“We are focusing on creating a fun and sticky mobile flirting community for people to chat, blog, share photos and experiences, vote. We expanded the product with interest likes function that help customers express their interests and find new people who share the same interests. This strengthens the communications between customers and helps to build stronger relationships.

Selected developer API

In June 2011, Eskimi will also announce API for selected developers to build products for 2 million customers in Eskimi. API development will be different from Facebook like cooperation – developers will need no marketing budget and will get recommendations on what to build from Eskimi team.

“We will make a selected developer system and will create a dialog between us and developer community that will help focus their energy the right way. We will do all marketing for new mobile web applications. It will be different from Facebook application development – the developer will know what to develop and get a lot of marketing support, so this will reduce their risk to minimum”,- Eskimi CEO Vytas Paukstys explained the differences of their work with developers.

“We would like to especially invite Nigerian developers to contact us and discuss partnerships. We have over 1 million customers from Nigeria alone, therefore we see a huge potential for Nigerian start-ups to launch their products to already existing and big audience”,- stressed the point Eskimi CEO Vytas Paukstys.

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1. Cell C wins global telecoms award

Cell C

Cell C and development partner fonYou have put South Africa’s innovation capability on the map by scooping the Global Telecoms Business Innovation Award in the consumer services category for its innovative cloud telephony service “MyTools”.

Cell C was the first mobile provider globally to introduce this cloud-based service for mobile devices and by doing so pipped global heavyweights Telefonica and Sprint to the post.

Cell C unveiled “MyTools” to customers earlier this year. The service allows Cell C customers, smart address book, advanced call control features or visual voicemail – all accessible through web and mobile phone browsers.

MyTools service puts the power in the customer’s hands by allowing them to control almost every aspect of their mobile device in the cloud.

It fully integrates with all your social networking services like Facebook and Twitter, synchronizing in real time over the air. Why not post a fun SMS to Facebook or Twitter?

It allows customers to instantly route any calls they don’t want to voicemail or blacklist them entirely. It also lets customers add custom voicemail messages for each contact.

With MyTools customers can manage contacts and messages online, forward voicemails as emails, or set up call forwarding services at different times of the day.

“Bringing ‘My Tools’ to life has been one of the most exciting projects I have ever worked on in my career. It is the perfect embodiment of Cell C’s tagline ‘The Power is in Your Hands!’ as it really puts all a customer does with a mobile device at their fingertips. And to have been able to launch this before anybody else in the world is a great privilege,” says Cell C Senior Manager VAS Applications & Services, Wellington Sibande.

The GTB Innovation Awards has been designed to recognise products created under partnerships between operators and vendors.

“Cell C has built with fonYou’s platform sticky services around their most valuable asset – network access.  These valuable and popular services are unique to Cell C and strengthen its position as innovation leader in South Africa, allowing their customers to control their mobile number and service online, which no other operator offers,” says Fernando Núñez-Mendoza, CEO of fonYou Telecom.

“As the challenger in the South African mobile space, Cell C is committed to bringing competition to the market. One of the ways we have brought much needed competition is through our innovation and we are proud to offer our customers a service that is now award-winning and recognised on a global stage,” says Cell C CEO Lars Reichelt.

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The event had just started when I arrived at the 6th floor of Oksart Place on Ring Road Central in Accra, Ghana. I was quickly ushered into the spacious orange-themed conference room. Partners were present from several African countries.

Esoko partners listening attentively in the conference room known as Damba Meeting Room

The Introduction

Members of Esoko’s tech teams (geeks, programmers, managers) introduced themselves in a rather humorous manner that sent waves of laughter across the room. They kept unleashing their funny nicknames that one would have imagined would be confined to the ears of the esoteric Esokoninis.

Esoko tech team with Sudan Partner

The Esokoninis

Esokoninis are not citizens of a former Soviet republic. That’s the informal demonym for Esoko staff. They came across as boisterous, intelligent and creative minds turning the wheels of Esoko. I chatted with a few of them and the information gathered contributed to the subsequent write-ups about Esoko.

The Graphs

Next were slideshows that shared the decision-making processes that go into designing an Esoko application. Some details about this would be shared in subsequent posts.

The Drama

Esoko went to the extent of dramatising some of their processes with a rendition titled “A Day In The Life Of Our CEO”. The largely fictional drama explained some of the iteration of Esoko.

Another drama was when Mlen-Too Wesley, Esoko Lead Developer, took the stage to announce a new Esoko feature. His presentation style Apple’s Steve Jobs written all over it. His engaging presentation focused on iFrame, “a powerful content embedding technology developed exclusively by Esoko”. Launching in 2012, iFrame would allow content with content and enable partners to display Esoko content on their respective websites. I was almost hooked until Mlen-Too Wesley rescued me in a chat later, explaining that the entire presentation was a practical joke based on a real event with an Esoko client.

Esoko tech team with Madagascar Partner

The Esoko Hub

Esoko is housed in a multi-storey building at the beginning of Ring Road Central in Accra, with the 3rd to 6th floors reserved for its exclusive use. The building, known as Oksart Place, is a stone’s throw from the iconic BusyInternet, where Esoko was nurtured.You cannot miss the orange colour of Esoko’s logo in the office spaces, conference rooms, lighting and interior decoration. Somehow, it was heart-warming that a dot-com was this established and expansive in Ghana.

Esoko is a mobile integrated platform used by projects, businesses & individuals to exchange market info via SMS. Built, building and operating out of Accra.

Thanks for taking time to consume this appetizer. The main course would be served very soon and would include some exciting technical and business details about Esoko.

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Nokia N9

The three home views of the user interface are designed to give fast access to the most important things people do with a phone: using apps, staying up to date with notifications and social networks, and switching between activities.

The industrial design of the Nokia N9 is an example of extreme product making and craft. The body is precision-machined from a single piece of polycarbonate and flows seamlessly into beautiful curved glass. The laminated deep black display means that the user interface just floats on the surface of the product.

The Nokia N9 also packs the latest in camera, navigation and audio technology for a great all-round experience.

“With the Nokia N9, we wanted to design a better way to use a phone. To do this we innovated in the design of the hardware and software together. We reinvented the home key with a simple gesture: a swipe from the edge of the screen. The experience sets a new bar for how natural technology can feel,” said Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia’s head of Design. “And this is just the beginning. The details that make the Nokia N9 unique – the industrial design, the all-screen user experience, and the expressive Qt framework for developers – will evolve in future Nokia products.”

Innovative all-screen design
With no need for a home key, the all-screen Nokia N9 makes more room for apps to shine. The 3.9-inch AMOLED screen is made from scratch-resistant curved glass. The polycarbonate body enables superior antenna performance. This means better reception, better voice quality and fewer dropped calls.

Camera, maps and multimedia
The 8-megapixel Carl Zeiss autofocus sensor, wide-angle lens, HD-quality video capture and large lens aperture enable great camera performance even in lowlighting conditions. This makes the Nokia N9 one of the best camera-phones ever produced.

The Nokia N9 features free turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation with voice guidance in Maps. With the new dedicated Drive app, you can get in your car and start navigating to your destination right away.

You can watch videos in true 16:9 widescreen format. And because the Nokia N9 is also the world’s first smartphone with Dolby® Digital Plus decoding and Dolby Headphone post-processing technology, you get a surround sound experience with any set of headphones.

Touch just got better
Fitted with the latest in wireless technology, Near Field Communication (NFC), the Nokia N9 allows you to easily share images and videos between devices by touching them together.  Pair it with Bluetooth accessories like the new NFC-enabled Nokia Play 360° wireless music speaker only once, and you get a great surround sound music experience with just a tap.

Colors and Memory
The Nokia N9 will be available in three colors – black, cyan, and magenta with storage options to accommodate plenty of content: 16GB and 64GB. The Nokia N9 is scheduled to be in stores later this year, with availability and local pricing to be announced closer to the sales start.

