if the available statistics presented at Mobile Web West Africa 2012 are anything to go by, it has happened. Mr. Okoye was on the spot, and I missed it.

The official figures say that there are curently 2.4million active BlackBerry subscribers in the country. That tallies with my informed estimate as given to the Financial Times in an interview about a month ago.

As at last year, Symbian was by a huge margin the number one smartphone platform in Nigeria. If BlackBerry’s growth has tallied with my expectations and is now number one, Symbian’s position must have dropped faster than I envisaged. I will not go into details as to why I think that happened. That story is for another article.

Whither Android?
As wonderful as Android is doing globally, it remains a niche platform here. A very small percentage of people in Nigeria use it. The same holds for iOS, which has an even smaller basket of users.

In my May 2011 article, I had presented Samsung’s Android smartphones as a more credible challenge to Symbian than BlackBerry. Well, a year later, it turns out that I was wrong on that. BlackBerry has floored everyone.

BlackBerry: Love It or Hate It
Whether you love it or you hate it, BlackBerry whips up strong feelings here in Nigeria. There are those who very ignorantly say that Nigeria is BlackBerry’s last market. The joke is on them.

BlackBerry is growing even faster in South Africa and has strong performances in a number of other countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Hate it or love it, BlackBerry is king of the roost here for now. All hail the King!

Web browsing is among the top five activities that I carry out on my mobile. Because of this, my choice of web browsers is very important whether I am browsing for casual or serious purposes.

I currently use a phone which runs Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread). I have several browsers installed on it. They include Opera Mini, Opera mobile, Dolphin browser and UC Mobile.

The browser that I currently use as default is Dolphin mobile browser. This is because of all the add-ons that are available for it. Examples include: Save to PDF and Google Translate.

The killer feature for me is that unlike with Opera Mini where the saved pages are not accessible to any other application, I am able to just save a page as PDF on Dolphin browser.

I use Opera Mini as my second browser because of the data compression feature, especially where available internet service is not so fast. I also use UC Mobile occasionally when I want to download something on my browser because its download manager is still among one of the best on mobile phones.

Irrespective of the mobile operating system that your phone is running, which mobile browser do you like best, and why? If possible, post your comment to this article from your preferred mobile browser of choice, so that we can take a poll of some sort.

The Asha 302 is one of the most advanced phones in Nokia’s Asha line-up. With a 1GHz processor, claims to Mail for Exchange functionality, Nokia’s new data compressing web browser, and looks that sweep you off your feet, the Asha 302 sounds amazing for a phone that is pegged around N20,000 only.

While you wait for the full review, here are a few pictures to whet your appetite.

Looking classy, right?

PS: Don’t forget that you can place your order from our Phone Store. Send phone name and your location to 08031991363.

Mobile Web West Africa 2012 has come and gone. While I chaired both the opening and closing sessions of the two-day event, and was quite busy, I made sure to pay attention to a number of key points that I gleaned from the event. I thought that I would share a few of those.

Consumer Facing Approach
From the stories of Bozza, IrokoTV, MXit, Eskimi and others, it is clear to me that mobile app developers and content creators need to face the consumer more.

We need to cook up stuff that meets the average consumer’s needs, not the average techie’s needs. As long as we do things to satisfy our tech cravings, we are missing the big picture. Techies are the minority.

Recently, when I announced that I would be introducing fictional works that include romance and adventure here on Mobility blog, there was an uproar from the core tech community. In some cases, the idea was called names. I ignored the noise and went ahead with it. Mobilista, our new fiction category, has been published for two weeks running now, and has received rave commendations.

Some of the harshest critics of the idea have turned around to hail it as a brilliant piece of work. But beyond that, guess what – traffic on Mobility has been on the increase since Mobilista went live. New readers – mostly non-tech people – are showing up and spending more time here reading and commenting.

Why? Mobilista tells the stories of everyday people in everyday situations of work, romance, family, etc and infuses tips and information about mobile into those stories in a non-intrusive manner. People love stories. Mobilista pushes tech via stories. In my opinion, it is a perfect strategy. Of course, anyone is free to disagree.

At MWWA2012, I remember Ayo Alli sharing how no-one in a room full of developers had heard of Eskimi, yet over a million Nigerians are active on that platform. Eskimi isn’t a techie thing. Simple.

