The Infinix Smart 4 is an entry-level smartphone designed for subtle tasks. It features low-end hardware engulfed in a familiar chassis. In this article, we explore the Infinix Smart 4 specs and Price, which will help in making that purchase decision.
6.6-inch IPS LCD Display, 720 x 1600 pixels (266 ppi)
Android 9.0 Pie (Go edition)
1GB RAM
Octa-core Mediatek Helio A22 Processor
16GB Built-in Storage, up to 256GB Memory Card
8MP Rear Camera and 5MP Front Camera
4G LTE
Fingerprint Sensor (Rear-mounted)
4000mAh Non-Removable Li-Po Battery
The Design and Display
The Inifinix smart 4 features a design that seems to be coined out of some of the already Infinix phones. It is simple to design with basically nothing to trigger excitement.
The smartphone features a plastic build, with plastic covering the frame and the rear.
The Infinix Smart 4 ditches the faux glass back design the Infinix smart 3 had. It now features a gradient design on the rear, that comprises of dark and light color shades.
The rear is home to a single camera system, a camera flash, a capacitive fingerprint sensor, the Infinix logo, and also the Smart model logo.
Switch to the front of the Infinix Smart 4, you find a notched 6.6-inch IPS LCD display with a screen resolution of 720 x 1600 and a screen density of 266 ppi.
The mobile phone comes in a trio of options for colors, Midnight Black, Quetzal Cyan and Cosmic Purple.
The Cameras
The Infinix Smart 4 packs in a set of low-end cameras. Cameras that cannot be described as basic, due to the fact that they lack some of the features that have become essential in smartphone photography.
It features a single 8MP camera on the rear. This camera is supported by a dual-LED flash, lets you shoot photos in HDR and also shoots 720p and 1080p videos with frame rates maxed at 30fps.
The selfie camera on the Infinix Smart 4 is a 5MP camera. This camera is capable of taking photos and also 720p and 1080p videos at frame rates maxed at 30fps.
Hardware and Software
In this era where smartphone technology is constantly evolving, it is difficult to classify the hardware. There are a lot of mobile phones tagged low-end today, have capable specs that crush that of the Infinix Smart 4.
However, the smartphone can be best described as a smartphone designed for carrying out the least of all tasks. When I say least, I mean surfing the internet with a max of 3 tabs, using lite apps and playing extremely low-end games.
The Infinix Smart 4 features a quad-core Mediatek Helio A22 processor clocked at 2.0GHz and a PowerVR GE8320 GPU.
The Infinix Smart 4 features a 1GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, with up to 256GB for storage expansion via Micro-SD. It also houses a Non-removable 4000mAh battery.
On the software side, the Infinix Smart 4 runs Infinix’s interface on top of the Android 9 Pie (Go edition) operating system.
Having the Go edition of the Android 9 operating system means the phone comes packed with lite apps that do not require a lot of power.
Connectivity
The Infinix Smart 4 features a 3.5mm headphone jack, a micro-USB 2.0 port, Bluetooth 5.0.
Internet connectivity is capped at 4G LTE. There isn’t any 5G support here.
Infinix Smart 4 Price and Availability
The price of the Infinix Smart 4 is around 29,990 Naira, which is about $82.94.
It is currently available for purchase and can be purchased from retail stores, as well as e-commerce websites that ship to your region.
The OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren is a high-end smartphone designed with the collaboration of OnePlus and McLaren. It features a beautiful chassis, a 90Hz display, beastly specs, good battery, fast charge mechanism and lots more. Here we explore the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren specs and price.
OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Key Specs & Features
6.67-inch Fluid AMOLED Display, 1440 x 3120 (516 ppi)
Android 10, Oxygen 10.0
12GB RAM
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
256GB Built-in Storage
48MP + 8MP + 16MP Triple Rear Camera
16MP Front Camera
4G LTE
5G Network Support
Fingerprint sensor (under Display)
Fast Wireless Charging (Warp Charging)
Water and Dust Proof (IP68 certification)
4085 mAh Non-Removable Li-Po Battery
The Design and Display
The OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren features a Maclaren theme design, which is facilitated by the partnership between OnePlus and McLaren.
The smartphone features a combo of black and papaya orange. From middle to bottom, the edges of the rear covering are laced with orange lining. The camera rear camera setup also has these orange lines.
Still, on the McLaren theme, the Oneplus 7T Pro 5G McLaren, an observation of the area surrounding the camera module reveals a pattern that describes the furniture.
The build comprises Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear, an aluminum frame and Corning Gorilla Glass 6 protecting its display.
Speaking about display, the Oneplus 7T Pro 5G Maclaren features a 6.67-inch Fluid AMOLED display, with a resolution of 1440 x 3120 and a screen density of 516ppi. This display has a 90Hz refresh rate, which gives the user interface extra smoothness.
Beneath the display on the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G Maclaren, is an optical fingerprint sensor for security.
The Cameras
The cameras on the Oneplus 7T Pro 5G Maclaren is pretty much the same as what we have on the OnePlus 7T Pro. Its the same triple camera setup on the rear and the same sensor on the pop-up camera.
The triple rear camera system comprises of 48MP primary camera with an aperture of f/1.6, an 8MP telephoto camera with an aperture of f/2.4 and a 16MP ultrawide camera with an aperture of f/2.2.
The triple rear camera system lets you can take photos in HDR, Panorama, shoot 4k videos at 30 and 60fps, 1080p videos @ 30/60/240fps and 720p @960fps slow-mo, 60fps and 30fps.
The selfie camera on the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren is a 16MP camera with an aperture of f/2.4. This camera features Auto-HDR, gyro EIS and lets you shoot 1080p videos with frame rates capped at 30fps.
Hardware and Software
The Oneplus 7T Pro 5G McLaren has very similar hardware with the 7T Pro. The difference here is a bit subtle, which is due to the fact that the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren is a minor spec bump of the OnePlus 7T Pro
The smartphone features an Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ processor and an Adreno 640 GPU.
You also get a humongous 12GB RAM, 256GB of UFS 3.0 internal storage. However, there isn’t support for storage via MicroSD, as the phone doesn’t feature an SD card slot.
The OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren houses a Non-removable 4085 mAh Li-Po battery. It has support for 30W wrap fast charging.
For software, the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren runs Oxygen OS 10.0, on top of Android 10.
Connectivity
The OnePlus 7T Pro 5G Mclaren features a USB Type C (USB 3.1), a dual-band Wi-Fi system, Bluetooth 5.0 and Near field connection (NFC). You also get 4G and 5G connectivity.
Please note that there isn’t a 3.5mm headphone jack on OnePlus 7T Pro 5G Maclaren. For private listening of audio files, you will have to make use of USB Type C headphones or a wireless Bluetooth headphone.
OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Price and Availability
The OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren price is around $890, which is around 320,772 in Naira.
It is currently available for purchase and can be purchased from retail stores near you, as well as online retail stores that ship to your region.
OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Specs
Here are a few specs of the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a great tool for businesses to increase their website ranking in major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. With the rise of the digital age, businesses need to keep up with the demands of the growing, competitive market.
Lawyers should not overlook SEO, as it can be a strategy for law firms to boost their business profitability. Still not convinced?
Here’s a rundown on why SEO plays an important role in the success of every law firm.
It Improves Your Website Visibility
Studies have found that a whopping 96% of people look up for legal services online. Gone are the days when people browsed through yellow pages and classified ads to contact law firms.
However, how does SEO come into the picture in this regard? The higher your page ranking is, the easier people can find your law website.
It Increases Targeted Traffic
Before potential clients search for legal services online, they already know what they want. A strong SEO strategy will drive targeted traffic to your law website by providing on-site optimization and significant content.
If you want to boost the traffic of your website, but do not know how to go about it, the SEO packages here can be a good place to start. The best SEO packages for law websites are designed to consistently provide potential clients with relevant content.
It’s more efficient to invest in targeted traffic than generate untargeted traffic anyway. Keep in mind that effective SEO strategies are customized to meet the goals of your firm by meeting your clients’ specific needs.
It Builds Trust and Credibility
People will consult your legal services based on the trustworthiness of your law website. SEO helps establish your market position by building the online trust and credibility of your law firm.
When your law website is on top of the search results, it gives the impression that your law firm is reliable and genuine, thus, helping you gain more potential clients and cases.
It Helps You Gain a Competitive Edge
Online competition is fierce; your law firm needs to stay on top of the game. It has already been proven that potential clients will not bother to scroll through the next pages of search results.
When you type in “family lawyer” on Google, it brings up thousands of results across multiple pages from all over the world.
Regardless of the specialization of your law firm, SEO provides you with a market advantage over your competitors by being the number one law firm based on search results.
It Is Cost-Effective
In the long run, SEO is more cost-effective than traditional marketing. Print ads, television commercials, and other modes of traditional marketing are outdated and ineffective.
Apart from being more expensive, the reach of traditional marketing is too broad. SEO, on the other hand, is more specific and doesn’t require a lot of time and people to run a marketing campaign.
Once it’s set up, you’re good to go. You’ll only be spending your marketing budget on potential clients who are actively seeking your legal services.
It Provides Better Returns of Investment
SEO campaign results are quantifiable and trackable, thus allowing you to come up with the most effective campaign strategy. You’ll only invest in SEO strategies that are proven to work.
Law firm SEO is a reliable and profitable strategy that connects you with potential clients and cases. Unlike traditional marketing, with SEO, you can accurately track your returns of investment.
How many emails inquiring about rates and legal advice have you received? How many clients have booked your service through your website? How many people have visited your website? With SEO, you’ll be able to identify if there’s an increase in traffic, conversion, and ranking right away.
It Is a Long-Term Strategy
Traditional marketing provides short-term results. SEO, however, generates real and sustainable ones. The higher your page ranks, the more audience flock to your law website.
As your website traffic continues to increase, it’s more likely you will be able to close deals with potential clients. The more conversions you get from your website, the more positive reviews you may receive on websites like Yelp or Facebook.
The better reviews you get, the more people will visit your law website to inquire about your legal services. It’s a cycle that reaps growth and revenue for your law firm.
We live in an age where digital content is the most accessible and reliable source of information. Law firms have to keep up with the ever-changing market by integrating the best online marketing strategies.
SEO is still the most practical and effective way to be ahead of the competition. If done right, SEO can significantly help your law practice succeed.
In Nigeria, even the simplest things are made very cumbersome by our lack of project management skills for proper planning and seamless execution. This is the only way to make sense of the current MAP powered meter replacement exercise being conducted by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) and Kaduna Electric.
These two Nigerian electricity companies are currently doing or have announced what they called a meter replacement exercise, but which after a good analysis seems to me like a rogue operation.
Here is how there process work.
They claim your prepayment meter is obsolete and you need to apply for a new more advanced meter. That sounds good so far, but here is the catch, the new meter is not available (and there seem not to be any definite date for availability) and you have to surrender your ‘obsolete’ meter to the power company official before you can apply for the new meter. Oh and did I tell you that you have to fork out around 39,000 NGN for single phase and 72,000 NGN for triple phase (spread over two year under the Meter Asset Provider, MAP scheme).
