Finally the call on the WhatsApp logo makes sense.
WhatsApp is adding voice calling to its popular instant messaging app, with iOS and Android the first two OSes to get the new features.
At WhatsApp's MWC press conference, CEO Jan Koum said that some BlackBerry and Nokia phones will be next in line for the voice messaging update, although the company didn't give any idea of exactly when we can expect it to land beyond "Q2" - that's April to June.
It's not the biggest WhatsApp news in recent memory though, overshadowed by Facebook dropping $19bn on the messaging service. The question remains though, what's in it for Facebook.
This week's launch of Nokia's new X handsets has generated more headlines than you'd expect for a family of fairly low-end devices.
That's because the Windows Phone-supporting, soon-to-be-part-of-Microsoft phone firm has embraced Android. Here's what you need to know: tech first, and then what it means for Nokia, Windows Phone and Microsoft.
Which Nokia phones are running Android?
So far we've seen three. The four-inch Nokia X and X+, and the Nokia XL – which is a five-incher.
What does the X represent?
It's the cross between Android apps, Microsoft services and Nokia hardware, apparently.
What's the pitch?
Nokia design for cheap-Android money.
How much will they cost?
The Nokia X is €89, the X+ €99 and the XL €109.
Are they any good?
They're not going to delight specs fiends - you're looking at 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragons with 512MB of RAM (768MB on the X+ and XL), and you can forget about PureView cameras or wireless charging - but that's not who they're aimed at. They're perfectly decent phones with rock-bottom prices and nice design.
Where will they be sold?
For now, the X range will be sold in Asia, South America and Eastern Europe. There are no current plans to bring it to Western Europe, North America, Australia, Korea or Japan.
Is Nokia using the same Android as Samsung?
No. There are actually two Androids: the one we're all familiar with that comes with Google Maps and various other Google services, and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which doesn't.
AOSP is available to anybody who wants it, and they can do what they like with it - but if they want to include key Google services such as Google Maps or Chrome, they need to pay for a Google Mobile Services (GMS) license. Nokia is using the AOSP version of Android.
Has Nokia paid for a GMS license?
No. Instead of Google services, the X phones will use Nokia and Microsoft services such as Skype, Here Maps, Bing, OneDrive and so on.
Which version of Android is Nokia using?
Nokia's fork is based on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. The skin is based on FastLane, the interface already used in Nokia's Asha devices. It looks rather like Windows Phone, which is entirely deliberate.
Jelly Bean? That's quite old, isn't it?
It is: it's been out since late 2012. The more recent KitKat, Android 4.4, has been specifically optimized for low-end hardware and would run better: we found the phones were "a little jittery". The use of a comparatively old Android suggests that Nokia has been working on this for a while.
Do the phones use Google Play?
No. Nokia has its own app store.
Will it be a crap app store?
Nokia says no: it promises hundreds of thousands of apps.
Will there be lots of third party apps to choose from?
Nokia says developers will find it simple to port their apps to its flavor of Android. It's produced three APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) for maps, app notifications and payments to replace the Google services its version of Android lacks.
Can I get apps from elsewhere?
Yes. In addition to the Nokia store you'll be able to download apps from third-party app stores, and you'll be able to sideload apps too - although of course, as with any sideloading it's important to make sure you're getting your apps from trustworthy sites.
Has Nokia basically 'done an Amazon' here?
Yes, it's the same thing Amazon did with the Kindle Fire. It's an interesting move, because a forked Android is essentially yet another mobile OS for customers to consider.
Has Nokia dumped Windows Phone?
No. The official line is that the low-cost Android devices will introduce "the next billion" users to Nokia kit and Microsoft services. The reality is that Windows Phone is getting stuffed in the low end market by increasingly impressive and affordable Android devices, and that's still an important sector for Nokia. By making low-cost Android devices, Nokia believes, it can get new phone buyers to develop a Nokia habit.
How does Microsoft feel about it?
That's a very good question. Windows Phone vice president Joe Belfiore was asked specifically about it at MWC, and after an awkward pause he said that as far as Microsoft was concerned, "some things [Nokia does] we're excited about, some things we're less excited about."
