The new headquarters will act as a launch-pad for sales of the company's new i-Mate™ Smartphone and the design of future handsets for the Arabic market. The i-Mate™ Smartphone is the Arabic-enabled, Microsoft® Windows® powered mobile phone that analysts predict will achieve a dominant position in the regional market.
The company, previously based in Glasgow, Scotland, will open for business in Dubai Internet City over the coming weeks.
"Carrier Devices belongs to a breed of cutting-edge innovators which have brought unique next-generation products to the market and we are delighted to welcome them to the Dubai Internet City community," said Dr. Omar Bin Sulaiman, CEO of Dubai Internet City. "Its superior expertise in wireless device design and development will considerably enrich the ICT community in Dubai Internet City. We look forward to supporting Carrier Devices in its efforts to target global and emerging regional markets from Dubai," he added.
Key personnel - including founder and director Jim Morrison, CEO, Carrier Devices Middle East FZ - LLC - have relocated to Dubai to run operations, and the company will roll-out a local recruitment plan over the coming months, aiming to hire top engineers, designers and marketing specialists from across the region.
"Dubai is recognized around the world as a vital entry-point into the rapidly-growing Middle East technology market, and an ideal base for exporting to world markets," said Jim Morrison.
"It makes sense from a business and technical perspective to manage our operations out of the UAE, and I am delighted that - as of today - Carrier Devices has become an international business that is headquartered in the Middle East," he added.
As well as moving marketing, sales, design and management functions to Dubai, the company also plans to locate some of its assembly and warehouse facilities in the region.
i-Mate™ Smartphone positioned for success
The first solution available directly from the new Dubai headquarters will be Carrier Devices' i-Mate™ Smartphone with Arabic language option, which is launched today as part of a new generation of Microsoft® Windows® powered mobile phones.
The i-Mate™ Smartphone, introduced in co-operation with Microsoft Middle East is the smartest phone available today. It's Microsoft® Windows® based, so using it is second nature.
The i-Mate™ Smartphone offers the widest range of functionality made available in the one compact mobile, including access to much of the same information you have on your PC such as Emails, Calendar and Task list. It's just like having Microsoft® Outlook on your phone. You can even transfer updated information between your PC and your i-Mate™ Smartphone so you're always up to date. There's also a web browser giving you full internet access on the go, picture messaging, and an inbuilt MSN® Messenger service to help you stay in touch with family, friends or business colleagues. Media Player gives you the ability to play music and videos. You also get the ultimate mobile gaming experience with a sharp full colour screen and joystick. An optional digital camera is sold separately as an accessory. The i-Mate™ Smartphone comes standard with an inbuilt SD card slot for extra memory to do more of whatever you like.
Carrier Devices is proud to offer the option of Arabic language mode for your i-Mate™ Smartphone. Specifically developed by Carrier Devices for the Middle East market, the integrated dual language functionality means that you can swap between English and Arabic mode as you please. The Arabic language i-Mate™ Smartphone will be available in stores next month.
Commenting on the potential interest of the i-Mate™ Smartphone in the mass consumer market, Mohammad Gawdat, regional manager, Network Service Providers & Mobile Device Division, Microsoft, Middle East & Africa, said: "The i-Mate™ Smartphone provides a highly attractive range of functions for the Middle East market. We are confident it will prove highly successful."
It will also come bundled with localized Arabic content provided by Cityline. Cityline is Carrier Devices Arabic content partner and will supply a wide variety of entertainment and info-content. CityMobile, Cityline's mobile entertainment brand, has made available its complete range of ringtones, logos, MMS, games, horoscopes and much more which will enable individuals to personalize their i-Mate™ Smartphone. Cityline's extensive choice of content will make full use of the phone's large screen, rich media and internet capabilities.
In addition to the Qtek™ 1010, its popular handheld PC, Carrier Devices has a number of innovative wireless devices in the research and development stage. Work on these solutions will be completed within the new Dubai headquarters, and a number of new devices will be released for the Middle East market in the near future.
