Safaricom’s new service for SIM data backup is currently piquing interest with many viewing the service as a relief to mobile data and contacts loss, as it safely stores them [data] in the cloud.
A number of firms have however been offering this service for some time now and the entry of Kenya’s telecom giant might not be a welcome move to some of them.
Safaricom’s“Okoa SIM” or simply “save your SIM card” is set for introduction to all Safaricom subscribers and will be supported on most mobile phones.
A number of mobile users have since hailed the service while firms including Bitz IT, Six Degrees and Wingu Technologies Limited have seemingly started feeling the heat.
6ix Degrees, a cloud mobile contact synchronizer and storage application, however says Safaricom’s move is a plus to them.
6ix Degrees founder Ngugi Gikonyo was quoted by HumanIPO as saying, ”We’re are glad that Safaricom has entered this field. If anything, with their entry will come more high-level exposure into mobile backup and over time, people will naturally pick a better and simpler platform like ours.”
“You don’t to get back your contacts only after losing them, at times you are upgrade your phone. You don’t have to copy number by number, you just download them to your new phone. Your contacts are always safe on servers in the cloud with established firms like Amazon Web Services and Google,” he said.
6ix Degrees also gives clients free SMS on the Web and mobile platforms to tell their friends that they have acquired a new phone or have lost one. The service currently works on Nokia handsets, according to the founder.
Wingu Technologies M-wingu mobile app stores one’s contacts to be retrieved on loss or damage of the handset. The firm also retrieves one’s SMS messages, calendars, and events and activities in their to-do-lists, according to the information available on their site.
M-wingu also allows mobile phone data retrieval phone in loss of the handset or in case the data is erased erroneously.
Bitz IT’s Maisha Poa allows one to register, synchronize and save users contact details in the cloud allowing them to access them wherever they are.