If this were Old Microsoft, we'd expect Nokia's Android adventure to end as soon as the ink was dry on the contract making Nokia a Microsoft subsidiary.
Now that Microsoft's under new management, we're not so sure. These phones might not be shipping Microsoft operating systems, but they will be connecting to Microsoft services such as email, messaging and search. If they prove to be a hit, killing the range might not be the best move for Microsoft to make. That's a very big if, however, and the X range could end up as not just the first Nokia phones to run Android, but the last too.
The name Bugatti is synonymous with mind boggling speeds, speeds incomprehensible by the mere mortal's mind,it is with caution that i urge you to watch this video, as dementia can follow soon after due to your minds incapability to comprehend the speeds being achieved in the video, it's absolute madness! The Bugatti then, truly lives on the fringe of car science
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S5, the world sat up and took notice, simply because it's one of the most anticipated phones for 2014.
But how did the South Korean giant become so influential in the mobile phone market? Lest we forget, it was a no-hoper just a few years ago, spraying out demi-smartphones that were met with shrugs and derision in equal measure.
Then Android emerged, Samsung decided that enough was enough, and it decided to take the plunge and become a fish in Google's pond.
The Galaxy i7500 - where our journey begins - was by no means a smash hit, and the Galaxy S did little to improve the situation.
It was with the S2 that Samsung really began to get its act together, and even though last year's S4 fell a little flat, the buzz that remains is proof that Samsung is still the only major player that can take on Apple in terms of overall mobile handset sales, and that it's truly become a shark in the Android lake.
The key specs Screen: 3.2-inch OLED, 320 x 480 pixels Battery: 1500mAh CPU: 528MHz, 128MB RAM Key features: One of the early phones to run Android Internal storage: 8GB OS: Android 1.5 Price at launch: £499
Packing a 5-megapixel camera, the i7500 sported an OLED 3.2-inch screen that offered a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels, and made use of a conventional D-pad — how mobile technology can change in the space of five years. The device weighed in at 116g, which is a little lighter than today's Nexus 5.
Under the hood the handset had a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A CPU and an Adreno 130 GPU powering the display, a setup which we found to be laggy on occasion. The i7500 had 8GB of built-in storage and 128MB of RAM (absolutely paltry by today's standards but not so bad for 2009).
Despite a relatively large 1500mAh battery, battery life was disappointing: during heavy use it only lasted 3-4 hours, and the handset had to be charged at least once a day.
An underwhelming start for the Galaxy range then, and definitely room for improvement. Android was still in its infancy, and Samsung was still finding its feet: in October 2009, HTC was the only other manufacturer making mobiles running Android. The price was off-putting too, with the i7500 originally costing £499 to buy SIM-free.
Galaxy S
The key specs Screen: 4-inch Super AMOLED, 480 x 800 pixels Battery: 1500mAh CPU: 1GHz Cortex-A8, 512MB RAM Key features: Stronger TouchWiz overlay, front-facing camera Internal storage: 8GB / 16GB OS: Android 2.1 Price at launch: £449
The next Galaxy handset appeared a little over a year later, in June 2010. The D-pad was gone, and the Galaxy S had a far more recognisable shape and style to it, with the now ubiquitous back, home and menu buttons in place.
The display was bigger (spot the emerging trend), offering a 480 x 800 pixel resolution across 4 inches of Super AMOLED screen real estate.
The S originally appeared with Android 2.1 Eclair and bowed out with 2.3 Gingerbread. The RAM was boosted to 512MB, 8GB and 16GB storage options were available, and a 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor kept everything running. A PowerVR SGX540 GPU was in charge of graphics, and the handset tipped the scales at 119g.
Android had added support for a forward-facing camera, so the Galaxy S included one, as well as a 5-megapixel shooter around the back. The battery was again a Li-Ion 1500mAh model, and again the phone struggled to get through a working day without a recharge. The 2.3 Gingerbread update did wonders in this department though, almost doubling its lifespan.
"There are a few faults, but on the whole it's a cracking bit of kit, and you really could do a lot worse," was my conclusion, and Samsung now had a foundation it could build on. In 2010, the SIM-free price for the Galaxy S was £449.
The key specs Screen: 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus, 480 x 800 pixels Battery: 1650mAh CPU: dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9, 1GB RAM Key features: Blazing fast internals, strong camera, brilliant screen Internal storage: 16GB / 32GB OS: Android 2.3.4 Price at launch: £499
The S2 was the first Galaxy phone to cause a significant splash in the mobile handset pond.
It brought along with it an improved Super AMOLED Plus screen that was expanded to 4.3 inches, a faster dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, 1GB of RAM and a superior Mali-400MP GPU.
The Galaxy S2 debuted in April 2011 with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread and would eventually get as far as 4.1 Jelly Bean, a sign of its prowess and longevity. In terms of storage space, 16GB and 32GB models were available.
In our review of the phone, its thinness and lightness (116g) came in for praise, as did the display, responsiveness and 1080p video recording capabilities.
The camera had been bumped up to 8 megapixels and now had a flash, while the 1650mAh battery was good for almost two days of average use — a target that many of today's phones would love to be able to stretch to. At launch, SIM-free prices for the S2 hovered around the £500 mark.
After the moderate college radio success of the Galaxy S, Samsung finally had a chart-topping hit on its hands: within five months, it would shift 10 million of its S2 phones.
"If you're after a one-word summary of the Samsung Galaxy S2: awesome. We've were waiting for a phone to set a benchmark among the dual-core breed, and we found it in the Samsung Galaxy S2."
The key specs
Screen 4.8-inch Super AMOLED, 720 x 1280 pixels
Battery 2100mAh
CPU quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A9, 1GB RAM
Key features Smart Stay, Android Beam, Pop up Play - all about the software and screen
Internal storage 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
OS Android 4.0.4
Price at launch: £499
It was the second home run for Samsung in a row: the S3 arrived to almost universal acclaim, and we called it "the best smartphone around right now" in our original review. Again, the screen was bigger: the Super AMOLED display grew to 4.8 inches at a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels, and the weight grew to 133g as well.
The heavy lifting was done by a quad-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A9 CPU, while the Mali-400MP GPU showed up again alongside 1GB of RAM. The S3 originally came with Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich and was at the same £500 SIM-free price level as its predecessor.
As on the S2, an 8-megapixel camera was around the back, though various software optimisations helped to create slightly better photos. In terms of storage, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB options were available.
Not even battery life could spoil the S3 party: the 2100mAh battery was good for eight hours or so of heavy use, which placed it very favourably amongst the other handsets of 2012. Speed, design, battery life, display, responsiveness, bundled features... the phone scored highly in every department.
Galaxy S4
And so to Samsung's current flagship phone until the S5 replaces it this April.
The key specs
Screen 5-inch Super AMOLED HD, 1080 x 1920 pixels
Battery 2600mAh
CPU quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A15, 2GB RAM
Key features Air gestures, Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, Drama Shot, Infra red remote, humidity sensor
Internal storage 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
OS Android 4.2.2
Price at launch: £600
The Galaxy S4 arrived in the world in April 2013, offering users a whopping 5-inch 1080 x 1920 pixel Super AMOLED screen, an upgraded 13-megapixel camera, Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and a 2600mAh battery that typically lasts at least the length of a day.
The specs of last year's model remain impressive: a quad-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A15 CPU, a PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU, 2GB of RAM and 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage.
It weighs in at 130g and offers a slew of sensors to track your eyes, measure humidity and more besides. You can currently pick up a SIM-free S4 for around £400, though it was closer to £600 at launch.
Despite a high TechRadar review score, and sales of 40 million units in the first six months, Samsung is reportedly disappointed with the S4's impact on the market. As far as we're concerned though, the phone was a success, if not on the same level as the S2 and the S3.
Galaxy S5
So, onto the latest iteration of the Samsung Galaxy family: the S5, and it's powerful while remaining a little underwhelming.
The key specs
Screen 5.1-inch Super AMOLED HD, 1080 x 1920 pixels
Battery 2800mAh
CPU Quad-core 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801, 2GB RAM
Key features Waterproof, Super fast autofocus, heart rate monitor, fingerprint scanner
Internal storage 16GB / 32GB / 64GB
OS Android 4.4.2
Price at launch: £TBC
In February 2014 the Galaxy S5 was launched unto the baying public, and delivered in a number of stable ways. Gone were the theatrics and the pointless sensors, to be replaced by a heart rate monitor, a blazing fast autofocus and a fingerprint scanner.
