Google and Facebook are at the forefront of a scramble to win over new African Internet users, offering freebies they say give a leg-up to the poor but which critics argue is a plan to lock in customers on a continent of 1 billion people.

Africa's Internet penetration will reach 50 percent by 2025 and there are expected to be 360 million smartphones on the continent by then, roughly double the number in the United States currently, Mckinsey Consultants data shows.

Africa had 16 percent Internet penetration and 67 million smartphones in 2013.

This growth is attracting interest from Internet companies such as Google, Facebook and Wikipedia, which are striking deals with service providers such as Vodacom, MTN, Bharti Airtel and Safaricom to offer users free, or 'zero-rated' access to their sites and services.

Facebook, through its Internet.org program, offers a stripped-down version of its social network and some other sites for free in what it says is an exercise to "connect the two thirds of the world that doesn't have Internet access".

Google, in partnership with Kenyan mobile phone firm Safaricom, is rolling out its "free zone" in Kenya, where email and the Internet are available with no data charges, providing users stay within Google apps.

Google has said its "free zone" is aimed at a billion people without the Internet in the developing world.

France's Orange is offering free access to a pared-down version of Wikipedia in some African countries, while South Africa's Cell-C gives its customers free use of WhatsApp, a messaging service owned by Facebook.

DIGITAL CHAIN

Critics, however, say big service providers and Internet companies are luring African users into using their services, giving them opportunities for greater advertising revenue.

"It's like a drug pusher giving you a small amount and saying: 'If you want more, you have to come and buy it'," Africa Internet access specialist Mike Jensen said.

Giving Africans free access to some Internet sites may also stunt innovation and limit the opportunities for African entrepreneurs, making online technology another industry on the continent dominated by big foreign companies.

In Nigeria, 9 percent of Facebook users say they don't use the Internet, mobile service survey site Geopoll says.

"You are giving people the idea that they are connected to this free open world of the Internet but actually they are being locked up in a corporate digital prison," Niels ten Oever, head of digital at rights group Article 19, told reporters.

REGULATION

There are also concerns that regulators in Africa lack the capacity to track how telecoms companies allocate bandwidth. Telecoms firms sometimes limit Internet speeds for some content, known as "throttling".

Telecoms operators say self-regulating bandwidth usage is important to ensure heavy data users, such as people who download movies, don't clog up bandwidth for lower Internet users.

The United States passed rules in February to ensure greater "net neutrality", intended to make sure all content managed by service providers in the U.S. is treated equally on the Internet, despite opposition from telecoms companies.

But African countries don't have tough rules on "net neutrality", meaning some services could be given faster access than others, which some activists say could give bigger companies an advantage over new market entrants.

The 24 sub-Saharan African countries tracked by Internet monitoring site WebIndex have "evidence of discrimination" in the allocation of bandwidth and have "no effective law and regulations" on Internet freedom.

"There is little transparency into the Internet operators' deals so it is hard to see where conflict of interests might be," Jensen said. "You're left just having to trust them."

Despite concerns about limited regulation and an uneven playing field, many experts argue that any improvement in Internet access in Africa should be welcomed, given it could improve education, grow businesses and alleviate poverty.

It looks like the Android Lollipop update has started to roll out for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablets, as owners of the 10.5 inch model have started to receive the update in France.

The OTA(over-the-air) update will be coming to the Wi-Fi version of the device, which carries the model number SM-T800. The update carries a build date of March 17,2015.  Users can find the update by clicking on Menu-Settings-About device- Software update. 

But this is not the only way to install the update. The update can be installed using the Kies software utility found on Samsung devices.

It’s not available to everyone, but we can confirm that some users in Europe and others in the US have been able to get the update.

The update is 930MB in size and Samsung France has confirmed that the update is definitely available for Galaxy Tab S 10.5 WiFi owners in France.

Some owners in US and Canada have also been able to get the update so we are assuming that it is slowly rolling out to owners gradually this week.

The update brings a range of new features to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 including Google’s material design.

We have some lovely footage for you to watch, if you are currently excited about Johnny Cage being the latest Mortal Kombat X roster addition.

The old-school fighter has now been fully revealed and following on from the main unveil last week, we can now show you the three Johnny Cage variations in MKX.

These are going to be A-List, Fisticuffs and Stunt Double. Each variation will offer a new fighting style for Cage, with some disabling some moves that were possible in the other two variations – but at the same time, gaining new abilities that are exclusive to that variation.

