As we always say, the tech world never stops spinning: there is always something cooking. Mostly something good.
Below are top ten trending topics this week:
1. Telkom Kenya has dropped its Orange brand identity
Telkom Kenya has acquired a new brand identity as part of its plan to increase competitiveness in the market. Part of this rebranding involved shedding its orange identity.
The new Telkom Kenya comes with, among other things, a logo, tagline, colors, and 4G connectivity.
The company is set to launch its mobile money platform at an unspecified date. But soon.
2. Communication Authority (CA) gets a promotion
The High Court has reversed Communications Authority of Kenya’s mandate to oversee competition in the ICT sector.
The ruling gives the regulatory body the mandate to license and regulate ICT services in the country.
The CA had been stripped its power in 2015 when President Uhuru signed the Miscellaneous Amendment Bill which required the regulatory body to consult with the Competition Authority of Kenya and ICT CS before making any decisions touching on dominance.
3. An online payments and booking system for SGR trains
Kenya Railways has announced that an online payments and bookings system for the Standard Gauge Railway trains will be launched on 12th June 2017.
This announcement comes after passengers complained about the cash-only payment option. They did not even accept M-Pesa.
The good news is that you can now book via M-Pesa using the paybill number 809888.
4. Interior and Coordination Ministry gets digital forward with Telegram
Kenya’s interior and coordination ministry has opened a Telegram channel to send out security alerts.
The channel dubbed @interiornewsalert already brags over 270members.
5. IDC to host CIO Summit in Nairobi
The annual East Africa CIO Summit 2017 will be hosted in Nairobi by the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The Summit will be held at the Radisson Blue Hotel on Wednesday, June the 14th. The theme will be “Enabling Dynamic Change for the Digital Era.”
The event will be attended by top leaders in the ICT industry.
6. Jumia Food partners with Sodexo Group
Jumia Food Kenya has signed a partnership with Sodexo Group for mobile payments dubbed M-Kula.
This payment option allows employees to access Jumia Food delivery services from the comfort of their offices.
7. Aljazeera targeted by Hackers
Aljazeera has admitted that its website and the media network are undergoing systematic and continual hacking attempts. The hackers are also alleged to have targeted the site’s Twitter and Facebook accounts.
The Qatari-based news organization has, however, said that the platform has not been compromised. A senior employee at Aljazeera said that the news organization is “combatting” the hacking attempts.
8. Galaxy J3, J5, and J7 now official
Samsung Mobile has finally made official the 2017 J series.
The new handsets come with awesome features such as impressive design, better performance, awesome camera features, and other upgrades.
The J series’ will retail at $380 for the J7 (2017), $315 for J5 (2017), and $250 for the J3 (2017).
9. Whatsapp for iOS supports new awesome features
The Whatsapp iOS app has received an update that introduces three new features: photo filters, albums, and reply shortcuts.
There are five filters for videos, photos, and GIFs at the moment but chances are that Whatsapp will add more in the future.
The Album feature will ensure that when you share several photos, they will be automatically grouped into an album.
The reply shortcut feature means that you can swipe right on any message in order to hit reply to that specific message.
10. Android O preview update 3
Google has finally released the third preview of Android O.
This gives users a chance to get an idea of what Google is preparing before the release of the official version later this year.
That’s all for now. Have yourself an enlightened weekend.
