Technology

Nokia Introduces Two New Smartphones

Published

5 years ago

23/09/2020

By Adedapo Adesanya

HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has announced two new additions to its entry-level smartphone family: the Nokia 3.4 and Nokia 2.4.

The company is also introducing new accessories range and HMD Connect Pro, offering enterprises a secure and transparent global data roaming service.

The diverse range of products further solidifies the organisation’s transformation into a holistic mobile device and service provider.

Speaking about this, Mr Florian Seiche, Chief Executive Officer, HMD Global said: “Without doubt, this has been an eventful year for everyone, and our hearts go out to those that have been impacted by the circumstances of 2020.

“For us, it’s truly been a transformational year, and we’ve adapted to the changing times. I am extremely excited to broaden our value-add services for enterprise with the introduction of HMD Connect Pro, offering unprecedented levels of flexibility and security. The Nokia 3.4 and Nokia 2.4 are important new updates to our core value smartphone range.

“I am very proud to see the truly future-proof 5G experience of our Nokia 8.3 5G reaching the hands of consumers starting from today, and excited for our partnership with No Time To Die – proving a Nokia phone really is the only gadget you’ll ever need.”

The new Nokia 2.4 comes with AI imaging, a battery to last for 48 hours and a large HD+ screen. For those looking for more, the Nokia 3.4 offers an advanced triple camera with an ultra-wide lens, a serious performance upgrade and more screen real estate thanks to the punch-hole screen.

Holding true to always delivering maximum innovation at a great value, the two new smartphones are entry-level marvels, offering great value experiences. With modern features and stunning design in a more accessible, Android-powered future-proof package, these phones are perfect for those seeking out affordable, long-lasting purchases.

On the part of Mr Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer and Vice President of North America, HMD Global, “It’s no secret that consumers around the world have become more mindful about their spending and are opting for less expensive, more long-lasting products from brands they know and trust. It’s, therefore, more crucial than ever that our products stand the test of time – and our commitment to delivering reliable and trustworthy Nokia phones remains unswerving.

“That’s why we’re broadening our entry-level smartphone family with the new Nokia 3.4 and Nokia 2.4, offering reliable software and hardware that Nokia phone fans have come to know and love, fresh experiences and premium design that you can be proud of – at prices that are accessible.

“Always inspired by our Finnish roots, with these latest additions we’re introducing a fresh colour palette to the portfolio through new earthy tones with dazzling finishes, taking our design another step closer to home.”

What You Need to Know About Nokia 2.4

The next-generation Nokia 2 brings modern essentials like advanced AI imaging giving you dedicated Night mode and Portrait Editor that lets you art direct your world with its custom shapes and blurred backgrounds – even after you’ve taken your shot; a convenient fingerprint sensor and AI face unlock, offering effortless access and added security, in a durable design that’s not only built to look good but also to last.

It allows you to watch, learn and create on the large 6.5” HD+ screen and, thanks to its two-day battery life, you’re free to enjoy your favourite apps and games for longer. Plus, the Nokia 2.4 comes with our Android promise, giving you three years of monthly security updates and two years of OS updates, meaning it’s ready for Android 11 and 12.

What You Need to Know About Nokia 3.4

The new Nokia 3.4 offers a serious performance upgrade thanks to the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 460 Mobile Platform giving you more power to get the best out of your phone. Take your creativity to the next level with a large 6.39” HD+ screen with a punch-hole front camera and a mighty triple rear camera with an ultra-wide lens and AI imaging.

The Nokia 3.4 comes with Android 10 OS and the Nokia smartphone Android promise, receiving years of security and software upgrades. All of this powered by the signature two-day battery life and wrapped up in a premium timeless design that comes in three new vibrant, living colours, inspired by Nordic nature, delivering style with durability that’s true to its Finnish roots.

In addition to the release of these two phones, the sales of the highly anticipated Nokia 8.3 5G has commenced. Showcasing the commitment to security, speed and innovation by meeting the demands of the world’s toughest customers – MI6 agents – the Nokia 8.3 5G is the smartphone of choice by the newest 00 agent in the upcoming James Bond movie No Time To Die, premiering this November.

What You Need to Know About Nokia 8.3 5G

Featuring a powerful PureView quad-camera with ZEISS optics giving you immersive movie-like shots with ZEISS Cinema effects and OZO audio, the Nokia 8.3 5G is the ideal smartphone for those who want to elevate their creativity. Designed to support multiple and evolving 5G network deployments, the Nokia 8.3 5G condenses more than 40 different RF components into a single module, making it not only a global device but also a future-proof smartphone which is ready for the next step in 5G.

