@SonyXperiaZA and @TelkomZA Team Up With #Music Artist #Onesimus #Singer

Hi Friends,

Sony Mobile Communications and Telkom are thrilled to announce an exclusive partnership between the two telecom giants and African music artist, Onesimus with the launch of the new Xperia XA2 Ultra Dual Sim smartphone, the ultimate dual selfie camera smartphone with an impressive 6” display made for big-screen entertainment.

This exciting partnership kicks off with an exciting deal where fans will receive three Onesimus soundtracks when upgrading or purchasing to the Xperia XA2 Ultra Dual Sim, the tracks ‘I Need You’, ‘Freedom’ and ‘Tchuku Tchuku’ will be available for download through Xperia Lounge.

The African celebrated music artist Onesimus, Sony Mobile and Telkom are all entering this journey with a clear goal in mind: To give Xperia XA2 Ultra Dual Sim owners an exclusive offering where technology meets music. This partnership further entrenches Sony Mobile’s focus on being able to offer local fans exclusive content via their smartphones.

“Music is a part of Sony Mobile’s heritage so being able to collaborate with Onesimus stands testament to our key values and focus, we couldn’t be more delighted to work in partnership with Telkom and support local artists, says Christian Haghofer, Sony Mobile Communications, Country Manager, South Africa.

“Smartphones have made the world smaller for us all, but as an artist, its also made the distance between myself and my fans even smaller. I use my smartphone to communicate with my fans and keep them up to date with everything I am working on which is why this partnership is so special to me,” says Onesimus

“Telkom is putting consumers first with innovative packages at reduced prices. In December, we gave South Africa the “12 Days of Christmas” song collaboration between Goodluck and BlackMotion, and our LIT service gives our customers unlimited music streaming. We’re very happy to be partnering with Onesimus and Sony Mobile to offer even more exclusive music content,” said Telkom’s Managing executive for Sales and Distribution, Megan Nicholas.

Engineered specifically for selfies, the Xperia XA2 Ultra Dual Sim features a 16MP with Optical Stabilisation and 8MP 120° super wide-angle dual front camera, both with front flash, producing clear shots regardless of the lighting or environment and for fitting more friends and surroundings into selfies.

With each purchase of the Xperia XA2 Ultra Dual Sim from Telkom from R339.00 per month for 24 months, consumers will receive three songs from Onesimus as well as a free “Made for Xperia” cover, 100 All-Net minutes per month for 24 months and 10GB per month for three months.

To follow all updates keep an eye out on Sony Mobile’s Facebook page and Twitter page

Cheers!!!

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Digital Money Set to Disrupt The Banking Industry @HoganLovellsSA #eNotes

Hi Friends

Natoshi Nakamoto – the creator of bitcoin – had a vision for the new age of commerce and that vision is being realized at a rapid pace as with all financial services, people all around the world desire financial platforms that are convenient, safe, reliable and trustworthy. Cryptocurrency has been established to be detached from regulatory intervention, but it still does not satisfy those four requirements given its volatility in value. Digital money, on the other hand, has given this cushion of surety for its users. Uruguay, as an example, is at the forefront of integrating digital money into its payment systems.

What is the difference between cryptocurrency and digital money? Well, the simple answer is that digital money is regulated by a country's Central Bank and is formally accepted as legal tender, whereas cryptocurrency is decentralized and is not formally accepted as legal tender, making it optional for people to accept it. This means that a creditor is not under any obligation to accept a bitcoin tender as means to settle a debt.

Digital currency is a centralized solution that generates digital money that can be exchanged between users that own digital wallets. Quite simply instead of physical money and a physical wallet, users now have a digital form. The main attribute of digital money is that it will be pegged against the value of the currency of the country in which it is being utilized. Cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin, creates a separate commodity with its own value, which is influenced by a volatile means of economic principles such as supply and demand.