What this means is that before you can apply for the new meter, your old prepayment meter will be confiscated, meanwhile there is no replacement meter, so the power company will then connect you directly to the grid (without a meter) and put you on estimated billing. Does this make any sense to you?
Why can’t one continue to use the older meter while they apply for the new meter and just do a simple meter swap when the meter is available? Apparently, EEDC and Kaduna Electric are allergic to doing things right.
What happens if you refuse to hand in your old meter? They refuse to connect you to power once your current credit is exhausted, so you have to stay in darkness or generate your own power.
This is why I call this entire exercise a rogue operation. EEDC and Kaduna Electric are using Mafia-style arm-twisting to force electricity consumers to comply.
EEDC Started It
In December, EEDC, unilaterally declared the meters of tens of thousands of electricity customers (over 40,000 customers according to the company’s estimate) in the South East obsolete abruptly without adequate notice, refusing to vend credit to the smart cards used to load credit to the existing smart meters which they are now demarketing as obsolete without making a new replacement meter available.
With no way to add new credit to their meters and with the new meter not available EEDC started connecting consumers whose credit have finished directly and announced they will start billing such electricity consumers with estimated billing.
According to EEDC, they will be using the average of the consumer’s last 3 months electricity consumption to estimate their monthly bills.
What is very curious is that EEDC is now insisting that before they connect a consumer directly (without metering) the consumer must give the ‘obsolete’ meter to them.
If you refuse to surrender your meter, they will refuse connecting you, which means that once your current energy credit is finished, you will have to be without electricity or generate your own like me.
They did not even stop there. They will not process your meter application if you do not first surrender your older meter.
For me, it makes absolutely no sense for EEDC to be insisting on decommissioning an ‘obsolete’ meter before the new one is available. It makes even less sense to insist on confiscating the ‘obsolete’ meters without having a replacement at hand.
Kaduna Electric Joins
While I was still trying to reach-out to electricity regulator in Nigeria NERC and the Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) about this issue.
Is @fccpcnigeria and @NERCNG aware that @enugudisco has gone rogue. First they unilaterally declared the meters of tens of thousands of electricity customers in the South East obsolete abruptly without prompt notice, refusing to vend credit to the smart cards used to load credit
Kaduna Electric announced this on their Twitter page in a press release they called Retrieval on Conlog Meters. Reading this it shows that they borrowed a lot from the playbook of EEDC.
With Nigeria being a country where people and institutions are very good at following bad examples, it is only a matter of time before more electricity distribution companies join the EEDC and Kaduna Electric.
This is why the electricity regulator (NERC) and perhaps the consumer protection council needs to step in before this process gets out of hand.
If not handle properly this senseless meter replacement exercise might end-up being the trigger that starts a revolution in Nigeria.
Questions that EEDC and Kaduna Electric needs to Answer
Here are a few questions that EEDC and Kaduna Electric has not been able to answer and must answer if the exercise will be better understood by electricity consumers.
What is the Real Reason for Abandoning the old Smart Meter?
According to EEDC the meters are obsolete. Kaduna Electric claims that the conlog meters have outlived their shelf-life of 10 years.
While I do not know much about the conlog meter, I cannot say much about it, so I will focus on EEDC ‘obsolete’ smart meter here. You can reach me on Twitter, to show me photos of the conlog meters that Kaduna Electric is currently decommissioning.
In the case of the EEDC, I do not think that their position is backed by fact. These meters use the same technology as ATM and PoS and can’t be obsolete at this time.
The only advantage that the new meters they are promoting have over the the one they are decommissioning is convenience, because of the ability to recharge remotely.
While you need to go to a physical location to load credit into the smart card for the older meter, the new one can be recharged via internet and payment apps.
However, since the consumer is king it is their choice to decide the level of convenience they want. If it is so obsolete why are they scrambling to confiscate it using Mafia-style arm-twisting on their customers?
My guess is that the software license of the older meters expired and they are unable or unwilling to renew the license. Another guess is that support for the software on the older meter has ended and they are unable or unwilling to pay for extended support. This is why an investigation is necessary.
I have also heard that they upgraded their billing system and the new system does not support the older meters.
However, who upgrades their billing system without thinking about legacy users? It is like Google releasing Android 11 and withdrawing support for Android 10 and below. As of today, Google still supports Android 8, which was released in 2017.
Why is EEDC and Kaduna Electric so Eager to Confiscate the Old Meter?
EEDC calls the meters obsolete and Kaduna Electric says they have outlived their shelf-life, yet both companies are insisting that customers surrender the meter before applying.
This is very suspicious.
Since obsolete means “no longer produced or used; out of date”. What are they doing with the meters and why can’t they wait until new meters are available?
This condition of confiscating the old meter even when the new meters are not available is causing a lot of apprehension for their customers.
The funny thing is that the new meter is not available. It makes no sense to tell someone to surrender their existing meter and then apply for a new meter that you do not know when it will be available. Why can’t I be using my current meter pending when the new meter is ready?
The funny thing is that the new meter is not available. It makes no sense to tell someone to surrender their existing meter and then apply for a new meter that you do not know when it will be available. Why can't I be using my current meter pending when the new meter is ready?
Most people in Nigeria understand the methodology that local 419ers use.
They advertise something grand like 500 million Naira (New Meter) in a warehouse. They rope you in by promising to give you 1% (5 million) of the 500 million (The meter is the holy grail of meters and MAP will make it easy to acquire).
But there is a catch.
You have to bring 100,000 Naira (surrender your old meter) so that they can settle the security personnel that will guard the money for the night because the guy with the key to the warehouse missed his flight and will be returning in morning. The offer is simple, help us with 100,000 Naira now and be rewarded with 5 million in the morning.
If you are stupid enough to fall for such con, when you get there in the morning, you will not see anybody. You will neither see 500 million (new meter) nor 5 million (promises) and worst of all you have just lost your 100,000 Naira (old meter).
In the minutes that follow, your brain will expand and you will come to the realization that you have been had.
So, ladies and gentlemen it is clear that the whole process looks like a 419 con. However, it does not look like just an ordinary 419 con, but a brutal con that uses Mafia-style to arm-twist customers into surrendering their old meter.
By refusing to sell energy credit to consumers with the older meter and insisting that such consumers must surrender their old meter before applying for the new one, EEDC and Kaduna Electric are using arm-twisting tactics to confiscate the older meters.
This is inhuman and these companies need to be sanctioned.
What Happens to the Old Meter After Confiscation
It is also important for EEDC and Kaduna Electric to come clean on what happens to the old meter after confiscation.
In the case of EEDC, I heard from multiple sources that these meters are being sold in a neighboring West African country. I have not gotten any update on the fate of meters confiscated by Kaduna Electric.
This needs to be further investigated, however given the eagerness with-which they are both scrambling for these meters, I will put my money that there is some financial incentive driving the confiscation.
What Needs to Happen
Having pointed some holes in the current process, I am now going to give a couple suggestion:
Put a Halt to it until New Meters are Available
The NERC should cancel the ongoing meter upgrade exercise by the EEDC and Kaduna Electric until the new meters are available for consumers to swap with their older meter.
Since, upgrade means “replacing something old with something newer and better”, what EEDC and Kaduna Electric is doing right now is a charade.
NERC and electricity distribution companies should come-up with a more seamless and customer-friendly protocol for meter replacement or upgrade as the current MAP-driven process is not working.
Whichever, protocol they adopt they must make sure that the requirement for a customer to surrender their old meter before applying for new meter is cancelled as it makes no sense.
A customer should be able to continue using the old meter while applying for the new one. Once the new meters are available, a direct meter swap should be done rather than the current indefinite estimated billing middle ground.
Third Parties should be Licensed to Support the Old Meters
If EEDC and Kaduna Electric are unwilling or unable to continue selling credit to consumers with the ‘obsolete’ meters they should license third parties to vend credit to such consumers pending when the new meters are available or when such customers decide to upgrade.
Since the customer is king, the decision to upgrade should be theirs, especially if they and not electricity distribution company will be paying for the meter.
The power company should not be forcing consumers to upgrade there equipment. It is their responsibility to continue to support such consumers until they are ready to upgrade.
For the avoidance of doubt here are the smart meters that EEDC is decommissioning. The meter comes in two units. The metering unit is should below. This is the main meter.
The second unit is the monitor unit. This is just like a card reader. You slot the smart card in it to load the energy credit you bought into your meter.
If you live in the jurisdiction of the Kaduna Electric, I will like to see photos of the conlog meters that the company is decommissioning so that I can share it here. You can reach me on Twitter.
Kaduna Electric distributes electricity to consumers in Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara, while EEDC distributes power to consumers in Enugu, Anambra, Abia, Imo, and Ebonyi.
I will stop here for now, but this will not be the last you will hearing about EEDC and Kaduna Electric from me.
The past few years have shown us, based on enterprise network security statistics and also information from SMEs, that everything we thought we knew about cybersecurity and the threat landscape is either no longer relevant or is changing so quickly that it can feel impossible to keep up.
This leaves CISOs with a lot on their plate in 2020, but at the same time, it can be exciting to meet these challenges head-on and see that increasingly cybersecurity is something that’s an organizational and cultural goal as well as being a technical objective.
The following are some things CISOs should be looking at and possibly prioritizing in this new year.
Identifying Challenges
A lot is coming your way as a CISO or CIO and you need to be able to clearly identify these issues so that you can come up with a plan to combat them.
Some of the biggest overall challenges are going to come from the fact that there is a growing maturity and complexity of technologies, including IoT and AI, as well as data and analytics.
CIOs are leading the charge as far as implementing these technologies but there is also a fear that the pace of change means there will be unidentified cybersecurity issues.
There are also more day-to-day issues to consider here, such as how to create value with digital opportunities and how to not only improve the customer experience through new technology but also the employee experience.
As there are more emerging technologies going mainstream, CISOs in 2020 should ensure they’re finding solutions aligning with the requirements of the business.
Improving Vendor Management
With the speed of digital transformation happening so quickly, there is a need for due diligence in terms of cybersecurity to keep pace.
This will require CISOs and others within the organization to look closely at vendors and how they work with and manage them. There will be more vendors that come into the equation as well because there will be a growing need to outsource.
Outsourcing has benefits, including cutting costs and solving certain capability issues, particularly with a limited amount of qualified and skilled cybersecurity talent available, but it can create challenges also.
There’s going to need to be a big focus on true partnership and really delving into what third-party vendors do and don’t do in terms of security.
Talent
It’s been touched on, but undoubtedly, one of the biggest issues facing organizations of all sizes in the coming years, particularly when it relates to cybersecurity, is access to skilled talent.
CISOs are going to need to be working toward building and cultivating an empowered workforce.
The focus, especially in the face of the interactions between humans and AI, should be talent with expertise in areas such as architecture, security, data, cloud, mobility, and AI.
