Google Pakistan Digital Media Consumer insights

Pakistani users are shifting their Internet into a new gear in 2014, which will be the year mobile Internet overtakes desktop Internet, according to a new survey sponsored by Google.While desktop is dominant with 91 percent owning a PC at home, 45 percent also own a smartphone or tablet. 18 percent cite the latter as their primary device. Mobile devices are gaining momentum: 86 percent use PCs to access the Internet daily, 77 percent use smartphones, 73 percent use feature phones and 59 percent use tablets daily.

This trend follows a decline in the prices of smartphones and tablets, and anticipated launch of 3G services. Internet-capable feature phones are expected to continue to play an important role, too. An additional factor is the unreliability of the electricity supply which is also helping to promote the usage of tablets and smartphones in Pakistan.

“We think 2014 is the year mobile Internet overtakes desktop Internet in Pakistan. Consumers are really starting to embrace smartphones and tablets,” said Tania Aidrus, Manager for Asian Growth Markets, Google Asia Pacific.

These findings come from a survey of over 1,000 Pakistanis by research firm IDC on behalf of Google. The “Pakistan Digital Consumer Study” conducted earlier this quarter took a look at the life of the connected Pakistani consumer.

Pakistani digital consumers are engaging more with the Internet than ever before: of those surveyed, 70 percent spend time daily on the Internet while 60 percent say it is also where they liked to spend most of their personal time. Watching TV (41 percent) and reading the newspaper (24 percent) combined ranked lower than the Internet.

The study revealed that home is the preferred location for Internet access — even for mobile-only users, who prefer to use their home wi-fi connection. The average hours spent on the Internet are 2.25 hours a day on weekdays and 3 hours a day on weekends.

The top three activities in Pakistan both on desktop and mobile Internet are: social media, email and general search. Interestingly, digital Pakistanis like to learn on their smartphones with educational content coming in fourth. Also popular on smartphones are online banking, researching financial services and investment, and bill payments -- pointing to a near future where digitally literate Pakistanis make the Web work for them.

The main challenge of Internet proliferation in Pakistan are the quality and reliability of connectivity -- including poor speed or bandwidth availability, perceived value-for-money, customer service quality, limited choice of plans and frequency of service interruptions. The unreliability of the power supply is also a factor.

With digital Pakistanis living more of their lives online, the main opportunities are related to the economic contribution of the Internet, especially for small-medium businesses, as well as nutritious and local Internet content: education, research, financial services.

There are over 2 billion Internet users today. Throughout the 2000s, the Internet has been defined by developed countries, but it is now being defined by massive, developing countries like Pakistan.

“Emerging markets are starting from mobile, so if we lower Internet access barriers to consumers, businesses and communities, then we can expect growth far more rapid than what we’re already seeing,” said Aidrus.

As other markets have demonstrated, growth on the Internet encourages growth across the economy. More businesses online means more information for people and incentives to create better networks and content that better reflect local culture and needs. That will make the Internet more valuable and the economy stronger for Pakistan.

About Google Inc.

Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top Internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world.

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Media contacts:

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Zeffri Yusof

E-mail: zeff@google.com  

‘Unlock Possibilities’ with Huawei’s competition this holiday season

Huawei brings the benefits of technolsogy to more people around the world.Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today launched its global holiday online competition ‘Unlock Possibilities’. Running in 48 countries, the free competition provides the chance to win a line-up of goodies, culminating in two grand prize Mercedes-Benz Sports Coupes. The ‘Unlock Possibilities’ competition further demonstrates Huawei’s aspiration to become one of the leading mobile phone brands globally by bringing quality, innovative and fashionable products within reach for more people. With a focus on the HUAWEI Ascend P6, ‘Unlock Possibilities’ is set to excite a global audience as Huawei continues to build its leadership in the smartphone industry. .

