Nokia Connects the Next Billion with Affordable Smartphones

NOKIA, at the Mobile World Congress, underscored its commitment to connecting the next billion to the Internet by releasing five new affordable handsets, including Nokia X, a family of smartphones that run Android™ apps, Microsoft services and signature Nokia experiences.

 The Nokia X, Nokia X+ and Nokia XL are priced to capture the fast-growing affordable smartphone market and provide an on-ramp to Lumia and Microsoft services like Skype, OneDrive and outlook.com.

The Nokia Asha 230 is Nokia’s most affordable full-touch Asha device to date, priced at €45. The Nokia 220 is an Internet-ready mobile phone with social apps, priced at only €29.

 Stephen Elop, executive vice president of Nokia’s Devices & Services, commented on the launches:

“Nokia has connected billions of people around the world, and today we demonstrated how our portfolio is designed to connect the next billion people to great experiences.”

 “Our deliberate approach is to offer four tiers of products including our affordable entry-level devices like the new Nokia 220; our entry-level Asha touch phones like the new Nokia Asha 230; our new Nokia X, X+ and XL smartphones primarily for growth economies; and our Lumia portfolio, which is where we introduce the greatest innovation and provide full compatibility with the Microsoft experience,” he added.

 The Nokia X family features Nokia’s renowned handset quality and design, with a fresh, tile-based user interface inspired by our Lumia family. All devices come with Fastlane, a screen which lets people switch between their favorite apps more smoothly. People can access curated, quality-tested apps from Nokia Store, more than a dozen third-party app stores and by sideloading. Out of the box, they can enjoy signature Nokia experiences including free[1] online and offline HERE Maps, turn-by-turn navigation with HERE Drive, and Nokia MixRadio for free[2]music streaming and downloadable playlists. All devices are also pre-loaded with a variety of third-party apps and games including Plants vs. Zombies 2, Viber, Vine and Twitter.

The Nokia X family is also an affordable introduction to popular Microsoft services, including free cloud storage using OneDrive. With the purchase of any Nokia X family smartphone in select markets, people will get one month of Skype’s Unlimited World Subscription, ideal to make international calls to landlines in more than 60 countries and to mobile phones in 8 countries.

 The first device, the Nokia X, comes with a 4” IPS capacitive display and 3MP camera. The Nokia X+ is optimised for multimedia enthusiasts, who can enjoy even more games, music, photos and video thanks to more memory and storage. Both the Nokia X and X+ will be available in bright green, bright red, cyan, yellow, black and white[3]. The third family member, the Nokia XL, boasts a 5” display with 2MP front-facing camera – ideal for Skype video calls – and a 5MP rear-facing, autofocus camera with flash. The Nokia XL will be available in bright green, orange, cyan, yellow, black and white. The entire Nokia X family is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core processor and supports Dual SIM, letting people switch SIM cards to get better tariffs.

 The Nokia X will go on sale immediately, starting at EUR 89[4] in Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The Nokia X+ and Nokia XL are expected to roll out in these markets starting early second quarter, priced at EUR 99 and EUR 109, respectively.

Nokia also unveiled two further handsets designed for people experiencing the Internet for the first time.

Adding to the popular Asha range of devices, the Nokia Asha 230 is the ideal introduction to full-touch mobile phones. The Nokia Asha 230 includes all the benefits of the Asha Platform, including Fastlane and access to popular social apps like Line, WeChat and WhatsApp. One swipe up from the lockscreen activates the Nokia Asha 230’s camera, and one touch enables people to share images to their favourite social network. With a forthcoming software update, the Nokia Asha 230 will introduce 7GB of free cloud storage on Microsoft OneDrive, and the option to automatically back up photos to the cloud.

 Nokia also introduced its lowest-priced, data-enabled phone: the beautifully designed Nokia 220, which makes the mobile Internet accessible to more people around the world. With its 2.4” colour screen, dust- and splash-proof keypad, the Nokia 220 is a well-crafted choice for people experiencing mobility and the Internet for the first time, with Facebook, Twitter and Bing search pre-loaded on the device. Retail prices for the Nokia 220 start at EUR 29. It will be available for sale immediately in single and Dual SIM variants in Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

AND...THE BEAT GOES ON FOR NOKIA, MAGGI SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK

L-R: Nollywood actor, Uti Nwachukwu; Retail Customer Marketing Manager, Olajide Adeyemi; Head of Marketing, Debbie Shepard; Consumer Engagement Manager, Mayor Esiaba, all of Nokia West & Central Africa at the Nokia/Maggi Food Photography Night held to celebrate the launch of Nokia Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 during the Social Media Week at Terra Kulture.

