Microsoft showcases its latest generation of technologies to Kenyan professionals

 By Dan Muhuni

Yesterday world's software giant Microsoft brought Kenyan professionals and enthusiasts together to look at the latest generation of products and services from Microsoft and its partners, at a technology event designed to improve the way various professionals  communicate at work, at home and on the go.

“For over 18 years we have worked with over 20,000 commercial partners across Africa delivering a vast array of software products, services and solutions,” said Louis Otieno, General Manager Microsoft, East and Southern Africa. “However in Kenya this is the first time we have invited local technology professionals and enthusiasts to share our approach to the next generation of computing backed by an industry-leading annual investment of $9.5 billion in research and development spanning the PC, mobile phone and Web.”

‘Open Door’ is one of 14 Microsoft  experiential  technology showcases taking place in Africa in 2010-2011, reaching 6,000 people  across 12 countries including Algeria, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa.

“Participating with Microsoft in this Open Door event emphasizes our joint commitment to delivering the latest technology solutions to consumers, business and developers alike across East Africa” said Harry Chager, the Chief Executive Officer of Computer Revolution Africa, a Microsoft business partner in East Africa.

Based on over 18 years’ of experience of working in 54 countries across Africa, Microsoft demonstrated a number of products and services at the ‘Open Door’ showcase, including:

Communication: The brand new Microsoft Lync 2010 provides a single platform that integrates audio, video and instant messaging. Forrester Research estimates that customers can expect a 337% return on investment in Lync in just 12 months based on reductions in the cost of  PBX telephone systems,  IT labor, calls to the IT help desk, as well as travel.

Connection: With emails, contacts, photos and documents scattered among different personal computers and devices, Windows 7 and Windows Live Essentials 2011 simplifies the things people do every day by using the power of the Internet to help people create, connect and share what's important anytime, from virtually anywhere. Since Microsoft launched Windows 7 a year ago, Microsoft has sold more than 240 million licenses worldwide with a 94% customer satisfaction rate.

Collaboration: Microsoft Office 2010, along with popular productivity applications – Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010 – help people connect, express ideas and solve problems. Microsoft also offers a free online companion to Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote, called Microsoft Office Web Apps that gives people the freedom to easily access, edit, and share Microsoft Office documents online. Web Apps help preserve the look and feel of a document regardless of device, so content and format are generally preserved while moving between the PC, mobile phone and Internet browser.

Cost-saving: By using the scale of the Internet to connect a variety of technical devices and endpoints - anything from a huge server to the smallest of mobile phones - so that they can work together, the ‘cloud’ ties Lync 2010, Windows 7, Windows Live Essentials 2011 and Office 2010 together and represents the most affordable and flexible computing experience yet for Microsoft customers. With IT as a service now available in a private ‘cloud’ on premise, hosted by a partner or in a Microsoft datacentre, people or businesses anywhere in Africa can choose where and how they manage, deploy and store their data  in the ‘cloud’.

Open Door event is designed to share the latest technology advancements with IT Professionals and developers in local markets, providing participants a chance to ask Microsoft's specialists general or specific questions. The forum serves to educate users on the functionality of various technology products, solutions and services and how these can make their lives easier.
In an interview after the open door event, Benson Njoroge a Computer teacher at Muranga High school could not hide his joy for having gained a lot in terms of the new microsoft products. "I have used microsoft products since i was a computer science student at the University of Nairobi but i have never had an opportunity to hear from Microsoft but todays work shop was a breakthrough in my entire career life since i have gained alot"

Timothy an ICT programmer with the NIC bank also said ' its really a noble idean for microsoft to bring the ICT professionals in one table and discuss some of their products since we end up gaining alot as far as our field is concerned.

Microsoft Lync ushers in a new era of business communications

By Dan Muhuni

Software Giant, Microsoft East and Southern Africa, today announced the general availability of Microsoft Lync, formerly Office Communications Server, ushering in a new era of business communications.  Starting today, anyone can download a free trial version of Lync at www.lync.com and business customers can now purchase the product.

Lync can make every engagement a virtual face-to-face meeting, because any interaction can now include video and audio conferencing, application and desktop sharing, instant messaging, and telephony. Lync also works with the applications people know and use today, including Microsoft Office, SharePoint and Microsoft Outlook- which helps organizations reduce adoption hurdles, because employees are already familiar and comfortable with these popular Microsoft tools. Administrators can benefit from a single, secure management infrastructure, new capabilities to increase adoption, and interoperability with existing systems.  These features lower cost of ownership, allow smoother deployment and migration, and provide greater choice and flexibility.

Speaking during the Microsoft Open Door event, Hardeep Sound, Regional Solutions Sales Manager at Microsoft, East and Southern Africa said that, “Lync delivers on Microsoft’s vision to unify enterprise voice, instant messaging and Web-, audio- and videoconferencing into a new, connected communications experience. IT departments can evolve their infrastructure and either augment or remove their PBX systems with Lync.  And by deploying Lync they will empower their workforce to communicate and collaborate more efficiently and effectively, and stay connected to others on a wide range of devices no matter where they are located.”

Customers using Lync 2010 are already changing the way they communicate, and find they are transforming their businesses while saving money.

