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Truecaller has announced plans to set up headquarters in Nairobi,Kenya and has appointed Zakaria Hersi as Director of Partnerships for Africa. In his position, Zakaria will be spearheading Truecaller’s expansion in the region and forging partnerships with various eco-system players. The Truecaller app allows people to see who is calling and filter out spam calls and SMSes and has more than 50 million users in Africa. The company also revealed that it has more than 6 million users in Kenya alone, where the user base has grown over 35 percent over the past year. The Truecaller app is identifying more than half a billion calls monthly, blocking and filtering out more than 4.4 million, including 14 million spam SMSes, 50 percent of these SMSes being reported as spam. “Over the years, Kenya has consistently been a top market for us, with some of our highest usage globally, which is why it made sense for us to set up headquarters in Nairobi. With this positive momentum of growth, we...

Samsung announced the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+, the latest entries in its flagship line of smartphones, at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress — but benchmark results are awkwardly showing the devices scoring significantly lower than many of their competitors. Benchmarks are synthetic tests that give numeric, quantifiable results. They are generally applications programmed to make the devices' systems-on-a-chip (SoC) run a series of tasks and determine how long it takes them to complete. AnandTech is a site that specialises in running rigorous tests like these, and its early findings on Samsung's latest devices are curious to say the least— particularly compared to the latest iPhones, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 — which will power most of the Android flagships this year — and even Samsung's own Galaxy S8 from last year. In a number of tests — such as web browsing, writing, data manipulation, and photo editing — the Galaxy S9's Exynos 9810 consistently deliv...

Dialog Missed Call Top Up enables customers to instantly top-up Rs 100/= to their prepaid or postpaid mobile account using Sampath Bank account. Any Dialog customer who is having a Sampath Bank account and registered with SMS Banking Service will be automatically qualified to use the Dialog Missed Call Top-Up service. All customers have to do is dial 458. Once done the call will be automatically dropped and the funds will be transferred instantly. Customers will be able to transfer up to Rs. 500/= from their Sampath Bank account to the Dialog number using this service on a daily basis.

Mobitel & Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure partners with Ericsson for the first 5G Island of Innovation in South Asia Ericsson in collaboration with Mobitel and the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure has formally signed the 5G Island of Innovation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 10th March 2017, representing a landmark strategic ICT partnership that aims to bring 5G Internet of Things (IoT) innovation and entrepreneurship to Sri Lanka for the first time in South Asia. Mobitel was also the pioneer in South Asia to launch a Super 3.5G network, to successfully demonstrate HSPA + MIMO technology and successfully trial 4G-LTE and 4.5G-LTE Advanced Pro technology.    The 5G Island of Innovation environment will further advance the nation’s ICT skills and capabilities, supporting the ambition to transform Sri Lanka into a digital and knowledge based society, driving new and increased emplo...

Now, you can register to BLOCK promotional Calls and SMS from your mobile service. To Fully Block ALL PROMOTIONAL Alerts (SMS and OBD) OPTION 1 : Type PROMO OFF and SMS to 678 OPTION 2 : Call our 24 HOUR Hotline at 1777 and speak to our contact center agent For this fully blocked category, customer will NOT receive any promotional calls or SMS to the mobile number registered for this service. To Block ONLY Promotional Calls OPTION 1 : Call our 24 HOUR Hotline at 1777 & speak to our contact center agent OPTION 2 : During an automated voice call, PRESS 9 at the end of the call to STOP receiving promotional calls in future For this block only promotional call category, customer NOT receive any promotional calls to the mobile number registered for this service but will continue to receive SMS.

PT XL Axiata, the Indonesian wireless carrier, fell to the lowest in nearly a year after people with knowledge of the matter said its Malaysian parent company is planning to sell part of its stake. Shares of XL Axiata dropped as much as 4.9 percent Tuesday and were down 3.4 percent to 2,560 rupiah at 12:29 a.m. in Jakarta, headed for their lowest close since October 2015. The benchmark Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 1.6 percent. Axiata Group Bhd., Malaysia’s biggest mobile-phone operator, is seeking to trim stakes in some of its overseas operations in deals that could raise as much as $700 million, people familiar with the matter said. Axiata, based in Kuala Lumpur, is seeking a buyer for about 11 percent of Indonesian unit XL Axiata, according to the people. It is also selling as much as 30 percent each of listed Sri Lanka unit Dialog Axiata Plc and closely held Cambodian subsidiary Smart Axiata Co., the people said, asking not to be identified because th...

