Nokia in Partnership with Telenor Pakistan Introduces Beautiful Nokia Asha 500, 502 and 503

Nokia Pakistan announced that the new Nokia Asha 500, 502 and 503 are available for purchase in Pakistan with 6 months free Telenor Talkshawk Internet. The new phones extend the boundaries of affordable smartphone experience with their innovative Fastlane home screen, attractive new design and a deeper integration with social networks. The new Asha series is a technological marvel coupled with the outstanding manufacturing quality of Nokia and an extended battery life.

Commenting on the new Nokia Asha range, Arif Shafique, country general manager, Nokia Pakistan said: “With the expansion of the Nokia Asha family, we bring three exciting smartphones for our consumers to suit their budget needs. The new Asha series has a stunning new design, a plethora of social networking apps and enhanced imaging quality. This way, millions of consumers across different price points will get access to smartphone technology”.

Irfan Wahab Khan, chief marketing officer, Telenor Pakistan said on the occasion: “This is yet another example of the successful collaboration between Telenor Pakistan and Nokia. Introducing high-quality yet affordable smartphones with a very user-friendly social experience is in line with Telenor Pakistan’s ‘Internet for all’ strategy. We believe in bringing the internet experience to the masses of Pakistan, and Telenor’s free 6 months’ internet offering with these new Asha devices is aimed at encouraging people to utilize the true benefits of internet”.

With the launch of the latest range of Asha smartphones, Nokia introduces the unique ‘dual shot’ design which combines an inner layer of bold, bright coloured shell surrounded by an outer layer of crystal-clear transparency. This distinctive combination enhances the durability of the device and surely makes the smartphone user stand out of the crowd. The high-end design brought to this price point is a clear differentiator, as are the craftsmanship and attention to detail. 

The Asha 500 offers a 2.8-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera and 2G telephony while the Asha 502 comes with a 3-inch screen, and a 5-megapixel camera with flash. At the top of the current family is the Asha 503, which has a 3-inch screen made from curved Gorilla Glass, a 5-megapixel camera with flash, and 3.5G speeds. The Asha 500 and 503 come in single- and dual-SIM variants, with Nokia’s Easy Swap technology on dual-SIM, allowing users to swap cards without restarting the phone. While all three of these new phones come with the same software and stunning hardware design, the three offer hardware specifications that scale upwards by model number and price.

As social networking is the need of the hour, these new devices allow the user to become more social across various social media. With Fastlane, users can create a personalized shortcut to the phone’s recently accessed apps, features and content, as well as future activity, such as calendar appointments. It’s the fastest way to access an app in its last state, as well as being the social hub of the new Nokia Asha 500, 502 and 503. Deeper integration with social networks now enables live updates, which alert people to likes and comments through notifications on Fastlane so they never miss an important update.

With such exciting features, the new Nokia Asha series offers a smartphone experience like never before, and that too with Telenor Talkshawk 6 months’ free internet.

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Wateen to connect Head Office and 14 regional sites of State Bank of Pakistan

Wateen Telecom has been awarded a three year Managed Services contract by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to provide VSAT Hub & Spoke operations, field maintenance and technical support to connect its Head office and 14 regional and branch offices.

Being the central bank of Pakistan with countrywide operations, State Bank of Pakistan felt the need to centralize its applications to reach all its branches. Wateen’s VSAT Bandwidth on PAKSAT Satellite will connect 15 State Bank sites. This will cut costs on distributed backend operations of State Bank of Pakistan by bringing them to the frontend with the centralization of core backend applications.

During this three year project, which is expected to start this month, Wateen Telecom will maintain PAKSAT satellite Bandwidth and will provide services to State Bank of Pakistan. Wateen Telecom won the project primarily due to the company’s big customer clientele of VSAT and excellent support model in telecom sector.

