According to a Samsung press release published by Endgadget, the phone maker has announced that it has sold over 10 million Galaxy S4 handsets less than one month after its global release – read about the Johannesburg launch event.  

This follows a prediction by Samsung CEO JK Shin who confidently told the Korean press at the beginning of this week that the flagship smartphone would pass 10 million units sold before the week was out.

This makes the Samsung Galaxy S4 the fastest selling Android phone ever selling at a rate of four units per second.

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Frozen yoghurt brand Wakaberry celebrated its 2nd birthday on 22 May and with it, its growing online community – an impressive achievement for a relatively new food brand in South Africa.

In two years Wakaberry bars have grown from one flagship store in Florida Road, Durban to 15 stores in four provinces and will open five more stores in the next month.

Wakaberry has set the benchmark for other ‘new’ brands aiming to market themselves on digital platforms. The Facebook page was launched  when Wakaberry opened its first store in May 2011 and in two years has over 70, 000 followers with hundreds joining every week. The page actively markets new stores, flavours, merchandise and events with regular updates and an overall emphasis on real engagement that evokes reaction and creates interaction.

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In a new advertisement released for Windows 8,  titled Windows 8: Less talking, more doing, Microsoft is taking a fresh dig at the Apple iPad’s OS and pricing using its very own Siri.

In the advert, Siri acknowledges it’s inability to complete various tasks while the the Microsoft ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet with Windows 8, does so with ease using Powerpoint and side-by-side apps with Live Tiles.

Surrendering to Windows 8, Siri suggests playing chopsticks, in a parody of the iPad Mini Piano advertisement released in November 2012,

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In February, we reported that a $10 million X Prize was fueling a race to make the Tricorder, a fictional medical device featured on Star Trek,  a reality. The Tricorder is a handheld device used for sensor scanning  and data analysis to diagnose various ailments.

One of the contenders for this prize is the Scout, developed by Belgian digital entrepreneur Walter De Brouwer, the CEO of Scanadu. Scanadu, based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California,  makes medical technology devices for consumers.

However, the Scout was not originally intended for consumers but rather to provide a way for astronauts to monitor their health on the International Space Station and is built on Micrium, the same real-time operation system for SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) on the Mars Curiosity rover.

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In less than 3 weeks, the country’s top media and marketing minds will be making a big impact at this year’s highly-anticipated Integrated Marketing Communication Conference taking place on the 10th & 11th of June at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

With all topics finalized, delegates will now have a small taste of what to expect at this marketing conference.

Keynote Speakers and topics include:

• Abey Mokgwatsane (Ogilvy & Mather South Africa) – “Data and Creative at War: how technology and the changing market landscape have created a new battlefield.”
• Sizakele Marutlulle (ABSA Group) – “Expect the unexpected: Building a brand amongst brand builders” (more…)

First National Bank’s (FNB) CEO Michael Jordaan has announced his resignation on Twitter.

Jordaan’s tweet reads:

After 10 years at the helm of FNB I will step down at the end of 2013. Thanks for all your support.

— Michael Jordaan (@MichaelJordaan) May 22, 2013

Over the last few years, Jordaan has been at the helm of FNB’s digital marketing strategy that uses technology to differentiate it from other SA banks to make a smarter, easier and more efficient banking experience for customers.

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Square, the developers of Square Register, a  free point of sale app has introduced the Square Stand that lets business owners easily take payments directly from an iPad 2 or 3 (30-pin connector). Once the iPad and Square Stand are connected, its overall sleek and minimal appearance looks nothing like the typical cash registers that we have come to know.

The Square Stand tilts for different viewing angles and can rotate 180 degrees so customers can easily sign for purchase. The integrated credit card swiper keeps credit card information secure after swiping.

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With its new list of gift cards on offer, Cape Town-based startup GoGifting, has launched South Africa’s largest gift card mall, online.

GoGifting, launched in October 2012, allows users to send their friends gifts using their connections on social networks like Facebook and is growing maturity in South Africa, having already become a $100 billion market in the U.S. alone.

This week, South Africa’s social gifting pioneer, expanded its gift card and voucher offering to provide 40 gift cards from the country’s favourite brands including Carrol Boyes, Pick’n Pay, Cape Union Mart and Clicks.

Shoppers can now leverage the platform already popular with a large number of users to send gifts for any occasion. Having these available online lets gift-givers send gifts from where ever they are.

“We’ve had so many requests for a larger selection of brands from our users and we’re happy to oblige,” says founder Kevin Tucker. “There’s definitely a huge gap in the market to bring gift cards to online consumers. No more trekking to the shopping centre to find the right one.”

Gift cards are available in either physical or virtual format. Physical gifts are couriered to the recipient  with GoGifting handling all the fulfilment. Virtual gift cards are sent electronically and can be used immediately.

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