Technology

Customers can now locate stores and see special offers on their smart phones

Muscat | May 09, 2013: With over 120 local and international outlets now open at Oman’s youngest shopping destination, Muscat Grand Mall has associated with location-based mobile technology company to launch ‘Buzz’ – social mobile product which will make navigation all the more easier for customers.

The idea behind Buzz is new, creative, and customer friendly. It not only distributes information about a specified location, by can also enable notifications on any smart phone device by simply connecting to it through WiFi. Buzz works on Blufi technology that delivers to consumers multiple engagements relevant to the location through WIFI and Bluetooth. BUZZ@mgm virtualizes the entire mall and makes it available on a visitor’s mobile handset. This platform plays the role of connecting the exhibitors to the visitors through a medium which is as direct as local mobile operators but absolutely free for consumer to use.

Hassan Jaboub, General Manager of Muscat Grand Mall, “It is our constant endeavour to making the Muscat Grand Mall experience one of ease for our customers. Hence, this association with Buzz will focus on being interactive and informative. Through the push Wi-Fi installed across the mall, customers will be able to receive updates, special offers from outlets while being able to effortlessly locate stores they would like to visit,”

Nokia Asha 501 and Asha platform reinvent the affordable smartphone category

Espoo, Finland – 9 May 2013 – Nokia today unveiled the first of a new family of Asha smartphones with the introduction of the Nokia Asha 501. The handset pushes the boundaries of affordable smartphone design with bold color, a high-quality build and an innovative user interface. The Nokia Asha 501 is the first device to run on the new Asha platform, which is designed to make the experience faster and more responsive. The Asha platform also helps developers to create, publish and make more money from apps made specifically for the new generation of Asha devices.

Standout design, innovative user interface

The Nokia Asha 501 makes high-end design and quality accessible to more people. The device is available in a choice of six striking colours that complement the elegant design. It comes in just two parts: a durable, removable casing and the scratch-resistant glass display, which features a three-inch, capacitive touchscreen and a single ‘back’ button. The compact new Asha weighs only 98 grams, for the ultimate portability.

CIOs and IT managers in Oman choose to tackle huge volumes of data with traditional storage strategies and technologies, but in truth a  revolution in data management needs to take place in order minimise the expensive heavy-lifting needed to protect and manage large volumes of data

MUSCAT, Oman, 8th May, 2013: There is no doubt that data management has gone through an evolutionary process, starting with a focus on straight forward backup and recovery in the 1990’s and then moving to integrated protection solutions in the 2000s. However the impact of Big Data and the move to adopt a more mobile way of working again requires a radical new approach.

Whether it is stored in one place, distributed across the enterprise or located in different geographies, data growth is making its presence felt in companies of all sizes in Oman. It’s unfortunately becoming all too common for yesterday’s backups to run into tomorrow and too many companies are reporting that they risk missing Service Level Agreements (SLA) if processes can’t keep up.  In itself this is perhaps an indication that existing storage strategies are no longer capable of tackling huge volumes of data or, just as importantly, of supporting the business challenges of today.

Allen Mitchell, Senior Technical Account Manager, MENA at CommVault Systems says that a revolution in data management in Oman  is now called for in order to minimise the investments needed to protect and manage large volumes of data both inside and outside of the data centre. This means thinking differently about each of the traditional data management processes and technologies and increasing the use of automation and enterprise-wide policies to introduce efficiencies and cost savings whilst reducing management headaches at the same time.  Instead of creating archive, backup and storage silos merely as a business insurance policy, each element should be valued equally but then converge to streamline the process and start to make data the real asset that it should be to an organisation.

Sophos Mobile Security blocks text messages with malicious URLs, countering SMiShing

Dubai, UAE – May 6, 2013 – Android is the world’s most popular smartphone operating system (OS), and according to comScore, it claims more than 50 percent of the market. With that kind of user base, it’s no wonder that Android is an increasingly popular target for malware and SMiShing (SMS phishing).

To help combat this growing threat, Sophos has introduced the latest version of its free Android security app, Sophos Mobile Security. Sophos Mobile Security now includes SPAM filter capabilities for text messages and calls. The filter rules can block specific phone numbers and calls with a hidden caller ID, as well as text messages with potential malicious URLs. Every incoming call or text message is scanned by the app’s Spam Protection feature and the active filter rules are applied successively. Blocked calls and text messages are logged in the Quarantine folder, where they can be restored as needed.

Sending unsolicited commercial text messages is illegal under civil law and anyone who receives a spam text message should neither click on a link nor reply to a message. According to the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, about 60 percent of mobile phone users have received at least one or more spam text messages during the past year, with about 15 percent clicking on the link included in the message.

Muscat, Oman, 27 April 2013: Nokia has expanded its Windows Phone 8 portfolio with the retail launch of Nokia Lumia 520 and Nokia Lumia 720. The new range which represents Nokia’s strategy to bring innovative technologies from flagship devices to a wider audience will be available at all major participating retail outlets in Sultanate of Oman.

Nokia Lumia 720 and Nokia Lumia 520 deliver high-end Lumia innovation to more affordable price points

Muscat, Oman, 23 April 2013: Nokia has expanded its Windows Phone 8 portfolio with the retail launch of Nokia Lumia 520 and Nokia Lumia 720. The new range which represents Nokia’s strategy to bring innovative technologies from flagship devices to a wider audience will be available at all major participating retail outlets in Sultanate of Oman.

• Manual 42x optical zoom lens (24mm-1000mm)
• New EXR COMSII sensor with Phase Detection for high performance
• Full HD Movie 1080p/60fps with continuous phase detection AF and stereo sound

Muscat, April 22, 2013: Photocentre, the official distributors of FUJIFILM in Oman, are proud to announce a new addition to its popular top-end series of Fujifilm FinePix Long zoom bridge cameras with the FinePix HS50EXR. The new flagship features a manual zoom mechanism for high precision zooming over the huge 42x focal length range (24-1000mm). Boasting stunning autofocus speeds of just 0.05seconds, thanks to new Phase Detection pixels on its ½-inch EXR CMOS II sensor, this all-in-one camera is a high-speed performer and will capture images with stunning crisp quality.

Commenting on the high performance features of the new FinePix flagship, Mohammed Farei, Managing Director of Photocentre said “The new HS50EXR gives consumers a truly amazing autofocus speed and a wide range of shooting features in an all-in-one design that is more economical and easier to use than expensive and heavy DSLR kits. With this new bridge camera, users can capture everything from beautiful wide angle landscape shots to sharp telephoto pictures thanks to its powerful 42x zoom and Optical image Stabilisation. Because of its high zoom capability and flexible shooting features no shot will ever be too far away again.”

Spectramiin association with EON IT, QPGI and Actifioto hold TechCafe’, an workshop for enterprises in Muscat and Doha

Dubai, UAE –21^stApril, 2013 — Spectrami, the leading value added distributor in the MENA region today announced that as part of its value add servicesit has initiated its educative and awareness program, 'TechCafe’ to address the concerns of enterprise end-users in the region.TechCafe’ is a focused event targeting pre-qualified customers that have genuine requirement for the targeted solutions.