“While our number three ranking for smartphone shipments last quarter shows the increasing demand for our flagship handsets including the HUAWEI Ascend P6, we still have a long way to go to build the Huawei brand among consumers globally,” said Colin Giles, Executive Vice President, Huawei Consumer Business Group. “The ‘Unlock Possibilities’ competition not only delivers on our promise to create extraordinary experiences, but also provides an opportunity for more people to join us as we bring the joy of technology to more people around the world.” 

The ‘Unlock Possibilities’ competition invites people to play a game and make a connection for the chance to win a range of prizes including the HUAWEI Ascend P6 smartphone and E-coupons [local markets to add information of local e-coupons]. Game credits and golden keys will also be awarded to help people increase their chances to win one of two Mercedes-Benz Sports Coupes. To take part, visit the Huawei Device Facebook page www.facebook.com/huaweidevice or the official mobile site unlockpossibilities.mobi. 

People in the United Kingdom can also visit Huawei’s ‘Unlock Possibilities’ experience display at Westfield Shopping Centres in Stratford City and London. By playing Huawei’s digital game with a friend, users will get the chance to win Westfield shopping vouchers as well as E-coupons via the ‘Text and Win’ game. At the booth, shoppers can try Huawei’s array of products including the flagship Ascend P6, Ascend P2, Ascend Mate, Ascend G510 and Ascend Y300, and retrieve discount vouchers for Westfield stockists. The flagship HUAWEI Ascend P6 has exceeded two million global shipments worldwide since its launch in July, and is now available through Europe’s mainstream carriers including Vodafone, Telefonica, Orange, and H3G, as well as the UK’s largest mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse. 

The ‘Unlock Possibilities’ competition will run on Huawei Device Facebook pages and the official mobile site unlockpossibilities.mobi from December 1, 2013 to January 4, 2014. Westfield Shopping Centre activities will begin in Stratford from December 1 until December 24, 2013 and in London from November 20, 2013 until January 5, 2014. Grand prize winners will be notified by phone and email while runners-up will be notified by email.

About Huawei Consumer Business Group

As at the end of 2012, Huawei’s products and services are deployed in over 140 countries, serving more than one third of the world’s population. Huawei has also established more than 16 R&D centers around the world in countries such as the United States, Germany, Sweden, Russia, India, and China. One of Huawei’s three business groups, Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) provides a range of products including mobile broadband (MBB) devices, home devices, handsets, and cloud services. A young, progressive company, Huawei Consumer BG was ranked third in global smartphone shipments in Q3 2013. Huawei Consumer BG is committed to making the impossible possible, to better enriching people’s lives through communication, and to bringing the benefits and joy of technology to more people around the world.

For more information, visit Huawei Consumer BG online: consumer.huawei.com/en/

For regular updates on Huawei Consumer BG, follow us on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/huaweidevice

Twitter: www.twitter.com/HuaweiDevice

YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/HuaweiDeviceCo

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/huaweidevice

How to recognize fake or real social networking Profiles

How to recognize fake or real social networking Profiles. Now days it’s hard to recognize fake and real social networking profiles. It's a bit hard for common users to differentiate between real or fake social networking pages of stars, celebrities and other people. Here exist lots of people that try to deceive other users of the social network websites for reasons of their own, from having a bit of fun, to cheating for its own sake. It is very much essential for the common users of social networking websites to keep safe online and remaining distant from people you don't know.

The social networking websites include Twitter, Facebook, and Google plus, etc. Now the question is why you need to stay away from fraudulent? There are lots of things that can cause you suffering and tension. For instance the fake users of Facebook, twitter and g+ play games with the innocent people. If you started to have strong belief on them they can cause serious threat and deprive you from your money, property and even your life. The fraudulent might also be embezzled your identity or valuable information for deceiving others.

If you are not satisfied and your mind constantly hit you regarding the identity of the new friend and celebrity pages you, be careful and may end up following an imposter. The first thing which I recommend is think a number of times before accepting a friend request blindly. No doubt you have lots of people in your life circle you can add them instead of unknowns.

