Epson teams up with Manchester United and renowned photographer Walter Iooss

Epson has teamed up with Manchester United and renowned photographer Walter Iooss to capture spectacular high-resolution images of the team's star footballers.

The latest challenge for Iooss, who is known globally for his iconic shots of stars such as Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods and for five decades of work with Sports Illustrated magazine, was to take studio still shots of some of the biggest names in world football. The results were remarkable, as Iooss used a Hasselblad H4D 60 and Hasselblad lenses to sublimely capture the intensity, determination, and raw power of players including Wayne Rooney (England), Shinji Kagawa (Japan), David De Gea (Spain) and Javier Hernandez (Mexico).

"With our rich heritage in photo printing we were very excited by this opportunity to collaborate with Walter Iooss, one of the world's greatest photographers," said Ian Cameron, general manager responsible for global communications at Epson. "And as the Official Office Equipment Partner of Manchester United we saw synergies among parties who are truly at the top of their game. Our state-of-the-art photo printers more than do justice to these fantastic works of art, which I am sure will excite and inspire our customers worldwide."

Beginning this autumn the images will be rolled out to Epson Group companies worldwide for use in print samples and other promotional materials.

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BRITAM BREAKS GROUND FOR THIRD TALLEST BUILDING IN AFRICA

…the 30-storey complex will house offices and rental space…

The construction of the tallest building in Kenya to date, a grade “A” office tower by Britam, is on course as the Group seeks to expand its property development portfolio to consolidate its position as the leading financial services provider in Kenya and the East African region. The target clientele is the multi nationals, institutions and even Government bodies.

The company filed an application for the construction of the 30-storey tower with relevant government authorities as well as environmental and survey authorities. Approvals have been received from the Local Authority, Ministry of Lands, Ministry of Housing, National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) as well as the Association of Land Surveyors of Kenya.

Speaking about the proposed project, Benson Wairegi explained that the design of the 30-storey tower, standing on 1.5 acres of land; comprises two buildings linked by an atrium with the tower housing office accommodation on the top levels, and retail facilities including banking halls, restaurants and shops on the ground and mezzanine levels. The roof has been designed as a viewing deck and an entertainment area.   The annex building is a 10-storey parkade as well as retail facilities on the ground floor. At the roof of the tower will be a wind turbine which other than being an iconic feature will also generate electricity to power part of the building.

The Britam Group Managing Director, Mr. Benson Wairegi said the construction period is estimated to be three years with the office space, in excess of 350,000 square feet and parking bays in excess of 1,000 in number, is expected to be offloaded to the market towards the end of 2015.

“This is our flagship project within the property development portfolio and it is driven by a rigorous research that showed great need for Grade ‘A’ properties in Nairobi. I am happy to note that the board of directors have approved all costs relating to this project. This project sets the pace for other similar projects that we have planned in the next five years, “said Wairegi.

The company has also identified a real estate company, Acorn Group, to manage the construction of the property as well as engaged other Consultants with both local and international expertise to both design and ensure successful implementation of the project.

The total investment that Britam has put towards the project is in excess of Kshs 5 Billion.

In a bid to ensure that the tower is not detrimental to the environment, the designs of the environmental engineering components will ensure compliance with international environmental regulations. The tower design will incorporate green features including a wind turbine to generate electricity to power the common areas of the building. To this end, an Environmental Engineer of renowned international repute has been appointed to the Project to ensure that it meets all the requirements of Green construction.

Earlier this year, Britam announced, that  it was setting up a Ksh 10 billion property fund subject to statutory approval targeting high net worth individuals to pool funds for multi-billion shilling investments in the property sector.

The strategy to diversifying from government securities, equities and bank deposits, was with the aim of expanding the company’s product offering while responding to client’s appetite for assets that have little more stability like real estate and private equity.

Past Real Estate Investments by the Company:

Britam has a long history of property development which includes:

Britam Centre - an 8-floor office building with over 85,000 square feet lettable area situated in Upper Hill area of Nairobi constructed in the early 1990s when Upper Hill area was still largely a residential area. The area has since revolutionized and is considered the Financial Hub of Nairobi and East Africa in general. The building has over the years enjoyed full occupancy with clients of good repute amongst them multinationals, government bodies as well as diplomatic missions.

Thompsons Glade- These are apartments for residential accommodation that were completed by the Company in early 2010 and full sold off in just over a year.

Apple Walk Park – This too comprised of residential apartments that were constructed for outright sale and were sold off in under a year.

Hurlingham Park- Also residential apartments developed and successfully sold off by the Company.

