Anatomy of a ‘stealth application’

July 26 may have just been an ordinary day for the nation’s millions of mobile phone users. But for the one million Smart subscribers with Smart zed plus 2.02 SIM cards installed on their phones, a flash message appeared out of nowhere that instantly changed the way they will use their mobile phones.

That message completed the first successful and massive over-the-air activation of SIM card menus using Smart’s innovative technology. From the usual simbrowser with limited zed menus, phones now have added menus, plus other functionalities to boot. It may be compared to a lightweight division boxing player suddenly becoming a heavyweight overnight.

The "old" SIM cards were suddenly the most powerful SIM cards in the market, the Smart 64K Super SIM – with turbo browser technology. This new SIM card combines the power of the Smart zed and Smart Money STKs, all in one SIM. It comes with new features and wide array of services aside from those offered by earlier Smart zed and Smart STK versions.

"In effect, it was a stealth operation. Our research and development people have been working on SIM card technology and when we launched the Smart zed plus 2.02 sim browsers, nobody knew that it was a sleeper application and all it needed to be Super SIMs was just a simple click on Smart’s GSM switch. This means that the subscribers with the Smart zed plus v.2.02. got a new SIM without paying or changing their SIMs," said Alex Ibasco, Smart group head for mobile commerce services.

Over-the-air activation is akin to downloading data from the Internet to a PC. In this case, it travels over Smart’s GSM network and gets loaded into the mobile phone terminal. This has been made possible by Smart’s Mobile Commerce Platform, a system that powers the Super SIM cards of the mobile phones.

Aside from phone-dependent expanded allocation of 250 entries in the phonebook memory and an SMS Inbox capacity of up to 60 messages, this new generation of SIM Cards are fully loaded with services that allow subscribers to conveniently do mobile commerce through Smart Money and Mobile Banking, personalize and modify zed services through the microbrowser capacity, send secure messages to intended recipients through Private Text, and access all Smart premium services presented as "select and click" menus using only one SIM.

"We wanted to be sure that everything was in place before we launched the Super SIM and do the over-the-air batch unhide applications. We could have just launched earlier and fix the bugs but that is not the Smart way. With this new technology, we expect our subscribers to discover the applications that are suited to their lifestyle. It is all about enabling people and communities," Ibasco added.

Aside from the stealthy operation, Smart zed plus 2.02 SIM cardholders may now also download their Smart Money and Mobile Banking Menus in their Smart menu by texting the keyword "UNHIDE" to 211.

For those with lower version Smart SIM cards, Smart Buddy subscribers can upgrade it for P250 while for Smart Gold subscribers who have completed their contract term can upgrade for free and still retain their existing Smart GSM number.

All non-Smart GSM subscribers may swap their SIM to Super SIM for free and if they prefer, phonebook entries in their existing non-Smart SIM can be transferred to their new Smart 64K Super SIM.