Bosso ke mang? (Botswana Market Share)

 Competition in the mobile industry have become so rife and possibly at the highest level since the arrival of the new kid on the blog BTC BeMobile. The question “Bosso ke mang?” pops up from time to time on mobile technology experts’ and analysers’ minds as we await the BTA annual report for 2012. From the start line in the late nineties, there were two mobile service providers, namely Mascom wirelss and Vista Mobile who were breathing neck to neck and consequently the latter was later bought off by Orange Botswana, leaving Mascom to be the leading service provider.  Mascom has since been in the frontline, finishing at 57% of market share in 2010 while Orange Botswana came second at 37% and expectedly the new comers BTC BeMobile coming last with only 6% according to BTA March 2010 report.

Since then there have been some pushing and shoving in one of the smallest market space in Africa, with BeMobile coming very fast on the outside lane, investing heavily in marketing in an attempt to beat the two mobile giants to the top.  Among other  market strategies, BeMobile struck a deal to sponsor the elite local football league for an amount of 2 million. Also notable was the introduction of free calls on weekends for prepaid customers who use airtime worth P20 during the week by BeMobile. This no doubt sent shivers down the spines of Mascom and Orange. This aggressive strategy paid off as BTC BeMobile emerged to have gained more than 100% of their previous market share in March 2011, finishing at 14% and Orange Botswana dropping 3% to finish at 34%. The biggest loser here was mascom, losing 5% of their previous market share and finishing at 52%. In this respect,  bosso ke mang? Ke BeMobile!

The leader in the pack has since responded by introducing arguably the most lucrative cup in the history of football in the country, Mascom Top 8. It would appear that Mascom might have taken the statistics seriously as it stepped up its social responsibilities, among them being the Kitsong Centres, MyStar and participation in sports code across sports divide. If one ask me to put my head on the block, I would predict an increase in Mascom market share when BTA release the verdict.

SMS Technology solutions: a solution to stray livestock search in Botswana?

Farmers across the country may start bracing themselves for the release of one of the mobile SMS solutions that may be the answer to their search for lost or stray livestock more especially cattle. A product of 4Site Holdings company, the applications is at an advanced stage and may be released before end of winter season.

 How to use the application

The application is expected to be simple and easy to use such that anyone who is able to write and send a message on a mobile phone will be able to use it.

There we have it fellas! whats your take?

.       First, the farmer type in the keyword "Tshipi" (livestock brand) followed by his brand. ·         In the example above the farmer's brand is "AKZ". 2.       The farmer can now sends the sms to the number that shall be provided. In this example “Server” is just used for test purposes. The response indicate where the animal ve been impounded, the ear marks, the description and the brand. The farmer can now contact the location (council authorities)

USD 5.8 trillion Q1 profits for Samsung in this year!

In the face of woes for Black Berry, Samsung have projected US5.8 trillion in Q1 ($5.15 billion) which is reported to be nearly twice their profits in Q1 2011. According to GSM Arena, 60-70% of these of these numbers are expected to be from handset sales.

Will it also be a Bye Bye for Black Berry in Botswana too?

Bye Bye BlackBerry. How Long Will Apple Last?

 

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Just five years ago, “BlackBerry” was virtually synonymous with “smartphones.” It was well on its way to becoming a generic trademark, like Kleenex or Band-Aid, that would seemingly forever be associated with its entire sector. “For many, the Blackberry is a must-have gadget, a wireless hand-held computer that can send e-mail and make phone calls,” noted a 2005 NPR story on the “CrackBerry,” as some BlackBerry addicts referred to the device. (Incidentally, the story compared the BlackBerry to the Palm Treo, an equally popular device at the time.)

Today, however, Research In MotionLtd. (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, is a financial basket case that has come to symbolize just how turbulent life in the modern digital economy can be. On Thursday,RIM announced that it was laying off top execs as revenues continued to plummet and the firm’s stock pricehit its lowest mark since 2003. Industry analysts are lowering their projections for the firm and wondering if any corporate suitor—Microsoft is commonly mentioned—might be willing to step in and save the day by taking over the company.

Avoiding The BlackBerry Blues: Know When To Fire YourselfDane StanglerContributor

As a New York Times headline from earlier this year noted, “The BlackBerry [is] Trying to Avoid the Hall of Fallen Giants,” joining the infamous ranks of theSony Walkman, the Palm Pilot, the Atari 2600 gaming console, and the Polaroid instant camera. The article noted that “Over the last year, RIM’s share price has plunged 75 percent. The company once commanded more than half of the American smartphone market. Today it has 10 percent.” Both metrics continue their downhill slide.

If RIM can’t pull a rabbit out of the hat, the BlackBerry will become the latest case study exemplifying just how fast “information empires” can rise and fall in today’s rapidly evolving information technology marketplace. I’ve devoted numerous installments of this column to documenting how Joseph Schumpeter’s “perennial gales of creative destruction” are blowing harder than ever in today’s tech economy and laying waste to those who don’t innovate fast enough.

Nowhere is that more true than in the mobile phone handset and operating system marketplace, which has undergone continuous change over the past 15 years and is still evolving rapidly. Like the BlackBerry, Palm smartphoneswere also wildly popular for a brief time and brought many innovations to the marketplace, but the company underwent many ownership and management changes and rapidly faded from the scene. After buying Palm in 2010, HP announced it would use its webOS platform in a variety of new products. That effort failed, however, and HP instead announced it would transition webOS to an open source software development mode.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamthierer/2012/04/01/bye-bye-blackberry-how-long-will-apple-last/