Samsung's set to launch BBM for Android app on Friday

Samsung Nigeria has just confirmed on Twitter that they've locked down a three-month exclusive to BBM and that it will be available this Friday. That's not much of a surprise on either front, given we've got a BlackBerry event in Malaysia and India on Wednesday, and Samsung has been pretty dedicated in their pre-launch BBM advertising. For those without a Samsung phone, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle to find the .APK file floating around.

TECH: BlackBerry Messenger for iPhone waiting for Apple's approval

So Summer has already passed and we're yet to see the cross-platform version of BlackBerry's BlackBerry Messenger or BBM service.

However, it appears that the wait could be over soon as a BlackBerry representative has confirmed that the BBM app for iOS was submitted for Apple's App Store approval two weeks ago.

Alex Kinsella of BlackBerry posted on Twitter that BBM for iPhone was submitted for review two weeks ago. This implies that the app could arrive anytime on the App Store, provided Apple approves it.


BlackBerry had announced plans to extend BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) to Android and iOS in May, saying that the app would be available before the end of summer.

Just a few days back, a walkthrough video revealing the features of the BBM Android app had appeared online. The video suggested that the BBM app would sport features similar to the BlackBerry Messenger's BlackBerry OS version, and that it would also include NFC-based sharing through Android Beam.
However, the video was pulled down by the site on the request of the Canadian handset maker.

It was also reported that the BlackBerry Messenger app would be official by the end of this month and that it would be available through respective app stores for both Android and iPhone users.

Prior to that, a landing page dedicated to BBM surfaced on the official site of the company, claiming that the BBM service had arrived for both, Android and Apple platforms. The dedicated page for the service said, "BBM for Android and iPhone is here." This page was also pulled and was replaced with a launch page that said, "BBM is coming to Android and iPhone" and included an option to get notified when the service launches through an email prompt.

Presently, BlackBerry Messenger or BBM allows BlackBerry users to seamlessly exchange texts, audio, videos and pictures with each other. However, a number of cross-platform mobile messaging apps including WhatsApp, WeChat and Line have taken over as preferred choices since they are available on a variety of platforms. When it comes to the iPhone, BBM would also compete with Apple's own iMessage platform that allows users who own Apple devices to send each other free messages over a data connection.

Microsoft acquires NOKIA for 4.6 Billion Pounds

Microsoft has swooped in to buy the handset business of Finland's Nokia, an audacious move that confirms the Redmond software company's intention to compete with Apple and Google head-on as a "devices and services" business.

The deal, for €5.44bn (£4.6bn), gives Microsoft a company which used to dominate the mobile and smartphone market in 2006 but has been overshadowed by the rise of Apple and, latterly, Samsung and companies using Google's Android software.

For Nokia, it means that a decades-long heritage as one of the world's leading mobile phone makers - which had been a source of huge pride in Finland - is over.

As part of the deal Stephen Elop, now Nokia's chief executive, will rejoin Microsoft, which he left in September 2010 to take over the then-struggling Finnish company. Elop, 49, has been tipped as a leading contender to become the next chief executive of Microsoft, after the announcement at the end of August by Steve Ballmer that he would depart within 12 months. A total of 32,000 Nokia staff will join Microsoft, including 4,700 based in Finland.

Microsoft is also providing €1.5bn of "immediate financing" to Nokia, implying that the Finnish company has hit a cash crunch. Its debt has already been reduced to "junk" status. If used, the loan will be repayable when the deal closes.

"For Nokia, this is an important moment of reinvention and from a position of financial strength, we can build our next chapter," said Risto Siilasmaa, chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors, who now takes over as the interim chief executive of the remaining parts of Nokia. Those are Nokia Siemens Networks, which builds mobile phone infrastructure and its HERE mapping platform. The NSN and mapping business are now just over 50% of revenues, and barely profitable. Elop recently completed the acquisition of 50% of NSN that was owned by Siemens.

But even inside cash-rich Microsoft, Nokia's phone business faces serious challenges. Its handset business has slumped in size from a peak in the third quarter of 2010, with revenues of €7.2bn, to just €2.72 in the second quarter of this year, its smallest size in more than a decade. It has also been lossmaking for five of the past six quarters.

While it is strong in the "feature phone" business in the developing world, it has struggled in the all-important smartphone business. Apple's iPhone and handsets running Google's Android together make up over 95% of sales in the US and China, the world's two largest smartphone markets,according to Kantar Worldpanel's latest figures. Windows Phone only has shares above 10% in Mexico and France, according to the company's figures.

Under the deal, Microsoft is buying the "Lumia" and "Asha" brand names that Nokia has used for its smart and intermediate phones. It has licensed the use of the Nokia brand on handsets for ten years, but the Finnish business will retain ownership of the brand. That will probably mean that the Nokia brand disappearing from handsets in the next decade, ending over 30 years' history in the business.

