Video Chat now available in Google Talk Update

Google talk has been a fixture on Android devices since the birth of the OS. Now, Google finally took the messenger functionality to the next level with the announcement of an update which will bring video calling capability to it much like Apple's FaceTime for iOS.


Any compatible Android device will be able to enjoy the new Google Talk feature over 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi connection. It is important to note that by compatible, Google means that your device needs to run on Gingebread 2.3+ (the new feature of the messenger will first roll out to Nexus S owners as an OTA update in the coming weeks as part of the Gingerbread 2.3.4 package).




Owners of other Android devices running Gingerbread will get the new functionality at a later date, though Google didn't specify when exactly. Unfortunately those of you that are still stuck with Froyo or an earlier Android version will have to make do without the Google Talk video chat.

Best Tips To Make Money Blogging

To make money from blogging you need to build traffic to your blog. In blogging there is no food for a lazy man. Here are my tips for making money blogging.

1) Blog about an area you are vast in. i.e. your blog should tap from your knowledge and experience, something that you can do without much effort. Blogging about a familiar topic will also prevent you from copying other people.

2.) Focus your blog on a theme. i.e. your blog must be targeted to a specific area. Do not start an any-thing-goes blog. You should be able to describe your blog in one sentence.

3.) Know your keywords. Since you have focused your blogging to a theme, find keywords that are relevant to the theme of your blog and write articles that make use of such keywords. In case you do not know, keywords are terms people use when they search on search engines.

4.) Every Page must have a purpose and focus on one, two or three keywords. When blogging an article, ask yourself, If I am looking for information contained in this article, what search terms would I have used. You can also ask your friends, which keywords they would have used. Then write your article in such a way as to include those keywords in your article with out disrupting the flow or losing meaning.

5.) Make sure you register your blog in search engines using webmaster tools. I recommend Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Submit your sitemap via the webmaster tools.

6.) Open Twitter and Facebook page for your Blog.

7.) Register with Blog Directories Like Technorati and Afrigator.

8.) In the first 6 months post something new once everyday or at least 5 times a week. Thereafter, blogging three times a week will be okay. Post quality, keyword-rich and targeted contents. Search engines love content. Give them good content today and they will come back for more tomorrow. The more they love your blog, the more traffic you get.

9.) Make a success of one blog before opening another one. Focus all your effort on one blog. Having lots of blogs all in their infancy stage is very demanding and you may not be able cope. Note that one blog can make more money than ten blogs. What actually counts is traffis, not the number of blogs.

10.) Register with Adsense, copy and paste the Ad units on your blog.

11.) If you use Adsense to monetise, never click on your Adsense Ads or violate any of its terms and conditions. I know people whose Adsense accounts have been closed with the income they earned for violating its terms.

12.) Do not copy other people's work. Copying other people's work is very easy and may even favour you in the short term, but in the long run your bubble will eventually burst. It also deprive you the opportunity of being an authority or a guru in what you do. Sooner than later everyone will know you are a cheat.

13.) Analyse your site using Google webmaster and Google Analytics tool.

14.) Read, Read, Read. There are lots of information about blogging, SEO, social media, Adsense, Ad placement, etc on the web search Google with any of those keywords to read more

15.) And so on.

Making money from blogging is all about traffic new bloggers should focus on building traffic and less on making money. Build traffic to your blog and money will follow. Building traffic takes time, but with hardwork, persistence and the passion for what you do, you will eventually succeed. Most of the steps provided above are all aimed at building traffic.

Airtel 3GB internet plan

Of all Airtel internet browsing bundles, the 3GB plan, also called the Airtel Plus Plan, is probably the most compelling. The Airtel Plus Plan offers 30-day, 24/7 internet access limited to a 3GB data cap. Other great internet browsing plan from Airtel include the Airtel Smartphone plan offering 30-day 24/7 internet access limited to 1GB and Airtel Night browsing plan. Here we will focus on the Airtel 3GB internet browsing bundle.

