Huawei launches Windows phone in Africa

Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has unveiled a bespoke Windows-run smartphone exclusively available in Africa.

The customised device is being launched today in partnership with Microsoft as part of its new 4Afrika Initiative.

This includes plans to develop cheap wireless broadband in the Rift Valley in Kenya and help local people in South Africa and Egypt develop Windows apps.

Prices for the new device have not yet been announced.

"Our aim is to be the most affordable Windows phone in Africa," Gustavo Fuchs, director of Microsoft Windows Phone division in the Middle East & Africa, told the BBC.

It will initially be rolled out in seven countries: Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Angola, Morocco and South Africa.

The phone will be marketed depending on the retail climate of those individual nations, Mr Fuchs explained.

"At first we are making the product available across the southern market.

"We're looking at the biggest channel for each country. In South Africa, it's operator-led, in other markets like Nigeria and Angola there's a mixed environment and in the Ivory Coast they are only sold at retail."

Accessibility

The phone will be connected to a customised app store including applications designed and built by Africans.

"Affordability is important but without the right local content we believe a lot of users will not see the benefit in the change from a basic feature phone to a smartphone," said Mr Fuchs.

He said the objective of the scheme was to increase the penetration of smartphones across the continent.

"If you look at current penetration compared with the US or Europe, which is around 50%, in Africa the average is very close to 10%, less in some parts."

The handset is a customised version of the Huawei Ascend W1 which was displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month.

It has a 4in (10cm) touch screen and 5 megapixel camera. The phone can be on stand-by for up to 420 hours between charges.

"The 4Afrika Initiative should make tens of millions of smart devices available across the continent in the next couple of years," Mr Fuchs said.

Microsoft to turn off Windows Messenger on 15 March

Microsoft is switching off its Windows Live Messenger service on 15 March.

On that date Messenger log-ins will no longer work and users must turn to Skype, said Microsoft in an email sent to all Messenger users.

The email also encouraged users to update to Skype and familiarise themselves with the service before the switch-off.

The service switch is a consequence of Microsoft's acquisition of Skype in October 2011 for $8.5bn (£5.3bn).

In November 2012, Microsoft announced that it was switching off Live Messenger in early 2013 but gave no firm date. At the same time, Microsoft made it possible for Messenger users to talk to and swap messages with contacts via Skype.

To help people migrate before 15 March, Microsoft has added an upgrade button to its desktop Messenger that when clicked uninstalls Messenger and puts Skype in its place.

Until the switch-off date Messenger would work as it always did, said Microsoft.

The Windows Live Messenger instant messaging program was known as MSN Messenger when it first launched in 1999. The service is believed to be used by about 300 million people every month.

China is the only nation in which Messenger will keep operating, because it is run under licence there.

Google to make Maps accessible to Windows Phone users

Google says that it will no longer block Windows Phone users from accessing Google Maps and that the blockage was about ensuring a good user experience, not about intentionally interfering with a rival product.

The blockage generated headlines, with various news outlets suggesting that it was not about poor functionality on the part of the mobile version of Internet Explorer but was more about behavior on the part of Google that, ironically, was beginning to resemble past behavior by Microsoft.

Google, of course, just dodged an antitrust bullet from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and it continues to face an investigation by the European Union.

The search and mobile-OS giant said the following in a statement sent to The Next Web today:

We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make sure we deliver the best experience for those users.

In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality. As a result, we chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com where they could at least make local searches. The Firefox mobile browser did offer a somewhat better user experience and that's why there is no redirect for those users.

Recent improvements to IE mobile and Google Maps now deliver a better experience and we are currently working to remove the redirect. We will continue to test Google Maps compatibility with other mobile browsers to ensure the best possible experience for users.