AS a way to engage its customers through firsthand experience of the brand, Nokia, in partnership with MAGGI has hosted customers to a special night of food and photography tagged EAT. SHOOT.REPEAT.  The event was organised to showcase Nokia’s flagship brands, Nokia Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320.

 The event held during the 2014 social media week at Terra Kulture with guests feasted to a classic cocktail along with mouth watering intercontinental dishes provided by MAGGI.

 Head, Nokia Care, West and Central Africa, Kola Osinowo explained that the event was organised for customers to have fun, savour exquisite food and share their experience through photography with friends .

 Speaking on the partnership, Category Business Manager, Culinary Nestle Nigeria, Guy Kellaway, said “MAGGI, Nigeria’s leading cooking brand is synonymous with good food, good food means great memories, and of course great stories which is why we are creating and capturing good food-moments is the essence of the MAGGI Brand. It was for this reason that MAGGI was able to associate strongly with Nokia for this event”.

Explaining the features of the devices, Osinowo stated that the Lumia 1520, Nokia’s top of the range Windows Phone is packed with a 6 inch 1080p Full HD screen, 20MP PureView camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and most importantly, the Story teller application which allows people tell stories of places they’ve visited using pictures. The application brings stories to live seamlessly and merges two Lumia signature experiences: PureView Imaging and HERE maps, which allow users to relive their photos in a new, dynamic and interactive way.

 Speaking on both devices, Mr Olumide Balogun, Senior Manager, Product Marketing, Nokia West and Central Africa, noted that the introduction of the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 will revolutionize the Smart phone market and boost Nokia’s competitive edge in the "phablet" category. He added that both devices are designed with the latest “Lumia Black” software which is an update of the windows 8 operating system.

“Both devices come pre-installed with business and productivity applications and a unique new photography application called the Storyteller app which allows people tell stories of places they’ve visited using pictures. The Storyteller App seamlessly merges two Lumia signature experiences, PureView Imaging and HERE maps, to allow users relive their photos in a new, dynamic and interactive way,” he stated.

Nokia is the global headline sponsor for the 2014 Social Media Week, a leading media platform and event with global reach across five continents, including Africa, North America, South America, Europe and Asia that explores the social, cultural and economic impact of social media.

FG SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH LAGOS TO REDUCE COST OF ROW

THE Federal Government has made an agreement with the Lagos State Government to reduce the cost of Right of Way(RoW) for telecoms companies operating in the state.

Base on the new agreement, telecoms operators in the state will now pay N500 per meter instead of the N3000.

Describing the agreement as a landmark achievement for the Federal Government, the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobolaji Johnson told key industry players at the soft launch of the ‘Connected Nigeria, Connected Nigerians’ Broadband Awareness Campaign that the agreement has resulted to a significant reduction of RoW cost to 85 per cent.

The minister who is also the Chairman of the Broadband Council was in Lagos to flag-off the Broadband Awareness Campaign and attend the Council’s meeting.

She explained that the Broadband Council launched the awareness campaign to communicate the transformational benefits of broadband to all Nigerians and to encourage its use and adoption. 

According to her, the campaign will raise awareness of the transformational benefits of Broadband and will disseminate information on the benefits of broadband including what can be gained by adopting broadband access.

The campaign she stressed, will also share information on how broadband is creating economic and social value for Nigerians.

Recalling what transpired at the Council’s meeting, she stated that the work done so far on the implementation of the Broadband Plan was reviewed adding that what was done to make states government to reduce or remove ROW way charges were also discussed.

She added that issues on other related fees that enable operators have unencumbered means of laying fibre optic cables, which is critical for infrastructure development and quality of service were reviewed were on the agenda of the meeting.

Johnson further disclosed that issues on how to engage state governors and relevant authorities at the state and federal level to address the issue of multiple taxation were caught the attention of the Council.

The Minister noted that Government wants measures to be adopted on how to remove arbitrary charges and eradicate multiple taxation necessary for effective service delivery across the nation saying that a collaborative agreement between the Ministries of Communication Technology (including the NCC) and Environment (which includes NESREA), is also now in place to address such issues.

She said further that an MOU that outlines the roles and responsibilities of each department with respect to base station deployment and approvals of Environmental Impact Assessments necessary for effective service delivery in the telecoms sector is now operational.

She reassured stakeholders present at the launch that the Council, the Ministry and its Departments and Agencies are keen to see an increase in the rollout of 3G-enabled base stations that comply with state and federal standards adding that the timeline for the processing of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports will no longer exceed 90 days, an obstacle often highlighted by Operators.

While answering questions from the stakeholders, the minister stressed that plans to release more spectrum by the NCC are ongoing and that as a result the 2.3GHz auction has commenced while a complementary Infraco licenses will follow soon.

She disclosed that the first draft of the Critical National Infrastructure Bill has been submitted for comments while a Gap Analysis of the coverage of the country has been completed by the USPF.

Johnson explained that the purpose of the access gap study by USPF is to ascertain/determine priority for unserved and underserved areas and direct appropriate investments to these areas. This will inform plans for addressing under-served and unserved areas across the country.

The Minister said that the achievements are in line with the President Goodluck Jonathan’s goal of seeing broadband penetration increase five-fold by 2017, and the action items stipulated in the Broadband plan.

It will be recalled that the Broadband Council which was inaugurated on the 16th of July, 2013 and is made up of 19 members chaired by the Honourable Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson.

The Council is charged with the responsibility of working on implementation modalities for the approved Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2013 – 2018.

The Federal Government has made an agreement with the Lagos State Government to reduce the cost of Right of Way(RoW) for telecoms companies operating in the state.

Base on the new agreement, telecoms operators in the state will now pay N500 per meter instead of the N3000.

Describing the agreement as a landmark achievement for the Federal Government, the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobolaji Johnson told key industry players at the soft launch of the ‘Connected Nigeria, Connected Nigerians’ Broadband Awareness Campaign that the agreement has resulted to a significant reduction of RoW cost to 85 per cent.

The minister who is also the Chairman of the Broadband Council was in Lagos to flag-off the Broadband Awareness Campaign and attend the Council’s meeting.

She explained that the Broadband Council launched the awareness campaign to communicate the transformational benefits of broadband to all Nigerians and to encourage its use and adoption. 

According to her, the campaign will raise awareness of the transformational benefits of Broadband and will disseminate information on the benefits of broadband including what can be gained by adopting broadband access.

The campaign she stressed, will also share information on how broadband is creating economic and social value for Nigerians.

Recalling what transpired at the Council’s meeting, she stated that the work done so far on the implementation of the Broadband Plan was reviewed adding that what was done to make states government to reduce or remove ROW way charges were also discussed.

She added that issues on other related fees that enable operators have unencumbered means of laying fibre optic cables, which is critical for infrastructure development and quality of service were reviewed were on the agenda of the meeting.

Johnson further disclosed that issues on how to engage state governors and relevant authorities at the state and federal level to address the issue of multiple taxation were caught the attention of the Council.

The Minister noted that Government wants measures to be adopted on how to remove arbitrary charges and eradicate multiple taxation necessary for effective service delivery across the nation saying that a collaborative agreement between the Ministries of Communication Technology (including the NCC) and Environment (which includes NESREA), is also now in place to address such issues.

She said further that an MOU that outlines the roles and responsibilities of each department with respect to base station deployment and approvals of Environmental Impact Assessments necessary for effective service delivery in the telecoms sector is now operational.

She reassured stakeholders present at the launch that the Council, the Ministry and its Departments and Agencies are keen to see an increase in the rollout of 3G-enabled base stations that comply with state and federal standards adding that the timeline for the processing of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports will no longer exceed 90 days, an obstacle often highlighted by Operators.

While answering questions from the stakeholders, the minister stressed that plans to release more spectrum by the NCC are ongoing and that as a result the 2.3GHz auction has commenced while a complementary Infraco licenses will follow soon.

She disclosed that the first draft of the Critical National Infrastructure Bill has been submitted for comments while a Gap Analysis of the coverage of the country has been completed by the USPF.

Johnson explained that the purpose of the access gap study by USPF is to ascertain/determine priority for unserved and underserved areas and direct appropriate investments to these areas. This will inform plans for addressing under-served and unserved areas across the country.

The Minister said that the achievements are in line with the President Goodluck Jonathan’s goal of seeing broadband penetration increase five-fold by 2017, and the action items stipulated in the Broadband plan.

It will be recalled that the Broadband Council which was inaugurated on the 16th of July, 2013 and is made up of 19 members chaired by the Honourable Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson.

The Council is charged with the responsibility of working on implementation modalities for the approved Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2013 – 2018.