”Lync’s voice capabilities can be used as an alternative to desk phones. Lync fits into an existing environment, so that organisations do not have to ‘rip and replace’ what they are currently using.  Lync can be built on top of a company’s infrastructure, therefore giving a lot more flexibility to communicate and collaborate with the right person, at the right time from familiar applications, whether at the office, at home, or on the road. Adopting Lync Server 2010 offers organisations the opportunity to improve their unified communications environment.” added Edwin Kiiru, Line of Business Manager – Microsoft Solutions at Dimension Data East Africa.

Microsoft Lync is the new family brand for the products formerly known as Microsoft Communications Server, Microsoft Communications Online and Microsoft Communicator, and now also includes Microsoft Lync Web App, and Microsoft Lync Online.

Bharti airtel signs an agreement with Manchester United

 By Dan Muhuni

Airtel staff during the agreement signing ceremony at Old Trafford

Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company, has today announced an exclusive partnership with Manchester United Football Club and signed a four year partnership agreement.  This is a first of its kind partnership signed between Bharti Airtel and Manchester United in the African continent.

Through the partnership Manchester United will support the airtel Allstars search for young African football talent, while airtel Kenya customers of will have the opportunity to win tickets to watch the Red Devils play in Manchester, take part in coaching sessions and access exclusive Manchester United news and download highlights, ringtones and wallpapers through the airtel Live mobile portal.

Airtel Kenya managing director, Rene Meza, said:  “Football is the universal passion of Africa and there’s no bigger club in the world than Manchester United.  I’m tremendously excited about the opportunities for airtel customers to interact with the brand, win exclusive match tickets and signed shirts and have the chance to train with coaches from one of the leading academies in world football.

“Manchester United’s Old Trafford home is known as the Theatre of Dreams and that is exactly what we hope to fulfill: the dreams of thousands of airtel customers over the next four years.  We’re also launching our ambitious airtel Allstars initiative, in association with Manchester United, to find and nurture African talent to make it right to the top of the professional game.”

Announcing the deal, David Gill, chief executive officer, Manchester United said:  "We’re delighted to announce a new four year partnership with airtel in Kenya, one of the most innovative mobile operators in Africa.  This deal gives airtel exclusive rights as the official mobile communications partner of Manchester United in Kenya with access to unique mobile phone content, including player interviews, goal replays and match reports.

He added:  "This ground breaking partnership will bring the action of Manchester United direct to our millions of fans in Kenya and we’re pleased to support airtel in developing the rich pool of young football talent through the airtel Allstars initiative."

airtel will be featured on the club's website, which is the most visited sports website in the world.  airtel customers will also have regular opportunities to take part in competitions and prize draws to win all expenses paid trips to attend Manchester United matches.

Each year airtel and Manchester United will run training sessions at the Manchester United Academy, one of the world's most prestigious football training centres.  There will be opportunity for customers to attend coaching sessions with Manchester United coaches in the region.

Andre Beyers, Bharti airtel's chief marketing officer, said:  “Sport can be a powerful vehicle for social change, bringing people together and instilling values of teamwork and personal standards.  Mobile communications is also a facilitator of social change and economic development, and we hope that our association with Manchester United will help drive us towards achieving those goals.”

Nokia, Microsoft and Safaricom partner for Exchange ActiveSync Mobile Email in Kenya.

By Dan Muhuni

Nokia East Africa has made a milestone through the launch of a strategic partnership together with Microsoft and Safaricom. The partnership will now make Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync available to all Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices. Over 50 Nokia devices feature the Mail for Exchange mobile email application, making Nokia’s device range the largest ever to enable the solution chosen by more businesses than any other messaging solution. In particular and where Safaricom fits into the partnership, their customers will enjoy Safaricom data bundles available on their Nokia Eseries and Nokia NSeries devices as a result.

“The Nokia-Microsoft collaboration is to bring corporate mobile email to businesses and mobile professionals is truly unbeatable. No other device manufacturer provides the wide range of devices that we have which immediately mobilize the hundreds of millions of email accounts from Microsoft Exchange,” said Kenneth Oyolla, Head of Sales, Nokia East and Southern Africa. “The costs of mobility are contained as companies and especially small medium enterprises (SMEs) are able to utilize existing Microsoft Exchange infrastructure, and there is also the strong possibility that a large number of employees already have one or more of the 50 Nokia devices that enable Mail for Exchange.”

“Nokia is a valued partner and we are pleased they are making it easier for their approximately 120 million S60 3rd Edition customers to realize the benefits of Microsoft Exchange Server,” said Louis Otieno, General  Manager,  Microsoft East and Southern Africa.  “This collaboration with Nokia and Safaricom further demonstrates the importance consumers and businesses place on accessing Exchange Server data from mobile devices in addition to traditional desktop clients.  This partnership announced today will help Nokia give its users that access and help make them be more productive.”

Nokia owners whose companies use Exchange can set up Mail for Exchange for free on their devices in various ways without paying additional services or subscription fees – from the email set-up plug-in on the home screen, by launching the application from the Download! folder, or via the Settings Wizard**. Once the application is set up, users utilize their current data plan service to get real-time access to their office email, calendar, contacts, tasks and company directory over a secure connection.

