The New Digicel Smartphone

The New Digicel Smartphone

So this phone runs Android 4.1 and has a single core 1 Ghz processor along with 512 mb memory, 3.5 inch screen and a VGA camera. Don't expect great resolution as this phone is as economical as it gets.  For the average user this phone should be fine, and will handle well for "normal" use.

A big plus for this phone is that its 4G, and Digicel could not have done otherwise with this phone being that they are pushing their 4G offerings as best as they can. It is no secret that LIME is slow to market with certain things and once again Digicel has capitalized on LIME's lack of vision and business fortitude.

All in all, this device is ok for your mother or teenage sibling, for you however, I think you should get something that offers a little more.

LIME Jamaica Sweet yah Now

LIME Sweet yah now, this remarkable move to lower rates to 2.99 changes everything. Within minutes Digicel customers began to hurl insults and complaints via the Digicel Fan page, Digicel did not respond for quite a while (well, only to clarify the price of a phone) until they posted that something big is coming, later  at news time I heard that Digicel was seeking to take legal actions as to why the LIME rate could go so low, because of this, the bad publicity increased in fury as customers once again began their typed assaults. In this day and age companies should know that Facebook can make or break you. Anyway, at 12 midnight they posted their new rates 2.89 which of course Digicel marketing took some time to drum up. I bet they sat and thought, "how can we seem competitive but not be?" Hence the new plan they presented. I'm glad that customers are becoming more vocal, I'm glad Jamaican are now thinking.

Quick Post: LIME's Customer Service, Good.

For the past two weeks a team of over 65 individuals conducted a survey of LIME customers at several locations island-wide. The survey was to see the improvements in LIME customer service (if any) and to understand the areas at which needed help. All customers had called LIME's customer service office with several matters within the last two weeks. They were asked only three questions. These questions are as follows.

• Was your call to LIME's customer service office a pleasant one?

Over 96% of callers stated that the call was pleasant and the customer service representative was patient and handled the call professionally.

• Did you get a solution to the problem you called with?

Remarkably, 98.9% of customers surveyed stated that they had gotten a satisfying solution to their respective issues.

• If you had a choice between FLOW and LIME would you stay with LIME?

Much higher than I thought 61% stated that they would stay with LIME.

Remember, these questions were posed to the customers  for them to answer based on their last 3 customer service calls. A more detailed breakdown will be posted shortly.

LIME, A Sinking Ship! Maybe Not...

Jump ship! Ok, maybe not yet but LIME is now operating on fumes as I have been told by an insider close to management. The company is scrambling to find ways to boost its income and to regain a dominant enough foothold to sustain itself, but as you all can see, this isn't working out too well.

The Sour Taste of LIME

It would appear that there is still somewhat of a bitter taste in the minds of most people who find it hard to forget the monopolistic carrier that raped us all financially, you know, similar to what JPS is doing now. In addition, the slow pace at which LIME moves to implement new technologies is another thing that causes it to seem so unappealing. Next is the flawed marketing and business intelligence LIME seems to pull out of the air. LIME, if you are launching a new service do not launch it for the corporate area alone, in this business environment that is simply not good enough, better you wait until you can cover at least 60-70% of the population (which includes all major cities and towns) and then you launch.

LIME's parent company describes Jamaica as a difficult market, but this really isn't true. Anyone old enough can recall the tyranny that was provisioned to us by TOJ / Cable & Wireless (Now LIME) when Digicel came along almost immediately everything as far as telecoms is concerned began getter better. LIME is suffering from consumer negation syndrome. Ok I just made that up, but subconsciously most who consume telecoms services try, sometimes without even knowing it, to avoid LIME.

So what is LIME to do?


This would require a two pronged approach. 

To survive, LIME must eliminate these negative notions from the minds of the Jamaican population, easier said than done but it is possible. Start focusing sensible marketing efforts towards the young teenage crowd, those who weren't born or too young to recall the monopolistic days. Engage them with cheap phones that look great and have features sufficient for that age group, mp3 player etc. Ride the $8.99 wave that Digicel currently offers, same price no matter where you call. Appeal to the parents of these kids, after all a parent will think about the well being of his or her child over company brands. Utilize the same talk packages but put them forward in a different light, as in, "make sure your child gets in safe, want to talk to her the entire trip home?" stuff like that, highlight cell coverage, if possible, a way to track your child via his or her cell phone. Also, encourage education, partner with schools and PTAs, create online work havens for collaboration via desktop or phone specific to our Jamaican education climate. Diversify by selling advertising as well through these newly implemented mediums.

Next, be a step ahead of the competition, research new technologies and implement tactfully and sensibly.  These technologies must support the major target market, as discussed above. 

Ok, that's it, Oh, and stop blaming others for what is happening to the company, man up and learn from your competition.

Hello SkyDrive...

The official Microsoft SkyDrive application has been released and man am I lovin it, 25 GB of FREE online storage right from with explorer... its digital bliss. Dropbox and the upcoming Google Drive has nothing on SkyDrive. To start, nobody (as far as I know) is offering the amount of free storage that SkyDrive allows, and now in a neat desktop app that does everything Dropbox did with much more room to splurge. 

Things to know about the new SkyDrive setup:

• Anyone with a Hotmail or Live email account, which means you also have a SkyDrive account, will get the opportunity to opt in to the full 25GB of cloud storage on SkyDrive.  Anyone that already had 4GB or more will be automatically opted into the 25GB.  Keep an eye out for the opt in banner across the top of your online SkyDrive web access. These accounts must have been created before 22 April 2012 to be eligible for the additional free storage option. Another caveat: you must have also uploaded at least one file to your SkyDrive to get the increase in free storage.

