New format; 3 spot prizes, did you win?
Tech Things #32
Welcome to the revamped Tech Things newsletter where you can easily find byte sized news for smartphones, EVs, gadgets, apps, cybersecurity, and introducing a new ‘tech deals of the week’, curated by me.
I didn’t expect my Black Friday post on Recharged to do as well as it did last year, and while I am not promoting unnecessary spend, given the cost of living, I understand that people love looking for deals.
I’ve also chosen three spot prize winners (subscribers), based on different metrics shared by Substack. Scroll to the bottom to see if you’re a winner!
📞 Talk of the Town: New Phones and Trends
I got my hands on a very low-tech feature phone, the HMD Barbie phone, which is positioned as a digital detox device. It is the rebranded Nokia 2660 with no apps. Through the Mattel partnership, it includes accessories for customisation, which means it’s not exactly cheap at R2499, available end October. My unboxing on TikTok blew up overnight. Could you go back to a basic phone with no apps? That said, I think it is well-suited for girls under 13.
🔋 Watt’s New in the EV space?
Mini has unveiled its first John Cooper Works Electric model, alongside the John Cooper Works Aceman at the Paris Motor Show, currently underway. Both offer up to 190kW of power, and are equipped with a 54.2kWh battery (gross). The JCW Electric offers a range of up to 371km (WLTP). Via TimesLive.
Rubicon South Africa has partnered with Visa to allow payment with a bank card at public EV charging stations, instead of proprietary online accounts - finally! It will support Apple Pay and Google Wallet. Via MyBroadband.
🕹️ Gadget Goals: Gear to Geek Out
Bang & Olufsen has released limited edition wireless earphones with Ferrari under the Beoplay EX model, for a staggering R13 999 a pair! It has adaptive noise cancellation, wireless charging, is rain and sweat proof, and up to 8 hours of battery life. That’s one very specific target market!
While everyone’s waiting for the Nintendo Switch 2, the company has released a surprising product: the Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo with sounds and effects from its sub-brands like Super Mario Bros. Via Verge.
📲 App-solutely Essential
Samsung has a new shopping app for Android and iOS users. The advantage is getting Samsung Rewards, an initial discount for your first purchase and other things that typically reward loyalty. Would you buy products directly on their app? I’m more of a ‘let’s see who has it cheapest’ kinda person, ha! More via Samsung SA.
🔐 Byte Back: Stay Ahead of Cyber Threats
Ever heard of a digital arrest? It’s a new form of online fraud where scammers convince victims they are under a “digital” arrest and the victim is coerced into staying connected with the scammer through video-conferencing software. More via AlJazeera.
MTN has recently warned South Africans about the rise in Whatsapp hacking, to turn on two-step verification (I cannot stress this enough) and avoid sharing verification codes of any sort. Via BusinessTech.
🛒 Steals and Tech Deals of the Week
If you’re looking to buy some tech essentials for the home, here are a few things that caught my eye:
A Philips airfryer for R1 299
TP Link WiFi Mesh routers for R2 599 (my brand of choice)
The Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming device for R11 999
A Lenovo IdeaPad 15.6-inch laptop for R7 499
A Toshiba 4K TV for R6 999 as part of Big FNB Day
And of course, today is Discovery Miles Ð-Day
🎉 Are you a winner?
I’ve chosen three winners to reward you for reading, clicking and sharing consistently. Substack has nifty subscriber stats like 5 star ratings, most link clicked, reader sharing etc. Congratulations to Bushra S for your 5* rating (50 of you went into this draw for opening and reading consistently); Ziyaad S for high reader sharing; and Ferhana A for most clicked links!
In the spirit of paying it forward, I have 3 unopened goodie bag gifts I will be sending to you. The Moov 3-in-1 charger is suited to Apple; the Galaxy SmartTag2 for Samsung; and the JBL Harman is either OS. It will be allocated on first come first serve, so keep an eye for my email!
I love to educate people about tech in any small way, so please read and share. I plan to do more of these impromptu giveaways.
ICYMI
Till next time,
Nafisa
That phone is very cute!
I received a B&O mailer about their Ferrari-branded surround sound system. It's so sexy! Also, if anyone wants to buy me the Ferrari earphones, I would not be opposed :D