Onyinye wins Nokia’s dual SIM cars

•Unveils 2 phones

The two months duration of Nokia dual SIM promo ended in Lagos with an Abuja-based Customer Service Executive at Airtel Nigeria, Miss Onyinye Achigbi, emerging winner of the two Hyundia Accent cars’ prize.

The promo which ended with 113 Nigerians going home with several cash prizes comprising N50,000, N100,000 and N500,000.

Responding after receiving the keys to her prizes, as the overall grand winner, Miss Achigbi expressed gratitude to God and to Nokia for making her own two cars, although she did not believe the news initially for fear of being defrauded.

“I did not believe it when I was called. I thought it was a fraud,” she declared, adding that she intend giving one of the cars to her parents and using one.

Nokia’s  Operator  Account  Manager, Miss Beatrice Olumhense said “the idea behind  giving out two cars is to signify the dual nature of Nokia Dual SIM phones,  which  allows  users to use two SIM cards at ease.”

She noted that the idea is to enable the winner share her prize with a close relative, friend or family. Head of Communications, Nokia West Africa, Mr. Osagie Ogunbor said the draw was specially designed to reward Nokia’s loyal customers for their patronage and dedication to the brand over the years.

The promo, he said, was borne out of the need to appreciate Nokia’s customers who waited patiently for the dual SIM product.

He pointed out that the Nokia Dual SIM phones allow users to choose which SIM card to use for calls, messages and other functions, and switch between them easily from call to call.

“It allows users to also receive notification on calls and messages on each SIM card simultaneously. The phones also allow users to swap SIM cards easily without having to switch off their phones and can restore 5 SIM memory,” he said.

The  Nokia Dual SIM range, Nokia X1-01, C1-00, C2-00, C2-03, X2-02 and Asha 200  are  available nationwide in mobile stores and are sold at affordable prizes.

In a related development, Nokia has introduced new range of Dual SIM phones into the nation’s mobile market, namely the Nokia X2-02 and Asha 200.

According to the Service Manager, Nokia West Africa, Mr. Olumide Balogun, said the new phones were produced to extend its dual SIM offerings to a wider segment of mobile phone users.

He said Nokia has identified changing customer needs and the need to continually surpass expectations, thus, the introduction of the new devices was to satisfy customer needs.

“Nokia  has  a  tradition  of  always making phones that give users a great experience  and in Nokia X2-02 and  Asha 200, we are giving users devices that are trendy and yet packed full with lots of exciting applications,” he said.

Also speaking, the Operator  Account  Manager,  Nokia  West Africa, Ms Beatrice Olumhense, said that  Asha  200  comes  with  a  Qwerty  keyboard and applications that are accessible  to  users  and make the phone an impending game-changer in the youth segment.

The Asha 200, she said, is totally social and has dual SIM convenience and music on the go with numerous applications as well as games to stay informed and entertained.

These, Balogun explained would  enable  users to connect straight to Facebook, twitter and other social network  sites  with a colourful easy to use Qwerty pad that allows fast messaging.

“The device would also enable users swap easily without having to turn off the device,” he said, stressing that Nokia X2-02, supports microSD with up to 3 GB of memory, so the user could take  all  his  favourite  music with him.

Nokia X2-02, he further said, has a browser which makes mobile web browsing fast, easy and affordable, even as users could also play music via radio to pump the songs on the phone through the radio on music system or car stereo.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

Symantec warns on iPad3 scam

 

Experts at Symantec have raised an alarm over the on-going scam over the impending launch of the iPad-3 due to hit the market place anytime soon.

They noted that most worrisome is the scam letter making a round, claiming that a certain company has a business relationship with Facebook.

The scammers, ITRealms Online gathered, introduced themselves as Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer, Facebook.

The electronic mail (email) then states how Facebook have joined up with Apple for a one time promotion to give away an iPad 3 at no cost.

They alleged that though this email was targeted at a Symantec customer, the advanced monitoring systems were able to identify this scam.

“Upon investigating this email further, it is easy to ascertain that it is a scam email due to the poor grammar used in the email and the fact that there is a spelling mistake within the email itself,” experts indicated, warning that “if you suspect an email you received from Facebook is a scam, you can report it to them.”

