'VIBER OUT' COMES TO WINDOWS PHONE 8 AS VIBER CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON CROSS-PLATFORM SUPPORT

Viber 4.1 For Windows Phone 8 Brings Multiple Major Updates And Popular Viber Features To Microsoft’s Smartphone Platform

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – April 2, 2014, Viber, (www.viber.com) the leading mobile communications platform offering free messaging and HD-quality phone calls, announced today the release of Viber 4.1 for Windows Phone 8 bringing “Viber Out” calls to the platform for the first time. Now Viber users on Windows Phone 8 can make affordable calls to their friends and contacts who have landlines or phones that don’t have Viber. Additionally, the update brings several key Viber features to the mobile Microsoft platform.

Viber has pursued a consistent strategy of supporting as many platforms as possible in order to expand the potential user base its users can contact, strengthening the capability of the platform. Viber allows users to communicate with almost any of their friends or contacts regardless of which platform they use. Now, with the addition of “Viber Out,” Windows Phone 8 users will be able to call any phone number with Viber.

“Viber Out has been a game changer for our users and allows them to rely on Viber for all their communication needs. With the addition of this critical feature to our Windows Phone 8 version, we are ensuring that the complete Viber experience is available on as many platforms as possible. This focus on cross-platform support is one of our most important commitments to our users,” said Talmon Marco, CEO of Viber.

The release also includes multiple feature updates that expand the functionality of the app, including:
Sending video messages
Sending multiple photos at the same time
Hands-free Bluetooth support

‘Viber Out’ 随着 Viber 继续专注于跨平台支援而融入 Windows Phone 8

献予 Windows Phone 8 的 Viber 4.1 为微软的智能手机平台呈献多种新的更新和热门 Viber 特点

吉隆坡 4 月 2 日讯 Viber, (www.viber.com)，即呈献免费简讯和高清素质通话服务的顶尖移动通讯平台公司，今天发布献予 Windows Phone 8 的 Viber 4.1,而首次将 “Viber Out” 拨电话服务引进该平台。现在，使用 Windows Phone 8 的 Viber 用户将能以容易负担费率拨电给其固定电话号码或其他电话尚未安装 Viber 的朋友或联系人。此外，这项更新也为该移动微软平台带来多种重要的 Viber 特点。

Viber 已落实一项尽可能支援更多平台的一致策略，以扩大其用户能够联系的潜在用户群，并强化了该平台的功能。Viber 可让用户与他们的几乎任何朋友或联系人通讯，不管他们使用哪一种平台。现在，随着添加 “Viber Out” 之后，Windows Phone 8的用户将可 通过 Viber 联系任何电话号码。

“Viber Out 不断为我们的用户而改变游戏规则，并让他们依靠 Viber 来应付他们所有的通讯需求。随着为我们的 Windows Phone 8 版本添加这个重要功能，我们可确保他们在更多平台享有完整的 Viber 经验。专注于跨平台支援乃是我们献予用户的最重要承诺之一，” Viber 的首席执行长 Talmon Marco 说道。

这项发布也包括更新多种可扩增该应用程序之功能的特点，包括:
·         传送视频讯息
·         同时传送多张照片
·         免持蓝牙支援

Kaspersky Lab releases safe browser for Windows Phone

Petaling Jaya, March 5, 2014- Kaspersky Lab is pleased to announce the release of its free Kaspersky Safe Browser for Windows Phone app to safeguard web surfing on smartphones running Microsoft’s mobile OS. The application is now available for download from Windows Phone Store.

The new solution boasts protection against phishing, a widespread threat that affects PCs and mobile devices alike. Phishing scams see cybercriminals create fake sites and emails to trick unsuspecting users into providing personal data. According to research from B2B International, over the past year one in three Internet users received messages with phishing links.

Kaspersky Safe Browser for Windows Phone blocks links to content that may be harmful. The application receives information about malicious sites in real time from the anti-phishing database in the cloud-based Kaspersky Security Network. This allows the application to block even those phishing pages that have only recently appeared on the Internet.

In addition to blocking phishing links, the application makes it possible to filter web resources according to their content. Users can choose which categories of sites should be blocked, such as pornographic sites, pages containing obscene words or scenes of violence, gaming sites, social networking sites, etc.

This function also helps parents keep their children safe from harmful content. Kaspersky Safe Browser for Windows Phone should be added to the Kid’s Corner, a special children’s section on Windows Phone smartphones which houses content and applications selected by parents.

Victor Yablokov, Head of Mobile Product Line at Kaspersky Lab, commented: “Smartphones are becoming an essential part of modern life and the web browser is one of the most popular features. People use them for all sorts of things. However, even the most tech-savvy web user may sometimes struggle to distinguish fake sites from the real thing. Now, Kaspersky Safe Browser for Windows Phone is here to help, providing automatic protection against fraudulent and inappropriate sites.”

Kaspersky Safe Browser for Windows Phone further extends the portfolio of Kaspersky Lab products for mobile platforms, which currently includes the security solution Kaspersky Internet Security for Android designed for Android-based smartphones and tablets, as well as the Kaspersky Safe Browser for iOS app released in October 2013.

Nokia introduces the Nokia Lumia 1520 in Malaysia

The first 6” Lumia smartphone running on Windows Phone featuring a 20MP cameraand the latest imaging innovations from Nokia Enhanced productivity with built in Microsoft Office for easy sharing and editingKuala Lumpur, 26 November 2013 – Nokia today announced its first 6-inch Lumia smartphone in Malaysia, the Nokia Lumia 1520.

The Nokia Lumia 1520 comes with a 1080p full HD screen with an enhanced start screen featuring an additional 3rd column of live tiles, allowing people to get to their favourite apps faster with less scrolling. Together with the 20MP PureView camera with optical image stabilization, users can capture and tell better stories, and do more of what they want on the go. Nokia Lumia 1520 brings personal stories to life with Nokia’s latest imaging innovations, including Nokia Storyteller and Nokia Camera. The device is also aimed at enhancing productivity with built in Microsoft Office for easy editing and sharing of documents.

“The Lumia 1520 brings industry leading design, hardware and imaging innovation to a bigger screen,” said Gary Chan, Head of Marketing, Nokia Pan Asia. “With our first 6-inch Lumia smartphone, users will be able to enjoy a unique Lumia experience and make the most of the new apps like the Storyteller, Instagram and Vine. Nokia Lumia 1520 also proves to be an excellent device for professionals due to its large screen size and Microsoft Office solutions.”

Telling stories better on a large screen
The Lumia 1520 offers a 6-inch screen and a vivid 1080p full HD display for outstanding outdoor readability. The Lumia 1520 offers the latest imaging innovation from Nokia – a 20MP PureView camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) enabling sharp images even in the dark as well as oversampling and zooming technology similar to the Lumia 1020.

Building on the experiences introduced with Lumia 1020 and now optimized for a larger screen, the Lumia 1520 comes with the new Nokia Camera. Nokia Camera integrates the most popular imaging modes – Pro, Smart and video – into one seamless picture-taking experience. As with the Lumia 1020, the images can tell several stories with the camera’s zooming, reframing and cropping capabilities, and dual capture of low and high resolution pictures.

For outstanding video experience, the Nokia Lumia 1520 camera captures full HD video with crystal-clear audio. It also includes Nokia Rich Recording with four microphones, providing directional stereo recording capability to capture distortion free audio from the preferred direction for accurate and clear sound.

For the first time, PureView imaging meets HERE maps with the launch of Nokia Storyteller merging the two signature Lumia experiences together seamlessly. Re-live memories in a new, dynamic, and interactive way with Nokia Storyteller that automatically integrates pictures with HERE location information into a chronological picture journey on a map. Zooming out of a picture reveals points of interest tagged to the map with contact info, user reviews and even driving directions. Viewing the images on the map makes memories truly come alive with auto playback of video, animated images and sequential movement in a still picture.

