Techzim

Zimbabwe and regional technology news and updates


Bing AI seems to be doing a better job at this AI stuff than Bard AI

Ahh yes. So if this were a battle of Microsoft’s Bing AI and Google’s Bard AI, Microsoft would already have the advantage. As far as I know, Microsoft did not region-lock their public beta the way Google is. Which probably will be a trend in the approaches these 2 companies will follow. Round 1: Bing […]


A watch that measures BP, a watch with buds in it, and a watch with swappable frames. Huawei has them all

Huawei makes some very unique and good-looking smartwatches. The one I have with me is the GT2 Classic that I bought in 2020 and the 3 features it has that I use the most are viewing messages and notifications on it without pulling out my phone, the flashlight feature, and skipping between music as well […]


Xiaomi Soundbar is also another great soundbar. Better sound, bigger size, and more connectivity options

This one is a little bit bigger, a bit less simple, and a bit more expensive than the Redmi TV soundbar. This should all mean that the Xiaomi TV soundbar is better. Well, it is better but not by much. And it’s going for US$110 at the Mi Store. They are the ones who gave […]


For US$60 the Redmi TV soundbar is a very compelling living room speaker

This is a baby TV soundbar made by Redmi pay close attention to the TV part because that’s where the conversation will be centered on. It’s US$60 which makes it the same price as a Xiaomi 16W bluetooth speaker so it’s an incredible value. And I have been playing around with it for the past […]


2 biggest reasons why you NEED a Microsoft account

How many of you are using a Windows computer with an ‘Activate Windows’ watermark at the bottom right corner? How many of you have downloaded or used a cocktail of cracks and hacks to try and remove it with no luck? The risk you are putting yourself and your precious data in installing these tools […]


Tecno Phantom V is one excellent first attempt by Tecno in making a foldable.

Tecno is making major moves. They have graduated from just making pocket-friendly 3rd world-centric smartphones to dipping their toes in the premium market. We had the Phantom X2 with a retractable telephoto lens. A first in the industry. However, what was missing in their lineup was a foldable. So at MWC 2023 they lifted the […]


We asked POTRAZ about Starlink. Here is everything we know about it coming to Zimbabwe.

The quality of the internet in Zimbabwe has just completely gone to the dogs. It’s a literal state of emergency and any option that shows the slightest promise is being treated like a messiah. Starlink is one of these services and on their coverage map, they slated Zimbabwe as one of the countries receiving the […]


Twitter’s VVIP gold verification badge will cost a grand a month and SMS 2FA no longer be available on free accounts

It’s been a while since Elon took over Twitter and made quite some radical changes but it certainly was not the last time he did so. In his latest attempts to make Twitter profitable, he has made some changes to verification. Many Twitter users are definitely now familiar with the yellow checkmark, most prevalent on […]


Xiaomi AX3000 Mesh router. A stealthy box with no unsightly antennae

I really like the stealthy look on this one. This is the Xiaomi AX3000 mesh router and I guess the highlight of this one is that so far it is the only router with no antennae protruding out of it. It’s just a box. A stealthy-looking box. So it’s called a mesh router because it […]


Econet data services are down countrywide

There have been numerous reports of Econet’s Data services missing in action in a majority of the parts of the country. Econet has not issued a statement yet but its subscribers are already calling them out on social media. The last time Econet had such an outage, the official statement was an issue on their […]


Xiaomi AX1800 review. A more sensible-looking router.

The last time I reviewed a router it was a batman alien spaceship-looking thing. But that one was just a lot. So here is something more sensible. It’s the Xiaomi AX1800 and just like last time the nerdy name speaks to its technology and performance. It’s a Wifi 6 capable router hence the AX and […]


ChatGPT introduces subs, Google’s Bard stumbles on launch and Microsoft Teams guns for ZOOM with AI smarts. The state of consumer AI

This past month has been hectic with news on AI. Everyone from every angle is scrambling to have some stake in the new wave of AI chats and imagery and some are making a few missteps along the way. So consider this one an update to what’s going on in the world of AI. ChatGPT […]


Liquid was facing an internet outage earlier this morning. Why was it just slow and not completely off?

Liquid faced another fiber break this morning that resulted in a nationwide internet outage. Instead of the internet coming to a dead stop, it instead just got quite slow. This is the worst really as I prefer a total blackout than to have to endure slow internet. But what really goes on when the internet […]


It took them a while but the ZIMSEC O Level results are out. Here is how to view them!

The 2022 ZIMSEC Ordinary Level results are finally out after a substantial wait. To view the results here are the steps. A total of 278 760 candidates sat for November 2022 O Level Exams. 183 584 wrote 5 or more subjects and 53 169 passed 5 or more subjects. Overall pass rate is 28.96% compared […]


Liquid Intelligent Technologies selects Nokia for a 12Tbps fiber backbone link spanning 7 African countries

Liquid Intelligent Technologies looks to expand its fiber network infrastructure and has contracted Nokia as its partner of choice. The project is a 12Tbps fiber backbone link that will be spanning 7 African countries that include Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. As part of the agreement, Nokia […]


Huawei unveils a solar power backup product in South Africa. How good is it?

