SONY GULF FZE
To promote and reward the creative scientific creations of students in Saudi Arabia, the “Sony Creative Science Awards 2008,” the fourth edition of the popular community initiative of Modern Electronics Co. Ltd. (MECL) and Sony Gulf FZE (SOGUL) was launched here Saturday night. The project is also promoted by Prince Salman Science Oasis (PSSO) and the Saudi Ministry of Education. Addressing a press conference here, Prince Mohammed ibn Khalid Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, president of Al-Faisaliah Group, which owns Modern Electronics, said, “This year (2008) will see a record high participation of approximately 480 boy and 360 girl students from both private and public schools of Riyadh region.” A total of first 10 best innovative implementations or inventions in the form of toys made by students and based on scientific principles will be selected for award this year. The press briefing was also attended by Abdulaziz ibn Ali Al-Magooshi, member of the PSSO executive council; Mohammed Al-Segaih, MECL’s managing director, Bader Al-Swailem, MECL’s general manager, and Takuzo Fujimoto, Sony’s general manager for sales and marketing. Senior officials from Ministry of Education including Dr. Sulaiman Al-Sunadi and Salih Ibn A. Rahman Al-Hadluq were also present. Referring to the Sony Creative Science Award, Prince Mohammed said: “As we announce this award for the year 2008, hundreds of students will compete to be finalists. However, our end goal is not the prize, but to ignite the spark of scientific curiosity and creativity in the minds of our young students.”
PIZZA INN
As part of a major promotion in Saudi Arabia, Pizza Inn has announced a free chocolate chip pizzert on purchase of any family combo besides a diversified pizza menu and toys for children. This is in line with a similar promotion launched in the United States, where this food chain is also offering new chocolate flavor pizzerts to its customers. This was announced by Khushru Mistry, Pizza Inn’s general manager, here yesterday. Mistry, who gave an overview of Pizza Inn’s operation in Saudi Arabia, pointed out that “multiple unit franchise agreements have been concluded for Bahrain and Kuwait markets as part of our expansion plan.” “And negotiations are ongoing for Oman, Sudan, Egypt, Lebanon, and Western region of Saudi Arabia as we speak,” he added. This will give the brand a well deserved regional boost, he said. Pizza Inn, headquartered in Dallas in the US opened their first outlet in 1958. It currently operates nearly 400 restaurants worldwide including Saudi Arabia. Referring to the new chocolate pizzert offer for Saudi Arabia, Mistry said: “Created for chocolate lovers, the new chocolate chip pizzerts will add variety to the desserts option, as well as offer great new pizzert options for dine-in, delivery and carry-out customers.” The flavor is prepared on a fresh dough thin crust, layered with chocolate cake mix, marshmallows and topped with icing, he explained. Spelling out the features of the new promotion, Shoeb Khan, Pizza Inn’s regional manager for Riyadh operations, said: “Our free dessert campaign is valid on all family combo offers, thereby ensuring the chocolate chip pizzert is tried by maximum number of consumers.”
RABEA TEA
Deeply rooted in Saudi culture, tea drinking is big business in the Kingdom with an annual market value of approximately SR one billion, a figure which is steadily growing due to increasing consumer demand for quality, freshness, variety and innovation. A leading family business and a highly regarded specialist in tea, Ahmed Mohamed Saleh Baeshen & Co. combines passion and expertise to meet growing consumer demand by leading product development and innovation. Alongside its existing business, the company recently launched Teayana, a first-of-its-kind gourmet tea shop and lounge. Following the growing trend of eating out and the boom of coffee houses, Teayana is gaining a regular clientele of enthusiastic young generation members who are attracted by the appeal of being able to relax in a cool and inviting ambiance while they enjoy drinking their choice from the selection of the best teas, carefully hand-picked from the finest of the many thousands of tea estates around the world. Whether refreshing themselves in the lounge or choosing tea to take home, customers have the benefit of knowledgeable staff and a tea guide book to help them get the most out of their Teayana experience and discover the hidden treasures that are held in every cup.
Baeshen’s flagship tea brand Rabea complements its range of best sellers, such as Premium Long Leaf black tea and Express tea bags, with variants and specialties that include Green Tea, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Jasmine, and premium herbal teas such as Camomile, Anis and Hibiscus. Professionalism and experience are matched by world class production facilities. To unify the expanded range, AMS Baeshen has given its Rabea label a complete makeover and relaunched the product line with stand out new packaging that is designed to immediately attract the eye and convey Rabea’s brand equity, which is a combination of best quality and best taste.
NOKIA
Nokia yesterday introduced a camera-free variant of the Nokia E51, the popular Eseries device aimed at business users. The new device, which features all the same powerful functionality for businesses as Nokia E51, was developed in response to demand from professionals who require a high performing mobile device, but work in industries where security reasons restrict the use of cameras. The camera-free Nokia E51 is expected to begin shipping in the 1st quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of 250, before subsidies or taxes. The Nokia E51 is ideal for people working in industries and institutions such as automotive, research laboratories or governmental organizations. From powerful voice capability, such as long battery life (13 days standby) to 3G, WLAN and HSDPA connectivity ensuring quick access to emails and web content, the Nokia E51 has all the features you would expect from an impressive business device. It is simple to use with one-touch keys taking the user directly to, “contacts,” “email,” “calendar” or “home” — one short press accesses the function and one long press on the key creates a new contact, email or appointment. In addition, the camera-free Nokia E51 features integration with a wide range of business email solutions, including Nokia Intellisync Wireless Email and Mail for Exchange to communicate with Microsoft Exchange Server, and consumer email, all for a streamlined email reading experience with easy access to attachments. A complete list of Nokia E51 features and technical specifications can be found at www.nokiaforbusiness.com.
SAP AG
Henning Kagermann, chief operating officer of SAP AG, said here yesterday that the modernization efforts now underway in Saudi Arabia will soon place this country among the world’s most competitive nations. Kagermann, who has plans to invest in the Kingdom, said that the economic reforms in the Kingdom are critical to its long-term economic success and global competitiveness. He pointed out that “SAP currently operates offices in Riyadh and Alkhobar, but crucially, has created an extensive ecosystem of partners to serve the company’s growing customer base in the Kingdom.” “SAP is investing in Saudi Arabia because it makes strong economic sense,” said Kagermann, whose company employs more than 43,000 people worldwide to service an estimated 46,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries and countries. “Beyond the energy sector where SAP has a long and rich history supporting the growth and global expansion of Saudi Aramco, we believe that SAP is a key enabler of innovation in all sectors, innovation that is crucial to sustained economic growth and the creation of wealth,” added Kagermann. He said that successful public and private organizations that are able to rapidly innovate, share many common characteristics. In the Kingdom, SAP solutions support Saudi Aramco, along with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), and countless small businesses and midsize companies from Khobar to Jeddah. “SAP innovates in close collaboration on a solid and efficient IT infrastructure to empower companies to become market leaders in their industries,” concluded Kagermann.