26 March 2013
Muscat: New software solutions and state-of-the-art high-tech devices for both individual customers and corporate sector are all on display at the Sultanate's premier information technology and telecommunication show Comex, which opened for public at the Oman International Exhibition Centre in Seeb.
However, unlike in the previous years, the trade show lacks an active participation of retailers, who deal in laptops, hand-held devices and cameras. Several IT companies are trying to promote software solutions for a variety of industries, which include cloud computing, vehicle tracking services and security solutions for financial institutions. "Last year, we have seen a lot of retail companies participating in the exhibition. However, this year, several IT firms are selling solutions, which is something new in Oman. This is a good sign," said Joydeep, Manager, AFI Enterprise.
Major players like Cisco, Huawei are trying to promote their newly developed solutions for various industries, while telecom service providers are using the trade show platform as a venue to promote their mobile and Internet packages.
GPS for vehicles
The Sultan Qaboos University (IT department) is displaying a radar-based global positioning system for vehicles developed by the university. This device, which will be launched in April this year in Oman, can be installed in a car for alerting the driver for over speed and helps police to locate the vehicle in case of theft, said Dr Jamil Darwish Al Shaqsi, Assistant Professor of the Department of Information Systems, College of Economics and Political Science at the university.
"It will help the driver to monitor the car speed and if it exceeds the limit, the car alerts the driver and displays the excess speed on dashboard. In case the car is stolen, the police can locate it with the help of the satellite," he added, while demonstrating the functioning of the device that costs around OMR20. He said some of the insurance companies will give a discount in the region of 15-20 per cent, if the vehicle owner installs this device. These devices are to be manufactured in Belgium and the United Kingdom (UK).
There has been an increasing preference among people for tablets and smart phones as prices have come down drastically in the recent past "Prices of Galaxy tablets have come down by 30 per cent in the last one year," said Nitin Agarwal, Organiser of E-Max at the Comex exhibition. Tablet computers are available for prices ranging from OMR300 to OMR40.
Pradeep Tripathi, Group CEO of Oman Phone, said there is also an increasing preference for smart phones. "Everybody is looking for new applications and features." The exhibition has three pavilions - Comex Business, eGovernment and Comex Shopper. More than 100 exhibitors are participating at Comex this year.
including participants from foreign countries like USA, India, France, UK, UAE, Singapore, Egypt and KSA.
Muscat: New software solutions and state-of-the-art high-tech devices for both individual customers and corporate sector are all on display at the Sultanate's premier information technology and telecommunication show Comex, which opened for public at the Oman International Exhibition Centre in Seeb.
However, unlike in the previous years, the trade show lacks an active participation of retailers, who deal in laptops, hand-held devices and cameras. Several IT companies are trying to promote software solutions for a variety of industries, which include cloud computing, vehicle tracking services and security solutions for financial institutions. "Last year, we have seen a lot of retail companies participating in the exhibition. However, this year, several IT firms are selling solutions, which is something new in Oman. This is a good sign," said Joydeep, Manager, AFI Enterprise.
Major players like Cisco, Huawei are trying to promote their newly developed solutions for various industries, while telecom service providers are using the trade show platform as a venue to promote their mobile and Internet packages.
GPS for vehicles
The Sultan Qaboos University (IT department) is displaying a radar-based global positioning system for vehicles developed by the university. This device, which will be launched in April this year in Oman, can be installed in a car for alerting the driver for over speed and helps police to locate the vehicle in case of theft, said Dr Jamil Darwish Al Shaqsi, Assistant Professor of the Department of Information Systems, College of Economics and Political Science at the university.
"It will help the driver to monitor the car speed and if it exceeds the limit, the car alerts the driver and displays the excess speed on dashboard. In case the car is stolen, the police can locate it with the help of the satellite," he added, while demonstrating the functioning of the device that costs around OMR20. He said some of the insurance companies will give a discount in the region of 15-20 per cent, if the vehicle owner installs this device. These devices are to be manufactured in Belgium and the United Kingdom (UK).
There has been an increasing preference among people for tablets and smart phones as prices have come down drastically in the recent past "Prices of Galaxy tablets have come down by 30 per cent in the last one year," said Nitin Agarwal, Organiser of E-Max at the Comex exhibition. Tablet computers are available for prices ranging from OMR300 to OMR40.
Pradeep Tripathi, Group CEO of Oman Phone, said there is also an increasing preference for smart phones. "Everybody is looking for new applications and features." The exhibition has three pavilions - Comex Business, eGovernment and Comex Shopper. More than 100 exhibitors are participating at Comex this year.
including participants from foreign countries like USA, India, France, UK, UAE, Singapore, Egypt and KSA.
© Times of Oman 2013