Nigerians Assume Senior Level post at Airtel Tanzania, Uganda

Nigerians have assumed senior level position at Bharti Airtel operators in Tazania and Uganda. The appointments, which took place in the final quarter of 2013, had Ms. Vera Ogwa Onoja, former Zonal Business Manager for North Central, Nigeria, appointed Regional Operations Director for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Mr. Oladapo Sorinolu, former Head of Corporate and Enterprise in Nigeria appointed Enterprise Director for Uganda.

Ogwa, who joined the company in 2003, had worked in various capacities in the Sales and Distribution Group. During her tenure as Zonal Business Manager, North Central, Nigeria, she was able to drive market growth with her team’s consistency in exceeding Primary Sales Targets while growing market share, which earned her region the Best Zone Award in 2012.

Her team also pioneered the Airtel Express Shop on wheels, a one stop mobile shop, which till date, has added the advantage of bringing Airtel closer to its high net worth customers.

Ms. Ogwa started her professional career at Citibank Nigeria in year 2000 and had a brief stint with Triumph Bank before crossing to the Telecom industry in 2003 when she joined the corporate sales department of Econet Wireless. In 2007, she became Regional Sales Officer, North Central Region of the company then under the name Celtel and by 2009; she had risen to the Regional Manager position.

In 2010, she became the Zonal Business Manager North Central of Airtel; a position she occupied till her recent appointment.

Ms. Ogwa is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School and India Institute of Management.

The new Enterprise Director for Uganda, Mr. Oladapo Sorinolu, joined Airtel in June 2012, from Globacom Limited where he served as Head of Glo-1 Enterprise. During his time in Airtel Nigeria, he led his team to achieve significant growth in revenue. He was also positioned Airtel as a major player in the Nigerian Enterprise market.

Sorinolu started his over 22 years professional career spanning across FMCG and Telecom Industries as a sales manager at  Beauty Care range, a Pharmaceutical product organization and later became the Regional Manager, Lagos, West and Mid-West with renowned manufacturing and marketing conglomerate PZ Cussons plc.

He later joined HPZ limited-a joint venture between PZ Cussons and Haier Group as General Manger Commercial marketing goods under the name Haier Thermocool. He later joined Globacom Limited.

Speaking on the appointment, the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, stated that Bharti-Airtel was a global business with a human resource structure designed to draw talents from across the various geographies in the pursuit of its objectives.

He restated the company’s commitment to developing indigenous talents and giving them leadership opportunities anywhere their skills and expertise are required. According to him, global businesses take expatriation seriously in their quest to develop a talent pool of employees with multi-geographical professional experience to take their businesses to the next level.

Ogwa and Sorinolu join a corps of other Nigerian professionals working in the Bharti-Airtel group as expatriates.

Glo Nokia Asha Thrills Nigerian Youths

THE recently introduced Glo Nokia Asha has continued to make waves among Nigerian youths. The smartphone was unveiled in Lagos at the formal announcement of the reappointment of one of Nigeria’s most popular music acts, Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly called D’banj, as a Globacom brand ambassador.

Glo Nokia Asha 210 is the latest and one of the most colourful Qwerty keyboard phones. The smartphone, autographed by D’banj, was specially designed for youths in continuation of Globacom’s strategic engagement with the youth segment.

The handset is compact and has a sleek, minimalistic aesthetic that’s similar to the Lumia. It comes with 2 MP camera, 3.5mm AV jack and Micro-USB port for charging.

A user of the smartphone, Mr. Best Isioma, a Lagos-based secondary school leaver said: “I think the phone is a great product. I particularly like the sound production which enables me to enjoy music on the move. Additionally, I am a great fan of D’banj, so I naturally cannot have enough of the phone.”

Another user of the phone, Mr. John Okorie of Niger Insurance, said: “This is a very beautiful phone. I like the fact that it’s light, very good for browsing and the parts are easily available at the marketplace in case you need to replace anything.”

Also speaking on the handset, Tyna Awosanya who runs a beauty salon on Lagos Island said, “D’banj is my favourite musician. The Nokia Asha phone has all his hit tracks, so I am hooked on the phone. I can listen to the songs any time anywhere. Besides, it is also a trendy handset.”

Pre-loaded productivity tools on the phone include dictionary, recorder, calculator, clock, calendar, phonebook, converter, fixed dialling number, notes, alarm clock, reminders, to-do list, social networks in phonebook and sport watch, among others.

