We all know and use Google, probably every day (well, the readers of this blog anyway). Sure its search product is the defacto standard, but over time we have started integrating more and more of their service in our online lives. Think about it – Google Talk, Buzz, Gmail. Some of their “projects” are more successful than others – for example, Gmail is extremely popular, whereas services like Google Lattitude seems downright creepy to me. They have also had some failures – Google Wave being one of them, despite being a very cool idea. Buzz is in danger of also falling into irrelevance.

But now Google is gunning for the other big place where you have an online presence – Facebook. Dont think they have not tried before – they still have Orkut, which is popular in certain countries. But this time they are baking the social features right into its core business of search, and also improving and integrating more of its existing services. It is called the Google+ project, and the initial videos seem to be very impressive out of a social viewpoint.

Some of the key features of Google+ include:

Google Circles:

This the one place where they can differentiate themselves – Google+ allow you to create groups of friends, called Circles. Its pretty easy to do with a drag and drop interface. You simply create the circles you want – for example, “Epic Bros” (seriously Google?), Family, Work Friends etc. Using these groups you only share what you want with whom you want. While Facebook does have some elements of this, they do not allow the same simple way of setting it up. Seriously – how many of use Facebook Groups? Who wants to take a bet Facebook shows off its new “Spheres” feature in the next few weeks? (more…)

Early in December 2009 Google announced the launch of their visual search app called Google Goggles [pictured above].  At the time the app was available only on phones using the Android OS, however around October 2010 Google Goggles eventually made its debut on the iPhone.

So why the fuss?

Well let’s have a look at some interesting facts relating to the expedited growth of mobile across the world, gathered from my recent attendance to the ‘Mobile Media Mindblast’ conference held at ‘The Bay Hotel’ in Cape Town:

- “In 2000, 1 out of 10 people in the world owned a cell phone by 2010 76% of the population owned a cellphone”

- “By 2012 there will be more mobile internet users than desktop users, globally”

- “In SA: 93% mobile penetration in comparison to 6% PC penetration”

- “16% of 42 million mobile users in SA have smartphones i.e. More smartphones than DSTV subscribers”

click here (for a more detailed inforgraphic)

Essentially the mobile phone is fast becoming the primary screen in a consumers everyday life, even more so in emerging markets, and the one device that enables that consumer to access information that is user specific to make better informed decisions. Understanding the potential impact that this may have on consumer buying behaviour and on historical consumer media consumption rituals, marketers globally are voraciously trying to gain competitive advantage within this space … enter the Google Goggles opportunity… (more…)

This week Google announced the global semi-finalists in its inaugural Google Science Fair. Luke Taylor, a Grade 9 learner at the German International School of Cape Town, South Africa, fought off fierce competition from over 7,500  entrants from more than 90 countries, to become one of only 60 semi-finalists.    The Google Science Fair aims to be the largest global online science competition, targeting students from the ages of 13 – 18 all over the world. Students were invited to submit their science projects as a Google Site to compete for internships, scholarships and other prizes.

14-year old Luke describes himself as a “robotics junkie” who is passionate about computer science and artificial intelligence, and always ready for a challenge.  To reach the semi-finals of the competition,  Luke embarked on a project to help robots understand commands written in natural human language, entitled Programming in Pure English.

Commenting on his success thus far, Luke said, “I’m proud to put Africa on the map by making the semi-finals.  It is my dream to win a scholarship one day that will allow me to study at a top university and connect with the most brilliant minds that will take robotics into the future. Participation in online competitions like the Google Science Fair will hopefully assist me in getting there.”

Julie Taylor, Communications Manager for Google Sub Saharan Africa, said, “We’re delighted to have a South African student in the semi-finals — and what’s more, Luke is one of only two young scientists selected from the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.   We wish him the very best of luck”.

The Google Science Fair was launched on 11 January 2011 and judges will choose five finalists in each category. However, it is up to the global public to vote for the People’s Choice Award. The team or individual with the most votes will win the People’s Choice Award and bring home a $10,000 scholarship. To vote, visit google.com/sciencefair before 20 May.

The 15 global finalists will be announced on 23 May 2011 and will be flown out to Google’s headquarters in California for the final round of judging conducted by Google’s panel of renowned scientists and innovators on 11 July 2011.

Congrats to Luke!!! Good luck!

Earlier this month Google announced a new Incubator in South Africa called Umbono. You come to them with your world altering idea and in turn they give you office space, money, bandwidth and servers. It literally is the ultimate opportunity for any South African with the technical skills and a cool idea, but unfortunately Google got it completely wrong.