You need to ask a few questions from him/her. For example, he or she knows you? From where they get your social networking information? Etc.

You also need to check is the person is frequently tagged by others.  You need to check how many friends and followers are listed in the person's network. The average Facebook user has 130 friends. A fraud one will often have considerably fewer. Check his profile and pictures. The real people always have pictures with friends and family posted on its account.

The most important factor is that the fake or imposter does not provide its bio on the social networking accounts. An empty bio on Facebook, Twitter and Google plus is a strong proof of its dud.

If you want to follow celebrities on the social networking websites, you need to check lots of things first. I think a real person or star may not even have a social networking account, but my opinion can be refuted because the stars and celebrities start creating social networking pages to stay in touch with their fans. There is a trick to recognize real page of your favorite celebrity, on Twitter and Google Plus the famous person and organizations have gotten their social networking accounts with a verified sign that is a proof of their accuracy.

On Twitter the Green Tick mark and on Google Plus the Grey Tick mark is the proof of their real identity. But all real profiles do not have the verified sign. Like Twitter, Facebook also verified accounts with a small blue icon or tick mark with a checkmark in it. It will emerge next to the user or page’s name on their Timeline, in search results and elsewhere around Facebook.

To conclude, if you find someone who posted a fake profile, report it to site monitors and authorities they will take action instantly by closing their accounts more quickly.

Make Cheap International Calls with Mobile Calling Apps

 Make Cheap International Calls with Mobile Calling Apps. Mobile phone use is increasing day by day. There are a growing number of mobile phone users across the world. The users of mobile phone always search for the best calling and SMS rates either to dial local or international numbers. Though the cellular companies are offering their subscribers a bunch of affordable and low cost packages to make national and international calls, but I think it’s not enough for the mobile users.

You are fully aware with the rapidly growing technology in the vast number of mobile applications. The different companies are launching various mobile applications due to the ongoing increase in the mobile users. They are aimed to offer more affordable and feature-rich calling options. The mobile manufacturing industry rapidly progressing and day after day come out with latest handset, Smartphone with the latest operating systems. These Smartphones or devices do not merely support talking, gaming and messaging application but also stunning apps that help you to stay connected with social networking and get productivity in your business, at the palm of your hand.

Today I will tell you some of the useful applications (apps) for making cheap international calls. Some of these mobile calling applications are free and have been fashioned to deliver cheap international calls for you and your close ones across the world. The mobile calling apps include;

Google Voice

Callimax

Truphone

Viber

Nimbuzz

Google Voice is absolutely an exciting app that not only connects you with your friends and family with texting and calling options. By using Google Voice you can make flexible calls from and to any destination. It is not only for ordinary consumers but also best for business people. It may be linked with other phone numbers which makes the call management quite easy and handy. In addition, it is connected with your Google account lead to rapid information sharing. The features of Google Voice include Call forwarding, voicemail, call recording and up-to-date web interface, etc.

Viber on the other hand is very useful and convenient calling, texting, image and video sharing applications. A number of mobile phone users are taking the advantage of Viber app. It also enables the sync between mobile device and desktop computer.

Nimbuzz is another easy to use application and you can install it simply both on your mobile and desktop computer. It has lots of exciting features like calling, messaging and file sharing, etc. the Nimbuzz app also offers you to integrate with your contacts from Facebook, Yahoo, Gtalk and Twitter.

Callimax is one of the best apps which offer cheapest international calling rates. It contains a bunch of features and allows you sync contacts with your smartphones or hand set’s address book and enjoy premium calls either via direct dialing or callback options.

Truphone application is especially built for cheap mobile VoIP services to the smartphone users. It offers lowest calling and chatting options. Moreover the Truphone app services are even accessible without internet connection.

So what are you waiting for download one of the above mentioned applications to enjoy the cheap international calling. I hope you will definitely get the advantage of the features of these applications.