UAE night markets come to life during Ramadan

Delicately crafted items, artwork and a range of locally made products caught the eye on the first evening of a Ramadan Night Market in the capital on Wednesday.

People visited Yas Mall’s Ramadan Souq after evening prayers to wander about the more than 20 stalls set up by small and medium businesses.

Ten per cent of profits made during the seven-day event will be donated to charity, in coordination with Emirates Red Crescent.

“Going to these kinds of events is always good, especially during Ramadan when a lot of people get into a routine after iftar and stay at home,” said Mariam Akhtar, a Pakistani who lives in the capital and plans to visit the souq this weekend.

“It sounds like it will be a nice evening and, with some of the profits going to charity, I think more people will want to go.”

The souq has been organised by Abu Dhabi Government and runs until July 6.

The closing ceremony will gather the Government’s leadership and employees under one roof, with social events as well as artistic performances and competitions.

Meanwhile, in Dubai, thousands of people are expected to enjoy the Ramadan Night Market at Dubai World Trade Centre on Thursday night.

Organisers expect hundreds of thousands of visitors to attend the 10-day festival, which is now in its fourth year. Bargain hunters will be navigating through more than 300 retailers on the lookout for the latest offers and discounts of up to 70 per cent, as well as to win prizes.

There will be offers available on clothes, branded perfumes, cosmetics, jewellery, linen, handicrafts, gift items, health and beauty products, furniture, home appliances and electronic gadgets, toys and stationary.

The night market bills itself as a great opportunity for people to stock up in preparation for Eid.

There will be a henna majlis where women can get their hands painted and a play area for teenagers and older children to burn off excess energy.

Parents with younger children can drop off the little ones at the kids’ play area, where there is plenty to keep them entertained and out of mischief.

Elsewhere at the Dubai market, visitors can learn more about their inner self and explore their passions through handwriting analysis.

There will also be a huge food pavilion with more than 50 outlets offering something for a wide variety of tastes — scrumptious delights from the tradition of Arabic cooking, Indian treats and Chinese feasts as well as the modern regular fast foods and goodie-filled crepes.

Those with a sweet tooth can try a range of Italian and Korean ice creams as well as kulfi falooda, which is Indian ice cream, among many other sweets.

There will also be activities for the whole family, with entertainment from street performers, games to play and a host of exciting prizes to be won.

“The unique blend of shopping and fun, and the fact that it has something for everyone, is what makes Ramadan Night Market one of the most appealing consumer events for many people,” said Sunil Jaiswal, president of the event organiser Sumansa Exhibitions.

“The exciting ambience, the pace and the plethora of choices available in wide-ranging categories draws more and more people to the event, making it the happening place to be.”

Dubai’s Ramadan Night Market is at Sheikh Rashid Hall, Dubai World Trade Centre, between 8pm and 2am each day until July 11.

Source:awok.co/A5HZ4A

Website: www.awok.com

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Mobile phone operators research 5G technology

Although most of the world is in the early deployment stages of Long Tem Evolution (LTE), also known as 4G technology, mobile phone companies are already researching the next generation of mobile technology, 5G, according  to Ericsson’s Vice President and Head of Sales  in MENA region Tarek Saadi.

According to Ericsson’s Mobility Report 2014, there were approximately 500m mobile subscriptions to LTE, while this number is expected to globally increase to 3.1bn by 2020.

The number of mobile subscriptions is globally growing rapidly, increasing by 6.9bn in Q3 2014 alone, of which 375m can be attributed to the Middle East, according to the Mobility Report.

“One of the main reasons for the raid growth in smart phone subscriptions is that subscribers in the Middle East and Africa are exchanging their basic phones to smart phones due to lower coast of smart phones,” Saadi said.

He further added that with this rapid growth of LTE, it is predicted that 85% of Middle East and Africa will be 3G/4G by 2020. Saadi also said that LTE provides an increasing number of mobile applications, including social media apps, search engines, presence applications and content-sharing sites

While 3G is still dominant within the network space, it is being used in conjunction with 4G (LTE) by most operators in the region, Saadi added, noting that consumers appreciate the benefits of 3G and LTE networks.

“With increased mobility comes increased data use, and uninterrupted service becomes more important than ever, to the end user, who will no longer wait for a WIFI connection and generally connects through mobile data,” Saadi signaled.

Source:awok.co/39UI0i
Website: www.awok.com
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5 Great Mobile, Xbox One & PS4 Accessories at E3 2015

5 Great Mobile, Xbox One & PS4 Accessories at E3 201

Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PS4 don’t exist in a vacuum. Often times you need accessories and services to deliver a great gaming and entertainment experience. Early on in every console generation, it’s Microsoft and Sony who provide the best experiences. Third-party accessory and service makers need time to see what the challenges are and what people want.