“We take corporate and IT security policies seriously, and a comparison study showed that the device management and security policies for devices such as the Nokia E and Nseries are robust,” added Mr Oyolla. “This should give business heads and IT managers greater confidence when choosing between device brands to mobilize their workforce.”

By connecting to the Exchange Server 2007, Mail for Exchange enables features such as Autodiscover, which drastically simplifies the set-up process by requiring the email account holder to only enter their email address, password, domain and usernames; ‘Out of Office’ messaging, enabling busy professionals to set their out-of-office messages directly from their Nokia device; synchronization when roaming, a must-have feature for travelling businesspeople; and also Flag status for follow-ups.

Microsoft and Nokia launched in May 2010 an important milestone for both companies: Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia devices. It is the first application from the companies’ alliance around mobile productivity announced last August. Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia devices is a new unified communications client which connects directly with a company’s communications systems to streamline mobile collaboration. It provides real-time presence information and rich instant messaging (IM) functionality and thus helps people connect more easily with their colleagues. Owners of Symbian based Nokia Eseries smartphones Nokia E72, Nokia E52 and Nokia E5 can download the English version of the application today from Ovi Store.

While the Exchange ActiveSync protocol is compatible with many types of devices, Nokia device users will have access to features that are currently not available in other Exchange ActiveSync licensees’ devices. Setting email priorities, alerts for meeting request conflicts, a standalone global address list application to search for a colleague’s contact details quickly, downloading and editing all types of attachments, not just image files, are must-have factors that users will expect from their mobile email application.

Microsoft Exchange Server is the industry’s leading server for e-mail, calendaring and unified messaging. Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is the foundation for a dynamic and holistic unified communications experience, and has been designed to meet the challenges, and address the messaging needs, of today’s businesses. Exchange Server 2007 provides customers with anywhere access to information, advanced built-in protection and greater operational efficiency.

Nokia Devices Enabling Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync:

Nokia Eseries: Nokia E71, Nokia E66, Nokia E90 Communicator, Nokia E70, Nokia E65, Nokia E62, Nokia E61i, Nokia E61, Nokia E60, Nokia E51, Nokia E50, Nokia E52, E72, Nokia E5

Nokia Nseries: Nokia N96, Nokia N85, Nokia N79, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia N95, Nokia N82, Nokia N81 8GB, Nokia N81, Nokia N78, Nokia N77, Nokia N76, Nokia N75, Nokia N73, Nokia N93, Nokia N93i, Nokia N80, Nokia N91, Nokia N92, Nokia N71, N86, N8

Other Nokia S60 3rd Edition devices: Nokia 3250, Nokia 5500, Nokia 6290, Nokia 6110 Navigator, Nokia 6120 Classic, Nokia 6121 Classic, Nokia 6122 Classic, Nokia 6124, Nokia 6650 Fold, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, Nokia 5700, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 6220 Classic, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Nokia S40 devices: Nokia C3

Nokia's Ovi Store offers the world's most popular Football apps and games to Kenyan football Fans

By Dan Muhuni

How are you connected to this year’s football World Cup? Are you waiting for the news in the press, glued to your TV, or is your mobile playing a big part in feeding your addiction?

Football fans in Kenya can enjoy the World Cup no matter where they are through Nokia’s Ovi Store football offering. Instant access to news, apps, games and a growing selection of personalized content from some of the world’s greatest teams are just but a few of what Ovi store has to offer.

Nokia’s Communications Manager for East and Southern Africa, Ms. Dorothy Ooko said: “Nokia’s Ovi Store is an exciting new channel through which to connect and share our football content with millions of football fans around the world. Football lovers can leverage on Nokia’s Ovi Store’s unparallel global reach for the most refreshing and popular football content.”

As part of Ovi’s football offering, football fans can access entertainment, apps and information from the world’s most recognized content providers. From competitions and tournament updates to personalizing your device, football is a lot more fun when you are part of the action. Some of the key content and features to get you involved include:

Real Football 2010 is a Gameloft development that will help you get in the mood for midfield strategies and rekindle your passion for goals. In the game, you get 245 teams from eight different leagues to choose from. On touch devices, the user interface allows you to move the players and pass the ball by tapping on the field. There are several different game modes, such as training, league mode, friendly match and penalty shooting. And you also can select “Legend” mode to choose a player and helping him get to pro stardom.
Nokia Goal, a Java-based resource that brings all the football info you need to the palm of your hand. Nokia Goal presents info from European tournaments (Spain, France, Italy, UK and Germany) and Latin American soccer leagues. The free version offers you championship calendars, info about results and relevant news for all fans. A premium version adds “live” coverage of selected matches, allowing you to personalize goal-based beep-alerts to make you jump with happiness or hang your head in sorrow depending on how much you bet on your favorite team.
AP 2010 World Cup, Associated Press (one of the largest sources of news since 1846 and winner of 49 Pulitzer prizes) has developed AP 2010 World Cup, as a resource for information on the South African World Cup events. This Flash app offers the latest news, images and video feeds directly on your mobile. Also, for must-have info, there are profiles of teams, players and stadiums. And if you feel in need of a conversation starter, you can use the results of the online polls on different World Cup-related topics.

Great goals
Great Goals will whet your appetite for what's to come with a series of free audio and video downloads dedicated to great goals scored by great players.