 

• Microsoft shows the stats in their Building Windows 8 blog post that the majority of SkyDrive users have less than 7GB’s of storage in use. Based on that they are opting to make that the new level of free storage beginning today.  So any new accounts will get the 7GB of free storage. 

 

• All accounts will have the option of purchasing additional SkyDrive storage if needed. 20GB for $10/year; 50GB for $25/year and 100GB for $50/year. Those options are already live on the SkyDrive website. 

 

• File size limitations for uploading have been bumped up from 300MB to 2GB per file.

 

• The SkyDrive App on Windows will now sync Outlook PST files which Windows Live Mesh/Sync would not do.  Depending on the size of the PST file this may be prohibitive for sharing a PST between two machines.  Uploads/Downloads to SkyDrive are quite slow but that may also be network congestion as everyone is switching over to the new app today. 

 So go on guys, get that SkyDrive app and start uploading stuff.

Open Source for Jamaica

First of all, for the benefit of those who are not familiar with the term Open Source let me explain in the most basic way, Open Source software is software that is FREE, free to use, distribute, or modify as you please. You can do this because the code used to compile the software is public and under a special license which allows this.

So lets take a look at how open source software can help Jamaica, economically, educationally and aid in the security of our government computer systems, those present and those to come. 

• Open source software saves money: Possibly one of the most appealing options to users, presently the Jamaican Government spends millions in fees paid to Microsoft to use propitiatory software (closed source) such as Windows, Microsoft Office etc. this of course could be placed in many other areas which are in need. 

 

• Just as good if not better than closed source: Gone are the days when using certain Linux distros (Operating systems similar to Microsoft Windows, somewhat) would be frustrating and tiresome, installing and using Linux, especially Ubuntu Linux is now and breeze. It is beautifully designed and lacks nothing as far as operating systems go, it comes with thousand of free quality applications and is backed by a strong international community. 

 

• Used by Governments around the world:  The US department of defense uses Linux to run its servers and some desktop computers, the US Navy uses Linux, the local Government for Munich Germany uses Linux on over 14,000 desktops, The French parliament uses Ubuntu Linux, China's state owned bank uses Linux on all its computer, Cuba created its own version of Linux and uses it, the US postal service, the Government of Mexico, Universities etc.. use Linux as often as possible to have greater cost effectiveness and security. 

So why aren't we using it?the fact of the matter is, we are a developing country and wherever we can cut cost we must, there is no question about it. Even now our Government is seeking ways to raise more money to appease this budget where more than half of it will go to debt repayment  Our Government must try to move towards more web based systems, in other words, systems that gets all its information via Internet Protocols and runs from a secure web application server thereby allowing for more flexibility on the client end. There are remarkable things that can be accomplished from your web browser, having this set up and utilizing Ubuntu Linux as an operating system throughout Government will not only save taxpayers millions, but increase security and also if you think about it independence.

Digital Jam 2.0 Mobile Apps Competitio​n

 

And its here, with the aid of the world bank a push to getting Jamaican developers into a mainstream, hands on,  app development contest, ohh I can't wait. Here is the official script:

This is a Call for Submissions from Digtial Jam 2.0 to all Young Jamaican Developers and Digital Artists to participate in the Digital Jam 2.0 Mobile Apps Competition. This new contest is open to all young Jamaican developers for their Apps Concepts and ideas. The best apps will win money, fame, and glory as Jamaica’s very first Digital Jam 2.0 Mobile App Competition champions.
Please see attached the Competition’s Information pack to guide to your preparations and submissions.
Deadline for Concept Submissions & Registration:
The deadline for Concept submissions is Friday April 27, 2012 at Midnight.

Optional Intensive Apps Workshop for Registered Participants
Workshop is scheduled Monday April 30 to Friday May 4, 2012.
Workshop Presenter is the internationally reknown Jamaican Developer, Mr John Henry Thompson, inventor of the Macromedia Director Lingo Scripting Language.

Background
The Government of Jamaica in collaboration with The World Bank, Jamaican private sector ICT companies and international development partners will stage Digital Jam 2.0

‐ “The Future of Work is Online”, a programme of events and competitions that will include three [3] Tech Camps, a 24hr Hackathon, an Apps Contest, a specialized Mobile Apps Development Workshop, a Marketplace /Job Fair event and Seminars.  
The programme of activities beginning on April 30, 2012, will conclude on June 28‐30, 2012 at the Jamaica Conference Centre. National and international investors, young start‐up and established companies, as well as the broader youth population and Tech community will participate in this solutions‐driven hub of activities.
The virtual economy now offers new opportunities and solutions for entrepreneurs and Jamaica’s youth, such as using the internet to earn a living by performing paid tasks in the virtual economy. The Digital JAM 2.0 initiative will help to inform our young people about these opportunities, provide an opportunity to develop technical skills, and give visibility to the pool of young Jamaican talents who are engaging in the new technologies but are finding difficulties to link to national and international employment opportunities and/or business development opportunities.
More information on the overall programme of activities can be found at the Official Website www.digitaljam2.com  which goes live on Tuesday April 25, 2012.


So that's it, check in on the website to get more details, in the mean time if your interested join the community page through which you will submit your app concept at http://digijam.biz/