This achievement is a direct result of Wateen’s provision of best service quality to all its customers. We are very pleased to have been selected for this project, which underscores Wateen’s expertise in providing an array of maintenance and equipment services to the State Bank of Pakistan. Wateen looks forward to further expanding its relationship with the SBP by providing them other services like network equipment, network security and video.
 

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Samsung Gear Watch Review

We live in a world of progress and invention where major players of technology especially in smart phones are always aiming to be the market leaders, hoping to attract new customers and to retain the existing ones. This year, Samsung has come up with the mind boggling Galaxy Note3 and the revolutionary Samsung Galaxy Gear Smart Watch. Samsung really swung for the fence with the Galaxy Gear. Just about every major tech company is rumored to have been working on a smart watch but Samsung moved quickly and pushed ahead full throttle making the most advanced smart watch till date. It boasts features which, just a few months ago, were only in the books of science fiction and old Dick Tracy comics.

Galaxy Gear currently works with Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition and Galaxy S4. More devices such as Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy Mega will be added soon to the compatible devices lineup.

The Gear is not just a Smart Watch, it is a Style Statement. With a bold design and a range of color options, the Galaxy Gear is your perfect accessory. Whether it be a formal dinner or your evening run, Galaxy Gear is the perfect way to Jazz it up. The Galaxy Gear is available in 6 color options: Beige with Silver Band, Beige with Rose Gold band, Black, Orange, Mocha Grey, Lime Green (straps are not interchangeable).

Design and functionality:

Galaxy Gear is a 1.63-in square display set on a stainless steel face. The AMOLED screen is pretty sharp 278 pixels per inch, pretty reasonable size for the things it does without any problems in direct sunlight with the Outdoor Mode. The watch face is thick at 11.1 mm, but it doesn't feel too big or bulky. The Gear's band is a permanent part of the watch, and isn't swappable. That's because the device has a sharp, high quality 1.9-megapixel camera, microphone, and speaker set into the strap. The watch does come in several different colors, ranging from neutral blacks and grays to bolder oranges and greens. Waterproofing (IP55) keeps it protected from rain and routine day to day use. The Gear's display stays off most of the time to save power, with adjustable screen timeout settings. To turn it on either press the power button or lift your wrist towards your face a typical "looking at your watch" gesture using the “Wake Up gesture” feature from the Gear Manager.  In the UI, each app icon fills the watch's entire 1.63-in display. 

The Galaxy Gear connects with your Samsung device through Gear Manager, which is available both from the Samsung Apps Store and by tapping the back of your NFC enabled device to the back of the Gear’s charging dock. The Gear Manager allows you to set various settings of the device along with controlling the clock face (which can also be done through the settings menu in Galaxy Gear). Gear Manager also provides a “Find my Gear” feature to locate your smart watch in case you’ve misplaced it. The connection between Galaxy Gear and your Device is made through Bluetooth and if you move out of connection range, an alert is shown on both your watch and your Smartphone/Tablet.

The Galaxy Gear runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.3, with a simplistic User Interface for convenient usage.  By swiping sideways can move between applications and menus, tap to select, and swipe down to go back, double tap anywhere with two fingers to see system info including Bluetooth connectivity features and shortcut controls for volume and screen brightness as well as battery status. Hold two fingers to see and switch to your recent apps.

Here are some of the Features which differentiate Samsung from others:

S Voice

One of the most important part of the Gear's software may be S Voice. S Voice lets you dictate and send text messages, make calls, open apps, check the weather, and more just double-tap the watch's power button to activate, and speak your request.

Notifications

The Gear alerts you to three core essentials by default: SMS, phone calls, and emails notifications. Galaxy Gear also supports notifications from virtually every Android application including Social Media Applications and Games. You can set your watch to notify you with a sound, or you can stick with the default vibrating of your wrist.

A recent upload being rolled out now allows you to read the text messages from third party applications, Social Media posts and Gmail messages right on the Galaxy Gear.

Further, the new update allows you to create text message templates which you can use to reply to messages and calls you’ve received right from your Gear.

