Technology
Nokia Introduces Two New Smartphones
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.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A designed-in-house server known as Nathu La has been launched by a global technology company, Zoho Corporation.
Nathu La is engineered with hardware-rooted security at every layer of the stack. Its indigenous IP-driven approach reduces dependency on external entities for security audits, firmware updates, and licensing continuity.
The solution aligns with open-source software principles and reflects Zoho’s broader commitment to building sustainable, secure, and scalable digital infrastructure. It also supports the growing global focus on digital sovereignty, local innovation ecosystems, and high-performance computing capabilities.
The platform was introduced by the company as part of a pivotal step in its journey towards building its full technology stack, from the hardware layer to software applications.
With Nathu La, Zoho has achieved equivalent performance with 12-18 per cent lower power consumption and 20-30 per cent lower total cost of ownership (TCO), thereby reducing inference costs.
The Nathu La server, comprising Intel® Xeon® 6 processors, was developed collaboratively with Intel, leveraging their enablement capabilities and technical expertise.
The design philosophy behind Nathu La is rooted in the Open Compute Project (OCP), emphasising modularity, thermal efficiency, and ease of maintenance. This enables Zoho’s data centres to significantly reduce total cost of ownership and power consumption.
Zoho plans to host its applications on the Nathu La server platform, enabling the company to optimise the full software-hardware stack for its specific workloads, reduce costs, improve performance, and strengthen data governance for its global customers. This will also help bring down inference costs for Zoho’s AI usage.
The Nathu La server motherboard and chassis platform is the result of five years of R&D across hardware, firmware, and systems management. Based on Intel® Xeon® 6 Processors, the server is designed to optimise performance for virtualisation (VM), High Performance Computing (HPC), AI inference, and storage applications. This results in improved performance of Zoho applications for end users.
The server features customised power delivery subsystems, an in-house DC-SCM (Data Centre Secure Control Module) design, and modular chassis options compatible with diverse end-user environments, offering flexibility across deployment types.
All modular components – including the DC-SCM and NIC (Network Interface Card) – were designed in-house by Zoho’s hardware engineering team and assembled through electronics manufacturing partners, enabling tighter integration and quality control across the platform. Over five patents have been filed covering advanced thermal management and cost-optimised server architecture designs.
“Zoho Corporation has invested in building its own technology stack from the ground up over the last three decades. The Nathu La server launch is in line with that goal.
“With our strategy of using contextual, right-sized models, running on our own platform, on our own servers, in our own data centres, we are compounding the benefits accrued from owning and operating our entire technology stack. This ensures that our solutions are more sustainable and accessible for businesses.
“These long-term R&D investments we are making at every layer of the stack are aimed at delivering customer value,” the Country Head for Zoho Nigeria, Mr Kehinde Ogundare, stated.
In 2020, Zoho established a small R&D team in Nagpur, a Tier 2 town in India, focused on projects such as server design and systems engineering.
Members of the Nathu La R&D team include hires from SETU – short for Students’ Engagement for Transformative Upskilling – an initiative designed to build a pipeline of industry-ready engineers, with a focus on advanced learning in Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The financial technology arm of MTN is mulling a direct shift into lending after bringing on its parent company, MTN Group, as a major investor to help cushion against losses that have plagued the business.
According to MTN Group Fintech chief executive, Mr Serigne Dioum, the company wants to move beyond helping customers access loans through partners.
He said in markets where regulators allow it, MTN wants to lend directly and use its own balance sheet.
“We’ve expanded access to credit for more people, but we also want to move further up the lending value chain,” Mr Dioum told investors at the company’s capital markets day.
“Where appropriate, we will seek licences that allow us not only to facilitate loans but also to lend directly to customers and deploy our own balance sheet.”
This development is expected to create a shift in its current fintech model which provides financial services, including deposits, payments, transfers and digital wallets to individuals and small businesses via digital and mobile‑based platforms.
The company has applied for Payment Solution Service Provider and Payment Terminal Service Provider licences through MoMo PSB, its Nigerian fintech subsidiary. If approved, the licences would allow MTN to handle more payment processing, build merchant payment tools, deploy and manage POS terminals, and reduce its dependence on third-party processors.
Despite the opportunities present in the credit market, direct lending could give MTN a larger share of revenue, but it would also expose the company to credit risk, regulation and tougher competition with banks and digital lenders.
Mr Dioum said only about 4 per cent to 5 per cent of adults have access to formal credit across the African continent. In Nigeria, the funding problem is especially severe.
A 2025 report by the National Credit Guarantee Company said nearly 80 per cent of Nigerian MSMEs lack access to formal credit, while Stears has estimated the country’s MSME financing gap at about $236 billion.
For traders, small shop owners, transport operators and households, access to small loans can determine whether they restock inventory, pay suppliers, cover emergencies or expand a business.
In April, MTN Nigeria announced that its parent firm, based in South Africa, would acquire a 60 per cent stake in MoMo Payment Service Bank Limited (MoMo PSB) and Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS) Limited.
The fintech units are currently loss-making, and this move will help MTN Nigeria to reduce financial risk and share future losses and investment burden. However, it will still keep a significant minority stake (40 per cent).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The reach of the Meta Business Agent is being expanded to Instagram and other platforms of the social media giant.
Meta Business Agent is an artificial intelligence (AI) that allows business owners to attend to customers’ needs with ease.
Customers expect instant responses, but no team can be everywhere at once. This innovation handles such without hassles.
It helps businesses to answer questions specific to the business, makes product recommendations from the catalogue, books appointments, qualifies incoming leads, and closes sales.
More than one million businesses are already using a Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp and Messenger to respond to customers around the clock.
“We’re now expanding our Business Agent to businesses big and small globally, so within minutes you can have yours up and running, responding in your customer’s local language using your tone,” Meta said in a statement.
“We’re also expanding these agents to Instagram since businesses connect with their customers there, too. Businesses can activate their Business Agent here. Getting started with the Business Agent is free. In the coming months, businesses will access the agent through our paid subscription offerings, with options for businesses of every size,” it added.
Meta also stated that it is making it simpler for people to discover businesses powered by a Meta Business Agent directly on WhatsApp. It noted that starting soon, people will be able to find businesses by typing their name in the Search bar, or by sharing their phone number or contact card in chats with friends and family. This way, when more customers reach out, they get a quick, helpful response.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn