Yuletide: Airtel reassures on network quality despite Kano attack

Despite the terrorist attack at the office and installation of Airtel Nigeria and MTN in Kano at the weekend, Airtel has said its strengthening networks quality for yuletide.

A press statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News, Airtel management noted that as Nigerians prepare to mark this year’s Yuletide season, Leading Telecommunications Services Provider, Airtel Nigeria has announced the roll-out of High Definition (HD) Voice Service, a network innovation that allows customers to experience exceptional voice quality across 3.75G locations in the country.

With the deployment, Airtel becomes the first mobile operator in Nigeria to launch HD Voice service in the country. The HD voice service will complement the operator’s HD data service, enabling telecoms consumers to enjoy a rich telephony experience.

HD Voice enables mobile operators to clearly differentiate their service offering with high quality voice calls on mobile networks. With HD, customers can talk normally and be heard clearly, without having to raise their voice, even in noisy environments.

Airtel says the service will enable more Nigerians enjoy a more fulfilling Christmas celebration and enter the New Year in grand style as they connect to unite with friends, family members and loved ones across the country.

Speaking on the network innovation, the Chief Operating Officer, Deepak Srivastava said Airtel is committed to improving the quality and coverage of its network and also building the most robust network Infrastructure in Nigeria.

“We will keep raising the level of our investment in Nigeria. Today, we have the largest and widest 3.75G coverage in the country and we have recorded several milestones in network quality improvement and general customer experience.

“Only recently, we recorded huge success in our 4G Trial test in Lagos and now we have deployed HD Voice service across key 3.75G locations in the country. Indeed, this demonstrates our commitment to Nigerians, testifying to our corporate vision of becoming the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians,” he said.

 

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Airtel gives HD Voice Service as Xmas present

Srivastava, Airtel Nigeria COO

One of the leading telecommunications operators in the country, Airtel Nigeria has unveiled its High Definition (HD) Voice Service as a Christmas present to its customers.

Airtel in a press statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News made known that the service would allow customers to experience an exceptional voice quality on its 3.75G network across the nation.

Airtel's HD Voice services, first of its kind according to Airtel Chief Operating Officer (COO), Deepak Srivastava , is to complement Airtel's HD data services for a better telephony experience during the Christmas and beyond.

“We will keep raising the level of our investment in Nigeria," Srivastava said that the company's commitment is to improve the quality and coverage of its network.

Airtel COO also emphasised that HD Voice Service deployment is a testimony of the company's corporate vision of becoming the most loved brand in the lives of Nigerians.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls the successful trial of 4G in Lagos by the telecom company.

The HD voice service, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered is the next generation of voice quality for telephony that it reproduces the human voice with a wider frequency range more accurately.

Smartphones supporting HD functionality can experience the magic. Some of the handsets supporting HD functions are the relatively newer models of Samsung, Blackberry, Iphone 5, HTC, Sony, Nokia among others.

Yinka Awosanya/LS
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Call for Entry - DigitalSENSE Africa Media Students’ Essay Contest 2013 on IG4D

DigitalSENSE Africa Media has announced its annual Essay Competition on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D). Topic: "Internet Governance and Cyber Security in Nigeria."

The annual DigitalSENSE Africa essay competition is open to students between the ages of 18 to 30 years. Interested candidates are to write an essay not more than 600 words on the above topic.

Entries are to be submitted on or before February 26, 2013 to                       info@digitalsenseafrica.com.ng and cc: remnekkv@gmail.com.

Winning selected essay will be published in our internationally-award winning ITRealms Online and on DigitalSENSE Business News, with profiling of the winner. Also, the winner will be sponsored to attend the 2013 edition of the West African Internet Governance Forum.

What our Panel of Judges are looking for:

1.       An essay that examines various advantages and disadvantages of topic of the year.

2.       The role of internet governance to the success or otherwise.

3.       Written in simple and clear language

4.       A Contestant must be a Nigerian student

5.       Proper identification of contestants: scanned copy of student ID

6.       Essay not in excess of 600 words on the above topic.

7.       One entry per contestant

8.       Originality, Clarity, Grammar and Presentation.

For further inquiries:

Executive Director, Operations

234-809900183
info@digitalsenseafrica.com.ng

CC: remnekkv@gmail.com.

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Smartphones now rival laptops – Cisco Study

The latest Cisco study of Internet habits of 18-30 year olds across the globe has revealed that smartphones now rivals laptops as the most single device in use.

 

This, the study noted shows how people stay connected to drive every facet of their lives: from work to shopping, friendships to family.

A brief of the report made available to DigitalSENSE Business News the 2012 Cisco Connected World Technology Report (CCWTR), shows smartphones now competes with laptops as the single most desired device by 18-30 year olds as they are seen as the most versatile and compact.

“If they had to choose only one device, a third of respondents preferred a smartphone, while slightly more than a third favored laptops.  Smartphones have surpassed desktop computers as the preferred workplace device from a global perspective and were rated twice as popular as a desktop PC and three times as popular as a tablet.

Also, the results based on a survey commissioned by Cisco of 1800 university students and young professionals aged 18 to 30, examined how this generation uses the Internet and mobile devices to connect with the world around them, and reveals their behaviors, attitudes, issues, and concerns about the creation, access, management, and privacy of the enormous amounts of data being generated daily by smartphones, sensors, video cameras, monitors, and other connected devices.

Sixty per cent of 18-30 year olds find themselves sub-consciously or compulsively checking their smartphones for emails, texts or social media updates. Of those, women are more driven to connect:  85 percent of women versus 63 percent of men find themselves often compulsively checking their smartphone for text, emails, social media updates.

