•    Consumers and business will benefit from fast connectivity
•    Vodacom Business invests in fibre infrastructure in the Cape
_______________________________________________________________

Residents in Stellenbosch, Somerset West, Paarl and Wellington are, by now, used to workers along the sides of their roads digging narrow trenches and laying down brightly coloured blue plastic ‘tubing’.  In fact, this is the first roll-out of Vodacom Business’s fibre-optic network in the area.

Fibre-optic cabling is important to applications like the Internet, telephone systems and, in some countries, cable TV.

The current network consists of:
•    23 kilometres of cable in Stellenbosch  – from Kuilsriver to Stellenbosch and approximately half of the Stellenbosch to Somerset West road
•    48 kilometres of cable in Somerset West including the remaining half of the Stellenbosch/Somerset West Road,  and the N2 to Mitchells Plain)
•    49 kilometres in Paarl and Wellington.
•    38km of Optic Spurs in Stellenbosch. Paarl and Somerset West

Ermano Quartero, Managing Executive Products and Marketing at Vodacom Business says the fibre-optic cabling brings customers easy, rapid transfer of large amounts of data and is ideal for services that require smooth data provisioning, such as video conferencing.

“We are constantly requested by consumers and companies for increased Internet bandwidth and faster connectivity. Having fibre in these areas makes it possible for our customers to have access to the vast range of services we offer, such as voice, video and networked storage and hosting,” says Quartero.

Fiber optic cabling has advantages over standard copper coaxial cables, in that it can transmit larger quantities of data with far less loss, is able to maintain signals over long distances, carries little risk of corrosion, and is virtually free from interference.

“To provide customers with the services they demand we need a high-bandwidth, low-cost, reliable last-mile service. Vodacom Business is able to now meet these needs,” says Quartero. “The fibre-optic cables now installed in the Paarl-Wellington-Stellenbosch area bring high-speed, business-quality connectivity to the many companies situated in this important hub and open a wide variety of enterprise-class solutions to them.”

Visit us at www.vodacombusiness.co.za

Issued on behalf of:
Ermano Quartero
Managing Executive Products and Marketing  Vodacom Business

Issued by:
Bette Kun
bettekun@gmail.com
082 576 9739

“I respect mathematics, I respect science and I respect myself,” was the creed at Kabelo Primary School, Katlehong in the South of Johannesburg, one of 13 schools that are receiving support from IT solutions provider EOH in a numeracy and natural science programme led by the Maths Centre. EOH is investing several million into the project that is aimed at increasing numeracy skills in primary schools.

Matthews Phosa, Non-Executive Chairman of EOH says the project is an investment into the future of our children. “Partnerships such as these, involving private sector, teachers, learners and the community will leave a legacy for the future to follow. Science and mathematics are key to opening the doors of the future. You have a responsibility to society, to be of service to the nation by learning the skills you will need to face the future with confidence,” Phosa said to a group of pupils at Kabelo Primary School.

Despite the national pass rate increasing by nearly seven percent, there are still too few scholars writing and passing maths and science. The recent Matric results for 2010 showed that 47.8 percent of pupils passed the maths and physical science exams, with 81 374 candidates out of 641 533 achieving a pass rate of 40 percent or more in maths granting them exemption to be considered for university entrance.

EOH embarked on the project in April 2010, and the results thus far have been astounding. “The project was rolled out to ten primary schools and three special needs schools in Katlehong and Thokoza in the South of Johannesburg, affecting 140 teachers and 4 863 learners. Each of the schools received a maths and science kit, CD Rom learner books and activity file, with the special needs schools each receiving a computer and data projector, tablet pens as well as maths and physical science software,” says Asher Bohbot, CEO of EOH.

The three year project saw the Maths Centre roll out its methodology to the foundation phases (grades 1 to 3) of the schools during its first year. The project will then expand in the second year to include grades 4, 5 and 6 with the third year of the project, focussing on Grade 7. “We started the project by performing baseline testing on the learners to benchmark our progress. Since then post tests have revealed an average increase in numeracy competency of 13%, with the special needs schools performing above and beyond our expectations,” says Sharanjeet Shan, the National Executive Director of Maths Centre.

