@Vivomobile_SA Enters #SouthAfrica with Y11 & Y91C #VivaVivo #VivoSA #Smartphones

Hi Friends, 

Entering the market ahead of the holiday season, and amid great excitement, the new cell phone provider, VIVO mobile launches in South Africa.

With a global footprint of over two hundred million users, VIVO allows consumers the choice to own premium phone technology at an accessible price point. Known for high style and technical innovation VIVO launches in SA with the latest models from the Y-series: the Y11 and Y91C smartphones.

Inspired by the concept of “powered by youth”, VIVO’s Y Series is consistently evolving to channel the needs of today and tomorrow’s consumers in an easy to handle, technologically efficient device. All the Y-series phones combine VIVO’s AI Triple Camera’s professional camera feature with the flagship-standard visual impact of the Halo Full View™ Display.

This can be seen in the Y11, a phone designed with social and multimedia consumers in mind. It runs a Funtouch OS 9.1 system and has a.35-inch Halo Full View™ Display with a screen-to-body ratio of 89% ensuring superb visual impact with super-narrow bezels on all sides.

Additionally, the VIVO Y11 is packed with the dual-camera setup of a 13MP Main Camera and a 2MP Depth Camera. From magnificent landscapes to beautiful portraits, users can capture impressive shots effortlessly. The massive, high capacity 5000mAh battery is further complemented by VIVO's smart power management system. For gamers and those on the go, there is no need to worry about running out of battery.

For selfie lovers, and those wishing to capture the best family moments, The Y91C adopts AI photo algorithms for its camera to automatically deliver facial enhancements, saving users the trouble of manually adjusting beautification levels; achieving professional shots has never been so easy.

A 6.22-inch Halo FullView™ Display gives the Y91C a further enhanced viewing experience with a screen-to-body ratio of 88.6%. It is also fitted with a 4030mAh large-capacity battery that works with VIVO’s exclusive smart power management system, allowing for longer-lasting endurance.

The Y11 is priced at R2,699 and the Y91C enters the market at R1,899.

“We are very excited to be bringing this technology to South Africa,” says Hawa Hyath, Marketing Director, VIVO mobile South Africa. “VIVO is a hugely successful global brand that is known for its innovation and style. With global R&D centers, VIVO is consistently refining their offering to bring consumers the very best phone offering – in our pursuit of perfection, we always aim to address user pain points thereby continuing to innovate and provide the best user value. By launching ahead of the holiday season we are also giving consumers the choice to use the phones’ superlative cameras to capture holiday moments. Additionally, the Y11’s front-facing 2MP selfie camera with AI face beauty technology ensures perfect selfies are never to chance.”

To launch VIVO will kick off with a competition on 5FM and in partnership with TikTok. Listeners stand a chance to win a new device and R2,500 daily. The competition runs from December 7 for two weeks. 

The Life's Way welcomes VIVO smartphones in South Africa and let's hope that they will be able to create a great future for themselves as well as users using them. 

Cheers!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to discuss your products, launch events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay #NoFreePosts. TheLife'sWay charges a blogging fee for the time and efforts to join a new campaign or an existing one based on your requirements. Namaste!

@Starbucks_SA CEO Adrian Maizey Sees Opportunity for the Brand Locally #Starbucks

Hi Friends, 

The first Starbucks in South Africa opened in Johannesburg in 2016 and has grown to 17 stores across 3 cities. Since opening, more than 300 partners (employees) have been hired, creating an opportunity for young people with rewarding careers in retail. Distinct décor and design inspired by South African art and culture truly set Starbucks SA apart from the rest, and with a number of Starbucks outlets in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, this is just the beginning.

Earlier this month, Starbucks opened four additional coffee houses in South Africa, in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, bringing its iconic coffeehouse experience to even more customers across the country. And in November, South Africa’s own Teddy Nzama was named the 2019 Starbucks Barista Champion across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa – beating out 30,000 of his global peers to claim top honours.

As of 2 Dec, Starbucks SA is now operated by Rand Group, founded and headed by Adrian Maizey. The experienced business leader is optimistic about the Starbucks brand. With a wealth of experience and knowledge in managing investment partnerships and his entrepreneurial spirit, Adrian is bringing his expertise home to serve the American coffee brand the South African way.

“I would like to make a difference in South Africa,” Adrian says. “We intend to continue to invest in the country by creating employment and provide the South African consumer with choice and uplift the community the Starbucks way. We will create sustainable ongoing enterprises that can employ, grow and develop people, and those people can go out and spend money, and uplift their communities. It’s a virtuous cycle, and one we believe strongly in, and South Africa will benefit from that tremendously.”