Transformation for the Sake of Business Results
There is a tendency for people who are tech-centric to think about digital transformation as something in and of itself. They want to bring in the newest and most innovative technology, but they don’t do so within the framework of improving business results.
Digital transformation is a business issue, and anything done for its sake should ultimately be about delivering measurable business results.
CISOs, CSOs, and executives need to come together with their overarching goals and ensure they’re all aligning with one another.
Transformation isn’t an exclusively tech-based issue. When a CISO makes it a priority to align cybersecurity and the mission of the organization it helps them have a better understanding of the level of risk the business can tolerate.
Finally, CISOs always have to have an ear the ground as far as what attacks might look like. They continue to evolve, and things like phishing attacks are growing more sophisticated. Phishing attacks focus on the end-user, so CISOs need to find ways to work with other areas of the organization to deliver appropriate employee training and build a culture of security.
Protection as far as cybersecurity and CISO objectives need to include a comprehensive asset management program and monitoring for lateral movement. Investing in people is also a top priority and this is going to feel unique and potentially challenging for many CISOs.
2020 is shaping up to be an interesting year where both growing threats and technologies are converging and creating challenges. CISOs have to stop thinking of themselves as existing within a silo and instead take a more holistic look at their role within the organization.
OKash is the perfect platform for your quick loans. Do you wish to get a collateral free loan? Are you too lazy to get out of the house or just don’t fancy the stress of getting a loan from a bank?
The good news is OKash is available for us all. OKash is a product of OPay that is, Opera Pay and is a micro-lending platform that gives you access to quick collateral free loans.
OKash is available as a standalone app in some countries and in others is built into the OPay app.
How did OKash Start?
OKash is one of the subsidiary services that Opera Pay offers customers as part of its O universe. There are other services like OFood, OBus, ORide and so on.
OKash was first launched in Kenya in the year 2018 before it spread to Nigeria and other African countries.
In fact OKash is so popular in Kenya that Kenyan farmers in rural areas use it to get loans as well. OKash also run their services in India as well.
How to Apply for a OKash Loan
OKash have been hailed for the friendly user navigation that makes it so easy for a user to use the app, and this includes the quick loan app.
Applying for a loan from OKash is very simple.
1. Download OKash App: First thing you should do is, go to Google play store and download the OKash app (OKash is nolonger built into the OPay app in Nigeria). Since OKash used to be part of the OPay app, but it is now offered as a standalone app on Google Play Store.
So, just click on the install button for the OKash app in Play store and download. Once it is done installing, take this next step.
2. Open the App: Open the newly installed OKash app and sign up with your mobile or cell phone number.
3. Signup/Login to OKash: If you already have an OPay account, you do not need to signup. You can just login with your OPay login details.
4. Accept Terms and Conditions: Read the terms and conditions of the service and if you agree to it, click Continue button to accept the terms and conditions.
5. Confirm Acceptance with a Verification Code: Once you accept the terms and conditions a six digit verification code will be sent to you via SMS to your phone. You confirm your acceptance by entering the correct 6 digit number.
6. Create a PIN: Create a four digit PIN code. You enter the code twice to ensure you get it right.
7. Give Permissions to the Quick Loan App: Next, OKash will ask you to ALLOW your phone to give it location permission. Click on “Allow”.
8. Apply for the Loan: Because you are using the OKash service for the first time, there is a limited amount of loan you can take for first-time. Loan amount can be as low as 3,000 Naira to up to 30,000 Naira, while tenor of loan ranges from 61 days to 365 days.
Choose the loan amount that is most comfortable with you and your pocket and if you are sure you can pay it back.
Next is to choose the number of days within which you will pay back the loan. This is called repay term. The cost of your interest will depend on the repay term.
In practice, OKash seems to calculate the minimum loan you can take. For example, in my own case the minimum was 30,000 Naira, despite being a first time user.
Once you have settled on a loan amount and repayment tenor, OKash will automatically calculate the interest and total cost to show you how much you will pay back and a breakdown of how you are expected to pay back.
For example, in my on case, if I had borrowed 30,000 Naira on the 61 day tenor, I would be expected to pay back 25,674 Naira within the first 30 days and 7,080 Naira within the next 30 days to complete payment.
So, the total cost of the loan over the 61 day tenor is 2,754 Naira. This makes the effective interest rate 9.18%, although from the breakdown provided 924 Naira is the interest and 1,830 is the originating fee (whatever that means).
If I had gone for the 50,000 Naira on the same 61 day tenor, I would be required to pay back 42,790 Naira within the first 30 days and 11,800 within the next 30 days to complete your payment.
The total cost of loan here is 4,590 Naira, giving an effective interest rate of 9.18. So, it appears the interest is the same in both cases.
9. Give Reason for Wanting Loan: Next is, you will be asked of your reason for taking the loan. Select the purpose that most suits you.
10. Next step is to click the “apply for loan button”.
11. Then you will be asked of your address, location, calendar and other essential permissions. Give your permissions.
12. Click on “submit” for your loan to get approval.
13. Upload your ID photo or just take a selfie on your phone and upload it.
14. Click on the last “submit” button for your loan to be disbursed to your wallet. It is not an immediate process, so you will need to be patient.
OKash will send you an alert on your phone number informing you that your application is being reviewed. Once the loan is approved, the money will be paid to your OPay Wallet from which you can withdraw to your bank account.
How to Pay OKash Loan
Once, the due date for repayment is near, you will get a reminder message from OKash.
Other things to know about OKash Service
OKash has been lauded by users for their first system of loan approval, this is all due to a dedicated team of staff at OKash. Also, there is 24/7 support available for all customers.
Did you know that within the short period of 3 months, OKash was able to disburse loans worth over 250 million dollars to its users?
Reports have it that OKash lent over $250 million to users between July 20 2019 and September 2019 in three main countries including Nigeria Kenya and India.
The number of people who benefited from this loan galore numbered up to 5 million. This is an amazing feat for any micro lending company especially within such a short period of time. And this was achieved by OKash.
OKash is also in line with Google’s lending app policy and they use technology like credit scores to keep track of user insights, loans borrowed and other important metrics.
Opera company acquired OKash in December 2018 and has just expanded to Nigeria and India in 2019 very recently. It is only in Nigeria that OKash is still a subsidiary service of Opay. Outside Nigeria, that is in India and in Kenya, Okash is an app that stands on its own.
India is currently Okash’s biggest market of the three countries. It has expanded to with an average loan of $50, followed by Kenya of $40 average loan, then Nigeria.
OKash company has disclosed that they wish to extend their services to other countries but they are yet to give us a hint as to which countries specifically.
OKash’s aim is to allow for easy financial aid to people struggling in anyway financially and make it easy for them to apply for loans. And so far so good, they have been able to achieve this aim.
To be a part of this amazing micro lending experience, download the OKash app from play store and follow the instructions given in this article above to start borrowing. It is fast, easy and convenient. We hope we have given you a detailed overview of OKash.
Who doesn’t like food? Food businesses are never really bankrupt. Why? Because we all can’t do without them. The same thing goes for the OFood service. It is an online food delivery service.
You order food online using the OPay app from a restaurant near you and your order will be delivered to your doorsteps.
OFood (short for Opera Food or OPay Food) is a subsidiary service of the Opera pay (that is OPay) company that offers the service of food delivery to its customers. In this article, we will be giving you an overview of OFood, how you can have access to it, how it all started and other interesting facts you should know. Keep reading.
How did OFood start?
Ofood like we’ve mentioned before was introduced by Opay company. It is one of the earliest service that OPay launched. OFood was launched in Nigeria in August 2019 and it operates mainly in Lagos.
What really is OFood all about?
OFood allows you to order your favourite meals online right from your Android phone. It’s just like having all the restaurants’ cuisines at your finger tips and picking one out of the many favorites.
You can order Chinese, Fast Food, and Local Nigerian Foods.
The fun part is you get the food delivered to the doorstep of wherever you are, whether at work, at home, at an outing and so on.
How do you Start using OFood?
Ordering your own favourite meal and having it delivered is very easy to do. Follow the steps below to get started.
1. Download the OPay App: First and foremost, download the OPay app from Google Play store on your Android phone. Just type in OPay into the search box in Play store. Click on OPay to see the install button and click on install. After installation is complete, click on Open.
2. Signup for OPay: You will need to register as a new user on OPay. So go ahead, fill in your details and your phone number. You can have multiple accounts with them provided that you have different phone numbers that you will use to login and that you can remember your passwords. After you have registered, you will be directed to the OPay dashboard where you will see a number of icons. These icons will have different titles like OFood, ORide, OBus etc. The icons represent the many services that OPay offers its users. Look for the OFood icon and click on it. The OFood dashboard will then be displayed. If you cannot find OFood on your dashboard it means that the food delivery service is not available in your current location.
3. Check for Discounts: Once you are on the OFood dashboard, you will be able to see your profile. If you have an invitation code, use it. This is because you will get interesting discounts.
4. Choose a Restaurant to Order from: While on the OFood dashboard, pick a restaurant. You are supposed to pick a restaurant that is nearby to your location. Why? This is to aid faster delivery, making sure your food is still hot when it gets to your place, whether your house, office or anywhere you are ordering from.
Even if you don’t have an invitation code, OFood gives discounts generally to new users who are ordering for the first time. You get 500 Naira discount on foods you order for the first time, and that means you can order food for free on your first time because there are meals that cost not up to 500 Naira. And on subsequent orders, you get a discount of ₦200 per meal you order.
5. Choose the Delicacy you want: So, after selecting a nearby restaurant, pick the meal of your choice and place your order. You should make sure that the address you put in is clear enough and straight forward to prevent delays.
6. Pay for the Meal: You can pay for the food using your funds in your OPay wallet or you can pay on delivery.
7. Confirm Delivery: After the food has been delivered, you have to confirm the order on the OFood dashboard and you are done. Follow the steps above carefully and you will have your favourite meal delivered from OPay’s OFood in no time!
OPay have done a lot in terms of making themselves a darling to the Nigerian populace and we must confess that, they have been successful.
Over 300 restaurants in Lagos are listed on the OFood Service and they plan on extending their service to other states in Nigeria.
When picking a restaurant, the OFood interface shows you the number of kilometres that separates you and the chosen restaurant. It also shows you the expected time of delivery, estimating from the distance to be covered.
For every restaurant you select, there are a number of meals and prizes that are unique to them. You have to pick the one that is most favorable to you.
The average delivery time for a meal order is anticipated to be 30 minutes. When OFood first launched in August 2019, they started the promo of 10 Naira for a meal!
They ran these promos especially in tertiary institutions in Lagos State like yaba College of Technology and University of Lagos amongst others. As you would expect, lots of students took advantage of this amazing offer and ordered meals massively.
Although they have since stopped that promo, they still give customers huge discounts on their meal orders. The price range of meals you order from OFood range from ₦300 to ₦1500 Naira depending on the restaurant you’re ordering from, and the type of meal as well.