What makes Airtel 3GB internet plan very attractive?

The Airtel 3GB internet, also called the Airtel Plus plan, offers 30-day 24/7 internet access limited to 3GB for N5,000. Airtel was formally offering 1GB internet access at N5,000. So, with Airtel Plus Internet plan you are getting 3 times more data allowance at the same price. When compared with offerings from other networks within the same range, the Airtel 3GB internet plans stands out as a great deal. It is obviously the best deal you can get on internet access in Nigeria for N5,000. For example Glo and Etisalat offers just 1.5GB data allowance for N5,000, while Etisalat's 3GB Internet browsing bundle goes for N6,500. Airtel 3GB internet browsing bundle is one of the best plan for mid range users.

Who needs Airtel 3GB internet browsing plan?

If your monthly internet data access needs is more than 1GB but less than 3GB, the Airtel Plus internet browsing bundle is probably the best deal for you. If you are an above average user, probably browsing the internet on a 3G coverage area and downloading videos and data files, the Airtel Plus Internet browsing plan is a great entry plan. If you find it inadequate, you can then upgrade to a higher data plan. If all you can spare in a month for internet access is N5,000, the Airtel 3GB internet browsing plan is the best deal for you.

How to access Airtel 3GB Internet?

The Airtel 3GB Internet browsing bundle can be accessed via an internet enabled phone (GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA/HSDPA) or a compatible internet modem. Buy and load Airtel recharge cards worth N5,000 into your internet enabled mobile phone, device, or USB modem and dial *141*712*7#. You will receive an SMS in a short-while informing you of the success or failure of your request. If your request is successful, you now start browsing the internet. In 30-days or on using 3GB, your Airtel Smartphone internet plan will expire. The downside of Airtel internet packages is that you are not alerted when your internet package expires. Once your Airtel internet package expires, your internet access will automatically default to pay as you go at 15kb/s without alerting you. So if you have extra credit on your device, it may be wiped out before you know what is going on.

Prices and Activation Codes of Airtel Internet packages

Here are prices and activation codes of various Airtel Internet bundles:

• Airtel Smartphone Internet Bundle (1GB, 30 day,24/7) - *141*712*10# - N3,000
• Airtel Plus Internet Bundle (3GB, 30 day,24/7) - *141*712*1# - N5,000
• Airtel Max Internet Bundle (5GB, 30 day,24/7) - *141*712*2# - N8,000
• Airtel Premium Internet Bundle (10GB, 30 day,24/7) - *141*712*5# - N15,000
• Airtel Lite Internet Bundle (100MB, 30 day,24/7) - *141*712*4# - N1,000
• Airtel Night Internet Bundle (3GB, 30 day) - *141*712*7# - N2,500
• Airtel Weekend Internet Bundle (3GB, weekends) - *141*712*8# - N3,000
• Airtel Weekly Internet Plan (25MB, 7 day,24/7) - *141*712*9# - N400
• Airtel Daily Internet Plan (10MB, 24 hours) - *141*712*11# - N100
• Airtel Day Internet Plan (150MB, 24 hours) - *141*712*3# - N500
• Check your data balance - *141*712*0#
• Airtel USB modem – 5,000 Naira

For more information about Airtel internet plans, visit Airtel website at www.ng.airtel.com.

Dial Airtel customer care line 111 with an Airtel phone for more information on Airtel Internet plans.