Getting more productive
With Microsoft Office built in, the Nokia Lumia 1520 allows people to do what they want, when they want. Viewing and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on the move, while keeping the original formatting becomes even more powerful on a 6-inch screen powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. Backing up documents to 7GB of free and secure cloud storage via SkyDrive or to the micro SD card with up to 64GB more space ensures every edit is stored, also on the go.

The Lumia 1520 also features integrated wireless charging (Qi compatible) that enables people to easily log a whole day of work and enjoy entertainment like movies without worrying about finding a place to charge up.

Enhanced start screen for seeing more
A third column of the Windows Phone live tiles on the Nokia Lumia 1520 allows people to bring more of their important content to the start screen and see more of their calendar, email, notes and music at a glance. Also, an update to the Nokia Glance screen brings notifications on missed calls and new emails to the standby screen.

Price and availability
The Nokia Lumia 1520 will be available in the first week of December in the Klang Valley and in mid-December for the rest of Malaysia at a suggested retail price of RM2,159.

Pre-orders registered on the Nokia Malaysia Facebook page from the 26th of November till 4th December will be entitled to an additional Nokia Coloud Boom headset and a RM160 discount voucher.

Pre-orders for the Nokia Lumia 1520 will also be available on the 26th of November on the Digi Online Store and StoreKini. Pre-orders from StoreKini will be packaged with a free powerbank, 32GB MicroSD card, and a stylus. More information regarding pre-orders from the Digi Online Store can be obtained from their official website. The Lumia 1520 will be available in four colours – yellow, white, red and black.

New payment channel for apps exclusively for DiGi customers
The new Nokia Lumia 1520 comes with an operator billing feature that enables DiGi customers to pay for their app purchases on the Windows Phone Store by deducting the amount spent from their prepaid balance or by adding it to their postpaid bill.

DiGi’s Head of Products – Internet & Services, Praveen Rajan Nadarajan said, “We are pleased to partner Microsoft and Nokia to introduce an alternative payment channel on Nokia Windows Phone devices. DiGi is always innovating ways to improve our customer’s usage experience as we connect more Malaysians to the Internet. This new feature allows customers to leverage on the many possibilities of the mobile phone for added convenience and ease of use.”

Gartner Says Worldwide PC, Tablet and Mobile Phone Shipments to Grow 4.5 Percent in 2013 as Lower-Priced Devices Drive Growth

PC Shipments to Decline 8.4 Percent in 2013, While Tablet Shipments Increase 53.4 Percent

Kuala Lumpur, 23 October 2013 — Worldwide combined shipments of devices (PCs, tablets and mobile phones) are projected to reach 2.32 billion units in 2013, a 4.5 percent increase from 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. The market is being driven by a shift to lower-priced devices in nearly all device categories.

Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs (desk-based and notebook) are forecast to total 303 million units in 2013, an 11.2 percent decline from 2012, and the PC market, including ultramobiles, is forecast to decline 8.4 percent in 2013 (see Table 1). Mobile phone shipments are projected to grow 3.7 percent, with volume of more than 1.8 billion units.

Tablet shipments are expected to grow 53.4 percent this year, with shipments reaching 184 million units. Premium tablets are faced with continued price decline in the 7-inch form factor as a larger number of consumers prefer smaller form factors when it comes to content consumption. A recent consumer study that Gartner conducted in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., the U.S. and Japan confirmed Gartner's long-standing assumption that smaller is better when it comes to consumer tablets. The survey showed that the average screen sizes of the tablets in use across the countries ranged from 8.3 inches to 9.5 inches. Forty-seven percent of the 21,500 consumers surveyed owned a tablet that was 8 inches or less.

As the third-quarter earnings season comes to an end, it is clear that our caution for 2013 was well placed as vendors are transitioning their portfolios to the new Intel processors Bay Trail and Haswell, as well as rolling out products that are based on the Windows 8.1 release.

"While consumers will be bombarded with ads for the new ultramobile devices, we expect their attention to be grabbed but not necessarily their money," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. "Continuing on the trend we saw last year, we expect this holiday season to be all about smaller tablets as even the long-term holiday favorite — the smartphone — loses its appeal.

Table 1

Worldwide Device Shipments by Segment (Thousands of Units)

Device Type	2012	2013	2014
PC (Desk-Based and Notebook)	341,273	303,100	281,568
Ultramobile	9,787	18,598	39,896
Tablet	120,203	184,431	263,229
Mobile Phone	1,746,177	1,810,304	1,905,030
Total	2,217,440	2,316,433	2,489,723

Source: Gartner (October 2013)

"Although the preference is for dedicated devices, we see the opportunity for hybrid ultramobile to marry the functionality of a PC and the form factor of the tablet. Users that have to balance work and play will find that the advantage of buying and carrying one device outweighs the compromise in the full experience that single devices can deliver," said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. "Users who are not limited by their disposable income will likely have a basic tablet as a companion device to the their ultramobile on which most of their consumption activities will take place."

The mobile phone market will continue to experience steady growth, but the opportunity for high average selling price (ASP) smartphones is now ending. Growth is expected to come from mid-tier smartphones in mature markets and low-end Android smartphones in emerging markets.

Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia doesn't have a major impact on the forecast, because Gartner already assumed that Nokia would have accounted for the vast majority of Windows Phone share throughout the forecast, with only minimal volume coming from other OEMs, such as HTC or Samsung.

"Windows Phone challenges in the smartphone market remain the same, with the need to bring on board more developers and enrich the ecosystem, as well as turning the Windows Phone brand into a cool smartphone brand. While there are clear benefits to the acquisition, such as channel strength, carrier relationship and emerging-market knowledge, the brand and ecosystem do not directly benefit from it," said Ms. Milanesi.

The end of Windows XP support in 2014 isn't expected to impact device sales, as Gartner says 90 percent of large enterprises have either migrated or are migrating to Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Android will remain the leading device operating system (OS), as it is on pace to account for 38 percent of shipments in 2013 (see Table 2). The Windows OS is projected to decline 4.3 percent in 2013 as a result of the decline in traditional PC sales, but will return to growth in 2014 with device OS shipments increasing 9.7 percent.

Table 2

Worldwide Device Shipments by Operating System (Thousands of Units)

Operating System	2012	2013	2014
Android	505,509	879,910	1,115,289
Windows	346,468	331,559	363,803
iOS/MacOS	212,875	271,949	338,106
RIM	34,584	23,103	19,297
Others	1,118,004	809,912	653,228
Total	2,217,440	2,316,433	2,489,723

Source: Gartner (October 2013)

Top technology providers see wearable devices as an important market opportunity; however, Gartner expects that wearable devices will primarily remain a companion to mobile phones. Less than 1 percent of consumers will actually replace their mobile phones with a combination of a wearable device and a tablet by 2017.

"For wearables to be successful, they need to add to the user experience by complementing and enhancing what other devices already offer. They also need to be stylish yet practical, and most of all hit the right price," said Ms. Milanesi. "In the short term, we expect consumers to look at wearables as nice to have rather than a "must have," leaving smartphones to play the role of our faithful companion throughout the day."

Nokia Lumia 1020 arrives in Malaysia

Get closer than ever before with the smartphone camera that reinvents zoom

Kuala Lumpur, 19 September 2013 – Nokia today unveiled the Nokia Lumia 1020 in Malaysia, the smartphone that sets a new benchmark in smartphone imaging.

The Lumia 1020 is able to produce some of the sharpest images possible by any digital camera thanks to Nokia’s innovative PureView technology, including a second generation 41 megapixel sensor, ZEISS optics with six lenses and optical image stabilization – allowing people to capture, edit and share photos and videos of professional quality.

Using a new application called Nokia Pro Camera, the Nokia Lumia 1020 reinvents zoom, enabling people to shoot first and then zoom later to discover and re-discover stories that contain more detail than the eye can see. With a beautiful interface that visually demonstrates how settings will affect the final photo or video, Nokia Pro Camera simplifies features usually reserved for professional cameras and teaches people how to take better photos.

