The Soccer World Cup 2010 has finally arrived and the streets are abuzz with eager fans from South Africa and abroad.  If you have seen any of the games, you will have noticed the insane noise of the vuvuzela’s.  These innocent trumpet-like gadgets are capable of making an incredible noise and when 60 000 of them are all going at once, its no wonder the players can’t hear their coach!

Well hot on the heels of any trend come mobile applications and this time is no different.  Visit iTunes or any other application store and you will probably find four or five different vuvuzela applications that you can load onto your phone.  Some of them are quite impressive and immitate the irritating noise really well (and fortunately not as loud!)

Here are some iPhone examples:

If you are looking for a GREAT mobile site where you can track the soccer, visit the Sport24 mobile site.  Just type m.footyfans.co.za into your phone’s browser…

As new broadband Internet cables go live (such as the Seacom cable), the price of Internet access keeps dropping and the speeds keep rising.  In the data rate comparison done 22 April, MTN was clearly the most affordable option, but now  their competitors have come back with some rather compelling offers too.  The competition makes pricing more competitive and can only be an advantage to the consumer. This comparison was found on My Broadband and you can read their article here.

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More than 100 million Facebook subscribers access their Facebook account via their mobile phone.  Facebook is the most popular mobile site in nearly every country in the world – especially after they launched their text messaging service (which is similar to MXit) that allows you to chat to your Facebook buddies.

Until recently, when you access Facebook on your MTN phone, you would have been charged standard data rates.  But here is some great news!  MTN is now allowing their subscribers FREE access to Facebook through the mobile site 0.facebook.com (zero.facebook.com).  When you access this site using your MTN phone, you will not be charged for the data as long as you stay on the site.  However, if click on a link that takes you to the official Facebook mobile site (for example, if you would like to look at a friend’s photographs), then you will be charged standard data rates.

You will notice that 0.facebook.com is a very simplified version of Facebook, which means that almost any WAP (Internet) enabled mobile phone will be able to access this site.

In an article on IT Web, MTN’s chief marketing officer Santie Botha made this comment: “In the true spirit of innovation and bringing our customers convenience – including the latest in technology at affordable rates – MTN has collaborated with Facebook on this venture to ensure our customers are among the first to benefit from this social service and communication offering for free.”

“We are always looking to work with innovative companies to provide simple and fast mobile access to Facebook across the world,” says Henri Moissinac, head of Mobile Business, Facebook. “Thanks to our collaboration with MTN, people will now be able to access Facebook for free through 0.facebook.com.”

Kudos to you MTN!

Technology journalists and bloggers are up in arms about Facebook’s latest spate of privacy infringement misshaps – to the point where 31 May has been declared “Leave Facebook Day” and many people will be deleting their facebook profiles.

However, the average facebook user continues to use facebook, unaware of the potential dangers. In today’s post, I’d like to explain what the fuss is all about so that you can make your own decision as to whether or not you will continue to use this popular social networking site.  I promise not to get too technical.

When facebook launched 6 years ago, things were relatively simple. You created a profile and you would share your information only with those who were accepted as your “friends” – pure simple privacy. Then after a number of different releases as new services and third party applications were added, the privacy settings gradually became more and more complicated.  You could share your Farmville escapades with your friends but have private instant messages with only one friend, for example.

As the months passed, people realised that their privacy settings were not as expected.  Facebook would launch opt out services (where you are automatically saying “yes” unless you specifically say “no” to the service), which meant that suddenly all your information was available for public viewing.  Additional slips happened where strangers could read private messages between you and your friends.  These bugs have been fixed but in some cases, serious damage had already been done.

When you use twitter, you KNOW that all the information you post will be broadcast to the public Internet.  However, on facebook, you don’t want your Mom or boss to see photo’s of what you were getting up to on the weekend, so facebook started implementing different levels of privacy.  Now it seems that their security issues have made their users so nervous that they are being more careful with what they post to their facebook profiles.  I would seriously recommend that you take the same approach until they can assure you that all is working well again.  If you don’t mind the fact that what you are posting to facebook MIGHT end up in the public domain, don’t post it!

The good news is that facebook aims to make their privacy settings simpler.  According to this GREAT infographic by New York Times, facebook currently has 50 settings with more than 170 options! No wonder the users are confused!

On 31 May I will not be one of those who are leaving facebook. I have used facebook in my private capacity and to talk to Cellfhelp’s friends and fans.  I still believe it is an awesome social network.  I do however; warn facebook users to be AWARE of the problems and to take care.

The notes on the right hand side of the infographic (informational diagram) show where your privacy could be at risk… please click on the image to see a larger version.

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If you’re looking for news-on-the-go, here are some really good mobile sites that I would recommend…

The Times: http://m.thetimes.co.za/

http://m.thetimes.co.za/

News 24: http://m.news24.com/news24/

http://m.news24.com

MWEB: http://mweb.mobi

http://mweb.mobi

CNN: http://cnnmobile.com

http://cnnmobile.com

For business and financial news see:

Moneyweb: http://m.moneyweb.co.za/

http://m.moneyweb.co.za/

Biz Community: http://m.bizcommunity.com/

http://m.bizcommunity.com/

For World Cup soccer news, reviews and interviews…. see Soccer Laduma at http://soccerladuma.mobi/

http://soccerladuma.mobi/

Tip: DO NOT try the new beta site. It is VERY buggy and has a more missing links than the theory of evolution!