This, they said is of course, all false information, but the scam attempts to entice potential victims by stating how they have been randomly selected from a Facebook database.

“It is possible that a user could potentially be deceived by this ruse if they receive this email to the email address they have used to register with Facebook,” they said.

The experts warned that the user could then be asked to click on a link and fill out a survey with the goal for the scammers to obtain personal information from the user and to verify that their email address is valid, which they will undoubtedly use to send more spam to in the future.

Further, they warned that the scammer might also be making money through click fraud, whereby they make money every time a user clicks on the link to the survey.

They alleged that in the meantime, no one knows for certain when the iPad 3 will be launched until Apple confirms the announcement themselves.

They pointed out that whilst it would seem that this particular scam was sent in a very low volume, it is likely that it would continue to see a build-up of iPad 3 related spams right up until the official launch date.

“There will also undoubtedly be similar related scams doing the rounds on social networking sites as well,” part of the reports from Symantec read.

They outlined some steps to be taken, described the scam as unfortunate, adding that to identify scam email advised Internet users to adopt the some best practices to avoid falling prey to phishing attacks.

These include avoiding a click on suspicious links in email messages; avoid providing any personal information when answering an email; never enter personal information in a pop-up page or screen.

Additionally, when entering personal or financial information, Internet users have been counseled to ensure the website is encrypted with an Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate by looking for the padlock, ‘https’, or the green address bar.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

MTN supports Convergence Forum’12

The 5th IT Edge West Africa Convergence Forum, scheduled for next month, March has received the support of MTN Nigeria.

The event is organized by the ITEdge Intelligence Unit (ITE-IU), owned by Know-How Media publishers of IT Edge News.Com; the annual interactive Forum focuses on Convergence Trends in West Africa in conjunction with regulatory authorities and policy makers from across West Africa.

Disclosing this, the head of ITE-IU) and editor of IT Edge News.Com, Mr. Segun Oruame, said that the forum holds on March 30, in Lagos at the instance of the industry’s stakeholders in Nigeria.

“Mobile telecommunication company, MTN Nigeria with close to 40 million subscribers, is one of the sponsors of Forum 2012,” he revealed.

Oruame also said that the event hyped as the leading platform for networking on technology and regulatory convergence in West Africa, has since 2006 offered a window for articulating on the way forward in one of the sector’s most inspiring trends.

The Forum, he said, holds jointly with the West Africa Top 50 Technology Business Companies Recognition Ceremony; the annual ranking of the ECOWAS sub-region’s leading technology business enterprises.

Forum has traditionally enjoyed support from key industry players, associations and ministries including the Nigeria Communications Commission,  National Communications Authority (Ghana), West African Telecommunications Regulators Association (WATRA), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); the Gambia Ministry of Information, Sierra Leone ICT Association (SLICTA), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Gambia Ministry of Information through the Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) among others. 

This year Forum’s theme is ‘closing the Media Ranks: Media Windows and New Media Contents.’ 

As said by him, the event has been structured to look at the enhanced opportunities for the Convergence of Media, Regulation, Content and Digitalization under the framework to appreciate the unfolding trends in contents interpretation, and content delivery on Converged Infrastructures including mobile applications and mobile pipes.

MTN Nigeria, he said, has remained key in driving growth within the telecom sectors; a major player in the provision of ICT infrastructures, last miles services and the creation of new innovative products that have impacted on people and communities.

Pointing out that the network is powering a mobile money services initiative to explore converged opportunities for financial transactions via mobile windows in a country that is still largely under-banked.

“Forum anticipates having quality attendance in line with its established tradition in the last five years. Three speakers will be drawn from broadcast, satellite and software/applications industries to explore the expansive opportunities across sectors including the aviation market, broadcast industry and the financial sector where tremendous innovation has taking place to impact positively on service delivery,” Oruame said.

He further said that the 5th Convergence Forum offers a window for stakeholders from the broadcast and telecoms; banking and insurance; education and entertainment; and the wider private and public sectors to articulate shared ideas on advancing the industry for the mutual benefits of all players in the field.

