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Samsung Electronics SA has brought its new cameraspecialised smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom, to the local market. The electronics giant says the latest addition to the Galaxy family is a new smartphone that blends advanced digital camera technology with Samsung’s Galaxy experience. It is equipped with new retracting lens technology that provides 10x optical zoom in a slim and chic casing, the company says. – ITWeb

SA has bought 50% and one share in Internet service provider Afrihost, it said in a statement released recently. noted its offer is aligned with its strategy of optimising its operating model as it has been seeking ways of pulling costs out of its base. Afrihost has been around for 13 years and has more than 100 000 customers, according to its Web site. – ITWeb

has selected SMEasy as the first partner to offer value added services to its small and medium business cloud customers. SMEasy is an online accounting and business management product that has been specifically developed for the SME market. “The SME sector is the engine room
of South Africa’s economy,” says , executive for next-generation data centres for MEA at . – ITWeb

CEO " rel=tag>Sipho Maseko has avoided a fine of up to R1 million or criminal prosecution by following a directive issued by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in February. recently confirmed Maseko, who received a notice to attend a corporate governance and directors’ duties course, after granting suspended CFO Jacques Schindehütte an interest-free loan, has complied with the CIPC order. – ITWeb

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Sifiso Dabengwa" rel=tag>Sifiso Dabengwa, SA" /> SA saw revenue slide during the first four months of the year, as it continues to remain under pressure in a highly-competitive market. CEO and president notes, during the first four months of the year, SA had “negative revenue growth”. He attributed this to a reduction in retail rates, and the 1 April trim in mobile termination rates. – ITWeb

The and the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services must prioritise spectrum policy and the associated regulatory framework, says a statement issued by WAPA, reacting to the telecoms Cabinet changes. The Wireless Access Providers’ Association of South Africa, with a membership nearing 200 entities, acts as a collective voice for the wireless industry and for independent wireless network operators. – ITWeb

() has announced that over R10 billion has been transferred using its mobile money solution, eWallet, since introducing the platform locally in 2009. Yolande Steyn, CEO of eWallet Solutions at , says the company has seen “strong growth” in its solution across SA. “This proves the growing need to send money easily and instantly to anyone in the country.” – ITWeb

Into Africa

Kenya has launched the country’s first ever self-care app, dubbed my, that will allow its subscribers to enjoy personalised account management experience. chief executive Mickael Ghossein said the company recognises the change in customer trends when it comes to the mobile phone as a necessity in today’s world, and it will endeavour to improve its value proposition to its customers. – ITWeb Africa

Zimbabwe’s Telecel and TelOne have partnered to make it possible for consumers to pay telephone bills with telecash. All that customers need to do is dial *888# to access the telecash menu, select the ‘pay bill’ option and then select Tel One. They will be asked to enter their telephone account number and the amount to be paid, according to a statement. – ITWeb Africa

Zambia’s second-largest mobile operator has partnered with Stanbic bank to provide communication solutions to the bank. The operator said it will bring solutions that will help reduce the cost of doing business to the bank’s customers in Zambia. The partnership is expected to help Stanbic Bank remain competitive in the Zambian financial service market. – ITWeb Africa

According to the International Data Corporation Annual Europe Middle East and Africa WAN Managers Study 2013 Survey, Kenya is an early adopter of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication in Africa. says 50% of Kenyan respondents said they have deployed M2M technologies, while 27% are planning to use M2M in the next three years. – ITWeb Africa

Kenya’s Equity Bank plans introducing paperthin SIM cards to help its customers access the bank’s mobile money service without needing to use dual- SIM phones. Equity’s CEO, James Mwangi, has said the bank’s SIM cards will consist of 0.1mm thick fi lm that can be layered on an active side of customers’ original SIM cards, without affecting the customers’ original service providers’ network reception. – ITWeb Africa

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Pfungwa Serima, SAP Africa" />According to the CEO of SAP Africa, Pfungwa Serima, Africa has been an early adopter of business software firm SAP’s user experience improvement offering Fiori. The company announced its Fiori user experience and SAP Screen Personas software are planned to be included within underlying licences of SAP software. – ITWeb Africa

Business software firm SAP is increasingly eyeing Morocco as a key African delivery centre owing to the country’s proximity to Europe. SAP announced that Moroccan city Casablanca is the new headquarters for the French African SAP territory, which is a merging of West and Central African Frenchspeaking countries and the French-speaking Maghreb nations. – ITWeb Africa

Broadband firm CEC Liquid Telecommunications plans connecting 7 000 households in Zambia to fibre-optic cable networks to help boost Internet penetration in the country. The company said it has invested about $15 million for the project, which is expected to see most households in the capital Lusaka connected to the fibre-optic network. The project is expected to be completed by June next year. – ITWeb Africa

Abroad

Amazon.com will start managing subscription payments for start-ups and other companies – the latest in a series of quiet moves the e-commerce giant has made into PayPal’s turf over the past year. The service allows the company’s active users to use credit cards to pay for services such as a monthly phone bill or a digital music subscription. Amazon then charges a fee on each transaction. – Reuters

Apple is preparing to sell its first wearable device this October, aiming to produce three million to five million smart watches a month in its initial run, the Nikkei reported, citing an unidentified parts supplier and sources familiar with the matter. The industry has long expected Apple to unveil some sort of smart watch, following the release of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Gear watches. – Reuters

Softbank will cut its smartphone charges in Japan with a fl at rate for unlimited voice calling and cheaper data plans, in a sign that price competition may be starting to pick up in Japan’s mobile market. The lower rates, to take effect next month, are similar to reductions this month by rival NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest wireless provider. – Reuters

The CIA, which has long trolled social media to try to uncover global trends and track evil-doers, officially joined Twitter and Facebook recently. The spy agency cast the move as an effort to better get out its message and engage directly with the public, but its first Twitter message sent out did not indicate there would be major revelations. – Reuters