Equally, over 40 per cent of respondents would go through a “withdrawal” effect and “would feel anxious, like part of me was missing” if they couldn’t check their smartphones constantly. Of those compulsive smart phone users, 60 per cent wish they didn’t feel so compelled.

Globally, Information Technology professionals are even more connected, almost one third of IT professionals stated they check their smartphones ‘continuously’ while 40 percent check at least every 10 minutes. Nearly 70 percent of respondents believe that mobile applications are important to their daily lives.

More than half  said they mainly use mobile applications for games and entertainment while one in four (27 percent) use mobile applications for work.

Vendors tend to advertise thousands of applications in their app stores, but of all those apps being downloaded daily, a surprisingly low number are actually used on a regular basis. The majority of Gen Y respondents (60 percent) report using fewer than 10 smartphone apps regularly while only one in five (20 percent) of respondents said they use 10 to 25 apps regularly

For the “always-connected” generation, a single mobile device will do, whether it is a personal device or a company-owned device, which creates challenges for the IT managers who must safeguard company assets and information. While two out of five said their company’s policy forbids them to use company-issued devices for non-work activities, four out of five– almost 80 percent said they don’t always obey those policies. IT professionals know that many employees don’t follow the rules, but they don’t understand how prevalent it is: over half of IT professionals globally thought their employees obey the policy on not using work devices for personal use.

Further, it was gathered that about online shopping,  (global trend for 18-30 year olds) nine out of 10 of respondents surveyed said they engage in online shopping, nearly three out of five (58 percent) report they regularly rely on customer reviews when deciding on online purchases; an additional 28 percent consult online reviews occasionally while fifty-seven percent  which is almost 3 out of five- are willing to share their email address with stores and online sites in order to receive notices about discounts and sales.  But they are wary of sharing much more than that – few are willing to share phone numbers, home address or other personal data.

In terms of fueling the world’s data, almost 90 percent upload photos to share or store on internet sites, 62 percent upload videos to share or store on internet sites.  87 percent have a Facebook account, and one in 10 have Facebook always up, 41 percent update Facebook at least once a day, and over one in five update Facebook several times a day and 56 percent of respondents have a Twitter account, and 21 percent tweet at least once a day.

DSBN

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2013: Exciting year with innovative consumer products says Samsung

L-R: Emmanouil Revmatas, Business Head, Hand Held Products; Miss Okikolu Olajumoke, 

Marketing Manager; Mr. Brovo Kim, Managing Director and\ Mr. Daesong Ra, 

Business Leader, Hand Held Products, all of Samsung Electronics West Africa

 at the Samsung breakfast meeting with the media at Westown Hotel, Lagos Thursday.

World's leading electronic manufacturer, Samsung Electronics, has predicted an exciting 2013 for consumers in Nigeria, just as the firm unveiled Samsung Galaxy S III Mini, and Samsung Galaxy Camera.

Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa (SEWA), Mr. Brovo Kim gave these prediction in a Lagos in a session with media, said that with the introduction of innovative products to add value to their lives that 2013 will be thrilling.

Some of the products Samsung officials predicted to create this excitement includes the newly introduced Samsung Galaxy S III Mini, which is a compact version of its rave-making flagship phone, Galaxy S III, and the much talked about ‘connected camera’ Samsung Galaxy Camera.

He also said Samsung would consolidate its leadership of the electronics market in the coming year with the introduction of a rich bouquet of innovative and competitively priced products.

“Already, we have two brilliant products that will positively impact the market in 2013: namely, our Galaxy Camera which combines high performance photography functionality with the latest Android 4.1 platform, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini, which promises unending thrill for tech-savvy fashion leaders who desire a mobile device with maximum features in a compact, rounded package,” Kim said.

Equally speaking, Business Head for Hand Held Products at Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Emmanouil Revmatas said the Samsung Galaxy Camera was designed to fit perfectly for those who wish to shoot, edit and share high quality photographs and video easily and spontaneously from anywhere, at any time.

“GALAXY Camera directly connects to 3G and Wi-Fi networks, revolutionizing the way digital camera content is created and shared. It comes with cloud support and group sharing apps, variable camera lenses and photo settings, editing tools and visual effects, full high definition video with slow-motion capability and a huge 4.8” high definition super clear touch display to view, edit and enjoy the images captured or recorded,” he said.

He further said that the Samsung camera AllShare, Share Shot application allows consumers to automatically save photos the instant they are taken and users can share at the same time as they shoot them. Users can also connect to a range of Galaxy devices including the Galaxy SIII and Galaxy Note II for effortless and automatic sharing of pictures across the Galaxy family, he said.

Speaking on the Galaxy S III Mini, he said the device shares the GALAXY S III’s breakthrough design, but in addition, affords users a more comfortable grip and incredible user-friendliness. 

According to him, the GALAXY S III mini is powered by Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), the latest version of the world’s most popular smartphone operating system. “Jelly Bean has fast, fluid and smooth graphics along with a new Google Search experience featuring Google Now, which brings you just the right information, before you even ask,” he said.

 Also speaking at the breakfast meeting, Head, Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics, Donald Etim said, “In this new era of visual communication, the growth of social networks and the increasing dominance of smartphones and tablets, we are excited to introduce two innovative, cutting edge devices that will enable our consumers share their experiences through pictures and videos with much ease.”

Emphasising that from inception as a small export business, Samsung grew to become one of the world’s leading electronics companies, specializing in digital appliances and media, semiconductors, memory and system integration.

Today, he noted, Samsung’s innovative and top quality products and processes are recognized all over the world. The company has continued to expand its product lines and reach, following its mission of making life better for consumers all over the world.

 
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