[Deal Alert] Xiaomi Smartphones Available In Jumia Nigeria: Redmi Note 5A ₦34,590, Redmi Note 5A Prime ₦45,890

I can’t hold this good news to myself as I feel like telling it to the mountains but hey! They are not humans. If you haven’t heard the latest hear it from me: The days where Nigerians go through stress just to buy Xiaomi smartphones is over.

Too lazy to read - go to Jumia Nigeria to see Xiaomi phones available

Xiaomi smartphones are great but the process one will undergo to buy it from Nigeria can be discouraging. The only way to get your hands on Xiaomi phone was to buy the device from Jumia Global but that is about to be history as it is now available in Jumia Nigeria. What this means is no more waiting for delivery which takes up to two weeks before you can get your ordered smart gadget.

You can buy Xiaomi smartphones during Jumia’s Mobile Week Sales event which will kick off on March 15th and last to March 25th, 2018.

The good part: Xiaomi phones available include Redmi Note 5A, Redmi Note 5A Prime, Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus.

Price of Redmi Note 5A

Redmi Note 5A (5.5-inch display , 2GB RAM, 16GB Internal Memory , 3,080 mAh, 13MP rear camera + 5MP selfie camera, Dual SIM, 4G support, Android 7.0 Nougat) will be sold for ₦34,590 Naira – Buy Now From Jumia Nigeria

Price of Redmi Note 5A Prime

Redmi Note 5A Prime (5.5-inch display , 3GB RAM, 32GB Internal Memory , 3,080 mAh, 13MP rear camera + 16MP selfie camera, Dual SIM, 4G LTE data, Fingerprint Sensor, Android 7.0 Nougat) will be sold for ₦45,890 Naira – Buy Now From Jumia Nigeria

Kachi Ojieh Monday, March 12, 2018

Tech

Facebook Has Decided To Help Nigeria With Its Upcoming 2019 General Elections

Nigeria presidential elections will be take place in 2019 and Facebook will be helping the country. Facebook Public Policy Director for Afrika, Ebele Okobi, alongside a team from the social media giant visited Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to see how both organizations can partner to educate citizens as the 2019 elections draw near.

We know Nigerian people “care very deeply about how they are governed, about who governs them and other political issues,” said Okobi. It shouldn’t be surprising that “people come to the platform to talk about what they care about,” she continued.

Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman at INEC said:

“A good election, I have always said, is a recipe for peace and a poorly conducted election could lead to violence and civil war. And part of it is the perception some people create on the social media.”

Facebook has made effort to take down false INEC pages created in its platform in order to curb fake news ahead of Nigerian general elections.

Ebele Okobi said that Facebook “have developed a politics and government programme essentially to understand how our platform is being used, not just during elections, but also to help governments engage with their citizens and also to see what the risks related to our platform in elections are and what opportunities and programmes can be put in place to address the risks.”

News Source: iAfrikan

Kachi Ojieh Saturday, March 10, 2018

Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S9 Specifications, Price & Availability

Samsung officially launched the Galaxy S9 and S9+ flagships for 2018 at MWC which held in Barcelona, Spain. This article will focus on Samsung Galaxy S9.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 features a 5.8 inch Quad HD + Curved Super AMOLED display (Corning Gorilla Glass 5 for protection), 2960 X 1440 pixels (570 PPI). It is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 845 - USA & China, Octa-core Exynos 9810 (EMEA) processor with a 4GB RAM and a 64GB/128GB internal storage capacity which can be expanded up to 256GB using microSD card. The smartphone sports a 12-megapixel primary camera and 8-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 runs Android 8.0 Oreo and boasts of a Non-removable Li-ion 3000 mAh battery. Connectivity options include Cat 18 LTE support (1.2Gbps download speeds), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth v5.0 and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Biometric lock includes iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, and face recognition.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Price and Availability

It is expected to be sold £739 (approximately N373,304.00 in Nigerian currency). Samsung Galaxy S9 smartphone will be available by March 2018.