The technology that will support digital currency is through a system that generates "eNotes" for the Central Bank. The Central Bank will at all times have monitoring power over the circulation of the "eNotes". In addition, the Central Bank will also be in a position to adjust the volume of legal tender in circulation. Given this transparency, the use of digital legal tender will also help to provide an effective deterrence to illicit and fraudulent transactions. The reason for this is that electronically the Central Bank will be able to track at any time the flow of the "eNotes".

eNotes can be stored with commercial banks or Fintech companies that will account for eNotes transactions. eNotes will not be directly stored on mobile devices and thus presents the advantage that the end-user may always have a sense of security that should his mobile device be stolen or damaged, the digital wallet and the eNotes will not be stolen.

Digital currency would also be able to be used for both points of sale payments and remote payments. Digital money can also be interchanged with physical notes at ATMs or at a point of sale.

Digital money also has benefits for the state. The costs associated with printing money for the state will be significantly lowered than the costs involved in managing digital money.

The traditional form of legal tender in circulation means that retail banks are advanced funds from the Reserve Bank at a particular interest value. Retail banks then distribute the funds to the public through various payment systems that are responsible for clearing and settling payments. The retail banks then place their interest margin on the legal tender that is used by the public.

The digital currency system intends to reduce the burden of additional interest costs. eNotes can be directly provided to the public.

Where eNotes may be a disrupter for the banking industry, they pose an opportunity for the insurance industry, as an example. National Treasury, for instance, has prioritized a mass-based and sustainable transformation that will direct the financial sector work and generate wealth for all South Africans.

Access to financial services is a key driver towards achieving economic and social transformation. eNotes would enable all South Africans to save, borrow, insure and transact.

There is no requirement to have a bank account, but merely a phone that enables an eWallet. Now insurance premiums can be paid via the use of an eWallet unlocking the insurance industry to more South Africans.

 

Written By Christine Rodrigues, partner, and Craig de Bruyn, candidate attorney, at Hogan Lovells (South Africa)

 

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@SteersSA Fires Up For #WorldEpilepsyDay Awareness Walk #25Mar #PurpleDay2018 #MushroomPark

Hi Friends,

World Purple Day is an emerging global movement that seeks to create awareness for a serious neurological condition called Epilepsy that affects 50 million people globally. This movement was started by Cassidy Megan from Canada who also lives with this disorder and felt a strong need to communicate its importance on a global scale by encouraging people, brands, and businesses to come together and teach each other about epilepsy. Steers has taken the initiative to be one of the only few brands in South Africa to make a fitting contribution, a day before the official day of global awareness, by being involved in a walk that will take place at Mushroom Park in Sandton on Sunday the 25th of March, from 9:30am to 12:30pm.

Attendees of the walk will be permitted free entrance to the walk with the only condition to ensure that each walker and spectator is to bring toiletries and other donations that will be donated to the selected NGO’s that deal directly with affected individuals of this condition around the country. “We are very excited to have been offered the opportunity to support a cause that needs tremendous amounts of attention as this is a serious condition that should not be neglected but effectively taken into consideration among the other occasions of awareness in South Africa and around the world,” states Marketing Executive for Steers Adolf Fourie.

The walkers are to expect a fun-filled day for the whole family where music, entertainment as well as informative demonstrations to treat unexpected cases of epilepsy will be provided. Steers has seen this as a wonderful opportunity to be one of the first and few brands nationally to be involved in an initiative that does not only have similarity in colour, but one that finds it imperative to address a need to find effective ways to support programmes that aim to uplift various communities and the individuals within them. The walk was developed to encourage South Africans to create a culture of acceptance and understanding for this critical brain condition that impacts over 500 000 individuals on average.

