In response to the dramatic increase in the number of smartphones currently in use in the South African market, Groupon South Africa announced today the launch of the official Groupon application for iPhone and Android smartphones, as well as for the iPod touch. The app is available for download in the Apple App Store and the Android Market.

Wayne Gosling, joint Groupon SA CEO said that “South Africa really is a mobile-tech environment; we have limited access to internet compared to other countries, and so most people use internet through their phones. Groupon international now feature Blackberry, iPhone and Android apps, and as these options become available in South Africa it will start to have a real effect on the way consumers purchase.”

With the smartphone apps, South Africa has joined a growing number of Groupon markets worldwide that offer mobile app capabilities via mobile devices, including North America, Australia, Hong Kong, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Some of the features available through the new apps will revolutionize the way group buying is conducted in South Africa. Features include:

• The ability to browse daily deals and buy on the go.
• Accessing your account (sign in to your existing Groupon account to find and organize your library of previous purchases).
• Signing in to your account through Facebook or signing up for a new Groupon account directly through the apps.
• The ability to redeem your Groupon’s wherever you are.
• Pulling up and presenting Groupon’s to merchants directly from the device’s screen, which means that no printout is required.
• The ability to activate the GPS feature so consumers can purchase Groupon’s closest to their current location.

To download the app for iPhone click here.

To download the app for Android search for “Groupon” in the Android Market.

We have been waiting to see what would be the first phone to come from Google’s Motorola acquisition, but now we know. Say hello to the new Motorola RAZR. Boasting a sculpted glass face, diamond-cut aluminum accents and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Advanced display, the Motorola RAZR also sports KEVLAR fiber and Gorilla Glass to help the screen stand up to scratches and scrapes. In fact, every part of Motorola RAZR is protected by a splash-guard coating – even the electrical boards inside.

Inside it is pretty great as well – 1GB of RAM hooks up with a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and Android 2.3 to get you a fast user interface and the  plenty of power for multitasking. You can also find 802.11n wifi, and 16 GB of memory and a large 1780 mAh battery.

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Mark Shuttleworth, the Founder of Canonical, the company behind Ubunta Linux, has revealed that Ubuntu will announce its expansion from its open source operating system (OS) into smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Florida which begins today.

Shuttleworth has mentioned that their short term plans are to make Ubuntu 12.04, the next long term support (LTS) of their Linux distribution, as stable as possible and to give the Unity desktop interface its final polish for both home and business Linux desktop users. As part of its long terms goals, Canonical will then be expanding into all computing platforms including tablets, smartphones and smart TVs.

Shuttleworth says that “This is a natural expansion of our idea as Ubuntu as Linux for human beings. As people have moved from desktop to new form factors for computing, it’s important for us to reach out to to community on these platforms. So, we’ll embrace the challenge of how to use Ubuntu on smartphones, tablets and smart-screens.”

With the upcoming move into the mobile sector the company is targeting Google’s Android OS as a potential rival to give Android partners an alternative choice since Google’s acquisition of Motorola.

Shuttleworth also commented that while the tablet sector is significantly dominated by Google Android and Apple iOS, there is an opportunity for “disruptive elements” such as Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows to establish themselves as a competitive force in the market.

Source: ZDNet

Following the huge success and record breaking attendance at the re-launch event, Mobile Monday Cape Town has returned in conjunction with Google!

Mobile Monday Cape Town is fast becoming the premier networking event for anyone and everyone in Mobile in Cape Town.

Google will be launching the latest Smartphone ZA Consumer research, along with a brilliant tool to enable easy access to the stats, followed by some fun demos and great handsets being shown off by the Android Handset Manufacturers, Huawei, Samsung, MiFone and Sony Ericsson.

To take part in this interesting and informative event see the details below:

Date: Monday 7th November 2011

Time: 17:30 for 18:00

Venue: The One & Only, Dock Road, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront

Bookings: To book your place at the event click here.

For more information about the event go to MoMoct.com

Pons and Huot are two companies that architect and designer Christian Pottgiesser decided to combine for their joint headquarters in Paris, France. The office occupies the space of a revamped 19th-century industrial hall fitted with a steel framework that is a typical feature of that period and rumoured to have been realised by Gustave Eiffel, the architect behind the famous Eiffel Tower.

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Are you a Blackberry fan, but the standard Torch and Bold is not exclusive enough for you? Today, Porsche Design and RIM announced the elite new Porsche Design P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry. Designed by Porsche Design, in collaboration with RIM, the luxury brand’s first smartphone really does have a high end look and choice of material, combined with the performance of the latest Blackberry Bold phones.

The Porsche Design P’9981 smartphone from BlackBerry is instantly identifiable as a Porsche Design product. The exclusive material choices for this unique smartphone include a forged stainless steel frame, hand-wrapped leather back cover, sculpted QWERTY keyboard, and touch display. This customized Porsche Design P’9981 comes with an exclusive Porsche Design UI and a bespoke Wikitude World Browser augmented reality app experience. It also includes premium, exclusive PINs that help easily identify another P’9981 smartphone user.

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Sony Corporation has acquired Ericsson’s stake in mobile joint venture Sony Ericsson for $1.47 billion. The deal will result in Ericsson’s 50% stake in the company now coming under Sony’s full control.

As part of the deal, Sony has bought out Ericsson’s ownership of  “five essential patent families” in an intellectual property agreement between the two companies. As part of the transaction, Ericsson will receive a €1.05 billion cash payment from Sony. That values the deal at $1.47 billion at current market prices.

The acquisition will give Sony the opportunity to incorporate mobile products into their other electronic offerings such as TVs, laptops, mobile phones and tablets which will enhance its ‘four-screen strategy.’ It will also allow Ericsson, once a strong contender in the mobile phone sector, to concentrate on its network gear business.

CEO of Sony, Sir Howard Stringer, has said in a statement: “This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want.”

source: mashable

Twitter is testing an expandable timeline under the radar so that all media related information can be seen inside the timeline rather than off to the side or when clicking on another page. The new timeline, originally reported by Patrick Bisch of Pinglio, will allow users to click on other tweets in order to expand conversations, viewing the entire thread, retweets and other media such as videos and photos. It allows for easier and faster navigation and activity.

While Twitter has not yet formerly commented on the re-design, some users have already reported seeing the new timeline on the site.

The screen shot below is an example of how users can expand a conversation and see other users who have retweeted or commented on the original post:

 source: cnet