Stunt Double is a good example of this, as when this variation is active, you’ll be able to create a double of yourself and perform a shadow kick without your character moving towards the opponent.

In other words, your stunt double moves for you and you can use this move to create some devastating combos that look fantastic – it’s almost similar to some of Noob Saibot’s moves if you like from MK9.

You can check out all three variations in action below and see gameplay showing each of them. Johnny Cage was obviously kept until the end for anticipation purposes, but we honestly can’t wait until launch now.

Imagine how good Liu Kang is going to be when he is finally revealed too – we have a feeling that NetherRealm has decided to keep him until last.

Video Link

Also see Mortal Kombat X

Mercedes E-Class for 2015, 2016 models

Mercedes Benz is working on two new models, one for 2015 and the other for later in 2016. The cars in question are the 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLC and the 2016 E-Class, and fresh details have come to light, such as their engines and anticipated launch dates.

The new GLC will yet again be a rival to the Audi Q5 and is expected to be released in the UK this summer, whereas the fifth-generation E-Class is due to launch by the middle of 2016, so still plenty of time for things to change in terms of its final design.

Due to the raft of 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLC changes the German carmaker has decided to ditch the GLK name, although the main reason is because it shares a lot of the features as the C-Class.

Win The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata

There is to be a range of new engine options from in-line four-cylinder, V6 petrol and diesel. These new engines will be mated to either a seven-speed standard transmission or a 9-speed version. It’s also worth noting that those petrol and diesel models will be turbocharged.

Autocar also reports that the 2016 Mercedes E-Class engines will offer the same engine range as the C-Class, which is also used by the range-topping S-Class. There is to be a plug-in hybrid version, a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine from AMG and also a more powerful E63 AMG 5.5-litre version of that engine.

That’s as much as we know for now, but we will keep you informed of any other updates in regard to these upcoming models.

Trade your old phone for a new iPhone

Apple’s Reuse and Recycling Programme invites you to trade in your old Apple handset for a few bucks to put towards a new iPhone, but we’re hearing that the scheme is on the verge of expanding.

Anonymous sources say Apple will soon start accepting Android and BlackBerry handsets, from those looking to make the leap to the SS iPhone.

That’s the story over on 9to5mac, where sources reveal the new exchange programme will roll out in the “coming weeks”, upon completion of “extensive training”.

Essentially, Apple employees will be tasked with putting a value on customers’ Android and BlackBerry phones – based on condition and operability, and subsequently dishing out Apple gift cards accordingly.

Curiously, there’s no mention of Windows Phone, which presumably means Apple isn’t interested in your Lumia handset.

In an effort to sweeten the deal, Apple will help customers switch their contacts from Android to iPhone, but other data – including photos, video and music – will have to be transferred by customers. Of course, logistically, that’d entail doing a full backup of your phone's data before handing it over to Apple.

We’re not told where the new programme will launch specifically, but the aforementioned Reuse and Recycling thingy has rolled out in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia.

If anything, we suspect it’ll be the US first, with the UK hopefully hot on its heels.

SecuTABLET

Blackberry, Samsung, and IBM, three of the world’s tech giants, have joined hands to release the SecuTABLET, an ultra-secure tablet primarily aimed at governments and authorities. The tablet was announced yesterday at CeBIT 2015.

At the core, the SecuTABLET is actually an ultra-secure Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, but with added encryption software features designed by Secusmart, a company owned by BlackBerry. Although the SecuTABLET can be used for ultra-secure communications, the tablet can also run unsecured apps such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and WhatsApp.

According to the official press release, the SecuTABLET offers high-end communications security by integrating SecuSUITE technology. SecuSUITE is the product of a recently-announced partnership between BlackBerry subsidiary Secusmart and Samsung Knox. A couple of months ago, rumors claimed that Samsung is interested in buying BlackBerry, but after quickly dismissing this info as false, the two companies jointly announced that they’ve extended their partnership involving mobile security solutions. The SecuTABLET also integrates IBM technology responsible for the secure app wrapping technology.

Worlds Most Expensive TABLET

Since the SecuTABLET is based on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, the hardware specs should include a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels at 288 PPI, a Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420 chipset (1.9 Ghz quad-core ARM Cortex A15 CPU paired with an ARM 1.3GHz Cortex A7 CPU in the big.LITTLE configuration, ARM Mali-T628 MP6 GPU), 3 GB RAM, and a non-removable Li-Ion 7900 mAh battery.

