Author: Gugu Lourie
by Staff Writer BMW is on track to sell more than 100 000 electric vehicles in 2017 after the German carmaker announced on Wednesday good sales for the electrified cars. BMW is targeting to sell 100, 000 electric-powered cars this year as its battle with Mercedes-Benz for the number one spot as the leading premium brand automaker. The carmaker announced on Wednesday that it has sold almost 20,000 electrified vehicles worldwide in the first quarter of 2017. BMW launched the BMW i3 in November 2013. The Munich-based firm said in a statement that since the beginning of the year, almost…
by Staff Writer Walking down Melrose Arch wanting to buy something at your favourite clothing retailer, such as Tiger of Sweden, and trying to locate it to get that good deal on those fancy suit? Do not just wonder around the mall. Your mobile phone banking app may be able to help you locate that Tiger of Sweden shop as quickly as possible with ease. South Africa’s most innovative bank FNB has launched this week, the eBucks Partner locator on the FNB App uses augmented reality technology to help customers find nearby eBucks retail partners. “Augmented reality overlays retail partners…
by Staff Writer Africa’s tech and ecommerce giant Naspers has injected close to R1 billion in Takealot Online. Naspers said in a statement that the investment underlines continued commitment to Takealot and confidence in the potential of South Africa’s ecommerce sector. Takealot boasts a stable of businesses including Takealot.com, South Africa’s leading general etailer, Superbalist.com, the fashion etailer, Mr D Food, South Africa’s largest restaurant food delivery service, and Mr D Courier, its point to point courier service. Retail remains a highly competitive market in South Africa, and online retail accounts for less than 2% of the non-grocery retail market…
by Gugu Lourie The car of the future will turn your smart road into a fuel station. This car of the future also promises new benefits for society. It will be able to power your home and office as well as enhance vehicle safety, energy efficiencies and integration of self-driving technology. That is the undertaking from Japanese carmaker Nissan, which has promised to unlock the “true potential” in cities through self-driving cars and zero emission. The carmaker will make it possible to connect cars to social infrastructures, such as roads, information and electric power networks. This will ultimately lead to reduced…
by Staff Writer A Q&A with TFG CIO Brent Curry TFG ecommerce has partnered with several tech start-ups, including Wumdrop which enabled TFG to launch the Deliver 2 Me service, and Pargo which allows TFG online shoppers to collect their parcels at a point most convenient for them. What attracts TFG to start-ups? We know that exceptional tech talent usually prefers working in the edgier start-up space, rather than at a big corporate where their freedom and creativity is more likely to be stifled. So working with start-ups enables us to access that very scarce talent. Start-ups offer solutions that…
by Staff Writer The free Wi-Fi service at FNB has already been used by more than 200 000 customers by January 2017, South Africa’s banking group said on Monday. Last May, FNB embarked on a journey to transform the design of its branches and started offering free Wi-Fi at a new branch at the Mall of Africa. The bank promised that free Wi-Fi will be a standard offering across branches with the new design. The bank announced on Monday that the number of FNB branches with active free WI-FI connection has reached 383 as at February 2017. “By January 2017…
By Staff Writer PHNX, a South African-based specialist property development marketing agency, has launched a Virtual and Augmented Reality property app for Harcourts Platinum. The app is the first of its kind to be developed in Africa for the property market. Virtual reality is a powerful tool in property, especially when selling off-plan. It depicts photo-realistic vision of a furnished property and allows prospective buyers to envisage their ideal lifestyle in a home that is still to be built, as well as creating a completely immersive experience for foreign investors. The app allows users to take a virtual walk through…
by Ben Dickson Two days ago one of the worst crimes against humanity in recent years took place in Syria. The government of Bashar al-Assad carried out an aerial bombing on the town of Khan Sheikhun, targeting defenseless residents of the town with the sarin nerve agent. At least 70 people were killed—tormented to death—among them children. Meanwhile, social media platforms didn’t think this would be something I should know about. Facebook insisted I should rather be following funny animal videos and other silly posts on pages I’ve liked (TBH, I don’t use the platform very much, and I’m happy about…
by Nic Cheeseman There was a time that South Africa looked very different to the rest of Africa. The “rainbow nation” was seen by many – including a lot of its own citizens – to be exceptional, having more in common with the developed states of Europe than some of the countries on its own doorstep. But, in the wake of a series of destabilising corruption scandals, financial mismanagement and the incompetent leadership of President Jacob Zuma, this is no longer the case. It’s time therefore to look to the rest of the continent for evidence on how the crisis within…
by Bosch Saving lives and preventing accidents: no, it’s not some sort of costumed superhero, but the connected car in the year 2025. Together with the Prognos research institute, Bosch has looked into the future and assessed what connected vehicles will be able to accomplish using technologies that by then will be wide-spread: highly automated driving, emergency braking assistants, and smartphone integration. The study, which looked at Germany, the U.S., and China, found that by 2025, the implications of connectivity will have noticeable effects on every driver. “Today, computers, smartphones, and the internet are part of everyday life in our…