Starbucks SA is passionate about the people working for the brand and subsequently created an employment system that seeks to change lives. The “Changing Lanes Programme” focuses on the development and empowerment of disadvantaged and unemployed individuals. This programme has been used to recruit candidates aged 18 - 25 to form part of the Starbucks family. These partners receive training in the art of brewing the perfect cup of coffee and delivering customer service in a way that only Starbucks can deliver. They’re supported through various training modules to ensure personal and career growth. 

Starbucks is committed to buying 100% ethically sourced coffee and investing in the livelihoods and long-term opportunity of coffee farming communities around the world – many of which are located in Africa.

On how he’s feeling about the future of Starbucks in South Africa, Adrian says, “I’m excited about its prospects, I’m excited about building the Starbucks brand and growing with the country. The two are connected. I know we can make an impact on many people’s lives and can be a beacon of excellence - an oasis of sorts - that would be a wonderful outcome. 

Adrian J. Maizey is the founder of Rand Group. After attending the University of Pretoria in 1992, Adrian went on to complete his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with distinction from the University of Nebraska and holds an MBA from the distinguished Harvard Business School. This 22-time Ironman triathlon finisher is more than your typical businessman, and with him bringing his dashing and dynamic skills to an already vibrant brand like Starbucks SA.

Cheers!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to discuss your products, launch events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay #NoFreePosts. TheLife'sWay charges a blogging fee for the time and efforts to join a new campaign or an existing one based on your requirements. Namaste!

7 Years of www.TheLifesWay.com #TheLifesWay #BlogAnniversary #7YearsofTheLifesWay #1890Post

Hi Friends,

1 Dream to Create The Life's Way

7 Years Completed

2.5 Million Pageviews Achieved
Local Guides Level 8 Top Contributor in Johannesburg, South Africa
1.4 Million Photo Views Achieved on Google Maps #LetsGuide
100k Views on Reviews Posted for Google Maps #LetsGuide

#TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra

#WalkingWithCamera #PhotographerWithPassion

Thousands of photos on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

Thanks to everyone who valued the relationship and who didn't!

As I moved into the 7th year in 2019, I made some rules which I broke again and again till it broke my confidence and got me irritated to the hell and back. I am not of the types to share and rant that emotion on social media but it really hurts me that I am not getting invited to the year-end parties when I have done so many blog posts and other social media posts for the brand for free the whole year. So as they say, it's better to come out of that kind of unvalued relationship with brands where I am ranting my anger on my kids and family members. The blog I started for my happiness and not to torture my family members. Now in 2020, I am not going to do anything which breaks my motivation and taking me for granted. It won't happen again, I will definitely make sure of this. 

Let's get back to the achievements of 2019 which, to sum up, is basically not from the blog but from the use of various social media channels and contests that happens on those platforms. The best part of 2019 was getting cash money for one of the social media posts and that's the only one throughout the year which got paid. Rest all the other things were for the posts and engagement done on the social media channels and launch events attended.

The year started by getting some of the Samsung Uflex Bluetooth earphones and Scoop speakers from the activation for Samsung S10 launch on twitter and facebook. I got my first Instax Mini 9 camera from Orbit Gum in one of their media drops and later I won SQ20 at the launch event of Fujifilm Instax. I also won the Best Photographer of Jan 2019 from Huawei Mobiles and received a medal. Huawei sponsored me their Watch GT Active to train for MTN Walk The Talk 25kms and which I successfully completed too. I won another Instax camera and an expensive perfume from Edward JoziStyle nights at the Thava Restaurant @ Montecasino dinner event. Edward is one of the innovators of The Social Media Industry in South Africa and always invites me to all his events suitable to my tastes. The best of it all was mines and Keisha photo won the Asus Vivobook S15 on which I replaced the 1TB HDD with 1TB SSD by paying R3200 to Rectron making it the fastest booting laptop I have ever used.

I became a winner of the Montagu Orange twitter contest winner and got some nice nuts and snacks from the brand which I totally loved eating. I won the Dermalogica gift hamper at the launch event of Sorbet Man in Morningside Mall. Huawei gave FreeLace earphones in one of the launch events which I really wanted from them from the start and enjoying the sound of the same. Netflix South Africa gave me a six-month membership and I watched a lot of movies and TV series. I also won an Acer Predator Gaming Mouse by tweeting the most from one of Predator Fortnite gaming events. Unilever finally sent some samples goodies after posting for them for more than 2 years for free. I am grateful to Martin for picking me up for the Kids toys like Scrabble and Mattel Mega Crystal Creatures which my daughter Keisha did the unboxing videos on. There is a hidden talent right at home and in 2020 she is going to be my main model for everything related to Parenting and Kids products on my Youtube Channel.