The Company has recently unveiled its real estate investment strategy which looks at extending its real estate investment across the different property divides as well as beyond the Kenyan borders

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LG UNVEILS ADVANCED TOUCH 10 MONITOR OPTIMIZED FOR WINDOWS 8

Innovative 10-Point IPS Monitor Expands the Horizon of Touchscreen Technology

LG Electronics (LG) introduced its Touch 10 monitor (model:ET83), optimized for use with Windows 8, which was launched by Microsoft last week.

Whereas conventional touchscreens enable two-finger dragging, scrolling and pinching, LG’s 23-inch Touch 10 monitor allows all ten fingers to be used simultaneously. The

Touch 10 monitor is an excellent choice for those looking to enjoy an enhanced touch computing experience without having to upgrade their entire PC.

“This is a compelling new product that re-imagines the touch experience and shows that LG is an industry leader in developing the next generation of touch monitor products,”

said J.J. Lee, Executive Vice President and Head of the IT Business Unit at the LG Home Entertainment Company. “Smartphones and tablets have already proven that

consumers are ready to fully embrace touch features. Our 10-point touchscreen takes it one step further by exponentially expanding the range of interactive possibilities. We

believe this technology will excite and inspire software developers and users alike.”

For tablet and smartphone owners, the Touch 10 monitor will feel like a huge improvement in the intuitive user experience they’re familiar with. Most touchscreens

utilize a two-finger recognition system which allows for basic manipulation of onscreen elements. LG’s Touch 10 monitor affords users the ability to use all their fingers at the

same time, meaning they can perform a number of new actions, such as dragging and rotating multiple items simultaneously. The highly responsive touch screen also enables

the user to take advantage of Windows 8 features, including the on-screen keyboard. The Touch 10 monitor also supports a capacitive stylus (purchased separately) should

the user prefer a pen-like interface. It’s great to see LG bringing touch to computing in innovative new ways,” said John Case, Vice President WW OEM Marketing, Microsoft Corporation.  “Pairing LG’s Touch 10 monitor with a desktop or non-touch laptop will help create amazing Windows 8 touch experiences for customers.”

The impressive 23-inch monitor is great for musical applications featuring virtual pianos, synthesizers and string instruments. A bigger display is also makes watching movies, playing games and children’s educational programs much more enjoyable. A range of touch-friendly apps is available from the Windows Store. Moreover, from a consumer standpoint, the monitor’s setup is refreshingly hassle-free; full touch functionality is available as soon as the monitor is connected, and no extra software is required.

To ensure optimal picture quality, the monitor utilizes an advanced In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel. IPS displays have inherent advantages over conventional Twisted Nematic

(TN) displays in terms of both color and clarity. The range of colors displayed is both vibrant and naturalistic, with good contrast and overall consistency. IPS technology also

provides a more comfortable viewing experience for the user, reducing eye strain and thereby allowing extended periods of use.

Nokia Lumia 510 now available in East Africa

Bright 4-inch display and signature Lumia experiences in Nokia’s newest Windows Phone

Nairobi, Kenya, November 28^th 2012 – Nokia today announced the local availability of the first Lumia smartphone in East Africa. The Nokia Lumia 510, is the most affordable in the current Lumia family of smartphones.

“We are pleased to announce the availability of the Nokia Lumia 510 in East Africa,” says Bruce Howe, General Manager for Nokia East Africa. “There has been so much excitement globally about our Lumia smartphones and it is great to now be able to bring them to the East African market, starting today with the Nokia Lumia 510. This builds on our commitment to bring Lumia to lower price points and welcome more consumers to the Windows Phone experience”.

Windows Phone is different to other smartphone platforms thanks to Live Tiles, making it easy to see incoming messages and updates; People Hub, which brings together contacts and updates from across social networks into one location, and access to Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer 9 on the mobile.

Unique Lumia experiences also make the Nokia Lumia 510 unlike any other entry-level Windows Phone. Downloading the Camera Extras app provides exclusive digital lens functionality to go with the five megapixel camera and built-in autofocus. Nokia Maps, Nokia Drive and Nokia Transport also offer the most comprehensive smartphone location and navigation experience available.

The Nokia Lumia 510 is based on the current Windows 7.5 platform, upgradeable to Window 7.8 which brings great new functionality and experiences to the existing platform. It is currently available at selected retail outlets across East Africa in black, white and red.

