Econet refuses to ban What’s app in Zimbabwe despite govt tactics

ITRealms:

Leading mobile operator in Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless has refused to ban What’s app in the country despite pressures from the government, reports ITRealms.

Econet Chairman, Strive Masiyiwa gave this indication Friday morning when state security agents went to Econet headquarters in Harare, when he refused to become a puppet of President Robert Mugabe. 

ITRealms gathered that ZimEye reported that the government agents wanted Econet to ban WhatsApp platform and secondly, they need names of people who were complaining about Mugabe's dictatorship.   

The report noted that on arrival, the security operatives were referred to Masiyiwa by Econet spokesperson Alfred Nyambira, who in turn spoke to the agents via video call from Denmark.

ZimEye also report that the Econet chairman was precise in his chat with them and was quoted as saying telling them off. 

"... Your Potraz laws cannot be allowed to destroy my business ..." he said, stressing that concerning the issue of phone numbers and details of network users.

“I cannot give you because the international satellite laws state that user privacy is of key importance", said Masiyiwa. 

The unshaken Masiyiwa maintained his stand on the issue of banning WhatsApp.

According him, "My company (Econet Wireless) is going to lose billions of dollars if I agree to ban the social media platform ... so go and arrange with your boss (Mugabe) on how to compensate my money before you talk to me …."

Meanwhile, Econet Wireless has assured Zimbabweans that the security agents from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) lack the capacity to read people’s messages on What’s App, one of the agents was quoted as saying.

Chuks Egbuna/ZimEye/GEE

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Android One makes debut in Nigeria, as MTN offers 1g data @N500 on Infinix phones

ITRealms: 

 

Google Nigeria in partnership with equipment manufacturer Infinix, mobile operator MTN Nigeria and online retailer Jumia, Tuesday in Lagos, launched the AndroidOne initiative with Infinix HOT 2-X510, reports ITRealms.

This is coming as Infinix HOT 2-X510 smartphone, which is the first device to run on Android One in Africa, comes at a recommended retail price of N17,500 in addition to N500 1Gig data from leading mobile operator, MTN Nigeria.

AndriodOne initiative, Google said, is part of an on-going initiative to bring high-quality smartphones to millions of people in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world, just as the offer makes Infinix commercially available across give countries, namely Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Morocco.

The Vice President, Product Management at Google, Mr. Caesar Sengupta, said that over three billion people across the world are using the internet to live better, richer lives and create opportunities for themselves and their communities.

“The driving force behind this growth - particularly in Nigeria and many other African countries -  is smartphones. In Nigeria, over 70% of online users access the web via their phones. Android One offers high quality mobile devices that are great to use, but that are also affordable,” he said.

Managing Director, Infinix, Mr. Ben Jiang told ITRealms at the launch that Infinix HOT2 phone, offers a high-quality experience, with latest version of Android known as 5.1.1 Lollipop.

He also said that Infinix has been structured to constantly update its Andriod Operating System (OS); an update that will offer Google’s new material design, improved battery life, enhanced security features, and smarter notifications.

In terms of hardware, Mr. Jiang the phone features front and rear-facing cameras, 1G or 2G of memory, fast quad-core MediaTek processor, long battery life and other features particularly important to Nigerians, including dual SIM slots, a FM radio tuner, 16 GB on-device storage and a microSD card slot for additional storage.

The Infinix HOT 2 smartphone comes in two variants; the standard version, which will be available in black, white, blue and red, and the premium version which will be available in gold.

Through Google Play, Android One phone users have access to over one million apps that allow them to message friends, make video calls, socialize, check news and weather, and play games. Google apps such as Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Search, and Google Translate will come pre-loaded on the phones.

Google also announced that in coming weeks much of YouTube will be available offline in Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Morocco, meaning that people can store videos in the YouTube app when they are on WiFi and watch them later when they not online — a great benefit for times with a slow connection or re-watching videos without using up a data plan.

 
Reiterating MTN position, the Managing Director, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Mike Ikpoki said the offer of N500 reduces data costs for those who buy the Infinix Hot 2 Android One phone with an MTN SIM card, customers would get 1GB high speed data at N500 for a 12 months period, and the latest Android platform updates for free.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +ITRealms DSA +Google Africa +MTNNG +Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade +Infinix Mobile (Nigeria) 

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