How to Add your Restaurant to OFood
Just visit the Opera Pay website and click on the signup button under the signup as a restaurant and see your sales increase call to action. Click here to visit Opera Pay website.
Complaints about OFood service
If you check the reviews on OFood by Nigerians, there are good reviews and there are also a number of complaints regarding their service.
A user complained that he had to wait for over 2 hours to get his delivery of semo and okra soup. He also complained that the delivery man walked on foot to meet him and didn’t have a bike and a delivery box. He thought that was rather unprofessional of them to do.
One other user complained that he was debited for a meal that never got delivered and the restaurant he ordered from, went ahead to “confirm order delivered” even when the meal was not/never delivered. Apparently, OPay did nothing to resolve the man’s complaint.
Some customers complained about bad customer service and support, poor taste of food and others. Regardless of all these, OFood still has a wide customer base of people who loyally patronize their service.
OFood delivery service is still very popular and has been at the forefront of food delivery service in Nigeria, Lagos especially.
Although OFood service is a brilliant initiative from the Opera company, there are still many improvements that need to be made on the service.
Connected car tech has taken another huge leap forward in 2020. With the influential tech conference CES coming up, Asia-based electronics manufacturer stunned audiences by using its press conference to debut an electric vehicle.
What was most interesting about the reveal, however, was the focus of the language – specifically, on the connected nature of the car. Going beyond the simple nature of being linked up to assistant apps, the plans in store for the next generation of connected vehicles will be truly transformative to congested and smoggy streets.
Simplifying repairs for all
Car breakdown led to The Guardian Nigeria recording the highest level of road traffic fatalities in cities in early 2018. A lack of knowledge, access to knowledge, the skills to carry out repairs and simple negligence led to this situation arising.
Smart technology will address this in its entirety. The information that most car owners require to make repairs on the road and prevent accidents is completely free and available on the internet; the integration of digital assistants into cars makes it that bit more available.
Next generation tech will be able to actively scan and diagnose car problems from the smart device, taking this capability to another level.
Removing the Risk
What if the risk of accident could be removed altogether? ZDNet have outlined the potential of LIDAR – laser directed radar – which can quite literally see around corners.
Equipping connected vehicles with this technology allows them to quietly communicate, minimizing the risk of collisions from unseen oncoming traffic and much more effectively managing the risk posed by the often chaotic traffic situation in cities like Lagos.
This, in turn, will keep the roads running in a far smoother fashion and reduce the chance of serious collisions causing a slowdown of the city’s congested networks.
Removing the Pollution
A complete removal of congestion will never be seen. However, what can be done is a movement towards vastly reducing the amount of pollution in the air. New smart tech will provide options here, too.
Nigeria has a huge potential for solar energy; statistics show that the likes of Lagos will experience, at minimum, 3.5 hours of sunshine every day. According to CNET, this can easily be harnessed through the roll-out of rooftop solar panels.
Harnessing the latest in portable solar technology, these panels will be able to directly feed into the car and power it. Using retrofit kits that are currently taking off in America, this will even provide conversion from older combustion engines to new, sleeker models of electric vehicles.
This will solve the pollution problem once and for all by removing the presence of pollutants from cars in the first place. Using big data, cars equipped with this kit can communicate to move into areas with the most effective levels of sunlight, and to provide boosts to flagging cars.
Nigeria has very congested cities. Connected vehicles are going to make up for this disparity. Through the use of incredible new tech, the likes of Lagos and Benin City may finally clear the skies and get the roads moving again.
Anyone can start trading currencies on the global market. In South Africa, they may be done with the help of Alpari mt4. The most popular platform for trades, it has gained worldwide recognition thanks to its wide functionality and ease of use. This guide will help you start.
The software allows users to test their skills using the risk-free demo mode. Alternatively, you can venture out into actual trading with a live account. Here is how both types should be set up.
When Demo Accounts Are Best
These are a must for finance rookies with little knowledge of stocks and exchange logic, as they entail no monetary risks.
This way, users from Nigeria may explore the platform’s functionality and get used to its many features without putting your money at stake. Importantly, the training conditions do not limit functionality in any way.
Overall, this mode is the best way to develop skills and a general understanding of the system. You may take your time and determine the best trading strategy that will bring you profit when you are ready. Here is how to open such an account.
Setup Procedure Made Simple
Usually, the system will suggest registering a demo account upon its first run. Otherwise, you may begin by heading to the “File” menu and clicking on the Open an Account” option.
Alternatively, follow the sequence “Navigator – Accounts”. Now, there will be several steps to take.
Step 1: Connection Parameters
First, select a server from the list. It is best to pick the one with the smallest ping. You can refresh the ping data by clicking “Scan”. If you need to add another server to the list, the “Add new server” option or the “Insert” key will allow you to do this. A server can be specified in different ways:
address: port (e.g., 192.178.0.100:445),
domain name: port (e.g., al.company.com:678).
Once the selection is complete, finalize the choice by pressing “Enter”. From the same window, you can also delete a server if necessary,
Step 2: Account Characteristics
Here, you need to choose between several options.
1. Existing trade account
You will be asked for the “Login” and “Password” you already have. Next, authorization via the chosen server will be performed upon pressing the “Done” button.
2. New demo account
The “Next” button will take you to the creation of a fresh risk-free demo account.
3. New real account
Here, you will have to enter personal details in order for the setup request to be sent. These include the following:
Full name;
Email address;
Phone number;
Account type (depending on the offerings of your broker);
Deposit amount (the minimum initial deposit is 10 units of the specified basic currency);
Basic currency (this is auto-determined based on the account type);
Leverage (the term denoting how much of the funds used for trading is owned by you and how much is borrowed).
Before you are able to proceed, you need to agree to subscribe to the company’s newsletters by checking the confirmation box. Following “Next”, you will see a window giving details of the account.
The “Login” field displays the number of your account, “Password” contains the combination for access, “Investor” contains the investor’s password.
The latter is used for a special no-trading mode that allows you to see account status and price dynamics only.
Real Accounts for Forex Trading
These are generated by your broker, such as Alpari, and you must be authorized to use one. In the ‘Open Account’ window, before you click the ‘Open a new account’ option, specify the following:
Type – Real;
Platform – MT4;
Micro or Standard;
Leverage;
Currency;
Date of birth;
Secret word;
Acknowledgement of having read and accepted the documents.
Done! You will now receive the credentials by email immediately. For information on further steps and trading strategies, contact your local Forex provider.
There are all kinds of kitchen remodelling designs available for you including even those that you may have seen on the internet in your research for kitchen design near me. If you are looking for elegant chic style designs and accessories related to your kitchen that make your usage experience full of excitement and joy.
With the kitchen designing and remodelling services of K&B Cabinets, your kitchen will no longer be the dull food preparing place but will be transformed into your fun zone where you will love doing all the kitchen chores.
There are numerous varieties of kitchen designs, both modern and contemporary, available to make your cooking place attractive and worthy of flaunting in many ways. The kitchen design and remodelling services of K&B Cabinets are now becoming the trademark of the modern households.
Whenever you are on a tight budget and want to find someplace for kitchen remodelling near me, then K &B Cabinets is the place to go. All our designs and remodelling plans are highly affordable and perfectly priced to give you more for less.
Thanks to the cheap kitchen remodelling services of K&B Cabinets, everyone can have the kitchen of their dreams irrespective of their income or economic status.
The creative designers at K&B Cabinets have a huge amount of experience that is required to deliver the sheer beauty to your kitchen while keeping the flexibility of working around the kitchen intact.
Whether you are looking for a simple yet unique kitchen design or a complex and flamboyant one, the experts at K&B Cabinets have various generous design options available for you.
All these reasons make K&B Cabinets one among the topmost companies in today’s kitchen design and remodeling industry.
You can choose from our best set of kitchen interior designs that range from corian countertops to lifeproof vinyl flooring and make a smart decision that suits your budget and wishes.
If you too want your kitchen to be designed or remodeled by professionals that have been giving people happy homes for decades, then you can contact K&B Cabinets at www.knbcabinet.com.
K&B will meet up with you and discuss every aspect of the work including your wishes, available space and budget and then carve out a plan to give you a kitchen that you will not only enjoy working in, but will be absolutely flabbergasted every-time you look at it. Get in touch right now!
IoT is an acronym for the Internet of Things. There are many overly technical or vague definitions for the term. Still, at its core, it is basically about leveraging the power of the internet to transform “things” and allow them to gather and send information without human interference. IoT steers the power of the internet away from just smartphones and computers.
The concept, when fully adopted, will allow technology to further make life more productive, safer and more comfortable for both individuals and businesses. This is because IoT provides more insight and control over everyday objects and domains that could not get connected to the internet before now.
As is the case with most disruptive concepts and technologies, there is a lot of misinformation around the topic of IoT. In this article, we will separate facts from fiction and help you to understand better how IoT can improve your everyday personal or business processes.
The Myths Clouding IoT
As the Internet of Things becomes commonplace, myths borne out of misconceptions and irrational enthusiasm and fears (in equal measure) have been on the rise.
It is not a fallacious imagination that a time is coming in the near future when separating what is true and what is made up about IoT will become a tasking undertaking. But before this gloomy outlook becomes reality, here’s a list of some myths that are already making rounds online.
IoT is about consumer devices only
Many people immediately think about sleep trackers, smart light bulbs and refrigerators that can restock themselves without human intervention when IoT is the topic of discussion. Although these are valid examples in the overall definition of IoT, the concept goes far beyond consumer devices.
Caterpillar uses IoT to notify their drivers about parts that need changing and also send basic instructions on how to effect changes via augmented reality.
The IoT-driven analytics generated allows the company to remain proactive across its land and sea operations, saving a lot of money in the process.
Rio Tinto’s autonomous trucks work in places where repairs after a breakdown are unrealistic. The company uses IoT sensors to keep tabs on the health of its trucks and nip problems in the bud before they translate to complete failure. This saves the company millions of dollars monthly in repair costs and downtimes avoided.
IoT is a Constant Security Risk
As is the case with all things connected to the internet, there is a security risk with IoT. However, companies that design IoT systems are continually testing new security standards and frameworks to improve the overall security of connected devices.
Governments are also chipping in to ensure that manufacturers are sticking to best practices in the design of IoT systems.
It is also important to note that some of the reactions that greet headlines related to IoT security (such as this and this) are usually overblown. They often ignore the fact that security in the online world is the collective responsibility of all the stakeholders involved, including the end-users.
The IoT Market is Binary
The usual one-size-fits-all approach in consumer manufacturing does not apply in IoT. The major IoT users often need bespoke solutions that solve a need.
Manufacturers, therefore, have to focus on one sub-market in many cases. The end users can also be safe in the knowledge that IoT allows targeted and practical solutions.
IoT Connects the Whole World
IoT devices can barely communicate between themselves now, so how will they connect the world? The ideal example of IoT is one where your smart-lights can communicate with your security system, which in turn talks to your gate while you can control everything on your smartphone.