Someone also asked the CEO of MXit what exactly that platform does. The answer was classic, “I don’t know either.” Of course, he later went on to mention that MXit meets a basic human need – the desire to communicate. People want to communicate.

Bozza publishes videos that appeal to everyday people and has witnessed surprise growth.

I am convinced that doing tech for techie sake is a bad idea. We need to present tech in a way that gets the average person interested in it – whether they are mothers, husbands, students, accountants, teachers, etc.

Everything is going mobile. Why should tech sound like rocket science to the people who should be using it? If tech keeps sounding like tongues and looking difficult to regular people, it loses its relevance.

Good Ideas Well Implemented; Not Unique Ideas
Contrary to what you’ve been told, it is often not unique ideas that fly. Take a look at the tech dustbin heap, and it is full of unique ideas. But look around and you’ll see plain, good ideas doing well all over the place. Well implemented good ideas.

What is unique about Facebook? Twitter? Google? LinkedIn? Eskimi? Bozza? IrokoTV? MXit? Nothing. Everyone of those ideas are common and have been done again and again. They were not the first; they were just well implemented.

The idea behind Coca-Cola is not unique. It is plain easy and common: there are plenty of other cola drinks out there. The difference is in the implementation.

Don’t be afraid of going down a street that others have been. Just be sure that your implementation is good.

Monetisation
As far as I can tell, none of the speakers dealt with this extensively. As a matter of fact, many sidestepped it.

Yet, we must face and address this. We know the problems. But God help you if you are waiting for Interswitch to put their game together and make APIs publicly available. It may not happen till my son has his first child.

The mobile money companies are also generally going the same route. The banks? Pffft!

We must find a way to monetise despite the restrictions on ground. I am not saying that it is going to be easy. But we cannot fold our arms and whither away because of the restrictions on ground. We must innovate.

Nigeria Needs Success Stories
Yes; we do. Let’s look at the mobile terrain: where are the success stories in terms of both user numbers and income?

For example, all the apps and services doing well in Nigeria and showcased at MWWA were all non-Nigerian in origin. We might exempt IrokoTV, but then even that has a diaspora posture.

We need tech celebrities – techies who have clear success stories. No; it is not easy and will not be easy, but one success story will inspire others. And dear friends, inspiration is a powerful thing. We need someone resident and operating here, who runs a tech business and who has the numbers and cash to show for it. Before we know it, others will spring up one after the other. The question is, Who will break the ice?

Mobile Web West Africa 2012 was a great time of sharing, networking and fun. I hope that by the time the 2013 edition is held, we can tell a slightly different story.

“We’re here at our agreed meetup point. Exactly where are you?” Nnamdi stood beside his metallic blue saloon. He had on a black V-neck over a pair of Chinos shorts. The pair of sneakers he had on his feet completed the picture of someone out for some fun time.

“The ladies are not smiling here,” he said into the phone after a brief interlude. He looked up and down the road off which he was parked as he spoke. “But I do understand the situation. It cannot be helped. Do take good care of mom. We will find our way around.”

He opened the door to the driver’s seat, sat and turned to face the occupants of the car. Up front and beside him was Bola in a simple flowery dress. Behind her sat another lady who had on a white t-shirt over a pair of faded jeans trousers.

The car air conditioning system was on the lowest temperature and blowing cool air at a fast pace. Still, some trickles of sweat could be observed on each occupant of the car. The afternoon tropical sun was simply on a vengeance mission to punish everyone who lived within its sphere of influence.

“Ladies, I have not too good news. We are going to have to do this on our own,” he said. “Kola won’t be joining us this afternoon.”

The second lady spoke up, “He’s just begging to be lashed. We drive all the way from Lagos to Abeokuta. We are here on time, and the person who lives here himself is nowhere to be found.”

Abeokuta was a Yoruba city in south western Nigeria less than a hundred kilometres from Lagos. Its name means “Under the rock” and was so given because the city was laid out below a major geological marvel – a huge rock set on a hill. That rock – Olumo Rock – was a tourist attraction for the city.

In ages past, the rock was a place of refuge for residents in times of war and a strategic point to monitor enemy advances. The settlement had since spread out from the rock and developed into the city that is a mixture of the ancient and modern that it had now evolved into.

“Rita,” Bola turned, “Easy, girl. Let’s find out what happened before we send the whip squad after him.”