Camera

The camera on the Galaxy Gear gives amazingly sharp results for a 1.9MP camera, and is easy to use. To access the camera from the home screen, swipe your finger from top to bottom to access the camera. A single tap takes the picture. You can easily switch to recording videos of up to 15 seconds through a shortcut button and can access Macro Focus, Sound & Shot and Signature settings through an onscreen menu.

All pictures and videos taken with Galaxy Gear are immediately transferred to the phone/tablet through Gear Manager.

Music

Gear lets you to control and play music anytime and anywhere through the Media Controller.

Battery life

Galaxy Gear supports a long lasting battery which will last you over 25 hours under heavy use on a single charge.

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Technology and real estate conference held by Zameen.com

Zameen.com, Pakistan’s leading property portal, hosted a real estate conference entitled “Technology & Real Estate” in Karachi on the 17th of January, 2014. The event was held in collaboration with Defence & Clifton Association of Real Estate Agents (DEFCLAREA), the largest realtor association in Pakistan. The conference was attended by 250 agents representing over 150 leading estate agencies, and many prominent property developers.

The event presented an unmatchable opportunity for estate agents to bring themselves up to speed with the prevailing trends in the online market, as well as to take their business to the next level by adopting technology. Zeeshan and Imran Ali Khan, Co-Founders of Zameen.com, also briefed the audience about the changing tides and global trends in the real estate sector.

Zameen.com and DEFCLAREA also signed an MOU at the event, further strengthening their partnership. Zeeshan Ali Khan of Zameen.com had met with the Business Committee of DEFCLAREA in August, 2013 where both parties had formed a business partnership, with a view to facilitate DEFCLAREA estate agencies’ operations via technology. This conference was the next big step for this partnership.

Karachi, which is undoubtedly the commercial and economic hub of Pakistan, is also home to one of the most robust property markets in the country. Owning to this fact, Zameen.com, which has grown exponentially in the past few years, had opened an office in Karachi towards the end of 2013.In context with the office opening in Karachi, the conference was a great way to further consolidate their presence in the market.

“We want to continue being the gateway to success for local estate agencies,” said Zeeshan Ali Khan of Zameen.com. Many notable property developers, including Emaar Pakistan, were also present at the event.

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Breaking: Wateen Appoints Muhammad Azeem as CTO

Wateen Telecom recently appointed Mr. Muhammad Azeem as CITO (Chief Information & Technical Officer), told us sources within the company.

Official sources have confirmed Mr. Muhammad Azeem’s appointment who is an MBA in Marketing & Human Resource Management from University of Kansas.

He is an expert in Assesment of Technology Evolution, Network Operations, Vendor Management, Project Management and Performance Management. He has previously worked as General Manager Business Development with Transworld and as Vice President with Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. 

He has also been working with Hewlett-Packard, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and Alcatel Lucent.
 
Wateen Engineering Department, Network Operation Center (NOC) and ENOC will be headed by Mr. Muhammad Azeem who has over 25 years of advanced technology experience in the fields of aerospace, wireless communication and information technology.

It is worth mentioning here that Wateen was looking for new CTO for more than two months because Mr. Faisal Sattar, the former CTO of Wateen Telecom left Wateen in October 2013 and joined Universal Service Fund as
Chief Executive Officer.

Update: Below is the email of Wateen CEO Mr. Naeem Zamindar welcoming new CTO Mr. Muhammad Azeem

Mohammad Azeem has joined Wateen as our new Chief Technology Officer.  He has over 25 years of advanced technology experience in the fields of aerospace, wireless communication and information technology. He started his career with NASA Jet Propulsion Lab; the unmanned deep space network division and later transitioned into mobile, wired, voice, value added services and data communication industry . He has held various engineering, management and business development positions with Alcatel Lucent, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, HP, PTCL and Transworld Associates. He is credited for playing a significant role in launching the 3G, VoIP, PTT, and other high end value added services for Sprint Nextel. His areas of expertise include infrastructure deployment, product management, customer services, business development, business intelligence, business process reengineering, and vendor management.