“Consumers want to capture and share memorable experiences with their smartphone. We want to take people on a journey from capturing pictures to recording and sharing their lives. The Nokia Lumia 1020 brings new meaning to pictures and continues to strengthen Nokia’s leadership in imaging. The Nokia Lumia 1020 is the first smartphone to exceed many standalone digital cameras in terms of image quality capture ensuring users always have that perfect photo – day or night,” said Gary Chan, Head of Marketing, Pan Asia at Nokia.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is the most versatile digital camera in the market today. Its unique dual capture feature simultaneously takes a high resolution 38 megapixel image for endless editing opportunities, and creates a 5 megapixel picture that is easy to share on social networks with Windows Phone 8.

Delivering crystal clear pictures even in low light conditions, the Nokia Lumia 1020 also captures blur-free videos with stereo sound even at the loudest concerts thanks to Nokia Rich Recording, which handles sound pressure levels six times louder than conventional smartphone microphones.

With over 175,000 apps, the personal nature of Windows Phone makes it the perfect platform for the Nokia Lumia 1020, showcasing live images on the Start screen with the Photos tile, quick sharing to social networks, and easy access to files across a number of devices with SkyDrive. With the dedicated camera button, Windows Phone is designed with imaging in mind.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 also features leading Nokia services. There’s also the leading HERE suite of integrated location services, including HERE Maps with augmented reality featuring LiveSight, which makes it quick and easy to find new places to take photos.

Nokia Camera Grip
To ensure fun and easy taking of photos, Nokia created the Nokia Camera Grip, an accessory designed to perfectly fit the Nokia Lumia 1020 and make it easier to get the shot you want, especially single-handed. The Camera Grip includes a built-in, rechargeable 1020 mAh battery to capture up to 285 more photos. The versatile Nokia Camera Grip can attach to any standard camera tripod for those moments when you need to take self-portraits or set up the perfect long-exposure shot. Colours are subject to stock availability.

Price and availability
The Nokia Lumia 1020 will be available in Malaysia at the end of September in the Klang Valley and in the beginning of October for the rest of the country. The Nokia Lumia 1020 would also be bundled together with the camera grip accessory and is priced at RM2,499.

Nokia has also organized a Nokia Lumia 1020 roadshow in Malaysia from 9th to 13th of October at the North Court, Mid Valley Megamall. Early bird customers at this roadshow will be entitled to take home special goodies upon purchase of the device. In addition to Nokia Stores, the Nokia Lumia 1020 will also be available at Celcom outlets.

MALAYSIA's Office 365 subscribers get Office Mobile for Android phones starting Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Many of you will be pleased to know that, beginning Wednesday 28 August 2013, we will be releasing Office Mobile for Android phones in Malaysia, along with 13 other markets in Asia Pacific (Full list of APAC markets: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Rep. of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Taiwan).

Last November, we delivered a brand new version of Office Mobile, preinstalled on all Windows Phone 8 devices. In June, we released Office Mobile for iPhone as a unique benefit for Office 365 subscribers, and today, we are announcing Office Mobile for Android phones in Malaysia at no additional charge for Office 365 subscribers. This means that Office 365 subscribers can now work on their Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from virtually anywhere--using their Windows Phone, iPhone or Android phones (1Compatible phone and WiFi or mobile network connectivity required. See office.com/mobile.)

Office Mobile for Android phones can be downloaded from the Google Play Store. To use the app, you need a qualifying Office 365 subscription, including Office 365 Home Premium or Office 365 ProPlus (you can find the complete list of qualifying subscriptions here).

So what's great about Office Mobile for Android phones?

A true Office experience

Office Mobile is the official companion to Microsoft Office. Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents look great on your phone, thanks to support for charts, animations, SmartArt Graphics, and shapes. When you make edits or add comments to a document, the formatting and layout remain intact. When you return to your PC or Mac, your document looks like it should.

Easy access

Office Mobile is designed for people on the go.  We made it easy to access your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents in the cloud on SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro.  When you're on your phone, you'll see the list of documents you recently opened on your computer in the Recent Documents panel--no searching needed. And of course, you can view and edit documents you receive in email.

Designed for the phone

Office Mobile has been optimized for the small screen of your phone so you can get things done efficiently.  When reviewing Word documents, the Resume Reading feature takes you to the exact point in the document where you left off on your PC so you don't waste time searching. The new Slide Navigator lets you browse through PowerPoint presentations fast while Speaker Notes help you practice on the run.

Sharing built-in

Edit documents and share them right from your phone. You can review comments in Word and Excel documents on your phone and add your own.  When you're done, you can save the file back to SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro or just send it as an email attachment.

Go ahead and download Office Mobile from the Google Play store today!

(If you want to try Office Mobile for Android phones, but don't have an Office 365 subscription, you can sign up for a free 30 day Office 365 trial at http://www.office.com/. And of course, if you're already using a Windows Phone, then Office Mobile is already installed on your phone.)

Want to learn more? You can find more details in the Office 365 Tech blog.

Sophos Mobile Control, with millions of users already on iOS and Android, now delivers market leading mobile and tablet security on Windows 8

Mobile Device Management leader Sophos delivers an enhanced SaaS version, support for Windows Phone 8, and simplified reporting and administration

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 11, 2013 – Sophos today announced Sophos Mobile Control 3.5, the latest version of its award-winning mobile device management (MDM) solution. Available both on-premise and as-a-service, Sophos Mobile Control 3.5 makes it simple for small and mid-market organizations to secure, monitor and control mobile devices. This new release adds support for Windows Phone 8, as well as reporting and simplified administration to make BYOD (bring your own device) policies easy to define, implement and enforce.

Some recent industry estimates report that as many as 96 percent of organizations now have employees who use both corporate-managed and personal mobile devices for work purposes, forcing IT to adopt new strategies to protect their data on those devices. Even though huge numbers of smartphones and tablets are lost every day, many users don’t enable even basic password protection. Mobile malware and hacking is on the rise and many workers are still using unsecured personal mobile devices to access corporate data—a major concern for organizations trying to protect data while letting users work how they want.

Sophos Mobile Control provides the complete security that IT requires to confidently embrace employee device mobility. This latest version delivers Windows Phone 8 support alongside iPhone/iPad and Android, with self-enrollment and self-service capabilities for users, and allows IT to manage the complete device lifecycle as well as loss & theft scenarios.

Also included is an easy-to-use client app, which provides access to compliance status, messages and support information—allowing for comprehensive reporting and giving IT a holistic view of devices.

Simpler administration is delivered by an updated menu, dashboard and various other workflow improvements. The SaaS version of Sophos Mobile Control 3.5 delivers better integration into corporate IT with a new remote Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) Proxy that enables organizations to block non-compliant devices from receiving email, and remote LDAP support that allows users to easily connect to Active Directory.

“As a financial services firm, we face rigorous compliance and data-loss prevention requirements. That, coupled with the increasing number of smartphones and tablets used by our employees, necessitates the need for a comprehensive solution to serve our mobile users,” said Jack McLaine, Vice President, MIS, VIST Bank. “We have a small IT staff trying to add mobile security to their duties—a considerable challenge, considering they are tasked with protecting personal devices that are often lost or stolen. As you can imagine, we needed to conduct a thorough analysis of mobile offerings, and we ultimately concluded that Sophos Mobile Control best met our requirements while also offering very good value—very simple and very reliable.”

“There are now more smartphones and tablets in use than PCs, so protecting personal mobile devices is a critical piece of any modern IT security strategy, yet many organizations still struggle to enable simple, secure use of these devices. Most Mobile Device Management products were designed for large enterprise security specialists and are impractical for over-stretched IT professionals serving small and medium sized organizations,” said John Shaw, Vice President, Product Management, Sophos.

“We have designed our product to be simple and effective from the start, and as a result, we have experienced 400 percent growth in the last year and now count more than 2.5 million users protected by Sophos Mobile Control.  Our customers recognize that simple security is better security, be it mobile, endpoint or network. With this latest release of Sophos Mobile Control, we continue to make security simple to deploy and enforce, with consistent and robust protection for all devices.”

In related news, Sophos Mobile Control 3.5 recently received a 5 Star rating from SC Magazine in its latest testing of MDM offerings. The review noted that “Sophos Mobile Control provides a full set of features and functionality for management and control of a broad range of mobile devices.” It was also lauded for being easy to deploy and manage.