The IT Edge West Africa Top 50 Technology-Business Enterprises Ranking is the yearly computation of the ITE-IU ranking the top companies with extensive influence and marketplace relevance within the West Africa sub-region.

“It has been conducted as an annual event since 2006 with critical research findings forming part of survey content,” he said.

The IT Edge West Africa Convergence Forum, he said, has over the years become the leading and sole event in all of West Africa centering on the merging and expansive opportunities in convergence.

Stressing that it has enjoyed tremendous support from leading regulators, operators and industry associations within and outside the country, noting that the world’s No.1 equipment vendor Sweden’s Ericsson was a major sponsor of the 2009, 3rd IT Edge West Africa Convergence Forum.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

AfriNIC to launch IPv6 Task Force

African Network Information Center (AfriNIC) has finalized plans to launch the continent-wide Task Force on the Internet Protocol version Six (IPv6).

Disclosing this, the  IPv6 Programme Manager, AfriNIC, the regional Internet registry (RIR) for Africa, Hisham Ibrahim said that by middle of this month, February, the task force would be up and running.

“I am glad to announce that the African IPv6 Task Force AF6TF will be up and running by mid February,” he declared.

In a mail to IPV6 stakeholders in the continent, Ibrahim said this initial information is to intimate them and to get some relevant feedbacks before the inauguration of the Task Force.

He pointed out that the idea of establishing a regional task force that focuses its efforts on the uptake of IPv6 deployment within the region has been discussed for sometime in the African region.

To achieve this goal the African IPv6 Task Force (AF6TF), he said, divided its work scope among several focus groups to provide a more specialized approach and measurable targets.

Some of the focus groups, he said, include the National and Governmental Focus Group, transit and peering focus group, Domain Name System (DNS) and Web Focus Group as well as Security and applications Focus Group and Mobile Focus Group.

The National and Governmental Focus Group, he noted, has the mandate to assist governmental members and policy makers in defining and promoting a clear dated roadmap for the IPv6 implementation strategies on their large national networks and backbones.

While Transit and Peering Focus Group, he disclosed that their mandate involves assisting in transiting and peering providers in developing and implementing processes and best practice scenarios to assist with the proper and efficient deployment of IPv6 in their networks.

For the DNS and Web Focus Group, Mr. Ibrahim pointed out that directive to assist the Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) host and content providers in promotion and diffusion of IPv6 capable services on their networks.

And for the Security and applications Focus Group, the programme manager explained that the group was authorized to facilitate collaboration between academic and research organizations in the development of IPv6 tools, applications and devices.

Additionally, he said, this group would attempt to actively contribute to the international standards and specification bodies tasked with IPv6 matters.

Further, he said that the Mobile Focus Group, affords mobile operators in defining and promoting a clear dated roadmap for the IPv6 implementation strategies on their networks in preparation for Mobile Internet and Long Term Evolution (LTE) services.

According to him, all of these focus groups will report back to a steering committee elected from the active members participating in the different group.

The Secretariat, he said, would be provided by AfriNIC and would work with the Steering Committee to support each of the FGs, even as the scope would include also material preparation, meeting organization, maintaining a mailing list for discussion, alongside with hosting and publishing the Task Force website.

ITRealms Online recalls that last year, the first-ever forum on IPv6 was organized by the DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA)Media in collaboration with Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and other stakeholders in the Nigeria ICT ecosystem in Lagos, with the theme “IPv6 – Join the players.”

As said by the Executive Director, Operations at DSA, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, the aim of the roundtable was to provide a platform for all stakeholders in the country to share IPv6 knowledge and experience, chart a roadmap for early transition to IPv6 as IPv4 addresses run out; promote IPv6-enabled products and services in addition to providing a platform for networking on this very important subject.

Equally, she noted that the forum was aimed at creating awareness of the Future Internet and potential impact on the country’s economy, encourage participation of Nigeria stakeholders in the Second Internet Initiatives, encouraging greater Research & Development plus investment in activities around the Future Internet.

In addition, she said it was worthy to note that the World IPv6 Day slated for June 8 is a strategy to encourage successful migration to IPv6.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D