The main specs were up again: the CPU was faster at 2.5GHz, the screen was larger as a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED HD option, the camera boosted to 16MP and the battery now rocking up at 2800mAh.
On top of that Android 4.4.2 was included to make things look a lot slicker and the overall interface was overhauled to make things like the lock screen much clearer and generally improve the flow through the device.
The fitness elements were boosted through S Health 3.0, which brings the most holistic tracking app ever for your fitness, according to Samsung, while most other elements stayed the same - although the rubberised back is a lot a grippier.
We're still awaiting a price, but chances are it will be the same as before, hovering around the £500-£600 mark depending on your spec choice.
Our hands on: Samsung Galaxy S5 review found that the "Galaxy S5 has a great camera, strong screen, impressive packaging, a waterproof casing and a blazingly fast engine pumping things along.
"But it doesn't have an amazing camera, incredibly battery life, stunning design or genuinely innovative feature, and that cause a few people to wait and see what the competition brings."
...and so there you have it: a complete walk down the Samsung Galaxy memory lane. Are there any particular handsets that you have fond memories of? Or are there specific innovations that you'd like to see Samsung offer next time around? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
For all the gamers out there, this title is sure to get some of you feeling a little nostalgic while some will just be plain excited, a brilliant story line and amazing graphics make for one hell of a gaming experience.
In the beginning, when most of the internet was still rolling green fields, there was no need for antivirus software. Early web users could swap files with anyone without risk of infection - and they did, en masse, on messageboards and servers across the early web. Those were carefree days.
But in the early 80s, just like in the real world, everything changed. A program called 'Elk Cloner' was the first computer virus to appear in the wild. It was more of a practical joke than anything else, merely displaying a short poem if the videogame it was hidden inside was played more than fifty times, but it gave others more malicious ideas. Trojan anyone?
Well for those of you that thought Facebook's acquisition of Whatsapp was the first billion dollar purchase the company made, think again, as you already know, they tried to buy Snapchat for $3 billion but to no avail as the guys at Snapchat are nerds that want to be paid in experience points, vintage mint comic books and tickets replicas of their favourite superheros. You know instagram? ofcourse you do, you keep trolling your crushes frofile everyday looking for those hot pictures that you never find, anyway Facebook bought that company for, for, for, guess, drum roll, $1 billion dollars, Mark is on a spending spree people, if you have an idea you think is worth it, take it to Facebook and ask them for a billion dollars, I'm sure they have several billions lying around.
While thoughts of Facebook's acquisition of Whatsapp are still fresh in your mind, let me take this chance to remind you of what nearly happened between Facebook and another messaging company, you guessed it (or not), Snapchat, Mark Zuckerberg's colossus of a company wanted to acquire the little up and coming company for $3 billion cash, yes, the amount was in Billions, it seems Facebook has a knack of buying billion dollar things, I wonder if they will buy my idea for a billion dollars. That particular attempt at acquiring Snapchat did not go through, I guess the guys and girls at Snapchat had anothe figure in their heads, or they just thought their "little" company had the potential to make them more than the $3 billion Mr Zuckerberg was offering, well, we will just have to wait and see if they really did make the right choice or did they just make the most expensive blunder of their lives.
http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/facebooks-whatsapp-acquisition-snapchat/
A new WP 8.1 SDK leak points to fingerprint scanner support in the next OS update, which should put Windows Phone level with iOS and Android. Also there will be some sort of Start and Theme customization options but it’s unknown what those will be, perhaps the option to finally choose a background wallpaper like in Windows 8.1 on desktop? Finally there’s some leaked information on how WP 8.1 will handle messaging on dual-SIM smartphones. For more information head over to the link below http://blog.gsmarena.com/windows-phone-8-1-with-fingerprint-support-ui-customizations/#more-62404
The hot news on everybody's lips at the moment is the purchase of Whatsapp by social networking giant Facebook, the price tag? an unprecedented $19 billion dollars, 19 billion dollars people, that is one hell of a pay day for the Whatsapp team if you ask me.
Whatsapp is reported to have around 450 million users, with a little over 70% of those are categorized to be active daily, it is also reported that Whatsapp is adding around 1 million users to its tally every day, if you do the math, they will have 360 million new users by the end of the year which would add up to +800 million users for the company, combine that with the over 1 billion Facebook users and you begin to understand why Facebook is willing to pay such a huge amount of money. if you have more queries about the acquisitioin, head over to this link :http://techcrunch.com/2014/02/19/facebook-buying-whatsapp-for-16b-in-cash-and-stock-plus-3b-in-rsus/
Dear followers, I am assuming that by now you are awash with questions as to why this blog claims to be about one thing yet has posts pertaining to something entirely different, to put your minds at ease, I would like to inform you that this was due to an administrative error, most of the post on this blog were meant for another blog yet they somehow found their way on this one, kindly be informed that this has been taken care of, and the clumsy administrator has been fired and a new one appointed, we at TECH WHISPERER have faith in thie new administrator and we ask you to the do the same, with that out of the way, ladies and gentleman, let's go crazy about technology
In the late nineties when you found kids dressed like that you were sure to bow down first, then lie flat down and let them walk all over your face while you have a huge smile. At the time, those shirts were more enviable than the latest iPhone or Samsung Universe or Galaxy or Nebula or what ever cosmic name they decide to slap on their mobile devices. Tuck your shirt in and you will be the envy of even the most accomplished of men, I guess kids just have an innocent attractive look to them...just look at that one in the white shirt, isn't he just adorable? No no, it's not me
I figured that there were those of you that are wondering just who is really behind this blog, well, wonder no more, because the little fashionista you see in the picture above is the inspiration and source of it all, just look at that outfit and tell me the ka-boy is on point, I certainly think that is the case, although that might be a little biased because the ka-boy is after all, me, so there you have it.
Back in the day when you had an outfit like that, you were literally the man, even if you were just a young lad. Parents would tell their kids to move over just so you could have a seat... and I'm talking about church here, couple this outfit with the simple English words "I am fine, how are you" and you are literally a genius, it doesn't matter if those were the only words you knew in English either.
By the way, what is up with the knee high socks, Van Wyk tendencies at such a young age
These are the Petronas twin towers, magnifficent I know, They look way better in real life than they do in photos. Coming from the village, i was amazed by the buildings I found in Windhoek, I thought them to be great accomplishments, they never ceased to amaze me because for me as a village guy, buildings higher than a makalani tree are just figments of my imagination, now imagine the awe I was in when i came to Malaysia and saw these two towers, literally towering over everything else around them, it's not just their height that is amazing, the manner in which they were built as well, they look like something out of a Transformers movie, I still believe that cybertronians are responsible for it's design because it is simply out of this world.
Growing up in the village I was always amazed by planes as they left a trail of white "smoke" in their wake, I always wondered what it would be like to be in a plane so far away from the comfort of firm ground beneath ones feet, i always wondered what the sensation of take-off would feel like, would i vomit like the people i saw in the movies or the stories I've been told by those that were fortunate enough to have already traveled the skies? So many questions I had until one day it was finally my turn to be in a plane, breath taking doesn't even begin to describe it, it was an out of this world experience. knowing that you are at that particular moment above the clouds you had always stared up to your whole life is something of a game changer
The age old question, "do you eat to live or do you live to eat" is one that has put man in to different classes for centuries, yes, I'm talking about the rich and the poor classes. When I came across this picture I just had to post it, because in Namibia, these tiny dried fish are usually associated with the less affluent people, but come to Malaysia and they are considered a delicacy, the richest of the rich love them. Weird right?
This blog was created with the idea of publishing views that are often held to be true by Namibian villagers, to be specific villagers from the northern part of Namibia. It should however be made clear that this views are my own personal take on things and in no way are the posts on this blog to reflect on any individual person. The villagers views are also with a little twist in that they are told from an international perspective, because I am currently not residing in the motherland. With all the nitty gritty's cleared up, ladies and gentleman, let's get blogging.
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