Samsung Electronics seals landmark accord with La Salle Green Hills for digital learning

MANILA, Philippines - Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. (SEPCO) announced that La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) will offer Galaxy Tab 8.9 mobile tablets to its students for advanced digital learning.

“Samsung is delighted to partner with La Salle Green Hills in this groundbreaking project in the Philippines. Our winning Galaxy Tab portfolio is an innovative option for schools looking for devices equipped with strong feature sets to enhance the learning process. It will enable students to learn in a fun and interactive manner,” said KC Park, SEPCO president and CEO.

La Salle Green Hills, a premier learning institution in the Philippines catering to 5,000 plus pupils, plans to deploy an initial 500 of the new Galaxy Tab 8.9 devices to its honors class students. The pilot phase of the project will commence with the start of the second trimester of the 2011-12 schoolyear in September 2011.

La Salle Green Hills expects to roll out the mobile tablet learning experience schoolwide in the new school year of 2012-13.“

A pioneer in innovative learning, La Salle Green Hills appreciates how technology can enhance learning. By introducing the eTextbook to students, we are not just relieving them of having to carry heavy school bags to school. We are also exposing them to digital technologies which prepare them for the real world where digital is the primary medium of communication outside the classroom. The school hopes this innovation will foster the creation of new learning systems and methods,” said La Salle Green Hills president, Bro. Felipe Belleza, FSC.

In order to achieve strict compliance with the school’s policies and security procedures, Sybase, an SAP company specializing in software management, analysis and mobilization of information, was brought in to allow the school to manage and deploy applications over-the-air and secure curriculum materials on Galaxy Tab 8.9 devices for the students of La Salle Green Hills.“

Unlike the more widespread practice of loading third party applications into a mobile tablet and distributing it to students, we support digitizing actual curriculum materials and securely loading and managing these in Galaxy Tab 8.9 devices. We believe this is the first attempt of its kind in the world,” said Sivadas Ramadas, managing director, Southeast Asia region, Sybase.

“Our engagement with La Salle Green Hills illustrates the growing interest and demand we are seeing from the education sector seeking to implement Samsung mobile technology and content solutions in the classroom. We believe this partnership is the blueprint for how educators will approach education,” said Glenn Martin Glinoga, business unit director for SEPCO Mobile Phones.

At just 8.6mm thin and weighing only 465g, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 is the perfect device for today’s mobile citizen. Whether writing emails on a trip or reading an eBook on the couch, the Galaxy Tab 8.9provides the ultimate tablet experience without compromising mobility. Powered by the Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) platform, the Galaxy Tab 8.9 offers faster and smoother transitions between different applications, more intuitive navigation to and from home screens and broader support of USB accessories, external keyboards, joysticks and gamepads.

The Galaxy Tab 8.9 will be available to consumers in the Philippines in October.