Keisha won another Instax camera from the Getaway show for her photograph on Instagram. I was the lucky winner at India Day in Wanderers Stadium and won myself 2 nights stay at the City Lodge, Fourways. There were many small gifts I got from my work location at MTN based on their employee's fun activities and brand activations from time to time. Finally, the 3M Privacy Gold Filter arrived from the USA and I picked it up immediately from their office as the wait was quite long. DJI gave a nice carry bag to carry all my wires and cables which I always wanted from long at their Mavic Mini launch event. MIOPS sent me a Mobile Remote to make all my camera accessible by my smartphone using the MIOPS Mobile App.

I really loved the goodies received from Disney when they launched the Avengers End Game DVD and it was totally unexpected. Many thanks! I was part of the Huawei Watch GT 2 launch where our team won the challenge and received the Huawei Smart scale as the prize which is helping me check my weight and maintain the same too. Other than these I got to see a lot of stage shows, music events and movies from time to time. I will continue to promote all those events in the future as it keeps me active throughout the year and give me enough content to share on all my social media platforms. During the South Africa rugby world cup season, I drove all my colleagues to participate in beer brands twitter giveaways that they all got so many beer bottles from Castle Lager, Flying Fish, and Heineken for free.

The various things which irritated me were not getting invited to any of the Silverstar casino events or Montecasino events. I was not invited to the Year-End function of Huawei Mobiles nor I was invited to any of the Samsung launch events throughout the year. I didn't get any Huawei smartphones or newly launched products like earphones and Watch GT 2 throughout the year and neither I was invited to the Lenovo breakfasts this year. I didn't get any Acer products for review and there was no goodies bag from the one event I attended with them. Canon South Africa told me not to participate in their events as I was overdoing it so I stopped it completely.

Many product reviews are pending at my end which I intend to finish in December 2019 before the 7th anniversary of The Life's Way comes along with some of the ABC of Success posts which I totally love to write based on my experiences in this industry. My next target is to complete 500 reviews on Google Maps and take the photographs and videos on the platform to cross 10000. My Youtube channel will be my main focus area throughout the next 3 years and let's see if I have it in me or not? If it works out I can be someone brands will be interested to collaborate else I will continue to live passionately enjoying Music, Movies, TV series, Youtube, Masterclasses, Lynda Courses and books on my Kindle Keyboard. Let's go!

Cheers!!!
Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to discuss your products, launch events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay #NoFreePosts. TheLife'sWay charges a blogging fee for the time and efforts to join a new campaign or an existing one based on your requirements. Namaste!

#TheLifesWayReviews - #OsmoMobile3 Gimbal @DJIGlobal #7YearsofTheLifesWay

Hi Friends,

DJI Osmo Mobile 3 is the latest smartphone gimbal from the house of DJI who are world leaders in making your videography experience take up a notch higher. Gimbal not only helps to stabilize your videos but also you can be part of your own selfies beyond your extended arm and can track your movements to make your vlogging a natural process. I bought DJI Osmo Mobile 2 and it was there without being opened for 2 months before I opened the same on my birthday this year on 22nd July and soon I found out that the new one is getting launched so I returned the Osmo Mobile 2 to wait for the Osmo Mobile 3. I got the chance to be part of the special invite to attend the review unit takeaway kind of launch event for 2 weeks. These are certain things that made me immediately fell in love with this gimbal. Let's check out one by one - 

1. Portability - DJI Osmo Mobile 2 which I took to the Photo and Film Expo this year at Kyalami was difficult to carry even in your carry bag. The DJI Osmo Mobile 3 is not only foldable but also weights less. This can be folded and you can just put it in your backpack or jeans back pocket for immediate retrieval. Also, a locking mechanism ensures that your gimbal is ready to be carried with ease. The Gimbal weights 405 grams and with the tripod that comes in combo package it will be around 450 grams and with smartphones on the top, it will be around 700 grams in total. If you buy the combo package, you will get a hard case to safeguard your gimbal against any shocks and breaks but it won't be able to hold the tripod inside the hard-shelled case.

