Nokia marks Asha Series anniversary, unveils Asha 205, 206

Nokia Asha 205

 The leading mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia celebrates the first anniversary of the launching of Nokia Asha series into the global mobile phone market.

The anniversary also witnessed the global launch of two Asha series; Asha 205, a qwerty keyboard phone and Asha 206, a 2.4” display with classic alphanumeric keypad. The two devices would be available in single and dual SIM.

Speaking during the anniversary in Lagos, the Product Marketing Manager, Nokia Mobile Phone, Ayokunle Adeshina revealed that 12 models of Asha series were released within the last one year in over 138 countries of the world with over 6.5 million Asha devices in circulation.

Trust and quality, Adeshina said are the trademarks of Asha devices as there is innovation in power management as well as smarter internet experience with express browser.

Nokia Asha 206

Head of Mobile Phones of Nokia India, Middle East & Africa, Calin Turcanu said that Asha dual SIM series give users a unique SIM swap experience where they do not need to turn off their device to change SIM.

Turcanu who gave some of the features of the new devices said Asha 205 comes in two series, as single and double SIM, and also have a dedicated Facebook key which is the first of its kind reiterating Nokia’s leadership position in smartphone devices.

He also made known that Asha 205 has 40 free EA games available for download and numerous other applications available on the Nokia Apps store, and supports YouTube streaming and self portrait giving users the experience to snap themselves with ease.

Commenting on the Facebook partnership with Nokia for the dedicated Facebook button, Mobile Growth Manager, Africa for Facebook, Nicola D’Elia said partnership is meant to work towards delivering the best Facebook experience to as many people as possible.

Rutherfoord, Nokia Vice President,
West & Central Africa

The Nokia Asha 205 and Asha 206 devices are expected to be released in December 2012 and January 2013 respectively.

Like with Asha 205 with a dedicated Facebook button, with the Asha 206, users would enjoy fast access to Facebook and Twitter right from the home screen. Asha 206 also comes with WhatsApp and a gift pack of 10 free, premium content items.

Nokia Vice President for West & Central Africa, James Rutherfoord said the new devices uses Nokia Xpress Internet platform using Nokia’s cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up t 85%, giving more affordable internet access.

Asha 205 and Asha 206 are the first mobile phones devices to include Nokia’s exclusive Slam feature which allow users to share photos, music and videos with nearby friends who have Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones without the need to pair devices.

Yinka Awosanya

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Etisalat unveils EasyFlex

(L-R): Director, Product & Service, Mr. Lucas Dada; Head, Consumer Market, Mr. Idowu Adesokan;

Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Wael Ammar; Manager, High Value Prepaid, Miss Chinelo Mbanefo;

Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Steven Evans and Director, Marketing Segments & Strategy, Mr. Oluwole Rawa,

all of Etisalat Nigeria, at the Etisalat EasyFlex launch, held at Protea Hotel, IKoyi, Lagos, on Monday.

Acclaimed leading innovative and fastest growing telecommunications company, Etisalat Nigeria has unveiled the first of its kind Flexible bundle package known as EasyFlex.

Chief executive officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans, said, the new Flexible package is an all-in-one plan which offers customers the best value for money in and true freedom to browse, text and make calls to any network whichever way they desire, without any restrictions.

The Easyflex plan, he said, comes with four variants the Flex N1000, Flex N700, Flex N500 and Flex N300. Flex N1,000 offers customers up to 100 minutes talk time to call any network or 100 megabyte data or 400 SMS to any network; Flex N700 bundle offers customers 70 minutes talk time to call any network or 70 megabyte data or 280 SMS to any network; Flex N500 offers customers 50 minutes talk time to any network or 50 megabyte data or 200 SMS to any network; while Flex N300 offers customers 25 minutes talk time to any network or 25 megabyte data or 100 SMS to any network. Customers can however mix and match as they browse, call and send SMS to all networks as they wish on all four variants of Easy Flex.

Etisalat customers on any of the prepaid packages who wish to enjoy the huge benefits of easyflex will have to migrate by dialing *344*bundle of their choice#. For instance, to purchase Flex N1,000, customers  should simply dial *344*1000#, *344*700# for  Flex N700, *344*500# for Flex N500 and *344*300# for Flex N300.

Additionally, Mr. Evans said, the company invests heavily in research in a bid to understand the needs, lifestyle and communication habits of its customers, stressing Etisalat’s commitment to customer satisfaction, saying that this is at the heart of its business.

“It is our brand nature to provide value for all our customers through our products and services. Our products and services are easy and simple to understand, and are tailored to help the subscriber get instant access to family, friends and business partners via voice calls, data and SMS. Etisalat has taken advantage of consumer insights to design easyflex – which bundles, SMS, Data and Voice services all-in-one product that offers the best value for money in Nigeria”, he said.

Also speaking at the launch, Etisalat’s Chief Commercial Officer, Wael Ammar said that migration to Easyflex is free and any customer seeking to enjoy the benefits of Easyflex should simply purchase the bundle of their choice by recharging N1,000, N700, N500 or N300 and dialing the required opt-in code.