About Nokia
Nokia is committed to connecting people to what matters to them by combining advanced mobile technology with personalized services. More than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia, from our most affordable voice-optimized mobile phones to advanced Internet-connected smartphones sold in virtually every market in the world. Through Ovi (www.ovi.com), people also enjoy access to maps and navigation on mobile, a rapidly expanding applications store, a growing catalog of digital music, free email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, and Nokia Siemens Networks is one of the leading providers of telecommunications infrastructure hardware, software and professional services globally.

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Unitel, leading mobile operator in Angola, and Opera Software have signed an agreement that allows Unitel customers quicker access to the Internet from their mobile phones.

Opera Mini is a mobile web browser available for more than 3000 mobile phone models. It is easy to install and enables a better Internet browsing experience similar to a computer. Globally, more than 71 million users surf the Web with Opera Mini, while saving on data traffic expenses due to Opera’s revolutionary data compression technology. In order to take advantage of this service, customers must visit http://m.opera.com/ on their mobile phones and install the Opera Mini browser from there.

“Enabling our users to access the Web through Opera Mini is a gain to the company, it allows our costumers to have easy access to the Internet, browse faster and efficiently,” said Miguel Martins, CEO and Board Member of Unitel. “This gives our customers a solid Internet experience and surfing satisfaction, which is a high priority for us.”

“The vision of Opera is to provide the best possible Internet experience, on any device,” said Dag Olav Norem, VP of Mobile Products, Opera Software. “With Unitel, we get to bring the full Internet experience of Opera Mini to even more users and show them the power of the Web to play, learn and explore.”

Since 2007, Unitel has provided Internet access via mobile phone, with thousands of customers using the service. With more than 6 million customers, Unitel has consolidated the leadership in the national market.

About Unitel
Unitel is the largest telecommunications company and the leading mobile operator in Angola. With more than 6 million customers and coverage in all provincial capitals in the country since 2002, Unitel, revolutionized the telecommunications market through quality and innovation of services which introduced, roaming and access to data on broadband (HSDPA).

About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform web-browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/

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Ovi Life Tools offers a wide range of information services covering healthcare, agriculture, education and entertainment which address the needs of consumers and helps improve their economic prosperity and quality of life. It is a key part of Nokia’s overall strategy to connect the next billion people by providing access to locally relevant services on affordable mobile devices.

Nokia’s head of Mobile Phone Services, Dieter May, said: “This is another important milestone for Nokia as we continue to expand our services in emerging markets. Farmers will be able to check market prices without travelling long distances, people will be able to find important information to stay healthy and students will be able to learn English and improve their general knowledge at their own pace. All of this on easy-to-use and affordable mobile phones.”

From today, people in Nigeria will have access to a wide range of services and information on their mobile phones through Nokia’s Ovi Life Tools. Services available include:

• Healthcare services: Mother and childcare, health & fitness and disease information.
• Agriculture services: Market prices, news & advice and weather.
• Education services: Learn English, acquire general knowledge and access exam results.
• Entertainment services: Football results, music, news alerts, horoscopes and jokes.

May continued: “We have made sure that the service is locally relevant. The agriculture service provides prices on 25 different commodities including cocoa, beniseed (sesame) and fish to name a few, and covers all 36 states in Nigeria. But people also want to have fun, so in football crazed Nigeria we have made sure that the news and entertainment service includes the latest results from the European leagues and from the national team. Affordability is also critical. With almost 30 percent of the population below the poverty line, every cent makes a huge difference to people’s household budgets, so we have set out to build a service that is able to further improve their quality of life for just 1 Euro per month.”

Nokia’s Ovi Life Tools in Nigeria will be offered on the Nokia 2690 and on the Nokia C1-01 through two of Nigeria’s largest operators, Zain/Airtel and Glo Mobile, at the affordable price of NGN 250 (EUR 1.25) for the agriculture service and NGN 200 (EUR 1) per month for all other subscriptions. More devices will be added in the future.

Nokia Ovi Life Tools will be available countrywide in Nigeria in three languages – English, Hausa and Pidgin English.

About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.3 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

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Chris: My name is Chris Umunnabuike, Training and development Manager. AD-CONNECT Ghana.  AD-CONNECT is the West African Dealer of Mobile Learning, Publishing, Delivery and Tracking solutions.

Oluniyi: When did AdConnect commence operations?

Chris: AD-CONNECT commense operation Aug, 2009. but Ithe company was registered in Ghana and Nigeria a month before the commensement of operation.

Oluniyi: Could explain the mobile learning services further? Who is the target market fot the service?

Chris: AD-CONNECT provides mobile learning and content publishing solutions to schools, corporations and governments. For now we are focusing on the Tertiary level.

Oluniyi: Alright. How exactly does the mobile learning work? Please explain the process in simple terms.

Chris: Mobile learning is providing learning and training to students and workforce using hand-held devices which includes Mobile Phones, Pocket Pcs, Palms,  iPhones and any portable device and these have to be GRPS enabled mobile phones.

From left: Adiel Ntuk, CEO of AD-CONNECT, and Ammar Shami CEO of Abjad Jordan.

Oluniyi: Aside GPRS, are there any other special requirements for such mobile devices?

Chris: Yes, it has to be java enabled as well, because the system accepts voice, pictures, text, and audios as well. We also see good internal and and external memory slot as an added value to enable students handle more modules coming from various departments but AD-CONNECT platform is mobile based, so, it’s more of compressed to minimize memory consumption.

Oluniyi: Interesting. So how has the service been received so far and do you think Africa is really ready for this service?

Chris: Thanks. The service is embracing great complements, only that people want to see where it has been implememnted already in the African school. Meanwhile, we have conducted a pilot project with Central University College Ghana, they’re so excited about it, and want to get it going for their school. We’ll deploy at CUC any moment from Next 2 weeks. Also, University of Nsukka in Nigeria, in conjunction with ITBS are receiving a pilot project as we speak in Nigeria. They have also shown great interest in the technology. Most importantly, it was the University of Ghana that referred us to Central, to implement it their first, then if it works for them Legon will then come on board.

Oluniyi: In a nutshell, you are convinced that Africa is ready to embrace mobile learning.

Chris: Yes, very ready. Our technology has a tracking system that tells you what the receiver is doing with the contents delivered to him, you can track everything. That is, content development, content delivery, and tracking.

Oluniyi: Where do you see AdConnect regarding mobile learning in 5 years’ time?

Chris: For now AD-CONNECT has a franchise for Ghana and Nigeria, but in 5 years, I see AD-CONNECT  taking care of the whole African Nations in Mobile Learning. We want the public to know that AD-CONNECT Mobile Learning is a Philantropic help to help build a better and affordable education to African schools.

Oluniyi: If AdConnect is philanthropic, what is your aim with running the service? What do you intend to achieve?

Chris: We intend to boost the standard of education in Africa, and to reward ourselve with a great legacy that will stand in the history of ”Education For All’ campaign. And to give our families a good reason to life as well.

Oluniyi: Sounds noble. What African countries do you plan to hit next, after Ghana and Nigeria?

Chris: We are looking at Kenya, because we’ve receive some calls on their interest in Mobile Learning. and then we look at Cote D’voire as well.

Oluniyi: Aside mobile learning, expatiate on other mobile related services offered by AdConnect.

Chris: for now, we offer bulk sms services in Ghana and Nigeria, Mobile Voting, Mobile survey, and we are resalers to McAfee Anti-virus as well as installations of mobile applications.

Oluniyi: How would you compare your company’s achievements in Ghana and Nigeria?

Chris: I think the competition is the same for now, but looking at the population in Nigeria and the number of the universities there, I think the future holds a great deal for us in Nigeria.

Oluniyi: Is Chris into other online venture aside AdConnect?

Chris: I have my commitments with AD-CONNECT on that matter for now, but I have many other plans that are online venture related, which I kept on hold for now.

Oluniyi: Nice. What does Chris due at his leisure time?

Chris: I love spending time with my family. And I spend the rest of my leisure time watching soccer.

Oluniyi: Times for your time Chris and all the very best with your endeavours.

Chris: Thank you Oluniyi.

