Kenyans will soon be able to access YouTube offline, following an announcement by Google that it will be extending the offline application to Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt within the next few months.

The offline YouTube app allows users to store many of the videos on YouTube for up to 48 hours and watch them later when either with slow or no internet connection at all. It also allows users to re-watch videos without waiting for it to load.

“We’ve been thrilled by the progress and feel humbled by the work that’s left to do. But we look forward to continuing our work with partners to ensure that people have a great way to access the internet, using it in ways that are relevant and useful,” said Google VP of product management, Caesar Sengupta as he announced the launch of the Android One smart phone program for countries in Africa.

GOOGLE LAUNCHES ANDROID ONE SMARTPHONE

Google has partnered with Hong Kong-based Infinix to introduce its Android One smart phone program for countries in Africa.

The Android One device by Google, going by the name the Hot 2, is available on the popular online retailer Jumia at a suggested retail price of US$88 (Sh 8,800). The hot 2 is also available at selected retail outlets in Nigeria and online from Jumia in Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Morocco.

“This is the first Android One device made with our hardware partner Infinix, one of the hottest, fastest growing smart phone brands in Africa starting today, the HOT 2 is available in Nigeria at select retail outlets and online through Jumia at a recommended retail price of N17,500* (~88 USD), and it will become available in the other countries over the next few weeks. “Google announced.

FEATURES OF HOT NOT 2

Google controls the development, design, and marketing of the devices, while leaving the building of the phones to partner manufacturers.

Last year in September, Google launched the Android One device in India and 10 other emerging markets including Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey and Philippines.

Like all Android One phones, the HOT 2 combines a high-quality hardware experience with pure Android software and brings together a quad-core MediaTek processor with 1GB memory. It has a dual SIM support and comes in black, white, red, blue, and gold (with 2GB memory) models, the hardware is a great complement to Lollipop 5.1.1, which provides up to 2x better performance and extended battery features. The Android One HOT 2 will also receive an update to the next version of Android (according to Infinix’s schedule), and thus stays fast and responsive over time.

“The software on Android One devices automatically updates to the latest version of Android and will get the Android M release after release. The goal is to provide a consistent and uncompromising smart phone experience, for everyone,” said Caesar.

Caesar also announced that Google will be helping smart phone users to get more for their MBs through a streamlined version of Google Search rolling out to devices worldwide that will offer a faster experience on low RAM phones, such as those with 512MB.

“This feature can reduce data usage on the results page by up to 90%, while removing up to ⅓ of the time it takes to load results.”He said.