Namibian mobile operator Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) is beating bigger operators to the punch by being the first to bring the iPad 2 tablet to the Southern African country.
MTC introduced the original iPad to Namibia in September last year, to the surprise of many, and was the first operator in Southern Africa to do so.
South Africans found themselves low down on Apple's list of priority countries, and had to wait until January to see the device in local stores.
MTC has now introduced the iPad 2 in Namibia on its Connect, Netman Plus and OfficeBox packages.
“The uptake and use of the first-generation iPad was so phenomenal that users came knocking on MTC's doors, enquiring about the availability of the new iPad 2, as soon as it was introduced in overseas markets,” said MTC in a statement.
While the second-generation device arrived in SA much sooner than expected, local mobile operators are yet to offer it in their stores.
MTC's chief human capital and corporate affairs officer, Tim Ekandjo, says the introduction of the iPad 2 is testimony to MTC's resolve to keep pace with international technological trends.
“We are also proud that, yet again, we have been able to introduce iPad 2 ahead of big operators in SA and elsewhere,” says Ekandjo.
Playing catch-up
At the time of the long-awaited release of the original iPad in SA, none of the local operators were positioned to deliver the device.
Newcomer 8ta did, however, claim first-mover advantage when it was the first to bring the device onto its network, offering exclusive data bundles. The other operators, however, offered micro SIM cards with their existing data bundles.
Coinciding with the announcement of the arrival of the second-generation device in the country, 8ta also extended its iPad dedicated data plan to the iPad 2.
None of the bundles, however, include the device itself, which has to still be purchased separately, at its full retail price.
“We live in a world where technology is a key part of our daily operations and gadgets, such as the iPad 2, serve to ensure that Namibians are technologically on par with their counterparts elsewhere in the world,” says Ekandjo.
Namibia has a population of about 2.8 million.
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