Category: Technology

LAHORE- Committed to providing relief to its data hungry consumers, Jazz has announced a significant reduction in its Internet Base Rate. Now all Jazz prepaid subscribers can surf the internet by only paying Rs2.39 per MB; previously the Telco was charging Rs11.95 per MB on the Champions Package & Rs21.51 per MB for rest of prepaid subscribers. Speaking about this move, Muhammad Ali khan, Head of Data – Mobilink, said, “Mobilink has always been at the forefront of providing the best customer experience and quality. This significant data price reduction enables us to reduce the entry barrier in the mobile broadband domain and assists us in achieving our goal of digitally empowering each and every customer.” Following the reduction in data base rate, customers will now be able to do more than ever before. The move has been made to accelerate the uptake of mobile broadband throughout the country and is line with Jazz’s digitization goals. Since the Internet Base Rate is available for all prepaid subscribers by default, one doesn’t need to subscribe to it.

WEB DESK –  Nokia smartphones are poised for a comeback after former managers at the Finnish company licensed the handset brand from Microsoft and struck up partnerships with Google and phone manufacturer Foxconn.

Nokia was once the world’s dominant cellphone maker but missed the shift to smartphones and then chose Microsoft’s unpopular Windows operating system for its “Lumia” range.

Nokia quit smartphones in 2014 by selling its handset activities to Microsoft to focus on mobile network equipment. Microsoft continued selling Lumia smartphones under its own name but this year largely abandoned that business, too.

HMD Global, led by Nokia veteran Arto Nummela, wants to launch its first Nokia smartphone in the early part of next year using Google’s (GOOGL.O) Android operating system.

Success will require a dash for scale by stealing business from Apple (AAPL.O), Samsung (005930.KS) and dozens of other players in a cut-throat industry.

“Consumers may be carrying different smartphones now, but are they really in love and loyal to those brands?” said Nummela in an interview.

The Nokia consumer brand lives on as the badge on cheaper, entry-level “feature phones” sold mainly in Asia, India and Eastern Europe, though Microsoft invested little to market the name in recent years. Smartphones typically cost anywhere from ten to 30 times as much as these basic phones, which sell for as little as $20.

“For a new entrant, having an established brand provides it with an instant on-ramp,” said mobile phone analyst Ben Wood of CCS Insight, who suggested that phone vendors with weaker brands should not take the new challenge lightly.

“The barriers to entry for the Android phone space are low,” said Wood. “What HMD has is the Nokia brand and management experience. The key to its success will be driving scale.”

CEO Nummela, who was once responsible for Nokia’s sales and product development, does not lack ambition.

“We want to be one of the key competitive players in the smartphone business,” he told Reuters.

HMD President Florian Seiche previously worked at Siemens (SIEGn.DE), Orange, HTC and Nokia. Chief Marketing Officer Pekka Rantala is a former CEO of Rovio, the maker of the Angry Birds game, as well as a Nokia veteran.

“We are not going to skip any markets in the long term,” Seiche said, adding that HMD had already set up offices in 40 locations around the world.

NO FUNDING FROM NOKIA CORP

HMD is owned by Smart Connect LP, a private equity fund run by Jean-Francois Baril, who was once in charge of Nokia’s world-leading supply chain management system. Other HMD managers have put in money of their own.

HMD on Thursday took over the feature phone business that Nokia Corp (NOKIA.HE) sold to Microsoft. It has a licensing deal with Nokia giving it sole use of the brand on mobile phones and tablets for the next decade. It will pay Nokia royalties for the brand and patents, but Nokia has no direct investment in HMD.

HMD is building its smartphone operating system in partnership with Google and all its Nokia devices will be manufactured by Foxconn (2354.TW) of Taiwan, the world’s largest contract manufacturer.

Nummela says his team’s enduring relationships with phone service providers and retailers could help HMD quickly convince owners of Nokia feature phones to upgrade in markets like India, Indonesia and Russia.

The Nokia name is still on a tenth of the feature phones sold around the world, though in recent years it ceded ground to Samsung and TCL (000100.SZ), maker of Alcatel-brand phones, as well as smaller players, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Shipments of Nokia feature phones plunged 40 percent in fiscal year 2015 and HMD must reverse that decline while trying to break back into the smartphone market, where hundreds of vendors compete by selling phones that can be hard to distinguish.

