Panasonic today, at its first ever Systems Solutions Exhibition in Africa, revealed a line of business solutions for regional businesses and Governments. At the event that was held at Safari Park, Panasonic announced that it is aggressively working towards expanding its reach across the Middle East & Africa. Towards this end, they have already established representative offices across Africa, including Kenya, Angola ,Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa.
After-sales service will be a key focus. Panasonic plans to add 100 more service centres to the already existing line-up of 597 service centres across the Middle East & Africa (MEA) by March 2015.
Panasonic is also planning to open signature stores like the Panasonic Plaza across the continent. Currently, Panasonic Plazas are operational in Kenya and Nigeria.
Some of the products that were on show during the event included:
Projectors
Panasonic is introducing three new projectors to the African Market. The PT- RW330E (pictured above) allows users to enjoy maintenance-free operation for about 20,000 hours* while maintaining excellent brightness and outstanding picture quality.
KX-TW501 Fixed Wireless Phone
This solution is aimed at small/home offices. It allows users to connect a GSM mobile line to up to 6 wireless “landline” phones without the use of a PABX. It offers a range of features which incluing a Phone Book with SIM Phone Book Import, Multi Handset Capability (Up to 6 Handsets), Hands Free Speaker Phone, Ultra Low SAR, SMS, Voice Mail and also a Free Standing Base Unit for Best GSM Reception Possible.
The Panasonic KX-TG787x “Link-to-Cell” offers a similar function, it connects with a mobile phone via Bluetooth allowing you to share that mobile line with up to 6 wireless handsets. The KX-TG787x unit also has a USB port to charge the device while it it paired to the unit
Panasonic Toughbook CF-53 and CF-31
The Toughbook series is ruggedised for extreme conditions making it the natural choice for field work in Kenyas burgeoning mining industry.
The CF-53 has a 14-inch display, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, outputs for HDMI and VGA, a LAN connection, a Serial Port, and a optional card reader (SDXC).
A case lock slot lets you physically secure the laptop, and a tray loading optical drive lets you read and burn DVD-RW discs and CDs. On the right, behind a locking cover, is an empty Express Card slot, while on the left, secured with screws, is a cover for an optional Smart Card slot.
The CF53 is powered by a CPU:Intel® Core™ i5-3340M Processor, (2.7 MB cache, up to 3.4 GHz) with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, and has a memory of : 4 GB, DDR3 SDRAM (Expandable upto 16 GB Max.), a hard disk drive of 500GB (Serial ATA, 5400 rpm), a display method of 14 type (TFT) (1366 × 768 dots), an operating system of Windows 8: Downgradble to Windows 7, a battery operating time of approx. 11 hours and a weight of approx. 2.65 kg (Approx. 5.84 lb).
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Solutions
Panasonic’s Ceiling Mounted Ventilation Fans – FV-24JR1 & FV-24JA1, comes with DC brushless motors, which are incredibly energy efficient. They utilise magnetic rotors and printed circuit boards. The magnetic rotors prevent energy loss, while the printed circuit board intelligently monitors and detects the rounds-per-minute (RPM) of the fan blade.
In addition to IAQ system solution, Panasonic also offers IAQ spot solutions with kitchen Fans & bathroom fans. Kitchen Ventilation Fans come equipped with a unique filter that collects oil . The Wall Mounted Bathroom Ventilation Fans help to improve indoor air quality by eliminating moisture and foul smell by using mechanical ventilation.
To further enhance indoor air quality, Panasonic has developed cutting-edge technology of producing nano-sized electrostatic atomized water particles, called “nano-eâ€. It is capable of inhibiting house dust and air borne pollutants as well as reducing bad smells.
In addition to this, Panasonic is introducing Split ECONAVI Room Air conditioners with built in AVS voltage regulators. This is in line with its new “Made for Africa” product promise. The AVS features not only enables the air condition to efficiently operate on a wider voltage range of 185V- 260V but also prevents the compressor from being getting damaged by switching it off when there is a surge or drop in voltage.
HD Visual Communications System
Panasonic also aims at introducing its range of videoconference systems to the African market
The KX-VC600 and the KX-VC300 are Full HD Video Conference System designed for multi-site communication. They are capable of hosting a conference call over a company’s intranet, or online on the internet. They feature special boundary microphones which offer high quality echo cancellation, and direction recognition allow for full duplex, natural and smooth conversation.
If the optional HDVC Multi-Point Connection Software (MPCS) is used, a maximum of 16 sites can be connected.
The KX-VC600 delivers 1920 x 1080i resolution and offers multi-point video conferencing simultaneously connecting up to four parties. The system also boasts 360° full duplex audio. The KX-VC300 comes standard with a two point-to-point (four optional) video conferencing capability and delivers 1280 X720p resolution with 360° full duplex audio.
Again, these products face stiff competition from established vendors in the market, Cisco being the major player in the East African Market.
Solar Lanterns
Last year Panasonic launched the “100 Thousand Solar Lantern Project” as part of its corporate citizenship activities, aiming to donate a total of 100,000 solar electric lights to people in regions of the world without electricity by 2018, the 100th anniversary of the company’s founding, through local social institutions including like NGOs.
The solar lantern requires only 6 hours of charging to provide 20 hours of lighting and is equipped with a charging port to charge mobile phones.
The lanterns will also be available to the general public in retail stores across the region. Panasonic intends to use distribution channels such as microfinance institutions to ensure that the lanterns are accessible to an incredibly wide range of users.