See the full specifications below:

Samsung Galaxy S9 Specifications

General

Brand: Samsung Galaxy S9
Operating System: Android 8.0 (Oreo)
Announced Globally: 25th February, 2018
Announced In Nigeria: -

Processor

Chipset: Exynos 9810 Octa - EMEA Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 845 - USA & China
CPU: Octa-core (4x2.8 GHz Mongoose M3 & 4x1.7 GHz Cortex-A55) - EMEA Octa-core (4x2.7 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4x1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver) - USA & China
GPU: Mali-G72 MP18 – EMEA, Adreno 630 – USA & China

Display

Screen Size: 5.8 inches
Resolution: 2960 x 1440 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~570 ppi density)
Display Type: Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
Multitouch: Yes
Screen Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Camera

Rear Camera: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF sensor with OIS (F1.5/F2.4)
Video Recording: Yes, 2160p@60fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@960fps, HDR, dual-video rec.
Front Camera: 8MP camera

Storage

Card Slot: Yes, microSD Card (Uses SIM 2 slot)
Internal Storage: Yes, 64GB/128GB/256GB
Expandable Memory: Yes, up to 256GB
RAM: 4GB RAM

Network Support

Technology: GSM / CDMA/ WCDMA / LTE
2G GSM: Yes
2G CDMA 1X: Yes
3G WCDMA: Yes
3G WCDMA EVDO: Yes
4G LTE: Yes

Multimedia

Audio Player: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF
Video Player: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
Games: -
FM Radio: Yes, (USA & Canada only)
Audio Jack (3.5mm): Yes

Internet & Connectivity

GPRS: Yes
Edge: Yes
WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
Bluetooth: Yes, Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE aptX
USB: 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector
4G LTE: Yes, LTE-A (6CA) Cat18 1200/200
Browser: HTML5
NFC: Yes
GPS: Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO

Battery

Battery: Non-removable, 3000mAh
Battery Type: Li-ion battery
Use Time: -
Fast Charging: Yes, Quick Charge 2.0
Qi Wireless Charging: Yes

Other Features

Sensors: Iris scanner, fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer, heart rate, SpO2
Messaging: SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Water Resistant: Yes
Dust Resistant: Yes
Document Viewer: Yes
Document Editor: Yes
Virtual Reality: Yes, Gear VR with Controller (SM-R325NZVAXAR), Google Daydream View

Colors

Colors: Midnight Black, Coral Blue, Titanium Gray, Lilac Purple

Kachi Ojieh Monday, February 26, 2018

Tech

Alphabet’s Team X Adopts Laser-Beaming Boxes To Deliver High Speed Internet In India

Rural areas are victims of poor internet connectivity especially in developing countries and this issue has persisted for quite a while until Alphabet’s X innovations lab stepped in with Project Loon. They utilized Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) which makes it possible for floating balloons kilometers away in the sky to send data wirelessly between each other. This proved successful and Alphabet’s X has now decided to use laser beam boxes instead of floating balloons; by putting FSOC equipment in those boxes (the technology behind Project Loon). The beam boxes will be mounted everywhere in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh in which less than 20% of its population has internet access.

"FSOC links use beams of light to deliver high-speed, high-capacity connectivity over long distances — just like fiber optic cable, but without the cable. And because there’s no cable, this means there’s none of the time, cost, and hassle involved in digging trenches or stringing cable along poles. FSOC boxes can simply be placed kilometers apart on roofs or towers, with the signal beamed directly between the boxes to easily traverse common obstacles like rivers, roads and railways," according to Baris Erkmen, one of Alphabet X.

We hope more organizations partner with Alphabet’s X to explore FSOC technology. What do you think? Over to you.

Kachi Ojieh Friday, December 15, 2017

Tech

Instagram Private Messaging Feature Called Direct May Be Removed From The Main App, Becomes Standalone

Way back in 2014, Facebook made a decision which was controversial but people had to move on after the whole thing – what are my talking about? They removed private messaging from the core app into what we know as Messenger today. Facebook Users had no choice but to opt in by downloading it. Anyways, enough on Facebook already! Let’s talk about Instagram.

As we speak, Instagram is testing a new standalone app called Direct for private messages, which brings us to Facebook’s controversial decision in 2014 – they are about to remove messaging feature from the main app.

A post on The Verge reveals that Direct will become accessible on Android and iOS in six countries: Chile, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, and Uruguay starting today.

“ Direct has grown within Instagram over the past four years, but we can make it even better if it stands on its own. We can push the boundaries to create the fastest and most creative space for private sharing when Direct is a camera-first, standalone app,” Hemal Shah, an Instagram product manager said.

Using Facebook’s case, not many people wanted to move to Messenger because of switching between apps, the decision to make Direct a standalone app may be resisted at first by Instagram users. Although, the company wants to focus on photos, we hope this decision is the best since some users start a conversation with others from the stories feed.

Let’s see how Instagram will convince users to download Direct. What do you think? Over to you.

Kachi Ojieh Thursday, December 07, 2017

Tech

Bitcoin Mining Marketplace NiceHash Hacked, Users Advised To Change Password

Featured image credit: Shutterstock

NiceHash, a cryptocurrency mining marketplace formed in 2014 has been hacked, losing at least $62 million after the incident.

This doesn’t come as a surprise since the price of Bitcoin continues to soar, crossing the $14,000 mark for the first time; cyberattackers are looking to cash out some dollars by taking advantage of the booming cryptocurrency industry.

Banks and financial institutions have since forewarned that the instability of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency makes it a risk for investors to put in their money, however, the attackers are not slowing down anytime soon because the Bitcoin marketplace possibly provides a quick strategy to get rich – to the detriment of the investors.

An official press release statement by NiceHash reads:

"Unfortunately, there has been a security breach involving NiceHash website. We are currently investigating the nature of the incident and, as a result, we are stopping all operations for the next 24 hours."

"Importantly, our payment system was compromised and the contents of the NiceHash Bitcoin wallet have been stolen. We are working to verify the precise number of BTC taken. Clearly, this is a matter of deep concern and we are working hard to rectify the matter in the coming days. In addition to undertaking our own investigation, the incident has been reported to the relevant authorities and law enforcement and we are co-operating with them as a matter of urgency."

The exact amount stolen by the hackers wasn’t disclosed, a wallet address circulated by NiceHash users suggest that as many as 4,736.42 BTC – an amount worth more than $62 million at current prices.

To avoid further loss, NiceHash team urged users to change their online passwords.

"While the full scope of what happened is not yet known, we recommend, as a precaution, that you change your online passwords," they wrote in the statement.

We will keep you updated for more stories on this. Now, over to you. What do you think about NiceHash?

Kachi Ojieh

Tech

NextBigGadgets Launches Soon, Plans To Be The Biggest Technology Platform In Nigeria

NextBigGadgets is one of the leading Nigerian media platforms whose mission is to cover the latest technology news across the globe. In a world where gadgets and connected things are increasing daily, there is a need to create a platform that extensively deals with the subject without been partial and still unify everyone – that’s what this website does!

None can replace NextBigGadgets as they are here to filter the noises in media and deliver the news to the people.

The team at “Technology Is Before Anything Else (Tech Is Bae)” thinks NextBigGadgets will make a big difference in Nigeria and the world. We live in times where misinformation is the order of the day and everybody wants to be heard despite the fact that not everybody is carrying the real news. NextBigGadgets coming to the scene will help in uncovering stories that readers really want.

Although, NextBigGadgets will take over the operation of techisbae.com, it is not clear yet whether ‘Tech Is Bae’ will move to NextBigGadgets or both will function individually.

Kachi Ojieh, the founder and CEO of Technology Is Before Anything Else (a.k.a TechIsBae) has giving his full approval for both media platforms to cooperate and work as one with the sole aim of delivering quality news to readers while maintaining the already set standard.

