Smart, Nokia ink partnership, launch push-based technology

Smart Communications Inc. and handset manufacturer Nokia have partnered to take advantage of the corporate mobile market with the introduction of two wireless connectivity solutions using push-based technology on selected Nokia phones.

Smart opened up new mobile solutions software, called Blackberry Connect and Mobile Exchange, initially to postpaid subscribers to avail of the benefits of push-based technology on their Nokia handsets.

This means that they automatically receive e-mail and other data on their handsets while on the go.

Both Smart and Nokia held a service presentation for the Cebu market, getting together the key players in the Cebu business sector, Thursday, at City Sports Club.

"Today's office is a virtual one as more and more people depend on their mobile phones to keep connected to their offices and business contacts. We make that happen with e-mail solutions like BlackBerry Connect and Mobile Exchange," said Jay C. Lagdameo, head of Smart's corporate business group-wireless.

BlackBerry Connect is available to new and existing users of the Nokia 9500 Communicator and Nokia 9300 smartphones in the Philippines, while Mobile Exchange is available to owners of both Nokia Series 60 Symbian and Nokia Series 80 Symbian phones like Nokia 6600, 6630, 3230, N70, 6680, 9500, and 9300.

Also, BlackBerry Connect is available to Smart Gold, Infinity and Addict Mobile subscribers and supports both BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

The introduction of BlackBerry Connect significantly expands Smart's portfolio of BlackBerry products, which currently includes the BlackBerry 7100G, BlackBerry 7290, BlackBerry 7230, BlackBerry 7730, and BlackBerry 6720.

With this, customers can enjoy the advantages of BlackBerry services with support for features such as push-based wireless email, wireless email synchronization and attachment viewing on the Nokia and Sony Ericsson devices.

Wireless calendar synchronization, remote address lookup, Triple DES encryption, IT commands and policy enforcement are additional features supported with BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

On the other hand, Mobile Exchange is available to Smart Gold and Addict Mobile subscribers.

Mobile Exchange provides users the ability to conveniently manage their email, wirelessly synchronize their calendar, view and edit attachments in real-time.

Featuring an integrated client easily available for download over the Internet, Mobile Exchange uses the existing interface of the already familiar Nokia phones for an SMS-like mobile experience.

The solution is likewise supported on 02 Pocket PC and Sony-Ericsson Symbian devices.

"Mobile Exchange is an alternative mobile messaging solution. By enabling even the most basic of data services such as e-mail, on the mobile device, organizations can greatly enhance the productivity on already prevalent devices at a fraction of the cost of existing mobile email solutions," said Ray C. Espinosa, president ePLDT Inc. (Ehda M. Dago-oc)