Tech Update: Self-driving cars, the new Huawei P7 and free Wi-Fi

So this is what's been going on in tech headlines lately: self-driving cars, the new Huawei smartphone and free Wi-Fi for sunny SA.

The Google-mobile

We probably won’t be seeing this in SA soon, but it’s still cool…driving-your-car-watching-a-movie-eating-a-sammich cool! Google is optimistic about the future of fully autonomous vehicles; they are building prototypes without any partnerships with car manufacturers yet. Google’s ambition to make waves in the automotive market seems to unsettle car manufacturers who are keeping a close eye on the company to figure out its next move. These companies are not sure if Google is their friend or their enemy, but they suspect that whatever Google's going to do is going to cause an upheaval and turn into a very serious competitive threat to business.

Google's latest prototype features two people sitting side by side in a tiny pod-shaped car, which has a flexible windshield for safety and is topped by a spinning cone that helps navigation. A little Noddy-like…but hey, have you built a self-driving car?!

New Huawei P7

Huawei is going all Mythbusters on the perception that it builds el cheapo smartphones with the launch of the new P7 in South Africa, and we like it!

Specs:
The smartphone has a 12.7cm display protected by Gorilla Glass and is powered by a HiSilicon Kirin 910T 1.8GHz quad core processor mated to 2GB of RAM. It is powered by Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat and weighs 124g.

They improved the camera and the P7 features a 13 megapixel main camera, equipped with Sony's 4th generation BSI sensor. It (un)fortunately also features an 8MP front-facing camera - good news for the selfie-queens…the rest of us simply don’t give a damn.

Nice piece of tech nonetheless…

Free Wi-Fi for Mzansi

Consumers are demanding and expecting free public Wi-Fi access – big surprise there!

In addition to taxi’s now getting Wi-Fi, some municipalities and companies are swiftly moving to meet the data demand. Pretoria…sorry uhm…Tshwane has successfully been providing free Wi-Fi for citizens. We hear this is a real milestone for an African city.

Not wanting to be left out of the spotlight, Helen Zille promised that the Western Cape would see universal internet coverage after signing a deal with Neotel who will be (generously) funding the infrastructure roll-out of 384 Wi-Fi hotspots, using Western Cape Government buildings. WC government will be subsidising the free portion of citizens' internet access.

ALSO not wanting to feel left out, the honourable Jacob Zuma boldly stated that internet infrastructure was a national priority and that they will modernise, expand and increase the affordability of ICT, including broadband and digital broadcasting, in the country. We say the proof is in the pudding JZ! Our smartphones are digesting data faster than our bodies do a day-old special sandwich. Bring down our data costs so we can afford to eat proper food!

There you have it: no real world-changing stuff, except the cool self-driving car that would probably fall right though a wild South African pothole all the way to China. Hear that Mr President? After giving us cheaper internet, fix the potholes!

Until next time, Go well, Vaarwel, Hlala kakuhle!

Written by: Christine Kleyn
Copywriter at The Computer Guyz Cape Town and Centurion