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Etisalat opens e-Books Store, e-Library project trial

ABU DHABI — Etisalat and Huawei Technologies Co are announcing the launch of the trial project of e-Books Store/e-Library at Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR). The trail project is in partnership with Etisalat-Huawei Application Innovation Center (AIC) and Etisalat BT Innovation Center (EBTIC).

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The e-Books Store/e-Library trial will continue until December 2010, with the option to extend it through the university’s spring semester.

During the trial, students and faculty members of Khalifa University will have the opportunity to access, experience and enjoy hundreds of titles free-of-charge. These include both written and audio books. Students will also be able to access their lecture notes, laboratory notes and other e-resources from their smart devices like PC and mobile clients.

In addition, users will be able to bookmark pages, search for keywords within e-Book that they are reading, add and combine notes and change settings as per their preference, using these clients.

Etisalat has waived off data traffic charges for this trial when it is accessed from the mobile client, thereby giving students and faculty members the ability to browse and download books via their mobile devices for free. Etisalat will also provide those students and faculty members with access to etisalat’s network, in order to facilitate accessibility of the trial.

The e-Books Store/e-Library trial aims to be in line with technological advancements and improve the accessibility of e-Books, both educational and commercial books, via personal computers (PC) as well as mobile devices. It seeks to transform learning and leisure-reading experiences of the students, faculty and consumers, to be more interesting and interactive.

It will also give faculty members the ability to collate and understand the students’ reading habits in order to adjust and enhance their own teaching programme to benefit these students.

In order to encourage students and faculties to participate in the trial, etisalat will offer attractive incentives such as iPhone and other high-end devices, to active participants who contributes valuable suggestions to help improve users’ experience and so on.

Commenting on the e-Books Store/e-Library trial, AbdulAziz Al Mutawa, Etisalat’s Group Senior Vice-President of Technology Innovations at Etisalat-Huawei AIC said, “The new service will play an active role in the sharing and exchange of knowledge in the community. We aim to develop the e-Books Store/e-Library service by integrating the e-reader with multimedia and cloud computing.

“Amongst other benefits, students will be able to watch movies, photos and listen while reading their textbooks; correlate theory with practice at their fingertips; and assess themselves through the ‘question and answer’ section at the end of each chapter.”

Khalifa Al Shamsi, etisalat’s Senior Vice-President, Marketing, stated: “In line with our commitment to continually provide our customers with innovative services by leveraging modern technologies, etisalat’s e-Books Store/e-Library service is a step in progressing the community towards a knowledge society by making knowledge more accessible with one single click.

Reading is a fundamental part of personal and professional development and the e-Books Store/e-Library service’s first trial with the Khalifa University is a significant step in offering the benefits of transmitting information by using the Internet”, Al Shamsi added.

Dr Mohammed Al Mualla, KUSTAR’s Interim Provost and member of EBTIC’s Board said “Khalifa University is delighted to partner with e4tisalat in conducting the first trial of the eBooks Store/e-Library service. This is part of our commitment towards enhancing the academic experience of our students and faculty through the use of technology and innovation.

business@khaleejtimes.com