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(LONDON) – September 07, 2010 – all amber, the leading company specialising in organising interactive, discussion-based events specifically aimed at high level strategists, today announced additional partners and sponsors for the 2^nd annual Mobile Web in Africa conference, September 28 – October 1, 2010. Industry leaders Nokia and BlackBerry have both agreed to significant sponsorship packages and in doing so have joined Opera Software, InMobi Africa, the World Wide Web Foundation, MobileMonday, the W3C Mobile Web Initiative and Venture Capital for Africa in partnering with all amber, illustrating the extremely strong industry wide support that the event is again attracting. Additionally, GetJar, BlackBerry and InMobi have contributed towards the APP-FACTOR Developer Competition, providing an opportunity for developers and start-ups to win prizes and foster business opportunities.

Mobile Web in Africa 2010 takes place September 28 – October 1, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency, Rosebank, Johannesburg and will give attendees the opportunity to gain and exchange knowledge surrounding harnessing the potential of the mobile internet and applications on mobile devices in Africa. Now in its 2nd year, Mobile Web in Africa is firmly established as the industry’s most progressive and interactive mobile-focused event, bringing together all the major stakeholders. Key contributors for 2010 include Antonie Roux (Naspers Group), Jon von Tetzchner (Opera Software), Russell Buckley (AdMob), Ken Banks (kiwanja.net), Rudy De Waele (mTrends) and Evert Jaap Lugt (Nimbuzz).

Mobile Web in Africa 2010 will provide abundant networking opportunities, which will lead to growing business and new partnerships. This will be achieved through:

• A highly interactive roundtable seating format that facilitates genuinely constructive discussion and networking
• Panel discussions and networking sessions
• A full day dedicated to discussing Social Media and exploring the practical realities of monetising and utilising Mobile Social Media
• A half day workshop delivered by internationally respected expert Dr Marc Smith from the Connected Action Group

Attendance at the event is limited and anyone interested in participating is strongly encouraged to reserve their place now before the show is fully booked. To reserve your space online, please visit: www.mobilewebafrica.com or call +44 (0)1376 521 170.

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A snapshot of thegrid.co.za homepage

Up to now the two million existing members of  The Grid  “in South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania – were only able to chat and share content with other Grid members from their own country. Members could also chat to their Google Talk, MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger contacts from The Grid.

With the new release, however, Grid members “ irrespective of country or network operator “can become friends, chat to each other or share, rate and comment on photos and videos posted by the community.

The Grid was originally launched in South Africa in 2008 and has since developed into one of the leading South African social networks. In 2009 The Grid launched into both Tanzania and Nigeria “both developing African countries with high volumes of mobile web traffic.

The international expansion will make it possible for anyone with a cellphone to sign up and join the social network “at no subscription cost. Operations will be based in South Africa with the infrastructure hosted locally by Vodacom Business in their Midrand Data Centre.

Says Phillip Boshielo, Executive Head at Vodacom Ventures:  “This international roll-out represents yet another important milestone in the development of The Grid as a leading social network. It’s also a milestone that I am particularly proud of. By making The Grid available to everyone everywhere, we’re harnessing the full power of the mobile web to create a truly global meeting place.”

The Grid can be accessed through its mobi site at http://wap.thegrid.co.za. Membership is free and members only pay standard data rates to their service provider.

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Etisalat CEO, Steven Evans said that with the latest technology, customers on Etisalat network will have the benefit of increased broadband and enhanced data services. According to him, “submarine fibre optic cable will enhance Etisalat’s broadband capacity thus leading to improved data services to the benefit of our customers. Our subscription to the new technology is a demonstration of our commitment to delivery of superior service, which we are known for globally. Our customers remain the core of our business hence we are always keen to deploy the best technology available for their advantage.”

Etisalat has been consistent in raising the stake in quality service delivery since the launch of its commercial operations in the country in October 2008. Though a late entrant into the dynamic Nigerian telecommunications market, Etisalat has scored many firsts in its less than two years of operations. The deal with Main One is another first for Etisalat Nigeria.

Main One is wholly African-owned with a vision to expand the much needed capacity on the African continent and reduce costs of broadband communications across the Continent. With landing stations in Nigeria and Ghana and branching units in Morocco, Canary Islands, Senegal and Ivory Coast, the cable will deliver unprecedented broadband capacity to West Africa, more than ten times what is currently available. With its cable system now turned on, Main One is poised to champion a communications revolution in Africa impacting businesses, governments and individuals by providing higher bandwidth and exceptional speeds at a lower cost.

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The HTC Legend is a phone manufactured by Taiwan's HTC Corporation for the Android platform.

With over 61 million users worldwide, Opera Mini is the world’s most popular browser for mobile phones, allowing much faster browsing speeds, while keeping the costs to a minimum. Browse at lightning speed today by downloading the free Opera Mini browser from the Android Market or at m.opera.com.

Opera Mini is a favorite not just on feature phones, but also on smartphones, scoring an impressive 1 million downloads on the iPhone during the first 24 hours of availability. Opera Mini is highly optimized for almost any handset, delivering the best Internet experience on more than 3000 mobile phone models.

Opera Mini raises the game on Android phones. Since its Opera Mini 5 beta release, Opera Mini can now be set as the default browser for more convenient Internet access. Opera Mini 5.1 also offers improved page layout on high-end Android handsets with large screens.

What we say
“Opera Mini 5.1 for the Android platform is the next step in bringing the world’s most popular mobile web browser to all major platforms, offering improved performance and great web experience to almost any handset,” says Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “Opera Mini is used by over 61 million people on more than 3000 handset models and with today’s release Opera continues its mission to provide the best web experience on any device and on any platform.”

About Opera Mini
Opera Mini brings the Web to almost any handset by compressing data by up to 90 percent before sending content to the phone. This results in significantly improved page loading speed and reduced data costs for the user. For example, with webpages such as BBC.com, a normal mobile web browser will display a BBC News page roughly 1 time, as compared to 9 times with Opera Mini for the same cost.

In addition to providing speed and cost savings, Opera Mini 5.1 comes with useful features, such as tabbed browsing, password manager, bookmarks and Speed Dial, built into the browser to deliver easy web access while on-the-go. With Opera Mini optimized for Android phones, more people are able to get a PC-like browsing experience on their handsets.

Download
Download Opera Mini directly to your Android phone for free from the Android Market, or at m.opera.com.

About Opera Software ASA
Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera?s cross-platform web-browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/.

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Opera browser on smartphones

Opera’s State of the Mobile Web Report, published monthly, provides information on the top global trends affecting the mobile Web. The full report is available from http://www.opera.com/smw/ (English only). In addition to a full review of Opera Mini on the iPhone, the report highlights global statistics and reviews the mobile browsing trends in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Global trends

• In April 2010, Opera Mini had more than 58.9 million users, a 6.6% increase from March 2010 and more than 152% compared to April 2009.
• Those 58.9 million people viewed more than 26.3 billion pages in April 2010. Since March, page views have gone up 1.6%. Since April 2009, page views have increased 203%.
• In April 2010, Opera Mini users generated over 398 million MB of data for operators worldwide. Since March, the data consumed went up by 0.6%. Data in Opera Mini is compressed by up to 90%. If this data were uncompressed, Opera Mini users would have viewed over 3.7 petabytes of data in April. Since April 2009, data traffic is up 164%.
• The top 10 countries for Opera Mini usage in April 2010 were: Russia, Indonesia, India, China, Ukraine, United States, South Africa, Nigeria, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Due to Opera Mini on the iPhone launch, the United States leaped ahead of South Africa and Nigeria.

iPhone impact

• In Part 4 of this month’s report, we take a closer look at the impact of Opera Mini becoming available on the Apple iPhone.
• In April 2010, there were more than 2.6 million unique users of Opera Mini on the iPhone (from April 13-30).
• As predicted in last month’s report, the Apple iPhone is the #3 device used by Opera Mini users worldwide in the month of April 2010.
• Most likely due to the interest generated by Opera Mini’s new availability on the iPhone, the United States jumped from #8 to #6 in the top 10 countries list.
• The United States is ranked #1 in terms of Opera Mini users on the iPhone, and the iPhone is the #1 handset used by Opera Mini users in the United States, well ahead of BlackBerry (which previously occupied the top spot).
• The United Kingdom is ranked #4 in terms of Opera Mini users on the iPhone, and the iPhone is the 5th most popular handset used by Opera Mini users in the United Kingdom.
• Russia is ranked #7 in terms of Opera Mini users on the iPhone, but the iPhone is not one of the top 10 handsets in Russia according to Opera Mini usage.
• Countries outside of the top 10 where Opera Mini on the iPhone has become popular include: Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Netherlands, Italy and South Korea.

