BIZ TECH

Etisalat, hSenid Mobile pioneer :

Mobile Application Eco-System

Etisalat Lanka partnered with hSenid Mobile in launching the country’s first Mobile Application platform, not only allowing users to browse and download applications, but significantly creating the opportunity for Sri-Lankan mobile application developers to create, test and sell their own unique applications. For the first time in Sri Lanka the development of mobile applications will not be restricted to a professional few. The stage has been set for all budding Sri-Lankan mobile software developers to experience rapid development and commercialization of their mobile applications.

School children, university students, free lancers, professionals and software development companies all now will get the opportunity to develop and sell mobile applications on this platform. This opens up a new breed of entrepreneurs amongst local application developers enhancing their presence in the region.

Together with hSenid Mobile, providing the technology platform for the Developer Portal, Etisalat invites all Sri Lankan application developers to join this ‘App Revolution’, by creating and submitting their mobile applications to the Etisalat-hSenid Mobile Application Developer Portal, as it paves the way to take creations from one’s home to the global platform.

Etisalat Lanka will open the ‘App Zone’, the first application store launched in Sri Lanka by a network operator. This will allow consumers to browse and download from a versatile variety of applications, accessible to all Etisalat subscribers and compatible with all handsets.

Application developers will need to visit the Etisalat Mobile App Forum (www.appzone.lk) powered by hSenid Mobile, use the development kits provided to develop application, test it with the simulators provided and submit it for approval and commercialization. Etisalat will share a significant portion of the revenue share obtained through selling these applications with the application developer. The developer will also get the chance to share the application nationally and internationally thereby having the chance to build a reputation for himself.

Etisalat CEO Dumindra Ratnayaka agreed that most of today’s highly penetrated value added services are offered on mobile applications, therefore creating immense potential for applications ranging from very simple to complex ones. ‘We strongly believe that application development should be promoted by opening the door to anyone interested in that sphere.

This is the first step in taking Sri Lanka to the global mobile application development stage.’

Members of Etisalat and hSenid Mobile’s technical team will visit some of Sri Lanka’s foremost IT institutions with the hope of educating and enrolling potential talent to join them. They will also host a workshop at the mBillionth South Asian Conference and Workshop on June 10 to 12 on Mobile Content and Application Development for which both Etisalat and hSenid Mobile are strategic partners.

“We have come forward as the strategic partner for the regions first mobile content award mBillionth award and the region’s very first conference on mobile content and applications as we consider this an ideal platform to promote Mobile application development for the first time in Sri Lanka. We want to go beyond the few professionals who have monopolized the sphere thus far and create opportunity for all-we mean university students, free lance developers, professionals and software development companies,” Ratnayake said.

Infotel 2010 begins September 30

Sri Lanka’s flagship ICT Expo - Infotel 2010 - will be held under the theme “IT’s about Growth” from September 30 to October 4, 2010 at BMICH organized by

the Federation of Information Technology Industry of Sri Lanka (FITIS).

A series of programs parallel to the Infotel 2010 ICT Expo will be organized coinciding with the National ICT Week 2010.

“As Sri Lanka is poised for a new chapter of accelerated economic growth, this year’s Infotel theme “IT’s About Growth” epitomizes the vital role of IT in building Sri Lanka’s new economy” FITIS Chairman Govind Nangrani said.

“Infotel 2010 offers an ideal platform for ICT stakeholders in Sri Lanka and the neighbouring South Asian Region to explore and capitalize the new growth and wealth creation opportunities in Sri Lanka,” he said.

“One of the key highlights of the Infotel 2010 Expo is the participation of global telecommunications vendors building value similar to the GSM Congress in Spain,” he said.

Participants at Infotel 2010 will range from high profile ICT decision makers, visionary CEOs, business and professional leaders, academia and tech savvy individuals to high school and university students, ICT knowledge seekers and early adopters of technology.

Over 100 companies will be participating at the Infotel 2010 ICT Expo which is expected to attract large numbers of visitors this year too.

Apple iPhone 4 sets record sale

Sales of Apple Inc’s latest iPhone blew away expectations in its first day on the market despite shortages and an embarrassing online ordering glitch that thwarted many shoppers.

Apple shares rose nearly 3 percent on Wednesday after it announced sales of more than 600,000 iPhone 4s, a record for just a single day of pre-orders.

That put the device on track to surpass sales of its previous iPhone models as well as its iPad tablet computer, and sounded a strong challenge to rivals like Nokia Corp, which warned of weaker-than-expected sales at its phones unit. But Apple apologized for having to halt sales temporarily after the surprising volume of online interest overloaded order and approval systems and supplies ran out.

Apple’s website said Wednesday afternoon that products ordered then would be shipped by July 14, three weeks after the phone’s scheduled June 24 launch in stores and slower than the July 2 shipment promised earlier in the day. The site was still slow on Wednesday, making it unclear if orders were going through.

The phone’s exclusive U.S. carrier AT&T Inc said it had halted pre-orders and that sales would resume as soon as inventory becomes available.

The Apple faithful appeared unconcerned. Analysts say the new iPhone would likely to surpass sales of the last iPhone 3GS model, about 1 million units of which moved in its first three days. Helping drive that stellar performance will be an influx of new users jumping on the smartphone boom, as well as a two-year replacement cycle for existing iPhone fans.

Reuters

Virtusa celebrates Environment Day

Virtusa celebrated its 2010 Environment Day on June 4, with the aim to create awareness across all regions of operations, by uniting its employees to conserve the diversity of life on the planet and educating them on the current status of environmental biodiversity. Themed, Save Species. Save Planet. Save Future, the Virtusa Environment Day is a program under the Virtusa Code Green banner supporting the World Environment Day (WED) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

As part of the pre-event activities, many competitions like debates, Flickr photography, video and drawing/painting competitions were organized. The competitions were open to Virtusans and their children. The Virtusa Environment Day event on June 4, at the company’s facility in Orion City, consisted of an environment awareness session and exhibits/stalls from different organizations showcasing and featuring environment-friendly products and services.