It’s been almost two years since the current generation of consoles arrived and service and accessory makers are delivering some rather impressive accessories for gaming. E3 2015, this year’s huge video game and interactive entertainment trade show in Los Angeles California, had some pretty impressive Xbox One & PS4 accessories.

Mobcrush

It used to be that reading longform pieces and reviews were how you found out information about a game. The internet changed all of that initially, making gaming reviews easy to publisher and easier to find. The video and audio revolution changed that again. Now you could see and hear reviews of upcoming releases and watch other people play before you spent your hard-earned money on it.

We’re in the midst of another revolution now. Livestreaming technology isn’t new, but in the last year Twitch and YouTube users by the millions tuned in to watch others play games in real-time. Built in chats allow viewers to ask questions immediately and the reviewer/streamer can answer them in the best way they know how: by showing off footage of the game.

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Mobcrush is a relatively new app and service that takes the streaming experience on the go. Mobile gamers will be able to build the same kind of vast, open communities as their Xbox One, PS4 and PC counterparts.  Right now, anyone can download the app and watch live streaming video of big-name mobile titles like Modern Combat 5 complete with picture-in-picture video of the player. Downloading Mobcrush is completely free.

PlayStation Vue

Microsoft came at Sony out of nowhere with the Xbox One’s live television integration. The Xbox One can flip channels, tell you what’s on and let you switch channels with just a voice command. Better, you can watch television while you game.

PlayStation Vue is Sony’s answer to TV app on the Xbox One and the Kinect hardware that it requires. Showcased at Sony’s E3 2015 booth, the service allows PlayStation owners to get livestreaming cable channels over the internet. Available in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco, PlayStation Vue gives every PS4 and PS3 a virtual TV tuner. You get the same channels as you would from Comcast or Verizon and if you can’t catch a favorite show live there’s an extensive catalog of programming.

Read: With PlayStation Vue on PS4, The Xbox One Might Be in More Trouble

Plans range from $49.99 to $69.99 depending on the channels you want, and Sony is pretty up front about the channels that users won’t see on the service in their area on its website. At its E3 2015 briefing Sony announced that it plans to let people only pay for the channels that they want.

Nyko Databank for Xbox One

Gaming changed forever when Microsoft and Sony added DVD readers to their consoles. Suddenly, developers had a lot more storage space to work with. They could add features to games or add improvements for the way their environment and characters looked. Today we have spacious hard drives, upgraded disc storage and better graphics processors. All of these have resulted in some pretty huge visual upgrades for games. They’ve also allowed games to balloon in size.

Sony dealt with this issue by letting PS4 owners quickly and easily switch out the hard drives inside of their PS4. If you run out of space, you just add in a bigger hard drive and redownload your games. The new Nyko DataBank for Xbox One brings this same convenience to the Xbox One.

The DataBank for Xbox One sits on top of our console, perfectly matching its texture and coloring. For $39.99, it allows anyone to switch in a 3.5-inch hard drive into an enclosure that has USB 3.0 support. You only need to push in the buttons on the front of the DataBank for Xbox One to get off the cover and upgrade your storage. The DataBank for Xbox One is completely independent of the console’s resources; there’s a dedicated wall plug for it so that you don’t have too may things drawing on your console’s power.

Nyko says the DataBank for Xbox One will go on sale sometime later this year. You will need to purchase a hard drive to put in the accessory.

Microsoft Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller

Professional gaming controllers have existed for some time. Typically, these controllers aren’t created by the console makers themselves, but by third-party accessory creators with a specific focus on professional gaming leagues.

The Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller is the new high-end Xbox One controller created by Microsoft itself. Unveiled at E3 2015, the Elite Wireless Controller is completely programmable using companion apps coming to the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. In fact, it’ll even work on Windows PCs too. You can decide between two different controller profiles with just a switch.

Read: Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller Impressions: A Must

Removable paddles, hair triggers and metal joysticks with removable surfaces complete the superior experience. Microsoft says it plans to launch the Xbox One Elite Wireless Controller sometime this fall for $149.99.

Plantronics RIG 500E

I can honestly say I never expected to be writing that Plantronics had the best gaming and mobile accessory shown at E3 2015. That seems silly now because the new Plantronics RIG 500 line of gaming and entertainment headphones is the best accessory I managed to get my hands on at this year’s show.

Plantronics seems to understand that headphones aren’t just tools. They’ve become a lifestyle choice. The extras that your headphones offer says something about your priorities at that particular moment. Plantronics is treating headphones the way they deserve to be treated, like an ecosystem.