Local pricing for East Africa

Kenya: KES 16,900

Tanzania: TZS 355,000

Uganda: UGX 600,000

Product specifications:

	Nokia Lumia 510
Operating System	Windows Phone 7.5
Display	4-inch WVGA 800x480 TFT Capacitive Touch Screen
Battery	1300 mAh
Processor	Snapdragon™ S1
Main camera	5MP Autofocus
Memory	256MB RAM 4GB mass memory (no memory card slot) 7GB free SkyDrive storagehttp://businessnewseastafrica.blogspot.com/2012/Nokia Lumia 510 now available in East Africa11/

Epson makes label creation easy

Saving businesses, consumers time and money with versatile LabelWorks range

Building on its success in the business printing and labelling markets, Epson has announced its range of versatile, easy-to-use label makers. Addressing both mobile and desktop labelling needs, the range comprises the compact LabelWorks LW-300, ideal for office labelling, and the lightweight LW-400, with backlit screen, designed for mobile labelling in almost any environment. Both models are compatible with a wide selection of Epson label tapes and offer savings with economical, nine-metre tapes.

Straightforward to use, the LW-300 and LW-400 feature an integrated keyboard for standalone operation and dedicated buttons for quick access to cutting and printing functions. Businesses can save time by storing favourite label designs in the label makers’ internal memory for re-use: the LW-300 stores up to 30 designs and the LW-400 up to 50.

Targeting both businesses and consumers, the two models offer versatility with a choice of font types, character sizes, symbols, borders and styles. The LW-400 also provides barcode printing.

Epson’s wide selection of labels in 6, 9, 12 and 18mm widths cover practically every labelling need. The range includes standard, black, transparent, matte and writable matte paper labels, index tab and flag labels, a variety of colours such as fluorescent and pastel, and two adhesive strengths. All Epson labels are very durable, resisting water and withstanding hot and cold conditions.

 “To help our customers get more labels for their money, our label makers minimise the margins of each label to prevent tape wastage. Furthermore, at nine metres long, our economical tapes are some of the longest in the market,” said Mukesh Bector, Regional Sales Manager for Epson East Africa.

The Epson LabelWorks range will be available for purchase from January next year.

Key features	LW-300	LW-400
Integrated keyboard for standalone operation	●	●
LCD screen	●	●
LCD screen backlight	-	●
Can be used with batteries or included AC adaptor	●	●
Choice of 14 font types, 5 font sizes, 10 font styles, 457 symbols and 87 borders/frames	●	●
Prints multiple lines	2 lines	4 lines
Prints barcodes	-	8 types
Print a series of labels with incremental alphanumeric sequence	●	●
Supports 6, 9 and 12mm label widths	●	●
Supports 18mm label width	-	●
Compatible with a wide range of label/text colour combinations and label types, including transparent, fluorescent, metallic	●	●
Durable labels resist water and withstand hot and cold conditions	●	●
Minimal label margins mean more labels per tape	●	●
Economical 9-metre tapes	●	●
Two four-metre tapes included in the box	●	●
Two-year warranty, extended to three years when product is registered on Epson website	●	●

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SAFARICOM, BRITAM, CHANGAMKA MICROHEALTH, PSI, LAUNCH AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE OPTION FOR KENYANS

 Leading integrated communications provider Safaricom Limited has partnered with leading insurer Britam, Changamka Microhealth - one of Kenya’s pioneering mobile Health Financing technology providers and PSI, a leading global health organization to launch Linda Jamii, an innovative and affordable healthcare insurance option.

Targeted at more than 35 million uninsured Kenyans, the Kshs.12, 000 per Family premium cover will provide clients with access to a comprehensive medical cover comprising in and out patient cover, maternity cover and a hospitalization income replacement benefit of Kshs.500 per day, to take care of lost income while in hospital.

The premiums are payable in installments via MPESA, with quality healthcare  being available after accumulating  Kshs. 6,000 and  the balance being saved in a premium deposit facility on the user’s mobile phone.

Speaking at the launch event, Britam’s Group Managing Director Benson Wairegi said the health services will be offered through leading public and mission hospitals where starting from when the deposit is paid., families will thereafter have up to six months to pay the difference, for the annual cover.

“A majority of the families we are targeting have little disposable income and are therefore not able to raise enough money to get a health insurance cover, given the payment options available. The downside is that these are the same families who delay seeking health care, making treatment more complicated and therefore expensive in the long run, “ he added.

Linda Jamii will offer inpatient and outpatient covers for a family of two parents and an unlimited number of children, and will cover HIV and other pre-existing conditions. It will also cater for funeral expenses in the unfortunate event of the death of those insured.

Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob Collymore said Linda Jamii is yet another innovative proposition that demonstrates the convenience that M-PESA affords customers. He explained that lack of adequate healthcare coverage entrenches poverty among a majority of Kenyans.

“Linda Jamii is a timely product at a time when cancer, diabetes and other potentially expensive illnesses are on the rise. It is worrying that more than 35 million Kenyans are still not able to access timely and quality healthcare because most insurance products are designed to suit high income earners,” he noted.