THE TARIFF WAR

Nigeria's telecoms industry,
acclaimed as the fastest growing
in Africa, has once again, come
under global scrutiny on account
of recent activities in the sector.
The renewed interest in the
country’s telephony landscape is
occasioned by a price war that has
erupted among the four major
GSM operators, namely, MTN,
Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat.
Unlike a
conventional
war situation
fought with
bullets and
mortar,
tariffs and
fancy adverts
seem to be
the major
weapons of
the Nigerian
GSM battle.
This
aggressive approach is to increase
the market share of the respective
operators by acquiring and more
importantly, retaining more
subscribers on their mobile
networks.
The scramble for the addressable
market share among the
operators is understandable.
Nigeria is Africa ’s most populous
country with a population of over
150 million people. Furthermore,
the country has a vibrant oral
culture that has subsisted for
centuries, which keeps people
always talking to family and
friends. It would appear easier for
a Nigerian to reach out to a family
member or friend to pour out his/
her heart rather than resort to
other impersonal mediums like
writing or journaling as obtained
in other climes. And since the
world has transformed into a
global village with family
members scattered all over the
globe, the telephone has become
a veritable tool for such emotional
expressions. The telephone is also
seen as fundamental tool for the
realization of individual and
organizational aspirations.
Arguably, telephone operators
have discovered a gold mine in
Nigeria and its people, hence the
current price war.
The latest onslaught could be said
to have begun last August when
Etisalat Nigeria introduced a new
tariff proposition called Easy Life,
which allows customers on the
company ’s Easy Starter and Easy
Cliq packages to make calls at the
lower rate of 25kobo per second
to anyone on any network in
Nigeria. The tariff review,
according to officials of Etisalalt,
was predicated on the company ’s
commitment to bringing value
and affordable tariffs to the
company ’s customers.
A few months down the line, and
as part of its strategy to woo
customers after rebranding, Airtel
was to respond with a
promotional offer dubbed as the
‘ 2Good Offer’. The new package
enables its customers to pay
20kobo per second after an initial
60kobo in the first minute, and
applies to both to Airtel-to-Airtel
calls as well as calls to other
networks in Nigeria and the
United States.
Additionally, the 2Good Offer gives
20 free SMSes to every customer
who makes a recharge of N100
every month.
A few weeks into year
2011however, MTN on its part
rolled out three new voice plans
for its subscribers, namely, MTN
Magic number, MTN Talk-On and
MTN Family and Friends, each
focussing on the lower ARPU
segment of the market.
A careful examination of the offer
shows that the MTN magic number
is modelled after tariffs in the
advanced economies, where a
subscriber is given the option to
pay a flat rate for an indefinite
number of calls per month. In the
MTN Nigeria scenario, subscribers
pay N250 per month and receive
an unlimited amount of monthly
call time to one specific MTN
number which the subscriber has
designated as his/her magic
number for that particular month.
MTN Talk-On, on its part, allows the
subscriber up to 50% discount on
MTN-to-MTN calls only, with the
first minute charged at 50kobo per
second, thereafter, on net calls are
charged at 25kobo per second for
the rest of the day.
In the same vein, Family & Friends
allows subscribers to register 4
MTN numbers, 1 other GSM
network number and 1 United
States or Canadian number, the
subscribers can then call all these
numbers at 20kobo per second.
Another addition to the MTN True
Value Offer is the MTN Happy Hour
which allows free calls to as many
MTN numbers between the hours
of 12.30 am and 4.40 am every
day, weekends inclusive.
However, the service is limited to
subscribers on the MTN Paygo and
Talk-on plans.
However, in its characteristic
manner of jolting the Nigerian
telephony market, Globacom on
Thursday, March 10 announced the
introduction of a new Glo infinito
which allows subscribers to pay
only 25 kobo per second for calls
made to any network in Nigeria.
The 25 kobo per second charge is
a flat rate which applies for all
local calls irrespective of which
network is being called or time of
day or which part of the country
the call is originating from.
The new package also allows
subscribers to call one Special
Number at only 2 kobo per
second. Interestingly, no daily or
monthly rental is charged to enjoy
the very cheap rate. The
subscriber, however, has an
option of registering 5 Glo
numbers which he can call at 18
kobo per second. Again,
registration is free and there is no
rental charge.
In addition to the tariffs, Glo is also
offering up to 20% bonus on
recharges made by subscribers.
N500 recharge attracts a 10%
bonus credit, while N1000
recharge will give the customer
15% bonus air time. On the other
hand, N5,000 recharge gives a
20% bonus credit to the customer.
Glo is also offering free night calls
from 12 midnight to 5 a.m.
Subscribers are expected to have
used up to N200 air time in the
previous week to qualify to make
free night calls for the next 7 days.
Perhaps, the new tariff regime
may reposition the brand,
including shifting public
perception of Glo as a challenger-
brand to the transformer and
creator of history in the Nigerian
telecom industry.
Looking more closely at the
different offers and value
propositions of the operators,
ranging from Etisalat ’s Easy Life to
Airtel’s 2Good, from MN’s True
Value to Globacom’s Maximum
Value, it would appear that
interesting times are here for the
Nigerian GSM consumers even as
he has risen from being on the
receiving end of harsh realities to
a new-found position of freedom
and kingship.
But with the new Glo offer, the
subscriber gets a truthful and
easy-to-understand payment plan.
For instance, while the Glo
subscriber pays N15 for first
minute of call made within and
outside the network, other
networks charge between N24 and
N30 for calls within the network
and between N30 and N36 for calls
going outside the network.
It may not be out of place to say
that the latest Glo offer is another
revolutionary phase in telecom
services, as its unique tariff plan is
devoid of any rental payments,
hidden charges, and conditions.
This may become the stimulant
that would propel more growth in
the sector and continue to make
Nigeria ’s telecom the toast of
investors across the world.

How To Uninstall Windows Driver

Drivers in Windows are very easy to uninstall. If the driver came as part of an installed software package (typically for printers and scanners and so on), then the easiest way is to remove the program and all its components from the Windows Control Panel (click ‘Start’ then ‘Control Panel’ and then ‘add or remove programs’). This is a way of thoroughly removing all traces of the software and drivers. The other way to go about uninstalling Windows drivers is to bring up the device manager (if you don’t know where this is then click on ‘Start’, click ‘Control Panel’, click ‘Performance and Maintenance’ and finally ‘System’. In the new window you’ll see a tab called ‘Hardware’ and the Device Manager is there). You can bring up the window you need by double clicking on the device whose driver you need to uninstall. You will get a ‘properties’ window with a tab marked ‘driver’. There’s a button marked ‘uninstall’. Just click it to uninstall the driver. It’s sometimes worth uninstalling the driver if you are having problems. If the driver you have uninstalled was part of the ‘plug and play’ protocol in windows NT or XP, then all you need to do is reboot or restart your PC and windows will search out the hardware and reinstall the driver automatically. If the driver you are using is Plug and Play then it will say so in the driver window from where you perform the uninstall. Plug and Play in Windows XP works for things like keyboard, mouse, monitor and basic modem, graphics and sound cards. Often you will want to use the driver written by the maker of the hardware you’ve installed. In this case you should have found a more up to date version of the driver on the internet or have a copy on a disc before you uninstall. If you think the driver is at fault and don’t have a copy, find one first – this can be done on the internet once you know the make and model of your device. There are also programs available that help you identify all your drivers and therefore help you find the replacements or updates. The other reason for uninstalling your driver is if you are installing a driver manually rather than using an executable file (see the article on ‘installing windows drivers’),. In this case it’s usually a good idea to remove the old driver before the install to prevent clashes. In this case you need to do so from the device manager as described above. So, if you have the backup that came with the hardware, have found one from a reliable source on the internet or are happy to rely upon plug and play technology (which is very good for many purposes), then there is no real risk in uninstalling windows drivers

BlackBerry Empathy Concept Phone!

The BlackBerry Empathy concept phone is a sponsored project held by RIM Blackberry at the Art Center College of Design. But the concept behind the phone is really odd. The idea is that it is supposed to “detect emotional data” through some magic ring and show both your emotions and your contacts and social graph.

According to Engadget – “It’s not exactly clear how it’d do that, but one crucial element is the biometric feedback ring that communicates your frustration at the phone’s inability to properly sync IMAP accounts in real-time. All of this anger and joy is displayed on a social map — colored rings indicate your contacts’ previous and current emotional states — which is presented on a full touchscreen that can become transparent when the phone’s not in use.”

Here is how the designers Kiki Tang and Daniel Yoon describe the interface:

It is of course touch based and all the user’s connections are shown graphically so you can see who is connected to whom. Each contact has an avatar that is encompassed by two colored rings. The inner colored ring shows the contact’s previous emotional state, and the outer ring represents the contact’s current emotional state. It is important to show the shift in emotions in order to see how an event has affected that contact.

Another important feature that we felt was important was the “Emotional Health Chart”. This chart would monitor the user’s emotional health through an indefinite period of time. One would be able to see how a certain event, or phone call/ message has affected the user. Obviously, if the chart shows someone is always upset, there would be a problem… If permitted, a user would be able to view other user’s charts as well.

The issue I have with the concept is that, have you ever heard of any smartphone user anywhere saying “I wish my smartphone knew how I felt!” It just seems like a solution looking for a problem. Some more pics below.

I am not sure what to make of the Empathy but let me know what you think.

Check Your Facebook Profile Viewers! Scammers on the Lose

Facebook users are being strike these days by a new virally spreading survey scam that has already claimed many users.

You may see updates from your Facebook friends like the following:
I am really OPENMOUTHED that my EX is still checking my profile everyday. You can also see WHO CHECKS YOUR PROFILE here @ [LINK]

Another version reads:

LOL! I cant believe that you can see who is viewing your profile! I can see the TOP 10 people and I am really OPENMOUTHED that my EX is still checking me every hour. You can also see WHO CHECKS YOUR PROFILE here @ [LINK]

If you tagged on such posts, don’t click on the link. If you do make the mistake of clicking you will be asked to authorise a third-party application, which asks access to your Facebook profile.

If you give the permission — probably in the hope of finding out who has been viewing your Facebook profile– then you are giving it the right to post messages to your wall. And it will misuse that permission instantly, in an effort to get your Facebook friends to click on the very same link.

Meanwhile, you will find yourself faced by an online survey – designed to generate commission for the scammers.

The truth is, nevertheless, that there’s no way of discovering who has been viewing your Facebook profile – and any application which promises it is going to tell you who has been stalking your Facebook profile is lying.

If you’ve been affected by this scam, you should clean up your account before any further harm is done.

How To Find Similar Images Using Google’s Image Search

Writing on-line requires a constant search for images. Needless to say, I have quite a few links stashed away in my bookmarks folder. But it is often that I turn to Google Image Search to track down that elusive graphic.

Like all Google products, Google Image Search has continuously been tweaked and improved. The latest change comes to the Google Similar Images option. Google has put in a feature that now you can use to search for similar images across a single site. This is basically an improvement of Google’s site: operator which limits your searches to a particular domain.

But how does it help us exactly and what are the uses you can put this small improvement too? Let’s find out.

Google Similar Images: The Usual Run

Most of us are familiar with the process that goes into searching for similar images. Go to Google Image Search and type in a keyword for the image you are searching for. Next, it’s just a matter of mouse-over a specific image (for which you want similar images) and clicking on the Similar link.

Here’s what you get – a whole gallery of similar images to pick and choose from. Once you get the similar images, you can go for More Sizes and check out the other dimensions that are available.

Similar Images: Do a Google Image Search

To come back to the search update, you can use the similar search function as a combination with the site: operator. Use the operator as normally would. Let’s say:site:www.makeuseof.com linux. As you can see from the screenshot below, the gallery of images now are closer (or similar) to the base image.

The Advanced Search options also allow you to specify a domain and limit your search to a single site. But using it from the address bar saves you a few clicks and is definitely the easiest way to get that perfect image. But definitely dive into it if you need the other options available there.

Some Uses You Can Put It Too…

Taking a cue from Digital Inspiration’s article on the same subject, you can use the new feature to search for magazine covers across a domain like Time.com. I am using it to look for a variety of images which I can use as ‘album covers’ for my personal MP3 collection.

Google has also updated the index of similar images, so now you’ll find more recent results. That’s great if you are searching for images from newsworthy events. Especially, searching for a familiar celebrity (Of course, you will have a wider sweep if you remove the site:operator). The Official Google Blog demonstrates with Lady Gaga.

If you have any interest in gardening, the visual search by similarity is a great time saver when it comes to searching for a particular type of flower that you know only by color. It’s not perfect, but it helps to narrow down your options. The same logic applies to any other search distinguished by small differences.

Google Image Search represents one of the easiest ways to search for something visually. It can also be an exercise in creativity and fun.

Awesome Add-Ons That Only Work With Firefox 4

Firefox has long been the darling of geeks everywhere, but its popularity has waned lately, mostly due to competition from Google’s Chrome browser. Firefox, while stable and practical, simply wasn’t as quick as Chrome. Some, such as myself, switched.
Now Firefox 4 is out, and the browser has been substantially redesigned to improve performance and offer a better interface. The add-on ecosystem always changes when a new browser version is released, and Firefox 4 is no different. Many older add-ons are broken – at least for now. Fortunately, there are a few new or revised add-ons already available.

Movable Firefox Button 1.3

This add-on makes the Firefox button in Firefox 4 movable. By default, the button hangs out in the upper left hand corner, on the same part of the interface used by tabs. This add-on lets you move it to someplace else, such as alongside the search bar, which frees up more room for tabs to appear.

FabTabs 1.4

The concept behind FabTabs is simple – make tabs visually distinct. That way, you’ll be able to tell the sites you have open in your tabs at a glance, without reading any text. This is great for users who like to open lots of tabs, as having large numbers of tabs open forces each tab to become smaller, which soon makes the text useless.

Fab Tab accomplishes this by taking a screenshot of the website you’re viewing and working some math wizardry to find the most prominent color, which it then applies to the corresponding tab. Although this sounds easy to fool, it worked perfectly in my usage. It even picked red for CNN, despite the fact that most of the website is white.

Easy App Tabs 3

One of the new features in Firefox is the “app tab.” This is a small tab that is used to mark websites, like Facebook, that you want to use but don’t need to devote an entire tab to. By default, app tabs are placed by right clicking and then selecting Pin as App Tab from the menu, but Easy App Tabs lets you do the same by simply double-clicking a tab. It’s quicker and easier.

Vertical Toolbar 0.2

Opera users might like this one, has the purpose of Vertical Toolbar is to add, well, a vertical toolbar – which looks quite a lot like the one Opera has when you open the “panels” toolbar. Firefox isn’t Opera, though, so there isn’t quite as much stuff to put on the toolbar by default. You gain access to your bookmarks, browsing history and download manager at the top, while at the bottom you’ll find buttons for full screen view, printing and refreshing the page.

Things get more interesting if you open up the Firefox button, go to Options, and then go to Toolbar Layout. There are a number of toolbar functions listed here that aren’t included by default but can be added easily. If you have installed the Movable Firefox Button 1.3 add-on you can place your Firefox button on the vertical toolbar as well.

Tab Badge 1.2

As websites command more of our attention and become more like apps, notifications become more important. A program has no problem telling a user when something has happened, but that sort of behavior isn’t common from a web browser.

Tab Badge seeks to resolve this issue by adding a small, bright-red visual notification on open tabs of social networking and email sites. This add-on works with Twitter, Facebook, Gmail and more.

Instant Preview 3

This add-on is straight from Mozilla Labs, which means its a feature that didn’t quite make it into the full web browser, but is being worked on and considered for future use. Once installed, pages that show up in the search bar when you are typing will begin to load automatically. Once you click on them, they’re already partially or completely loaded, creating a web experience that feels smoother. However, this behavior will only work with websites you have visited before, which is the add-on’s one downside.

Custom Tab Width 1.0.1

Another simple but useful interface tweak, Custom Tab Width lets you determine how wide or small a tab can be. By default, Firefox limits tabs to a maximum width of 250 and a minimum width of 100. If you’re a tab heavy user, though, you can use this add-on to reduce that minimum width to whatever you’re comfortable with. This is a great add-on to use with FabTabs.

Conclusion

Usually, this is the part where I point out that there are lots of add-ons available, I can’t possibly cover them all, and I’ve selected those I’ve found most useful. To some extent, that applies. But the list of add-ons for Firefox 4 is small at the moment, so the 7 listed here represents about 25% of all Firefox 4 add-ons currently available!

Of course, folks will be quick to jump on the bandwagon, so the list should expand rapidly. Mozilla has a special “Only for Firefox 4” section set up on their add-on page, so you might want to bookmark it and check back in a few weeks to see the new add-ons that have been released.

Facebook’s New Way Of Using You As Free Advertising (& How To Stop It.

witting Facebook users may soon find themselves starring in adverts for free by simply using the service. The new feature known as ‘sponsored stories’ will recommend products and services to your friends based on your tastes and whether your profile settings allow it.

Actions such as checking into places, clicking “Like” on a page, application interactions and posting on Facebook pages can be then used as marketing ammo, sending targeted recommendations to your friends featuring your name and profile picture. Users who are featured in the adverts won’t be paid a penny.

This new way for advertisers to target their audience on a startlingly personal level quietly launched in January, and (in a move that’s angered many) each Facebook user’s account, by default, allows this to happen. Despite many voicing their concerns, Facebook insists that this new breed of social advertising falls in line with its current privacy policy.



For those of you sitting in your chairs, there’s a simple way to disallow Facebook from using your personal data in these new ‘sponsored stories’ from your Account Settings:

Whilst logged into Facebook, click Account then Account Settings. On the far right of the row of tabs choose Facebook Adverts, which will take you to a page where you can change Allow adverts on platform pages to show my information to and Show my social actions in Facebook Adverts to No one.




What do you think about Facebook’s new adverts? Have you changed your account settings? Spread the word and have your say in the comments below.

A Tale of China 'chinko' Phone

China Phones! 'Wetin concern me and chinko'
I wouldn’t have given them a chance some months back, but that is changing as the chinkos are manufacturing better looking and more functional phones. It is looking like we no longer can afford to ignore them.



I remember one of the first China phones to hit the Nigerian market. A friend had brought a unit and asked me to help install useful mobile applications and to configure it for internet. Do I have to say that we were not able to put any application on the phone and also didn’t succeed in configuring it for internet? Simply put, the phone was useless. With the ear drum bursting noise that comes with depressing any key i was utterly irritated.

Fast forward to 18 months later, a completely different person asked for the same thing- to help install useful mobile apps and configure for internet on his China phone. My initial response was, “There’s no use, it won’t work”. But she begged and I decided to give it a shot. The first thing I did was to manually input internet settings. Once that was done, I launched the browser and to my amazement it loaded well (Although it loaded initially in Chinese). The browser even loaded a social networking site like Facebook. This was the first surprise. The second was that the phone gladly accepted Java applications and they worked well on it.

It has been an upward trend for China phones since then. They are getting more and more matured as the days go by.

However, what I dislike about these phones and wish will change is the use of brand names of other mobile phone manufacturers by the people behind some of these phones. An example is the “Nokia N99i” , which is by no means manufactured by Nokia.

These phones I dare say are now good enough to have their own brand names, and with their current pricing scheme, these phones will continue to do well in emerging markets. Some of them are already doing this, and we have brand names such as i-mobile, Techno, Zedd, Zen to mention a few.

China phone, anyone?