“Traditionally customers would have to visit a Vodacom store and present some form of identification, proof of residence and the SIM card. Now, with Vodacom adding additional self-service functionalities to their chatbot, customers can Self-RICA with TOBi’s help,” said Vodacom in a statement.

During the Self-RICA process, TOBi – Vodacom’s self service chatbot – will assist with capturing and validating personal information against external trusted sources including the Department of Home Affairs, biometrics and AI – creating ultimate convenience for the customer. TOBi has been developed to give quick and easy access to information wherever and whenever customers are in need.

Vodacom further explains that the process is as simple as;

• taking a picture, scanning a new prepaid SIM card, an ID document or passport for foreign nationals and then

• recording a video with a unique PIN as proof that you are the correct person.

All these identities are compared using AI and biometrics and then verified with the Department of Home Affairs. Once verified, the customer can insert the SIM in any cellphone where they will receive a welcome message from Vodacom with their new cellphone number.

First Impressions Count

At first glance, the Smart Ultra 7 is quite possibly one of the most elegant and gorgeously designed smartphones I’ve ever seen for under R4000. It has a slim, 7.9mm profile and classy, carbon fibre-like honeycomb textured back.
Admittedly, the Smart Ultra 7’s vibrant, charcoal and silver looks aren’t quite as fun as the Sony Xperia Z3’s glossy cases, but its understated design definitely works in its favour. You wouldn’t even know it was a Vodacom phone at first glance, as the small, stainless Vodacom logo blends in subtly with the rest of the handset. Its textured volume and power keys are another great touch, as they not only feel great under your thumb, but are also very easy to find by touch alone. It’s small details like this that really elevate the Smart Ultra 7 above other cut-price smartphones, and makes it feel more upmarket than it really is.

In Use

The Ultra 7 features a big 5.5-inch screen that will please phablet fans. Problems emerge via its poor touchscreen responsiveness which isn’t entirely unexpected as it comes equipped with a MediaTek MT6755 processor. MediaTek-equipped phones have a reputation for sluggish touchscreen controllers, but this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. The good news is that the screen has surprisingly good contrast, although brightness is a bit on the low side and colour accuracy is merely good rather than excellent.

Image quality outdoors in bright sunlight on its 13MP sensor was decent with well-judged exposure and reasonable amounts of detail. Image quality in even modestly dim lighting was a mess though. We did not even attempt to use the front facing camera.

All the said might be acceptable if the trade-off was for better battery life, but the Smart Ultra 7 fell behind here too. It just scraped in a time of 20 hours when connected to Vodacom’s 4G network and used for a range of everyday tasks (apart from gaming).

In Closing

The Smart Ultra 7 It’s a significant step up over Vodacom’s other related offerings, and even if it doesn’t quite topple the mighty Xperia Z3. To make up, Vodacom was kind enough bundle the device with screen insurance, free data and Deezer subscriptions. But still, these don’t seem to justify its R3199 retail price.

Key features:

·         a highly responsive WVGA 4 inch capacitive touchscreen;

·         dual core 1.3Ghz processor, supported by 512Mb of RAM;

·         high-speed 3G HSPA+ (HSDPA/HSUPA) and Wi-Fi connectivity;

·         Android4.2.2, Jelly Bean operating system;

·         an option to customise the device with colourful back covers

·         3.2 megapixel camera.