itel is introducing its latest entry-level and budget-friendly smartphone the A58 series. The device targets new smartphone users with a bigger screen, bigger battery and fashionable device at a cheaper price. itel is also partnering with local telcos to provide buyers of the phone with data bundles for a period.
The A58 series comes in a plastic body with three different colours to choose from. It has a 6.6-inch HD display with a 90% screen to body ratio to give you more viewing content. itel says it has a 2.5D curved edge screen design that makes viewing content on the device more immersive. The 4000mAh battery size promises to last you through a day and 27 hours of call time and 15 hours of video play. itel says its AI power master technology will give a user an extra 2 hours in power saving mode and up to 10 days in ultra power-saving mode.
The itel A58 series phones are resistant to ordinary drops, dust and moisture-proof and can handle extreme temperatures.
The main difference between the A58 and A58 Pro we know of is that the Pro version has 2GB RAM and 32GB storage compared to 1GB and 16GB in the A58. The chipsets used in the device also seem to vary across each market.
In Ghana, it starts selling at GHS 474, Ksh 8,650 in Kenya, NGN 40,000 in Nigeria, 80,000Rwf in Rwanda and UGX 275,000 in Uganda.
itel A58 and A58 Pro specifications
Dimensions
165.4 x 76 x 9.6 mm, Weight: 170 g
Display
6.6″ (1612 x 720) HD+ IPS LCD, Waterdrop Full Screen display
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Microsoft is suspending all new sales of its products and services in Russia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is after the company said it was providing technical advice to the Ukrainian government on steps to prevent destructive malware operations it had identified in systems belonging to multiple Ukrainian government agencies and organizations.
Microsoft President and Vice-Chair, Brad Smith, noted the company will continue to mobilize resources to help the people in Ukraine. It is taking steps to avoid the spread of disinformation and promote instead independent and trusted content. As well as matching employee contributions and providing technology support to first responders to provide help.
Microsoft’s announcement comes after Apple and Google also took actions in response to the Russian invasion. Apple stopped all exports into the sales channel in the country and is limiting Apple Pay and other services. Google, Snapchat and Twitter are all pausing ads and blocking monetizing of content.
Here is the full statement about suspension in Russia
Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia.
We are announcing today that we will suspend all new sales of Microsoft products and services in Russia.
In addition, we are coordinating closely and working in lockstep with the governments of the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and we are stopping many aspects of our business in Russia in compliance with governmental sanctions decisions.
Our single most impactful area of work almost certainly is the protection of Ukraine’s cybersecurity. We continue to work proactively to help cybersecurity officials in Ukraine defend against Russian attacks, including most recently a cyberattack against a major Ukrainian broadcaster.
Since the war began, we have acted against Russian positioning, destructive or disruptive measures against more than 20 Ukrainian government, IT and financial sector organizations. We have also acted against cyberattacks targeting several additional civilian sites. We have publicly raised our concerns that these attacks against civilians violate the Geneva Convention.
We are also continuing to mobilize our resources to help the people in Ukraine. Our Microsoft Philanthropies and UN Affairs teams are working closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and multiple UN agencies to help refugees by providing technology and financial support for key NGOs and, where needed, we are defending these groups from ongoing cyberattacks.
As a company, we are committed to the safety of our employees in Ukraine and we are in constant contact with them to offer support in many forms, including those who have needed to flee for their lives or safety.
Like so many others, we stand with Ukraine in calling for the restoration of peace, respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and the protection of its people.
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Doogee is announcing a new addition to its S-series rugged smartphone line, the S98. The Doogee S98 rugged phone will launch for global sale around the end of March. Doogee S98 features include a 20MP Night Vision Camera, Dual-Screen, IP69K rating and large 6000mAh battery. Doogee S98 will run Android 12 out of the box with the company confirming at least 3 years of security and Android version updates.
The new S98 will run on MediaTek’s Helio G96 SoC with a clocking speed of 2.05GHz. The octa-core processor comes with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage as standard. The storage can be expanded using a micro SD card. Expect fast performance since MediaTek G96 is a processor designed for an incredible gaming experience.
The phone will sport a 6.3-inch LCD FHD+ display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection. The top of the phone will have a small hole punch to house the 16MP front camera.
What makes Doogee S98 amazing is the adoption of an eye-catching dual-screen design. In addition to the main display, it has a unique smart round rear display. The rear display’s background is customizable using any picture of your choice. Common uses include checking the time, controlling music, checking battery levels, among others.
On the back of the phone, there is a 3-camera set up around the rear display. A 64MP sensor is the main camera supported by a 20MP night vision camera and an 8MP wide-angle camera. A primary LED flashlight and infrared light complete the setup on the back. The night vision is a funs one, it allows you to take pictures and videos in pitch black. With this, the subjects of pictures taken at night are very visible and understandable by the human eyes.
The juice running the show comes from a 6000mAh battery which can be charged by the 33W fast charger that comes in the package. Doogee S98 also supports a 15W wireless charger.
As you can guess, Doogee S98 is IP68 | IP69K rated. This means you can take a swim or wash the phone under a shower. It is MIL-STD-810G certified which means it should work fine in extreme weather.
Other features include NFC, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, side-mounted fingerprint sensor among others. Doogee hasn’t confirmed the exact launch date of S98 but the information reaching us is that we can expect the device in the latter part of March. Until such time, we will keep updated on developments related to Doogee S98. Fans can take part in the giveaway currently going on the company’s official website.
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Black and Brilliant is partnering with Codecademy to launch the second edition of the AI Accelerator Africa program. The free 10-week applied Artificial Intelligence (AI) bootcamp will focus on upskilling in data science, programming and data engineering, and user experience. Program participants will use Codecademy’s self-guided, hands-on learning platform for the courses.
