Sim Card Lifecycle Management Systems

A mango with every handset

By MOLOUK Y. BA-ISA, MOLOUK.BA-ISA@ARABNEWS.COM

Published: Jun 29, 2011 08:26 Updated: Jun 29, 2011 08:26

The confused query of a visitor to Nokia’s stand at the CommunicAsia exhibition in Singapore said it all. “Is that the new mango device?” the man asked when shown Nokia’s N9 smartphone. The N9’s operating system is actually the Linux-based MeeGo, but in truth, MeeGo or mango, it doesn’t matter. MeeGo is making a one-time appearance in the N9, before Nokia buries it in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone (WP7) later this year.

At the press conference last week, Nokia’s CEO Stephen Elop repeated his now standard mantra about the company’s change in direction, announced February 11, which will culminate in tossing out the Symbian operating system in favor of WP7. But that won’t happen right away. Until 2016, plenty of handsets for the masses will be produced running Symbian. The company’s flagship devices will be based on WP7 and Elop assured journalists worldwide that he is “very optimistic” that the first of those smartphones will be unveiled later this year and will ship in volume in 2012.

In the meantime, something needs to be sold to cover some of the company’s operating expenses, and so Nokia whipped out the pacifier N9. It is a lovely handset. Nokia has always done hardware well. But since its operating system is an albatross, the N9 will likely only have limited appeal in markets where Nokia is still strong and handset subsidies are uncommon. Saudi Arabia is one such market and Nokia claims that consumer focus groups in the Kingdom have been favorable to the device.

While work toward WP7 continues, Nokia will have no option but to release more Symbian smartphones. Elop advised that over the next year up to 10 more are planned. And in July, Nokia will start shipping Nokia N8s, E7s, C7s and C6-01s loaded with a renewed version of the Symbian operating system (OS), known as “Symbian Anna.” Consumers who already own any of these devices will be able to download the updated OS in August.

It is likely that Nokia will have the most success in coming months with its feature phones. At last week’s event, the company unveiled the C2-03, a touch and type dual SIM phone that features “Easy Swap.” With Easy Swap there’s no need to turn off the phone in order to change the SIM card. This is ideal for individuals who travel or for those who use multiple SIMs due to differences in call pricing. The primary SIM is kept in a holder inside the phone, but a second SIM is placed in a holder on the side of the phone for easy access. That SIM can be changed at anytime without shutting down the handset. The C2-03 will also offer an enhanced web, maps and messaging experience as well as an FM radio, media player and memory support to 32 GB.

Lenovo announces ThinkPad Tablet for businesses - tablets ...

Lenovo has announced the ThinkPad Tablet for businesses, which runs on Google's Android 3.1 and blends consumer features such as a camera with business-oriented manageability tools.

The tablet has a 10.1-inch screen, weighs 1.65 pounds (0.75 kilograms) and provides eight hours of battery life, Lenovo said.

The business features enable system administrators to easily deploy and protect the device.

Lenovo also announced a consumer tablet called IdeaPad K1, which has Android 3.1 (code-named Ice Cream Sandwich). Lenovo already offers a 10.1-inch tablet called LePad, which runs Android and went on sale in China in March.

The ThinkPad and K1 have some common hardware features. The tablets have Nvidia's Tegra 2 processor and a 2.0-megapixel front camera and 5.0-megapixel back camera. The tablets also have mini-HDMI (high definition multimedia interface), USB 2.0 and SIM card ports and an SD card reader.

But the business features set the ThinkPad Tablet apart from K1, vice-president of the ThinkPad business at Lenovo, Dilip Bhatia,said. The tablet can be remotely disabled by IT administrators if lost or stolen, and Lenovo has partnered with Computrace to protect data on the device. Other security features include layered data encryption and support for Cisco VPN (virtual private network) to securely access corporate networks.

"It serves both work and play with key security and manageability features," Bhatia said.

The ThinkPad Tablet can run software such as IBM's Lotus Notes Traveler, a push e-mail service. Users can write using a stylus, and the tablet includes software that can convert handwritten notes to text. Other features include a touch-enabled drag-and-drop utility to move data from a USB key to internal storage or an SD card.

The tablet is expected to be available in the U.S. in August, a Lenovo spokeswoman said. The company said it will become available worldwide in the third quarter, though no specific date was provided. A 16GB Wi-Fi model is priced at US$499, and for an additional $30 users can buy a model with a digitizer pen.

With the tablet, Lenovo hopes to ride on the success of ThinkPad laptops, which are targeted at businesses. Enterprise tablets are already available from Cisco, which recently shipped the communication-focused Cius tablet, and Hewlett-Packard, which offers the Slate 500 based on the Windows 7 OS.

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