“The feature phone is the essence of the business,” Wood said. “Don’t be under any illusions that this market is over.”

LAHORE – Huawei, the global technology-leading company in electronics and telecommunications, will be taking pre-booking orders for its latest flagship device – the Mate 9. Pre-bookings will be available for consumers in all major cities across Pakistan at all Huawei brand outlets and Daraz.com’s black Friday sale.

Consumers have the limited time offer to pre-book the coveted device on daraz.com’s black Friday sale happening from 25th November to 28th of November. Three lucky winners will be picked from amongst these customers who will get the opportunity to attend the exclusive country launch event for Mate 9.

Consumers can also start placing pre-orders for the coveted Mate 9 with their closest Huawei brand outlets by providing their address and other relevant contact information. The gift box includes limited edition Huawei Goodies and a super fast charger. The retail pre-booking process will last for 10 days, from the 24th of November until the 7th of December, which also marks the official launch date of the Mate 9 in the market.

The Mate 9 handset is a high-end phone and is Huawei’s top of the line product that has many attractive features such as a 5.9 inch full HD display, fingerprint sensor and a rear dual-camera system.

The device has a sleek look and feel and is equipped with the high-speed Kirin 960 processor and 4GB of RAM.

Lahore—Samsung Electronics Pakistan, Ltd has revealed its latest smartphone, the Galaxy Grand Prime+. Its previous version – the Grand Prime was among the best-selling products, so the Grand Prime+ will build-on the legacy, by bringing back all the features of its predecessor, along with many more innovative technologies.
This sophisticated new smartphone is equipped with numerous additional features, including: a bigger 1.5GB RAM and 8GB of expandable storage space enriched with an improved Micro-SD boasting a 256GB capacity. It has an 8 MP rear camera along with a 5 MP front camera and a front-flash. This 4G/LTE device runs on a large 2,600 mAh battery for extended usage and also boasts a sleek, exquisite design.
Using a Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime+, consumers can enjoy a quad-core experience with the ‘MediaTek MT6737T processor”. It runs on an Android 6.0 Marshmallow, for much more user-friendly operations. The 5 MP front-camera is enriched with a bright LED front flash, that enables the user to take brighter, sharper selfies, even in minimal lighting. The camera has a ‘Quick Launch’ mode, allowing a quicker access by simply pressing the Home button twice.
It is also equipped with the latest version of TouchWiz – Samsung’s revolutionary touchscreen interface. Its enhanced chipset and larger RAM also enable the consumer to enjoy a seamless and immersive multimedia experience. Furthermore, the removable 2,600 mAh battery enables customers to enjoy extended usage while taking advantage of the Power-Saving mode, to reduce battery-consumption.
Consumers can also employ the Smart-Switch feature, allowing a quicker and seamless data-transfer from their previous phone into the new Grand Prime+. The ‘Easy Mode’ feature allows the consumer to use the device more conveniently with a simpler homescreen layout and straight forward application interactions. This new smartphone comes in a wider range of colors, including; black, gold, silver and pink-gold colors, while its sleek design enables a more comfortable grip on your palm.

Islamabad—Pakistan’s No 1 data network Zong has partnered with the organizers of Asia Management Conclaveas the official connectivity partners in the 5th Annual Regional event taking place in Lahore. The theme of this year’s conclave was ‘Imagineering the Future’. Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms and the Board of Investment are also supporting the event.
More than 800 delegates from South Asia attended event this year. Some of the themes of the sessions were; Digitization, Regional Connectivity, China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Diversity & Inclusion, Corporate Social Harmony, Entrepreneurship and Governance.
Zong, being able to provide fastest 4G network in the country, set up an experience zone at venue where Zong’s Enterprise Solutions product portfolio including Video Conferencing, Health Care Unit, Push to talk, Smart Metering Solution and others were displayed for people to experience products themselves.

Web Desk – The iPhone 8 might come with larger, curved displays, according to a Barclays Research note sent to MacRumors.

Citing Asian supply chain checks, Barclays Research analysts, believe Apple will switch from the current 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus to larger 5- and 5.8-inch displays for the iPhone 8.

The screens will reportedly extend edge-to-edge with virtually no bezels — perhaps like Xiaomi’s Mi Mix. The analysts also believe only the larger iPhone 8 will sport an OLED screen.

