Nokia Launches Asha 305, 306, and 311: Full Touchscreen S40 Phones: ProPakistani

Nokia Launches Asha 305, 306, and 311: Full Touchscreen S40 Phones
Telenor Awards Digital Development Contract to Isobar
Amir Malik to Join MoIT as Director IT
USF Launches Telecom Service Project for Balochistan

Nokia Launches Asha 305, 306, and 311: Full Touchscreen S40 Phones

Posted: 06 Jun 2012 02:21 AM PDT

311 thumb Nokia Launches Asha 305, 306, and 311: Full Touchscreen S40 Phones Nokia has today unveiled three new full touchscreen devices running on their featurephone operating system S 40, that are aimed at low to mid-range customers.

Continuing its Asha family, first introduced in last October, Asha 305, 306 and Asha 311 will help Nokia achieve its next billion customers – that's what at least they are hoping.

Nokia Asha 305, 306 and 311 are almost identical phones, except that Nokia Asha 305 has dual SIM card slot while Nokia Asha 306 supports single SIM.

And as for the Asha 311, it's the Asha 305/306, but with 3G connectivity and a better camera, that is 3.2 megapixels versus 2.0 megapixels for Asha 305 and 306.

Main attraction for all three models is full touchscreen built on a feature phone operating system, that's something tested for the first time by Nokia, in an effort to bring low priced phones with rich features.

The Nokia Asha 311 is compact touch screen device that comes with all the features you’d expect for a fun and easy mobile experience. It boasts a bright and colorful, scratch resistant capacitive glass screen with polarization filters ensuring users get the best experience from the unique and visually entertaining user interface.

The Nokia Asha 311 features a 3.2MP camera and pre-installed Nokia Maps, in addition to the 15 level pre-bundled version of Angry Birds.

The Nokia Asha 305 is said to be a fun and entertaining Easy Swap dual SIM phone, helping users make the most of their phone while retaining control of their costs. The phone features a bright and colorful 3″ WQVGA resistive touch screen along with Bluetooth and Dual Band connectivity.

Forty EA games are available for download with every phone as well as a 2MP camera, Nokia Maps and the revolutionary Nokia Browser which helps significantly lower data costs.

The Nokia Asha 306, as mentioned above, is the sister device to the Nokia Asha 305. Along with all the features that come with its sister, such as 3″ WQVGA resistive touch screen and 40 EA games for download, the Nokia Asha 306 also provides WLAN, enabling users to stay connected while on the move. It also supports video streaming through both GPRS and WLAN, meaning this handset truly is a fun way to stay in touch.

Specifications for Nokia Asha 305:

3.0" WQVGA resistive touch screen
2 MP camera
Dual SIM
Music player and FM radio
Built-in speaker
Plug and Play, easy PC connection and file transfer
GPRS/EDGE connectivity
Nokia Maps and Nokia Life (in selected markets)
Colors: Silver White, Red, Mid Blue and Dark Grey (varies by market)

Specifications for Nokia Asha 306:

3.0" WQVGA resistive touch screen
2 MP camera
Music player and FM radio
Built-in speaker
Plug and Play, easy PC connection and file transfer
GPRS/EDGE and WLAN connectivity
Nokia Maps and Nokia Life (in selected markets)
Colors: Silver White, Red, Mid Blue and Dark Grey (varies by market)

Specifications for Nokia Asha 311:

3.0" scratch resistant, capacitive glass screen
Polarized display filters for better usability in direct sunlight
WLAN
3.2 MP camera
1GHz processor
Music Player, FM Radio and Internet Radio
Plug and Play, easy PC connection and file transfer
HSPA connectivity
Nokia Maps and Nokia Life (in selected markets)
Colors: Dark Grey, Rose Red, Blue, Brown and Sand White (colors will vary by market)

Price for Nokia Asha 305, 306 and Nokia Asha 311:

For approximate price:

Nokia Asha 305 – PKR 7,000, available in Q2 2012
Nokia Asha 306 – PKR 8,000, available in Q3 2012
Nokia Asha 311 – PKR 10,500, available in Q3 2012

Telenor Awards Digital Development Contract to Isobar

Posted: 05 Jun 2012 11:50 PM PDT

djuice thumb Telenor Awards Digital Development Contract to Isobar Telenor Pakistan has awarded a contract to Isobar MENA, a UK based digital marketing company having its MENA office in Dubai, for the development of integrated online platform that will become the anchor for a series of initiatives targeting the urban youth of Pakistan, said a statement issued by Isobar.