For more information about Sophos’ mobile offerings, please visit: http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/mobile.aspx.

Microsoft announces Office Mobile for iPhone, 1mil Office 365 Home Premium subscribers in just over 100 days

New Office officially the best-selling Office edition yet, with more than one sold every second on average since it launched

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 June 2013 – Microsoft has released Office Mobile for iPhone available for free from the Apple App Store for Office 365 Home Premium and Office 365 ProPlus subscribers. Similar to its free Office Mobile that ships with every Windows Phone handset, the iPhone app enables great Office content viewing and on-the-go content editing capabilities.

After signing in to their Office 365 account, users can access, view and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from anywhere. And, they can count on Office Mobile to keep all content and formatting intact so documents still look great back on their PC or Mac.

Danny Ong, Chief Marketing and Operations Officer, Microsoft Malaysia.

“When we launched Office 365 earlier this year, we committed to delivering regular updates and new capabilities to Office 365 subscribers. Since then, we've expanded Skype calling and added new OneNote features. Office Mobile is another great example of the value of subscribing to Office 365,” said Danny Ong, Chief Marketing and Operations Officer, Microsoft Malaysia.  

With Office Mobile for iPhone, users enjoy:
• Consistent Office experience - Because Office Mobile is from Microsoft, formatting and layout remain intact when viewing, editing or adding comments, thanks to support for charts, animations, SmartArt graphics and shapes. When users return to their PC or Mac, documents look like it should.
• Easy access - Office Mobile is designed for people on the move.  Users can quickly and easily access Office content in the cloud on SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro. When users are on their iPhones, they’ll easily find the content they’ve viewed on their computer in the Recent Documents panel. And, of course, users can view and edit Office documents sent in email.
• Office optimized for the small screen - Office Mobile has been optimized for the iPhone’s small screen so users can get important things done quickly. For instance, the Slide Navigator allows users to page through PowerPoint presentations fast while Speaker Notes help them practice presentations on the go. When reviewing Word documents on their iPhone, the Resume Reading feature takes users to the exact point in the document where they left off on their computer so they never miss a beat.
• Sharing built in – Users can make quick edits and share documents right from their iPhone with Office Mobile. When working with others, users can review comments in Word and Excel documents on their phone and add their own. When they're done, users can save directly to SkyDrive or SkyDrive Pro or just send as an email attachment.

A video demonstrating the key features of Office Mobile for iPhone is available here: http://youtu.be/nDR150tAOkk. More information about the app is available on the Office Blog at http://aka.ms/Office365-iPhone.

Thanks a million: The best-selling Office edition to date
Microsoft makes this announcement on the back of another recent milestone, when it announced that the new Office suite had officially become the best-selling Office edition yet, with more than one sold every second on average since it launched.

On top of that, in just over 100 days, Office 365 Home Premium has attained more than 1 million subscribers, putting it on pace with some of the most popular services around.

“The numbers are only part of the story. At its core, Office exists to help people get things done, and people tell us they are choosing the service because it delivers full Office, it keeps them always up-to-date and it's a fantastic value.  What's truly exciting is how people are using the service and their newfound flexibility to do great things. From entrepreneurs who are realizing their dreams to families who are finding more time to connect. This is just our way of transforming the way people do things – whether in the way they study, the way they conduct business, or just become more productive on the whole,” said Ong.

A big differentiator of Office 365 Home Premium is its subscription service model, which comes with cloud-connected capabilities. It includes a one-license-for-the-entire-household model (up to five PCs or Macs and on mobile devices), 27 GB of cloud storage with SkyDrive (20 GB more than the perpetual license user), as well as 60 free Skype world calling minutes per month – so calls can be made to selected mobile, landline or PCs around the world. Users will also get ongoing product and services upgrades for as long as they are subscribed to the service. For Office 365 subscribers, this means new features and services stream to subscribers as soon as they’re ready, eliminating the hassles of upgrading and keeping subscribers always up-to-date.

Social video app, Vyclone now available on Nokia Lumia smartphones

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 29 May, 2013 –Nokia today announced the availability of the much sought after social video app called Vyclone on their Nokia Lumia smartphones running on Windows 8. Vyclone, a free app,  allows users to combine videos taken on their smartphones using footage created by other people filming the same event.

Vyclone allows users to instantly create and edit multi-camera movies intuitively without the need for expensive video recorders or editing software. This app also allows users to create a single video, shot by multiple people at the same event. So users can now create a video clip with all the footage captured by anyone using the Vyclone app and also share the content via social networks. Vyclone also enables users to record HD video using Nokia PureView camera optics for crisper imagery and superior audio. Whether it’s displaying the latest skateboarding tricks or showing off musical talents, the Vyclone app is sure to inspire the director in all of us.

“At the heart of providing great experiences on our smartphone range is the new imaging technologies and image processing apps that allow users to make the most of their device.”  said Bryan Biniak, VP & GM, Global Partner and Application Development at Nokia. “Vyclone makes it possible for Nokia Lumia users to not only create exciting videos from multiple angles, but also view and share them on their social network.

Vyclone joins a long list of popular apps available on Nokia Lumia smartphones, which now comprises over 90 per cent of the top 50 apps, including: Temple Run, Burton, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, ESPN Hub, LinkedIn, TripAdvisor, WhatsApp, World of Red Bull and The Sims Medieval. There are more than 145,000 apps available for the Windows Phone platform.

Users can down load the app at  http://bit.ly/10325Jk.

DiGi HACK!@DGCFC – The First Open Standards Mobile Hackathon in Town

DiGi Challenge for Change hackathon receives good response from app developers, designers and industry partners

SHAH ALAM, 5 – 7 April 2013: Last weekend, DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd (‘DiGi’) hosted HACK!@DGCFC, the first open standards mobile hackathon in Malaysia. This is the first hackathon that enables developers to code across all mobile platforms, namely Android, Windows Phone 8, Blackberry 10, HTML5 and iOS. The milestone event held in conjunction with the App Development phase of DiGi’s Challenge for Change Programme (‘DGCFC’) saw participation from over 150 new and seasoned developers and designers between the ages of 18 to 48.

The non-stop 36-hour session was abuzz with activity as developers and designers worked tirelessly to transform the 7 winning ideas from the Ideation Phase, into actual mobile apps. To help participants in their development process, key players from the mobile internet community and the winning ideators dedicated time to provide valuable insights on a variety of mobile app related topics, including:
• Google Malaysia, featuring latest trends, investments and  focus of the Android ecosystem;
• Multimedia Development Corporation’s (MDeC) ICON programme, on spurring entrepreneurship within the mobile developer community;
• UX Malaysia, on designing user experiences that matter;
• App clinics on Android, Windows Phone 8, HTML5, and iOS, with experts from Apptivity Lab and WiredIn;
• National Blood Centre, on functionalities that would help make blood donation apps effective;
• Sessions with the 7 Ideation winners to gain more insight into their ideas.
Some Ideation phase winners also chose to form their own teams to personally develop their ideas into apps, with hopes of also becoming a winner in the App Development phase, complementing their earlier winnings.

Joachim Rajaram, Head of Communications and Corporate Responsibility said DiGi’s first mobile hackathon truly embodies DiGi’s Internet For All mission. “HACK!@DGCFC saw all segments of the mobile internet community come together for one intent: to create the right conditions to fast track development of mobile apps that meet specific Malaysian needs. We believe this collaborative effort with our partners on HACK!@DGCFC and Challenge for Change will help us extend the benefits of mobile internet to as many Malaysians as possible.”

“It was very exciting to see the enthusiasm level among the developers, designers and ideation winners as they worked closely to bring the winning ideas to life. We saw a wide variety of apps in different development maturity cycles during the demo sessions. Some teams demonstrated a lot of foresight by presenting long-term plans to market their apps through peripheral business opportunities with advertisers, accessory retailers and other strategic partners. We are pleased to see the vast talent pool that gathered at HACK!@DGCFC and look forward to see the great apps that will be submitted by the end of the month,” Joachim added.