CIS trends

• In Part 3 of this month’s report we look at countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The top 11 countries using Opera Mini in that region are Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
• Some numbers: From April 2009 to April 2010, page views in the top 11 countries of the CIS increased by 84%, unique users increased by 63% and data transferred increased by 97%.
• Growth rates in the CIS: Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan lead the top 11 countries of the region in terms of page-view growth (508,484.1% and 663.9%, respectively). Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan also lead the top 11 countries of the region in growth of unique users (194,769.2% and 551.2%, respectively). Armenia leads the top 11 countries of the region in page views per user, with each user browsing 1085 pages on average each month.
• In the CIS, the big winners (as usual) are Vkontakte, Mail.Ru, odnoklassniki.ru, Yandex and Google.
• Opera Mini users in the CIS generally prefer Nokia handsets, followed by Sony Ericsson and Samsung.

What we say

“While many iconic smartphones are superb web-browsing tools, today it is possible to make nearly every phone capable of browsing the Web gracefully,” said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software. “Because the number of mobile-web users will eventually dwarf wireline users, making the Web works flawlessly only on a handful of mobile devices is to turn our collective backs on more than a billion new users. We believe access to the Web is a universal right, and as more companies embrace developing sites for the wide spectrum of mobile-web users, we will come closer to that goal than ever before.”

About Opera Software ASA

Opera Software ASA has redefined web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform web-browser technology is
renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at http://www.opera.com/

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-  Zap Eco-system to enrich lives offering customers more flexibility and security in a multitude of transactions 24 hours a day

Tuesday 16 March, Accra – ‘Zap’, Zain’s award winning mobile commerce service that allows customers to use their mobile phones like a mobile wallet to pay for goods and services and conduct banking services regardless of the type of handset they use, was launched today in Accra. Zap is a novel product that provides the most comprehensive and accessible package of m-commerce features currently available anywhere in the world.

Philip Sowah, Country Manager of Zain Ghana speaks to the press at the Zap launch

At the recent Global Mobile Awards in Barcelona, Zain was awarded the prestigious GSMA’s 2010 ‘Mobile Money for the Unbanked Award’ for the Zap service. The award is in recognition and appreciation of the efforts Zain has put in making mobile monetary transactions easy for all its customers.

Zain Ghana is the seventh Zain mobile operation to launch ‘Zap’ following the successful implementation of the service in Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda.
Zap allows Zain customers to:

• Pay bills and pay for goods and services
• Receive and send money to friends and family
• Top up your own airtime account or top up someone else’s
• And soon in the following weeks, customers will be able to:
  • Send and receive money to their bank accounts
  • Withdraw cash
  • Manage their bank accounts

In a statement made at the launch, Philip Sowah, Country Manager of Zain Ghana, stated,“Once again, Zain is creating a wonderful world where customers can move about freely with their mobile phones transacting on goods and services. Our aim is to create an eco-system where Zap enriches lives by providing customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash. The positive economic and social effects on the community we serve will be abundant”.

Zap Registration
Signing onto the Zap service is a simple and easy process. Customers will initially be required to register their personal details, with a valid photo ID card, at any of the Zain shops nationwide or with any of the partner banks like UBA, Standard Chartered Bank or Ecobank and their nationwide branches. Registering on to the service automatically registers the SIM card, which is currently a requirement by the NCA for telecom operators. Customers do not have to worry about opening a bank account before accessing the service as Zap does not rely on a bank account to operate.

Safety and Security
Zap is a safe and secure product, protected by a password that ensures that customers will not have to worry about their Zap account if they lose or damage their phones. The service is protected through a state-of-the-art security application and customers’ money is always safe as a password is needed for every transaction carried out.

Unlike other mobile commerce products, Zap provides customers with increased security and flexibility, reducing the need to carry cash and ensuring prompt payments of bills, goods and services. The payment of utility bills will become much easier as customers will be able to pay from the comfort of their homes or offices. Zap services are only available to Zain customers. The uniqueness and convenience of the product allows customers to do all this without having to swap SIM cards or change their handset.

Currently 80% of the Ghanaian population is unbanked, a situation which has several disadvantages to it. Traditional financial services are either remote or unavailable and Zap will alleviate the challenge that people travelling to these remote areas experience just to send money to friends and families or to conduct business.

Zap and One Network
The distinctiveness of Zap is further enhanced as it is compatible with Zain’s award winning ‘One Network’ platform, which allows all Zap customers to move freely across geographical borders and be treated as a local customer in any of the 22 ‘One Network’ countries in terms of pricing. Furthermore, they retain home network service functionalities; they can access their Zap accounts, send/receive money and pay for goods and service exactly the same way as they can at home.

-ENDS-

About Zain
Zain Ghana is part of the Zain Group, a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 70 million active customers as at 30 September, 2009 with a commercial presence in 23 countries.

Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In Lebanon, the company manages ‘mtc-touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain owns 31% of Wana Telecom through a joint venture.

Zain offers innovative services in its markets such as ‘One Network’, the world’s first borderless mobile telecommunications network enabling customers when abroad to receive calls and sms without charge and to make voice and data calls at local rates throughout 22 countries in Africa and the Middle East. This service allows a customer to top up airtime in their home country or from more than 1,000,000 outlets within Zain’s ‘One Network’ footprint.

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1. Zain selects AIRCOM for network rollout in Ghana
2. Global aspirations: Zain rebrands Celtel Africa operations
3. Zain, EMS and RIM introduce the Blackberry solution in Ghana

Nokia phones running Skype. Source: Skype.com

Skype and Nokia has announced the release of Skype for Symbian, a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian platform, the world’s most popular smartphone platform. Skype for Symbian will allow Nokia smartphone users worldwide to use Skype on the move, over either a WiFi or mobile data connection (GPRS, EDGE, 3G). It is now downloadable for free from the Ovi Store, Nokia’s one-stop shop for mobile content.

Skype for Symbian enables Nokia smartphone users to:

• Make free Skype-to-Skype calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world*
• Save money on calls and texts (SMS) to phones abroad.
• Send and receive instant messages to and from individuals or groups
• Share pictures, videos and other files.
• Receive calls to their existing online number
• See when Skype contacts are online and available to call or IM
• Easily import names and numbers from the phone’s address book

Skype for Symbian will run on any Nokia smartphone using Symbian 1, the latest version of the Symbian platform. Skype will soon introduce this client to Symbian mobile devices from other manufacturers, including Sony Ericsson.

“Symbian enables us to bring smartphones to more and more people and ensures scale for our solutions and compelling services, such as Skype. We’re seeing around 1.5 million downloads a day on Ovi Store now and believe that the Skype client for Nokia smartphones will have wide appeal to Symbian users,” said Jo Harlow, Senior Vice President for Smartphones, Nokia.

“Skype, the king of Internet communications, running on Symbian, the world’s dominant smartphone platform, makes for an explosive combination,” said Larry Berkin, Head of Global Alliances and GM USA, Symbian Foundation. “With Symbian’s global reach, Skype is that much closer to becoming the ubiquitous real-time communications platform for hundreds of millions of Symbian-based mobile users.”

Russ Shaw, General Manager, Mobile at Skype said, “With Skype for Nokia smartphones, more than 200 million smartphone users worldwide** will be able to take the Skype features they love with them on the move. Alongside Skype’s relationships with operators and handset manufacturers worldwide, making Skype available direct to consumers will help millions of users keep in contact with the people that are important to them without worrying about the cost, distance or whether they are away from a computer.”