Apple copying Samsung seems unlikely, but it’s worth noting the company was granted a patent for curved screens that are similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Edge phones.

If it ends up being true, it would be the first screen size increase since the iPhone 6, which was released in 2014.

Though it’s way too soon to nail down any iPhone 8 specs, the phone’s rumoured to have a brand new glass and metal design reminiscent of the iPhone 4, ditch the iconic home button and embed the Touch ID sensor underneath the display, and possibly sport wireless charging over a distance.

Other rumours which are far less likely include a ceramic case and a Digital Crown (like on Apple Watch).

Of course, the rumours likely to come true are better cameras, a faster processor and a new version of iOS.

The rumours are just that — rumours — and we’ve got a long way to go before the iPhone 8 launches next year in time for the iPhone’s 10th anniversary.

Huawei has recently introduced Mate 9 with a powerful processor and a dual 20MP camera, co-engineered with the Leica optics. An official of the company has disclosed that this latest smartphone will be launched in Pakistan in December 2016. The fans of Huawei in Pakistan are already taking a keen interest in the specs of this device. Huawei Mate 9 has a 5.9-inch display and the resolution of 1080×1920 pixels. Below, we are going to discuss what kind of features this device boasts:

• Display: 5.9-inches
• Camera: Dual 20MP +12MP Leica optics
• Front shooter: 8MP
• OS: Android v7.0 (Nougat)
• RAM: 4GB
• Memory: 64GB (Expandable)
• Battery: 4000mAh

A powerful processor

With the tagline “A Step Ahead”, Huawei Mate 9 comes with the Hisilicon Kirin 960, which is an intelligent and faster processor. The Kirin 960 is 30% quicker than the Kirin 950 because it uses the Cortex-A73 cores while the Kirin 950 uses Cortex-A72 cores, so the new processor is an upgraded version. Moreover, the latest version of Android further enhances the performance of the Mate 9. The device packs Android OS 7.0 (Nougat), which is the most advanced version of Android.

20MP Camera

To provide the professional photography experience to its users, Huawei has added a Dual-lens camera on its Mate 9. The Leica optics certifies the lens. We have seen the Leica-certified camera in Huawei P9 and P9 Plus, but for the first time, the company is using a similar lens in its Mate series.

The 20MP sensor will capture the photos in the monochrome format while the other will capture in the RGB format. Other features of the camera include the phase detection function, laser autofocus, and dual LED.

Also Read, Huawei Mate 9 or Xiaomi Redmi 4; which upcoming device should you go for?

Fast charging

The battery of Huawei Mate 9 is very similar to that of the Mate 8. Like Mate 8, the Mate 9 also comes with the fast charging technology, and the smartphone is powered by a 4000mAh powerful non-removable battery.

An excellent fingerprint scanner

Huawei claims that the Fingerprint scanner in the Mate 9 is 20% faster when compared to the Mate 8. It is a 4 level Fingerprint scanner, which comes with the 3D fingerprint recognition.

Huawei Mate 9 offers faster Internet experience

This smartphone comes with the dual-SIM slots and supports 3G, and 4G LTE. According to the company, Mate 9 is capable of transferring the data at the speed of up to 600Mbps.

Conclusion

After reading these qualities, we can say that Huawei Mate 9 is really a faster device than the Mate 8. For those who like a powerful smartphone with an excellent camera, the Mate 9 is definitely worth purchasing.

SEOUL: Samsung still leads the global smartphone market in the third quarter despite a massive recall that tarnished the South Korean giant’s image.

Samsung had a 20% market share in the quarter – well ahead of number two vendor Apple, according to reports from Strategy Analytics. The electronics giant discontinued its Galaxy Note 7 after its replacement devices faced the same problems of batteries overheating and bursting into flames.

“Samsung’s market dominance in the third quarter was unchallenged in the short term even with this high-profile Galaxy Note 7 recall but the longer term impact on the Samsung brand remains to be seen,” IDC Analyst Melissa Chau said.

Strategy Analytics reported that Samsung sold over 75 million handsets in a global market of 375 million units, while IDC estimated the Samsung sold over 72 million pieces in a total market of 363 million.

The overall smartphone sales were up just 1% from last year, according to IDC, while the Strategy Analytics report pegged the increase at 6%.