Home Blog Page 132

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is now official; here is what you need to know before you consider buying it

I have not paid much attention to devices that carry the “Pro” iteration before, but this one could be something. Some may call it “the flagship killer”, and some interesting devices have been tagged with the same phrase before though not as effective as the hype. Honestly, on paper, the new Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro is by far a monster that would easily put a smile on needy consumers out there, but as we’ve all come to appreciate, it takes more than a page of detailed specs to get a clear feel on the performance of devices out there. Fueling the hype is un-apologetic 48MP camera on this handset that without considering real life performance, it could easily mislead us to believe is un-matched.

Xiaomi’s 48 Megapixels Camera is something to look out for but you’ll also have 12MP for consideration

 True this size of camera sensor belongs within the top tier of current handsets, but we acknowledge there’s whole lot of stuff that happens in the background to achieve that stunning image or footage. Apple for example with their iPhones have trumped as kings of software optimizations despite their sensors barely going past a one digit figure but this does not necessarily mean Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 7 Pro does not have what it takes to amaze most of us. Surely, it should command some respect especially for going beyond and overboard, however; we’d leave it to time after it goes mainstream. We understand there’s even a vanilla version that seeks to keep stuff conservative by opting for a 12 megapixels snapper instead.   

128GB or 64GB Internal Storage

Storage is something we at least can appreciate almost every manufacturer out there is putting just enough in devices coming out now. It’s therefore no exception to note you’d have a 128GB version of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro at your discretion, but of course this will all depend on how much you’ll be willing to pay for it – with the 64GB version costing slightly less.

Performance is Pro with Qualcomm SDM675 Snapdragon 675 (11 nm) chipset

With the “Pro” iteration, we expect nothing but the best technologies under the hood. Moreover, the octa-core CPU underneath should chew almost all loaded apps without a struggle, it goes as high as 2 GHz and this is good.  The top rated Adreno 612 GPU should make graphics breezier and we don’t expect to experience any lags under normal use. I’d have preferred all models to carry the maximum 6GB RAM but what the heck, if you really want the best of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro then just go for the top of the line model instead.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro has a 6.3 inches Display panel that accounts for 81.4% screen-to-body ratio

This phone is by no means for those with smaller handsets who’d rather get an industry standard 4.7inch instead. The notch revolution made things a little manageable but the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro definitely surpasses the industry standard mark. However, if you’re a large screen person as I’d imagine most of us are, then this handset won’t disappoint. It comes packed with a 6.3inches IPS panel that occupies most of the front  – thanks to the notch. Resolution is capped at 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio translating to a 409 pixels per inch density. At this size of resolution, of course we expect sharper texts and vivid images on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro Design and price in Kenya

In the era of foldable devices, we don’t expect the Redmi Note 7 Pro’s design to win any awards, but it’ll please almost anyone with a test in practicality. Pricing is still indecisive at the moment but we don’t expect anything beyond the mid-rage tier; I’d imagine it’ll be priced strategically to offer a reasonable challenge to the like of Huawei Y7 Prime which goes for around Kenyan Shillings 17,000.

Transferring your Cash from the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) account to MPESA is as simple as “Lipa Na MPESA” Service

If you are an adult living in Kenya, chances are you’ve already transacted on Safaricom’s MPESA mobile wallet platform. Thanks to the enormous adoption the service continues to enjoy since it was launched, almost anyone with a phone is familiar on how to utilize the service’s bills payment function – popularly referred to as a “PAY BILL” no. Technology evolution in the mobile payments segment is simply unrivaled compared to the rest of the world, but there are some pretty important functionalities users’ tent to assume even though they could make their lives a whole lot easier than traditional methods.

As is the case when I’m so enthusiastic about something especially in the tech world, I tent to share it here with my loyal folks and today, I’ve devised something that’s worth checking out especially by our beautiful sisters on the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) network. I’m therefore going to divulge important steps you can follow to withdraw/deposit money between your Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) account and MPESA, as well as how you can general mobile banking services from the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) that are available via mobile banking.

Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) mobile banking services;

Before we continue in the mobile banking arena, I have to clarify that this service is independent of MPESA and merely serves as a convenient way to access services from the financial institution without having to physically visit any of their branches.

  • As is the case with many mobile banking services out there you’ll need to initiate Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) mobile banking services via their official USSD Code: *859# and access a myriad of services as listed below;
  • You can deposit cash from your MPESA wallet to KWF account
  • Loan requests and repayment as well as balance enquiry
  • Requesting your mini statements
  • Transferring cash between different Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) accounts
  • Airtime Top Ups both (Safaricom and Airtel) supported
  • Utility bills payment

How to Transfer Cash from the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) account to MPESA

  • On your phone, head over to the dialer and key in USSD Code: *859#
  • When prompted, enter your Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) Mobile Banking PIN
  • Select funds transfer
  • Scroll down to “mobile money transfer”
  • Then choose from “Account to MPESA”
  • Select either to my phone or to another phone
  • For my phone Enter amount to send
  • If you’re sending to a different number other than yours, then enter phone then amount to send
  • Select account, then Accept or cancel.
  • You will receive a confirmation message from KWFT

How to deposit cash from MPESA to your Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) account

  • Head over to the MPESA menu using your Safaricom line (must have a registered MPESA account with enough balance to initiate the transfer or utilize fuliza service)
  • Press on “ Lipa na Mpesa” then select Pay Bill
  • Enter Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) Business Number (101200)
  • Then type in your Kwft account number
  • Put the amount you intent to deposit followed by your Mpesa PIN
  • You will receive a confirmation message from KWFT

Nokia 4.2 is a beautiful midrange smartphone with a large 5.71-inch HD+ display panel that most of you will love to get

As the foldable smartphone phenomenon take an absurd percentage of the current tech trends, we’ve decided to get old-school and look at what other practical devices manufacturers’ intent to bring in 2019. The little known Nokia 4.2 is equipped abundantly, just enough to appease most of you out there and we’ve gone bananas just to let you understand what you’ll be missing by overlooking a rather decent smartphone on Nokia’s lineup while wooed by the “foldable” phenomenon. But before that, it’s important to talk about the “foldable smartphone phenomenon”, now that everyone seems amazed hoping for it to be the next tier of smartphone evolution. Pretty, evolutionary? Most definitely, foldable devices have been prototyped by smartphone giants for a while now, but this doesn’t necessary imply availability in the near future or ever!

Sorry to break your hearts on the topic but there are some concerns we really need to air them out and understand before we resolve to wait for something that might never arrive. First of all, I love new design cues and features invented by phone makers who strive to give us something different every year – I mean that’s how they remain relevant each year and make new sales as well as upgrades. Remember the notch? It was quite a hype if you ask me, but considering the direction Samsung has taken on its latest S10 series, we don’t expect to see it around for a while – maybe on iPhones with their face ID thing but that’s just it, the S10 series have simply the best implementation of an all screen device courtesy of the “punch hole camera” period. These technologies are simply too expensive to make them available in the mainstream market. In fact, I tent to associate the “foldable” era as something manufacturers have invented not necessarily to equip with their upcoming devices but just show off what they’re capable of.

Go for Nokia 4.2 if you’d prefer pure un-bloated android experience

Back to our practical Nokia 4.2, for a start, we need to ask ourselves some simple questions; just how much do we love un-bloated android experience? Manufactures are known to slap a skin on top of android OS that might enhance user experience as well as degrading the same. Third party skins could enhance the user experience including how the user is able to utilize some hidden features to degrading the same for example unnecessarily slowing down your device and draining your battery. If this is a major concern, then get the Nokia 4.2 you’ll love the experience. It delivers a pure Android experience with Android One, running on Android 9 Pie. It lacks bloatware thereby allowing free monthly security updates that further enriches your phone without gobbling it down.

Design is simple yet elegant

I’ve personally grown font of Google’s included personal assistant on latest iterations of Android. You’d be answered some simple questions juts by pressing the enclosed Google Assistant Button on Nokia 4.2. The device looks compact and bezels have been trimmed to accommodate an oval notch housing an 8MP front selfie camera. On the other hand, expect a 5.71 HD+ display, in a stunning 2.5D curved glass design. Everything underneath was well planned to accommodate a large long lasting 3000mAh battery we expect to be adequate for a moderate user. At the back, you’ll be pleased to find two sensors; a 13MP and 2MP rear-facing camera with pro editing tools.

Security

Whether you are a face unlock guy or find the back-placed fingerprint sensor plenty for secure unlocks, you shall never lack on the new Nokia 4.2. This handset just enough technologies you’d expect in any modern handset.

Nokia 4.2 Price in Kenya – Will update in due course.

Differences between Ultrasonic and Optical in-display fingerprint technologies used in Smartphones

Ever since we started seeing various phone makers’ start incorporating in-display fingerprint sensors, most of us have been wondering just how these sensors work. For instance I was amazed just how Samsung managed to achieve an invisible sensor under the displays of their current flagships – Samsung galaxy S10 and Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus released alongside the Galaxy S10e that opted for in-power button sensor instead and the answer was quite simple – Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor technology. In comparison, other manufacturers have opted for an optical fingerprint sensor instead – which emits light on the location users are supposed to place their thumbs, the most iconic use being in the latest Huawei Mate 20 Pro.

How Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor works

Over the years we’ve been treated to some interesting prototypes by various phone makers on their best versions of implementing an in-display fingerprint sensor and for a moment, we even thought Apple could utilize the technology to achieve its almost all screen front panel ambitions on the iPhones. The progress has been lurking to some point coupled by expensive technologies required but things have started looking up after Samsung jumped on the bandwagon and we expect millions of devices to be secured by these types of sensors by the end of the year.

The Ultrasonic fingerprint scanner technology was pioneered by Qualcomm basing on what used to be called Sense ID. Instead of utilizing traditional photographic or capacitive-based fingerprint scanners, ultrasonic fingerprint scanners make use of very high-frequency ultrasonic sound. If that sounds confusing, do not worry as you’re not alone. The term ultrasonic in a lay man’s language is closely associated with sound waves, but these types of waves are so low you can’t hear them. It’s these waves that are used to map out the details of a user’s fingerprint. Unlike traditional capacitive sensors found on modern computers, you do not need to swipe, just place your thumb to the sensor and you’ll be good to go.

The process seems really fast that we often question what exactly happens behind the scenes, to lay some of those questions to rest, here is how what exactly happens; in order to capture the details of a fingerprint, the hardware consists of both a transmitter and a receiver. When a finger is placed over the scanner, an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted against the finger and pulse’s pressure is absorbed and some of it bounced back to the sensor with unique details that consists of ridges, pores and other details.

How Optical in-display Fingerprint Sensors work

Optical scanners are the oldest sensors of the two technologies and were used to capture and comparing fingerprints. As the name suggests, this technology relies on capturing an optical image, just like you’d take a digital image of oneself and using special algorithms to detect unique patterns on the surface, such as ridges or unique marks, by analyzing the lightest and darkest areas of the image. Similarly to digital cameras, optical sensors vary in resolution capabilities and can achieve tremendous amounts of resolutions which in turn equates to the amount of details a sensor can capture.  

Differences between Optical and Ultrasonic Fingerprint Sensors;

  • Ultrasonic in-display sensors are more expensive and can only be found in high-end devices such as Galaxy S10 series
  • Optical scanners will require one to wake the phone before placing the thumb while ultrasonic can work even when the display if off
  • Ultrasonic sensors are generally faster than Optical sensors

How to Shop Online at amazon.com and Pay for your purchases through a Western Union agent location in Kenya

While brazing for what seems to be one of the busiest two weeks in Tech world – thanks to the upcoming mobile world congress in Barcelona, we’ve decided to articulate just how easy it has become to shop online from some of the biggest sites in the world. Online shoppers in Kenya have had for a long time difficulties in making payments to international online outlets especially eBay and Amazon due to ambiguous modes of payments that these retail giants accept. To purchase something on eBay for example, one has to own a PayPal account that should be linked to a local bank account which can process such transactions. This has not always been easy especially to the average Kenyan, even though we’ve made tremendous strides in paperless transactions thanks to MPESA.

We can now appreciate how easy it has become to move money across various platforms such as MPESA and PayPal but most of these methods are still not effective to some and to simplify that, Western Union recently introduced a payment option that will see amazon shoppers in the country pay directly on their platform in local currency. The service which is currently limited to a few countries including Colombia, Chile, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines and Peru uses a PayCode generated from amazon.com by processing complex foreign exchange, settlement and money movement requirements for international e-commerce transactions to complete payments for users in Kenya.

While speaking on the development, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Western Union Digital Mr. Khalid Fellahi indicated the move was aimed to unlock access to Amazon.com for customers who need and want items that can only be found online in many parts of the world. Most items needed by consumers across the world are not necessarily available to them locally hence the need to acquire some via online means. Let’s say for example someone looking for a rare replacement part to repair their electronic device that’s not available locally, can easily find the exact part at a cheaper price from a different country rather than depending on the manufacturer who by the way might not have a store locally to ship in.

How to Shop Online at amazon.com and Pay through Western Union

  • After you’ve identified your item at amazon.com and are sure its eligible to be shipped to your country in this case Kenya, proceed to the checkout page and select “PayCode”
  • You will be sent a code, along with instructions on how to pay in person at a participating Western Union® agent location.
  • Proceed to the Western Union agent and make the payment in local currency (they’ll do all the currency conversion for you)

Wait for your item to arrive and you don’t need to worry about credit card charges or hidden bank fees. It’s that simple.

Samsung Just took off wraps on an iPad Pro competitor, the Galaxy Tab S5e with a 10.5inch AMOLED Screen

Apple’s tablet division has been doing comparatively well against android alternatives far too long, and some pretty amazing upgrades have so far been unveiled with the iPad pro taking a decent share of the tablet market except for a few windows devices that we’d rather not divulge into. But that’s just about to be put to test with a new entrant – the Galaxy Tab S5e which we assume is Samsung response to android lovers who’ve been asking manufacturers at least to throw them a bone. Since the yester years, handsets have evolved to accommodate even larger displays that make owning an android tablet a rather privileged endeavor and not necessarily that important, this definitely makes it quite an adventure to see how Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e demand unfolds in the coming days.

If you’d asked me earlier this year – 2019, whether they’ll be any android tablets on the market, I’d confidently have responded with a big “NO”. Once we started embracing the notch evolution and Samsung’s own way of stretching the display panel beyond normal, tablets in themselves become irrelevant. I remember when the term “Phablet” become so common that in the end didn’t make any meaning as we moved to larger and bigger phones, it wasn’t long after we unwaveringly paid our last respects at the dawn of compact phones with an almost all-screen front. It’s therefore interesting to see unapologetic tablet unveiled in 2019 – to some degree, it makes perfect sense. Can you imagine having a smartphone with a 10inch screen, not possible right? I think will still see tablets for a while.

Moving on to Samsung’s offering, it’s not the new tablet that’s been making headlines in the media alone – Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e bears an almost uncanny resemblance to Apple’s iPad Pro. Convince me otherwise but the latest tablet from the manufacturer shows no further initiative to design approach beyond the latest 2018 iPad Pro 11inch which is not necessarily a bad thing considering its top notch; but we’d loved to see some bit of innovation hopefully one that sets it apart from the iPad. The price tag is indeed encouraging though, rather than forking out hundreds of dollars on the iPad Pro, Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e is expected to retail in the range of a bout KS. 40,000 once it becomes available here in Kenya.

Here is what you ought to know before buying the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e

Looking at the naming nomenclature, same as that employed on the Samsung Galaxy S10e with an “e” extension, we expect nothing but modest internals that lead to an overall fair price tag.

Display Screen

  • Samsung has worked hard enough to accommodate a larger 10.5inch front panel that accounts for 81.8 percent screen to body ratio. The display itself utilizes Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology with an aspect ratio of 16:10, and an impressive resolution of 2560 x 1600 at 287ppi.

Design

  • We’ve seen many Samsung’s tablets which by the way are good, but the Tab S5e is the thinnest and lightest all-metal Galaxy Tab from Samsung. It stretches to 5.5mm thickness and weighs a meagre 400 grams for a tablet, this is one seriously svelte machine; however, we cannot easily brush-off its striking resemblance to Apple’s iPad Pro.

Performance

  • As expected for a tablet within its price range, internally is powered by a mid-range Snapdragon 670 chipset and comes with 7,040mAh battery that’s touted to last up to 14.5 hours. Samsung Tab S5e will also run Android Pie with One UI on top. It’s available with 4 or 6GB RAM and 64 or 128GB of expandable storage.

What you need to know before buying Samsung Galaxy S10e and differences from S10 and S10 Plus

Samsung’s entry level device on the S10 iteration has mostly what consumers will perceive as positive stuff as well as unexpected nasty surprises that we’d hoped the company not to enforce in its cost cutting endeavor. The tenth anniversary devices on the Galaxy S series are scheduled for official launch on Wednesday 20th February; however, thanks to the massive leaks, we now know quite enough to put everything in perspective and shed some light on just who’s this phone for. As expected, being the device with least number of executive features, we don’t expect the Galaxy S10e to be priced in the same league as its two senior siblings – galaxy S10 and S10 plus.      

We’ve learnt to appreciate just how much influence Apple has on the rest of handset makers who often break away from their norms and traditions to embrace the so called “world expectations”. Samsung was clever enough not to fall for the becomingly popular notch generation but it’s implementation of an almost all screen display is still eliciting mixed reactions. Some have gone to the extend as compliment Apple’s viewpoint considering the rest unrealistic and gimmicky. On the other hand, Samsung’s decision to unveil a total of three devices consisting of a larger Galaxy S10 Plus, a mainstream Galaxy S10 and a cheaper Galaxy S10e led us to believe it followed in the exact footsteps of Apple when it unveiled the iPhone XS plus, iPhone XS and iPhone XR.

Whether the Galaxy S10e will attract just as much attention we witnessed on the iPhone XR remains everyone’s guess, but we have just enough details to have you reliably informed before deciding to go the S10e way. This year’s Galaxy S lineup shares an awful lot of features that making that decision may trickle down to your financial muscle rather than what this has or missing compared to the rest. We have therefore isolated the most impactful features that could easily sway your decision if price is not a factor. If you’re looking for a mid-range device that’s readily available in Kenya, we strongly suggest you consider Huawei Y7 Prime.

Here is what you need to know before buying the Galaxy S10e; differences from S10 and S10 Plus

  • Fingerprint sensor embedded inside the power button rather than under the screen. We appreciate Samsung’s initiative to have the fingerprint sensor placed somewhere else rather than the back. I’ve always thought Apple’s placement of the sensor on its legacy devices was more practical than having it at the back. However, we are more thrilled to have the sensors under the screen on the S10 and S10 Plus which is not the same case for the Samsung Galaxy S10e. if you consider buying the lower end version of the S10 series, then be ready to live with a fingerprint sensor on the power button and leave all the bragging rights to those with its senior siblings.  
  • Design and Size. While all the S10 series come equipped with an AMOLED HDR+ displays – thank you Samsung, expect a slightly smaller 5.8inch with 2280 x 1080 pixels (438 ppi) panel on the S10e, the S10 and S10 Plus come with 6.1-inch 3040 x 1440 pixels (550 ppi) and 6.3-inch 3040 x 1440 pixels (522 ppi) consecutively. The Samsung Galaxy S10e is also slightly thicker at 7.9mm compared to the other siblings which are a tad slimmer at 7.8mm.
  • Colors: (S10e) – Prism White, Prism Green, Prism Black, Canary Yellow. (S10) – Prism White, Prism Green, Prism Black and (S10 Plus) – Prism White, Prism Green, Prism Black as well as Ceramic Black and White for 12GB RAM models
  • Performance and Storage. We don’t expect much difference on performance as all the series are equipped with Exynos 9820 chip and a variation of 6GB or 8GB RAM except for the 10S Plus which includes a variant with 12GB RAM. Internal storage varies from 128 GB to 1TB.
  • Cameras: all these devices come with a 12MP and 16MP ultra wide-angle lens back cameras, except for the selfie camera which is equipped with a 12MP sensor on the senior siblings a 10MP selfie camera on the 10e.

That’s a pretty exhaustive list but you can still head over to GSMArena for detailed specs and features that might come in handy to making that choice you’d rather not regret later on.

Here is how you can lock your WhatsApp messages with touch ID or face ID using WhatsApp account security feature

WhatsApp’s new account security feature might have gone un noticed but it provides a simpler way you could restrict on who has access to your chat history by requiring either a touch id (fingerprint) or face id (facial recognition) depending on the type of security implemented on your iPhone.  Sorry android folks; at the time of launch, this feature was yet to be implemented on your platform – will update once available. Having gone live early this year (2019), you can easily enable it on your device – that’s if you have the latest version of WhatsApp. As mentioned earlier, this feature is currently supported on iOS devices alone; therefore, any reference here is based on iPhone variant and might differ with Android when and if its enabled.  

Android users might not need to envy those on iOS after all, we are reliably informed that an android equivalent is in the works and should launch reasonably soon. As we’ve stated at the beginning of this guide, you can only use this feature if you’re running the latest version of WhatsApp.

Here is how to check WhatsApp version installed on your device

  • Head over to the “Settings” tab at the bottom-right in your WhatsApp app
  • Then press on “Help” your app version will understandably appear at the top
  • You need to have at least version 2.19.20 or later installed on your iPhone
  • For those who have an older version, worry not as you can easily update by going to the App store and pressing “Update” button

Now let’s head over to the good stuff for those in dire need to secure their WhatsApp messages on iPhone.

Below are the steps on how you can lock your WhatsApp messages using Touch ID or Face ID

  • First, you’ll need to launch your “WhatsApp” APP
  • Press on “settings” option at the bottom right in your application
  • Once in settings head over to “account” menu item
  • Then proceed to “privacy” from within the new menu that appears
  • Choose “screen lock” at the very bottom of the list
  • Sensibly enough, there are a few options you can choose on how long WhatsApp takes before requiring a new authentication; you can choose; Immediately, After 1 minute, After 15 minutes or After 1 hour

Since newer iPhones have since moved on from “Touch ID” to “Face ID”, the type of iPhone you have defines how you unlock WhatsApp. The iPhone X, XS, XS Max and XR will all show “Face ID” while older iterations will feature “Touch ID” instead.

In my case, 15 minutes or 1 hour seemed sufficient and I would strongly advise against using “immediately” unless you really think it’s the right decision, the process of accessing your chats could become tedious if every time you move to a different app, you’re to unlocking WhatsApp each time you come back. Choosing a longer period gives you an ample time before you have to re-authenticate.

WhatsApp’s new security feature is useful to people who often let others use their devices but don’t want to expose their chat conversations. If you have cheeky kids for example, it’ll prevent them from calling your boss on a Saturday and say something that will get you fired. This would come in handy to persuade some users to enable this feature, I’d imagine.