The program will provide participants with mentorship from industry leaders and subject experts from global companies. Google, Fujitsu, and Shopify mentors will guide on topics like user experience, ethics and bias, and the business of AI.
Applications for the AI Accelerator Africa 2022 bootcamp open March 1st. It will start on 14th March through to May 16th 2022. The course will have small group discussions and panels as well as one-on-one sessions with coaches. The program is open to everyone irrespective of their professional or educational background. It is however giving higher priority to people with previous experience with Python in this cohort.
The Black and Brilliant Advocacy Network is working with Codecademy to bring the program to Africa and empower a new generation of tech talent in the region.Noting “We want to on-ramp people who have potential to be the next generation of AI Superstars – regardless of their backgrounds or educational attainment. From people that did not graduate High School but acquired coding skills along the way, to those with advanced STEM degrees looking to change lanes.”
The program is a chance to kill two birds with one stone says Tony Effik, co-founder of Black and Brilliant. He tells TechRepublic it will help blacks get higher-paying AI jobs and make AI less discriminatory towards communities of color. Effik adds that there is also a need for artificial intelligence capacity building across Africa. Telling ZDNet that talented young African technologists need to be better supported.
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Dubber Corporation Limited is announcing the ability to capture video recordings and perform advanced recording controls on Microsoft Teams. Dubber video recording for Microsoft Teams will deliver recording on a single platform with real-time search, keyword analytics, and AI-enriched insights.
The advanced recording controls for Microsoft Teams will give users flexibility and control when recording voice or video calls. The features include the ability to pause and resume recordings, record on-demand or selectively manage which types of calls or meetings are recorded.
James Slaney, COO, Dubber: “Businesses increasingly recognise default and basic recording solutions fail to meet their enterprise-grade requirements for security, compliance and data sovereignty. No other company offers the completeness, scalability and robustness of Dubber’s unified call recording and conversational intelligence capability as a Microsoft Teams certified service“.
“Capturing video recordings adds critical context to knowing what was said, particularly as video has become a primary communications medium for every business driven by hybrid work”.
“For example, every customer presentation captured, attached and connected to a CRM significantly improves revenue forecasting, sales coaching, training and more. For compliance intelligence, capturing video completes the requirement to know your customer and employees. The release of advanced recording controls provides flexibility and practical control for administrators and end-users to select the types of calls that are recorded and additionally to record on-demand or pause and resume recording”.
“We are addressing the critical need for any service provider or reseller of Microsoft Teams to differentiate, drive revenue and increase retention,” added Slaney.
Feature release details:
Video call recording: Capture and unify all your video calls, meetings and voice recording on Microsoft Teams in Dubber’s infinitely scalable Voice Intelligence Cloud. Affordable and flexible plan options start as low as $39.95 (USD) per user/month, with 100GB of storage included.
AI-powered video: Enrich video recordings with AI to unlock best of breed Dubber AI capabilities such as intelligent keyword search, transcriptions, analytics, sentiment plus tone analysis and real-time notification and alerts.
Pause-resume: Users can effectively pause and resume voice and video calls on mobile and desktop. When initiated, it results in the same consistent experience across the native app as well as calls using Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency codes (DTMF).
On-demand: Once configured, when a call/meeting begins, it gets recorded only when the user presses the “record” button in Dubber’s app.
Selective recording: Allows Administrator users to select which type of calls/meetings are recorded. The following call types will be supported at launch, including the ability to record all call types.
Record external parties (determined by users’ tenancy) only
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Tecnotree announces the launch of a digital multi-experience platform, Tecnotree Moments, in collaboration with MTN Nigeria. Tecnotree Moments is a gateway of digital services and lifestyle bundling products. It will launch with e-sports content such as PUBG Mobile Daily, FIFA Daily, Rocket League Daily, Fortnite Monthly, and Fantasy Football. Moments will also contain the complete Nigerian JSSCE, SSSCE, and IGCSE syllabus in the form of interactive and immersive content and live classes.
The multi-experience partner ecosystem offering aims to create lifestyle bundles of content, applications, and connectivity. Through a pre-integrated digital partner ecosystem for global, local and glocal high-demand and hyper-growth sectors. The platform will attract leading partners across different sectors such as education, entertainment, gaming, sports, health, and wellness to enter Nigeria and use direct customer billing to convert ecosystem partners into instant revenue generators.
It will offer Africa’s top-played games, with fresh games being updated regularly. With dynamic ecosystem partners, the platform is uniquely positioned to cater for the convergence in education and gaming content around the globe that fosters social and emotional learning, imperative for personalized and adaptive experiences.
The MTN-Moments partnership will look at providing Massive Online Open Curriculum (MOOC) for career development and progression. Facilitating the acquisition of soft and technical skills. The platform will be launched first in Nigeria, with plans to launch these services to other MTN OpCos in Africa.
‘MTN is constantly seeking partnerships to build platforms that provide a superior service to our customers. We have always been deliberate about giving our customers the very best in digital content. This partnership with Tecnotree is a reinforcement of that commitment. The platform will provide enormous quality content that cuts across education and entertainment for our customers.’ said Aisha Mumuni, MTN’s Acting Chief Digital Officer.
Padma Ravichander, CEO of Tecnotree Corporation said, ‘Our Vision is to empower digitally connected communities, narrow the digital divide and create digital inclusion for various diasporas of the Nigerian population. We are very excited to partner with MTN Nigeria to launch our Tecnotree Moments platform that will support the Nigerian community with true digital services and products through our global partners. MTN’s commitment to making Africa a truly digital economy is a powerful purpose and Tecnotree is proud to be its digital partner in the cause.’
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