One day two University students named Adam and Steve made their way to Y Combinator to pitch an idea that they thought had potential, but Paul Graham who heads up Y Combinator thought the idea sucked and turned them down. A little bit later they received a phone call from Paul saying: “…listen guys we didn’t like your idea but we liked you, come back and lets come up with a new idea you guys can work on”. Adam and Steve are the founders of Reddit.

Google aims to change the start up landscape in South Africa with Umbono, but as long as they have a “good idea” as an entrance requirement they never will.  First of all – who are the creators of Google Buzz and Google Wave to judge whether or not someone’s idea is good or bad? Picking people based on whether or not they have a good idea is a terrible way to filter people.

I know endless amounts of friends and family members that have awesome ideas everyday on how to make a better burger than McDonalds, or how to make a better car than Toyota, but none of them will ever create a McDonalds or Toyota. The reason they will never create it is because they don’t have the “right stuff”, and even with funding they will still lack the right stuff. This is why Paul Graham says they invest in people and not in ideas. So how should Google do it? (more…)

This just in – it looks like Google is pushing hard to get Africa on board with development for its mobile platform, Android. With Africa’s rate of smartphone adoption looking positive in future, I think its a smart move from the search giant.

Every day more than 300,000 Android devices are activated globally. A growing number of these mobile device activations are in markets across Africa, making local African mobile content more relevant and important than ever before. In recognition of this, Google today announced its Google Android Developer Challenge, inviting talented and creative developers in sub-Saharan Africa to design and build original Android applications for mobile phones that will delight users.
Categories for entries include entertainment, media and games; social networking and communications; and productivity, tools and lifestyle. Winners will each receive an Android phone and $25,000 (USD).

“In the past year alone, we have met with over 10,000 developer and techies across sub-Saharan Africa. We are continually impressed by the ingenuity and enthusiasm of this community to solve real problems with technology, ” says Bridgette Sexton, Programme Manager at Google. “At every Google event in Africa, Android is the most popular topic – as Android users multiply, so does the appeal for developers to build apps on this free open source platform.”

Participants can submit applications via the challenge website by 1st July 2011. The winning application will be announced on 12th September 2011.

Google will be hosting two exciting Android events in Cape Town  (3rd May) and Johannesburg (4th May) in collaboration with Google Technology User Groups (GTUGs). New Android developments and insights will be discussed along with the opportunities Android holds for application developers and consumers in South Africa. Go here to register.

Google is clearly trying to make some innovation inroads in Africa – first with the startup incubator Umbono, and now focussing on mobile. Lets hope this can help to stop the mobile phone brand obsession in Africa – or maybe just shift that attention away from Blackberry. With the pace of Android growth worldwide, it might not be that difficult though.

Guest Post: BandwidthBlog has been looking forward to the waterproof Motorola Defy for quite some time – but we needed an Android pro for an educated opinion. Albert is a developer, gadget geek, and all-round nice guy. He’s passionate about Android, and writes for ZADroid, a great new blog that covers Android in South Africa, and keeps BandwidthBlog in check with all things Android. However, anything shiny and sufficiently technologically advanced puts a smile on his face.

In November of last year, Motorola launched the MB525 (also known as the DEFY) in South Africa. We lived with the MB525 for a week or two, and put it through its paces.

The Motorola MB525 is touted as being “life-proof”, which is an all-in-one term coined to encompass the dust-, shock-, and water-proof”ness” of the device. It trekked with us up a mountain (and spent the night up there), went to work with us every day, and was also by our side as we partook in a bit of wine-tasting. That ought to qualify as “life”. How did it fare?

Physical Features
Measuring 59 x 107 x 13.4 mm and weighing in at a paltry 118g, the Motorola MB525 looks small, but that’s just because it wraps so neatly around the 3.7-inch display that almost touches the edges of the front of this device. Just below the display the usual Android buttons (menu, home, back, and search) are found in the dreaded capacitive form. Yes, unfortunately, when the buttons are this sensitive, and this close to the screen, you find yourself accidentally pressing them often enough to test your sanity. And no, vibration to emulate haptic feedback is no substitute for true hardware buttons. Along the top is the speaker grille, and nestled alongside it, as usual, are the light and proximity sensors, but they’re hidden away so well you’ll struggle to actually see them. No front facing camera here, unfortunately.