“Maths and science are a standard requirement needed to grant an individual access into the formal job sector, making it a crucial skill to possess. The maths centre programme offers a long term solution to the maths and science skills shortage prevalent in South Africa, making it a natural avenue for EOH to grow and support. I would like to urge all involved to utilise the funds available and to convert it into tangible skills that will be of value to the future of the children,” says Bohbot.

Sharanjeet Shan, urges teachers to annually improve on a minimum of 50% of the gaps between the current level of understanding that teachers possess and what is needed to teach mathematics and science. “It is crucial for teachers to constantly increase their understanding of maths and science content and to broaden the total backdrop of skills required to teach these two disciplines effectively. It is necessary to organise teaching content into a learning plan with definitive objectives and outcomes that the children will understand and internalise in order to achieve numeracy,” says Shan.

Mathematics is what makes the universe tick. “At the end of the day, all of us, whether you are a politician, a CEO or a teacher, we need to remember that it is our generation’s responsibility to pass the knowledge we have learnt in our lives, to the next generation, so each of them have the skills to live, love and leave a legacy behind,” concludes Shan.

IBM Global Business Services has been positioned in the leaders quadrant in its “Magic Quadrant for Global Business Intelligence and Performance Management Service Providers, February 2011″ for its Business Analytics and Optimisation (BAO) service line by Gartner.

“Analytics and business intelligence are about helping clients build better products and services and helping society solve difficult challenges, ranging from traffic congestion to food traceability to managing financial risk,” said Claas Kuehnemann, Managing Partner for Sub-Saharan Africa, IBM Global Business Services. “IBM’s capabilities in this key area draw on the expertise of the largest mathematics department in global industry, 8,000 consultants dedicated to business analytics and a software business that has invested more than $14 billion in 24 analytics acquisitions during the past five years – all dedicated to helping our clients take action through analytics.”

Market Definition/Description

Gartner’s definition of Business Intelligence, Analytics and Performance Management include “professional services offerings to optimize an enterprise’s processes and integrate related technology applications and platforms, which include application-related work.”

In positioning vendors in its Magic Quadrant, Gartner evaluates completeness of vision and ability to execute.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) will host an annual general meeting to merge the CRASA and SAPRA at the end of March 2011.

The decision to merge the two regulatory associations stems from the resolution of SADC ICT Ministers held in Swakopmund, Namibia in 2009. Both CRASA and SAPRA derive their mandate from the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology that calls for the creation of a regulatory body that would act as a regional advisory body on communications and postal regulation.

CRASA’s Mandate and Programmes

CRASA draws its membership from 13 SADC countries, namely Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritiius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It has four associate members, namely Nokia Siemens Network, the Vodacom Group, Angola Telecoms and Ericsson.

Its objectives include:

1. Promoting capacity building of the members and Associate Members, broaden participation in the ICT sector and enhance lobbying activities with ICT policy makers at national and regional level
2. Acting as an effective and common voice of the SADC region on ICT policy and regulatory matters
3. Acting as an effective administration structure and mobilise necessary resources to pursue goals of the Association and long-term sustainability

In the past year, CRASA has been involved in, among others:

1. Reviewing the model guidelines on ICT Consumer protection and Obligations to promote access of socially excluded people to ICT services
2. Draft Digital broadcasting Migration Action Plan to facilitate southern Africa’s migration from the analogue to the digital platform
3. Review of the SADC Frequency Band Plan for the development and efficient use of the radio frequency spectrum in Southern Africa

SADC Home and Away Roaming to reduce international roaming costs

SAPRA’s Mandate and Programmes

The Southern African Postal Regulatory Association (SAPRA) draws its membership from Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Its mandate is to act as a regional advisory body in the regulation of postal services in Southern Africa. SAPRA’s objectives include the following:

1. Facilitate the harmonisation of postal regulatory frameworks in Southern Africa
2. Promote establishment and operation of efficient, adequate, affordable and cost-effective postal services in Southern Africa
3. Ensure the provision of cost-effective universal postal services by operators
4. Promote reforms in the postal sector
5. Develop common standards of services and operations that are compatible with international standards
6. Improve postal security in the region, and
7. Establish and equitable framework to promote the provisions of non-reserve services

Benefits of a Merged Regulatory Association

Country-member regulators will benefit from the economies of scale by paying one subscription/membership fee to a single regional regulatory association. Secondly, a merged regulator for communications and postal sectors will see the development of harmonised regulations as a result of increased cooperation and exchange of information among members.

