Which news stories about technology received the most clicks in 2013 by South Africans reading TechCentral?
Readers voted with their clicks. Here are the topics that generated the most reads during the year, according to TechCentral’s analytics software.
This story made the top 10 list in 2013 thanks to South African consumer interest in e-book readers.
South Africans love their BlackBerrys and the cheap and unlimited on-device data they offer, so when the Canadian company said its new devices, based on the BlackBerry 10 operating system, were too data intensive to use the flat-rate data service, it provoked strong reactions from readers.
TechCentral brought its readers exclusive insights into the development and launch of the new DStv Explora personal video recorder from MultiChoice. In 2010, when the Naspers-owned pay-TV operator began work on its radically redesigned new personal video recorder decoder, the premise was that it would be a “connected box” that would offer on-demand services over the Internet. It had hoped that South Africa’s fixed-line broadband infrastructure would improve faster than it did. It didn’t, sending MultiChoice back to the drawing board.
The Sowetan newspaper broke a scandal about the Free State government spending 140 million rand (about $14 million) developing a website. TechCentral led with reports on the scandal. The controversial deal was signed with businessman Tumi Ntsele, who reportedly held tenders with several other provincial departments.
Working with Eyewitness News, TechCentral published detailed new bird’s eye imagery of taxpayer-funded upgrades to president Jacob Zuma’s home at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal. The high-resolution imagery revealed the extent of development at Nkandla over the past three years, offering a view of some of its more controversial features — including twin helipads, an AstroTurf sports field and a vast entertainment area.
Which operator really is cheapest? TechCentral cleared through some of the complexity in an effort to find the answer.
South African consumers love Apple’s shiny gadgets. The iPhone 5s and 5c went on sale in South Africa in November with prices starting at 8,499 rand (about $850) for the cheapest 5c model.
Microsoft’s deal to buy Nokia’s handset business for 5.4 billion euros marked the end of an era. TechCentral compiled a list of the phones it felt were the best Nokia ever made, prompting debate among TechCentral readers.
E.tv sister company Platco Digital launched South Africa’s first free-to-air satellite-based TV service, OpenView HD, generating enormous interest from consumers. Who can say “no” to something that’s free? E.tv claims to be the first and only free-to-air commercial TV channel in South Africa and the largest English-medium channel with 15.2 million viewers.
A story about OpenView HD made the No. 1 spot as the most-read article of the year on TechCentral. South Africans embraced a free satellite TV service backed by e.tv parent Hosken Consolidated Investments and offering as many as 20 channels free — some of them in high definition.
1. Samsung Galaxy S3 mini
2. Nokia Lumia 520
3. Sony Xperia Z
4. Apple iPad mini
5. Nokia Lumia 720