Additionally, all Nokia 8.3 5G owners will receive a free 6-month trial of Google One. Capture and edit on the go with faster upload speeds and an additional 100GB of online storage across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos – an all-in-one membership that can be shared with up to five additional people

Ms Lashana Lynch, who plays 00 agent, Nomi in No Time To Die, said of the phone: “The world we live in now means we all have the ultimate gadget in our pockets and it’s amazing what smartphones can do nowadays.

“It’s exciting to be unveiling this new smartphone to celebrate the release of No Time To Die in November, and the Nokia 8.3 5G is proof that Bond gadgets are always ahead of the game.”

Pricing

For mobile phone enthusiasts in Nigeria, Nokia 8.3 5G will be available in Nigeria from October 1, 2020, at an average retail price of N232,000.

Coming in two storage/RAM options: 2GB/32GB and 3GB/64GB, the Nokia 2.4 will be available in Nigeria from October 1, 2020, at N47,500 and N54,000, respectively.

The pricing/availability for Nokia 3.4 will be confirmed at a later date.

Also launched were a range of new Nokia-branded audio accessories such as the Nokia Earbuds Lite, and a brand-new Nokia Portable Wireless Speaker with integrated microphone – the first in the portfolio – and new protective cases.

What You Need to Know About Nokia Earbuds Lite

The new Nokia Power Earbuds Lite let you take your favourite songs with you wherever you go offering 35 hours of playtime and comfortable design with intuitive touch control giving you easy navigation whether it’s taking calls or skipping tracks.

The IPX7 certification will make them waterproof up to 1m for 30 minutes, meaning you can break a sweat in the gym or run in the rain worry-free, whilst the 6mm graphene speaker drivers give you clear-cut sound.

The original Nokia Power Earbuds are being refreshed with two new colours – Polar Night, inspired by the Nokia 8.3 5G, and a fresh new colour – Mint.

What You Need to Know About Nokia Portable Wireless Speaker

The Nokia Portable Wireless Speaker is designed to be truly portable and will give you up to 4 hours of playtime, while the integrated microphone will make group calls on the go easier than ever. You can also pair two speakers for high-quality stereo audio output. Just like all our audio devices, it comes with universal Bluetooth 5.0 compatibility, so you can connect to all your devices, whatever the brand.

Other accessories are the Nokia Clear Case – for Nokia 2.4, Nokia 3.4 and Nokia 8.3 5G and Nokia Entertainment Flip Cover for Nokia 3.4.

Notably, HMD Global also announced HMD Connect Pro. Offering, an easier way to stay connected across the globe.

What You Need to Know About HMD Connect Pro

HMD Connect Pro offers an easier way for businesses to keep their smartphones and other devices connected across the globe in a secure and transparent way. The service offers centralised SIM management, giving total control and fraud prevention, with securely routed real-time usage information, live diagnostics and troubleshooting.

With over 600 networks across 160 countries, HMD Connect Pro provides full flexibility, transparent and extremely competitive billing and a simple yet robust SIM management console at rates that match your usage needs regardless of how many countries your business operates in.

It is, however, not clear yet if this will be available in Nigeria yet.

Technology

OPay, Coinbase, Others Crash as Cloudflare Suffers Another Glitch

Published

4 hours ago

05/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Cloudflare Incorporated, a business providing cloud-based services to various enterprises, said in a note on Friday it is investigating issues with its Dashboard and related Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

Numerous companies and services, including payments platform like OPay as well as Canva, Coinbase Global Incorporated, Investing.com , Shopify Incorporated, and Zoom Video Communications Incorporated, all appeared to crash, with some seeing “500 internal server error” and “Please check your internet connection and try again”.

The global outage has left many users unable to access these key services as this disruption has not only affected individuals but also businesses relying on these platforms for their operations.

Customers using the Dashboard or Cloudflare APIs are impacted as requests might fail and errors may be displayed, the company said on its status page.

In its latest update, Cloudflare added that “a fix has been implemented,” with the firm monitoring the results.

Users from all over the world have taken to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to voice their frustrations over the issue.

This is Cloudflare’s second major disruption in nearly a month, following another incident in November that affected services like Spotify and ChatGPT.

At the last outage, Cloudflare’s services were largely restored within three hours, and fully restored after approximately five hours.

Technology

Google Unveils AI Skilling Blueprint for Africa

Published

2 weeks ago

19/11/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

As part of broader Africa-focused Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives, Google has launched the AI Skilling Blueprint for Africa, designed to help governments build a future-proof workforce.

The programme provides governments with a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to formulate national skilling strategies. It focuses on developing three critical cohorts: AI Learners, who will gain foundational AI literacy; AI Implementers, professionals upskilled to integrate AI tools into their work; and AI Innovators, deep technical experts dedicated to building the next generation of AI solutions.

Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population. The continent shows immense potential for AI-driven economic growth.