Consumers and the general populace of Southern Africa stand to benefit from harmonised and standardised regulations. When people travel from one country to another they can expect the same standards and treatment from service providers with regard to communications and postal services.

Investors, operators and licensees stand to benefit from a merged regulatory association as their business operations across Southern Africa will be enhanced by the creation of a harmonised regulatory environment. This would pave the way to attract local and off-shore investors to Southern Africa.

Country-to-Country Relations in Southern Africa stand to benefit from increased co-operation and interaction among the region’s regulators of the communications and postal sectors. As a result, the sub-continent’s long-term goal of economic integration will thus be enhanced.

For more information on the Conference or related matters, please contact Ms Shoeshoe Mopeli on (011) 566 3065 or Ms Nkuli Woko on (011) 566 3057.

Following the announcement by Intel of a design issue in the Sandy Bridge mainboard chipset, Packard Bell, part of Acer Group, confirms that it is working with Intel on this issue and is taking all necessary steps to minimize any inconvenience customers might experience.

Packard Bell has already stopped shipping the products impacted by this issue and has instituted a program to assist customers who purchased affected units. At the same time, Packard Bell is working in close collaboration with Intel to coordinate the next steps.

On January 31st, Intel announced the discovery of a design issue in one of the support chips to the 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors, code named “Sandy Bridge.” The issue is hardware related and required a silicon fix. Intel advised that, in some cases, the Serial-ATA (SATA) ports within the affected chipset may degrade over time, potentially impacting the performance or functionality of SATA linked devices such as hard disk drives and DVD drives. The issue affects SATA 3 Gb/s ports, while not affecting the SATA 6 Gb/s ports.

The issue is related to connectivity, meaning that the machine may not identify the hard disk or DVD. Since the effect of thisissue will materialize over a rather long period of time, Intel has advisedthat users of affected PCs will not necessarily see an immediate effect and they can keep using their PC with confidence while permanent solution options are made available.

Packard Bell is proud to offer products that are free from defects of materials or workmanship and wishes to minimize any impact of this issue on its customers. In order to do so, Packard Bell is in the process of setting up a web site where customers will be able to find out whether their product could be affected by the problem. In the interim, customers can go to the Intel page which has specific instructions to determine if their PC is affected. This page is located at: http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/processors/chipset.htm?iid=en_US_01_chipset+gg_headline.

Customers who purchased one of the affected units may elect to allow Packard Bell to service the unit under the terms of the applicable limited warranty once fixed chipsets are available from Intel. Alternatively, affected customers may contact their retailer to take advantage of the applicable return policy and select a different Packard Bell model.

Unity’s next-generation capabilities will be featured in Unity Technologies’ booth #1416. In the booth’s Partner Pavilion, Aquiris Game Studio, Artificial Technology, Electrotank Inc., Exit Games, Mixamo, Nickelodeon, Noesis Interactive, NVIDIA, Qualcomm Inc. and Unity Studios will demonstrate the mind-blowing innovations they created using Unity.

So that attendees can get a crash course on Unity, GDC is holding the first ever Unity Track on March 1, 2011. The sessions include:

1. How to Make Money with Union and Technical Introduction to Unity
2. Shader Authoring in Unity
3. Making the Unity Editor Do What YOU Want
4. Building a Better Asset Pipeline
5. How Electronic Arts uses Unity
6. Optimizing for Mobile and Programming Workflow

It’s no secret that everyone loves a good bargain, no matter what their income group. Online bargains in the form of flash sales and group deals are becoming increasingly popular in South Africa, and with discounts of up to 70%, it’s no surprise that the trend is taking off.

SaleWine.co.za is one such a site. It sells its wines for up to 70% off the retail price and has attracted over 7000 shoppers who eagerly await its new wine emails.