“We are so grateful for the support offered to us from a brand like Steers because of the fact they too are also taking the necessary steps to ensure that their customers who may be exposed to this condition ought to know that they are being cared for through their generous helping hand in this event. We hope that this will be a fruitful long-lasting relationship between us and Steers so as to continue to make this occasion of awareness bigger and bigger every year, and to really make the first event to be a meaningful contribution to the Epileptic community in our country,” says Tania van Heerden - Co-Founder for Epilepsy Purple Day South Africa and Linah More - Franchise Manager JHB North and East. Steers will go the extra mile to raise awareness through creating unique social media content posts that will encourage early detection, ways to handle traumatic encounters as well as demonstrate effective ways in which individuals can approach medical consultants who can assist patients who are scared to come forward for treatment.

South Africa is urged to support this cause by wearing a purple item of clothing on Monday the 26th of March in a bid to raise awareness for this condition as the rest of the globe will also raise awareness in a variety of interesting ways and activities.

Cheers!!!

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13 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #LuckyDays

Hi Friends, 

It always happens that you get what you don't expect or have already bought some time back. In my life that has happened a lot and many times, I have got the same kind of products which I already just bought myself. But anyways a prize is always great and is received with a lot of gratitude to the Universe and the Law of Attraction which I believe in fully. 

The first time the lady luck smiled at me for something I always wanted to achieve was in London when I won a Sony Handycam HDR-XR350 at a UEFA Champions League Hyde Park Showcase to the Finals at Wembley, London, UK in 2011. I totally loved the same as the same was imported from Germany to London along with UEFA team and I used it to capture a lot of birthday events of Keisha and many celebrations at home. The 7.1MP Handycam with 160GB was worth more than I could buy myself and at that time I only had Panasonic FZ5 digital camera. I am thinking of doing video blogs using the same once I sort out the battery issues in Sony Handycam. The Handycam is stored in a small bag from Timberland which my brother-in-law gifted me from Russia. I did buy an extra battery from the USA via my brother but that too is old now to perform at full capacity. Sony is still the main sponsor of the Champions League Trophy.

Similarly, when Google launched their Nexus 7 tablet and my parents visited USA, I specifically gave them my Credit Card to get me one 16GB edition but as the same was sold out, they bought me a 32GB one. I simply adored the Nexus 7 and still watched most of my content on the same. Within 15 days of I receiveing the same when my parents came back from States, I won an Apple iPad Mini 16GB in one of the contests for Hyundai Motors, India. I was so happy and immediately fall in love with the new device too.

After buying my own Nikon D7000 DSLR camera, I participated in Mission Samsung Blogger Challenge in 2014 and as a part of Community Challenge Winner - I received an awesome Samsung NX300 Mirrorless Camera. The camera is too good in low light and holds a 20MP lens. The photographs are so good that the Mercedes-Benz also appreciated my clicks and a lot of them are shared on my social media channels including Instagram. I used it at many places from portraits to events and all the images using the camera is awesome. I bought a Purple cover for the same from Game Store at the sale for ZAR 50 and it holds the camera safely. I am looking to buy another battery for the same along with a 45mm lens which will enhance this camera further. 

In the last few years, I am thinking that I have not applied the Law of Attraction fully into my day to day living as surprises are not coming to me in their full capacity or my demands from the Universe have increased a lot. It's not that the Universe can't fulfill them but firstly I need to be able to accept them and also totally deserve them. In my London Handycam experience, I spent the whole Saturday at the event participating in all their games and activations without eating food etc and again went back on Sunday morning to do the same but came back once I got a call from them to announce me as a winner and handing me the prize. I was so happy. 

Similarly, with Samsung Challenge - I knew when I wrote the article on a weekend afternoon with a cup of tea in my hands that it will definitely win and from that day onwards - I never left hope and one day I got the email that I have won the contest. I received the camera after a small hiccup with the PR company where they were sending me a Samsung point and shoot camera instead of the original prize which I pointed them from the initial terms and conditions of the contest. They were humble enough to correct the same and sent me my prize in 2-3 days. I could not use it immediately as there was no SD card in the camera package so had to wait till I reached home. That day I still remember I had to attend an event too before making my way to my house and there was no SD card with me during this whole time. Immediately, the next day I bought a series of SD cards as spares for all my cameras. 

