Office photos feature – Missing Link – specialist presentation firm

Apple has flatly refused to tell anyone just what chips lie inside the iPhone 3G S. In fact, while Apple insists that the “s” in 3G S stands for speed, it could equally well stand for secrecy. But T-Mobile in the Netherlands apparently didn’t get the memo, and has gone ahead and posted the hardware specs on the product page for the new models.

The relevant numbers are 256MB RAM for the OS, double that of the 128MB in the original iPhone, and a 600MHz processor, up from the pedestrian 412MHz of the first two models. The added RAM alone probably makes a huge difference — if you have ever added memory to a Mac you’ll know how much OS X loves it some extra gigs to play around in. And that processor neatly leapfrogs the second-gen iPod Touch’s 532MHz. It also shuts up anyone comparing the iPhone to the Palm Pre, which has the exact same number of megahertz: 600.

Of course, this never really mattered — as soon as the iPhone goes on sale it will be torn apart like a gazelle being set upon my hunger-crazed lions and the innards cast across the floor for all to see. We wonder just how long the T-Mobile site will keep this information up.

Product page [T-Mobile]

Naspers, the largest media company in Africa and owner of popular South African portal 24.com, is offering USD 19.3-million for 100% of the Polish Internet portal Bankier.pl.

Bankier.pl offers financial news, market analysis and comparison-shopping information of financial products.

According to Corporate Information, Bankier.pl derives its profits mostly from on-line advertising and finance mediation.

Naspers will incorporate the newly acquired Bankier.pl with Allegro, an Eastern European internet business which operates e-commerce trading platforms in Hungary and Czech Republic.

(via)

Just announced a few days ago at the WWDC 2009 keynote, Vodacom have announced that the new Apple iPhone 3G S is going to be available in South Africa starting from July (following a US launch on June 19th).

Hailed as the “the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet”, the new iPhone 3G S (“S” for speed) just got copy & paste functionality, three megapixel autofoucs camera with video recording functionality, hands free voice control and a new tethering feature that allows you to use the iPhone’s internet connection on your computer (not yet confirmed to be available on Vodacom).

But all these are available thanks to the new iPhone OS 3.0 operating system, which is actually the most significant update the iPhone 3G S just got. It allows for MMSs, instant navigation thanks to the new built-in digital compass, and the ability for iPhone applications to directly address external hardware.

It looks like we’ll have to wait for it till July … right guys?

Apple answered many iPhone wish lists yesterday when it announced video recording, copy and paste, and other improvements. But there’s still stuff missing:

1. Adobe Flash. Adobe is scurrying to make a version of Flash that works well with the iPhone. But if Flash will ever work the same way on the iPhone as it does on a computer , Adobe will need significant help from Apple building it into MobileSafari. That has not been an easy process so far.What’s the point of Flash on the iPhone? Many Web sites still use Flash for multimedia, animation, and navigation. And ad agencies would LOVE to get access to Flash to make rich media ads for the iPhone more easily.
2. Video chat. Some wacky, Photoshopped images made the rounds last weekend showing an iPhone 3G with a front-facing camera for video chat. This sort of thing  is a feature Apple loves to sell on its MacBooks and iMacs, and makes some sense in the mobile industry, too.
3. Background app processing. Apple’s main competitors can all run apps in the background, so you can pop into your email app and keep your IM app open. Or listen to Pandora Radio while you’re reading a Web page. We’ve heard that this is something Apple is working on, but it’s apparently not ready yet for iPhone 3.0. It might be something they get to in an update, or perhaps something they’ll save for iPhone 4.0.

The new iPhone could be called iPhone 3GS – That might just be a code name or something but the new iPhone is definitely going to have the much needed features, which include video recording and an extended battery life. Plus there is a possibility of Apple bringing down the price for the iPhone.

It seems iPhone has reached the end of its stint in South Africa. Rumors have it that Vodacom has discontinued offering iPhones to its users

Pieter Uys, Vodacom chief executive, told the Business Day last month that “the iPhone for example that we would not have had even today in South Africa if we didn’t have the muscle of Vodafone helping us to negotiate.”

Wow thanks Piet. But now it’s reached an end. As I understand they brought in some 20 000 iPhones to South Africa. There are probably another 10 000 iPhones acquired by other means.

So there goes the app game and all the opportunities involved in that.

So in South Africa we don’t have the Kindle, we’ve just lost the iPhone, so why would you still build any web app for the local market?

(via)

Update – Our speculation is no more iPhone 3G units in SA – we should future generations of iPhone

Vodacom has exclusively launched the new HTC Magic in South Africa. The handset runs on Google’s Android OS and allows users to customize every facet of the phone as per their wishes. It is an open source format where a user can create personal applications, themes and even games.

And since HTC Magic is such an amazing phone that allows a crafty developer to access its core functionalities, Vodacom decided to also create South Africa’s first open market where people not only create what they want but, even sell their creativity to other Android based users across the country. The open market is supposed to feature exciting content, containing wallpapers, ringtones, videos and applications.

With a one touch access to services like Google Maps, Google Talk, Gmail and YouTube, and allowing speedy navigation on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and even Flickr, the new HTC Magic has been crafted for a uniquely powerful search experience.

Tailor-made by you and for you, HTC Magic features a 3.2-inch display with 320 x 480 resolutions and a full touch screen interface with an onscreen keyboard. Just a fraction smaller than the iPhone, could it be the long “rumored” iPhone killer we’ve heard of so many times?

Time will tell …