“Last week, I bought two cases of 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon for R145 per bottle, which is 42% cheaper than the retail price of R250. The fact that I only have 72 hours to buy the wine makes the prospect of purchasing that deal all the more exciting,” says asset manager Andrew Sawyer.

Flash sale sites like SaleWine.co.za sell wines for a limited period. In this case, 72 hours or until the wine is sold out.

“We actually sold out of the 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon in less than 24 hours,” says AJ Ray, owner of SaleWine.co.za. “I think the success of a flash sale site is firmly based on how well you can read your consumers and your ability to find exclusive deals that are somewhat scarce. It takes time, and a lot of tasting to find wines that are good enough and special enough to offer our shoppers.”

SaleWine.co.za tastes around 90 wines per month but only chooses 16 to offer its shoppers.

The business model seems to be working for the wine e-tailer, whose sales have doubled every month since it launched in the third quarter of 2010. Its highest discount was 69% and its average is 49% off retail prices.

SaleWine.co.za is not the only company that has excited the SA online consumer. Twangoo, a local group-selling website, was not even a year old when it was bought by global group-selling giant Groupon. This purchase came just months after Groupon declined a USD $6 billion buyout bid from Google.

Twangoo and other South African sites like it are successful because they sell anything from spa treatments to luxury lodges for around 50% off the retail price.

These sites visit hotels, restaurants, spas, and other retailers and offer them a deal of 50 customers or more. The catch is that the retailer has to discount the price by around 50% or more.

The retailer wins because these sites bring consumer volume and the consumer wins because they get a once-off, spectacular deal.

Unlike in-store sales, deep online discounts for a limited time do not hurt the integrity or reputation of a brand because they are sold for such a small period. This sales strategy works well, especially in an economic downturn.

For wineries, the primary appeal is to unload unsold wine quickly without impacting the market value for regular customers.

Flash sale and group deal sites work for well-known brands that want to introduce new clients to a brand, as well as lesser-known brands who need to introduce products and create a loyal following of customers.

What are flash sales?

Flash sales are exactly what their name suggests, sales in a flash. These sorts of sites sell a product at up to 70% off the retail price, but only for a very limited amount of hours or until a deal is sold out. These sites have become the darlings of retailers, because they introduce new people to a brand who will, hopefully visit a bricks and mortar retailer to buy the product at the regular price in the future.

What are group deals?

Customers find deals that they like on the sites, sign up, persuade others to do so, then get 50% or more discounts on restaurants, spas, hair dressers, gym, concerts and other products and services. The sites vary in their business models: Some require a certain number of takers for them to give the deal, while others reward shoppers based on how many others they lure. Businesses can get a short-term boost that can to lead to long-term customers.

Popular South African flash sale and group deal sites:

SaleWine.co.za

Category: Flash sales of wine

Discount: Up to 70%

Sells special South African wines at up to 70% off the retail price, but only for 72 hours or until the deal is sold out. Delivery in metropolitan areas of Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town is free with a purchase of 12 bottles or more.

How will you know about deals: Sign up to receive emails at www.salewine.co.za

Twangoo.co.za

Category: Group deal

Discount: 50% and more

Twangoo.co.za and its sister site MyCityDeal.co.za offer half price (sometimes more) deals on spa visits, hotels, restaurants, dance classes, magazine subscriptions and pretty much everything else!

How will you know about deals: Enter your email at www.twangoo.co.za or www.mycitydeal.co.za – the site will send you a daily email to alert you to deals.

Wicount.co.za

Category: Group deal

Discount: 50% and more

Wicount.co.za is similar to Twangoo and MyCityDeal, it also offers a wide variety of products and discounts on anything from concerts to meals.

How will you know about deals: Enter your email at www.wicount.co.za, the site will send you a daily email to alert you to deals.

Onedayonly.co.za

Category: Flash sale

Discount: varies

One Day Only is owned by Ronnie Apteker, founder of Internet Solutions (IS) and online retailer Wantitall.co.za. The site offers one product every 24 hours and sometimes extends the sale period over weekends.

How will you know about deals: Sign up to receive daily emails at www.onedayonly.co.za

MTN Uganda and Fundamo have been shortlisted for the ‘Mobile Money for the Unbanked Award’ in this year’s Global Mobile Awards for the hugely successful MTN MobileMoney service in Uganda.

The Global Mobile Awards, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain, on 15 February 2011, honour excellence and innovation in mobile communications worldwide.

The Best Mobile Money for the Unbanked Award aims to recognise innovative mobile money services that provide low income communities with the financial access they would otherwise be without.

MTN Uganda partnered with Fundamo, the largest specialist mobile financial services provider, who implemented stringent design principles required for secure banking systems, whilst also taking full advantage of the unique characteristics of the mobile phone and the mobile user experience.

Since its launch in 2009, MTN MobileMoney in Uganda has grown in leaps and bounds, providing banking services to hundreds of thousands of the unbanked in Uganda.

Subscribers using the MTN MobileMoney service in Uganda has grown to approximately 1, 5 subscribers, with average transactions to date through the service amounting to 1.7 trillion Uganda shillings (about USD753 million).

Over 2 500 MTN Mobile Money agents are spread across Uganda, and the system is now been utilized to pay for services such as pay television and water services.

“A nomination for the Global Mobile Awards is significant accomplishment and highlights the continuing success of MTN MobileMoney in Uganda,” said Richard Mwami, Head of Public Access & Mobile Money, MTN Uganda.

“We always carefully select our partners and Fundamo’s vast experience in delivering mobile financial services that scale to cope with accelerated uptake made them the obvious choice. Our work with Fundamo has been of the highest calibre and we look forward to continuing our work together for years to come.”

Says Hannes van Rensburg, CEO at Fundamo: “We are very excited that our work with MTN Uganda has made the shortlist for such a highly respected award. We have seen MTN MobileMoney in Uganda grow at an unprecedented rate, registering over one million users in its first year. We are extremely proud to have been part of its remarkable success and thrilled that it will now be recognised by the global mobile community.”

Rob Conway, CEO of the GSMA concluded: “Our congratulations go to all the nominees in this year’s Global Mobile Awards. To get down to just 115 nominees across 10 categories, from more than 470 high calibre entries, certainly presented our judges with a tough challenge this year. It is a great achievement to be shortlisted among such a high quality field of entrants and we eagerly anticipate the announcement of the winners on Tuesday 15th February 2011 at the Mobile World Congress and look forward to showcasing another great year of innovation for the mobile industry.”

Qualcomm Incorporated has appointed Jihad Srage vice president and president of Qualcomm Middle East & Africa (MEA). For three years, Srage has successfully led the Company’s Middle East and North Africa business and in his expanded role will also oversee Qualcomm’s operations across the African continent. The change is designed to capture the synergies of Qualcomm’s market evolution, partners and opportunities by integrating its Middle East and Africa operations. James Munn, Qualcomm’s vice president of business development for Sub-Saharan Africa, will continue in his current role, reporting to Srage.

Srage joined Qualcomm in 2008 as vice president of business development for the Middle East and North Africa, overseeing the Company’s regional relationships with partners, including network operators, infrastructure equipment providers, mobile handset vendors and value-added service developers. In his expanded role, Srage will lead the execution of Qualcomm’s unified regional strategy and work with partners to expand the availability of 3G and next-generation mobile services and devices.

Worldwide mobile device sales to end users totalled 1.6 billion units in 2010, a 31.8 per cent increase from 2009 (see Table 1), according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales to end users were up 72.1 per cent from 2009 and accounted for 19 per cent of total mobile communications device sales in 2010.

“Strong smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 pushed Apple and Research In Motion (RIM) up in our 2010 worldwide ranking of mobile device manufacturers to the No. 5 and No. 4 positions, respectively, displacing Sony Ericsson and Motorola,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “Nokia and LG saw their market share erode in 2010 as they came under increasing pressure to refine their smartphone strategies.”

Overall, the mobile device market showed less seasonality than in previous years in mature markets such as Western Europe and North America. Worldwide mobile phone sales to end users reached 32.7 per cent growth in the fourth quarter of 2010 as mobile phone sales to end users totalled 452 million units.

Shortages continued to affect popular components, such as camera modules, touchscreen controllers, and active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) screens, in the fourth quarter of 2010. “This situation will not ease until at least the second half of 2011. Shortages will be a long-term consideration for mobile device vendors, because other fast-growing categories of connected consumer devices, such as media tablets, are competing for the same components,” said Ms Milanesi.