Unfortunately, even with the recent strides in the industry, this still sounds like something you can only see in a sci-fi movie. The IoT world is still in the early stages of navigating the waters of scalability, bandwidth and interoperability.
IoT is all about the connected devices
The connected systems are only a part of the IoT structure. The data created by the connected “things” are the core of all IoT processes. Brands that understand how to interpret the data and apply the results to their business processes will stand out over the coming years.
IoT devices must be wirelessly connected
Generally, IoT devices have to be connected, but it is now possible to create wired IoT systems that are linked to the host through a range of technologies like USB and Ethernet.
Facts about IoT Today
It is not New
In 1982, students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rigged the Coke machine on campus to report the availability of cold drinks to a computer in a nearby office.
This is the first official use of IoT technology. However, ATMs that report cash levels to the bank have been around since 1974.
Companies are struggling to find IoT-related talent
The best IoT talents have a unique combination of software programming skills, data science capabilities and understanding of computer hardware. More than two-thirds of companies investing in IoT are not able to fill vacant positions for talents they need.
A Cisco report says around 80% of companies deploying IoT are worried that they do not have the right personnel to use the data generated correctly.
IoT beat people in connection to the internet over the last decade
Although IoT still feels like a strange concept to many, it has, for some time, been bigger than the web in general. According to Cisco, devices connected to the internet more than people in 2008. Now, more than 10 billion devices are connected to the internet.
Consumers do not have the largest share of the IoT market
Data from GrowthEnabler show that smart cities, industry and health care dominate the IoT market with 26%, 24% and 20% market shares respectively. This will come as a surprise to many that believe IoT is about, wearables, smart home appliances and other consumer-facing applications.
IoT devices that don’t need power are coming
One downside to IoT usage is that the devices often need electricity or battery replacements to continue generating data.
This will soon be a thing of the past as scientists are working on sensors that will not require wired electrical connection or batteries to function. The new sensors will be powered by sunlight, heat, vibrations or radio frequencies.
IoT predictions to watch in 2020
Analysts expect more than 21 billion devices to be connected to the internet by 2020
In 2015, there were 4.9 million IoT connected devices. However, by the end of 2016, the number grew to around 3.9 billion. This growth rate is expected to continue into 2020 with more than 21 billion devices connected by the end of the year.
The projected figures mean that by 2020, IoT will no longer be ignored by businesses, especially.
More Smart Cities will be developed
The use of IoT in the development and running of cities is expected to gain more traction in 2020. Cities will be smarter as the data gleaned from IoT usage can be used to improve the overall quality of life.
Residents will be able to save money, time and resources. IoT usage will also make it easier to keep a profile of residents and improve the management of crime.
Companies will have to invest in data processing solutions
The continued growth of IoT will further increase the volume of data churned out daily. The generated data will need to be processed and analyzed, forcing companies to invest in faster and cheaper solutions.
There will be an influx of investments
As more people, businesses and governments across the world wake up to the benefits of IoT, there will be an influx of capital into the industry. Analysts predict that by the end of 2020, IoT spending would have reached the $6 trillion mark.
Prospects of IoT – how promising is the future of IoZT?
The future of IoT is bright. We will see more individuals and businesses tapping into billions of connected devices to generate insights on everyday operations. It will become outlandish to run a business without access to real-time data from every facet of the organizational structure.
IoT will become as widespread as smartphones, but they will be far more invisible. The generated data and insights will run smoothly in the background without guzzling resources or requiring any human intervention.
A notification-based approach for IoT will become popular, eliminating the need for manual checks on literally anything. Instead of manually checking processes, the right people will be alerted at predetermined intervals.
Notifications and alerts can include valuable insights. Think about your car notifying you a week ahead of time that you need to replace your battery (and perhaps order it right away). What about a mechanical business system that can self-diagnose and recommend a course of action to prevent downtimes? Think about the staff-hours that can be saved!
IT professionals with the right combination of skills to work in the IoT niche will see a massive rise in demand for their services. The Cisco report that shows how 8 in 10 companies are worried about finding experts that can interpret data is only half of the equation.
Hardware and software design companies will need a wide range of professionals to cover talent gaps as they race towards meeting the unique demands of various IoT user groups.
The future of IoT is one that will help us to get closer to reaching our full potential as humans. We will be able to spend more time on the things that matter.
However, as we eliminate redundant jobs and save costs, it is important to reinvest in the support and training of the people most affected by these job losses. This will encourage more widespread IoT systems usage and avoid negative disruptions to the world economy.
Author Bio
Rithesh is co-founder of Aviv Digital, a digital marketing research and training centre in India
Annual online payment fraud is projected to amount to $48 billion by 2023. If you are an e-commerce business that accepts credit cards, then you need to have adequate security measures to protect your customers’ personal information.
In light of the rise of cybercrime incidences, you cannot afford to skimp on data security. Fortunately, PCI DSS is here to help you guard your clients’ credit card data.
What Is PCI DSS
PCI DSS is a set of requirements that are meant to secure cardholder information. They safeguard the interests of the customer, your e-commerce store, and the card brand.
Every entity that comes into contact with consumer credit card data is required to abide by these guidelines.
Before the PCI DSS requirements were created, five major companies that produce credit cards had formed their own independent programs to improve credit information security. The five were American Express, Mastercard, Discover, VISA, and JCB.
Since each company came up with different requirements, it became problematic for businesses to adhere to the different and incompatible standards. In 2004, the five companies joined forces and released the first universal payment card industry security standard, PCI DSS version 1.0.
Two years later, the five companies established a body called the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). This governing organization was tasked with maintaining, evolving, and promoting PCI standards to improve the security of cardholder data across the world.
Since then, the organization has released various PCI DSS versions. The latest is version 3.2.1, which was rolled out in 2018.
Who Should Comply
All e-commerce entities must follow the rules outlined by thePCI standards. Regardless of the size of your business or the number of transactions you conduct, you must comply as long as you handle credit card payments.
If you fail to abide by the standards and cardholder data is stolen from your online store or site, you risk monetary fines, bans on accepting card payments, legal liability for fraud charges, or mandatory forensic investigation.
PCI Compliance Checklist
If your business handles credit cards in any way, you need to perform a number of actions to make your e-commerce store compliant.
Whether you have limited or significant infrastructure, you have to implement the requirements across your business model.
There are 6 PCI DSS control objectives that are broken down into 12 requirements and hundreds of actions. Below is a checklist based on the 12 requirements.
Build and maintain a secure network. Make sure your e-commerce site has a reliable and updated firewall. Also, develop a firewall rule in your work environment that blocks everything and only allows what’s needed.
Change all vendor-supplied passwords and configurations from devices, computers, network equipment to applications. Make sure you maintain an inventory of all the system components.
Avoid storing cardholder data, and if your business model requires so, use secure encryption to protect it. Remember that storing a large amount of client information will turn you into a prime target for cybercriminals.
When transmitting credit card numbers, cardholder information, or passwords over public or private networks, always use a strong encryption tool.
Use reliable antivirus software on any device that is used to access or store cardholder data. Also, keep the software up to date and scan your computers frequently.
All systems that are used in the cardholder data environment should be continuously updated and patched. This includes operating systems, browsers, applications, and any other offline or online tools.
Employ an access control planto limit the number of people who can access cardholder information: the fewer the people, the better.
Any individual who has permission to access the data environment should be assigned a unique ID. You should also implement two-factor authentication for employees and business partners.
The physical card data environment should be out of bounds for everyone. Any drive that has sensitive information should be stored in a secure place.
Keep a close eye on the data environment by monitoring the activities of all the authorized individuals. Do this by reviewing the system event logs every day. This will help you identify a compromise of your web assets.
Frequently conduct tests on your processes, networks, and security systems to ensure they are watertight.
Develop, implement, and maintain a robust security policy. Educate and train your employees to ensure they understand and adhere to the policy. Make sure you have a response plan in place in case a breach occurs.
Bottom Line
Being PCI compliant doesn’t mean you are completely safe from data breaches. However, it dramatically minimizes the chances of suffering an attack and limits the damage if a breach occurs. Compliant businesses are a tough nut to crack for hackers.
Therefore you shouldn’t be left behind. By being PCI compliant, you are not only securing the future of your business but also building long-term trust with your customers.
The Gionee M11 is a new smartphone from the Chinese phone maker. The phone is proof that the company might be staging a come back in the global smartphone market. Earlier last year, the company went bankrupt due to unpaid debts and reportedly poor financial management. Gionee M11 is a new member of the Marathon Series known for great battery stamina.
This new phone is showing a new era of more devices from them. The Gionee M11 was announced alongside the Gionee M11S. Below is the Gionee M11 full specifications and the price.
Gionee M11 Key Specs & Features
6.217-inch IPS LCD Display, 1080 x 2340 pixels (267 ppi)
Android 9.0 Pie
2.0 GHz octa-core Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22
3GB RAM / 4GB RAM
32GB / 64GB inbuilt Storage expandable via SDcard
8 MP Front Camera
16 MP + 2 MP Dual Rear Camera
Fingerprint Scanner
4G LTE Network
4000 mAh Non-Removable Li-Po Battery
Design and Display
The Gionee M11 sport’s a nice and decent body design. Although it’s built with plastic, however, the smooth panel gives the phone a premium body feel.
It has body dimensions of 160.0 x 75.8 x 8.4 mm and weighs 175 grams. The handset was made available in two color options Dream Blue and Jade Green. Later on, the company also introduce a third color variant for the device which is Star Black.
The front of the Gionee M11 is made of glass and it features a 6.217-inch display. The screen has a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, a 19:9 ratio, and 267 PPI density. It also makes use of an IPS LCD technology and a 2.5D curved glass cover.
Camera
As for the camera configuration, the Gionee Nigeria website says that the sensors on the back are 16MP primary camera paired with a 2MP secondary sensor.
However, from the looks of things, it appears that the 2MP sensor is interpolated to 5MP or maybe some variants of the Gionee M11 have a 5 megapixels secondary camera.
The front camera is 5 megapixels which also seems to get 8 MP on some variant or maybe interpolated to 8MP. Both cameras will take stunning photos and will also shoot great video quality.
Hardware and Software
The Gionee M11 is powered by Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 chipset based on 12nm process technology. The octa-core processor on the device has a clocking speed of 2.0 GHz.
Meanwhile, the PowerVR GE8320 GPU on the inside promises to handle anything graphics. Booting the handset is Android 9.0 Pie operating system out of the box. The inbuilt storage on the phone is 4GB RAM with 64GB of internal storage.
There is also another model with 3GB RAM + 64GB and another with a huge 6GB RAM + 128GB. You can still expand the memory via a micro SD card but not beyond 128GB.
Battery and Network
The maker describes the Gionee M11 as a Superior power. This means the device has a massive battery capacity. The ultra-large 4000 mAh battery promise to offer ultra-long endurance and quick charging experience.
