Beta launches SpeedStar Skola PCs

Leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) for Personal Computers (PCs) in the country, the Beta Computers Limited, has launched its SpeedStar series of Skola PCs into the market.

Managing Director, Beta Computers, Mr. Will Anyaegbunam while disclosing this, said that it’s part of the firm’s strategies aimed at advancing the course of Information Technology (IT) development in the country.

He said that the SpeedStar Skola PCs, is a product specifically designed for use in educational and training institutions, cyber cafes and homes.

Mr. Anyaegbunam also revealed that SpeedStar Skola is already attracting patronage, just as it comes with one year warranty, covering both labour and parts.

“Skola Pcs are affordable to ensure that it is within reach of end users,” he said, pointing out that arrangements are in place with leading financial institutions in the country to grant educational institutions instalment payment facility for upward of 12 months.

“At very subsidised rates with deposit of only 20 per cent through the company’s SpeedStar Computer Easy Purchase Program (SCEPP),” he said.

The new product, according to him, enables scholars to enjoy the benefits of professional performance PCs at very reasonable prices.

“All SpeedStar Skola PCs come with the highly rated E-Tutor Educational software developed by Nigerians for Nigerians to cover the nation’s educational curriculum for WASC and SSCE,” he asserted.

Mr. Anyaegbunam equally informed that Microsoft Corporation has granted special concessions on the company’s office application software to ensure that scholars have access to a rounded Information and Communication Technology (ICT) learning experience at the least possible cost.

He further said that supplementary content is being developed for inclusion in the Skola PC package to continually enhance better value option for the brand.

He informed that SpeedStar Skola PCs entered market in two models, namely Skola 1.0V and Skola 2.0i, explaining that Skola 1.0V, priced at N44,995.00, is specially designed for scholars at pre-school, primary and secondary school levels to initiate and consolidate their use of PC for their e-learning.

On the other hand, Mr. Anyaegbunam said that Skola 2.0i, offered at N51,995.00, is a higher configuration for senior scholars in higher education.

“It is well equipped with advanced features to better handle multiple tasks and provide excellent upgrade options to incorporate and access latest technology offerings,” he said.

Processor used in the Skola 1.0V, he said, is very energy-efficient, using less than 20 watts of power, thus making it possible to work efficiently in hostile environment, where there is no air conditioning.

Beta Computer chief expressed his firm’s appreciation to Nigerians for voting SpeedStar the PC brand of the year 2007, which was presented to the organisation at the recently held Titans of Tech awards.

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Focus TV makes a debut

A new television station , Focus Digital Television (Focus TV), has made its debut in the country, just as it targets 5 million audience.

Announcing this, the Executive Coordinator, Focus TV, Mr. Tayo Adewusi, told Champion Infotel in Lagos, that the station was berthed based on weighty proposition put forward having seen the need to refocus the nation’s ICT audience among other programmes slated for dissemination to its yearning audience.

He said, Focus Tv would be offering bouquet of digital cable channels that could be received with an installed Yagi antenna on Ultra High Frequency (UHF) 45.7 Mega Hertz (MHz) on the DISC terrestrial transmission space, movies and soaps would form part of the programming sequence because of the role they have played in shaping and educating society, especially in Nigeria.

“Programmes have also been galvanized to sustain a projected viewer-ship base of 5 million subscribers with a short time,” he said.

Mr. Adewusi pointed out that based on this determination, the station, promises to offer unique programmes.

This, he said, would ensure constant reminder of its duty to the people they serve and to ensure the much talked about local content that is needed to encourage ingenuity and pride of place in home grown broadcast inputs among industry practitioners at various levels.

“Focus Digital Television comes on stream with its network of experienced broadcast and journalism professionals poised to foster an enduring and profitable cable channel that will stream entertainment, business, sports, features, documentaries, religious broadcast, news embellished in quality programmes.

“It has bias for ICT reporting in line with global trends which takes into cognizance the role of ICT in the development of the various strata of society and humanity.,” he said.

Mr. Adewusi, added that the station with lots of experience to bear, especially form ICT Watch; a weekly industry feature on Minaj Broadcast International (MBI) sustained over the last seven years.

“We would continue to provide issue-based reports and analyses as well as the coverage of industry innovation and product launch,” he said, stressing he would bring his both local and foreign contacts of captains of industry to bear on the programme, even as he is not averse to entertainment and politics as these remain entrenched in Focus TV scale of interest.

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VIA wins Computex-07 award

Foremost fabless supplier of market-leading core logic chipsets for Personal Computers (PCs), VIA Technologies, has bagged the best of Computex awards 2007.