The initial Skype for Symbian application is compatible with the following Nokia touchscreen models: Nokia N97, Nokia N97 mini, Nokia X6, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia 5530 and the following non-touch devices: Nokia E72, Nokia E71, Nokia E90, Nokia E63, Nokia E66, Nokia E51, Nokia N96, Nokia N95, Nokia N95 8Gb, Nokia N85, Nokia N82, Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8 Gb, Nokia N79, Nokia N78, Nokia 6220 classic, Nokia 6210 Navigator, Nokia 5320.

All these devices are available in authorized Nokia retail outlets in Ghana and come with 12-months warranty and after sales service. Ovi Store is available in Ghana and offers free downloads for Nokia Maps, games and mobile phone applications content.

Ovi Store is an evolving media service that consolidates Nokia’s existing content services into a one-stop-shop for free and paid content. Thousands of the content industry’s biggest names along with independent application developers are distributing their media, applications and games through Ovi Store. Content providers and application developers can continue to sign up to distribute their content through Ovi Store by visiting publish.ovi.com

For more information on Skype for Symbian, including the latest supported handset list, at http://www.skype.com/go/symbian.

* Skype recommends use of an unlimited data plan to avoid incurring additional charges from operators. Users should also be aware that extra charges may apply if they use Skype over a mobile data connection when abroad.
** According to Informa Telecoms and Media
Nokia and the product names referenced in the release are trademarks of the Nokia Corporation.

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Africa

In South Africa, Nokia Siemens Networks selected AIRCOM to provide 2G network optimisation consultation services. These services included both pre- and post-analysis drive testing, capacity planning, site verification and frequency planning. AIRCOM’s expertise was also used to assist in the planning of more than 4,500 cell sites across South Africa in a limited time duration, whilst maintaining the necessary quality levels.

Nokia Siemens Networks also turned to AIRCOM to assist in improving 2G mobile network quality in Nigeria. AIRCOM delivered a range of services to NSN, including drive testing consultancy and Line of Sight (LoS) transmission surveys to optimise network throughput and minimise dropped calls.

“There are now, on average, four mobile operators in each African country, so competition is fierce,” said Fahd Burki – Director EOT, Nokia Siemens Networks Nigeria. “African subscribers do not tolerate poor service quality. We therefore chose to work with AIRCOM to help drive network performance improvements and benefit from its vast knowledge of the African mobile market and competitive pricing tariffs.”

“Africa still has vast growth potential across its wireless communications market,” said Graham Kemp, Regional CEO, Africa, for AIRCOM. “African mobile operators are acutely aware of this and are focusing on driving the best possible service quality to their

customers. By optimising 2G voice and SMS delivery, African operators are laying the best possible foundations for future growth, minimising cost and reducing churn.”

About AIRCOM International

AIRCOM is an independent provider of network and data management tools and services. The company specialises in end-to-end network planning, sharing, outsourcing and OSS optimisation for IP and cellular networks.

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Zain

AIRCOM has deployed a team of more than 20 consultants from offices throughout Africa to deliver a service solution for both radio and transmission network planning that supports Zain’s ambitious 3.5G network rollout targets.  Following the planning and optimisation of the network, AIRCOM will spend a year in the country training the Zain Ghana local team, prior to a complete competence transfer upon commercial launch.

Formerly MTC, Zain has pledged to invest more $400 million (USD) in Ghana to deliver a reliable, high quality 3.5G mobile network and position the country as one of Africa’s leading mobile communications innovators.

“Zain is investing in Ghana as its people need and deserve a reliable, up-to-date mobile network that allows customers to communicate easily by voice, text, picture and video, while accessing internet content and services on the move,” said Siyabongo Zulu, Operations Director at Zain Ghana.  “It is apparent that AIRCOM’s network expertise and understanding of Ghana’s specific market requirements meant it was the perfect partner to help deliver these services, so we’re delighted to welcome the team on board.”

Commenting on the deal, Graham Kemp, Hub MD for AIRCOM in Africa said:  “To be selected by a leading innovator like Zain to support its ambitious growth into Africa is further evidence that AIRCOM is quickly becoming the service partner of choice in the developing mobile communications marketplace.  We look forward to working with the Zain team to deliver a reliable, quality network to the people of Ghana.”

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Mobile Premier Awards

The Mobile Premier Awards recognize the year’s best in Mobile Startup Innovation and are the largest open, global startup competition in the mobile industry. The awards are the point of reference in startup premiers during the Mobile World Congress on February 15, 2010 in Barcelona and are organized in collaboration with some of the main networks in the industry.

The Mobile Premier Awards 2010 will include the following awards:

• MPA in Innovation – The best grassroots startup innovation chosen by their peers

in partnership with MobileMonday

The MobileMonday chapters will vote for their local most innovative startup. An international jury of the most recognized mobile industry experts will select the 20 finalists from all the local chapter nominees to pitch at the event in Barcelona in front of investors, operators, media companies, peer entrepreneurs, and press and influential bloggers.

• MPA in Marketing – The best startup in Mobile Marketing
• MPA in Entertainment – The best startup in Mobile Entertainment in partnership with the Mobile Entertainment Forum
• MPA in User Experience – The best startup in Mobile User Experience in partnership with MEX.
• MPA in Social Change – The best startup using mobile for social change in partnership with MobileActive.org
• MPA in Female Entrepreneurship – The best woman-lead mobile startup in partnership with Women2.0 and the Women in Mobile Data Association

Participation to these awards is free and open to any startup with a mobile angle.
Go to http://www.mobilepremierawards.com and take your chance to the red carpet in Barcelona!

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Nokia N97 mini

Also this week, Nokia N97 mini makes its big debut in stores. With its stainless steel cues, the Nokia N97 mini is designed for style-conscious people who are active with social networks. The device features a tilting 3.2″ touch display, QWERTY keyboard and fully customizable homescreen. The Nokia N97 mini features same software with the Nokia N97 and will be in stores with an estimated retail price of EUR 450 before taxes and subsidies.

“In September, 2009, we exceeded 2 million Nokia N97 devices sold, and now introduce the Nokia N97 mini, underscoring the success of the design. We have also listened to consumer feedback about the performance of the device. The Nokia N97 software update 2.0 is a way for us to optimize the device and add new features and functions,” said Jose-Luis Martinez, Vice President, Nokia Nseries. “We are also excited about the early feedback that we have received on the Nokia N97 mini, which carries a very similar feature set to the original Nokia N97 and comes in a pocket-friendly size for those out and about.”

Among the new experiences available with the free 2.0 software update are:

• ‘flip scrolling’ has been added in the entire user interface, making scrolling in all views very smooth
• shortcuts to personalized homescreen
• Ovi Maps 3.1 with 3-D maps
• Nokia e-mail (Nokia Messaging)
• Ovi Contacts
• Ovi Store.

Nokia is constantly updating and enhancing its devices with new features, functions and fixes so people can get even more out of their Nokia device even years after buying it. Nokia owners can automatically check for new software by going to Menu > Applications > SW Update and enable automatic checking, or visit http://www.nokia.com/softwareupdate to download the version that is best for them. Additionally, MyNokia members will also receive an SMS when their local version of the software becomes available. People can register to the service at www.nokia.com/mynokia.

About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways – fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

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3. MTN Ghana Launches Mobile TV

MTN

The two companies have teamed up in a bold move to address the growing demand for content in emerging markets. This strategic partnership will entail providing MTN’s 21 markets access to a repository of current and globally popular content through enhanced delivery platforms. Content categories will include music (with local and international flavour), sports, games, entertainment, news and much more.”

It will also enable MTN to launch new income-generating voice and data services across its global footprint, with revenues from mobile content and services estimated at around US$150.2 billion in 2011, up from US$89,3 billion in 2006, worldwide.