The Gionee phone has a dual SIM slot with 4G LTE Network for fast browsing and downloads. Other connectivity options on the phone are WiFi, Bluetooth, FM radio for entertainment, A-GPS for location tracking and Type C USB for file transfer and charging.
The Gionee M11 is now available for purchase in Nigeria for 43,900 Naira for the model with 4GB RAM and 64GB built-in storage. In Ghana, it will sell for 750 GHs and 13,000 Ksh in Kenya. You can order the phone at any online leading store across the country.
The Gionee M11s is a more premium variant of the Gionee M11. It is very similar to standard version in looks, but seems to be designed to deliver a better performance. The major edge of the Gionee M11s is the available of larger memory and storage options.
6.3-inch IPS LCD Display, 2340 x 1080 pixels (409 ppi)
Android 9.0 Pie
2.0GHz octa-core Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22
4GB RAM / 6GB RAM / 8GB RAM
64GB / 128GB / 256GB inbuilt Storage expandable via SDcard
16 MP + 5 MP Dual Rear Camera
13 MP Front Camera
Fingerprint scanner
4G LTE Network Support
4000 mAh Non-Removable Li-Po Battery
Design and Display
Just as mentioned above, the Gionee M11s maintains the same body design as the Gionee M11. There is nothing different here.
Anyone can easily mistake the device as the standard version. In other not to be deceived, it’s recommended that you checked the inbuilt storage and also the camera set-up.
It still has a similar panel that houses the camera with an LED flash and also a fingerprint scanner. The Gionee M11s measures 160.0 x 75.8 x 8.4 mm in dimensions and weighs 175 grams.
The front is built with a glass while the panel features plastic. It has a display size of 6.3-inch with a Full HD+ screen resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. The display has protection and a higher screen to body ratio.
Camera
On the camera department, the Gionee M11s is available in two camera configurations. The back has 16MP + 5MP or 20MP + 8MP that is also paired with an LED flash. The front camera on the other hand also has 13MP or 16MP which is for selfies.
The one that will be available in the Nigerian market is the 16 MP + 5 MP and 13 MP front camera. Both cameras will take beautiful photos and also shoot high video quality as well.
Hardware and Software
Under the hood is a Mediatek MT6762 Helio P22 based on 12nm process technology. The smartphone has a 2.0GHz octa-core processor paired with 4GB, 6GB, or 8GB of RAM and 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB of expandable storage with a micro SD card.
The PowerVR GE8320 GPU on the inside promises to take care of graphics and other gaming issues. The Gionee M11s is powered by the Android 9.0 Pie operating system out of the box.
Battery and Network
Supplying power to the device is 4000 mAh which has a quick charge. The juicer will surely last a full day when fully charged. The smartphone has a dual SIM with 4G LTE Network.
Other features on the phone are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth for a wireless connection, A-GPS for navigation, FM radio for entertainment and Type C USB for charging and file transfer.
Gionee M11s Price and Availability
The Gionee M11s will sell at $149 which roughly converts to 53,000 Naira in Nigeria. Those in Ghana will get it around 800 Ghs and 15,000 Ksh in Kenya.
The Gionee M11s is now available for purchase. The phone will be shipped in multiple colors such as Dream Blue, Ink Green, and Starry Black.
Kospet Prime is not just any other smartwatch. It might look like a watch, a big one for sure, but within its watch form factor lies a full fledged smartphone. The Watch Phone is currently available on AliExpress, as well as a number of other online stores starting at around $140. This is my Kospet Prime Review, hope you enjoy it.
Unlike loads of smartwatches in the market that run on a stripped OS tuned specifically for watches, the Kospet Prime runs on a Full version of Android OS. The Watch Phone is loaded with Android 7.1.1.
This means that with the Kospet Prime, you get all the bells and whistles of a smartphone. You can make calls, receive calls, send and receive SMS, browse the internet, stream and download videos, download and install apps from the Google Play Store, navigate with Google Maps, and more. In fact, you can even create a Wi-Fi hotspot with this thing.
Of course, it is also a full fledged smartwatch with all the usual fitness, tracking, and monitoring features.
Kospet Prime also has one of the largest battery capacity of any smartwatch. The 1260 mAh battery means you can expect better battery life from the smartwatch.
Before we continue with our Kospet Prime Review, here are some of the key features:
Kospet Prime Main Features
1.6-inch IPS Full Round Touch Display, 400 x 400 pixels (354 ppi)
1.25GHz Quad-core Mediatek MT6739 CPU
Android 7.1.1
Syncs with iOS 9.0 / Android 5.1 and Above
9 Sports Modes
3GB RAM and 32GB Built-in Storage
2MP Front Camera and 8MP Side Camera
Face Unlock
4G LTE Network Support (with VoLTE)
One Nano SIM Card Support
1260 mAh Li-Po Battery
Built-in Speaker and Mic
GPS / GLONASS / A-GPS Navigation
Dual-Band Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n)
Waterproof (IP67)
Bluetooth 4.0
micro-USB port (via magnetic dock)
Heart Rate Sensor
Pedometer
G-Sensor
Special Action Trigger Sensor
Easily Replaceable Watch Band
Magnetic Charging Dock
What’s in the Box
Kospet Prime comes in white box inside an open-ended black box.
On the under side of the black box, you will see some of the key features of the watch phone.
Here are all the items we found after we opened the white box:
Black Kospet Prime Watch Phone unit
Magnetic Charging Dock with microUSB port
microUSB Cable
Protective Film
4 x Replacement Screws
Screwdriver
User Manual
The Design
Kospet Prime is huge. The face measures 50.8 mm in diameter and 17.5 mm thickness. This makes it very noticeable on the wrist.
The top part of the watch form is made of ceramics, while the rest of the body is mostly plastic.
On the right-end of the ceramic bezel is a protrusion that sports the 2 megapixels front facing camera on top and the 8 megapixels side camera on the side.
Sandwiching this protrusion are two physical buttons made of plastic. The button above the bump is the power button and also functions as the home button. The button below the bump functions mostly as a back button.
On the back, you have a four pin power/communications connector and a green-light heart rate sensor with the microphone on the left edge and the speaker on the right edge.
While most of the back is made of plastic, a section of the back is covered by a metal plate held-on by a screw.
You unscrew the metal plate to access the Nano SIM card slot.
A screwdriver is included in the box and because the screws are very tiny, three extra screws are included in the box in case you lose it.
The metal back plate makes it easy for the watch to latch onto the metallic charging dock.
The overall design is great and looks premium, but the default strap is a bit of a let down. Kospet Prime comes with a 22mm replaceable rubber straps that gives off a cheap feel.
However, you also have an option for black or brown leather straps or a black silicon strap. The Kospet Prime has a total length of 273 mm with the straps on.
The Display
Kospet Prime sports a good quality display. The 1.6-inch IPS display is bright and visible outdoors. The display has a resolution of 400 x 400 resulting in a pixels per inch of 354 for a sharp view.
Colours are also bright and beautiful. The display supports multi-touch, so you can zoom photos and other content with two fingers.
When browsing with the Smartwatch phone, I noticed that the text were legible enough for me to read without any need to zoom.
To save battery the screen shuts off after about 15 seconds of inactivity. When the screen is off and you want to check time or weather or other information, you can just spin your wrist clockwise to turn the screen on for about 5 seconds, which is enough time to read the data you need.
However, there is a time lag of between 1 and 2 seconds after the wrist spin before the screen comes. I believe this can be made shorter.
Performance
When we say, the Kospet Prime doubles as a full fledged smartphone, we were not exaggerated.
The specs alone is impressive even for a smartphone. It sports a 1.25GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6739 processor, 3GB RAM, and 32GB storage.
Key to the versatility of the smartwatch is the full version of Android 7.1.1. You can download just about any app that supports the Android version on the Play Store.
You can watch videos or use Maps and play games on this watch. Of course, there are limitations, because of the small screen real estate and of course battery.
The small screen also becomes a problem when typing. You will surely mix-up some characters on the onscreen keyboard. This means the watch will not be convenient for typing text and emails. Login details and passwords will do.
The smartwatch phone runs smoothly with very little lag. Most of the apps and settings open within half a second and 1 second. Swiping the touchscreen is also smooth.
Software and UI
Kospet Prime comes with the full version of Android 7.1.1. This means it runs just about any Android app that supports its specs. However, how well it will run is the only question.
You can download games and loads of other apps.
The user interface is clean. Swipe right to view the main menu. The software is designed intuitively in such a way that if you swipe in one direction to get into a menu, swiping in the opposite direction will get you out of the menu.
Clicking the upper physical button (also the power button) takes you to the homescreen from whatever screen you are currently on while, the lower physical button is a back button that takes one view back.
Generally, the software runs smoothly, swipes are instant while opening apps are just barely noticeably slow.
Kospet Prime supports Face unlock feature, powered by the front camera. Once you setup, a pattern password or Face ID will be required once the screen is locked.
With Face unlock setup, the homescreen will always light-up to show the time and other available smartwatch info when you spin your wrist clockwise, however to access menu or any other feature of the smartwatch phone, you will enter the pattern password or use Face ID.
Also baked into the software are utility apps for cleaning and freezing background apps in-order to improve overall performance.
Kospet Prime offers a couple of different watch faces. You can change the default watch face to anyone you like.
Just press and hold on your current watch face, the face will minimize then swipe left or right to checkout other options.
See a watch face you like? Just tap on it to make it your watch face.
The is one looks great for music lovers, with a shortcut to your music playlist. It also has a shortcut to Google Assistant.
There are more watch faces to pick from and you can download more if you want.
One issue with the software experience in some apps is that while the screen is round the view of some of the apps are designed for a rectangular screen, this means that sometimes some parts of the content at the top and bottom edges are not totally visible.
I noticed this on Google Maps. The parts of the search bar is cutoff as well as the navigation selection.
Notice that the Explore and Transit icons at the lower end are partly hidden. Some parts of the search bar at the upper end are also partly hidden
Cameras
The Kospet Prime sports two cameras which distinguishes it from most smartwatches. You get one camera in the front and the other on the side.
The 2 megapixels camera can be used for taking selfies and making video calls. The camera also powers the face unlock feature.
You get better quality photography on the side camera with a 5 megapixels sensor, though through interpolation the output is 8 megapixels.
The front camera has a narrow field of vision which makes most photos taken with it a close cut.
The side camera has a wider field of view but the side of your sometimes is caught in the final photo.
Connectivity
The Kospet Prime offers all the connectivity options of a standard smartphone. You get Bluetooth 4.0, which works just like it would on a smartphone. Bluetooth connectivity is also used to sync with the companion app on your smartphone.
The smartphone watch can sync with iOS devices running on iOS 9.0 and above and Android devices running on Android 5.1 and above.
Dual-band Wi-Fi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) is supported with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n baked in. You can connect the smartwatch to Wi-Fi easily.
Kospet Prime has a Nano-SIM slot on the back. With the SIM card, you can connect to most mobile networks for voice and data services.