Nnamdi replied, “He just got a call from his mom. She’s a bit under the weather. He has to go see her. You know she lives alone.”

“He was already late anyway. He kept us waiting. He gets off the hook today because of his mom. Next time, he will hear from me!” Rita wasn’t going to let the moment pass without pointing out the obvious.

“Well,” Bola chimed in, “None of us here knows the way to Olumo Rock. What is the plan now?”

Nnamdi picked up his phone again. “Perhaps it is time to depend on an old friend of mine.”

While the ladies looked on in interest, he found the application labelled “Maps” on the phone and tapped to launch it. Rita tilted her head a bit and asked, “How reliable is that thing?”

“It has helped me quite a bit on a number of occassions in Lagos and on trips to Abuja. Let’s hope that its got Abeokuta fairly covered well. Olumo Rock is a major landmark of this town. If anything should show up on this map, it should be Olumo.”

The phone displayed a message to indicate a search for GPS signals. “GPS is a network of satellites used to fix positions all across the planet. If we get a signal, we are good to go.” Nnamdi explained.

“Beep. Beep.” The GPS signal was found. Nnamdi hit the “Search” button and typed out “Olumo” in the field. The results popped up and indicated that it was just five kilometres away.

“Nice,” Rita said. “What next?”

“We follow her directions,” Nnamdi tapped the ‘Drive’ icon on the maps application and a road map to their destination was laid out. A soft feminine voice instructed, “Drive straight ahead for the next 300 metres and take the left turn.”

Nnamdi grinned and looked from Bola to Rita. “This babe here never let’s me down!”

“I see,” Bola spat, “I let you down, right?” She shifted in her seat, mock anger on her face. Rita laughed and rocked at the back of the car.

“Jealous of a computer programme? I’m shocked.” Grinning from ear to ear, Nnamdi fixed his seat belt. The car pulled on to the road and picked up speed. “That is a new one.”

“Me? Jealous of what? We should be asking you why you seem infatuated by a computer programme. Not so, Rita?”

The lady in the back rocked again and laughed back. “Bola you should watch your man closely. Men of this age are strange creatures, you know. Fancy falling for a computer.”

Experience told Nnamdi that when you have two ladies team up against you, you play along. Resistance is futile. Plus, he could take good natured jabs. This was good natured. The smile on his face wasn’t forced. He was enjoying this, and the way to go was to make the ladies get out of this scoring high.

“You know that Bola has nothing to fear from this computer programme, even if I am a wee bit infatuated with it.”

Bola raised her eyebrows at him. He could see her from the corner of his eyes.

“This computer programme does not tell me that she loves me. She is incapable of a kiss. And she certainly cannot keep me warm when the weather is cold.” Though he spoke, his eyes were on the road now.

Abeokuta traffic was leisurely. Apparently, no-one was in a hurry here – a stark contrast to the race track attitude that was prevalent on the roads in Lagos. Here, it seemed more like a pleasure ride, which was exactly what he wanted.

“That’s my man!” Bola said and stroked his head gently. “Spoken like a true warm-blooded male creature.”

“Ahem, this car is beginning to get warm, for some reason. Please, spare me the lovey-dovey thing. My man isn’t here, you know. Can you be considerate please?”

Everyone laughed together as Nnamdi took the left turn prescribed by the maps application and then listened for the next instructions. The car cruised down the narrow side road. In the far distance, the peak of the rock loomed.

A few minutes later, the female voice on the phone said to the hearing of the occupants of the car, “Now turn right and you have arrived at your destination.”

To the right was a well laid out gateway, boldly painted red, and behind it, the magnificient rock called Olumo.

I have stated publicly my position that Windows Phone is the most elegant mobile OS around. Of course, not everyone agrees.

But when someone like Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, purchases a Windows Phone smartphone and then proceeds to make the following statements, you know that I’m on to something:

“Just for looks and beauty I definitely favor the Windows Phone over Android”

“….I’m just shocked, I haven’t seen anything yet that isn’t more beautiful than the other platforms”

“Intuitive and beautiful”

“it’s makes me feel ‘Oh my gosh, I’m with a friend not a tool’” (In regards to the animations and graphics)

“I just really like the experience and will be carrying the Windows Phone everywhere”

He also notes how apps look just “more beautiful than on Android or iPhone”

Of course, we can expect certain fanboys to cry wolf. Where’s the fun without those guys?

Visit WP Central for full details.