Having started in 1865 with a pulp mill in the Finnish town of Tampere, Nokia reinvented itself repeatedly, shifting to rubber boot production early in the 20th century, and then making its first telephone exchange in the 1970s. Its first mobile phone appeared in 1981.

Rumours that Microsoft intended to buy Nokia had been floated since Elop joined the company. When he chose to dump its home-grown Symbian and Meego smartphone software in favour of Microsoft's newer Windows Phone software in February 2011, a number of Finnish observers accused him of being a "Trojan horse" for Microsoft.

Ballmer said in a statement: "It's a bold step into the future – a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies. Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft's share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services."

But the deal could also mean that BlackBerry's best chance of being acquired, by Microsoft, is over. The Canadian handset maker, which has seen its revenues and handset sales plummet, has formed a committee seeking alternatives including a sale. But Carolina Milanesi, smartphone analyst at research group Gartner, commented: "In case there was still hope out there for BlackBerry, this [purchase by Microsoft] is pretty much it. Microsoft will be more aggressive than Nokia in pursuing enterprises."s

Jumia Nigeria has finally launched their Mobile App for Android Phones

Nigeria leading online retailer JUMIA NG, has once again captivated the heart of their customers by releasing a mobile Application for easy shopping, Below is a statement from them:  

"Today, we launch our long-awaited Jumia App for Android. This app is FREE and it is available on the Play Store.

 For direct download and install on your android device, you can use this link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumia.android. Also, see the banner to announce this launch on the homepage, click it and get more details about the app.

 Kindly share with your friends and start shopping."

check here for pics:

looks like this is gonna be more chilling :-) just a click and my item/order is right at my doorstep

TECH NEWS: Instagram Cracks Down On Connected Apps Using “Insta” And “Gram”

Instagram has updated its brand guidelines to ban apps that feature either the word ‘Insta’ or ‘Gram’ in their names, and it has begun sending emails to existing apps requesting that they change those components  ’within a reasonable period’.

The emails specifically call out a few updates to the Instagram Brand Guidelines that restrict the use of things like logos and the full ‘Instagram’ name. Now, they’re even more specific. An email sent to the Luxogram team, for instance, reads as follows (emphasis ours).

We appreciate your interest in developing products that help people share with Instagram. While we encourage developers to build great apps with Instagram, we cannot allow other applications to look like they might be official Instagram applications or endorsed or sponsored by us.

As we hope you can appreciate, protection of its well-known trademarks is very important to Instagram. For example, it has always been against our guidelines to use a name that sounds or looks like “Instagram” or copies the look and feel of our application. Similarly, as we have clarified in the new guidelines, use of “INSTA” and “GRAM” for an application that works with Instagram is harmful to the Instagram brand. It is important that you develop your own distinctive branding for your applications, and use Instagram’s trademarks only as specifically authorized under our policies.

The two new points that Instagram indicates that Luxogram is treading on are the fact that it uses ‘gram’ in its name, and that (a highly customized variant of) the camera logo is being used. Instagram notes that a response to the email is expected within 48 hours and that a ‘reasonable period’ will be provided to fix these items.

Though the Instagram name itself has always been protected by trademark and by the company’s API guidelines, the terms ‘Insta’ and ‘Gram’ have not. In fact, until the recent changes to the brand policies, use of those terms were actually encouraged by Instagram’s API documentation. You could use ‘Insta’ or ‘Gram’, but not both together in the name of the app.

So the new rules exhibit a pulling back of sorts when it comes to the branding and naming of apps that connect to Instagram. While Instagram, and by extension Facebook, cannot stop apps that don’t use its API from using the terms, the continued use of that connection is now dependent upon apps not using either term in their names. We’ve reached out to Facebook for comment.

And well, that’s most of them. Statigram, Luxogram, Webstagram, Gramfeed, Instadrop,Instagallery and dozens more use either phrase. All of them will need to be re-branded entirely under the new rules. Statigram especially is a very useful tool that offers a host of statistics about your Instagram account that are not surfaced by Instagram itself.

And these aren’t tiny little sites, Luxogram was still serving 1 million people a month and Statigram also appears to do a brisk business judging from the prolific use of its hashtag on both Instagram and Twitter. Luxogram’s creator says that he’s unlikely to make all of the changes that Instagram wants, and will probably shut it down for good. Others could be in the same boat.

So, can you blame Facebook for protecting the valuable Instagram brand name? No, not really. But it does show that there has been a change in posture from the early days when connected apps helped the service to grow, and it welcomed the additional exposure. Now, it has its self-propelling growth curve and it’s reigning in anything it believes might be a point of confusion, driving people to the Instagram apps and web client.

Sounds like another company we know well doesn’t it?

Source: TECHCRUNCH