Phone major Nokia announced that it will set up mobile application laboratory in South Africa. The joint initiative is part of the company’s agreement with the Department of Science and Technology of Africa.
The joint initiative between the DST, infoDev, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Finland) and Nokia that intends to train and build both the business and technical capabilities of the developer community. This will help them develop locally relevant content, solutions and services, and connect them to local, regional and international markets.
As South Africa’s leading mobile company, it is our responsibility to identify areas where our technical skills can facilitate the development of society. We hope the educational focus under this collaboration will motivate thousands of South African learners to explore careers in technology,” said Gerard Brandjes, general manager for Nokia in South Africa.
In conjunction with the Department of Basic Education, the DST and the Meraka Institute of the Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR), programs aimed at improved delivery of educational services through the use of mobile devices are being implemented. These include the Mobile Learning for Math and Nokia Education Delivery initiatives which were created to assist in the education of tens of thousands of South African learners.
Total handsets sold to end users globally will reach 1.46 billion in 2011. Much of the projected total market growth in 2011 will come from the Africa and Middle East (AME) region, which will see a strong demand for low-end smartphone models.
Smartphone sales will account for 27 percent of total handset sell-through. Driven by demand for inexpensive Android models, this figure will almost double to 53 percent in 2015
By Telecomlead.com Team
editor@telecomlead.com