Huawei held the Mate 50 launch in South Africa recently and while it was exciting that they are bringing their flagship devices to Africa, what was even more exciting was the other products around the launch. Namely their power backup solution in the form of the Huawei iSitePower-M. It’s an all-in-one power backup solution that […]


Dandemutande partners with BCS for an US$8 million 891km fiber network expansion

Dandemutande has announced that it is partnering with Broadband and Cloud Services Group (BCS) to expand its fiber network. They have injected US$5 million into the expansion project with is riding on BCSs current fiber expansion project. Dandemutande’s section will span Somabula to Harare via Gweru and from Bulawayo to Plumtree and will be completed […]


How frequently do you need to upgrade your smartphone?

The smartphone world is quite a fast-moving side of tech. Every year manufacturers release new smartphones with new hardware and software like clockwork. But is it really necessary to keep up? To buy a new smartphone every single year. Of course, not, and here is why. Upgrading every year is wasteful When you are upgrading […]


Outlook and Teams are down for thousands of users. Microsoft Azure network outage is the cause.

Microsoft Azure is facing a global outage to what they are claiming is a subset of their users. The classification of this subset of users is not specified however Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Teams, services that run on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform seem to be down. Azure Networking – Multiple regions – Investigating Starting […]


Apple no longer has the most powerful GPU. Snapdragon took it with the Adreno 740 in the 8 Gen 2 chipset

Ever since the advent of Apple’s Bionic chips, Android has not had a solid answer to the speed and processing power of the iPhone. When looking at CPU performance it was Huawei and its Kirin CPUs that came the closest to challenging Apple. On the GPU front, Snapdragon put up quite the effort with Adreno […]


5G is terrible right now. But it has a very useful and exciting future

5G is the current and most advanced mobile communication method right now. It’s been here for quite some time and in Zimbabwe, it was introduced by Econet beginning of 2022. But the world over, 5G has not been performing as well as advertised. The kinds of speeds being promised are over 1Gbps and yet during […]


US signs MOU with DRC and Zambia for Cobalt and Copper mining and processing for Electric Vehicle batteries

The US department of state released a signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia on electric vehicle battery value chains. The document was signed on December 13, 2022, during the Africa Leaders Summit and states DRC and Zambia’s involvement in the production of Electric Vehicle batteries. DRC currently holds a […]


Elon Musk’s SpaceX has confirmed Starlink is coming to Zimbabwe this year. South Africa’s date is still unknown

For those that are unaware, Starlink is a SpaceX project providing internet all over the globe. It works in the same way as VSAT in that you buy a piece of equipment that faces the sky and connects you to the internet via a satellite above you in space. Starlink service will be available in […]


ZETDC installs its first smart meter at Harare Poly. But what is a smart meter anyway?

ZETDC has started setting up smart meters and Harare Polytechnic College was their first site to use it. We got to check out its highlight features like network connectivity and remote monitoring and control. These smart meters are pretty important if we are to dive into the age of smart grids that ZETDC is working […]


InnBucks announces fees for 2023. Charges dropped from 5% to 3%!

InnBucks, the Simbisa-owned Chicken Inn change app, and domestic remittance company has announced its rates for 2023. The highlights are that sending amounts above US$5 will now attract a fee of 3% down from the previous 5% and amounts below US$5 will only attract a fee of 1%. InnBucks tarrifs and charges January 2023 Effectively […]


BongoHive, a Zambian Tech innovation hub is hosting a webinar for Zimbabwean businesses small and large.

BongoHive, a Zambia Technology Innovation hub is hosting an information-sharing webinar in partnership with the World Bank and Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises. The webinar will be taking place on Friday the 13th of January 2023 at 2pm and is open for anyone to attend. BongoHive is hosting the webinar on […]


Zimbabwe’s unreliable electricity supply makes it the biggest adopter of solar systems in Africa

Zimbabwe’s electricity situation has not changed much. Our total power generation output is currently just over 25% of the national demand. Load shedding has been a way of life for decades in the country and those who can afford it either have backup power solutions or have switched to alternative forms of power. In a […]


WhatsApp new features, Proxy to go around social media blackouts, and more

WhatsApp has been adding quite a number of new features to the app. Starting with the most relatable one which is Proxy. It’s available on the latest versions of WhatsApp on both iOS and Android. It’s also there in WhatsApp Business if anyone was curious. WhatsApp Proxy – Use the app even if it’s blocked […]


VAT is up from 14.5% to 15% and new PAYE tax brackets for RTGS and USD for 2023

Yes, there has been a slight price bump on a lot of products and services overnight. Its retailers and service providers recalculating their pricing to accommodate the 0.5% increase in VAT from 14.5% to 15% under the Finance Act (No.2), 2022 effective 1 Jan 2023. This tax was originally 15% and was reduced to 14.5% […]


Qualcomm, Android’s biggest processor maker will be enabling satellite communication on future smartphones!

2022 was an interesting year in that we saw the introduction of satellite communication on a regular smartphone. Apple and Huawei announced that their latest smartphones, iPhone 14 series, and Huawei Mate 50 series respectively, will be able to communicate with satellites. The service on both devices is restricted to just communication with emergency services […]