The award held in Taipei, Taiwan was won through its Ultra Mobile Platform, according to the chief executive, VIA Technologies, Mr. Wenchi Chen, for its power efficient design.

He explained that the UMP was made up of 1Gega Hertz (GHz) VIA C7-M ULV processor and VIA VX700 mobile system media processor, the all-in-one digital media IGP chipset.

Also, the VIA Ultra Mobile Platform was chosen for its rich media integration and significant platform size reduction, just as the VIA Ultra Mobile Platform for Ultra Mobile Devices (UMDs) could be found inside many ultra mobile products on display at this year’s show.

Deputy Director of CPU Product Marketing, VIA Technologies Incorporated, Epan Wu expressed the company’s delight to be recognized for its innovative work in designing ultra power efficient mobile processors and highly integrated chipsets.

“It’s good to have our goal of being the platform of choice for Mobility 2.0 validated by the judges of this prestigious ICT trade show,” Wu said.

The director said that mobility 2.0 would go beyond today’s limited mobile Internet to a full-featured Web 2.0 browsing and computing experience at the fingertips through the next generation of Ultra Mobile Devices (UMDs).

The device, according to him, weighs less a kilogramme, and based on the x86 architecture, while bridging the gap between the notebook and the mobile phone, as well as bringing the benefits of a PC with all the applications, information and entertainment users require to an ultra portable handheld form factor.

The Deputy Director added that the VIA Ultra Mobile Platform is the leading choice for companies producing UMDs with more VIA based designs available to consumers on the market today.

CompuTex 2007, the acclaimed world’s second largest and the region’s most important ICT exhibition cum trade show, took place between June 5 and 9 at the Taipei World Trade Centre.

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Glo is living up to expectation – Adebayo

The former Communications Minister, Chief Cornelius Adebayo has commended the Second National Operator (SNO), Globacom for living up to expectation of Nigerians.

Speaking at the just concluded 7th West African International Telecommunications exhibition (W.AfriTel-07) in Lagos as the special guest of honour while visiting Globacom’s stand at the event, he noted that the SNO has been steadfast in its vision to boost the telecommunications development in the country.

“One is very happy that you people (Globacom) are living up to expectation. Keep it up,” he declared.

Excited at the success currently recorded by Globacom, the former Minister during whose tenure Glo began operations, lauded the chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga, saying the telco has not let Nigerians down since it commenced operation in August 2003.

The former minister also said he had always believed in the Nigerian company and had supported it fully right from the onset, despite criticisms from certain quarters.

He expressed joy that Globacom has not disappointed as it has recorded landmark achievements in the few years the telco has been in operation.

“I had to maintain my ground when I was facing criticism for supporting the company at the beginning,” he said, adding, “I am happy that Globacom has not let the country down.”

Chief Adebayo, noted for his deep understanding of the telecommunications industry, was the chief guest of honour at the event, which has become an integral part of the calendar of the nation’s growing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.

Meanwhile, Globacom has given boost to its prepaid subscribers as it availed them option of migration from the Classic 200 package to the new Classic Plus package.

Globacom also said it’s offering Classic subscribers further opportunities to migrate free of charge.

Company sources said that the enhanced Classic Plus package offers among other things a new off-peak on-net call rate of 40 kobo per second and 48 kobo per second for on-net calls at peak period.

Glo’s peak period is from 7a.m. to 9:59pm Mondays to Fridays, while off peak is from 10pm to 6.59am and all weekends.

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Celtel extends ‘One Network’ to six countries

Pan Africa mobile communication operator, Celtel, has extended its free roaming service, otherwise known as ‘one network’ to six nations on the continent.

Champion Infotel recalls that in September 2006, Celtel offered its customers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda the opportunity to move freely across geographical borders without roaming call charges and without having to pay to receive incoming calls.

At the weekend, the telco said it has scrapped roaming charges for its users in six countries, in readiness to extend its world’s first borderless mobile network to more countries in East Africa.

This is coming as the telco also said its advancing plans to expand the service to 15 nations in Africa.

The One Network service allows Celtel subscribers to make calls at local rates and receive free incoming calls in countries where it operates.

Chief executive, Celtel Kenya, Mr. David Murray said, “We have extended the one network from Tanzania , Kenya and Uganda to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo and Gabon. This is a world first.”

He stressed that telephone links between many African countries have traditionally been bad and in many cases cell phone users could not send text messages to other users on the continent.

Speaking last September in Kampala, Nairobi, and Dar es Salaam during simultaneous press briefings, Celtel management informed that this was only the beginning of their efforts to connect Africa as no other mobile phone operator has been able to do to date, and that their efforts would not stop within East Africa.

However, Mr. Murray noted that a year later, the service is now gearing towards including three other countries within Central Africa.

