The Asha 501 resides within Nokia’s basement portfolio but it hardly disappoints on areas that count considering its offer price. The phone is no match for the likes of Galaxy S4 and the Optimus G Pro; it doesn’t even run on Nokia’s preferred high-end Windows Operating system – instead, it comes with the Asha platform 1.0 software installed. It has everything you’d expect on a device within its price range except for the lack of a 3G radio which’s its major drawback. Nokia Asha 501 is expected to retail in Kenya from Kshs 8,500, it’s the same kind of money you’d spend on budget android smart phone like Techno N3 though with superior specs; it makes little sense opting for the Asha 501 in this comparison but Nokia die-hards would still give it a chance considering the phone maker’s hardware reputation and a pocket-friendly tag.
Safaricom Subscribers to win Millions Daily in the ‘Tetemesha na Safaricom’ Promotion
Safaricom subscribers have yet another chance to bag millions through a promotion unveiled by the mobile service provider starting May 2013 through to 6th June 2013. Throughout the promotion, lucky subscribers are expected to win up to Kshs.500,000,000 including daily prizes of cash and airtime, and get this you need not to enter into the promotion as its automated for any top-ups starting from Ksh.10. Pre-paid subscribers who top-up using any of the available top-up methods such as physical scratch cards, Bamba Poa (both Pin less and Pin Based) and M-PESA airtime will earn a point depending on the amount of top-up.
Fly with Bonga Points, Safaricom Customers to Pay Kenya Airways Domestic Tickets with Bonga Points
Bonga Points – a loyalty scheme introduced by Safaricom about six years ago can now can be used to pay for domestic Kenya Airways tickets. In a partnership announced by the two companies, travelers who may have accumulated a decent amount of Bonga Points – about 28000 points for a one way ticket and 40000 points for a return ticket need not pay their tickets in cash. The scheme can be utilized for economy or business level tickets on KQ flights. Bonga Points is so far the most successful loyalty scheme in the industry, beyond just redeeming points for airtime, message bundles or data bundles, Bonga Points can be used to purchase handsets, 3G modem dongles alongside other accessories at the Safaricom retail outlets.
KBC’s Signet Channels now on StarTimes
If you are a StarTimes customer, you must have noticed additional channels on your current bouquet with either a Signet or KBC tag instead of the usual STV – looks like StarTimes has relented to its customer’s demands to have local channels without any subscription. Local free to air channels such as Kiss TV required StarTimes subscribers to pay for the second last inexpensive (Classic) bouquet which goes for about Kshs.1000 monthly subscriptions, other local channels can be viewed from the least expensive (Basic) bouquet billed at Kshs.500 monthly payments. Questions have been raised as to why local free to air channels except KBC on the StarTimes platform required a subscription to watch while they were completely free on the analog platform.
Airtel Kenya’s Samsung Galaxy S4 Offer (Pre-Order)
Following in Safaricom’s footsteps, Airtel Kenya now is accepting pre-orders of the Galaxy S4 at an even cheaper price tag. Unlike Safaricom which is accepting pre-orders of the device only at their retail outlet located at Westgate Nairobi, Airtel has gone further to have more than 8 of their outlets process the offer in various parts of the country. Safaricom is accepting orders from customer willing to make a deposit of Ksh.15000 and the balance Kshs.42999 paid at the Westgate shop totaling to Kshs.57999. Airtel seemingly has a very tempting offer in comparison; Ksh.52999 for payments made via its mobile banking service – ‘Airtel Money’, and Kshs.56999 for other modes of payments.
Nokia Asha 210 has a dedicated WhatsApp Button
Beyond what you’ll get on the earlier members of ‘portfolio-Asha’, the Asha 210 has some peculiar features that suits a select target group, the handset is seemingly affordable just like the entire Asha family but with minimal smart touches here and there. It’s not the first device within this category to have a QWERTY keypad but proudly stands-out as the first to have a dedicated WhatsApp physical key. We’ve seen devices with a dedicated Facebook button surface over time but little did we imagine a WhatsApp alternative, it’s not a miracle considering current WhatsApp statistics put the application’s usage slightly over that of twitter but coming this early was unexpected.
Samsung Galaxy S4 Safaricom Offer (Pre-Orders)
Pre-orders of the Galaxy S4 are now open at Safaricom Westgate outlet, the offer is available for customers who are willing to make a cash deposit of Ksh.15000 with the balance of Ksh.42999 payable at the shop. The smart phone is Samsung’s latest product in the Galaxy S series replacing its famous sibling the Galaxy S3 with some pleasant improvements such as two quad-cores processors, a high resolution 5.0 inches screen and an impressive 13 Megapixels camera. Customers who make pre-orders of the smart phone from Safaricom will not only get it at a lower price but enjoy 4.5GB worth of Safaricom data spread over a period of three months.
With an Airtel Line, You can Redeem Nakumatt Smart Points
Airtel Kenya subscribers can now redeem their Nakumatt smart points right from their handsets, smart points are earned by customers depending on the amount spend shopping in Nakumatt stores. To enjoy the service, customers need to have a NakumattSmartcard – a plastic electronic card that’s issued to frequent customers on request and on which loyalty points are accumulated that can later be redeemed for various prizes. In addition, Airtel customers must pair their lines with a smart card to redeem their prizes.