Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. conducted a three-day road show at Red Sea Mall in Jeddah to give its customers and fans a hands on experience by conveying the outstanding specifications of its latest additions to the Galaxy family, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, “the world’s thinnest mobile tablet,” and the Galaxy S II, Samsung’s “ultimately thin and lightweight” smart phone. The activation witnessed a continuous wave of passersby that kept growing, accommodating all generations, especially the tech-savvy people that are always interested in knowing what the most up-to-date gadgets in the market are. Not only was this event an introduction to Samsung’s latest products, it was also where a lot of the visitors won gifts. The event was meant to showcase the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Galaxy S II smart-phone, which are considered to be Samsung’s cream of the crop in relation to the world of tabs and smart phones. Park Jae-Chun, GM, Samsung Electronics in Saudi Arabia, said: “This smart phone utilizes the latest version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the fastest growing mobile operating system, inclusive to access Samsung’s newest four content and entertainment hubs; providing instant access to social networking services, games, e-reading and music applications. This operating system support users logging in to the Android Market where they will be able to enjoy more than 300,000 applications — most of which are free.”
Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management has introduced StruxureWare for Data Centers, a management software suite designed to maximize availability and efficiency of the data center’s physical infrastructure. StruxureWare for Data Centers combines the software tools of Schneider Electric’s “market leading” Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) and Data Center Facility Management (DCFM) to provide data gathering, monitoring, automation, planning and implementation functionalities for enabling an integrated and multifaceted view of mission-critical physical systems of the data center. The new offering empowers data center managers with access to data and tools needed for operation that are more reliable, efficient, productive, secure and green. Kevin Brown, VP, data center global offer and strategy, Schneider Electric, said: “Data center environments traditionally rely on siloed management tools using specialized knowledge and experience of numerous IT and facility professionals to leverage dedicated management dashboards and obtain the required information. “With StruxureWare for data centers, Schneider Electric is providing a toolset, which allows data center managers to access and manage across the domains of the IT room, building electrical power, power quality, facility and data center cooling and physical security. This management software suite delivers comprehensive, accurate and real-time data enabling them to take action based on the complete picture of the data center.”
Japanese Ambassador in Kuwait Yasuyoshi Komizo visited the SEHAI Diraiya Campus in Riyadh recently. His purpose was to see the successful vocational training project in the Kingdom for expanding the capacity building in Kuwaiti society and industry in the future. In SEHAI, Fahad Al-Harbi, director and three Japanese experts welcomed the envoy and thanked for the support from Japanese government for having a strategic partnership. After touring the classes, laboratories and workshops, Komizo emphasized that SEHAI is a unique institute in the field of electronics and home appliance industry with Japanese technology and know-how, saying, “SEHAI must be a model technical institute in the GCC. The lectures are well constructed and systematic.” He also said SEHAI is contributing to the development of human resources and nation-building in the Kingdom. Komizo interacted with Saudi students who were attending classes of electronics experiments, electric circuits and English. He said he was impressed to see a pair of qualified instructors training them, utilizing Hitachi-made electrical board. His visit to SEHAI was successful and encouraged Saudi students for further studies in the field of electronics and home appliances. One of the accompanying members, Yasunari Morino, deputy chief of mission in the Embassy of Japan in Saudi Arabia, congratulated the SEHAI, which held its graduation ceremony recently, with the support of Prince Ahmad bin Abdullah Abdulrehman Al-Saud, governor of Diraiya.
A new Chevrolet Traverse 2011 was presented to the first of six grand prizewinners of Lipton’s ongoing Dip & Win campaign at an event in Jeddah’s Red Sea Mall recently. In the promotional campaign launched last month, the Dip & Win gives tea-drinkers the chance to win thousands of prizes in an instant, including free Lipton tea bags, tea sets, mobile phones, cameras, televisions, gold coins and the grand prize of a Chevrolet Traverse 2011 — with one vehicle to be won every week for six weeks. To take part in the campaign, the tea lovers simply need to watch for a prize to appear when they dip a teabag from special Dip & Win promotional packs in hot water; and the more teabags that are dipped, the greater the chance of winning. Tawfeeq Al-Akhras, F&B marketing director, Lipton, said: “We have built our reputation on a combination of the best of tea-drinking tradition matched with constant innovation. We launched Dip & Win as a way to show our appreciation to our customers across the Kingdom, who have shown their loyalty throughout the years and made our tea their first choice.”
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker has been elected to the executive committee of the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO). Al Baker has joined the organization’s executive body for a three-year term. The committee, which meets twice a year, comprises eight other airline representatives and Chairperson Ghaida Abdullatif, director general and CEO of Syrian Arab Airlines. Established in 1965, AACO is a non-profit organization made up of 24 Arab member airlines, which aims to promote cooperation, quality and safety standards among Arab League air carriers. A delighted Al-Baker said being appointed to the AACO committee was a great honor and that he looked forward to continue working with member airlines in his new capacity. “With the formidable rise of air passenger traffic and new regional players to this ever-exciting industry, a regional framework where partners gather, collaborate and raise the profile of the many exceptional airlines in the Middle East, only brings benefits to all concerned within the AACO membership,” he said. “It is my aim to continue the good work of AACO and help raise the bar for member airlines in this highly competitive industry. I am extremely proud to be working alongside some of the best airlines in the world.”
