Google held their first Google for South Africa event, a few days after the one in Kenya and they have introduced interesting products for that market.
The most interesting one is that they are announcing Google Station for the Cape Town area.
Google Station is their service which allows their partners to roll out Wi-Fi hotspots in public spaces. Their aim is to provide fast and reliable Wi-Fi to people around the world.
In South Africa, they are partnering with ThinkWiFi, an ISP in the country to provide free Wi-Fi for the Cape Flats in the Western Cape. Google says that Google Station will be available in more than 100 locations across this region.
Internet access in Africa is limited and that is what Google is planning with this venture. Apparently only 39% of Africans have access to the web. Most Africans don’t have Wi-Fi in their homes. “By gaining access to information via the Internet, we hope that people in these communities will get a more equal opportunity to learn and develop and live more empowered lives,” Google says.
South Africa is the second African country, after Nigeria to get Google Station. Google Station is also available in Brazil, Philippines, India, Mexico and Indonesia.
In the same event. Google also launched products like in the Kenyan event. They launched Bolo (speech based reading app for kids) and Google Go which is targeted at smartphones with low RAM or storage space. They also launched Cameos which is a selfie style video app which allows public figures to answer questions about themselves in Search. Assistant is also getting new features in the region where you can order an Uber via the Assistant or let it read South African specific news.