If rugby is your game, then see  Player 23′s mobile site at http://www.player23.mobi

http://www.player23.mobi

Once the world’s most popular and loved mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia seems to have taken a serious beating in recent months.  After doing a couple of rounds with Apple; who tagged teamed with Android, the once arrogant and dominant mobile player is now battered and beaten, hanging from the ropes.  The financial crisis added insult to injury and poor Nokia saw their revenue and operational profits plummet by 19 and 76 percent respectively! Ouch.

I’m hoping, that just like a good-old Rocky movie, the old hero suddenly stands up again in the last ten minutes and bravely surprises the audience with a boost of energy and effort.

Apple vs Nokia in Rocky 38!

What this does show, is that the mobile industry is so fast moving and innovative, that the cliché ”you snooze, you lose” really applies!  The global mobile market was dominated by Nokia for about ten years until Apple arrived with a NEW idea – the touch screen on an iPhone.  Recently, Google decided that open source is key and put their efforts into supporting Android – which was quickly adopted by HTC, Motorola and other handset manufacturers (except Nokia). And Nokia? Well they were snoozing.

For the second time in 7 months, Nokia is restructuring their senior management team.  Their smartphone division will be run by Anssi Vanjoki and Mary McDowell will look after key mobile phones – both existing Nokia staff.  The reason for the frequent management change is supposedly to “keep management fresh” but it seems a little desperate to me.

Since iPhone launched three years ago, Nokia has not had a compelling smartphone in the market. They attempted an open source operating system (Maemo 5) which was launched on the Nokia N900 (http://maemo.nokia.com/).  However, within months after the launch of this device, Nokia announced a joint initiative with Intel to develop another open source platform called Meego (http://meego.com). Does this mean Maemo was a flop? Or does this mean Android was just better?  I wonder why they have to develop a different platform at all? Why not support Android?

Some people believe that the Nokia brand itself is strong enough to carry them through. Well a recent global study by Millward Brown shows that the brand value of Nokia dropped by 58 percent in the last year.  That is a devastating blow!

Nokia has made some good moves… let’s give them props. The OVI application store is great and competes quite nicely with iTunes but the real clincher is “comes with music”. This is where you get a specific model phone or contract special where you have unlimited music downloads for a certain period of time. GREAT idea!  Another good move on their part was offering free mobile navigation with turn-by-turn directions for all GPS enabled phones.  But is this enough or is this a case of too little too late?

There are still some die-hard Nokia fans who are hoping that their favourite phone manufacturer will make a comeback.  In my opinion, I’d say brands to watch are Samsung and anything Android. But let’s hope the old giant can bounce back from the ropes and give us great entertainment in the global mobile ring.

Press Release:

Vodacom announces low cost web-focused computer

A South African first

10 May 2010

Vodacom is pleased to announce the unprecedented arrival of Linkbook – a low-cost compact computer designed specifically to provide users with simple and affordable Internet access. The Linkbook’s operating system is geared primarily towards a user-friendly web experience; from email to social networking and browsing, as well as basic Open Office – everything a business entrepreneur, student or first-time PC user could need in a computer.

LinkBook Laptop: affordable computing

Everything works off the desktop – including shortcuts to popular local online content and e-commerce websites – making it the most intuitive, simple to operate device of its kind available anywhere in the world.

“Linkbook is the first handheld computer of its kind available globally and aims to broaden web and computer access in emerging markets, tackling the digital divide and enhancing Vodacom’s strategy to make the Internet more accessible to all South Africans,” says Shameel Joosub, Managing Director of Vodacom South Africa. “South Africa is a market eager for more ways to get online. We expect that Linkbook will be particularly successful locally due to low PC penetration and we hope that by introducing a low-cost user-friendly Internet-focused computer bundled with 300 MB of data per month, this initiative will help to kick start local economies by encouraging entrepreneurs to create a range of locally-inspired business models and services.”

The Linkbook, which has an embedded SIM card, as well as two USB ports, will be available on a 24-month contract at a subscription fee of R199 per month, including a monthly 300 MB data bundle, from participating Vodacom outlets, nationwide. As part of the launch, Linkbook is exclusive to Vodacom and is touted as the perfect entry-level computer. Bundled with data packages useful to everyone from students, entrepreneurs, small business owners and others who want to be connected, the attractively designed Linkbook has an embedded HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) module for totally wireless internet connectivity.

“Linkbook is an idea whose time has come,” says Mark Levy, co-founder of Linkbook. “It’s compact and highly intuitive and will bring easy-to-use wireless internet to millions. The cost of the actual computer to the consumer over the two-year contract period comes in at R40.00 per month. It is a massive step in the direction of the $100 computer.” “Customised for South Africa including links to the country’s top online sites, it’s a global first. No other laptop in the world does this, so it’s something we as a country should be extremely proud of. It also runs on a Linux operating system called Ubuntu.”

For further information call Vodacom’s 24-hour Customer Care Centre on 111, free from a Vodacom cellphone or 082 111 from any other cellphone, or go to www.vodacom.co.za. For more information on Linkbook: Visit www.linkbook.co.za For technical queries call 0861 99 4443

NOTE: Cellfhelp has requested additional pricing from Vodacom. We’re particularly interested in how much they would charge to purchase the Linkbook with a prepaid SIM card.