Emirates SkyCargo came to the rescue of a ship undergoing repairs when it transported a 36-ton rudder part — the heaviest single item ever carried by the freight division of Emirates Airline. The rudder stock — 9.16 meter long and 1.05 meter wide — was required for urgent repairs to a vessel at Dubai Dry Docks. The part — tailor-made by Korean steel manufacturer Taewoong — would normally be transported by sea, but a quick solution was required to reduce the cost of the ship being out of service. In conjunction with Dubai-based charter broker Air Charter International, it was transported on an Emirates freighter — a Boeing 747-400F — from Seoul to Dubai and tested ground-handling operations at both airports to the fullest. “Transporting a piece of cargo this heavy requires the highest degree of care and special handling,” said Hiran Perera, Emirates’ SVP cargo planning and freighters. “Two cranes — capable of lifting 50 tons each — along with two high loaders were required, while more than 30 workers in both Seoul and Dubai made sure the intricate loading operation went smoothly. “Precision planning and the combined expertise of everyone involved at Emirates SkyCargo, dnata, Air Charter International and Atlas Air was crucial to this success of this project,” added Perera. “With our client’s needs at the forefront of our efforts, it is crucial to be able to rely on a good partner,” said Claire Brugirard, commercial manager at Air Charter International.
A new trucking company, Arabian Transportation, has just been established in Jeddah with the purpose of increasing the current availability of refrigerated transportation for fresh fruit and frozen food throughout Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states. The new company is associated with Mohammed Abdallah Sharbatly Co. Ltd., the largest fresh fruit and frozen food importer in Saudi Arabia, which the two have recently merged their trucking fleet. Mohammed A. Sharbatly Co. Ltd. will remain one of the major clients of the new company, carrying refrigerated goods from the Saudi ports to its 14 branches and cold stores in the Kingdom, to its associates in Bahrain and the UAE, and directly to its customers all over the market.“We have set up this new venture to maximize efficiency in the logistics and transportation of our products while separating the focus on our produce itself in Mohammed A. Sharbatly,” said Seifallah M. Sharbatly, GM of the company.“With the Kingdom’s rapid population and economic growth, Arabian Transportation Co. and Mohammed A. Sharbatly Co. Ltd. will align their visions and leaderships to meet the surging demand,” said Franco Negro of the new company. Arabian Transportation Co. has recently bought 25 Volvo trucks from Zahid Tractor as part of its initial start-up strategy as well taking on a fleet of 200 heavy-duty trucks and 300 medium and light duty trucks from its parent company. Their decision to buy Volvo trucks was based on their strong relationship with Zahid Tractor.
Saudi Arabia’s fastest-growing big box consumer electronics and home appliances retailer, eXtra, has announced the initial report on the performance of its online shopping portal (extra.com). The report showed an impressive 360 percent growth in total sales value from July to August. As of Sept. 10 — about two months after its launch — 600,000 visitors had explored the new site. Customers in 27 different cities took advantage of eXtra’s convenient home delivery service, while others opted to pick up their orders at an eXtra store close to them. Consumers in Saudi Arabia have used the new online store to buy a wide range of the latest products to hit the Saudi market. These results show the success of the e-shopping concept and ideal timing eXtra has chosen to launch its services. The results clearly reflect the growing popularity of e-shopping and the new channels of e-commerce available both globally and domestically. The new eXtra website offers more than 3,000 products for immediate purchase around the clock, servicing 90 cities within the Kingdom. Mohammad Galal, CEO, United Electronics Company (eXtra), said: “We are very proud of what we have accomplished with the new site. Its success in just the first two months represents a bold step forward for consumers throughout the Kingdom, offering quite simply, the easiest and most hassle-free way to buy the products they need. This is yet another testament to the ideal timing of the launch of the e-commerce services.
STC/HUAWEI
Saudi Telecom Company (STC), a national provider of telecommunications services in Saudi Arabia, and Huawei, a global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, have jointly announced the launch of LTE TDD service in Saudi Arabia. Covering two major regions within the Kingdom, including the cities of Riyadh and Dammam, the new network is capable of downlink speeds of up to 100Mb/s, allowing STC customers to enjoy a variety of data services at unprecedented speeds. Huawei provided its industry-leading end-to-end SingleRAN LTE solution for STC. STC will provide LTE service for consumers across Saudi Arabia using its expertise as the largest mobile operator in the Middle East. Since 1996, STC’s commitment to providing subscribers with faster connection speeds and better service has resulted in a 50-fold increase in the speed of STC’s networks. Zeyad Thamer Al-Otaibi, group CTO of STC, said: “STC is pleased to have Huawei as a partner in this important launch of LTE TDD services in Saudi Arabia.”