Football updates and news
No matter where you are in the world, you can't catch every game of the tournament but you can still get live updates. 2010’s football news and update applications are available from the largest football websites in the world. Livemobile Football, ESPN Soccernet, and Goal.com are all available as free applications to keep you up to date with breaking news from around the world, previews and recaps of games for all major leagues in the world and more. 

Games
Experience the latest in mobile football gaming and battle to win the cup for your country. Games available include Gameloft's Real Football 2010 and Real Football Manager 2010, and beat the rest in the next generation of sports radar built for speed shooting, Speedhero Multisport, and the latest football games from EA SPORTS.

Touchnote
A picture is worth a thousand words, but reminding everyone your country beat their country with a postcard is priceless. This app takes digital pictures and makes them into physical postcards in a matter of clicks.

Social networking
Whether heading to South Africa or just down the street to your local bar, stay in touch with your friends and family to let them know where you are watching the game. Share your football experience with fans back home, comment on games, post media, and find out where the nearby parties are.  Social networks like Nimbuzz and Buddycloud make sharing easy from your Nokia device.

danielmuhuni@yahoo.com

Equity Bank revolutionizing the banking industry in North Eastern

By Dan Muhuni (ICT reporter/ EA Correspondent)

As the banking fraternity continues to make forays into the retail segment, an increasing number of banks have seen the importance of taking financial services to the marginalized communities particularly in the North Eastern province.

In North Eastern, Equity bank has defied all odds to transform the banking industry in the region by offering customer focused financial services that have led to great social and economic change among the communities there.

Equity bank Wajir branch, located over 750 KM from Nairobi is one such outlet that is changing the lives of the northern people through provision of relevant alternate banking solutions.

Speaking to the branch Manager Mr Chrispo Maina, he says the establishment of Equity bank in the region was a dream come true to many since majority of the population was sidelined from banking due to logistical challenges that scare off many investors.

Nearly one and a half years since the branch opened, Equity currently holds more than three quarters of the banked population in the region. The branch uses various methods to access the remote areas within the vast district such as four wheel drive mobile vans that are fitted with solar, laptops and satellite connection to enable staff serve the customers. Some of the areas are as far as 100 km from the branch at Wajir town.

“We started by training the locals on the importance of banking and the need to embrace banking,” says Maina.

The manager says involvement of the bank in community projects to a great extent helped demystify banking. Locals found it easier to come to the bank since they had already met the bank’s staff in various events and interacted with them.

Among the activities initiated by the Wajir branch is tree planting where local people were encouraged to plant and nurture trees. Maina says partnering with institutions of learning has also helped raise the profile of the bank in the region. ”Students would nurture a tree for a given period of time. The programme has so far been very successful”, he adds.

Maina says that the clients have appreciated the provision of banking services and it is helping to build savings as people shift people from banking under their pillows and mattresses to saving money in the bank. The clients appreciate the risks associated with keeping the money in the house such as fires and theft or destruction by vermin. On equal strength, the bank’s staff had to enumerate the advantages of keeping money at Equity Bank such as access to credit facilities, securing of customers’ savings through the deposit protection fund, large bank network among other things.

Some of the locals would keep their money with specific trusted people within the community but often got disappointed on realizing that sometimes they could not access their money when they wanted it back. Equity's coming has addressed some of the challenges especiallly convinience , security and easy access to their money.

M-Kesho

On the recently launched M-Kesho product that is a first between Equity Bank and mobile phone service provider Safaricom,  Maina says the banking environment is about differentiating banking products, increased choices, security and accessibility. M-Kesho, he says has become a choice for many in Wajir.

Says Maina: “The ability of a financial Institution to deliver products and services in the most efficient and effective manner is the key to its performance and relevance”.

Maina notes that with the launch of M-Kesho recently, Equity has witnessed an increase in the number of people signing up for it.   “People are happy since they feel the bank has moved more steps closer to them.

”Most villages in north eastern are far apart and people at times have to  travel  as long as 200km to come to the bank. This costs them a lot of money and time.  They therefore find M-Kesho very convenient for them”, he explains.

Among the areas expected to play a crucial role in the growth of the product in the area is Habaswein, Gifti, Eldas, Bute and Elwak.

Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP)

Equity bank Wajir has also seen the success of Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP), a social funds transfer system that is borne out of the partnership of the Bank, the government of Kenya and UK through DFID.  Here, Smart Cards are used to issue cash to hunger stricken and vulnerable families in North Eastern who are identified through biometric means with cash to buy food. The Programme implements cash transfers targeting over 60,000 vulnerable people in the four larger districts of Marsabit, Turkana, Wajir and Mandera.

According to Maina, the programme has so far surpassed its expectations having incorporated more people than initially projected. “We execute this programme with the local traders who form HSNP’s agents. Through our point of sale (POS) the traders disburse the money to the locals and our systems are automatically updated”.

The HSNP programmes currently operate in Wajir, Mandera, Lodwar and Marsabit.

Equity’s role in the programme includes the administration component of collecting all the BIO data making payments, carrying out monitoring and evaluation.  .

Chrispo Maina is happy to head a team that lives the Equity Bank vision of been the champion of the social- economic prosperity of the people of North Eastern.