However, new research highlights a significant challenge: while optimism for AI is exceptionally high, reaching 95 per cent in Nigeria and 76 per cent in South Africa, 55 per cent of firms across the continent report needing AI talent more than financing. Closing this skills gap is key to unlocking Africa’s opportunity.

Google’s Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Doron Avni, explained that, “The AI Skilling Blueprint provides a clear roadmap for governments to build the workforce of the future.

“By also investing in AI-ready data and expert local organisations and partners, we are helping build the interconnected ecosystem needed for a prosperous, AI-driven future for the continent.”

As part of its broader initiatives, Google also announced $2.25 million to support projects building trustworthy public data sets for AI by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and PARIS21.

This contribution will help national statistical offices modernize their infrastructure and empower decision-makers with the reliable data they need to address challenges from food security to economic growth.

“For Africa to drive sustainable development, evidence-based policymaking is indispensable. This requires accessible, reliable, and AI-ready data.

“This effort is a crucial step forward. By building a Regional Data Commons, we can empower African institutions with the data and tools they need to make strategic choices that will drive growth and prosperity,” the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Claver Gatete, said.

Finally, building on its $7.5 million Google.org Skilling Fund commitment, Google announced the first set of expert social impact organizations who will receive funding to execute on projects consistent with its skilling mission, including FATE Foundation and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), which will embed advanced AI curricula into universities; and JA Africa and CyberSafe Foundation, which will advance crucial work in online safety and digital literacy.

“We are incredibly proud to partner with the African Institute of Management Sciences on the Advanced AI UpSkilling Project, with support from Google.org. This groundbreaking initiative is a direct response to the urgent need for deep AI competencies in Africa, empowering tertiary institutions, lecturers, and students in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa.

“This strategic support aligns perfectly with FATE Foundation’s mission to foster innovation and sustainable economic growth across the continent, ensuring Africa is fully equipped to lead in the global technological future,” the Executive Director for FATE Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi, stated.

“We live in an age defined by rapid technological change and our mission at JA Africa is to ensure that African youth are not left behind. However, even as we engage our youth in more digital programs and encourage AI literacy, we are fully aware of the harmful effects of unchecked online exposure and, therefore, invest equally in protecting their data, physical safety and mental wellbeing.

“Through this support from Google.org, we will give young people the tools, knowledge, and confidence they need to navigate the digital world safely and responsibly,” the chief executive of Junior Achievement Africa, Simi Nwogugu, remarked.

Technology

Zoho Updates All-in-One Business Software Platform Zoho One

Published

2 weeks ago

19/11/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Global technology firm, Zoho, has enhanced its all-in-one business software platform known as Zoho One with improve security, and deeper intelligence across all over 50 applications.

The company improved the user interface, placing context at the centre of the user journey and removes traditional boundaries between applications.

Spaces now organise tools by purpose—such as Personal, Organisation, and Department-specific groups—enabling employees to access what they need without switching between apps. A centralised search bar spans the entire ecosystem, allowing users to find information or trigger workflows instantly.

An enhanced Action Panel provides a full view of upcoming meetings, unread messages, pending tasks, and other key updates, helping employees remain informed regardless of which app they are using.

The updated Dashboard consolidates data from Zoho and third-party apps into one central hub that can be customised using pre-existing or bespoke widgets.

The platform also introduced Vani, a new visual-first collaboration space that supports brainstorming, planning, and creation through diagrams, whiteboards, mind maps, and integrated video calling.

A central integrations panel enables administrators to monitor and configure all connections. Foundational integrations bring application-specific portals—Zoho or third-party—into a single unified portal. Practical tasks such as domain verification and authentication can now be configured more easily.

The new Smart Offboarding feature introduces outcome-based integrations, allowing organisations to transfer department ownership, manage employee device data, and determine data access rights within a single workflow, ensuring smooth transitions.

Also, Zia, Zoho’s AI assistant, is now accessible throughout Zoho One, providing unified intelligence that supports decision-making and improves productivity. Zia can aggregate and contextualise information from various platforms, including third-party systems such as Google Workspace, and present it as clear, actionable insight.

Zia Hubs, the platform’s intelligent content management system, now has a dedicated space where contracts, meeting recordings, and other important assets are automatically organised. Through Zia Search, employees can quickly surface relevant information without navigating multiple locations.

In addition, Ask Zia, available from the bottom toolbar, enables prompt-based searches across Zoho One, providing quick visibility into schedules, tasks, recent interactions, and other key details.

Commenting on the changes, the Country Head for Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, said, “The Zoho One update reflects how work has evolved from using individual applications to operating within a unified platform.

“Zoho One customers are not simply licensing apps; they are choosing a solution that allows Zoho to handle the technology while they focus on productivity. The enhancements announced today deliver a cohesive experience built on unified integrations, context, and data.”