Bucket Tech: Huawei's MEA Summit

The HDC.Together HUAWEI MEA Ecosystem Summit, held in Dubai, showcased a seamless fusion of collaboration and innovation. The first day of the exclusive event was hosted on the 27th of November at the illustrious Dubai Opera, and brought together Huawei Ecosystem partners from China and across the Middle East and Africa.

Building bridges for future growth

Organised in partnership with Dubai Economy and Tourism (DET) and the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), the focus of the summit was on fostering innovation, economic growth, and developments in technology and tourism.

When converging technology and opportunity, HDC.Together acts as the bridge connecting the MEA region and China, fostering innovation, partnerships, and business exchange across markets, paving the way for growth and a better future.

Throughout the summit, speakers emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts within Huawei’s Ecosystem for advancing technology and innovation. Eng. Maryam Al Balooshi, Vice Chair and UAE representative of the Committee of Aviation Environment Protection (CAEP)- ICAO, emphasised that, “In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, Huawei’s ecosystem stands as a testament to transformative collaboration, enriching experiences by building bridges for a better future.”

Additionally, His Excellency Ali Khalifa bin Thalith, Secretary-General of HIPA, shared some profound insights. “Through the lens of innovation, HUAWEI Themes has not just adorned our digital spaces but has become a platform to globalise the beauty of art and photography, making creativity universally accessible to users with an impressive download of over 1,000,000 on the official HUAWEI Themes store,” he said.

Acclaimed Emirati artist Mahmood Al Abadi shared the story of his successful journey with calligraphy and arts, as well as his collaboration with HUAWEI Themes, and how it elevated his digital experience. He expressed his excitement about the vast array of customisable themes and their seamless integration with HUAWEI smartphones, foldable phones, tablets and smartwatches.

Strategising for the year ahead

The event outlined a comprehensive 2024 action plan with 24 strategic partners joining the conversation, formalising commitments to innovation and growth across regions including the Emirates, Arabian Oud, Jahez and Viu, all who expressed their commitment to these shared goals.

The summit featured dynamic discussion panels and round tables, engaging industry experts to provide insights into industry trends, and further explored the collaborative potential of HUAWEI AppGallery and Petal Ads.

Unveiling Prospects with AppGallery

With a focus on fostering new growth opportunities in gaming, HUAWEI AppGallery is taking advantage of Huawei’s rapid expansion across the MEA region and China. The summit also served as a platform for facilitating partnerships and collaboration between local and global players, fostering an environment of innovation and mutual growth. Participants were treated to working presentations and demos, sharing insights, case studies and success stories from top regional and global gaming partners, offering a overview of the latest market trends. Industry leaders joined the MEA Game Business Trends panel, unpacking esports, Government support, the payment landscape and the importance of localisation. The summit set the stage for AppGallery to stake its claim as a driving force in the gaming industry, uniting key players for a future of unprecedented success and collaboration.

Global perspective

Emirates provided an insightful account of its journey with Huawei Ecosystem, highlighting their successful collaboration and providing valuable benchmarks for the broader travel industry, emphasising the power of strategic partnerships within the evolving technological landscape. This year, Emirates App successfully released a version designed for Huawei’s smartwatches that allows users to use QR codes as boarding passes.

Petal Ads and regional insights

 Additionally, Middle East Communications Network (MCN) provided a comprehensive analysis of global and regional advertising trends tailored for regional advertisers. This included an in-depth overview of the current global advertising landscape, emerging trends, consumer behaviour patterns, and effective strategies. The presentation highlighted Petal Ads’ advanced capabilities in delivering enriched user experiences, setting the stage for a new era in the advertising market.

The summit delivered the perfect platform for HMS to introduce new solutions and innovations, underscoring a commitment to connect with customers, enable brand growth, and embrace future challenges. Ultimately, the annual HDC.Together HUAWEI MEA Ecosystem Summit highlighted Huawei’s unwavering dedication to fostering collaboration, innovation, and a connected future, showcasing knowledge sharing and cutting-edge solutions within Huawei’s thriving ecosystem, while uniting partners from China and MEA.

Popeyes in South Africa

So for those who know me, you know I'm a big fan of fried chicken, heck! part of the reason the name of this blog has to do with the crispy golden food. While my allegiances do tend to favour the one particular brand I'm always one for trying something new.  Which brings me to the topic of today's post, yesterday saw the first franchise store of the iconic American restaurant brand  "Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen" open in South Africa. The store which is based in the Sandton City Mall food court has begun serving it's authentic Louisiana-inspired chicken to much fanfare as the queues were testament to this. Guests experienced the mouth-watering menu, with the favourite being the bone-in fried chicken which is available in two flavours, spicy or mild. There is also boneless options for those who prefer their chicken that way and a wide variety of signature sides, one of the favourites being cajun fries. 