The smartwatch phone supports quad-band GSM (850MHz, 900MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900MHz) and tri-band 3G WCDMA (850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz). It also supports bands B34 and B35 of the TD-SCDMA offered mostly by Chinese networks.
For superfast data downloads, the Kospet Prime supports 4G LTE. Numerous 4G bands are supported with FDD and TDD in the mix.
There are a good selection of bands that ensures the smartwatch phone will support 4G in most countries. On FDD it supports LTE bands B1, B2, B3, B5, B7, B8, B12, B17, and B20.
On TDD, the Kospet Prime supports LTE bands B38, B39, B40, and B41.
Kospet Prime can make and receive phone calls as well as send and receive SMS. It also supports VoLTE. Call quality is good. The speaker is loud enough to ensure you hear your caller and the microphone is also sensitive enough to ensure the person on the other end of the call hears you properly.
While, the Kospet Prime lacks a micro USB port on the body, the magnetic charging dock included in the package has a USB port.
Once the smartwatch phone is properly docked on the charging port, the USB port becomes an extension of the watch. Just like in a smartphone the USB port can be used for either charging or for data transfer (communication).
In fact, that was how I transferred the photos I took with the watch to my PC.
For navigation and location services, GPS, GLONASS, and A-GPS are supported. However, the watch takes longer than normal to sync to a location.
The Battery
Kospet Prime boasts of one of the largest battery on a smartwatch. The built-in 1260 mAh Li-Po battery takes about 1 hour, 50 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%, but once fully charged can last you a day and a half of normal use.
You charge the smartwatch phone using the magnetic charging dock provided with the device.
Once the watch latches on properly to the dock charging begins in earnest. However, the trick is in ensuring that the four connectors on the dock makes proper contact with their counterparts on the back of the watch. Without any feedback this can be a bit tricky.
The Companion App
The companion app (WiiWatch2 app on the Play Store and App Store) enables you sync your smartphone with the Kospet Prime.
While Kospet Prime can work properly without the companion app, syncing it to your phone will enable you get notifications on your phone to show on your watch.
You can also control music and camera on the watch among other interesting features. The App is available for Android and iOS devices.
Fitness and Health Features
With all the bells and whistles, it is very easy to forget that the Kospet Prime is a smartwatch and hence should primarily offer health and fitness features.
The smartwatch comes with an in-built activity tracker app that supports 9 different activities. You have Outdoor Run, Outdoor Walk, Indoor Run, Outdoor Bike, Play Basketball, Play Football, Play Ping-Pong, Play Badminton, and Rope Skipping.
Kospet Prime has a green-light heart rate sensor and suffers from the issue such sensors have with dark skin. I was not able to successfully get it to measure my heart rate while on my wrist.
The only way it could measure my heart rate was when I placed my finger on the heart rate sensor as though it were a fingerprint sensor. Placing on the palm of my hand also got me a reading.
If you are white skinned and I mean Caucasian, you will not have this issue.
However, you should note that the Kospet Prime does not offer continuous heart rate tracking. You have to physically tap the button to get it started.
Conclusion
The Kospet Prime is one of the best options if you are looking for a smartwatch running full smartphone OS.
While most smartwatches will hardly go half a day, this smartwatch phone will take you through the day with ease and still have some juice to spare for the half of the next day.
So, if you fancy a smartwatch that can stand in for your smartphone sometimes, the Kospet Prime is one of the better options in the market.
The internet has become more than just a virtual space where you can search for basic things by typing a few words into Google’s search bar. It’s a whole world now with social media profiles, shopping stores, businesses, and much more thriving.
This means that like the real world, there are burglars out online as well. These cybercriminals are always on the lookout for your personal and financial details.
Did you know that hacker attacks occur every 39 seconds in the United States? Not only are those who mean to invade your privacy but even marketers are constantly digging through your personal information and preferences to figure out whether or not you fall into their target audience.
Even back in the day when e-shopping and social media didn’t exist, cybercrime was a grave concern for online surfers.
In this day and age, cyber threats have only increased despite the development of tighter online security measures. By 2021, the costs incurred because of cybercrime will touch $6 trillion annually.
No one expects to become a victim of a cyber attack, but everyone should stay safe online precautionary. Wondering how to get started with just that? Here are our top 10 tips on how you can stay safe on the internet:
1. Create strong Passwords
In 2012, 64% of the passwords created had a ‘weak’ strength. While only 3% had a ‘very weak’ strength, this statistic is still worrying. Unfortunately, the majority doesn’t put much of an effort when it comes to making passwords.
Having your own name or obvious digits like 12354 for a password is a supremely bad idea. In fact, even having Hopkins.John56 for a password is not enough. You need to create more unique, stronger passwords which are difficult to figure out.
2. Don’t click or Download Spam
Spam can come in many faces and forms. A cybercriminal may try to dig for your information by sending you a spam email which contains a link that can bring a malware into your computer. This is why you shouldn’t open spam mails.
In fact, you shouldn’t give your email address to people or companies that are not trustworthy. Also, when downloading stuff, don’t go to sites that are unreliable.
Nowadays cybercriminals are also using AI to fetch your personal details or send spam links. This means not all chatbots are your friends and you need to be cleverer when talking to these automatic response machines.
3. Have a VPN is Place
A Virtual Private Network is the only measure that you can take to completely hide your browsing information from marketers, the government, hackers, and anyone out there who wants your information. A VPN makes surfing easy even when you are using an insecure Wi-Fi connection.
It safeguards your personal information such as your ISP, your location, zip code, and the like. However, when choosing a VPN, you need a reliable provider. A rotten, low-quality VPN provider can also sell your private information.
4. Don’t Shop from unreliable Online Stores
There are several people who are not careful about where they shop from. This means that they don’t double check if the seller is someone who can be trusted or if the shopping site is secure enough to submit private details.
When placing an order online, make sure that the site of the e-store has an SSL certificate. You can do this simply by means of looking at the URL – if it is https is secure, if it is just http the security certificate is missing. Small businesses can ensure web security for a lower price by using Godaddy SSL discount codes.
5. Don’t use public Wi-Fi Networks
Public wi-fi networks are not secure and you shouldn’t expect them to be. Most public wi-fi networks are not secure as they do not have proper encryption features.
This means that any random person can spy on what you’re doing online, what you’re talking about on chat apps.
In fact, such wi-fi networks also give hackers a chance to get their hands on important information such as your bank account or credit card details. They can also get your login credentials. If you really need to use the internet, use your data plan.
6. Browse Safe
One mistake many people make that lands them right into the set trap of cybercriminals is that they search for lewd content. Knowing almost everyone lets his guard down and searches such things, this is exactly where hackers place malware links.
Just a click out of curiosity could lead to troublesome consequences. For instance, a link click could infect the device or give away personal details. This is why it is important to be careful and wise and not fall for the bait laid out by hackers.
7. Don’t give out too much Personal Information
It is not uncommon of people to share a lot about themselves on social media. From completely filling up their ‘about’ sections including mentioning their city, birthday, occupation, schooling, and more to sharing statuses of what they are up to, people are keen on sharing details.
This gives cybercriminals and other fishy people the chance to con you. A lot of fake accounts are created by taking the personal details of innocent people. These can be used for catfishing and other purposes. It is best to give only limited personal information online.
8. Don’t unnecessarily keep your Bluetooth on
Next up, do not keep your Bluetooth on unless you want to share files with a known computer. Keep Bluetooth sharing off when not in use.
A lot of people forget to switch off Bluetooth options when they are done using it. This puts their device and their information at risk.
A conman can easily take information or files that you don’t intend to share by pairing with your computer. He can also send files which can contain malware.
Bluebugging, bluejacking and bluesnarfing are some common attacks that your Bluetooth is at the risk of. All these attacks by criminals online are easily possible through bugs such as BlueBorne.
9. Forget Wi-Fi Networks
When your PC or your mobile phone connects with a wi-fi network after you enter its password, it automatically saves this connection to access later with convenience. However, it is in your best interest to turn off this feature of saving networks.
Your devices should instead forget connections rather than staying connected to them to prevent any data theft. There are cheap tools out there that enable hackers to attack your device by meddling with a connection.
10. Don’t trust everyone Online
Online friendships have become a norm these days. And while sometimes you get to meet some great people on the internet, those cases are comparatively rarer. To stay on the safe side, you should never trust everyone on the web, especially if the relationship is not even old.
It’s very common of cons to make up fake ids to befriend people on social media, emotionally blackmail them, and get money out of them. After all, how difficult is it to set up a genuine-looking account on FB or Insta? So, be aware and stay safe.
These were our top ten tips on how you can stay safe on the internet. Have more to add? Tell us in the comments!
When you have a car – any kind of car – it’s natural to want to take care of it. That’s how things work with automobiles. They’re not the cheapest things out there, and whether it’s our first car or the fifth one, we want to make sure it’s well taken care of regardless of the circumstances.
So when something is wrong with out vehicle, we want to make sure everything is spotless and without any worries. Ideally, this is where car mechanics arrive and fix everything.
They can take a bit to look at our vehicle and assess what’s wrong, and they’ll have a fix for us. That’s great, right?
Unfortunately, not all mechanics are actually great. And sometimes we tend to encounter mechanics that aren’t exactly top-grade. How do we spot bad mechanics?
Always ask for Documentation and Licenses
When you meet a car mechanic for the first time, always ask for their licensure and documentation. Legitimate mechanics usually have certification that certifies they are qualified to inspect and repair cars and other vehicles.
You should also try confirming this with their place of work, and confirm with the labor board if said place of work is actually legitimate.
Some might consider this overkill, but this is also our car we’re talking about. It’s better to know it’s secure and safe than put it in a compromising position.
Requirements to become a car mechanic differ from country to country. Most car mechanics can come from people who have high school diplomas, though employers may end up hiring mechanics with post secondary training, and certain certification.
If your car mechanics end up scaring you when you ask them for documentation, that might be an immediate red flag. Mechanics shouldn’t hesitate showing your copies of certification and being alright with being verified unless they’re hiding something shady. And you should be on your toes for these kinds of things before you get swindled into giving money.
See what sorts of vehicles they’ve already worked on
Another way you can spot a bad mechanic is by asking them what sorts of vehicles they’ve already worked on. While this might just differ from one mechanic to another, this is still a good way to filter as to whether or not your car mechanic has actually worked on your vehicle or vehicles like it.
“Bad mechanics” don’t necessarily mean awful mechanics, but can also encompass inexperienced mechanics that can potentially harm your vehicle if left unsupervised.
Ask what sorts of cars they’ve already repaired. While cars generally have the same structure, they’re not totally the same internally. That’s because certain manufacturers do have certain ways of arranging parts and components unique to them and to the brand. When hiring a team of mechanics, try asking them what sorts of cars they’ve already repaired so you can have an idea whether they’ve already repaired your car or at least a similar model.
Don’t just think about the actual car, try checking your parts as well. Try confirming with other car mechanics as to what sorts of repairs you have to do with certain car components, and how to approach repairing your vehicle yourself. If the car mechanic you’ve hired decided you should do much more repairs than usual, you might be dealing with a team that’s trying to swindle you.