The smartphone, on sale nationwide for N11, 000, has 50 tracks of D’banj’s popular tunes, including 15 songs that are yet to be released, as well as, pictures, all pre-loaded on the phone free of charge.

Globacom’s Head, Corporate Sales, Kamaldeen Shonibare, said, “Once a subscriber buys the D’banj Asha 210 phone, he gets a free data plan with WIFI functionality  by sending Yes to 66542. This would give the subscriber 12 months free internet with 260 MB on activation for the first month and 260MB monthly after recharging one thousand naira.”

Etisalat Fores Future for Youths in Art

YOUTH can achieve their dreams in life with focus on Arts, Etisalat has sponsors of  the maiden edition of the Abuja Inter-school Performing Arts Competition, observed.

The competition brought together students from 30 prestigious secondary and primary schools in the Federal Capital Territory such as the American International School, the Turkish International School, the Regent School, and Royal Family Academy, among many others. The event gave the students the opportunity to showcase their various talents in dance, music and drama.

Speaking at the event, Manager, High Value Prepaid, Etisalat Nigeria, Ms. Chinelo Mbanefo, said as a youthful brand, Etisalat will always be associated with genuine platforms that provide an opportunity for children and youths in the country to express themselves and showcase their talents.

“We are a youthful and innovative brand, and as such are passionate about the youth. We are also very passionate about the development of art in the society, and most especially in our youth. That is why we chose to identify with this competition,” she said.

She expressed satisfaction with the children’s performance and the overall level of the competition, saying that this has shown that there are a lot of talents out there waiting to be discovered. “As a youth-friendly brand, we have always been committed to encouraging and empowering Nigerian youths to achieve their dreams. We have been doing this for the past five years through our sponsorship of the Nigerian Idol. We also have a youth enlightenment and empowerment programme for tertiary school students across the country known as Cliqfest, a product of our youth-friendly product, EasyCliq,” she disclosed.

Founder and CEO, Performing Arts School, Nigeria, Ms. Olamidun Majekudunmi thanked Etisalat for the supporting the children’s event, saying that this has indeed shown that the company has a passion for the performing arts. “We are indeed very grateful to Etisalat for identifying with our passion and our goals, which is to promote performing arts among primary and secondary schools in Abuja,” she said.

Abuja Inter-school Performing Arts Competition, according to the organisers was conceived to provide an avenue for children to showcase their talents and compete with others on a big platform.

Nokia Stages Return with First Six Inch Smartphone in Nigeria

THOUGHT struggling to survive in an industry, which it seems to have lost grip, Nokia have made a useful effort of getting back into the industry where new comer Tecno is fast trailing behind industry leader Samsung.

Part of that come back was the introduction of its first 6-inch Lumia smartphones into the Nigerian market; the Lumia 1520, Nokia’s top of the range Windows Phone and the affordable Lumia 1320.

To compliment the launch of both devices, Nokia has kicked off the Storyteller Competition which would allow people share inspirational stories of friendship and get the opportunity to win an all expense paid trip to London.

With a 6 inch 1080p Full HD screen, the Lumia 1520 has an enhanced start screen featuring an additional 3^rd column of live tiles, allowing people to get to their favourite apps faster with less scrolling. It also features a 20MP PureView camera with optical image stabilization, oversampling technology and zooming capabilities which can easily capture and edit high quality pictures and tell better stories.

Speaking on both devices, Mr Olumide Balogun, Senior Manager, Product Marketing, Nokia West and Central Africa noted that the introduction of the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 will revolutionize the Smart phone market and boost Nokia’s competitive edge in the "phablet" category.

 He said both devices are designed with the latest “Lumia Black” software which is an update of the windows 8 operating system.

“Both devices come pre-installed with business and productivity applications and a unique new photography application called the Storyteller app which allows people tell stories of places they’ve visited using pictures. The Storyteller App seamlessly merges two Lumia signature experiences, PureView Imaging and HERE maps, to allow users relive their photos in a new, dynamic and interactive way” he added.

To ensure that Nigerians get the best mobile communications experience on the Lumia 1520, Nokia has tied the unveiling to the 2014 social media week that will be hosted in Lagos alongside six other major cities in the world.

“This would feature a night of eat, shoot, repeat to drive home how the Nokia Lumia 1520 and its more affordable cousin Nokia Lumia 1320 can enrich consumers’ communications experience. “We want to use this opportunity to announce the launch and availability of our new flagship products, Balogun said.