Isobar works with the likes of Nokia, Adidas and Coca-Cola internationally, is part of Aegis Media, owner of the communications agency Carat.

Isobar, which develops websites, digital strategies and online media plans on behalf of its clients, has more than 50 offices worldwide.

Isobar's Contract with Telenor Pakistan will include the development of djuice website, in addition to specific apps that will integrate various online portals and platforms including social networking websites for djuice customers.

Usman Javaid, Director Marketing for Telenor while commenting on the contract said:

"We believe this to be the first of its kind, purely digital driven plan in Pakistan. We needed an international, reputed partner to integrate a plan of this magnitude into our marketing strategy."

Sources aware of the development told ProPakistani that this contract will not impact digital marketing agency that is working for Telenor and its Djuice brand.

We have reached out to Telenor to know more about the contract and why a foreign company was preferred over local firms. We will update this post when we get any word from Telenor.

Telenor has been aggressively pushing its djuice brand for which it recently partnered with a Finland based firm for the development of online app and game store for djuice customers.

Amir Malik to Join MoIT as Director IT

Posted: 05 Jun 2012 11:02 PM PDT

Muhammad Amir Malik, Head of Regulatory Compliance at Ufone is going join Ministry of IT as Director (IT), we have confirmed with our sources.

He is expected to join his new position at the Ministry during this month.

Before joining Ufone in December 2011, Amir Malik was the Head of ICT Directorate at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority.

Mr. Malik is largely known for his thorough approach while heading several projects covering issues like Broadband, IP version 6, .pk ccTLD, ICT Security, PKI Infrastructure, Public Data Warehouses, Internet Peering Points, ICT for Disables, National Rabta Portal, 668 SIM Data verification and 8899 Mobile Subscriber Perception Survey.

Ufone has not announced any replacement for Amir Malik so far, which is expected to get filled in coming weeks.

Mr. Malik, with his new role at Ministry of IT will mainly administer the IT policy for the country.

Market sources suggest that this critical induction is likely to bring positive benefits to the ICT industry of Pakistan especially from the policy prospective as there is a dire requirement to complete the future IT Policy framework.

It is being said that Muhammad Amir Malik would be able to bridge this gap along with other important initiatives to be taken for enabling an established ICT sector of the country.

USF Launches Telecom Service Project for Balochistan

Posted: 05 Jun 2012 10:27 PM PDT

Universal Service Fund has given away one of the largest Projects related to Rural Telecom Services for Mastung Lot (Balochistan) that are going to value as high as PKR 3.15 Billion.

A statement issued here has said that Federal Minister-IT, Raja Perviaz Ashraf witnessed the signing ceremony the project.

Mr. Ashraf was quoted as saying that through the Rural Telecom Project in Mastung, basic telephony and data services will be provided to a population of 74,831 people which resides in 102 un-served mauzas of Balochistan.

He said this Lot consists of Mastung, Nushki and Ziarat Districts. He praised the USF team for following Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules throughout the bidding process.

He also stated that Universal Service Fund has been very actively running projects for providing ICT related services in Balochistan as well as rest of the provinces. So far, rural telecom projects for Pishin, Nasirabad and Mastung Lot which aim to provide basic telephony and data services in around 1,062 unserved muzas are benefitting a population of 791 thousand. Similarly under another programme, 44 unserved tehsil headquarters along with 29 towns will be connected through optical fiber cable benefitting more than 5 million population.

During chairing the 28th USF Board Meeting, Minister IT also approved launch of 5 New Projects of rural telecom for next fiscal year 2012-13, namely Kech, Kalat, Panjgoor, Sibi and Zhob Lots in Balochistan province. He also approved launch of three new projects of Broadband programme for Western Telecom Region (Balochistan), Northern Telecom Region I and II (KPK), and lastly he also approved the launch of optical fiber cable project for KPK Province.

USF has made immense progress in past five years. In Rural Telecom Programme, USF has provided basic telephony and data services in more than 3,600 unserved muzas. Broadband services have been provided in 256 new 2nd and 3rd tier cities/towns along with providing more than 400,000 broadband connections while establishing more than 1000 Educational Broadband centers (EBCs) and 300 community Broadband centers (CBCs). Under Optic Fiber Programme, more than 4,200 kms of new optic fiber cable has been laid to connect 58 un-served tehsils and towns.

To take broadband internet to the villages, USF has launched another Program namely establishment of Universal Telecenters (UTCs). With these achievements, USF has created a success story for the public-private partnership entities nationally and internationally.

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Wednesday, June 6, 2012