NextBigGadgets will operate from Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The domain nextbiggadgets.com has been registered by the company on 12th November 2017. Their Facebook page is nextbiggadgets and Twitter profile handle being @nextbiggadgets.

We hope our readers follow NextBigGadgets also.

What do you think? Please share your comments below.

Kachi Ojieh Monday, November 27, 2017

Tech

Uber's Security Breach - Hackers Are Exploiting Users With A Phishing Email

57 million drivers and users are really having a bad time with Uber's recently uncovered security breach which resulted from a hack. Not to put you on tension – what the hackers got away with was merely names, email addresses, and phone numbers although the way Uber is treating it is the issue at hand.

Despite the fact that the hack occurred in 2016, Uber still hasn't reached the users whose information was stolen, and hackers are now capitalizing on that.

Dale Meredith, an IT Trainer and security consultant shared an email he got on twitter. The email which is intended to exploit users looks like it originated from Uber, however with a special trick – it’s created like the conventional email which companies sends to users to apologize after an information breach.

In light of the stupidity of #Uber and their #breach, please start warning everyone of the pending "Uber Scams" that are bound to staaaarrrrrt, NOW! pic.twitter.com/WpXwgAtvvg
— Dale Meredith (@dalemeredith) November 22, 2017

The letter begins in this tone “Our deepest apologies…” and further says “You may have heard that Uber was compromised last year. We are sorry to inform you that your information was, unfortunately, confirmed to be part of the breach. Please click below to confirm you’ve received this message and change your password.”

Anyways, if users click on the link contained in the message, a page is opened with input box for them to enter their old password and new passwords. The danger lies when the hackers get the needed credentials and goes straight to access the user’s Uber account. A terrible practice by most internet users is that they reuse a single username and password across different websites, which simply means that the hackers can now have access to their Facebook, Twitter, Bank Accounts etc and quickly change the user login details too.

This is a wakeup call for people who are fond of clicking on links found in security emails rather than making use of the verified app provided by the company to tread cautiously. Uber has to fix this mess quickly.

Kachi Ojieh Friday, November 24, 2017

Tech

The 3 Best Kept Secrets You Should Know Before Buying A 4K TV On Black Friday

Sometimes I wonder why they call it Black Friday when the sky is bright and the weather is fair, anyways I rest my case there.

What is 4K TV?

According to TrustedReviews, "4K, also known as Ultra HD, refers to a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. That’s four times the 1,920 x 1,080 pixels found in your full HD TV. We’re looking at about 8.3 million pixels. Cramming so many pixels into a TV means a higher pixel density, and you should have a clearer, better defined picture. It’s not about sharpness, it’s about letting you see more detail and texture."

Most people wait patiently for Black Friday just to buy a new TV. Every year (including the one we are in), you will discover a lot of amazing 4K TV deals which are worth considering but hey! Don’t rush it till you get my full gist. Be that as it may, it’s sad to say but some of the deals don’t worth your cool cash. Now that I have clearly mentioned that, here are a couple of secrets kept from you that you ought to know before buying a 4K TV on Black Friday this year.

Generally, due to prices of the TV’s being slashed or becoming affordable so to speak, don’t be surprised to see many people going to buy a 4K TV which they don’t really need. A Few thousands of Naira can replace your old 1080p TV either from Jumia or Konga.

Watch out for the following when buying a new 4K HDTV on Black Friday

#1. The Number Of HDMI Ports Is Limited To One Or Two

Everybody is on the rush to get something on Black Friday TV promo which becomes a problem because the essential features are always neglected in their checklist. Normally, 4K TV comes with up to three or four HDMI ports but you may end up buying a TV with one or two ports.

Just because it’s Black Friday and items go on low prices, manufacturers may remove some of the needed features. These ports are useful when interfacing them with cable box, gaming systems, projector, Apple TV, Roku, NVIDIA Shield and lots more.