Apart from the coding marathon, HACK!@DGCFC participants also enjoyed 3 fun-filled days of activities such as movie screenings, basketball shoot-outs, desktop and console games such as XBox 360 Kinect pod, racing arcade games, and more.

While the final winning apps will only be announced in June 2013, five ‘Mini Challenge’ awards were given out at HACK!@DGCFC to deserving teams for their efforts over the weekend. The awards were awarded for the best use of Android, Windows 8 and HTML/BB API platforms; the app with the best User Experience (‘UX’) or User Interface (‘UI’); and the best overall app.

The apps developed at HACK!@DGCFC will be available for download and review by the public on the respective app stores until the Application Development phase closes on 30th April 2013. Subsequently, a panel of judges comprising DiGi’s main programme partners will select seven apps - one from each idea - that best capture the theme of the Challenge in bringing Malaysians together through mobile internet. These winners will be announced at the Challenge For Change finale in June 2013, and will each walk away with RM25,000 in prize money.

HACK!@DGCFC was made possible through the support of official broadband partner TIME dotCom, and supporting event sponsors Blackberry, Nokia, Game Axis, Apptivity Lab, 1337 Ventures, WiredIn, Doof Beanbags and Mountain Dew.

For more information on DiGi Challenge for Change, please visit www.dgcfc.my or Facebook at www.facebook.com/dgcfc.

Below are what some of the partners and participants had to say about HACK!@DGCFC:

“These hackathon events provide interested parties, especially young people, with insights into the start-up environment - for example, operating on shorter turnaround times compared to more traditional industries; and also celebrating failure as a process to achieving success. HACK!@DGCFC was a great effort by DiGi that will definitely help the local app development industry move in the right direction as it will help uncover much needed raw local talent."
- Izwan Ismail, Founder of UX Malaysia who spoke about “Designing Mobile Interfaces that Matter”

“My colleagues and I look forward to the final Social Blood Drive mobile app that will be developed from Challenge for Change. Such an app would help create mass awareness of blood donation activities in locations close existing blood donors or those who are keen to become donors. I found HACK!@DGCFC to be a very “cool” event and the participants, very motivated. They seem to sincerely want to help society at large by making it easier for the public to save lives by becoming blood donors, or at least to spread the spirit of donating blood.  The Challenge for Change platform provides a good opportunity for brilliant minds to come together to create new ideas that can benefit Malaysian communities.”
- Dr. Norris B. Naim, Head of Recruitment and Publicity Division, National Blood Centre who offered an industry perspective on what functionalities would help make blood donation apps more effective

“I am a self-taught programmer. I learned programming from various online and YouTube tutorials.  Programming is sometimes a very lonely pursuit.  So, it is nice to have events such as HACK!@DGCFC where people like me can get to know others in the larger community. I made a lot of valuable contacts at this event like representatives from Microsoft, Google and various mobile platform experts.  Beyond technical skills, I learned more about the business related aspects of the mobile app development industry.  Talking to the ideation winner of the mobile app idea I have chosen to work on also gave me greater insight into his vision for the app.  I am excited to see where this process will take me.”
- 18 year-old student Arvind Naidu, one of the youngest participants at HACK!@DGCFC

“Mobile apps are a trend that is here to stay as everyone these days has a smartphone and data plans are quite cheap. The mobile platform also works to app developers' advantage as individuals can now make money more easily from this area - your market is much larger and you do not need to have a company to develop such apps.  There are also now in-apps purchases that can provide an additional source of income.  For users, they can have easy and affordable access to many useful apps on their mobile phones - for example, GPS or mapping services.  Before, such services were only limited to the tech-savvy.  It is encouraging to see DiGi moving into such events as I believe this is the first hackathon they have organised."
- Vincent Wong, Software Development Manager, the oldest participant at HACK!@DGCFC

“We met through MDeC's ICON Apps Programme, and enjoy participating in hackathons.  We are glad to be able to apply our app development skills to assist Malaysian communities in this challenge.  We were impressed with the organisation of HACK!@DGCFC. This is one of the best hackathons we have participated in so far. The environment and facilities were very conducive to participants’ needs. The DiGi team has been very helpful and this hackathon provided us with good networking opportunities with key players in the industry."
- Seet Daniel, Tan Yin See and Sim Chia Tek,a team of developers who travelled all the way from Penang to participate in HACK!@DGCFC

“We enjoyed the experience as we have never worked on apps from scratch before within a given time deadline. DiGi's Internet For All campaign and its related initiatives are good as more people now use smartphones, and mobile apps can bring convenience to the lives of many Malaysians.  These days, we see more than only game related apps, such as apps that can enhance productivity. Events like HACK!@DGCFC provide a good stage for Malaysians to showcase their talents.”
- IT student Chin Wan Jing and programmer Gan Hansson, team participants at HACK!@DGCFC

Are you ready to make the switch? Nokia launches Nokia Lumia 920 & Lumia 820

Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 ready for Pre-orders

Wait no longer and look no further as we herald in the most innovative smartphones – the Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820.

The new Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 will be retailing for RM1, 999 and RM1, 599 respectively at Nokia retail stores and will arrive in time for Christmas!  Mobile operators Celcom and Digi will also carry the devices and will announce their pricing separately.

Lumia 920

Make a bold statement
The Nokia Lumia 920 is a beauty - with rounded edges, a smooth glass finishing and seamless polycarbonate body - it exudes power and confidence. It boasts a 4.5” PureMotion HD+ display with ClearBlack technology and is the world’s brightest, fastest and most sensitive touchscreen. It also comes with Nokia’s signature PureView imaging technology and Carl Zeiss optics for the ultimate smartphone camera experience. With Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) and a revolutionary floating lens built in, you can rest assured you’ll capture perfect moments in every shot, even in low light conditions.

The compact design of the Nokia Lumia 820 makes it a delight to behold. Sleek and stylish, it comes with a fast 1.5 GHz dual-core SnapDragon S4 processor, with a sensitive 4.3” OLED ClearBlack display. Its interchangeable back covers give you flexibility to match your phone colour to your mood, so you’ll never have a dull moment!

Picture-perfection
The Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 present excellence in imaging with Nokia Smart Shoot – so your group shots will always be picture perfect as you pick the best frames with everyone looking fantastic! With Cinemagraph, you can also create fun and unique moving GIF images to delight your friends and share with your loved ones.

See the world with a new lens
Say ‘adios’ to long web searches as the new Lumia devices come with Nokia City Lens, giving you an augmented reality view of buildings and outlines places of interest around you. Simply point your camera at a desired location and get all the information you need – from restaurants, to awesome shopping retreats and many more!

Lumia 820

Easy-breezy charging flexibility
The Nokia Lumia 920 and Nokia Lumia 820 make charging your device a real breeze as they come with wireless charging capabilities - simply place them on a wireless charging pad and voila! – your device charges up. The inductive Qi technology built into the Nokia Lumia 920 and interchangeable shell covers of the Nokia Lumia 820 ensure that you never have the hassle of dealing with messy wires!

The Nokia Wireless Charging Stand and Nokia Wireless Charging Plate provide easy charging for your devices – just place it on the charging pad for quick and easy charging.

Dance the night away
Convenience is taken to the next level with the Nokia Lumia Purity Pro headset by Monster with Bluetooth and NFC connectivity. You can now sync your favourite tunes wirelessly to the headphones from your Lumia device, and enjoy a power-packed listening experience with Dolby Headphone and stereo sound technology. Simply fold or unfold your headset to turn the headphones on and off, or to activate the Bluetooth function.

Having guests over? Plug in your JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker for big sound and great entertainment that’s guaranteed to pump-start any party! The speaker has a wireless charging pad so you can charge up your device while your friends dance the house down!

Pre-orders
Both Nokia Lumia devices come with an impressive list of unique features whereas the Windows Phone 8 provides a more personal smartphone experience. What’s more, Nokia is bringing these new series of Lumia smartphones first to our doting fans through our exclusive pre-ordering campaign. Customers can now pre-order their Nokia Lumia handset from Friday, 7 December at all Nokia Stores.