“Easyflex is flexible because you can use the bundle for either local or international voice calls, SMS, or Pay-as-You-Go data or a combination of all these services without restriction. It also offers lower tariff on voice calls, SMS and data thus giving the customer the freedom to make more calls, browse and text for less,” he said.

Ammar pointed out that as a customer-focused business in a highly competitive telecoms industry whose customers are increasingly becoming sophisticated, consuming more data, and embracing the use of smartphones, tablets and data-enabled devices, Etisalat continues to evolve.

 
“We continue to segment our market to create products that are suited to the demands of our customers. Easyflex is our latest response to the changing tastes and preferences of our customers. It is the product for young upwardly mobile professionals, trend setters and discerning business people”, Ammar said.

Remmy Nweke
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Quality of Service tops agenda @ATCON with regulators, CEOs

L

Quality of service (QoS) is on the top of the one-day meeting between the telecom executives and regulators being put together by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

Executive Secretary, Mr. Ajibola Olude, said the event is slated for Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at the Golden Gate Paradise, Ikoyi, Lagos.

He revealed that the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, would present a keynote address expected to cover, amongst other things, Quality of Service issue; Number Portability; Open Access to Broadband Infrastructure; Provision of Frequency Spectrum for Service delivery as well as Mainstreaming Local Content in the Nigerian Telecoms development. 

President of ATCON, Mr. Lanre Ajayi was quoted in a press statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News, as saying they would set the stage for the day’s discussion through a welcome address.

He said, the forum which is open to all operators in the telecoms sector in Nigeria, is designed to create an opportunity for key industry players to interact with the regulator, with the aim of building a continual good working relationship. It is also aimed at creating a platform for the regulator to update the industry on the regulator’s directions and plans for the industry in the coming years.

Further, he said, the forum is designed as a veritable avenue for the regulator to receive feedback from the industry with a view to understanding the challenges and prospects industry players have to grapple with and explore to ensure sustained growth of the industry.

Also, participants, he said, are expected to brainstorm on measures that would accelerate the expansion of telecommunications services across the federation in the years ahead.

The forum, according to Ajayi would include a panel discussion sessions to allow elaborate and judicious deliberations on the various sub-themes.

“Participation in this forum is restricted to top executives of telecom operating companies. As the name of the event implies, participation is strictly for high level management personnel of operating companies,” he said, stressing that delegates to the forum must consist of decision makers in the participating organizations, so as to ensure that issues are discussed with seriousness of purpose.

ATCON, he said, has also indicated that there are a few sponsorship opportunities for companies wishing to take advantage of the highly executive networking platform to gain heighten public relations mileage for their organizations.

“Some of the benefits of sponsoring the event include opportunity to make commercial presentations, products exhibitions, profile listing and advert placement in event brochure as well as advert placement on ATCON website for a whole 90 days,” he said.

 

DSBNews/PR
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Okere, Ndukwe lead guests @ ADFA’12

Austin Okere, GMD, CWG

All is now set for the second biennial Africa Digital Forum and Awards 2012, according to the organizers led by Tayo Adewuisi, with the Group Managing Director, Computer Warehouse Group, Mr. Austin Okere leading speakers while Dr. Ernest Ndukwe of Open Media Group presiding over the occasion.

Disclosing these, weekend, he said the Africa Digital Forum (ADF) with the theme ‘Broadband challenges; The Journey Ahead’ would be examining the critical issues affecting the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) such as broadband and its attendant challenges; what are those main issues militating against broadband penetration in Nigeria.

According to him, the poor quality of service in the telecom sector and what could be done to bring back to life the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators are some of the issues to be discussed at the forum and solutions proffered.

The event, he said, comes up on Friday, November 23 at Sheraton Hotels and Towers, Ikeja-Lagos by 9am, stressing that the forum would draw attention to industry issues through experts that have contributed to the development of ICT space in the past.

Leading other industry experts to the occasion is former Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and chairman, Open Media, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe would chair the event.
 

The focus of the second edition of ADA, he said, is to celebrate individuals and corporate entities that have leveraged on the potent power of ICT to innovate and execute different ideas.

Also, he said, the Group Managing Director, Computer Warehouse Group, Mr. Austin Okere would be the guest speaker at the event and would be supported by Engr. Umar Bindir, Director General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).
 

He further informed that this year’s edition coincides with the tenth year anniversary of the award winning television programme; ICT Watch Network, which was anchored by him since inception.

While speaking on those that have been pencilled for honours, he said aside several industry experts that would attend the awards, over three state governors would attend the event and the Special guest of honour is the Minister for Communication Technology, Omobola Johnson.
 

Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah would deliver the keynote address that would pinpoint the next direction of the industry.

 
Former Communications Minister and one of the greatest influences on the ICT industry in Nigeria in the last decade, Engr. Olawale Ige would also grace the event.
 
Organisations that have confirmed attendance include NCC, NBC, NITDA, NIGCOMSAT, Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC), ATCON, ALTON, ISPON, ITAN, Omatek Computers, Teledom Group, 
Digitest, Zinox Computers, Systemspecs Software among others.

DSBNews Desk

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