A press statement from Celtel International quoted its chief executive, Mr. Moez Daya, as saying, the telco was delighted to bring 160 people from East and Central Africa closer and together through One Network.

“In a region historically dependent on freedom of movement across borders, we are now offering a communications solution that fits the needs of our customers, breaking down barriers and making life better for businesses, families and individuals from West to East. We have made the service easy to use and convenient by putting in place more than 140,000 places where our customers can buy airtime,” he said.

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Sony Ericsson is doing well in Nigeria – Nkpa

Various brands of Sony Ericsson mobile phones are doing well in the Nigeria’s market, according to the National Account Manager at the telco, Mr. Emeka Nkpa.

He disclosed this at the just concluded West African International Telecommunication Exhibition (W.AfriTel) 2007 held at the New Expo Centre, Eko Hotel Lagos.

Mr. Nkpa singled out the latest introduction by the mobile communications giant in the country, the W880i and said that he is impressed with the acceptance and demand it has generated since the product was officially launched last month in Lagos.

Although he could not give out the statistics, but assured that the brand especially W880i is doing impressively well in the mobile communications market place.

He cited an instance with the Sony Ericsson W880i, saying that, with its 9.4 millimetre (mm) thin, the W880i is acclaimed as the slimmest Sony Ericsson phone and combines the full Walkman phone experience with a device that fits easily into the pocket.

As said by him, the W880i comes with 1Giga Byte (GB) memory stick micro (M2) provided in-box that gives users the room to store up to 900 full-length tracks.

Mr. Nkpa added that the host of innovative music applications, such as Walkman Player 2.0 & Disc2Phone afford users to easily get music on the Walkman phone, and enables searching for play lists once it has been downloaded.

He emphasised the efficacy of W880i, saying that as one of the slimmest music phones available, it has the true beauty of design in a brushed stainless steel finish which stood it out in colour variants via steel silver or flame black.

In addition, he said, the Disc2Phone music management software, affords the user to transfer their choice of tracks easily from PC straight onto the phone.

He stressed that with the Bluetooth audio streaming, on W880i, all of that music could be enjoyed wirelessly on a stereo bluetooth headset.

“Or by streaming music directly to a home or car stereo via the new Music Bluetooth Receiver (MBR),” he said.

He reiterated the resolve of Sony Ericsson to continuously increase its market share in Nigeria.

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Forrester names HP leader in BSM software market

Forrester Research Incorporated, a leading analyst firm has named Hewlett Packard (HP) the leader in the business service management (BSM) software market.

Report released by Forrester on BSM report, said that HP software earned the highest score for business service mapping and the second highest score for both its overall current product offering and end-to-end monitoring.

Analysts at Forrester Research and authors of the BSM report, Mr, Peter O’Neill and Ms Evelyn Hubbert, defined BSM as software that dynamically links business-focused Information Technology (IT) services to the underlying IT infrastructure.

“The acquisition of Mercury Interactive provides HP with a strong BSM solution with a new and improved configuration management database (CMDB) strategy,” the authors wrote, adding that the HP solution allows IT to either take a back-end approach by monitoring the processes supporting the business services through HP business process insight software or by monitoring the front end – the end user experience.

On vendor summary specific, Forrester noted that the strength of HP’s modular implementation approach, allows quick time-to-value and a step-by-step approach to managing the business services of an organization.

The vendor summary also noted that HP Universal CMDB is “a complete system that provides the key capabilities required to support today’s business service management processes,” and that HP Service Desk Customers “are able to receive a closed-loop service health view.”

Vice President, Products, Management Software, HP, Deb Traub, pointed out that key technologies acquired from Mercury have allowed HP to become a leader in the BSM market.

“With the Mercury assets, HP can provide a comprehensive solution that enables customers to monitor the health of business services and applications from the points of view of the business, its customers and its partners,” the VP said.

He also said that the HP Business Availability Center software, a comprehensive business service and application management solution, helps businesses to manage the health of business services and applications as well as optimize their availability, performance and effectiveness.

“Using HP Business Availability Center along with HP Business Process Insight software further enables both bottom-up and top-down analysis,” Traub said.

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‘ICT’ll create more jobs’

The long held fears that deeper penetration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Africa would lead to massive job losses has been dispelled by preliminary results from an ongoing study, reports John Mireny.

The research undertaking is being coordinated by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and seeks to measure the impact of ICTs in poverty alleviation and job creation in Africa.

ICTs refer to the combined use of new emerging electronic technologies—computers and Internet, mobile phones, radios, TVs, multi-media platforms like CDs.

