IT

Sala Enterprises 'Drop and Win' promotion

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Sala Enterprises will offer its loyal customers a range of prizes under its 'Drop and Win' promotional campaign.

Our customers will be offered fabulous gifts with every purchase of Prolink product. A coupon will be given to the customer to enable him/her to enter the draw drop the filled coupon to the box provided at our outlets, Sala Enterprises Managing Director Chaintaka Wijewickrama told the Daily News Business.

There is a keen interest on latest technological developments and when it comes to introducing technological advancements our country is on par with many developed countries. This is an encouraging trend and we need to popularized technology to bridge the digital gap, he said.

While providing technology at an affordable price to customers, Sala Enterprises has been in the forefront of bringing in latest devices to the local market.

We have a host of new products including pen type digital microscope, e-pad, wireless presenter and wireless network cameras which we believe will be welcomed by the new generation. Our prime concern is to make this new technology accessible to the general public. Hence our products are cost effective while offering the high quality reliable products, he said.

Anroid the latest progress in mobile

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka has achieved fast mobile/voice penetration and it has reached 90 percent, this technology has changed the lifestyle of thousands of people.

Sri Lanka has greater mobile penetration compared to the other countries in the region. In keeping with the world trends the feature phones evolved into different platforms making the evolution a success, Etisalat Postpay and Broadband Marketing Manager Gamika De Silva in an interview with the Daily News Business.

The emergence of Anroid into the market was the latest progress in the mobile application and Anroid can be inbuilt into the system. This was an opportunity for other hand sets to penetrate the market, he said.

However, Sri Lankan market is still at an amateur stage of Anroid. As a mobile operator we plan to fuel the growth of this category. The initial step will be to educate target segments.

Etisalat has made available tablets at an affordable price ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 100,000 to suit the requirements of the customers. The end user will get the benefit of Sinhala and Tamil SMS platform in a compatible mode.

This was a success and moving from this point set browser was introduced. This is the only browser to read Sinhala and was launched at the recently held Anroid forum in Colombo.

This facility is still at the initial stage. This is a one touch and user friendly as user interface is easier.

"Our vision is to widen the category and increase the penetration. We expect the penetration to double or triple within the next two to three years. The smart phones are the next stage," he said.

There is a road map for 2012 on new products. The App zone which is to develop applications for Etisalat will be restricted to SMS based solutions. App solutions will be released in January showcasing the Sri Lankan developers. This will be extended to deep dive into App zone.

The business community including the corporates which use SMS in traditional way Anroid will be a benefit to them. Etisalat will conduct the third Anroid forum for the business community where it intends to share success. The forum is expected to make the business community understand the application, as it is cost effective.

The first Anroid forum feed back provided a learning experience and enabled to create hype.

Etisalat will be looking forward to seasonal promotions activities and a host of value added services will be on offer to its valued customers.

It will expand the price range of different tires. The 3G technology which is taking innovative drive where Etisalat was the pioneers in facilitating the development of Anroid. The third phase of expansion is currently underway.

Etisalat focuses on fast, safe and meaningful internet by providing necessary devices such as netnanny to control unnecessary software.

There is a large number of software developed in the world. Parents now could have the fullest control of what sites they need to allow their children view. They could prevent unwanted sites been picked up. It is important to provide education and increase knowledge as there are tools available for prevention, De Silva said.

e-Swabhimani awards ceremony

The 2011 budget contains several proposals which are a shot in the arm for using ICT in all sectors targeting national development, says Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

The Minister who was the Chief Guest at the e-Swabhimani 2011 Awards presentation held at Water's Edge in Colombo recently, said that through the budget the President had assigned a pivotal role to ICT and the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA).

Participating at the occasion as Guest of Honour President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga said that the President had always championed the use of ICT in all sectors aimed at national development. The Secretary said that this had resulted in several strides in ICT for national development in several sectors including education, public administration and private enterprise.

ICTA which, he said, he always appreciated as the apex institution ensuring ICT4 development, was doing a great service by the e-Swabhimani 2011 event.

e-Swabhimani is the third event and has shown more improvement from the point of view of the e-content projects. With each phase we should ask ourselves what more could be done to improve the comfort of the people by the use of ICT.

We saw the inauguration of the Internet speed testing facility recently developed by the TRC. On the same lines, I would urge that the broadband facility is actually made available islandwide.

Participating at the occasion ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura placed e-Swabhimani's events theme "7 years of e-Sri Lanka and the growth of the e-Society."

e-Sri Lanka, our National e-Development Initiative, has been in progress for the last 7 years. This has been a programme that all stakeholders in the ICT sector have been contributing to selflessly, and implementing tirelessly. It has generated great impacts for the target beneficiaries, while fashioning many successes and achievements for the country."

'e-Diriya' ICT launched in Kegalle

The 'e-Diriya', the national ICT literacy will be officially inaugurated at the Kotiyakumbura Vidyasagara Pirivena in Kegalle under the patronage of Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Hambantota District MP Namal Rajapaksa.

The main objective of this is to provide basic computer knowledge to Samurdhi recipients and schoolchildren from families having a low income.

ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) Chairman Prof. P. W. Epasinghe says that under this programme nearly 50,000 persons will gain ICT literacy within a month.

Under the initiative of the Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority and the Education Ministry it's implemented by ICTA and e-Sri Lanka.

(SJ)

Telecommunication and IT Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya presents a trophy and certificate to the winner under Category-m Content Dhanika Perera from Bhasha Lanka (Pvt) Limited for the product Bhasha SETT Browser. ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura looks on.