iPad Pro lands in Lagos iStore

ITRealms:

The Apple Authorised Reseller (AAR) in Nigeria, iStore has unveiled the latest in stock iPad Pro into the nation’s market, reports ITRealms.

Speaking at the launch held Friday at Radisson Blu, Victoria Island, Lagos, the iStore Manager, Mr. Kolapo Agunloye, noted that as the home of everything Apple, iStore is proud to continue its efforts in making the latest Apple products available to customers.

“iPad Pro, Apple’s most expansive and productive tablet, is now available at iStore," he said.

Agunloye also told ITRealms that iPad Pro has a large 12.9-inch Retina display, nearly double the Central Processing Unit (CPU) performance of iPad Air 2 and refined MultiTouch technology.

According to him, with 5.6 million pixels, iPad Pro features the highest-resolution Retina display of any iOS device, stressing that the 12.9-inch screen makes everything you do, including editing 4 Kilobyte of video, designing presentations, running a business; easier, faster and more engaging.

“iPad Pro has a slim and light design, it’s just 6.9 millimeter thin and weighs just over 700g. It’s available in silver, gold and space grey,” he said.

iStore, he also said, offers the new range of iPad Pro Apple accessories namely the revolutionary Apple Pencil, Apple Smart Keyboard and Smart Covers.

“The Apple Pencil uses incredibly sensitive pressure and tilt sensors to instantly recognize when you are pressing harder or shifting its angle. Apple's iPad Pro Smart Keyboard combines an array of new technologies and materials to create a keyboard like no other. It’s a full-size keyboard that’s fully portable, and connects to iPad Pro with the Smart Connector, an innovative new interface that allows for a two-way exchange of power and data. Finally the Smart Cover, which folds into different positions, creates a versatile stand for reading, typing, or watching videos. All accessories are sold separately,” he explained.

In addition, the iStore Manager pointed out that when this product is purchased from iStore, customers get access to exclusive benefits like free training, free setup, and free technical support as well as have access to the trade-in offer that will allow them to make the most out of their previously loved iPad.

“Trade in your iPad and use the redeemable value toward a new Apple product. You can trade in up to two (2) devices for even greater savings,” he said.

Agunloye advised interested customers to trade-in voucher to visit iStore Trade-in, or visit iStore for an onsite evaluation, warning that the trade-in period is for a limited time only.

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Pix:L-R:Sachin Verma, iStore Country Manager; Adebisi Ade-Onojobi, iStore customer and Kolapo Agunloye, iStore Manager during a breakfast presentation of the new iPad Pro in Radison Blu, Victoria Island, Lagos .

iStore unveils iPhone finance deal with zero interest+ 1 year warranty

ITRealms:

iStore, an Apple Authorised Reseller based in Ikeja Mall in the capital of Lagos, has launched iDeals, the first official finance deal for iPhone, to give customers the option to finance their iPhone purchase over 12 months, reports ITRealms.

iDeals, ITRealms gathered, makes owning an iPhone more affordable than ever before by providing a cost effective solution of interest free monthly instalments, starting at just 9500 Naira a month.

Also, ITRealms reports that iDeals launch follows the recent news on the 2nd of May that iPhone was launched officially for the first time in Nigeria through Apple Authorised Resellers. Recalling that iStore is the first Apple Authorised Reseller to sell iPhone and to offer iDeals.

Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk, iStore Director says they were thrilled to launch iDeals and offer a finance option for iPhone and give Nigerians the opportunity to purchase at an affordable monthly rate.

“iDeals is genuinely interest free - if you divide the cash price of iPhone by 12, this is the monthly payment you will make, there is no additional interest,” he said.

iDeals, he further said, is available for both iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s through a StanbicIBTC salary account and starts at just 9500 Naira per month for the iPhone 5C 16GB model, 11 300 Naira per month for the iPhone 5s 16GB model, 13 000 Naira per month for the iPhone 5s 32GB model and 14 800 Naira per month for the iPhone 5s 64 GB model.

In addition, those iStore customers that would prefer to do a straight cash purchase, will have the option of cash pricing as well. Customers, he said, could apply for iDeals at iStore, any StanbicIBTC branch nationwide or online at www.ideals.com.ng. Once the application form has been submitted, processed and approved, customers will be contacted to collect their iPhone.

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Apple topples Coca as No. 1 brand globally – Interbrand

ITRealms:

The latest brand analytics from Interbrand, a consulting firm has shown that Apple is now the most valuable brand globally.

ITRealms gathered that based on Interbrand findings, especially with the iPhone 5 by Apple, the brand was reported to have been valued at $98.3 billion, about N15,880,625,069,973.41 trillion by Interbrand.

According to the report today, Monday, Interbrand, a corporate identity and brand consulting company owned by the Omnicom Group that has been compiling what it calls the Best Global Brands report since 2000. The previous No. 1 brand, Coca-Cola, fell to No. 3.

Additionally, the report showed that not only has Apple overtaken Coca-Cola as first among the 100 most valuable brands based on criteria that include financial performance, Interbrand said, this is the first time Coca has not been No. 1 in almost a decade.

Global chief executive at Interbrand, Jez Frampton, had recently noted that Apple’s emergence was perchance “A matter of time” just as ITRealms recalls that Apple was No. 2 last year, climbing from No. 8 in the 2011 report.

“What is it they say, ‘Long live the king’? This year, the king is Apple,” He asserted.

Part of the 2013 report stated: “Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new No. 1 — Apple.”

In addition, the value of the Coca-Cola brand also rose, by 2 per cent to $79.2 billion, but that was not sufficient to give Coca-Cola a 14th year as Interbrand’s most valuable brand, as Apple clinched it with $98.3 billion.

Although “Coca-Cola is an efficient, outstanding brand marketer, no doubt about it,” Mr. Frampton said, Apple and other leading technology brands have become “very much the poster child of the marketing community.”

That is underscored by the brand in second place in the new report: Google, which rose from fourth place last year. In fact, of the top 10 Best Global Brands for 2013, five are in technology: Apple; Google; Microsoft, No. 5, unchanged from last year; Samsung, 8, compared with 9 last year; and Intel, 9, compared with 8 last year.

Samsung’s ascent followed the company’s adoption of a new brand strategy called the Brand Ideal, which includes “a greater focus on social purpose,” Sue Shim, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Samsung, said by e-mail. That reflected research indicating American consumers would switch brands to “one that was associated with improving people’s lives,” she added.

International Business Machines (IBM) was ranked No. 4 in 2013, down a notch from 2012, is ranked as a business services brand. Otherwise, technology would account for six of the top 10.

“Brands like Apple and Google and Samsung are changing our behavior: how we buy, how we communicate with each other, even whether we speak with each other,” Mr. Frampton said. “They have literally changed the way we live our lives.”

Among other transformative technology brands that performed well in the new report was Facebook, which climbed to 52 from 69 last year, its first year on the list.

However, in Nigeria, ITRealms also gathered that Apple iStore in Ikeja Shopping Mall is the home for everything Apple in Nigeria, according to the Executive Director, Rutger-Jan Spaandonk.

Further, ITRealms recalls that Apple iStore at Ikeja is the authorised Apple reseller in Nigeria and has several initiatives since the store opened for business, including plans to offer free training to customers on Apple hardware and software.

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Pix: Apple iPhone 5c, with additional report from New York Times.