Neotel might have gone silent in recent months (or their marketing team is not doing a great job), but their latest prepaid data deal is not bad at all. Neotel is offering their NeoGo package which includes 24GB of data for R799. Users will have the option of getting that 24GB upfront, or have it split up into 2GB per month for 12 months. This will also include Neotel’s CDMA modem.

So what is the catch? Firstly – that CDMA modem might not be of much use once the contract runs out. Even though it might not be network locked, Neotel says nothing about it being GSM compatible like the rest of SA 3G networks. Secondly – Neotel’s information on the contract is next to useless. There is no info on the brand of modem used, or the coverage offered. Neotel does not offer much in the way of coverage information on their website, and they require you to enter your complete address before they can tell you whether you will have coverage or not. In most cases it will not find the addresses we tried to enter into it. So it might be best to consider phoning them regarding coverage in your area.

The image below carries the extent of information available to customers interested in the NeoGo contract deal. Once more information becomes available we will update it here.

Source: MyBroadBand

Taxi Rank recently launched a new mobile web application that provides a new way for Capetonians to order cabs in the Mother City. Cabs can be ordered from your web browser or smartphone whether Android, BlackBerry or iPhone.

The process is simple – you just have to go to the Taxi Rank website, enter your pick-up and drop-off destinations and an estimated quote will then be provided and listed by price for each taxi company that is available to service the much-needed trip. Once the desired taxi company and price has been selected, the order will be submitted. In addition, the taxi company will send an sms to your phone to confirm the pick-up time and cost.

The mobile site also has a quick pick-up form that uses GPS to automatically determine your location so a cab gets to you as soon as possible. If this isn’t something you want, you can change to the detailed order from to get quotes again.

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Yesterday the Apple iPhone 4S was supposed to launch in China, after it was finally approved by the Chinese government. But the number of people who showed up at the Apple retail stores proved to much to handle. Customers was waiting outside in -9 degrees celsius temperatures, and the stores did not open at the normal 7:00 AM time. At 7:15 AM people started chanting “Open the Door!” after an Apple representative announced to the crowd that the phone would not go on sale. The delay sales was not in all stores however, with Shangai getting their allotment on time.

Soon afterward the police had to be called in to calm down the crowd, who started pelting the stores with eggs. Customers were instead told to order their iPhones online, and Apple has decided to not continue sales of the iPhone in stores, in order to prevent unruly crowds forming again.

“The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out,” an Apple spokesperson told AllThingsD. “Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers.”

See our review of the iPhone 4S here.

Source: AllThingsD

Mobile developer Supernice in collaboration with design studio Milk&Coal have recently launched the Bubbleheads, the latest multi-platform mobile app, developed between the two Cape-Town based companies that without their team work, would not have been possible.

Motivated by the desire to create memorable and highly engaging work, the concept behind this unique app resulted in the creation of digital bobblehead figurines that users can poke and prod and have fun with. Although these figures aren’t noted for their wise words, they keep rambling and cracking unwise and providing light-hearted entertainment for its users. The first of the Bubbleheads figurines was launched as a farewell tribute to the now ex-Springbok coach Pieter de Villiers aka Coach Divvy.

This proudly South African product has the ability to spread far and wide and downloads from the various app stores already shows uptake from across the globe that indicates its universal appeal, a great result for its creators. This appeal should result in the social element flourishing. “We want people to share, comment, rate and bring out their Bubbleheads for a good laugh, anytime, anywhere,” said Supernice co-founder, Daren Fuchs.

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Among the 50 products in total that it unveiled at CES 2012, Behringer introduced the iNuke Boom. With a price tag of $30, 000 and 10, 000 watts of power, Behringer claims that it is the loudest iPhone, iPad and iPod docking station ever developed.

If you’re interested in owning the iNuke at 400kg and measuring 8ft by 4ft by 4ft, make sure that you have the space for it first. Running off two 15 amp residential circuits, users won’t have to worry about blowing a fuse and a large switch at the back of the device offers an extra 12 decibels. The base is as a result of dual 18 inch sub-woofers built inside the unit.

For more about the iNuke Boom, watch the video below:

ScaleConf is a two-day conference that will bring together local and international experts to talk about the challenges and future of building and running online sites and services. The conference is the first of its kind to be hosted in South Africa.

Presentations will cover the culture and methodologies used to architect and develop the strong foundations that enable large-scale web companies to function smoothly, and smaller ones to grow gracefully. The speaker line-up includes some big names like Coda Hale (Yammer Inc.), Simon de Haan (Praekelt), Zach Holman (Github) and Miles Ward (Amazon Web Services).

The conference is the brainchild of two operations engineers at Yola.com, Jonathan Hitchcock and Duncan Phillips. “We created the conference because there’s a growing startup focus in Cape Town, and with that comes the need to build web applications at an unprecedented scale. While in the US I had attended some great technical conferences, and I wanted to bring that level of quality to South Africa,” explains Jonathan. Duncan adds, “Ultimately, the aim is to promote the best practices and technologies that will help drive a world-class DevOps culture here in South Africa.”

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After the recent launch of Apple’s iPhone 4s and as the excitement begins to die down, more rumours of the upcoming launch of the iPhone 5 begin to emerge. Up until now, many have gathered that the next generation iPhone will come with a new design, larger display and may even be 4G capable.

Now, in a BGR exclusive, the website has learned straight from an inside source that the iPhone 5 is expected in the American Autumn of 2012. In addition, other details reveal that not only will the new device have a different look but a different feel as well with a “rubber or plastic” material built into the case as a new take on the phone’s bezel that will accompany a new aluminium back plate and antenna system.

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Once again it is the newcomer amongst the mobile networks that seem to shake up the pricing for 3G in SA.

Local mobile broadband provider, 8.ta has today announced reduced broadband rates for its Once-Off Internet packages as well as its Post-paid Internet packages. In addition to this 8ta has also revised its contract terms which now include month to month, 12 and 24 months terms. The month to month contract excludes a modem while the 12 and 24 months contracts will include a modem.

“Today 8.ta has reduced its broadband pricing, responding to the need for affordable broadband Internet in the South African market. Effectively, 8.ta has tailored these packages to give users the freedom to choose packages that suit their pockets.

“Existing 8.ta Internet subscribers will automatically be migrated to the new price plans, and after their contracts are up for renewal they can also opt to subscribe on a month to month or 12 months contract basis,” says Managing Executive of Telkom Mobile, Amith Maharaj.

Once the monthly recurring Post-paid Internet package has been depleted, users will be charged an out-of-bundle rate of R 0.30 per MB while the Once-off Internet subscribers will be charged an out-of bundle rate of R1.00 per MB. Compare this to other mobile broadband solutions out there that still get charged more. For example Vodacom charges R1 per out of bundle meg for contract users, and R2 (!!!!) for prepaid users.

Post-paid and Once-Off Internet subscribers will also benefit from the following value added services:

• Free 8.ta email account with 5GB mailbox giving users access to 25GB online storage and free access to online Microsoft Office suite, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
• Send 5 SMSs daily and receive 50 FREE SMSs to use on that day.
• 8·ta also provides users with a ‘safety net’ to check their balances on the self-service portal and via USSD and make out of bundle purchase decisions in real-time, using the redirect functionality.
• Users will also receive a free call-out and support services with every 3G data modem purchased.

Now we have to wait and see to see if the other cellular networks will match this offering. Post-paid Internet Bundles – Month to Month contract:
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