Nokia Improves Developer opportunities

Availability of the Nokia Qt SDK 1.0 and improving developer opportunities
By Dan Muhuni

Nokia has made a number of developer announcements today, which significantly strengthen their developer services and offerings. Perhaps most interesting is news of a public beta service that allows developers to get their content Symbian Signed at no cost . Also important is the news that individuals can now register as Ovi Publishers and that the Ovi Store is now accepting Qt-based applications. The most significant in the long term, is the first full release of the Nokia Qt SDK 1.0 and the accompanying Nokia Smart Installer (previously in beta).
Following the new Forum Nokia developer mantra of “Design, Develop and Distribute”, several developer-related announcements are being consolidated into one main message to show developers the improvements that have been made to the overall ecosystem.

Key points

Developers can get Symbian C++ and Symbian Qt content signed at no cost. With free tools and free signing, the only up-front cost for developers distributing via the Ovi Store is a one off 50 Euros fee to register as an Ovi Publisher.

Individuals can become Ovi Store Publishers which widens the number of developers who can upload applications and content to Ovi Store.

 

Nokia Qt SDK released. Nokia's next generation, cross platform (Symbian and Maemo), Qt-based developer tool kit, which is available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It provides developers with a modern, robust and easy to use development environment for all of Nokia's existing and future smartphones and mobile computers (Symbian and MeeGo).

 
Availability of the Nokia Qt SDK 1.0
The Nokia Qt SDK 1.0 is available starting today (http://www.forum.nokia.com/Develop/Qt/), and it offers a true cross-platform development environment allowing developers to create applications for both Symbian and Maemo devices. Installation is easy, as it only requires one installation package that downloads all of the Qt and Symbian/Maemo components that developers need using the same Qt Creator 2.0 as standard Qt SDK’s for use on Windows, Linux and Mac (beta). The Nokia Qt SDK 1.0 includes the Qt 4.6 libraries plus additional API’s for mobile development. With a fast, new simulator along with on-device debugging and the ability to compile to both .sis (Symbian) or .deb (Maemo) packages, it provides developers with a great opportunity to start creating amazing apps right away.

Individuals can now register as Ovi Publishers
Individuals (i.e., people that are not part of a specific company or business) can now register as an Ovi publisher (https://publish.ovi.com/register/country_and_account_type) and easily distribute their apps worldwide through Ovi Store. Individuals will still have to pay the one-time 50 Euro registration fee, and they can submit apps that are written in Qt, Symbian, Java, Flash Lite or Web Runtime (WRT). Allowing individuals to publish their applications to Ovi Store is competitive to what Apple and Android allow today and helps to provide parity for Ovi Store.

Public beta of Nokia signing Symbian apps for free
The goal here is to lower the barrier to entry for developers by simplifying the tools and the process, as well as removing some of the cost associated with developing mobile apps for distribution in Ovi Store. For developers creating Symbian apps there are initial investment costs such as obtaining a Publisher ID and paying a third party to have their apps Symbian signed. Currently, this can take around four weeks, and impose expenses for the developer up to $215 (USD). With this public beta, we are exploring a developer workflow to reduce the time for developers to two weeks and bring the cost involved to $0 (USD). Eliminating the fee for signing Symbian apps makes our investment story for developing for Ovi Store competitive with Apple and Google.

Availability of Nokia Smart Installer for Symbian
Qt developers can use the new Nokia Qt SDK 1.0 to easily bundle the Nokia Smart Installer for Symbian SIS with their app SIS to reach millions of users with Nokia Symbian devices worldwide. When an end user downloads an app, the Nokia Smart Installer for Symbian will check for dependencies, and if any missing files or Qt libraries are detected the Nokia Smart Installer for Symbian will download them from Nokia servers.

Ovi Store intake for Qt apps
Finally, Qt developers can upload Qt Symbian apps targeting both the Nokia N97 mini and Nokia X6, as well as Qt Maemo apps for the Nokia N900 mobile computer. The Nokia N8 will be supported when it’s released later this year, and additional Nokia Symbian (5.0 and 3.1/3.2) devices will be supported in the future, allowing Qt developers to reach a growing market of Nokia users worldwide. Applications will be published to Ovi Store beginning next month.

Cellulant Kenya show the way in mobile innovations on the continent

By Dan Muhuni

As the mobile telephony sector continues to be the country’s most dominant technology in use, having grown by 34.2 per cent in the last year, from 12.9 million subscribers in 2008 to 17.4 million subscribers in 2009, Mobile services Company Cellulant has come up with various innovative products in what is set to revolutionalise mobile commerce in Kenya and in Africa as a whole.

Cellulant Kenya early this week announced a new product dubbed Lipuka, that will enable integration of services to allow easy mobile access to information and banking services. Speaking during a media workshop in Nairobi, Cellulant Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kenya Mr. Ken Njoroge said: “There is a clear trend of convergence because mobile commerce has fuelled the demand for content and this is what most business are now centered around.”

Njoroge said that  Lipuka, which goes into effect next month, seeks to provide a convenient solution to mobile commerce procedures by integrating all banking services and enabling easy access of information by mobile phone users.

 The company said the service will function as a "mall" for mobile payment services, allowing users to access bills and make payments from bank accounts. Cellulant, which was established in 2004, serves over 60 million subscribers across the continent and intends to penetrate 25 countries across Africa by 2012.