Priced at € 2,300, the tablet isn’t aimed at the consumer market, and as a consequence, chances are that we’re not going to see it commercialized through the usual retail channels.

What do you guys think of the BlackBerry’s SecuTABLET?

There’s a massive amount of interest in the upcoming Windows 10 release. The new operating system version will bring a unified experience for PC’s and mobile devices, so smartphones will be running it instead of Windows Phone. If you’re wondering what the upgraded OS will offer then we have a Windows 10 Technical Preview video look for you today that’s shown on the Nokia Lumia 635.

It’s always interesting to get a closer look at new OS versions and the video will give you a good idea of user interface changes and more. However, we need to bear in mind that this is not the final build, so more changes and features could be added before Windows 10 for phones releases to end users. In this article we’ve embedded a YouTube video link brought to you by jonesarena, which offers a look at the Windows 10 preview and gives some useful insight.

One thing to note about Windows 10 is that it will be coming to lower-end handsets as well as high-end models. The review begins by saying that on first glance the UI doesn’t look too different, but it then goes on to point out some of the subtle differences. Windows 10 includes changes to Live Tiles, a new wallpaper appearance, and a refreshed Settings menu, as well as drop down settings that can be configured by the user, and actionable notifications.

The video nicely runs through the various aspects of the above points showing what you can expect, and it also covers Cortana, the keyboard, notifications syncing, universal apps, and more. One thing mentioned on the video that you don’t get a chance to see is the Project Spartan web browser, which isn’t here just yet. Towards the end the reviewer notes that the technical preview is a little slow and glitchy, as is sometimes apparent when you watch it in action.

At the end you’ll also hear which other Lumia models currently support the Windows 10 preview. As well as the Lumia 635 others are the Lumia 630, 636, 638, 730 and 830, and people wishing to try out the technical preview can revert back to Windows Phone 8.1 if they choose. All in all this is a nice walk through the Windows 10 preview and we’d like to hear your thoughts.

Read on, because BlackBerry has some new features to talk about for its BlackBerry Messenger platform, and they're pretty handy ones as well. Firstly -as was hinted at in January - it now supports Android Wear devices.

That means you can not only view but also reply to and start conversations from your wrist-worn gadget. It's now possible to send messages using your voice or pick from a list of preset responses.

There's also support for Touch ID in the latest version of the app for iOS, so you can unlock access to your account with a well-placed finger on your device's 

BBM subscriptions

BlackBerry is also introducing some subscription options for serious users. For US$0.99 a month you can remove ads and sponsored invites from your feed, while US$1.99 a month gets you a custom PIN

We've made tweaks and squished bugs, resulting in the fastest and smoothest BBM experience yet. I think you're going to love it," writes BlackBerry's Jesse Ariss on the company blog.

Another small but helpful upgrade is the introduction of support for photos in group chats. Updates for BlackBerry 10 and Android are going to roll out tomorrow, while an iOS update is due "soon".

The Samsung Galaxy S6 release date has been confirmed, with the newly unveiled flagship phone to hit UK retailers on April 10.

Set to launch in 20 countries in a little under six weeks, the April 10 S6 release date will see the handset go on sale just days after one of its biggest rivals.

Having debuted just hours before the Galaxy S6, the HTC One M9 release date had already been announced as March 31.

Like its flagship sibling, the innovative Galaxy S6 Edge – which features a three-sided display – will hit retailers on April 10.

Although Samsung has been outspoken on its Galaxy S6 release plans, there is currently no word on how much the handset – which will be offered in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB storage capacities – will set wannabe owners back.

A dramatic improvement on last year’s Galaxy S5, the S6 features a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2560 x 1440 pixel QHD resolution.

Boasting wireless charging capabilities as standard, the S6 specs sheet is further enhanced by the addition of a 64-bit, octa-core Exynos processor, 3GB of RAM and a TouchWiz skinned Android 5.0 Lollipop OS.

With a 16-megapixel, OIS-enhanced camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel snapper up front, the S6 is shaping up as a true challenger to the iPhone 6 at the top of the smartphone stakes.

Do you plan on snapping up the S6 when it lands on April 10? Let us know via the comments section below.