2. Switching Orientations - Portrait mode was introduced in DJI Osmo Mobile 2 but in Mobile 3 version, it can be done with a press of a button and your capturing world can be turned from landscape mode to portrait and vice versa. Even changing from rear camera to front camera is just some clicks of a single button and you are ready to start vlogging or taking selfies. Mounting a smartphone is made easy and you are ready to shoot videos in no time. Any smartphones having a maximum weight of 225 grams is good enough for the device. 

3. Charging the smartphone - Earlier it was difficult to charge your smartphone while in use on Mobile 2 as the smartphone charging socket was hidden in one of the two arms but with DJI Osmo Mobile 3, there is only a single arm leaving the phone sockets open for your consumption. You can easily attach your charging cable and withdraw power from the gimbal as it works as a power bank too. Also, the gimbal has a battery life of 15 hours as marked on the packaging and can be fully charged in around 2.5 hours. The Li-ion battery capacity is 2450 mAh which is enough to charge any smartphone.  

4. Gesture Controls and Active Tracking - Some of the new features introduced are Active tracking 3.0 where the new gimbal can track your movements and keep the smartphone rear camera looking towards you. The same is just activated in the settings and then touching the smartphone screen to focus on a person immediately and track him or her. Gesture control is a feature usually seen in a smartphone selfie camera where you show your palm or peace sign and picture countdown timer starts.

5. Panoramic Rotation - The best part of DJI Osmo Mobile 3 is that it can be used without installing any app on your smartphone. Any smartphone can be installed on the arm of the gimbal and then you can scroll the smartphone camera from one end to another and also you can control the speed of rotation. Huawei also introduced a collaboration with Osmo Mobile 3 during its launch of the Mate 30 series smartphone. The panoramic rotation helps you take great video shots at the top of the mountains or at the beach and the applications are huge. 

6. DJI Mimo App -  A new smartphone application has been introduced for Mobile 3 gimbal where it enhances the capabilities of your videography with pre-installed programmed modes to shoot 10 seconds or more video in 13 fun templates. Story mode creates awesome cinematic videos ready to be shared on your social media channels online. This is the place where you will spend most of the time learning, editing and sharing.

7. Next Level Photography and Videography - The new gimbal can take timelapse, hyper-lapse and motion lapse with ease and without making you sweat much. Also the slow-motion is so cinematic that you will fall in love with the same. Also with one touch, you can shoot various funky videos where the editing will be done by the Gimbal DJI Mimo App. 

Overall this is something you should have if you are into smartphone videography or photography and wants to take it a notch higher. Also, the gimbal will introduce stabilization to your artificial image-stabilized smartphone camera and you will definitely see better results. I see it as a huge potential to make you an amateur YouTuber as with the combo package, you can install the gimbal on the active tracking version and start talking to the camera and a video will be ready to be shared in no time wherever you are in the whole world. Go check it out!

Cheers!!!
Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to discuss your products, launch events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay #NoFreePosts. TheLife'sWay charges a blogging fee for the time and efforts to join a new campaign or an existing one based on your requirements. Namaste!

A Memoir - This Month Last Year - Dec 2018 www.thelifesway.com #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra

Hi Friends, 

December is always the month of making new plans and some ideas that need to be implemented but the problem faced is the execution of the plans and ideas. Action to execute the planned strategy and deviation from that is my biggest weakness which I am going to correct this season when I celebrate my 7th Blog anniversary. I have been lazy this complete year of 2019 and didn't do much but in 2020 I have to be more active in terms of my social media skills. 

ABC - Always Be Creating - will be my first principle to follow. I am not going to wait for the right time, right moments, If I have the intuitive edge, the creative ideas I will start implementing the same then and there on the same day no matter what's the time of the day. 

Dec 2018 I didn't do any posts as I was focussed on getting a lot of photos using the Sony cameras I had at that time for review and doing vacations with the family locally. I even don't remember now what I did last summer. Lol! This year I am thinking of completing all the review posts pending till today which needs to go live. The plan is to launch 2 posts per day for the whole of December starting now. 

I also now focussing more on making videos and learning from scratch on how to shoot videos and editing them for Youtube channel and using all those video editing software. I have been readying myself with all the tools and equipment purchases through all these years and now I have everything I can think of.

The Life's Way got some things achieved in the last 7 years and some there are still distant dreams which need to be fulfilled in the next 3 years where the focus will be on making videos and Instagram stories.

Let's hope for the best of 2020 for all of us and let's brings ourselves closer to our dreams and goals!

Cheers!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to discuss your products, launch events, and services. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay #NoFreePosts. The Life's Way charges a blogging fee for the time and efforts to join a new campaign or an existing one based on your requirements. Namaste!