Among its products are: Commerce 360-an ecosystem of converged text described as a ‘content-aware’ platform powering the services of different organizations; Lipuka - a larger ecosystem integrating services to allow for easy access to information.

Cellulant, which was established in 2004, has over 60 million customers spread around the African continent. It started off its business in Kenya and Nigeria before spreading to Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana but is looking cover 25 countries by 2012. The company is set to launch services in Malawi next month

The company is currently working on a convergence platform to be launched soon in the market and is optimistic that integration of content and services will greatly improve mobile commerce, which has already proved integral in modern business models.

Mr. Njoroge is of the view that that the mobile commerce has provided a platform for shared services and this is bound to impact positively on the economy besides improving the general business environment.

“The rate at which people are accessing information either through mobile phones on cheap internet is growing faster and this is providing the largest media platform upon which information can be shared,” he said.

Mr. Njoroge maintains that the mobile commerce industry poses great opportunities for growth and is urging young people to take up Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and innovations as a perfect opportunity upon which they ride to success.

“We are now in seven countries but we will be launching our services in Malawi next month,” said the CEO. In Kenya, the Cellulant Group, which has other branches in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria, boasts of over 40 corporate clients, among them banks and mobile service providers. 

“We have served over 12 million unique customers in seven different countries since we set up shop, Mr. Ken Njoroge said. 

With over 20 million mobile phone users in Kenya and an indicative increase in mobile phone penetration in Africa, mobile commerce is set to revolutionalise business on the continent and arguably spur economic growth. 

Kenya ICT Board to Bank on local content development

By Dan Muhuni (EA ICT Reporter/ Specialist)

With the arrival of the fibre optic cable in our country Kenya, its usage still remains a challenge to many since Kenyans have so far not fully utilized the cable. Kenya ICT Board in its effort to encourage Kenyans to bank on the idle huge bandwidth yesterday the release of Sh300M grant for the development of digital content and software.

The grant, which targets local content developers including software developers, film, animation, advertising, publishing, gaming and education professionals and other content creators, will provide the funding required for the development of quality applications relevant to the Kenya government and private sector.

While making the announcement yesterday, Kenya ICT Board Chief Executive Paul Kukubo said the grant intends to propel the emergent lucrative but underexploited local content industry to growth.

“This local content issue is a major issue globally. The big discussion now is content and what to do with the large platform and internet infrastructure that is in place,” Mr Kukubo said.

With over 3.4 million users of the Internet in Kenya, research indicates that the importance of the internet outstrips those of several key developed countries. However, Mr Kukubo was quick to point out that the grant aims to spur entrepreneurship with Internet penetration being a by-product of the available content.

“A lot of bright young Kenyans have very good ideas but are thwarted by the fact they don’t have access to funding because the nature of what they are doing is so new and novel they cannot go to a bank with it,” he said adding the new applications will lead to increased Internet usage.

The availability of local content is also aimed at driving up interest in Kenyan websites, which have had to play a secondary role to international websites.

A TNS Research International survey commissioned by the Board shows that the penetration of Internet has not improved as anticipated despite the landing of two fibre optic cables.

Applicants are expected to submit their proposals before 19 July 2010 with the Board expected to choose 105 successful proposals. The grant will be disbursed from October and the recipients will have 12 months from the date they receive the money to complete the projects.

The move has been received very positively by Kenyans and Anthony Kamau an IT student from the University of Nairobi could not hide his joy saying “The funding will encourage most of local developers who have in the past lacked money to spearhead their projects ”.

Lucy Gachui, KICTB Communications Manager said the move is to make sure Kenyans utilize the Fibre optic cable and that Kenyans themselves benefit from the cable. “ It would be sad to see foreigners coming here and making use of the cable where else it was brought to benefit Kenyans” added Gachui

NOKIA UNVEILS NEW SERVICE CENTRE IN MOMBASA

BY DAN MUHUNI
Leading Mobile Phone manufacturer Nokia last week unveiled a new state of the art Nokia Centre in Mombasa to provide quality after sales service to customers.

The centre, situated on Younis Building along Mombasa’s busy Moi Avenue is the first of its kind in the coastal city and is geared to meeting the needs of consumers within the town and its environs.

The launch of the new care centre comes at a time when Nokia has intensified the fight against counterfeits in the country through a consumer awareness campaign.

The new centre will see customers educated on the Nokia warranty as well as taken through the steps for phone software upgrades, among other services like phone repairs.

Mr. Gerard Brandjes, General Manager, Nokia East and Southern Africa said the unveiling of the care centre would go a long way in the creating awareness on the problems caused by the influx of counterfeit phones in the country.

“The Care Center will ensure that Nokia customers in Mombasa have access to expert maintenance services, software upgrades and technical support, just like elsewhere in the country,” Mr Brandjes said.

Speaking during the official unveiling of the center, Mr Brandjes said the Nokia Warranty guarantees 12 months manufacturer’s limited warranty on any Nokia product and is offered from the date of purchase of the original product by the first end user.

He said enhanced customer service and a 12 month warranty was part of Nokia’s strategy to further enhance its presence and value to customers in East Africa.


Ms Koki Muia, Care Manager, Nokia East and Southern Africa said Nokia Care currently covers the country with over 50 collection points in all major towns in Kenya, with plans to establish more service points in other cities in Kenya as well as the remote areas to quickly solve customer service issues.