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Carrier Devices transfers headquarters from Europe to the Middle East
- United Arab Emirates: Sunday, June 22 - 2003 at 11:59
- PRESS RELEASE
Carrier Devices, a world specialist in end-to-end wireless device solutions, announced today that it has completed a strategic relocation of its headquarters from Europe to the United Arab Emirates, as part of its wider strategy to become the primary supplier of innovative wireless handheld devices for the Middle East.
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Category defining lifestyle devices:Carrier Devices specialise in the design, development and integration of innovative, fully certified, wireless hand held devices and accessible services for the world mobile market. We offer customers reliability of data, security of device and data, and an optional single framework for all lifestyle activities. The Microsoft® Windows® based products we offer are second to none. The Qtek™ 1010 Pocket PC Phone Edition and newly introduced i-Mate™ Smartphone are sleek in their design and offer a full Microsoft® suite of application such as email, internet, MP3 player, Instant Messenger and more. With their unique blending of voice and data, they maximizes the user's ability to display information, be organized and stay in-touch anywhere; and with inter-operability to users desktops or laptops they are some of the most powerful and expandable devices on the market. In providing exclusive category defining devices, such as the Qtek™ 1010 and i-Mate™ Smartphone, Carrier Devices is strategically placed with partners and networks to create a dedicated boutique sales channel throughout the world. For more information on Carrier Devices, and our products and services, please visit http://www.carrierdevices.com
About Microsoft Corporation:
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft opened its Dubai-based Middle East office in 1991, headquartered at Dubai Internet City and is responsible for all aspects of the company's business in the region, covering UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, Malta, Egypt and Pakistan.
About Cityline:
Cityline was founded in Dubai, UAE in March 1999 and has grown to include ten offices spanning the Middle East, North Africa, Southern Europe and Asia. Cityline offers corporate clients many value-added services including content creation, provisioning of Audiotext applications and services, provisioning of wireless applications and services (e.g. SMS2TV), and campaign concept and management. These services and applications enable clients to reach their consumers in a unique and entertaining manner. CityMobile provides mobile entertainment with a localized flavour to a wide variety of customers. Ring tones, logos, picture messages, MMS, Java games and much more are available to customers through IVR, SMS, WAP, GPRS and WEB. Customer mobile phones become a one-stop-shop for information, communication and entertainment. For more information, please visit http://www.citylineinternational.com
About Dubai Internet City (DIC):
Dubai Internet City (DIC) provides a Knowledge Economy Ecosystem designed to support the business development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) companies. It is the Middle East's biggest IT infrastructure, built inside a free trade zone and has the largest commercial Internet Protocol Telephony system in the world. DIC is a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in a vast region extending from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent, and Africa to the CIS countries, covering 1.6 billion people with a GDP of $ 1.1 trillion. In line with Dubai's liberal economic policies and regulations, DIC offers foreign companies 100% tax-free ownership, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, no currency restrictions, easy registration and licensing, stringent cyber regulations and protection of intellectual property. Within a short span of time, a dynamic international community of ICT companies has established itself in Dubai Internet City. The global ICT giants are all here: Microsoft, Oracle, HP, IBM, Compaq, Dell, Siemens, Canon, Logica, Sony Ericsson, Schlumberger and Cisco, to name just a few. These companies represent a formidable community of over 10,000 knowledge workers. The cluster of ICT companies in Dubai Internet City comprise of Software Development, Business Services, Web Based & e-Commerce, Consultancy, Education & Training, Sales & Marketing and Back Office Operations. DIC provides a scalable state-of-the-art technology platform to companies looking to provide cost effective Remote Services such as call center operations. For more information, visit http://www.dic.ae
Posted by Anne-Birte Stensgaard, Senior News EditorSunday, June 22 - 2003 at 11:59 UAE local time (GMT+4)
Replication or redistribution in whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AME Info FZ LLC / Emap Limited.
This article was updated on Wed Oct 15 2003.
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