Though the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) was first to introduce PayPal to Sri Lanka through the Sampath Bank, it is revealed that three other banks too have been now earmarked by the CBSL. A senior official from the CBSL told AdaderanaBiz, “We were to first introduce PayPal through the Sampath Bank. However, we now plan to introduce this service to the country through four banks. We also plan to gradually involve the rest of the banks in the country.” While the CBSL is discussing with the PayPal branch in India to introduce the service to Sri Lanka, PayPal’s Indian arm has reportedly requested a report on Sri Lanka’s exports. The senior CBSL official told AdaderanaBiz that they would be submitting such a report and hence the introduction of PayPal to Sri Lanka would face a slight delay. Though cash cannot be remitted to Sri Lanka through the world renowned PayPal money transfer service sending money from Sri Lanka is possible even now.

The federal court in Virginia where the Justice Department has decided to charge Edward Snowden with leaking secrets about U.S. surveillance programs has a long track record of hearing cases related not only to national security cases but also to cyber crime. The United States filed a criminal complaint including charges under a U.S. espionage law against Snowden, a former U.S. National Security Agency contractor, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The charges are the government's first step in an effort to arrest and extradite Snowden from Hong Kong, where he is in hiding, to try him in the United States. Snowden has acknowledged leaking secrets about classified U.S. surveillance programs to the Washington Post and Britain's Guardian newspaper. On Saturday, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said Snowden had divulged information to the newspaper showing how computers in Hong Kong and China had been targeted. On Friday, the Guardian ...

JK Shin, President and Head of IT and Mobile Communications for Samsung Electronics,  presents the new Samsung Galaxy S 4 during the Samsung Unpacked event at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday,  March 14, 2013 in New York.  (AP Photo) Samsung’s first iPhone-beating smartphone will be replaced with a model that tracks your eyes and fingertips, lets you control it with the wave of a hand, reports on your exercise, and uses eight computing brains for a speed boost. The South Korean company revealed its highly anticipated Galaxy S IV in one of the world’s biggest phone launches this morning in New York, broadcasting its unveiling to Times Square and hundreds gathered at Radio City Music Hall. More than 300,000 people tuned in to watch the live stream on YouTube. The handset, which looks similar to the Galaxy S III it replaces, also features a larger and significantly crisper 5-inch screen, a slimmer body and a larger battery, and sources say it will be available in Austral...

The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Response Team (SLCERT) today said it has received information regarding pyramid schemes now being carried out using the internet. Several individual in the country are already involved in the schemes, which have been banned by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Information Security Engineer at SLCERT, Roshan Chandragupta said. He stated that they have been informed regarding two websites which are being used for these pyramid schemes and that investigations have been launched.

Engineers at Motorola Mobility are hard at work on a sophisticated handset—known internally as the “X phone”—but the Google Inc. unit is running into some obstacles in its effort to provide more potent competition for Apple Inc., said people familiar with the matter. Seven months after being acquired by Google for $12.5 billion, Motorola is designing its marquee handset with cutting-edge features to stand apart from existing phones when it is released next year, these people said. But while Google is known for swift execution on the Web, its new hardware unit has run into hurdles associated with manufacturing and supply-chain management that have caused the company to rethink some initial plans for the X phone, such as using a bendable screen, these people added. The previously undisclosed development effort is a key facet of Google’s strategy for boosting the minuscule market position of the cellphone pioneer, based partly on bolstering quality while reducing the quantity of M...

For the first time in Sri Lanka, the National Mobile Service Provider – Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, launched a Mobile 4G/LTE network to provide enhanced services to the public.  Mobitel’s latest addition to the technology portfolio is the natural successor of the telecommunication evolution of the world. With the latest addition, Mobitel will be one of the most decorated and equipped operators in the world in the technology front which includes FD LTE, HSPA+ DC, HSPA, UMTS and 2G services. This will enable Mobitel to provide an enhanced and diversified service to its customer base. Mobitel carried out a successful trial of 4G/LTE with a downlink speed exceeding 96Mbps for the first time in the South Asian Region in May 2011. Mobitel established its dominance of the mobile technology industry by being one of the first ten mobile service providers in the world to launch a 3.5G HSPA network in 2007. Mobitel was also the first company with a Super 3.5G network in South Asia. ...

Sri Lanka’s first Communications Satellite SupremeSAT – 1 was launched today (November 27) on board China’s Long March 3B/E Launch Vehicle from the Xi-chang Satellite Launch Centre.  SupremeSAT – 1 was launched successfully at 15:43hrs (Sri Lankan time) from the Space Center in China, Vijith Peiris Group CEO of SupremeSAT said. “This is a proud moment for us as citizens of Sri Lanka,” he told Ada Derana. Sri Lanka becomes the 45th country to own a Communication Satellite and becomes the third South Asian country to have launched a satellite after India and Pakistan. The Satellite will be positioned above Sri Lanka in the Geo-Stationary orbit at 87.5 degree east approximately 36000 km above the surface of the earth. Built by Thales Alenia Space of France, SupremeSAT – I will operational for commercial purposes and has a design life of 15 years. Its design is based on SB 4000 series satellite bus which comes under the medium class telecommunications satellite category with its lau...