Wating for the days where Universe says to me - Your Wish IS My Command! Till that time...Cheers!!!

12 Days                                                                                                                             14 Days

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14 Days To www.TheLifesWay.com 5th Birthday Celebrations #5YearsofTheLifesWay #27Dec2017 #Nokia #HTC #CameraSmartphone

Hi Friends,

--1400 POST--

My Journey with photography started way back when I was only 5-6 years old with Pentax film camera. Then it migrated to Kodak film camera and was limited as the film was costly to buy and process and 1 film only used to do 36 photos max. It was only with the invention of the digital camera, you could click thousands of images and print only the limited ones. And with the introduction of a camera in mobile phones, it further took turns as the prints were only limited and social media sharing took its place. 

My first smartphone camera was Nokia 7650 which my brother bought from Singapore and gifted me. It was an awesome phone and took good pictures. I used it for a while and it was stolen from my Jacket's pocket in my cousin's marriage ceremony. I really felt lost and bad as then I had to wait for more than a year or so before switching back to a camera phone. 

Second camera phone was Motorola ROKR E1 with which I took thousands of pictures using its 0.3MP camera and continued from Feb 2006 till the time I gave it for change of ear speaker and the guy took away certain parts and phone could not be repaired ever in 2007 as the chipset was burnt etc etc. The phone had amazing dancing lights on the sides and used to blink whenever you get a call. I got my job placement notification only from the lights as the phone was in silent mode and went to interview at 1030pm just because of Motorola Rokr E1 flashing lights. So grateful to Motorola for making this device and my brother for buying me this one from Singapore.

My biggest camera came when 3.2MP was launched by Nokia in N73 Music Edition smartphone which was gifted to me by my brother-in-law before my marriage in 2008. I really loved it and used it until 2010 when I migrated to the first android phone with full touch screen and keyboard in Google G1 made by HTC. There must be thousands of photographs I have taken using Nokia N73 as I passed the phone to my wife before going to London. Google G1 was the smartphone where I initiated my twitter handle @araijain long back when Twitter came into the picture and now today my tweet count on the channel has reached around 175k.

In London, I was using Google G1 and when I came back to India, my brother again gifter me Google Nexus One which I still have my backup phone for emails. It doesn't work that fast but it can receive calls and send SMS. This one worked till 2013 when it's power on-off button met its lifetime and I could not switch it ON which I took care using an app on android play store. I have won hundreds of Twitter contests on this smartphone and think of the quality of this smartphone -  the battery is still fine and phone still works great. What an amazing technology by HTC on Google Nexus One.

As I was planning to come to Johannesburg in 2013, I was in love with Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and HTC ONE M7 and I had a choice to buy either. I decided to go with HTC ONE M7 because of its Beats Audio setup and when I used my BOSE earphones on both of them, the difference was clear and I decided to go with HTC M7 and again thousands of my twitter, facebook photos are taken by this smartphone. The battery bloated within a year and I raised a complaint here in Johannesburg within repair center and they gave me a brand new HTC ONE M7 on the second day without any charges. I felt great with the services and fell in love with HTC all over again.

HTC South Africa came in contact with me via my blog and gifted me their review device HTC ONE M8 on my birthday on 22 July 2015 which is still my primary smartphone in 2018 but I am only using the same to do tweets and facebook etc and not to take photos as much as I used to do earlier as the smartphone has gone very very slow and 8GB-16GB smartphone are total waste in this new digital and online world.

So, in the end, my camera smartphone journey is totally based on Nokia and HTC smartphones till date and most of the photographs you see on my Instagram pages are using Review units if mentioned and if not mentioned then it will be using the Panasonic FZ5 or Nikon DSLR from my previous post and rest all are using HTC M7 and M8 smartphones. Looking forward to getting the best in the range smartphone now in 2018!

13 Days                                                                                                                             15 Days

Cheers!!!

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