One of MTN’s new content streams will be the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ of which the mobile operator has exclusive global mobile content rights. Accordingly, MTN will leverage its IMImobile partnership to deliver exclusive 2010 FIFA World Cup™ content on subscribers’ handsets, including soccer match news, fixtures, match results as well as team and group profiles.

The appointment of IMImobile as a strategic managed services and hosting partner follows an extensive review of MTN’s mobile content and media services landscape across its global footprint.

MTN is now aligning its mobile content and media services strategy across its 21 markets in Africa and the Middle East to standardize and enhance its media content offerings to its subscribers.

MTN also wants to capitalize on the rapidly converging data content and voice market, with Africa, the Middle East and Latin America poised to witness the highest growth in revenue as additional mobile data services are being deployed in these regions.

Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN Group Corporate Affairs Executive, says IMImobile was selected from a group of major global telecom software and service providers because of the scalability of its technology platforms and proven managed services business model.

“IMImobile’s value proposition and technology solutions will enable MTN to reduce the time-to-market for new services, boost Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and keep MTN at the forefront of innovative services.

“We have found a partner in IMImobile that has the insight and expertise of the appropriate managed service business model and technology solution necessary to continue to deliver premium content and services to our customers,” said January-Bardill.

MTN has already introduced a number of exciting products and services on its portal and on www.mtnfootball.com during the FIFA Confederations Cup in June this year. This content is currently being archived to allow football fans to re-live the moment long after the games.

IMI mobile will deploy its Service Delivery Platform (SDP), including its industry leading DaVinci Content Management System (CMS). The content strategy includes tailoring content for local consumer preferences, including French and Arabic as well as exploiting MTN’s sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ through www.mtnfootball.com.

Vishwanath Alluri, Founder and CEO of IMImobile said: “This is a major commercial milestone for IMImobile as we continue to build our offering to support leading operators worldwide. To be chosen by MTN as their strategic partner ahead of a strong list of competitors is testament to our unique service which is based on industry leading technology platforms, content management expertise, a managed services and SaaS business model combined with 24/7 technical support and strict SLA compliance. We are excited by the opportunity and are looking forward to helping MTN achieve its objectives of creating substantial additional revenue streams.”

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Interactive Intelligence

Dave Paulding, Interactive Intelligence’s regional sales director for UK, Middle East and Africa says that connected consumers in Africa are driving the demand for call centres in the banking industry.

The banking sector in Africa, particularly in Nigeria and Kenya, are implementing call centres for the first time.  It is interesting to consider why they are doing this now, when banks in South Africa and other parts of the world embraced the call centre revolution 10-15 years ago.

Nigeria and Kenya’s growing economies and relative stability provide part of the picture, but another important factor is that African consumers are more connected.  They are looking for new ways to contact their banks, rather than by visiting a branch.

The explosion in cellphone adoption in Africa has seen a rapid increase in contact centres for network operators.  Because of this, consumers are accustomed to connecting with their cellular service provider over the phone, and are calling for the same level of sophistication from other services like banks.

Because this is new territory for African banks, the relationship between the call centre vendor and the bank is critical. There is no historical data to work from, and it is difficult to plan and predict requirements.  The banks, therefore, require advice and guidance with putting together their strategies and creating a solid foundation for improved customer service.  Generally there is a rapid expansion once the call centre is up and running, with more agent seats required to service the level of customer enquiries.

While Africa has lagged in the deployment of call centres, there have been benefits.  From a technical point of view, many call centres are built from the ground up with the latest, cutting-edge technology.  African banks and cellphone operators do not have to deal with many of the legacy issues that companies in other countries have to face.

In addition, recent technological developments mean that call centres have a smaller hardware footprint and fewer moving parts.  This is particularly beneficial for businesses based in Africa.  Because there are fewer flights in and out of Africa, getting spare parts for hardware maintenance is a challenge.  If a contact centre experiences a fault, African companies may have to wait days to get a spare part, impacting on customer service.

However, given that call centres are less hardware-based these days, this is less of an issue for African-based businesses.  This means an increase in uptime, lower upfront costs and lower maintenance fees.

From a vendor point of view, the potential in Africa is great.  In the rest of the world, there are very few greenfield opportunities for call centres.  There is the legacy replacement market, or the opportunity to plug a weak point, e.g. workforce management, in an existing contact centre.  In Africa, there is the potential to start from scratch and share knowledge on how to run an efficient call centre.

So while African companies may have lagged behind the rest of the world in uptake, they can benefit from the rest of the world’s years of experience and leapfrog many of the development stages that businesses in other countries went through.

While most call centres in Africa currently focus on voice, as consumers become more tech-savvy, there will be a move towards converting call centres into multimedia contact centres.  Given that most African businesses use the latest technology, the switch from a call centre to a contact centre will be fast, seamless and cost effective.  Africa wins again.

About Interactive Intelligence
Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) is a global provider of unified business communications solutions for contact centre automation, enterprise IP telephony, and enterprise messaging. The company was founded in 1994 and has more than 3,000 customers worldwide. Interactive Intelligence is among Software Magazine’s top 500 global software and services suppliers, is ranked among NetworkWorld’s top 200 North American networking vendors, is a BusinessWeek “hot growth 50” company, and is among FORTUNE Small Business magazine’s top 100 fastest growing companies. The company is also positioned in the leaders quadrant of the Gartner 2008 Contact Center Infrastructure, Worldwide Magic Quadrant report. Interactive Intelligence employs approximately 600 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has six global corporate offices with additional sales offices throughout North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Interactive Intelligence can be reached at +1 317.872.3000 or info@inin.com; on the Net: http://www.inin.com

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BlackBerry Curve 8900 - marketed as the thinnest and lightest full-QWERTY BlackBerry smartphone

Speaking at the launch of Blackberry solutions, Mr. Phillip Sowah, Country Manager of Zain Ghana, said “Successful businesses in the 21st century would require superior technological solutions that give them the edge over their competitors. Zain Ghana offers the full and current range of Blackberry devices offering our customers the mobility, convenience and efficiency that is necessary to run their virtual office”.

Mr. Sowah said the Blackberry storm, Blackberry curve 8900, Blackberry bold, and Blackberry pearl flip 8220 smartphones are well balanced mobile phones that deliver advanced features, refined usability and stylish designs.

Babar Khan, Chief Executive Officer of EMS, said “We are delighted to partner with Zain to bring the many benefits of Blackberry solutions to its customers and will be supporting Zain in its everyday mission by bringing the latest products and services to the market”.

Zain is a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa, providing mobile voice and data services to 69.5 million customers. EMS is a Dubai based solutions and service provider, whiles RIM is a strategic partner in the world communications market. 3 Sep. 09

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MTN Mobile Money promo image

Ghana’s leading telecommunications provider, MTN, has successfully launched MTN Mobile Money in partnership with 9 banks ahead of its competitors to allow Ghanaians to perform a range of basic financial transactions using their handsets.

Subscribers can reap the benefits of this service without the need to open or have a bank account.

The service, which was launched at the International Conference Centre in Accra, will allow subscribers to have access to money beyond banking hours or at anytime.

MTN Mobile Money gives cash management freedom to subscribers in line with MTN’s pay off line: ‘everywhere you go’ for as long as users can access MTN’s network.

This service which will also be available on the Internet will enable users to save time for other activities.

Mr. Brett Goschen, MTN Ghana CEO, said “the introduction of MTN Mobile Money which is convenient, accessible, safe and easy demonstrates the company’s commitment to bring world class mobile services to subscribers in all parts of the country.” The Mobile Money platform allows non MTN customers (even those who do not have a cell phone) to transfer or receive money by using the services of the Authorised MTN Mobile Money Merchants. The secured system and processes conforms to best practices in the industry and highly regulated by relevant authorities.”

With this innovative product, subscribers would enjoy the convenience of easily transacting from the comfort of their homes or offices at any time of the day, instantly.

* CAL Bank, Ecobank, Fidelity Bank, GTBank, Intercontinental Bank, Merchant Bank, UBA, Stanbic, Zenith Bank

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MobileWorld Telecom Africa Awards

MobileWorld magazine, a leading telecommunications publication, which focuses on Africa, has announced plans to stage its first awards for the telecommunication industry in the continent.