Sri Lanka’s maiden satellite launch has been delayed by five days due to technical difficulties and weather conditions, Space Systems Engineer Rohitha Rajapaksa stated. The Supremesat’s engineers are working with the Chinese engineering team to fix these issues at the moment while he stated that a new launch time will be announced by tomorrow (November 23). Sri Lanka’s maiden satellite was scheduled to be launched today (November 22).

European Union regulators are to end an antitrust probe into e-book prices by accepting an offer by Apple and four publishers to ease price restrictions on Amazon, two sources said on Tuesday. That decision would hand online retailer Amazon a victory in its attempt to sell e-books cheaper than rivals in the fast-growing market publishers hope will boost revenue and increase customer numbers. "Faced with years of court battles and uncertainty I can understand why some of these guys decided to fold their cards and take the whipping," said Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, an ebook publisher and distributor that works with Apple. "It's certainly another win for Amazon," he added. "I have not seen the terms of the final settlement, but my initial reaction is that it places restrictions on what publishers can do, slowing them down just when they need to be more nimble." A spokesman at the EU Commission said its investigation was not yet fi...

Google Inc. said there are about 700,000 applications available for downloading onto mobile devices that run the Android operating system, challenging Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s lead in the race for software tools. That means Google has matched Apple in the number of games, productivity tools and other programs that are usable on handheld electronics, including tablets and smartphones. Apple said last week that its App Store has more than 700,000 apps. By luring software developers to its Android platform, Google is attempting to eliminate a key selling point Apple has used for the iPhone and iPad. Applications have become a battleground as the two companies look for an edge in the $219.1 billion smartphone market, akin to how Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) dominated the personal-computer business by getting other companies to write programs for its Windows operating system. The rivalry extends beyond smartphones. Google today unveiled a tablet with a 10-inch screen and costing $399 ...

Microsoft Corp put its Surface tablet center stage at its Windows 8 launch event, hoping the sleek new device will spark a fightback against Apple Inc and Google Inc in the exploding mobile computing market. With interest in traditional computers waning, the world's largest software company is attempting to reinvent the Windows PC in a new format and directly challenge Apple's all-conquering iPad. "One person called it historic, unique," said Steven Sinofsky, head of Microsoft's Windows unit and the driving force behind Windows 8, who opened the launch event in New York in front about 1,000 media and PC industry partners. "It's twice the amount of storage as a competing tablet for the same price," Sinofsky said, comparing the entry level 32 GB Surface with the cheapest 16 GB model of Apple's latest full-sized iPad, which both cost $499. Sinofsky and his team showed off a range of devices running Windows 8 from PC makers such as Lenov...

China's top telecoms gear makers should be shut out of the U.S. market as potential Chinese state influence on them poses a security threat, the U.S. House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee said in a draft of a report to be released on Monday. U.S. intelligence must stay focused on efforts by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp to expand in the United States, and tell the private sector as much as possible about the purported espionage threat, the panel leaders said, based on their 11-month investigation of the two firms. Employee-owned and unlisted Huawei is the world's second-biggest maker of routers, switches and telecoms equipment by revenue after Sweden's Ericsson. ZTE ranks fifth. In the global mobile phone sector, ZTE is fourth and Huawei sixth. Huawei generated around 4 percent of its group sales from the United States, while ZTE's U.S. revenues made up 2-3 percent of its overall figure. The bulk of both companies' U.S. sales come...

Tim Cook is no Steve Jobs when it comes to leading Apple Inc. As the debut of the new iPhone 5 just proved, that may not be a bad thing. The taller, thinner and lighter phone prompted a rush on Wall Street to raise price targets for Apple stock, but the optimism was not because of a big technological advance or design breakthrough; the "wow" factor that was the trademark of the late Apple co-founder Jobs was decidedly absent. Rather, it was the speed of the global launch that astounded, validating the new CEO's much-touted wizardry at the essential but unglamorous task of managing a supply chain. "We are positively surprised regarding the pace of the rollout, since we had expected a bigger impact from component constraints," Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes said. By next Friday, the iPhone 5 will be in 31 countries, and will be in 100 by the end of the calendar year. That would be 30 more than the rollout of the predecessor phone, the 4S, over a similar...

Microsoft Corp. announced the winners of the 10th annual  Imagine Cup , the world’s premier student technology competition, honoring student technology innovations that address the world’s toughest problems. The winning Software Design project developed by Ukrainian Team quadSquad allows deaf individuals to communicate verbally using custom-designed sensory gloves and a smartphone application to translate sign language gestures into speech. Games focused on the environment from Thailand team TANG Thai and math education from U.S. team Drexel Dragons won the two Game Design competitions. The Imagine Cup 2012 competition winners were announced tonight at the Imagine Cup World Festival and Awards Ceremony at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, in front of 106 student teams. The event was the culmination of a five-day celebration of technology, teamwork and innovation. More than 350 students from 75 countries traveled to Sydney after competing in local and online events...