The early study’s results were announced by Eskedar Nega, ECA’s programme officer at a gathering of Africa Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) Africa preparatory meeting here in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

She contended that, evidently, the initial results, supported by indicators that are showcased by Africa’s emerging mobile telephony industry, new jobs have been created where telecoms have been liberalised, as the case can be overwhelmingly proved in Tanzania.

However, she sounded a warning that the reverse could be unfolding where technology becomes obsolete, or due to excessive automation, as when ICTs replaces old tasks and occupations, for instance when telephone switchboard operators are sent parking.

With reference to the study, she said, ICTs could create new tasks and occupations through Webpage designers, call centre worker or a variety of new intermediaries.

But, most likely, she said, the preliminary results from their ongoing results showed that outsourcing, community multi-purpose centres (CMCs) that uses post office as outlets and combining several technologies (radio, GSM, Internet, TV and multi-media) could create thousands of jobs, as well as market driven e-agriculture and software development.

Africa, just like India, has the potential to tap synergies brought about by outsourcing, she said.

The study showcases Egypt as an exemplary African country where e-Agriculture has shown its potential to create new and decent jobs.

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Africa must tap ICT benefits – Katang

Chief Executive Officer of Abuja-based Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firm, Dr. Armstrong Katang, has said that for Nigeria and Africa at large to overcome poverty and underdevelopment they must tap from various economic benefits of ICT.

Dr. Katang, who spoke in Lagos at the just ended West Africa Information Communication Technology Congress (WAFICT), noted that the country still faces a lot of infrastructural challenges that impede on the growth of ICT penetration.

He also said that government and the organised private sector must collaborate to expand ICT penetration in Nigeria and on the continent, stressing that what is at stake here is the future of the continent and Nigeria precisely.

He emphasised that the youths represent the next generation and every hand must be on the deck to ensure that plans began early for the future of the country, “If we want to be part of the global economy of the future that will thrive and survive only on ICT.”

In addition, Dr, Katang said, the mission of Alteq is to develop next generation of African leadership through creativity in using ICT.

“Nigeria and West Africa should not just be concerned about consuming technology but the ones that will be relevant to the needs of the people,” he advised.

He pointed out that the quest to create socio-economic empowerment for the future generation of Africa and Nigeria in particular through information communications technology should be the thrust of all activities.

“As an organization our firm is committed to the design, development and use of all technology that improves quality of life. We pride ourselves in offering international quality consulting services at locally competitive prices,” he said.

Recalling the theme of the WAFICT congress, “Driving West Africa Growth through ICT” he said that what it means is that both social and economic life from agriculture, education, and transportation among others must be ICT driven.

“This does not mean every individual must necessarily have a Personal Computer (PC), but the next generation must be empowered with tools and information they require to succeed in all human endeavours,” Katanga said.

He further said that part of the objective of the congress was to create a platform for the present professionals in the industry, as well as the students and youths who are the futures.

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UNIDO, Microsoft join forces on PC penetration

Vienna-based United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Information Technology (IT) giant, Microsoft Corporation, have joined forces to boost Personal Computer (PC) penetration on the continent.

This follows the two firms endorsement of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Ouagadougou, during the first African Sub-Regional Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Best Practices forum, reports Wanjohi Kabukuru.

This, industry sources said was in reaffirmation of their commitment to help bridge the digital divide in African.

The MOU signed by UNIDO’s secretary general Dr Kande Yumkellah and Chairman of Microsoft in Africa, Dr Cheick Modibo Diarra, the continent is set to gain from refurbished computers from the corporations in the West to small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) in Africa.

“SMEs are the cornerstone of any economy. By providing computers, software and training to entrepreneurs we aim to foster jobs and opportunities in SMEs in rural Africa. We are committed to developing a model for refurbishment that is sustainable, both economically and environmentally,” Yumkella said.

The initial pilot project, he added would kick-off in Uganda before the end of this year, from where it is expected to extend to other parts of the continent.

This, he said, is in tandem with UNIDO mandate, which is to help countries achieves sustainable industrial development.

“The issue is not about new or refurbished computers, but that our small scale entrepreneurs will be able to take advantage of the knowledge economies now and not tomorrow. We cannot let our people take the same long and slow route to development when it is obvious they can leapfrog to that era now.” Kandeh informed.

“Refurbished computers are like generic drugs and HIV/AIDS anti retroviral drugs (ARVs) in the end both of them work on the same principle. They are affordable and easily accessible. It does not mean when you have refurbished computers you cannot access the Internet,” he said.

UNIDO scribe also said that this is what the collaboration with Microsoft is seeking to demystify.

“We want our SMEs to grow and help our economies to develop and produce more. That way, we can help reduce poverty in the continent,” Yumkellah, who was a former Trade minister in Sierra Leone, said.

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