“With over 15.2 million customers already using M-PESA, “ Collymore added, “we believe that we can help boost initiatives aimed at helping raise a generation of health Kenyans who will be instrumental in helping achieve the objectives of Vision 2030”.

Changamka has installed an end to end internet based electronic platform which is hosted on the Safaricom cloud; and with the capacity to manage more than 100 million insurance policies. The technology enables users to save little by little using MPESA until the required threshold is reached.

The product is an innovation that enables individuals register on a mobile phone, thus tackling the age old problem of distribution of Microinsurance products. In addition healthcare services are provided on either a computer or an internet enabled mobile phone.

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Nokia introduces ‘Slam’ on the new Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206

·         Nokia Asha 205 is the ultimate social phone, with a QWERTY keyboard and new

Facebook button

·         Nokia 206 delivers bold color and impressive 47 days of stand-by time

·         Nokia launches Slam – an exclusive new service that enables fast content sharing

Nokia today unveiled two new devices in its Mobile Phones portfolio, designed for offering consumers great Internet experiences at affordable price points. The Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206 are both available in single SIM or dual SIM versions and give people innovative ways to access social features and share their favorite content. Both devices reflect Nokia’s heritage by combining world-class design and long-lasting battery life.

Introducing Slam for fast, in the moment content-sharing

The Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 206 are the first Mobile Phones devices to include Nokia’s exclusive Slam feature. Slam allows consumers to share multimedia content like photos and videos with nearby friends almost instantly. Slam works with most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones without the need to pair devices, and without the recipient needing to also have Slam*. In just a few clicks, people can ‘Slam’ their content to another device faster than with Bluetooth alone and without consuming Internet data.

“The latest Nokia devices give super-social consumers new ways to express their personalities through design, color and innovative new features like Slam,” explains Timo Toikkanen, executive vice president, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “Both devices are built with the trust and quality people have come to expect from Nokia, and offer smarter Internet experiences that help save money today and tomorrow.”

Nokia Asha 205: the ultimate social phone

The expressive Nokia Asha 205 has a pleasingly tactile QWERTY keyboard.  It also introduces a new, dedicated Facebook button, making it the perfect device for social people who want the fastest access to their Facebook profile. Combined with eBuddy Chat, Twitter and support for popular email accounts such as Gmail, the Nokia Asha 205 is designed to allow that people are never more than a few clicks away from their social networks.

Other key features of the Nokia Asha 205 include:

·         eBuddy screen notifications that keep users up-to-the-minute on new conversations

·         The free Nokia Life+ web app, including the Life Skills and Live Healthy services

·         A comprehensive mobile entertainment package, including 40 free EA Games available for download, along with tens of thousands of other apps available from the Nokia Store

·         Available in single SIM and dual SIM models

·         Dual SIM model features Nokia’s exclusive EasySwap technology that enables consumers to change SIM cards without having to turn off the device

·         Great standby time: up to 37 days with single SIM and up to 25 days with dual SIM

The Nokia Asha 205 is available in Cyan, Magenta and Orange. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 205 is around USD 62, excluding taxes and subsidies, and it is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Nokia 206: beautifully bold Internet

The Nokia 206 features a classic alphanumeric keypad and a generous 2.4” display, giving ample room to surf the Internet, play games, or chat with friends. People can also enjoy fast access to Facebook and Twitter right from the home screen. Featuring a vibrant color palette including Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, the Nokia 206 is the ideal phone for those who want familiarity and ease of use, coupled with beautiful design and all the benefits of the mobile Internet.

Other key features of the Nokia 206 include:

·         Imaging technology that optimizes photos taken with the 1.3MP camera for sharing on Facebook 

·         A comprehensive social and mobile entertainment package with eBuddy Chat, WhatsApp** and a gift pack of 10 free, premium content items

·         Available in single SIM and dual SIM models

·         Dual SIM model features Nokia’s exclusive EasySwap technology that enables consumers to change SIM cards without having to turn off the device

·          Impressive standby time: up to 47 days with single SIM and up to 28 days with dual SIM

The estimated retail price for the Nokia 206 is around USD 62, excluding taxes and subsidies, and it is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2012.

The new devices take full advantage of the Nokia Xpress Internet platform, which uses Nokia's cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up to 90%, helping consumers enjoy more affordable Internet access. They also feature Nokia Nearby, a web app that helps consumers discover points of interest such as restaurants, shopping and ATM machines close to their location.

*’Slam’ currently not compatible with iOS and Windows Phone devices

**Available on single SIM variants only