 

So, the front is standard fare, but then the device starts to get interesting (well, apart from the volume rocker on the right and the power button up top, which just isn’t “clicky” enough, and is more difficult to press than you would expect). The visible screws along the sides of the device look great, even though their sole purpose is probably to emphasize the ruggedness of the device. Then you notice that the Micro-USB connector on the left side of the device, and the standard 3.5mm headphone jack on the top both have pretty snug fitting rubbery plastic plugs. The awesome, rubbery soft-touch plastic back (the kind we love) has a special locking mechanism. This device’s internals are pretty well protected against the elements. And it’s been done without beating the MB525 with the ugly stick.

The Motorola and MotoBlur logo are etched into the back, which also sports a 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash, and a second microphone for noise-cancellation purposes.

Did we test the ruggedness of the device? (more…)

Guest Post: Albert is a developer, gadget geek, and all-round nice guy. He’s passionate about Android, and writes for ZADroid, a new blog that covers Android in South Africa. However, anything shiny and sufficiently technologically advanced puts a smile on his face. Above and beyond that, Albert loves the web and the technologies that drive it, good design, and original ideas.

Red Bull Mobile has launched in South Africa on the back of Cell C, and they brought two new Huawei devices with them. The ZADroid folks lived with the RBM HD (Huawei U8800) for a few days, and we were pleasantly surprised.

First off, we have to make it clear that the only way, at the moment, to get your hands on the RBM HD is by signing a 24-month contract at any Cell C store. Now, this may seem like a major caveat, but the RBM 200 deal isn’t a bad one. For R250/month you get the RBM HD (or Motorola MB525 – review coming soon), 500 Megabytes of data, 200 minutes of talk time (that roll over), and 100 SMSes. Considering that 600MB of data goes for almost R200 from Vodacom, getting all this is, quite simply, a bargain. You’ll have to live with the RBM HD with the next two years, though. Is it worth it? Read on to find out. (more…)

Today TNS launched Mobile Life 2011, the largest ever global research study into today’s mobile consumer. Mobile Life is the result of more than 25,000 hours of interviews with over 34,000 respondents in 43 countries. It provides a complete understanding of consumer experiences with mobility today and insights into how this will change tomorrow. The findings highlight that as “static” functionality such as SMS and still imaging become commoditised, growth will be driven through further demand for social functionality and new demands for video calling, streaming and sharing services:

Mobile becoming the preferred channel for social networking

The number of mobile web users visiting social networking sites grew from 30% to 46% globally, and from 26% to 50% in emerging markets, leapfrogging much of the developed markets.Only 18% of consumers globally managed to upload photos or video directly to the web from their mobiles, during the same period, but a further 44% would be interested in doing so in future.Consumers in emerging markets are more likely to want to upload content (49%), but more than half (55%) do not have the ability to do so. All inclusive data plans (like Blackberry Internet Service) is a key enabler for these markets.

“With mobiles increasingly becoming the primary device for internet access and communication, particularly in emerging markets, entertainment and multimedia features are a key requirement for engaging with consumers,” said James Fergusson, Managing Director, Global Technology Sector, TNS. “Handset manufacturers need to ensure that entertainment offers, particularly mobile music, gaming, pictures, video and social networking are available and easy to access. Many are missing a trick in not bringing more smartphones to market in high-growth countries.”

Apple and Google continue to win the platform war, delivering better access to rich media.

Further findings from the TNS Mobile Life study show that content and service offerings are also playing an increasingly important role in terms of operating systems, with consumer loyalty supporting the continued growth of Android and iOS systems. Google’s operating system – Android, as well as OMS and Tapas – have gained 24% share in the past 12 months, growing from 9% to 33%**. This loyalty is due, in part, to Apple’s and Google’s ability to keep pace with consumer’s content demands, particularly with regard to social networking and rich media functionality. For example: Over half of Apple (56%) and Android (52%) customers access social media via their mobiles daily, but this figure drops to 44% and 41% for Windows Mobile and Symbian, respectively.51% of Apple and 49% of Android customers are “very likely” to stay with that operating system, while that figure drops to 30% and 31% for Windows and Symbian.

Emerging Markets Very Vrand Conscious

After looking at the data there are a few thing that stand out when looking at emerging vs developed nations – in developed countries users are more interested in ease of use and input method, whereas emerging country users tend to focus predominantly on the brand name.

This is most evident in another study by World Wide Worx where it was found that Blackberry is the most aspired-to brand in SA with 24 percent of consumers saying it will be their next phone, while Nokia still has the biggest market share. Blackberry is also gaining significant market share in SA because of very good pricing, especially with its low data costs and newer cheap handsets. In a data deprived SA where users require always on connectivity and access to their social networks, Blackberry is quickly becoming the commodity handset in SA.

Khaya Dlanga sums up perfectly what is happening with Blackberry in SA:

Could not have said it better myself.