The RIG 500 series is completely modular. A support band cushions your head while a bendable, ridiculously light weight frame acts as the glue that holds everything together. The cups and drivers, the things that fit around your ear and create the actual sound can be switched out on the fly. One set prioritizes ear isolation in loud environments. The other lets you hear the environment around you, but provides stunning sound and lets your ears breathe the way nature intended.

The detachable boom microphone is muted automatically when it’s folded up. Each part of the system can be switched out too, meaning you can accessorize your entry-level Plantronics RIG 500 with additional features and better cups. Plantronics has an attractive line of colorful frames on the way that allow you to match what you’re wearing or your controllers color.

The RIG 500E comes with the two different sound cups, an optional USB cable, black headband and black headset frame. Every entry in the RIG 500 series will work with an Xbox One, PS4, iPhone and more. The Plantronics RIG 500E package will cost $149.99 when it launches, but anyone can get in on the ground level with the Plantronics RIG 500 for $59.99. They entire line will go on sale this fall.

Source:awok.co/svZ3cn
Website:www.awok.com

Why consumers are the biggest winners in mobile revolution

They now feel more empowered and connected than ever

Do you know anyone who doesn’t own a single mobile device? Probably not.

In the past decade, the mobile revolution has swept the world, seeping into every aspect of our daily lives and radically altering how we think, behave, and function in today’s ever-connected age.

Driven by steady technology improvement and lower costs, the global adoption rate of mobile devices has been spectacular, to say the least. Take the GCC region, for example: it has one of the highest LTE-capable smartphone penetration rates (more than 70 per cent) in the worl

The fact is, at present — and according to The GSMA Association — nearly half of the world’s population subscribes to a mobile device, according to The GSMA Association. While approximately 60 per cent of users still have basic 2G connections, by 2020, there will be approximately 2.3 billion 4G connections, dramatically increasing the range of services and value provided to consumers around the world.

After all, mobile devices provide ubiquitous connectivity and an array of applications and services that impact almost every facet of life. In emerging economies, mobile is often the first point of access to the internet, and therefore opens up a huge range of activities that were previously inaccessible.

To better understand how much value consumers derive from mobile technologies and how they use these technologies, we, at The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), surveyed approximately 7,500 consumers in the US, Germany, South Korea, Brazil, China, and India as part of our research for a new report titled The Mobile Revolution: How Mobile Technologies Drive a Trillion-Dollar Impact.

We used a sophisticated approach to ascertaining the true value that mobile creates independent of what consumers currently pay for devices and connectivity. Our research found that mobile technologies are creating immense value for consumers — value that greatly exceeds the cost of owning a mobile device.

Our study also revealed that the aggregate annual consumer surplus — that is, the benefit consumers receive from mobile technologies over and above what they pay — amounts to $6.4 trillion, a figure that exceeds the GDP of every country in the world except that of the US and China.

Moreover, consumers worldwide value mobile technologies at 11 to 45 per cent of their income — well above what they pay for the service. While the ones in the developed economies (the US, Germany, and South Korea) value mobile technologies at upward of $6,000 per year, or 12 per cent of their income, consumers in the emerging economies place an even higher value on mobile relative to their income. In China and India, the consumer-reported value of mobile exceeds 40 per cent of average income.

Mobile technologies have, without a doubt, become a basic necessity for many consumers. This can be seen in the trade-offs consumers would accept to keep their mobile phones. Interestingly, the majority of people surveyed were willing to give up luxuries such as dining out (64 per cent), having a pet (51 per cent), and going on vacation (50 per cent) — for an entire year — in order to keep their mobile phone.

In terms of their social life, 51 per cent of respondents would actually give up one day off a week for their devices. 45 per cent would prefer not seeing any of their friends in person rather than go without a mobile phone.

What are some of the other necessities that they would be willing to forego? 45 per cent of respondents would give up 20 per cent of the space in their house/apartment and their subscription to home broadband internet. Another 36 per cent would cut off electricity in their home for 12 hours a day, while 33 per cent would accept a 20 per cent reduction in pay.

Based on these findings, there is no question that mobile technologies have left an indelible mark on how consumers act and react. They now feel more empowered and connected than ever.

And yet, despite the tremendous impact that mobile has already delivered — or perhaps because of its tremendous impact — consumers still want more. We found that 90 per cent of the 3G and 4G consumers who participated in our survey are eager for advances above and beyond the currently available mobile technology.