A wise counsel is to check the number of HDMI ports on the TV or else you have money to buy a HDMI extender switch which is not always supported in some of the TV’s.

#2. Check The Refresh Rate Specs Whether It’s High Or Low

Low refresh rates say 60Hz will likely be available on 4K TV sales on Black Friday so that people can afford them. It’s advisable to shop for TV’s with higher refresh rates of up to 120 Hz or better, 240 Hz. If you love HD gaming or action movies, make a wise 4K TV choice for a better experience.

#3. Look For High Dynamic Range (HDR)

If you love your movies to look like how the producers envisioned, go for HDR-capable 4K TVs. All those eye catching, crisp and bright colors you see in movies are powered by High Dynamic Range (HDR). For those who plan of having a 4K TV for the next couple of years to come, make sure HDR is on board. The truth is most Black Friday 4K TVs may end not having HDR support due to its low price.

To sum it up, if you are comfortable with a 4K TV with few HDMI ports, refresh rate of 60 Hz, or no HDR available, that’s ok. Make up your mind what you really want and what not to buy on Black Friday. Before you go, check Jumia’s 4k TV deal and Konga Deal – all for your Black Friday delight.

4K TVs Available in Konga

1. LG 98'' Smart Ultra HD 4K TV- 98UB980T
2. Samsung 60" Uhd Smart 4k 60ku7000 Tv
3. Samsung 55-Inch 4k UHD Flat Smart TV
4. Samsung 55-Inches 4K Curved UHD Smart LED TV - 55ku7350

Kachi Ojieh Thursday, November 23, 2017

Tech

Google Assistant Now Has The Ability To Identify Songs Playing Near You

Featured image source: Mashable

Most of you must have been making plans to buy Google Pixel 2 in order to make use of the built-in song identifier but here is good news that will make you put on your dancing shoes: Google Assistant's music recognition feature is coming to Android phones which are Google Assistant enabled, the days of this feature being limited to only Google Pixel smartphones is over. We believe Shazam should buckle up as they just got a rival.

Whenever you walk past someone in the street, or chilling somewhere and you hear a music that got you stirred up but have no idea of the song title or artist, Google Assistant will be of great help by asking it "What song is this?". Expect a reply from Assistant revealing the title and artist. More details such as album title, release date, links to search the song on Google, links to YouTube and Google Play Music will be shown to you.

Although, the feature isn’t available across many countries for now, people in Canada, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Australia says it’s already accessible to them.

What do you think of Google Assistant music recognition feature? Over to you.

Kachi Ojieh Tuesday, November 07, 2017

Nokia

Nokia 2 Specifications, Price & Availability

HMD Global has unveiled the Nokia 2 Android smartphone. At the product launch event, HMD Global Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas said in a statement:

“With the Nokia 2, we wanted to replicate the unique Android experience we’ve delivered so far with the long-lasting battery which so many fans associate and expect from their Nokia phones. To make this a reality, every component of the Nokia 2- from the display to battery, chipset to system – has been engineered to draw as little power as possible from the huge battery to give fans a long-lasting phone they can rely on.”

The Nokia 2 which is a dual-SIM smartphone sports a 5.0 inches LTPS LCD (Corning Gorilla Glass 3), 720 x 1280 pixels display. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz Quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor with a 1GB RAM and an 8GB internal storage capacity which can be expanded up to 128GB using microSD card. The smartphone features an 8-megapixel primary camera, 5-megapixel front snapper for selfies.

The Nokia 2 runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat and boasts of a Non-removable Li-Ion 4100 mAh battery. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS/ A-GPS, FM radio with RDS, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Sensors include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, and proximity sensor.

Nokia 2 Price and Availability

It is expected to be sold €99 Euros (about $115 in US dollars, Rs 7,000 in India and N41,342 in Nigerian currency). The Nokia 2 smartphone will be available in mid-November 2017.

See the full specifications below: