No thanks to the coronavirus pandemic which has wreaked havoc all around the world and devastated economies, fans of Apple products have to wait longer for the next iteration of the popular iPhone 12. The usual rumour and leaks of the design of this next-generation phone was starting to fly around before the pandemic set everything back by several steps.
However, as the economy starts to open back around the world and recover, attention has shifted back to the iPhone 12. Consequently, there were some leaks last week about the design which is still expected to be released before the end of the year.
According to the leaks, while the iPhone 12 entry-level phone, expected to be called iPhone 12 pro will look a little like an iPhone 4, the placement of the cameras will have some changes. And of course, the phone will be bigger than the iPhone 4. Also, the iPhone 12 pro max will be featuring bigger screens. If the leaks are authentic, there will be a quad-camera layout for this new version.
Meanwhile, lovers of iPhones are anxiously expecting these new phones which were earlier slated to be released into the market by July this year. The pandemic might have affected the timeline and Apple is not making definitive statements about the date of release. Hence, the wait continues. Some industry analysts expect it to be released by September as they add the “lost” months into the equation.
HUAWEI TABLETS BEATS IPAD SALES
While Huawei tablets may not yet be popular in a country like Nigeria, they are already doing very well around other parts of the world to the point that they have overthrown iPads as the number one bestseller in tablets. There is also no thanks to the pandemics as it has slowed down things considerably.
The Chinese giant has continued to churn out so many different tablet models into the market, including hybrid tablets like the Huawei mediapad pro, media pad M5 pro and media pad M5. Even before now, the Huawei medipad M5 and M6 have been called the iPad killer and it is turning out to be the case in reality.
The Huawei tablets have been enjoying positive reviews as they compete in intuitiveness and features with the iPad and Samsung galaxy. It had already overthrown the Samsung brand as number 2 before now.
However, it seems the Covid-19 pandemic has helped to put Huawei in this pole position as Apple suffers layouts and furloughs of staff that has slowed down its business considerably in the United States and proportionately than in Japan.
MEETINGS AND PARTIES MOVE TO ZOOM
The virtual conferencing application, Zoom was already getting quite popular in the last year but the Covid-19 pandemic has really sky-rocketed its usefulness and popularity around this part of the world. There have been millions of downloads of the app around the world in the last three months, including in Nigeria.
In order to get around the lockdown which has slowed down businesses everywhere, professionals have resorted to meeting virtually on zoom to try to salvage their business relationships. In the last two months, as religious activities have been halted, churches have also used the platform to hold meetings for their clergymen and even sermons for the members who log in from various locations.
Meanwhile, the platform has also been gaining a lot of popularity in the social circles as the lots of people use it to broadcast parties which the social distancing guidelines have prevented people from holding in person. A lot of people, especially celebrities hold their parties on zoom while other people log in to a part of the show.
Some of the parties held on zoom include, birthday parties, wedding anniversary parties, child christening parties and even thanksgiving parties. Some people have even gone to the extent of holding service of songs and funeral on Zoom.
A lot of entertainers have turned to Zoom to try to keep themselves in business as they organize their events on Zoom. These include comedy shows and old fashioned performances by disc jockeys and top musicians. There have also been virtual orchestra performances on zoom and other applications.
Since most companies do not allow visits by even their business partners to avoid the spread of the virus; pitches are now made on zoom. There have also been a lot of board meetings on zoom in the last two months.
A lot of people are getting to realize that they really do not need to do some certain things in person when it does not have anything to do with the physical signing of documents. Even, then virtual signatures are fast becoming the norm.
There is no doubt that after this trying period for the world and the country, there is something which will be done differently by individuals and organizations going forward.
INSTAGRAM LIVE STILL RULES
Though platforms like Zoom are gaining very fast in terms of popularity, Instagram still has the numbers in terms of live performances. One of the reasons Instagram live is still the norm is the ease of use of the platform. Unlike zoom, all a user needs to go live is just to click on two buttons.
It is also quite a lot easier to join an Instagram live broadcasts than to join Zoom as you will need to have passwords to be able to log in to Zoom. All you need to join Instagram live is to open the app and click on the live icon of someone you are following.
Also, Instagram live has been easily deployed by a lot of journalists to try to up their games as the social distancing rules has put a lid on in-person interviews. This is more so for print and online journalists. Print journalists have been made by circumstance to become broadcasters as a result of the exigencies of the situation. These print reporters have continued to do online interviews and broadcast to their followers. This has ensured that they remain relevant in the market even as they are adversely affected by distribution of their print copies
FACEBOOK AND OTHER PLATFORMS COMPETE
While Facebook is the numero uno in social media interactions, it has apparently come under stiff competition from a lot of other platforms. These include platforms like twitter and zoom which are not directly related to activities performed on facebook. For example, Twitter is a micro blogging platform while Zoom is a virtual conferencing platform.
However, there is no doubt that a lot of people who use twitter more often would have been on facebook if that option was not available. Even Zoom is competing with facebook live as video conferencing platform. What this means is that those that would have been on facebook live, instead opt for Zoom. Booth Zoom and Twitter are experts in what they do. Those platforms are obviously more intuitive than facebook for conferencing and micro blogging.
However, facebook should take solace in the fact that its subsidiary, instagram live still rules in live videos and photo blogging. Facebook was proactive when it acquired instagram several years ago. And should also be gratifying for the company that it is still the leading social media platform in the world.
REAL REASON SOME CELEBRITIES PREFER INSTAGRAM TO TWITTER
A lot of celebrities in Nigeria have more followers on instagram than twitter. One of the reasons is that instagram is a specialist application for them upload of images and do some photo blogging. Fans and followers go to instagram to see those beautiful photos of their favourite celebrities. After all, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Hence, followers flock to instagram. So, some celebrities are not so enthused with twitter.
However, there is another reason some Nigeria celebrities who have twitter accounts, rarely engage their audience on twitter. And they will not tell you this. We hear a lot of them are afraid of making grammatical or spelling errors when they tweet. This also has made many celebrities delete their twitter accounts as they are practically trolled for making spelling errors. The is the same reason why some celebrities hire social media aides.
TELECOM WORKERS AFRAID OF LAYOFFS
As a result of the pandemic sweeping the globe, there have been a lot of layoffs in the country. Some banks were already planning to lay off their workers before the Central Bank of Nigeria intervened. A lot of people have been working from home as the social distancing guidelines remained in place. Apart from heavy loss of revenues by various companies, the pandemic has taught them that some workers are actually surplus to requirement; hence those workers may be laid off.
There is a lot of trepidation right now in the telecommunications industry as people are afraid about how the adjustment by their various employers will affect their positions. And as the partial lockdown continues, the more intense the fear becomes.
ABOUT THE WORLD’S SMALLEST SMART PHONES
Smart phones are now common place among users of telecommunications products. There are various brands of this phones that cuts across various price levels. The screens of smart phones have become bigger and bigger in the last several years since a lot of media applications are now accessed on those phones. It seems there is still some kind of market for small phones as some startups have been churning thump-sized smart phones.
Jelly is now regarded as the smallest of the lot. The tiny phone which has 4G capabilities has just a 2.45 inch display, and it is about 3.6 inches tall and about 1.7 inches wide. It runs on Android Nougat operating system. The precursor to the Jelly is the Posh Micro which was launched almost 5 years ago. Jelly which is still in the development phase is expected to cost on $59.
Unihertz Jelly Pro is another 4G capable phone. It claims to be the world’s smallest smartphone currently in the market. The phone measures 3.6 by 1.7 by 0.5. It is made of plastic with a silvery lining. It is actually a dual SIM phone with a micro SD card slot. There is a single speaker on the back.
A lot of those who use these phones buy them as their secondary phones. So, if you want to avoid the burden of some of these large phones sometime, and do not mind the tiny screens, the phone is for you, even if it is as a secondary phone.
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