Ms Muia asked Kenyans to shun counterfeit phones by asking for warranty specifications.

The care services are available alongside online support available on Nokia’s website, www.nokia.com/support where customers can find the latest tools, software update downloads and other services that help optimize their Nokia products.

Nokia Launches N8

Nokia N8. Connect. Create. Entertain.

By Dan Muhuni

Nokia the leading mobile phone manufacturer in the world have unleashed yet another state of the art Nokia N8. The Nokia N8, Nokia’s latest smartphone, intuitively connects to the people, places and services that matter most. With the Nokia N8, people can create compelling content, connect to their favorite social networks and enjoy on-demand Web TV programs and Ovi Store apps. Available in select markets during the third quarter of 2010, the estimated retail price of the Nokia N8 is around Ksh 40,000, before applicable taxes or subsidies.
The Nokia N8 introduces a 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Xenon flash and a large sensor that rivals those found in compact digital cameras. Additionally, the Nokia N8 offers the ability to make HD-quality videos and edit them with an intuitive built-in editing suite. Doubling as a portable entertainment center, people can enjoy HD quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound by plugging into their home theatre system. The Nokia N8 enables access to Web TV services that deliver programs, news and entertainment from channels like CNN, E! Entertainment, Paramount and National Geographic. Additional local Web TV content is also available from the Ovi Store.
Social networking is second nature to the Nokia N8. People can update their status, share location and photos, and view live feeds from Facebook and Twitter in a single app directly on the home screen. Calendar events from social networks can also be transferred to the device calendar.
The Nokia N8 comes with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation, guiding people to places and points of interest in more than 70 countries worldwide.
Powering the Nokia N8 is Symbian ^3, the latest edition of the world’s most used smartphone software, which introduces several major advances, including support for gestures such as multi touch, flick scrolling and pinch-zoom. The Nokia N8 also offers multiple, personalizable homescreens which can be loaded with apps and widgets. The new 2D and 3D graphics architecture in the platform takes full advantage of the Nokia N8’s hardware acceleration to deliver a faster and more responsive user interface. Symbian^3 also raises the bar in performance by delivering greater memory management allowing more applications to run in parallel for a faster multi-tasking experience.

The Nokia N8 is Nokia’s first device to be integrated with Qt, a software development environment that simplifies the development and makes it possible to build applications once and deploy across Symbian and other software platforms. Nokia has also made the powerful and simple to use Nokia Qt SDK available, in its initial beta, to enable developers to start realizing the potential of Qt.
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Nokia Intensifies Fight Against Counterfeits

It has proved difficult for the East Africans to tell the difference between Original Nokia phone and a Fake one


By Dan Muhuni

I conducted the following interview following the public outcry of innocent East Africans who falls into the hands of the fake Nokia phones without noticing.

Dorothy is Nokia’s Communications Manager in East and Southern Africa

What is Nokia currently doing in intensifying the fight against counterfeit in Kenya? Since Nokia has been the mostly affected.

Dorothy: Counterfeit affects Nokia products because of the leadership position and the reputation they have. Nokia participates with local and global authorities and groups on the proliferation of fake products. We constantly promote the purchase of genuine products through our dealers and through these associations. We continuously recommend that customers buy only from authorized dealers and look out the warranty logo in blue, marked 12 months-Kenya. Nokia has been using the media as a medium of reaching people in the East African region to sensitise the public on the differences between a genuine Nokia and a counterfeit one.

We are also encouraged by the warning by the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Communication Commission of Kenya warning consumers about compromising the quality and performance of the goods they purchase. This indeed further supports our call to our consumers to be vigilant about their purchases and where they make the purchases.

Do you think the implementation of anti-counterfeit legislation in the country which is still in parliament will help curb counterfeits?

Dorothy: Absolutely. We would like to see stringent measures taken to discourage those selling the counterfeits and thereby endangering the lives of Kenyans. We believe this anti-counterfeit legislation is a step in the right direction.

How much is Nokia currently losing annually to the counterfeit products which have flooded the Kenyan market?

Dorothy: It is difficult to assess the volumes and the financial impact of counterfeit products to Nokia, other legitimate businesses and local economies. The challenge is much broader than financial. Nokia is concerned about the inferior quality of counterfeit products and how the poor quality can adversely impact the consumer experience and the Nokia brand. Local economies also suffer from counterfeit products due to lost revenues to legitimate businesses, lost tax revenues and enforcement costs to government. We won’t speculate on the volume or financial impact for Nokia.

These fake products are made and sold illegally. We do not have information on the margins.

To conclude, a customer should insist on buying a phone with 12 months Nokia warranty. This way the customer will be certain they are buying a genuine phone. Nokia is soon introducing warranty stickers that will be on the sales box and this will assist the customer to identify phones on warranty. Generic warranty cards will also be available as further proof of warranty. However, the customer does not need to present the warranty form to get warranty services at Nokia Care points. The Nokia Care points are able to confirm warranty status through access to the Nokia database using the consumers IMEI or serial number.

We will continue to fight it by educating our consumers on how to tell the difference between a genuine Nokia and a counterfeit device. The box with the genuine phone must be intact and sealed with the Nokia logo, a hologramme and the IMEI number written on the outside. There will also be a blue warranty logo, with 12 months written on it, and clearly marked KENYA.