According to a statement released by Instinct Media, publishers of MobileWorld magazine, the award ceremony is billed to hold in London, United Kingdom and will feature 19 categories covering various aspects of the telecommunications industry.

The Group Chief Executive Officer, Instinct Media, Mr. Akin Naphtal, said the award was aimed at recognizing the great strides made by individuals and firms in the continent that have helped fostered growth of the sector.

He added besides the recognition of the strides made in the continent in telecommunication development, the event would further expose the investment potential of the great continent so that development would continue to reach people everywhere in Africa.

The awards, among others, will recognise the best fixed line operator, Internet Service Provider, mobile operator and vendor of the year. Some other categories of award include African Regulator of the year, African Phone of the year and value added services company of the year.

Naphtal said the awards would also recognize contributions made by government at providing effective regulation in their various countries and would also feature regional performances among operators.

“We want to recognize and celebrate those who have contributed immensely to the growth of telecommunications in Africa. We see the telecommunications revolution happening in virtually all parts of the continent-Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western Africa – and want celebrate those that are behind this,” Naphtal stated.

In addition to recognizing the primary services offered to users, Naphtal said the awards intended to also identify and reward the strides made by telecommunication companies in bringing about mobile money and electronic payment revolution in Africa and would therefore have a special category for this.
He noted that telecommunications growth had become the cornerstone upon which many other sectors have derived their development.

Instinct media said the ceremony itself promises to be a world class event that would have strong African presence of Africans both within the continent and the diaspora

The firm added that nomination had started already and that it would soon unveil those in contention in the various categories.

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Nokia N96 is a mobile TV compatible handset

With DStv Mobile from MTN innovation, 11 channel bouquet are available including Africa Magic, SuperSport, Cartoon Network, BBC & CNN which are currently only accessible through television sets can now be easily accessed   by MTN customers in Accra & Tema on their mobile phone

The  DStv Mobile from MTN was launched at an impressive ceremony at Rhapsody in the Accra Mall to introduce the latest innovation from MTN to  customers and the public.

The launch of the DStv Mobile from MTN follows a chain of exciting services and products launched by MTN since the beginning of 2009.
Some of the innovative products include the community phone aimed at ensuring that MTN subscribers reach their relations in the remotest areas of Ghana with the MTN experience. The 3.5G technology was also introduced services like Video Calling which enables customers to see people they talk to as well as things they need to see, others are the MTN Mobile Broadband & MTN Loaded. The 3.5 G product was introduced with a variety of features to provide enhanced mobile telephony for MTN customers There was also the new network code, 054, to enable more people join the MTN family.

MTN Mobile TV has been introduced at a time when the world is looking forward to South Africa 2010 with much excitement. The prospects of seeing the beautiful game on mobile handsets increases the  thrill for the forthcoming global soccer event.

As the lead sponsor of, South Africa 2010 MTN is working to bring the soccer fiesta as close to its customers as possible. The  DStv Mobile from MTM, a service which transforms mobile phones into a mobile TV enable football lovers follow every detail of the event conveniently via their phone.

In a message to Ghanaian MTN customers CEO of Digital Mobile Television International DMTV Francois Theron expressed his excitement about the introduction of the Mobile TV in Ghana. He said plans are underway to ensure that subscribers get the best available and relevant programmes.  He added that “In a few weeks we will show all the matches of the 2009 Confederations Cup and later this year in August we will show LIVE matches of the English Premier League.”
The General Manager for Nokia West and Central Africa, Mark Pritchard, also said that Nokia is especially pleased to work together with DMTV and MTN, to offer consumers 12 months access to DSTV Mobile when they purchase a compatible handset.  He said some of the compatible handsets are Nokia N96 and N77, Nokia N79, N85, N86, N97, E75 and 5800.

MTN would continue partnering with strategic stakeholders and experts like these to bring innovative products and world class telecommunications to Ghana.

MTN continues to lead with even more innovative products for the benefit of our cherished customers and the public.

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Nokia N97

The highly anticipated Nokia N97, Nokia’s flagship mobile computer, will begin selling in June in more than 75 countries. Along with a tilting 3.5″ touch display, QWERTY keyboard and a fully customizable home screen, the Nokia N97 will offer instant access to the full range of Ovi services.

“The Nokia N97 is an important step towards our vision of delivering a highly personalized Internet experience,” said Jonas Geust, Vice President and head of Nokia Nseries. “Fuelled by a multitude of music, maps, games, media and applications via Ovi, the Nokia N97 transforms the Internet into an experience that’s completely tailored to the tastes and interests of its owner.”

The Nokia N97 is Nokia’s first device to feature a personalizable home screen, which can be customized with a range of widgets which bring live information directly to the device. These widgets include key social networking destinations like Facebook and Hi5, news services like the Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as shopping and weather information. The Nokia N97 is the first device to ship with the Ovi Store, which offers easy access to applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services, and much more. Ovi Store has paid and free content from a range of global and local content providers and developers, including Paramount Pictures, Facebook and Qik, as well as a selection of Twitter applications.

Enjoy your upgrades
The beauty of this Nokia device is that taking it out of the box is just the beginning. As with any computer, people can constantly improve and refresh their Nokia N97 with new features, functions and fixes so they can do even more with the device. An exciting roadmap of new features and functions is planned to roll out in the second half of 2009.

Entertainment ensured
The Nokia N97 also has direct access to the huge catalogue of music in the Nokia Music Store. With multiple high-speed connectivity options and 32GB of storage (up to 48GB using a microSD card) it is possible to directly download and store tens of thousands of songs on the handset. And you can listen to your favourite music on the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-905, which Nokia also launched today. This headset brings crystal clear sound, eliminates background noise, and is the ideal accessory for listening to music and making calls on the Nokia N97, as well as being compatible with a diverse range of other mobile and music devices.

High-quality images and video clips at 30 frames per second (fps) can be captured using the 5 megapixel camera with integrated Carl Zeiss optics. Images can also be geo-tagged to specific locations and shared instantly with friends or uploaded online via Ovi Share, Twitter or Flickr.

About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways – fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

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Opera Mini

Opera Software ASA has again released its latest State of the Mobile Web report. The report provides information on the top global trends affecting the mobile Web. In addition to the top global trends and country snapshots, the report highlights trends in Africa and aggregate operator data for the top 10 countries.

On a global scale, Opera Mini usage in Nigeria continues to surge, pushing past Poland and taking the #9 spot.

The top 12 countries using Opera Mini in Africa are South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Zambia, Tanzania, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Namibia, Ghana and Gabon.

From April 2008 to April 2009:

• Overall page-views in the top 12 countries listed increased 422%.
• Overall unique users in the top 12 countries listed increased 169%.
• Overall data transferred in the top 12 countries listed increased 348%.

Important milestones

• Since the last spotlight on Africa in September 2008, Nigeria jumped from #4 to #2 and Zambia jumped from #9 to #6. Mozambique, Namibia, Ghana and Gabon are new to the spotlight.
• Growth rates continue to soar in Africa–especially in Libya, with 4,155% user growth since April 2008, and in Nigeria, with 2,353% user growth since April 2008.
• Kenya leads the top 12 countries in page views, with each user browsing 372 pages on average each month.

Operator data trends

• Customers of U.S. operators view more data-intensive pages than subscribers in any other country. The average page viewed over U.S. operator networks is approximately 32 KB compressed or almost 320 KB uncompressed.
• Operators in the Ukraine were the big winners. Their customers view 582 pages per month, on average. Ukraine operators also sport the highest data transfer per user at more than 10 MB per month compressed. This is as much as 100 MB of mobile data per user uncompressed.

“Opera Mini has helped create and define the mobile Web experience for consumers around the world,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera. “Our relentless focus on delivering the best possible mobile Web experience helps drive adoption of mobile data plans. We believe that Opera Mini is the perfect win-win solution for both operators and consumers alike.”

About Opera Software ASA

Opera Software ASA has redefined Web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera’s cross-platform Web browser technology is renowned for its performance, standards compliance and small size, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA.