Fundamental innovation is required to boost speed, extend battery life, and strengthen connectivity. More network roll-outs are needed to deliver better service to more consumers at lower cost. The next generation of technologies cannot get here fast enough for those who are accustomed to always-on, instant access to everything

Of course, many of these breakthroughs will not be possible without upfront investments in R&D by the industry.

The writer is the partner and managing director at BCG Middle East.

Source: awok.co/DrQVXp

Website: www.Awok.com

“awok.com” يعتزم إطلاق التطبيق المحمول العام الجاري

الشركة تؤكد أن التسوق عبر الإنترنت طريقة آمنة وسهلة وسريعة باستخدام الهاتف الذكي.

دبي- أعلن موقع “إووك دوت كوم” “awok.com” للتسوق الإلكتروني، عن عزم الإدارة إطلاق التطبيق المحمول للمستهلكين خلال العام الجاري بقصد تسهيل الأمر في عمليات الشراء.

وشهد الموقع منذ إطلاقه نمواً قوياً، فضلاً عن زيادة طرح السلع الاستهلاكية، كما نمت الشركة بصورة واضحة جداً في الموارد البشرية عبر توظيف أكثر من 200 موظف في الإمارات.

وقال أولوغبيك يولداشيف مدير الموقع عن أن هدف موقع “إووك دوت كوم” “awok.com”هو توفير منتجات ذات جودة عالية بأسعار منخفضة باستمرار، واصفاً هذا بالإنجاز، و قائلاً “نحن نتطلع إلى تحقيق النمو في المستقبل بما يتماشى مع أهداف السنة الثالثة لدينا”، وعبر مدير الموقع عن امتنانه وشكره للعملاء مؤكداً أن جل أهداف الشركة هي تلبية احتياجات المستهلكين وفق منتجات عالية الجودة تليق بمستوى تقدم السوق الإماراتية.

وأوضح أولوغبيك يولداشيف أن التسوق عبر الإنترنت طريقة آمنة وسهلة وسريعة باستخدام الهاتف الذكي، إذ أنه من مجرد إطلاق التطبيق سيكون المتعاملين قادرين على طلب المنتج مباشرة من أجهزتهم الذكية على مدى الـ24 ساعة، مؤكداً وجود خدمة “ما بعد البيع” لضمان هدف الشركة في تحقيق 100% من رضاء المتعاملين، حيث أنه الطريق الصحيح في إنجاح أي مشروع.

إلى ذلك، كشف موقع “إووك دوت كوم” “awok.com” الإلكتروني للتسوق عبر الإنترنت، عن تقرير أعده يدرس حركة قطاع التجارة الإلكترونية في الإمارات خصوصاً و المنطقة عموماً، يتضح من خلاله أن 50% من متعاملي الموقع نفسه يتصلون به عبر هواتفهم الذكية، و عن زيادة هائلة في عدد مستخدمي الهواتف الذكية لإجراء التعاملات التجارية و الشراء والبيع عبر الإنترنت حيث ازدادت نسبة المتاعملين بـ1000% للعام الأخير، وتنسجم تلك الأرقام مع ريادة الإمارات مؤخراً للمنطقة، بعدد مستخدمي الهواتف الذكية بنسبة 78%، ما لم تكون قد تصدرت العالم بعد.

وأوضح التقرير أن الإمارات لا تزال نواصل صعودها القوي في قطاع التجارة الإلكترونية، مبيناً أن 81% من مقتني الهواتف المتحركة المتراوحة أعمارهم ما بين 16 و 34 عام يمتلكون الهواتف الذكية منها، ما يعكس حجم الزيادة في التجارة الإلكترونية في الشرق الأوسط، و مع توقعات بزيادة حجم القطاع 40% على مستوى دول الخليج بحلول عام 2020، و أن يصبح سوق الإمارات للتجارة الإلكترونية مركز لعمليات القطاع للخليج ككل، باستحواذه على حصة 53% من إجمالي تعاملات السوق الخليجي.

Source:awok.co/1ojJaw
Website: www.Awok.com

70 في المئة خصومات “إووك دوت كوم” على قوائمه الرمضانية

يطرح موقع “إووك دوت كوم” “awok.com” للتسوق الإلكتروني المتعدد مجموعة خاصة من القوائم الرمضانية بخصومات تصل لـ70% على السلع و المنتجات المتعلقة بالاحتياجات الرمضانية من معدات طهي، أدوات تقديم، إلكترونيات للمطبخ، حلي و إكسسوارات رمضانية، و مجموعات إضافية شملت الخصم.