White-box sales exceeded 115 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 360 million units in 2010 overall. Although white box sales helped boost mobile device sales to 1.6 billion units in 2010, it would be misleading to interpret this as market “growth” in the strictest sense. “What we see is an increase in addressable market for mobile device manufacturers as consumers shift their behaviour to buying new phones from legitimate channels over second-hand and black market devices,” said Ms Milanesi.

Table 1

Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users in 2010 (Thousands of Units)

Source: Gartner (February 2011)

In 2010, Nokia’s annual mobile phone sales to end users reached 461.3 million units, a 7.5 per cent drop in market share from 2009. The year-on-year decline is not solely attributable to Nokia’s continuing deficiency in high-end devices but is, in part, the result of the growth of legitimate white-box sales. Nokia’s share of the smartphone market dropped 6.7 percentage points from 2009. Nokia’s future rests on the announcements it will make on 11 February and how well the company can execute on those plans in the limited time available.

RIM’s overall mobile phone sales to end users in 2010 reached a total of 47.5 million units, an increase of 38.2 per cent year-on-year (see Table 2). Performance in the fourth quarter of 2010 was particularly strong in Southeast Asia (Indonesia) and Europe (the UK and the Netherlands). These sales rested on aggressively priced prepaid offerings, as well as steady uptake of the BlackBerry Messenger service. Despite growing volume sales, RIM was unable to keep up with market growth and saw its market share decline from 19.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009 to 13.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2010. At the end of 2010, RIM announced it will release its media tablet, the PlayBook. It remains to be seen if this move will help RIM strengthen its ecosystem.

Apple sold 46.6 million units in 2010, 87.2 per cent growth from 2009. This growth is largely due to expansion into new countries and the ending of exclusivity deals, which has made the iPhone available through 185 communication service providers (CSPs) around the world. The end of exclusivity deals also encouraged CSP competition on tariffs and data plans, making the total cost of iPhone ownership more in line with other high-end smartphones. For 2011, Apple’s main growth opportunity will come from adding Verizon Wireless to its list of CSPs in the US. Gartner analysts said Apple will maintain a stable average selling price, which favourably impacts margins at the expense of market share opportunity. However, Apple is not targeting the mass market, which is a fundamental difference in approach from Android.

The smartphone market remains concentrated in advanced markets, where buyers have more disposable income and where networks are fast enough to support smartphones’ full feature sets. “Western Europe and North America accounted for 52.3 per cent of global smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2010, with smartphones accounting for close to half of all handsets sold in these regions,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. Intense competition affected shares at the top of the smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2010, continuing trends that we have seen throughout 2010.

Table 2

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2010 (Thousands of Units)

Source: Gartner (February 2011)

In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, ”Android grew 888.8 per cent in 2010 and moved to the No. 2 position. Android sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 continued to be driven by broad availability of many high-end products from HTC (Desire range, Incredible and EVO), Samsung (Galaxy S) and Motorola (Droid X, Droid 2).

Symbian’s market share dropped further in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 32.6 per cent or 32.6 million units. This allowed Android to overtake Nokia’s Symbian unit sales during the fourth quarter of 2010. However, the Symbian OS is also used by Fujitsu and Sharp as well as in legacy products from Sony Ericsson and Samsung. “This aggregated volume kept Symbian slightly ahead of Android,” said Ms Cozza.

The wider availability of the iPhone 4 helped Apple to maintain its share of the smartphone market to 16.0 per cent in the fourth quarter 2010 and led the iPhone OS platform to reach the No. 4 position in 2010. “As a platform, iOS is in excellent shape,” said Ms Milanesi. With every iPad and iPod Touch sold, Apple increases the profile of iOS with potential iPhone buyers and strengthens its developer ecosystem.

“With the Mobile World Congress 2011 taking place next week, we can expect smartphones and tablets to be at centre stage of the show, and a number of new application announcements such as 3D technology, improved user interfaces around touch, faster networks on LTE technology, and new forms of payments, such as near field communication available on smartphones,” Ms Milanesi said.