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Nokia

Ovi Store by Nokia is now available globally to an estimated 50 million Nokia device owners across more than 50 Nokia devices including the forthcoming flagship device, the Nokia N97. Customers can visit store.ovi.com through their Nokia device browser to immediately begin downloading, personalizing and making their devices smarter and more fun with applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services and much more.
 
“Ovi Store is open for business and we’ve stocked the shelves with both local and global content for a broad range of Nokia devices,” said Tero Ojanperä, Executive Vice President, Nokia Services. “Ovi Store makes shopping for content and applications easy and fun for feature phone and smartphone owners alike.”
 
In available countries, customers can update their devices with the Ovi Store mobile application by selecting the Ovi Store icon in the Download! folder on their device. The mobile client is available in English, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish and supports operator billing in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom. Globally, credit card billing is available through the mobile application and the mobile website. Additional countries, languages, devices and features will be added throughout the year.

Ovi Store is an evolving media service that consolidates Nokia’s existing content services into a one-stop-shop for free and paid content. Thousands of the content industry’s biggest names along with independent application developers are distributing their media, applications and games through Ovi Store. Content providers and application developers can continue to sign up to distribute their content through Ovi Store by visiting publish.ovi.com.
 
About Nokia
Nokia is the world’s number one manufacturer of mobile devices by market share and a leader in the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of devices for all major consumer segments and offer Internet services that enable people to experience music, maps, media, messaging and games. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

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MTN Ghana

MTN Ghana, the leading mobile telecommunications operator in Ghana has announced the commercial rollout of its ultra powerful 3.5G technology at an impressive ceremony in Accra. The launch event themed Go Beyond, Experience our better life today took place at the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra and brought together members of the media, staff and Regulators. There were live demonstrations about the technology and the various services available to MTN customers. The occasion also marked the launch of an Internal Innovations Hub Project.

With the largest market share, widest coverage and competitive pricing, MTN’s ultra powerful 3.5G technology complements its existing 2G network to provide MTN subscribers with the widest coverage and consolidate its position as the leading telecommunication provider for Ghana whilst positively impacting every aspect of the lives of its customers. MTN will at this phase of the launch offer subscribers the flexibility to access a variety of services to customers in Accra and Kumasi as the rollout continues nationally. In addition to voice services, initial applications will include high-speed internet access at speeds significantly faster than dial-up, or GPRS connections, as well as video messaging and other multimedia services.

The MTN 3.5G launch marks an evolution in mobile technology for Ghana. Building on the existing superior coverage footprint, MTN 3.5G will initially achieve data speed transmission of up to 3.6megabits per second and will be expanded beyond 7.2 megabits per second. This major step forward by MTN will essentially put Ghana at the forefront of technology, in the league of top mobile operators globally.

Chief Executive Officer, MTN Ghana Brett Goshen said, “We are very pleased with the significant progress we have made in building an extensive 3.5G network and making it available to a large number of our valued customers.

Mr. Goshen added, “we are launching our 3.5G network with more than 7 times the number of 3.5G base stations than the next competitor. In addition, we are launching with the widest and best connection in Accra, Tema and Kumasi and will be expanding aggressively to all major cities in the months to come.”

With the commercial launch of the 3.5G services, MTN continues to show its commitment as the leading mobile operator in the Ghanaian market offering a wide range of services and technologies to suit different types of customers and situations including MTN Zone, Blackberry Services, Web Recharge, Community Phones and Seamless Roaming Services, calling USA, Canada and the UK at local rates to mention but a few of our myriad of innovative and compelling services.

Chief Marketing Officer George Kojo Andah added, “at MTN we are not just a company, we are a community that lives your passions and champions your aspirations. We will continue anticipating the current and emerging needs of all our targeted stakeholders and work with our people and the best technology to provide the highest service quality and speed. Our teams have already finished extensive testing of the 3.5G network, and we are extremely pleased with the results. We can also assure our customers that our tariffs will continue to be extremely competitive and our targeted customers will be able to enjoy our services with the best connection everywhere they go.”

Today’s launch follows the formal announcement of MTN’s 3.5G services earlier this year to introduce the technology and provide 3.5G services on a pilot basis.

The introduction of this latest service fulfills MTN’s pledge to bring world class telecommunications service to its subscribers and the general public. MTN will continue rolling out more innovative services into the market as promised.

About 3.5G

MTN 3.5G allows greater speed and efficiency in transmission of existing services including voice, text and data (that are available today) and more. For the corporate customers, having data download speeds equivalent to an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line at home means convenient business connectivity, efficiency, mobility & profitability.

For the young consumers, 3.5G brings endless possibilities to support a whole new suite of exciting multimedia services such as video streaming, games, music videos, sports, news and more.

Lastly, apart from voice calls, our customers can also make video calls with 3G enabled handsets, bringing them closer to their loved ones – a richer communication experience, the ‘?can see and speak’ at the same time!

The service is based on HSDPA, short for High-Speed Downlink Packet Access, which is a new protocol for mobile telephone data transmission. Commonly known as 3.5G (G stands for generation) technology, HSDPA is based on a packet switched suite of protocols (which offers several advantages over the existing circuit-switched techniques used for carrying mobile voice) and utilizes a number of techniques in parallel to increase the efficiency and reduce the latency. This allows higher call volumes and support for new and exciting multimedia data applications such as broadband access to the internet, emailing, mobile TV, video telephony and video conferencing from a mobile phone, PDA, or laptop.

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Vodafone logo

After buying a 70 per cent shareholding in the Ghana Telecommunication Company in August 2008, partnering with the Government of Ghana, Vodafone has made significant investments to improve the performance and to expand the capacity of its networks.

Vodafone has also signed a multi-million dollar deal with Huawei Technologies to bring its 3G network services to the Ghanaian market, giving customers access to high speed mobile internet services in the future.

David Venn, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, commented: “Today’s announcement is the next step in a telecommunications renaissance across Ghana. Vodafone will offer the most reliable and cost effective services in the Ghanaian market and we will set the benchmark for customer satisfaction. Our customers should expect an excellent network as the basis for these services and we are committed to delivering it.”

He added: “I would like to thank all Ghanaians for the welcome we have received and the tremendous interest they have shown in Vodafone since we arrived here in this market. We have also invested in the social fabric of Ghana, deploying community booths, supporting National Farmers day and helping the educational funds of a number of the traditional areas. I look forward to announcing similar initiatives in due course.”

The official launch of Vodafone follows the successful joining together of the Ghana Telecommunications Company with Vodafone Group, which serves over 290 million customers in 27 countries around the world.

About Vodafone Ghana
Vodafone Ghana, originally the Post and Telecommunications Department of the Civil Service, went through several transformations before being renamed Ghana Telecom in 1996. It was divested first to a consortium called G-Comm Limited led by Telekom Malaysia and was later managed by a Norwegian management services company known as Telenor Management Partners (TMP).

It employs close to 3,400 Ghanaians and is a major source of employment in the communications industry. As the industry leader, providing fixed, mobile and broadband services, the company serves as the backbone for economic growth and development in the ICT sector.

About Vodafone Group Plc
Vodafone is the world’s leading international mobile telecommunications company, with equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Markets in more than 40 countries. As of 31 December 2008, Vodafone had approximately 289 million proportionate customers worldwide.

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Vodafone

Reports reaching Mobile Africa indicate that Ghana Telecom has been slated for re-branding after the Easter holidays. This follows a 70% acquisition of the erstwhile state-owned telecom company by Vodafone. The Government of Ghana retains a 30% stake in the company.

Although Vodafone took over the operations of Ghana Telecom since last year, it had retained the Ghana Telecom brand until now. The rebranding is expected to herald a stiff competiton with other leading telecommunications companies in the West African nation.

Ghana Telecom has about 1,400,000 customers which translate into a 17% market share.

Vodafone is a mobile network operator with its headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover and has a market value of about £75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone currently has operations in 25 countries and partner networks in a further 42 countries.

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