و قال أولوغبيك يولداشيف مدير إدارة موقع “إووك دوت كوم” “awok.com”: “نهنأ المسلمين بالإمارات و العالم الإسلامي أجمع بشهر رمضان الكريم و ندعوهم للاستفادة من فرصة شراء الأدوات و المعدات و المستلزمات الرمضانية بأقل أسعار من الأسواق التقليدية و الإلكترونية، حيث نحرص في إدارة “إووك دوت كوم” على الحفاظ على روح الأصالة و الفرح بشهر رمضان المبارك و لذلك عملنا على أن تكون جميع السلع الرمضانية متوفرة بأقل الأسعار مما يخفف على الناس أعباء التسوق المكلف في شهر الرحمة و الكرم.

و أوضح أولوغبيك أن الإدارة صممت شعارات و صفحات خاصة بشهر رمضان الكريم و طابعه الإسلامي المميز، مما يجعل للتسوق في رمضان نكهة خاصة، و أن اختيار المنتجات تم بعناية كبيرة مثل “أولومبيا” لمجموعات الطهي، “سايبر” لجهاز طهي الأرز الإلكتروني، “إل جي” للميكرويف، “لازاروز” لحلي الذهب و المجوهرات، و غيرها العديد من العلامات العالمية الرائدة.

و أوضح مدير إدارة موقع “إووك دوت كوم” أن الموقع يفخر بطرحه أسعار مخفضة جداً للمنتجات المعروضة فيه، و بسهولة استخدامه و تنوع خدماته، و إمكانية المتعاملين من كسب صفقات كبيرة و رائعة لا توجد في العديد من المواقع المنافسة، منها طرح حالياً عروض رمضانية مميزة، كما يضم الموقع منتجات عالمية متعددة و الأكثر مبيعاً منها: مجموعة من منتجات إلكترونية من آبل، نوكيا، سامسونج و سوني

Source:awok.co/4GwGp5
Website: www.awok.com

mCommerce New Megatrend in the Region

Local online retail store Awok.com reports over 50% of all traffic comes from mobile users

awok.com logo UAE-based online retail store Awok.com reports that over 50% of all traffic to their e-commerce site comes from mobile users, a figure that has increased by over 1000% in the last year. With over 16 million active mobile phone subscriptions in the UAE1, it has been well publicised that the UAE has some of the highest smartphone penetration rates in the MENAP region, if not the world. Smartphone penetration rates reach over 78 percent2 and can be attributed to the fact that the UAE enjoys some of the most affordable mobile phone service rates in the world, according to a report conducted by the United Nations.

Awok.com’s results are indicative of the fact that smartphone penetration is still on the rise in the UAE, with 81 percent of mobile owners aged 16-34 now owning smartphones. These high rates of smartphone penetration, coupled with a love of all things retail means that Internet spending in the Middle East is booming, with GCC countries expecting a 40 percent growth in eCommerce by 2020. Further results from Awok.com, the online retail website report that of all sales made on the website, 45% are made on mobile phones. In the region, eCommerce sales are expected to reach $41.5 billion, one of the highest in the industry worldwide. The UAE is expected to be one of the key markets for eCommerce with a total market share of 53 percent across the GCC countries3.

“Looking at global eCommerce trends, it is obvious that online retailers in the UAE need to migrate to mobile friendly sites in order to survive. mCommerce is going to be the next megatrend in the region, and smartphone penetration rates in the UAE are a clear indictor of this. eCommerce has been on the rise for the past few years and mCommerce is fast establishing itself as a deciding factor in consumers online shopping choices,” said Ulugbek Yuldashev, Managing Director of AWOK.com.

“At Awok.com, we have ensured that our mobile site is accessible and easy to use for our customers. We are currently designing an application for our customers to download to further streamline our users journey on our site. The Awok.com application will be launched later on in 2015 and we are confident that our customers will enjoy its usability,” he added.

Insights provided by PayPal MENA and Turkey, the online payment platform, reveal that mobile is now the device of choice for payment. The shift from eCommerce to mCommerce is attributed to the rapid rates of consumer adoption of tablets and smartphones3. With global trends indicating that eCommerce is making the gradual shift to mCommerce, consumers in the UAE will need online retailers to ensure that websites are as smartphone and tablet friendly as possible.

About AWOK.com:

AWOK.com is the UAE’s leading online shopping platform. The e-commerce site is home to reliable, quality products sold at the most competitive prices. Founded by Ulugbek Yuldashev in April 2013, AWOK.com initially sold electronics and gadgets however the company has grown substantially since, now selling a wide ranging, versatile product selection including consumer electronics, health & beauty, household appliances and jewellery with new items added to the website daily.

Source: awok.co/Aywb6z
Website: www.Awok.com
Post By: Ramiz Ali Khan