Dan Muhuni- EA ICT correspondent.(Blogs www.ictkenya.wordpress.com www.ictkenya.blogspot.com)

The Success of Nokia Recycling Plan

By Dan Muhuni- East African ICT correspondent. (Blogger www.ictkenya.wordpress.com & www.danictkenya.blogspot.com )

Dorothy Ooko, is the Nokia's Communications Manager in East and Southern Africa

The Success of the Nokia Recycling Plan:

1) The success of Nokia recycling plan? What is the response from Kenyans? Nokia was in process of developing a series of campaigns and activities to give people more information on why, how and where to recycle their old and unwanted devices, chargers and mobile accessories. How many of these campaigns have you conducted so far and elaborate on the success?

“Dorothy “According to a global consumer survey Nokia released in September 2008, only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones despite the fact that most have old devices lying around at home that they no longer want. Three out of every four people added that they don’t even think about recycling their devices and nearly half were unaware that it is even possible to do so. The survey is based on interviews with 6,500 people in 13 countries including Finland , Germany , Italy , Russia , Sweden , UK , United Arab Emirates, USA , Nigeria , India , China , Indonesia and Brazil . It was conducted to help Nokia find out more about consumers’ attitudes and behaviors towards recycling, and inform the company’s take-back programs and efforts to increase recycling rates of unused mobile devices.

The goal of the take-back and recycling is to make it easy for the consumers to act green by offering the possibility to return old, unused phones & accessories to Authorised Service Vendor network. 'Looking after the environment is a responsibility to be shared by everyone of us," asserts Nicholas Maina, Customer Care Manager, East Africa.

We conducted this survey because we wanted to explore new ways to increase the numbers of mobile devices that are recycled, something that despite significant investment in collection schemes and recycling processes over recent years remains relatively low.

We were surprised to see just how low awareness was on this issue, even to the extent that half of those surveyed had no idea that a mobile device could be recycled. Clearly there is much more that can be done in this area which is why we are publicising the results of this survey and trying to raise awareness of these issues. We are also investing in expanding our network of collection points and making them more visible to consumers when they visit our stores and care centres.

The theoretical recycling ability of Nokia mobile devices ranges from 65 to 80 percent. You might wonder what happens to all the old mobile phones out there. Where do they go? Currently most end up in people’s desk drawers, sitting there useless. The next most likely answer is that phones are often given to others or traded in for an upgrade. In today’s reality, recycling old phones is not such a common practice. This is something we are attempting to change.

Nokia supports the concept of individual producer responsibility. In order for us to carry out our own responsibilities we need others in the value chain, like consumers and retailers, to commit to bring back obsolete mobile devices for responsible recycling. Such co-operation eventually leads to a situation where significant drivers for environmentally optimized product desing enabling easier recycling would become commonplace, bringing further benefits for consumers, producers and the environment.

We are expanding the global availability and accessibility of takeback channels to our customers. We are also committed to continually driving visibility and awareness on this issue wherever we do business. We are currently developing awareness-building programs that fit into existing recycling infrastructure and local culture norms as well as pending local legal requirements.

We want to make it easier for people to recycle their unwanted mobile devices and are investing in a number of different areas to make this happen.

Throughout this year we will be running a major training and awareness program designed to ensure that those working in care centers operated on behalf of Nokia take back unwanted devices and can advise consumers on recycling issues. We are also investing in putting more take back bins and collection points at these care centers.

To help us understand what else still needs to be done we are conducting research with consumers in many markets around the world looking at attitudes to recycling mobile devices, incentives and how we can make it easier for people to get involved in take back programs. This will inform our recycling programs going forward.

Old phones might seem worthless but they still contain many usable and valuable materials. Nokia’s idea is to make it easier for consumers to act green by offering the possibility to return old, unused phones and accessories. Authorized Nokia Service Points, flagship stores, municipal collections, industry association's collections, or retailers' campaigns are all possible channels for returning used products.

Though we are not in the recycling business, we understand the need to cooperate with partners who specialize in this industry. Collected products are forwarded to selected recyclers for reclaiming. Recyclers we use comply with Nokia standards and are assessed by us on a regular basis.

End................ danielmuhuni@yahoo.com

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Access Kenya launches hardy fibre optic cable

By Dan Muhuni

Access Kenya has launched a 140 kilometer long fiber optic cable.

The fiber cable uses the ring redundancy technology that enables one half of the cable to continue transmitting data should it be accidentally or maliciously damaged.

The move is aimed at tackling cable vandalism that has become very rampant in the country as competition to connect residential homes to the Internet heats up.

Access Kenya managing director Jonathan Somen says the fiber network is of high quality and uses the ethernet technology that has been designed for use in harsh industrial environments, such as in hazardous location.

Access Kenya controls almost half of the corporate market and has invested about 450 million shillings into the project.

Permanent secretary in the ministry of information and technology Dr Bitange Ndemo said another fiber optic cable, Eassy will be landing in the country next week.

The cable is jointly owned by Telkom Kenya and Telkom South Africa.

This will bring to four the number of cables that have landed in the East Africa coast. Three fiber optic cable networks are already operational in the country.