He received his MBA in Marketing and Human Resource Management from the University of Kansas and also holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in electrical engineering from California Institute of Technology along with a Bachelor of Arts from Reed College.

We give him a warm welcome into the Wateen Family and look forward to the exciting innovations that he will bring into Wateen!

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IT is now Entering in Pakistani Land System to End the Patwari Culture

Given that land is at the heart of agriculture and the rural economy in Pakistan, particularly in Punjab Province, land ownership and administration issues are of key importance. Inequalities of land distribution, tenure insecurity and difficulties associated with the land administration and registration system are closely interrelated and continue to impose significant constraints on both rural and urban populations, particularly the poor. As sub-continent Pakistan and India both have seen 'Patwari' culture for ages which has now become the most notorious term due to its corrupt attitude.

The system of 'patwari' has been cornerstone of revenue system since the British period for maintenance of land records, and the assessment and collection of land revenue. In this modern age however, information could not be concealed from the masses. Major ISP's like Wateen has also joined hands with Board of Revenue (BOR), Punjab for Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS). 

Moreover with real state innovations, platforms and portals working online in Pakistan aiming to allow you to easily sell, rent or find commercial property online is another convenience, find one here.

IT is now Entering in Pakistani Land System, aiming to abolish the British-era 'Patwari' system as Pakistan's Punjab government has nearly completed an ambitious plan to digitize land records to root out corruption through the first Land Record Management Information System (LRMIS) Service center and Arazi Record Centre in Lahore inaugurated by Chief Minister Mian Shehbaz.

Data entry of land records in 23 districts is 100 per cent complete and 98 out of 143 tehsils of Punjab have fully operational Arazi Record Centres. As per the plan, by June 2014 entire Punjab will be covered by this Computerized Land Record System. As per official statement, young IT professionals due to this system would benefit around 3,000 jobs in the public sector and 10,000 jobs in the private sector. Tehsildars have been replaced by young officers recruited on 100 per cent merit through Public Service Commission known as Assistant Director Land Record.

LRMIS service center will help people not only for creating awareness of fraud but also conveniences in transfer of properties, getting Fards, other relevant documents and details of a property within 30 minutes.

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ZonG Makes Mobile Internet More Pocket-friendly than Ever before

ZonG has taken another step to drive telecom industry growth by introducing city based packages for mobile internet. With this new offer, ZonG customers can subscribe to Mobile internet packages using GPRS at affordable rates. This service has initially been launched in these four cities: Lahore, Sialkot, Gujrat and Daska.

All customers living in these cities can subscribe to either of the two packages: Volume offer or Time offer. Volume offer can simply be activated by dialing *111*1# or by sending SMS ‘VOL’ to 6677 with subscription charges of Re. 1 per day and usage charges of Re. 1 per MB. On the other hand, Time offer can be activated by dialing *111*2# or by sending SMS ‘TIME’ to 6677 with subscription charges of Re. 1 per day and usage charges of Rs. 2 per Hr.

Speaking about this new offering, Dr. Zhao Peng – Chief Commercial Officer (CMPak) said, “As more and more smart phones become available in Pakistan at affordable rates, the demand for good mobile internet packages is also increasing. Zong’s latest offering of city based mobile internet will give Pakistanis an option to surf internet via mobile at most affordable rates. Hence, ZonG is playing a key role in driving up mobile internet usage that is likely to contribute to higher economic activity and at the same time increase mobile internet penetration level in Pakistan.”

One of the major goals behind launching pocket friendly internet packages is to give the masses residing both in Urban and Semi Urban areas a basic understanding and feel of mobile internet to ensure better response to the launch of 3G services in Pakistan in near future. This initiative is a first of its kind in the industry which will certainly position ZonG as a key enabler of mobile internet in the cities of Punjab.

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