Check their Insurance Policies
Try clarifying what sorts of protections they have in place not just for your case with your car, but also for their employees.
When you talk about expenses and costs, try clarifying early on what other forms of insurance they possess to protect your vehicle from any misdiagnosis and worsening conditions.
If they have a clear plan as to how they can protect your vehicle better and much more efficiently, then you’re likely going to want to trust them. If they don’t have insurance and protection over your car, then you might experience trouble in the long run.
Aside from their insurance policies, check their other policies as well. How long should repairs generally take, and how long is “too long”? Sometimes, car mechanics swindle you for more money by taking too long to repair your things, or even come to a point where you end up having more things repaired than necessary.
If your car mechanics aren’t insured and they don’t have a concrete customer protection policy in place, this means there’s no guarantee as to the kind of protection you have if they damage your vehicle or get harmed during repairs. You might end up spending more than you’ve bargained for.
Attitude goes a Long Way
Aside from skill and professional experience, it’s important to base the trustworthiness of a potential contractor with their attitude towards clients, their coworkers, and their work at large.
When considering a team of car mechanics for hire, you should check how they treat their work and their fellow coworkers. It’s also important to check how they treat your car, as a car mechanic that just “does” a service to your vehicle may not give it the best treatment.
You treat your car as though it’s your own child, so it’s only fit for others to treat it with the same amount of respect. If you see a car mechanic being careless with your car, you should avoid them quickly.
What do they do in their free time? Try to get to know what hobbies and passions your car mechanics have, so you also have a background as to what kind of person they are. Do they like racing games like Madalin Stunt Cars 2? This might mean they’re really invested in cars. If they like films, maybe they’re also creative and can help you identify car problems much faster.
Likewise, if you see car mechanics that are rude to their coworkers or seem to not be paying attention to your vehicle, then this might not be the kind of car mechanic you should rely on.
Go Away, Bad Mechanics! It’s About the Right Documentation, Explanation
With the above in mind, you’ll hopefully be able to spot bad mechanics a while away. And while some of them can get cheeky and smart with their sales talk, the above tips would hopefully have given you some pointers to take note of in order to avoid getting scammed and fooled by bad car mechanics.
Remember, while it’s “easy” to just get a new mechanic and fix whatever’s wrong with our car, it’s still wise to get our first pick spot on. Not only will this save us time but money as well, as we’ll get to make use of our money to keep track of exactly what our cars need.
Author Bio:
John Salazar is a certified techie-at-heart, but he shares a love for all things science and technology, health and wellness, and even a bit of music on the side. As a creative writer, John makes sure to write both informative and entertaining pieces. He loves writing, and he plays the guitar when he has free time.
The Oppo F15 is a new upper mid-range smartphone that was announced by Oppo. The same device was launched in December 2019 as Oppo A91 in China. Oppo F15 sports a four rear cameras and good battery life.
The new smartphone parades a gradient rear with quad cameras. It flaunts an elongated screen coupled with an in-display fingerprint reader. There is also a large size battery that comes with fast charging technology.
Oppo F15 Key Specs & Features
6.4 inch AMOLED Display, 1080 x 2400 pixels (408 PPI)
Android 9.0 Pie
2.1GHz Mediatek MT6771V Helio P70
8GB RAM
128GB Built-in Storage expandable via SDcard
16 Front Camera
48 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP Quad Rear Camera
Fingerprint Scanner (Under Display)
Game Boost 2.0
Fast Charging
4025 mAh Non-Removable Li-Po Battery
Design and Display
On the body, the Oppo F15 is equipped with a gradient colored polycarbonate whereas the display of the phone is reinforced with Gorilla Glass 5. It has a smooth panel that features the camera with an LED flash.
The new phone measures 160.2 x 73.3 x 7.9mm and it weighs 172 grams. According to the company, the 20:9 waterdrop notch display of the OPPO F15 offers a screen space of 90.7 percent.
The display reaches up to 6.4 inches and produces a full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and 408 PPI density.
Furthermore, the display of the phone is embedded with a fingerprint sensor. Meanwhile, the TUV Rheinland approved screen can filter harmful blue rays and it also carries support for DC dimming.
Camera
As for the camera set-up, the Oppo F15 has a 16-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture housed inside the display notch. A good camera system is also available on the back.
The sensors comprise of a 48-megapixel main lens with f/1.7 aperture, a 119-degree 8-megapixel ultrawide lens with f/2.25 aperture that can capture macro shots of up to 3cm, another 2-megapixel mono lens with f/2.4 aperture and lastly a 2-megapixel depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture.
The device camera is capable of shooting stabilized videos as it borrows EIS anti-shake technology from the Reno series. Other features on the camera include AI beautification while video shooting, night scene mode, and portrait mode.
Hardware and Software
The Oppo F15 is powered by Mediatek MT6771V Helio P70 SOC with an octa-core processing speed of 2.1GHz coupled with 8GB RAM. It has Mali-G72 MP3 GPU to take care of graphics and also for gaming.
The inbuilt storage is 128GB and it’s still expandable via micro SD card. Oppo F15 runs on Android 9.0 Pie with ColorOS 6.1 flavored. For optimization especially when gaming, the device wisely comes with Game Boost 2.0.
Battery and Network
The Oppo F15 is backed by a nonremovable battery capacity of 4,025mAh that supports VOOC 3.0 Flash Charge technology. Oppo claims that the 20W rapid charging technology can charge the phone to 50 percent battery capacity in only 30 minutes.
The android phone also supports playback of Widevine L1 content on streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime. It has dual SIM with 4G LTE Network and other regulars such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS, FM radio and 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector.
Oppo F15 Price and Availability
The Oppo F15 has a price tag of $282 which roughly converts to 103,000 Naira in Nigeria. It can be bought in Lightning Black and Unicorn White colors.
Huawei Honor 9X sports a modern body design with a great camera and other impressive features as well. The good news is that it’s a device for everyone. In other words, it’s affordable. Below are the phone full specifications and availability.
Huawei Honor 9X Key Specs & Features
6.59-inch IPS LCD Display, 1080 x 2340 pixels (391 ppi)
Android 9.0 Pie
Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 710F Processor
4GB RAM / 6GB RAM
64GB / 128GB / 256GB inbuilt Storage (expandable)
48 MP + 2 MP Dual Rear Camera (Pro Edition)
48 MP + 8 MP + 2 MP Tri Rear Camera (Pro Edition)
16 MP Front Camera
Fingerprint Scanner (Side or Rear)
4G LTE Network
10W Fast Charging Capacity
4000 mAh Non-Removable Li-Po Battery
Design and Display
Although this is a budget device, it still packs a premium body that is built with a combination of glass and aluminum. Both the back and front features glass which gives it a unique touch.
The Honor 9X has body dimensions of 163.5 x 77.3 x 8.8 mm and it weighs 196.8 g. On the front, it has a 6.59-inch IPS LCD display that produces Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9.
Meanwhile, the notch-less screen offers a high screen-to-body and there’s also display protection on the device.
Camera
As for the camera configuration, the Honor 9X Pro has a triple camera that is paired with an LED flash. It has a primary camera of 48-megapixel, an 8-megapixel ultrawide sensor and a secondary lens of 2-megapixel. Note that Honor 9X may come with dual-camera on the back (48MP + 2MP) in some countries.
Upfront is a pop-up camera of 16-megapixel for shooting selfies.
Hardware and Software
The Huawei Honor 9X has a HiSilicon Kirin 710F SOC based on 12nm process technology. The octa-core processor on the device has a clocking speed of 2.2 GHz.
The Honor 9X features Mali-G51 MP4 to take care of graphics related issues and also for gaming. Booting the device is Android 9.0 Pie with EMUI 9.1 user interface on top.
In memory, the smartphone is available in different models. The first has 64GB + 4GB RAM, another with 128GB + 4GB RAM, while the bigger model packs ample RAM of 6GB with 128GB. You can still expand the memory via a micro SD card.
Battery and Network
The Huawei Honor 9X has a non-removable battery of 4,000mAh that comes with support for only 10W charging. You will also get a fingerprint scanner on the device as well.
The connectivity options available on the handset are dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, USB-C, and 3.5mm audio jack.
Huawei Honor 9X Price and Availability
The Huawei Honor 9X is now available for purchase at a price of $197 and $239 respectively depending on the storage variant.
In Nigeria, the Honor 9X will start selling from 72,000 Naira to 88,000 Naira depending on your location. You can purchase the phone in two colors such as Midnight Black and Sapphire Blue.
Huawei Honor 9X Specs
Here are a few specs of the Huawei Honor 9X:
General Features
Platform: Android 9.0 (Pie); EMUI 9.1
Processor: Octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 710F CPU (2.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A73 & 1.7 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53)
Moto G8 Play is the successor of the Moto G7 Play. The smartphone was announced with the Moto G8 Plus in Brazil. The smartphone comes in a gorgeous and promises a good battery life.
Moto G8 Play falls under the mid-range category with an amazing body design that will attract many at first sight. The phone has a good camera set-up and a massive battery capacity on the inside.
The Moto G8 Play is a budget device that is built with a combination of plastic and glass. The phone also has a smooth panel that features the camera with an LED flash and also a fingerprint scanner for security.
It has body dimensions of 157.6 x 75.4 x 9 mm and it weighs 183.6 grams. On the front, the waterdrop notch offers a large screen display size of 6.2 inches with IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen.
The screen has a resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels, a 19:9 ratio, and 271 PPI density. You will also get display protection on the phone.
Camera
On the camera, you will also notice another upgrade. The Moto G8 Play has a triple rear camera made up of an 8MP f/2.2 117° ultrawide camera that is separated from the other sensors.
The main camera which is 13 MP is paired with a 2MP depth sensor. The selfie camera is an 8MP sensor which is for selfies and video calling.
Hardware and Software
The Moto G8 Play has a MediaTek’s Helio P70M processor which is 30% faster than the Snapdragon 632 in the G7 Play. The chipset comes with an octa-core processor that has a clocking speed of 2.1 GHz.
It also has an Android 9.0 (Pie) operating system out of the box with Mali-G72 MP3 for graphics. As for the memory, the handset is available in one storage configuration. It has 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
There’s also support for storage expansion via a MicroSD card slot but it isn’t a dedicated slot like that of the Moto E6 Play device. It uses a shared SIM slot.
Battery and Network
The Moto G8 Play has a non-removable battery capacity of 4000 mAh. There is no news if the battery comes with fast charging technology or not.
It has dual SIM with 4G LTE Network and other regulars such as Bluetooth 4.2 and a USB Type-C port but there is no NFC.
Moto G8 Play Price And Availability
The Motorola will ship the G8 Play with a protective case and stereo earphones in the box.
The phone will sell at a price of $164 which converts to 60,000 Naira in Nigeria. You can order the device in Black Onyx or Magenta Red.
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