Submit your #Switch and win!
We want five people to start the New Year’s with a bang! That is why we are giving away three Nokia Lumia 920s and two Nokia Lumia 820s to the five best entries. The closing date is Monday 31, December – which is plenty of time to tell us why you would #Switch to Nokia Lumia via this website: www.facebook.com/NokiaMalaysia. The lucky winners will be announced in early January 2013.

Pricing and availability:
Nokia Lumia 920 (Black, white, yellow, red) S.R.P. RM1,999, 21 December, 2012.
Nokia Lumia 820(Black and white) (wireless charging shell covers available in white, black, cyan, red, yellow) S.R.P. RM1,599,  21 December, 2012.

U MOBILE LEADS THE WAY WITH HTC 8X

Telco the First to Offer Windows 8 Smartphone Bundling with Unique All-In-One Postpaid Plans 

Kuala Lumpur, 3 December 2012 – U Mobile Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s most innovative and dynamic telco, enthuses the market once again by being the first telco to offer Windows 8 smartphones through its latest HTC 8X bundling package. The newest HTC Windows smartphone sensation is paired with U Mobile’s affordable postpaid package.

In its promise to continue offering the latest devices in the market to cater to customers’ needs, U Mobile is now pairing the HTC 8X with its unique postpaid plans that comes with high speed mobile data, voice and SMS within a single package. Customers can take home the new HTC 8X from as low as RM1,059 with U Mobile’s one of its kind postpaid plan, enabling them to own their dream device without breaking their budget.

The HTC 8X is equipped with the Qualcomm® S4 1.5 GHz, dual-core processor that enables users to enjoy seamless mobile performance. Powered with the Windows Phone 8 OS, one of the most buzzed-about mobile operating systems in the market, subscribers can enjoy a brand new mobile experience with the HTC 8X. Videos can also be enjoyed with vivid images and exceptional quality audio through the 4.3 inches S-LCD2 capacitive touchscreen and Beats Audio™ sound feature – streamed with U Mobile’s high speed mobile internet with speeds up to 42Mbps.

Jaffa Sany Ariffin, CEO of U Mobile said, “Smartphone users and intenders today are spoilt for choices with the many devices available in the market today. Staying true to our claim of being a customer-focused telco, we commit to offer the latest devices in the market paired with our exciting postpaid plans, which offer users affordability and unrivalled mobile experience through our high speed mobile internet.”

“With the activation of our 3G Radio Access Network (RAN) sharing with Maxis, U Mobile is bringing people closer by connecting them through high-quality and cost-efficient mobile services,” he added.

The HTC 8X is available now at all U Mobile outlets nationwide.

U Mobile’s postpaid plans are designed to cater to customer’s individual usage patterns. For the ultimate mobile users, who consume high volumes of data and are always on the go, the U88 plan is the best fit as it offers high speed mobile internet up to 3GB and comes with 300 minutes of free calls and 300 free SMS. Average data users who enjoy surfing, social networking and frequent calls can opt for the U58 plan, which includes data up to 2GB with 300 minutes of free calls. The U28 plan, on the other hand, best suits those who are mindful of their spending. This plan comes with 1GB of data with 300 free SMS. 

For more information on U Mobile’s latest products and promotions log on to www.u.com.my.

MICROSOFT IMAGINE CUP 2012 MALAYSIA FINALS SHOWCASE TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGY LEADERS

The largest technology competition in the world kicks off its finals today in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Kota Kinabalu, 16 May 2012 – Thousands of students from 21 Higher Education Institutions across the nation have been working hard to compete in the final leg of the tenth annual Imagine Cup 2012 Malaysia Finals. However only 112 finalists from 16 Colleges and Universities around Malaysia were able to make it through to the local finale of Imagine Cup 2012, a competition that gives students around the world a chance to unlock their creative genius and generate ideas to solve the world’s toughest problems using technology.

Based on the theme of this year’s competition – “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problem”, students will be empowered to use their creative and technical abilities to make a positive impact on society while creating technology solutions that combat diseases, improve education, ensure environmental sustainability, reduce child mortality, and tackle other social challenges. From a pool of 47 teams, 30 teams have been selected for the Malaysian finals based on their innovative technology solutions submitted.

“Having been in Malaysia for almost 20 years now, we are committed to help Malaysia transform education by providing students with the opportunity and tools to unleash their creative and innovative potential and imagine a better world. This is where Imagine Cup comes in: it showcases the inventiveness, maturity and sophisticated thinking of Malaysian students to address the world’s challenges in new ways and deliver innovative technology solutions that can truly change and solve global issues,” said Ananth Lazarus, Managing Director, Microsoft Malaysia.

“Over the years, through Imagine Cup we have invested in human capital by equipping students with cutting edge technology that will nurture an innovative, knowledgeable and well-prepared workforce. We believe that young people have the greatest ability to make a positive impact on the world and we are committed to provide students with tomorrow’s tools for today’s success. We wish all the finalists the best of luck in what will be an intense day of competition,” added Mr. Lazarus.

Students and teams in the Imagine Cup finals will compete with each other for the following awards and challenges within the Software Design category:

1. Windows Phone Challenge
• Students will have the chance to be among the first developers ever to build XAP (an XML-based framework) Applications for Windows Phone. Students are challenged to create an XAP Application that not only will help solve the world’s toughest problems, but that people will also love having on their Windows Phone. Applications submitted will be judged based on originality, innovation, and how the solution leverages mobile technology by incorporating the Windows Phone platform.

2. Kinect Fun Labs Challenge
- The Imagine Cup 2012 Kinect Fun Labs Challenge asks students to think about entertainment with a social conscience and brings the Imagine Cup into the living room. It is a unique opportunity for students to develop applications that change the world for the Fun Labs area of Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE. This Challenge will test your Team’s ability to build a prototype which leverages natural user interface (NUI) features such as skeletal tracking, speech recognition, face recognition, and gestures.
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3. Social Cause Award
- -This award will be given to the team that best demonstrate this year’s theme “Imagine a world where technology helps solve the toughest problems”, which is drawn from the eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The Imagine Cup has called on programmers, designers, and technologists to rise to this challenge and use these Development Goals as their inspiration.

4. Innovations Award
- This award will be presented to the submission that utilizes breakthrough technology to bring new approaches to conventional software ideas, and the new opportunities that it brings forth.

5. Presentation Stars
- Recognition for the team that demonstrates the most outstanding teamwork and presentation. They have to win over the hearts of their audience and judges with their software skills.

The Malaysian team winner will be announced tomorrow night, at the Imagine Cup Malaysian Finals gala dinner.

“For me the Imagine Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn new skills and explore the power of software, make new friends who share my passion for innovation use technology to create green solutions, and leverage the event as a starting point in my career,” said Alexander Wong, Final Year BSc (Hons) Computing Web Development student at Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT).” Quite possibly, this may be my chance to change the world! To represent Malaysia at the worldwide finals, will be a great plus on my resume.”

The annual event, conceptualized by Microsoft with the strong backing and support from the Ministry of Higher Education and partners such as Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Prestariang Sdn. Bhd., as well as other partners and sponsors has become known as the Olympics of student technology competitions.

The Imagine Cup, now in its tenth year, challenges students to imagine a better world enabled by their own talent and also to contribute directly to the future of technology, software and computing. Teams develop innovative technological and digital projects that offer real-world solutions to real-world problems.

For more information on Imagine Cup, please visit www.imaginecup.com

“Smoked by Windows Phone” Challenge Hits Kuala Lumpur!

If you think your smartphone is faster than a Windows Phone, take the challenge and win a RM100 voucher or admit to the world your smartphone was smoked!

Kuala Lumpur, 12 April 2012 – “Smoked By Windows Phone,” the much talked-about Microsoft challenge that confidently pits Windows Phone against any of the world’s most popular smartphones in simple, everyday tasks, is now in Kuala Lumpur from now until the end of May 2012. The challenge was first launched at CES 2012 in Las Vegas earlier this year and has spread worldwide like a wildfire; having already taken place in Singapore, Jakarta and Hong Kong in Asia alone. The Kuala Lumpur leg is hosted by popular Fly FM DJ Ben a.k.a Ben Jern (@benjern), who is also an all-out Windows Phone enthusiast.