Jaye Sinclair, the Chief Executive Officer for South African based, Siyaghopa Trading Group, the people responsible for bringing Popeyes to SA had this to say. "We're very excited to join the Popeyes family and bring the iconic brand to South Africa. We think our South African guests will love the signature blend of spices and flavours we'll bring the table". 

South Africa being a nation that loves their chicken, will enjoy the distinctive flavours of Popeyes fried chicken and tasty cajun fries. Here are a few facts about Popeyes to get you ready for your first experience. 

Where did Popeyes get its name?

• Everyone thinks Popeyes got its name form the spinach-loving cartoon character, but the name actually came from a famous fictional 1970's detective, Detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle, the fictional lead character of the movie, 'The French Connection', is the real insparation behind the brand name. 

Popeyes around the world. 

• Popeyes currently has restaurants in more than 25 countries.
• The Popeyes restaurant in Sandton City, Johannesburg is the only Popeyes on the continent of Africa and the first to open in South Africa.

What makes Popeyes so unique?

• Popeyes founder, Al Copeland, created one-of-a-kind chicken recipe that is marinated in Louisiana-inspired seasonings, then hand battered, breaded and fried. Creating a juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside chicken guests have been craving for more than 45 years. 
• Popeyes has proprietary seasonings that are used to marinate the chicken for 12 hours, creating the richly seasoned flavours in both the mild and spicy versions. 
• At least 60% of the employees at the Popeyes in Sandton City are first-time work-seekers from the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator who have been trained to meet Popeyes international requirements.

Spice...and all things nice

• At Popeyes, flavour is everything! The Popeyes chicken recipe is based on a 300 year old culinary tradition, which incorporates a fusion of cooking styles, a rich blend of proprietary seasoning and spices sourced from around the globe, including Africa. 
• Popeyes offers both well-seasoned mild chicken as well as a more spicy chicken option that South Africans are bound to love. 

What's a biscuit?

• Have you heard of the famous American Biscuit but not had the pleasure of tasting? Ger your taste buds ready - this legendary American side dish is a specialty of Popeyes!
• The delicious and freshly baked Popeyes Buttermilk Biscuit join a wide selection of authentic Signature Sides available on the local menu. 

For more information on Popeyes and to gander at their menu, visit www.popeyes.co.za and follow Popeyes South Africa on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

*Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen South Africa will serve Halaal chicken and is certified by the South African National Halaal Authority. (SANHA)

Jack Daniels Boomtown 2017

For many, Winter signals the time where people would rather be indoors, snuggled up under a blanket and binge watching TV, mainly because of the cold weather, fortunately for us on the East Coast of South Africa, we need not go to such drastic measures as the weather God's have blessed us with a Winter that is far from hibernation standard. Hence making Durban the ideal party destination for everyone, and with this in mind there is no bigger party than the Vodacom Durban July, which is held annually on the first Saturday of July. Africa's biggest horse racing event just grows in statue and prestige every year, with the crowds increasing as the years go by, organisers pull out all the stops to ensure the event is not only a successful one but better than the last.

Ask anyone who attends the Vodacom Durban July which is the best and biggest marquee and they will all give you the same answer, Jack Daniels Boomtown! In its 9th year at the Races, BoomTown together with Jack Daniel's and powered by VUZU AMP promises to be the finest lifestyle marquee at Africa's biggest horse racing event. BoomTown combines the exciting sport of horseracing with an extraordinary music-line up and premium lounges with luxurious design and decor. It also features front line views of the racetrack for as close as possible racing action. The fashion, hospitality and urban lifestyle experienced at BoomTown is unrivaled and it's one of the key reasons why people keep coming back year after year. 

This years Music line-up see's the biggest and best that Mzanzi has to offer to grace the stage at BoomTown, organisers ask that you be prepared to experience the music and whisky at its finest as Mafikizolo, AKA, Cassper Nyovest, Riky Rick, Nasty C, Black Motion, Shekinah, Sketchy Bongo, DJ Fresh, DJ Shimza, Glen Lewis, DJ Capital, Du Boiz, DJ Milkshake, DJ Dimplez and DJ Vigilante and more rock the BoomTown stage!

Tickets are now on sale and available via Computicket and range from General Access, VIP, VVIP and Platinum Tower (a new brand offering). For Group Bookings, contact Glynnis at the BoomTown Events Office on: 060 00 3768 or e-mail: sales1@boomtownevents.co.za. More information on tickets, click here, prices below. 

GA 

General Access - R690  

VIP

VIP Individual Package - R2190

VIP Private Tables R3500 per person (Tables of 10 or 20)

Private Lounges R3500 per person (Minimum of 10 people) 

VVIP

VVIP Individual Package - R2950

VVIP Private Tables R3990 per person (Tables of 10 or 20)

Private Lounges R3990 per person (Minimum of 10 people)

Platinum - R6750

Bucket Tech: Huawei Mate 8 - First Impressions

Last week I was finally able to attend a Huawei launch as the previous times I had to decline due to various reasons, mostly due to my day job but I was looking forward to it as I've heard much about these famed launch parties that the cell phone giant hosts. Huawei are really pushing all the boundaries and attacking the market aggressively, with good reason too. Their products are great and most of which are a fraction of the cost compared to its competitors, it's taken the consumer some time to become accustom to the brand but I think they're making strides into warming into most of them. They certainly convinced me with the previous devices I've had to test from them. 

The Mate 8 that was being launched is the flagship model from the Chinese brand and with the Mate S being around for about a year, it was interesting to see what major improvements were made to the device. The media were invited to a special presentation where we got to see and find out more about the device first hand from the Hauwei team. After an impressive promo video, Charlene Munilall, General Manager for Huawei Consumer Business Group SA addressed us, speaking about the Mate 8, she had this to say, "The Mate 8 represents the pinnacle of style, innovation and ground-breaking technology that introduces a new style of business. The Mate 8 has set a new standard in style that transcends its beautifully crafted exterior to deliver a mobile companion that meets the needs fo today's always-connected and sharing user"

The phone itself doesn't look much different to the Mate 7 or Mate S, it retains it's 6-inch Full HD screen while the screen size remains the same, the actual phone size has reduced to fit comfortably in your hand. It's encased in a super-slim metallic uni-body, which means no removable battery but one of the key features that grabbed my attention on the Mate 8 was it's SmartPower technology which optimises the allocation of the Mate 8's resources. It monitors and scans the devices apps and reduces the power consumption to background apps by half, thus pro-longing your battery life. I was really impressed with the Mate 7's battery life, as I am almost constantly on mine and the 7 used to give me just over a day of battery life. With the Mate 8, Huawei say it's impressive 4000mAh high-capacity battery will give you 1 and half days of heavy phone use, or 17 hours of continuous HD video, that it mighty impressive and something I have to test for myself. For regular uses, you can get much more battery life as regular use is said to be in the region of 2 and half days before you have to plug it into charge again. The Mate 8 will be available in two versions, the 32gig and 64gig both with dual 4G sim slots. 

Camera wise, the Mate 8 has a 16MP Sony camera with a proprietary image sensor processor for faster focusing, higher clarity and more accurate colours. The front facing camera is a 8MP wide-angel camera that introduces new dimensions in high-quality selfies. The Mate 8 processing power is quite impressive as well as it's the worlds first smartphone to use the latest Cortex-A72 CPU and high-performance Mali-T880 GPU. The revolutionary i5 intelligent processor is the most powerful coprocessor currently available and supports all the functions of a sensor hub as well as speech recognition, low-power consumption, MP3 playback, Fused Location Provider navigation and reduced location-based power consumption by nearly 70%. Which in essence makes this phone one of the fastest processing units available on the market, so the chances of your Mate 8 slowing down or freezing are extremely slim. The Mate 8 really seems to be the real deal when it comes to business smart phones, as they say it gives new meaning to "Doing Business". I've always been a fan of their build quality and features and even though they spending a lot of cash on marketing and improving their presence in the market, their products speak for themselves. 

Huawei also used this opportunity to announce the launch of their G Series of phones to the market. Aimed at the youth, these phones will be much more affordable than the Mate and P series and features on them will be directly targeted at the younger tech savvy generation. Hauwei have 3 models in the range, the G8, GR5 and GR3, all of which are currently available in SA.

Monster Supercross Africa

On the November 1st, the hallowed turf of Loftus Versveld will be transformed from a lush green surface to sand track motor cross arena! The Monster Energy Supercross series makes it's way to Africa and features a star studded line up with 45 riders from all over the world competiting for the biggest prize purse in SA Motorsport history!

Most of the line up consists of local riders but the international contingent boasts some big names, most notably Josh Hill, the winner of the Sweden Supercross which was held recently. Jake Weimer, Ryan Villoptos former team are both going to be here as well. The full list of riders can be found on the website.  Grant Langston, former World MX Champion and Durban born will be on the mic alongside Laren van der Westhuizen bring you the live commentarty.

                     

Besides the action on the field, be sure to keep an eye out for the action off the field, I'm talking about the moster girls in particular! They'll be out in full force as well. It's sure to be a great day out with plenty of entertaining and mind blowing racing. 

Follow all the action from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Tickets can be purchase from:  http://supercrossafrica.com/tickets