To participate, all challengers need to do is bring their own smartphone, use the same secure and dedicated Wi-Fi or mobile broadband hotspot that the Windows Phone user is on for a level playing field, and execute simple tasks like snapping a photo, posting status updates across Twitter, Facebook and other social networks, finding out important information as quickly as possible, or other daily tasks that typical smartphone users do. If the challenger successfully completes the task faster than the Windows Phone user, they win the challenge and will receive a shopping voucher worth RM100 on the spot!

“When Microsoft contacted me with the opportunity to host the Smoked By Windows challenge in Kuala Lumpur, it got me really excited! I can’t wait to see you eager challengers soon!” said Ben.

He continued, “I’ve been a big fan of smart phones for ages and was among one of the first adopters of the Windows Mobile platform among my peers. Among all the platforms out there, it’s really great to see how Windows Mobile has matured making it possibly one of the simplest mobile operating systems to use! I really like how it makes the things that I and other real people do every day on our phones easier and faster. Windows Phone presents instant information on the stuff that matters to me with Live Tiles, makes it easier to connect with the people I care about with built-in Social Networking, and helps me find what I’m looking for with Bing Search.”

The Smoked By Windows Challenge recently had Ben meet challengers on the streets of Kuala Lumpur in the vicinity of Times Square, Bukit Bintang and Pavillion. Ben has also taken the challenge to students, lecturers and staff at Inti University College, Subang Jaya. A preview of how some of the challenges went is now available at: http://aka.ms/SBWPPreview.

Challengers can next encounter Ben and the Smoked By Windows Phone challenge at this weekend’s PC Fair, held from 14-15 April 2012 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center.

Regular updates to the Smoked By Windows Phone Challenge, including challenge venues and videos of people taking the challenge, are available at:
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/windowsphonemalaysia
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/microsoftmalaysia
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/mymicrosoft (Hashtag: #SmokedByWindowsPhone)

Nokia advances on its new strategic direction, rolls out range of new mobile devices and services

Barcelona, Spain - Nokia today introduced a range of new products, services and partnerships at Mobile World Congress, setting the pace for 2012 and demonstrating rapid execution of its new strategic direction. The new strategy already has resulted in the adoption of Windows Phone as Nokia’s primary smartphone platform, major changes to its feature phones, and additional emphasis on location-based services with the launch of its Location & Commerce business.

“One year ago, we shared that Nokia was embarking on a new journey to build great mobile devices,” said Stephen Elop, president and CEO of Nokia. “Today, with our fourth Lumia device, smarter mobile phones and an array of new services, we are demonstrating that we can change the clock speed of Nokia.”

Lumia portfolio extends, availability expands
Nokia has extended the range of products with Windows Phone by introducing the Nokia Lumia 610, the most affordable Lumia yet, as well as targeting availability of the widely acclaimed Lumia 900 to additional markets beyond the U.S.

Aimed at young people who want an affordable introduction to Lumia and Windows Phone, the Nokia Lumia 610 provides easy access to social networks, web browsing, music, games, navigation and tens of thousands of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace. It comes in four vibrant colors and will cost just €189, before taxes or subsidies, and is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

The Nokia Lumia 900, which launched in January as Nokia’s first LTE-enabled smartphone, will now be available in Dual Carrier HSPA for up 42.2 Mbps. The superior content experience of the phone’s 4.3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display and large capacity battery will be available to more countries around the world.

Nokia announced Nokia Reading providing a single, integrated reading hub experience. Nokia Reading makes it easier and faster to enjoy news, books, and audio books including an extensive catalogue of local language reading material and the ability to access content offline.

The announcements cap a year in which Nokia introduced the Lumia 710, Lumia 800 and Lumia 900 to critical acclaim and ahead of schedule.

New era in smartphone imaging starts with Nokia 808 PureView
Nokia also today ushered in a new era in high end smartphone imaging. The Nokia 808 PureView is the first smartphone to feature exclusive Nokia PureView imaging technologies that will enable a range of high-end imaging experiences into Nokia products over the coming years. The Nokia 808 PureView combines a large, high-resolution 41-megapixel sensor, Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia-developed pixel over-sampling technology. This means incredibly sharp, detailed images, superior low light performance and the capability to save images in compact file sizes for sharing in email, MMS and on social networks.

The Nokia 808 PureView also includes Nokia Rich Recording for CD-like quality audio recording, full HD 1080p video recording and playback, and exclusive Dolby Headphone technology to transform any stereo content into a personal surround sound experience over any headphones.

Asha ignites smarter feature phones
Nokia is further blurring the line between feature phones and smartphones, launching three new Asha devices for people who want to work, learn and play. Developed for urban consumers and entrepreneurs, the Nokia Asha 302 is a premium QWERTY device. It delivers a mobile office experience with push email and calendar, and contacts synchronization under the Mail for Exchange support – a first for Nokia Series 40 devices.

Designed for easy access to social networks, the Nokia Asha 202 and 203 bring touchscreens to volume-priced products and a pack of 40 free Electronic Arts games. The Asha 202 also features Nokia’s Easy Swap Dual SIM technology, allowing people to simply swap between tariffs and get the best value from carriers.

Nokia is also differentiating itself by updating its popular Life Tools service, now called Nokia Life, that provides life-enhancing information across the range of Nokia Series 30 and Series 40 products, including the new Asha 202 and Asha 203. People in India, China, Indonesia and Nigeria will benefit from life skills, parenting, education, agriculture and entertainment services, delivered via SMS.

The new Asha devices complement the Nokia Asha range that is available now in more than 100 markets globally.

Going further, faster
In location-based services, Nokia and Groupon plan to offer market-leading location-sensitive discounts and deals. Nokia is also announcing a new version of Nokia Drive for Windows Phone that will come with full offline support for turn-by-turn navigation. Moving forward, Nokia Drive will also remember a personal commute, give advance traffic notice and automatically re-route to avoid jams.

Additionally, Nokia plans to release the Windows Phone version of Nokia Transport for door-to-door, underground, tram, suburban train, and bus directions in more than 500 cities and 45 countries.

Nokia expands Lumia experience to new price points and geographies

Barcelona, Spain and Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced the next stage in its plans to introduce unique Lumia experiences to more people around the world.

The new Nokia Lumia 610 is Nokia’s fourth and most affordable Lumia smartphone, designed as the perfect introduction to Windows Phone for a younger audience. The Nokia Lumia 610 makes it easy to keep in touch with friends, providing instant access to social networks and bringing all mobile, email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contacts into one place. It also makes it easier to browse the Web with Internet Explorer and to access games through Xbox Live. Available with Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive, Nokia Transport and Nokia Music, people can also choose from thousands of apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace to further personalize the experience.

With a distinctive profile and finely beveled metallic edges, the Nokia Lumia 610 is built to convey both quality and aspiration. It comes in white, cyan, magenta and black, is priced at EUR189* and is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

The Nokia Lumia 610 was made possible thanks to a new software release from Microsoft delivering enhanced capabilities to the Windows Phone 7.5 platform. The software release, available from April optimizes Windows Phone to support lower memory and processor requirements, while still delivering the same great experience for more affordable products. In addition, Windows Phone will now include the network and language requirements for China. As a result, Nokia announced plans to make a range of Lumia smartphones available in China, covering both CDMA and WCDMA technologies, in the coming months.

After launching the Nokia Lumia 900 as its first LTE smartphone, Nokia is also making the phone available around the world in a DC-HSPA variant, for high speed data connection (42Mbits download) in countries where LTE is not available. The Nokia Lumia 900 features a 4.3 inch ClearBlack AMOLED display for a superior touch and viewing experience. It also features Nokia’s highest capacity battery making it the perfect Lumia phone for enjoying media and entertainment on the move. The primary camera on the Nokia Lumia 900 has exclusive Carl Zeiss optics, a large aperture for improved performance in low light conditions and wide angle focal length for capturing full 16:9 images. It is also the first Lumia phone to feature a front-facing camera, with large aperture and wide-angle lens for sharp, bright images and video calling out of the box.

The Nokia Lumia 900 will be available in white, cyan and black, is priced at EUR 480* and also expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

The Lumia range will also benefit from the launch of new signature Nokia experiences on the Windows Phone platform:

- Nokia Reading is the next milestone in Nokia’s strategy to offer a comprehensive entertainment experience on Lumia. Nokia Reading provides a single, integrated hub experience, leveraging a panorama design to make it easier and faster to enjoy news, ebooks and audio books, including the ability to access content offline and pin dynamic content to the start screen as a Live Tile. With an emphasis on local language materials wherever it becomes available, Nokia Reading delivers a highly personalized and locally relevant service. Future updates will include the ability to build dynamic magazines from feeds for a single integrated view of favourite online content. With no sign-in or subscriptions, Nokia Reading will be available from April.

- Nokia Transport, coming to Lumia for the first time, provides convenient door-to-door, underground, tram, suburban train, and bus directions for over 500 cities across 46 countries. With step-by-step directions to the nearest station as well as timetable information on when the next bus or train is arriving for more than 80 cities, Nokia Transport will be available to download from the Windows Phone Marketplace in March.

- A new update to Nokia Drive, the free voice-guided, turn by turn navigation app that turns any Lumia smartphone into a personal navigation device will provide full offline use and features speed limit alerts. The update will also be available to download from the Windows Phone Marketplace in March.

Nokia 808 PureView ushers in a revolution in smartphone imaging

Nokia sets a new industry standard with the first in a range of high end experiences based on exclusive Nokia PureView imaging technologies.

Barcelona, Spain - Nokia today ushered in a new era in high-end smartphone imaging with the Nokia 808 PureView. This is the first smartphone to feature Nokia PureView imaging technologies, bringing together high resolution sensors, exclusive Carl Zeiss optics and Nokia developed algorithms, which will support new high-end imaging experiences for future Nokia products.

The Nokia 808 PureView features a large, high-resolution 41 megapixel sensor with high-performance Carl Zeiss optics and new pixel oversampling technology. At standard resolutions (2/3, 5 and 8 megapixels) this means the ability to zoom without loss of clarity and capture seven pixels of information, condensing into one pixel for the sharpest images imaginable. At high-resolution (38 megapixel maximum) it means the ability to capture an image, then zoom, reframe, crop and resize afterwards to expose previously unseen levels of details. With superior low-light performance and the ability to save in compact file sizes for sharing in email, MMS, and on social networks, the Nokia 808 PureView makes it possible for anyone to capture professional looking images in any conditions.

In addition to superior still imaging technology, the Nokia 808 PureView, also includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X lossless zoom and the world’s first use of Nokia Rich Recording. Rich Recording enables audio recording at CD-like levels of quality, previously only possible with external microphones. The Nokia 808 PureView also features exclusive Dolby Headphone technology, transforming stereo content into a personal surround sound experience over any headphones and Dolby Digital Plus for 5.1 channel surround sound playback.

“Nokia PureView imaging technology sets a new industry standard by whatever measure you use,” said Jo Harlow, executive vice president of Nokia Smart Devices. “People will inevitably focus on the 41 megapixel sensor, but the real quantum leap is how the pixels are used to deliver breath-taking image quality at any resolution and the freedom it provides to choose the story you want to tell.”

Nokia expands its Asha range with smarter feature phones that improve ways to work, learn and play

Barcelona, Spain - Accelerating its capability to connect the next billion people to the internet, Nokia today unveiled additional services and three more Asha feature phone models -- the Nokia Asha 202, Asha 203 and Asha 302 -- at Mobile World Congress.

Designed to deliver a variety of affordable mobile experiences, the new offerings target three dimensions: Work, with Mail for Exchange support for the Nokia Asha 302; Learn, bringing new information services for young, urban consumers, and a fast, cloud-based browser that reduces internet access costs; and Play, with free EA games available on the Nokia Asha 202 and Asha 203.

“Since outlining a new strategy a year ago, we’ve taken significant actions to deliver against it,” said Mary T. McDowell, Nokia’s executive vice president for Mobile Phones. “We’ve been connecting the next billion people to the mobile world and its benefits through contemporary feature phones and internet services. Today, we are taking another step in that direction, with a compelling combination of smarter mobile devices packed with innovative services.”

Nokia Life benefits 50 million users
Nokia also announced an evolution of Nokia Life Tools, Nokia Life, which provides life-enhancing information across the range of Nokia Series 30 and Series 40 products. Now with additional relevant services, social elements and fresher look, it’s available first on the Nokia Asha 202 and 203 phones. Since its 2009 launch in India, the SMS-based service has expanded to China, Indonesia and Nigeria. To date, more than 50 million people have experienced its benefits.

Nokia Life delivers content in the areas of parenting, life skills, education, health, entertainment and agriculture. For example, Nokia Life can help parents focus on children’s physical, emotional and social growth needs, from birth to adolescence. People can also learn English using basic SMS communications, and enjoy ringtones, sport news and trivia.

“Nokia Life services provide an entry to the world of digital content and an internet-like experience for many people who don’t yet have access to data plans” said Dieter May, Nokia’s senior vice president of Mobile Phone Services. “With today’s news, we’re enhancing our services to bring consumers an even more enjoyable experience on the new Asha phones, with content that matters to them in their daily lives, is fun and helps them progress.”

Nokia Asha family expands
The Nokia Asha family has expanded rapidly since its debut, just four months ago, with four devices presented at Nokia World 2011. It’s now available in more than 100 markets globally and will be complemented by three devices announced today.

Nokia’s Asha 202 and 203 phones stand out with the combination of a traditional keypad with a 2.4- inch touch screen, ideal for browsing, scrolling and opening applications. The Asha 202 features Dual SIM Easy Swap technology with dedicated SIM manager to personalize the phone and save up to five SIM cards with unique information. Both devices come with a 2-megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, Nokia Browser, and Bluetooth connectivity, and can handle memory cards up to 32GB. Estimated retail price for each is about EUR 60, excluding taxes and subsidies, and both are expected to start shipping in the second quarter of 2012.

Nokia and EA have teamed on innovative ways to bring games to the next billion. The Nokia Asha 202 and 203 will be the first Series 40 devices to offer EA games. As a 60-day promotion at Nokia Store, the EUR 75 separate cost of an EA 40-game pack - including popular titles such as Tetris, Need for Speed, The Run and Bejeweled – will be automatically waived for buyers of either new model.

The Nokia Asha 302 is Nokia’s first Series 40 phone to support Mail for Exchange, giving people access to their emails, contacts and calendar on an exchange server. That and a stylish QWERTY keyboard make it ideal for young entrepreneurs and professionals seeking a beautifully designed phone. Additionally, the Nokia Asha connects to popular social networks and enables chatting through Whatsapp and other IM services. The Nokia Asha 302 is powered by a 1-GHz processor and supports 3.5G data speeds. It is available now for about EUR 95.

"With today's announcement, Nokia has accelerated the truly global opportunity for enterprise mobility," according to Nicholas McQuire, research director enterprise mobility strategies EMEA for IDC.

"By making Mail For Exchange available for the sub 100 euros mobile device market, Nokia has taken a significant step in helping businesses across the globe, including those from high growth economies, achieve the productivity and employee satisfaction benefits that greater mobility affords them."

Nokia Browser helps consumers and operators to significantly cut costs
All three new devices provide a fast and affordable internet experience via Nokia’s cloud-accelerated Nokia Browser, which makes internet content easy to discover with its localized and personalized home page design and portal to thousands of web apps. In addition to its speed, the browser compresses data traffic up to 90 percent, meaning cost reductions for consumers and operators, who can have better network utilization. Nokia Browser has been rapidly adopted, with almost four new users around the world activating it every second. It is available today in more than 200 markets.