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Airtel 3G plans

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Bharti airtel had five lakh mobile subscribers within seven days of launching third generation telephony services(3G), and that too in just five cities. Now it has over two million 3G subscribers (as of April 6) in 34 cities and towns across India including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore, Manipal, Udupi, Jaipur, Delhi NCR, Hubli, Patna, Hyderabad, Agra, Dehradun, Meerut and West Bengal.

What makes it click with users? Here is an analysis of the operator’s 3G tariff plans:

Airtel has a range of tariff plans for 3G customers, starting with a Rs 11 plan which gives 10 of usage for a day. The plans go up to Rs 750 for 2 data over 30 days.

But the sad part is that there are no real unlimited plans to choose from. As an alternative, the teleco is offering a Rs 675 plan, in which you get 1.25 GB data at full 3G speed, consumable over 30 days. Once you have consumed that, your access speed will drop to 20 and you will be charged 1 paisa for every 100KB till you reach a bill of Rs 2,000.

There are no charges beyond that. But then, why would you choose to pay Rs 2,000 when you can get 2GB of data at 2G speeds for just Rs 99, which makes it really unlimited as, at that speed, you technically cannot download any more.

So it is better to take the Rs 750 plan for 3G and Rs 99 plan for 2G. This way you get unlimited data at Rs 849, albeit at a slower speed. But this way you can switch to 2G for tasks that do not require 3G speeds, such as and mobile banking, and switch to 3G when trying to listen to music, watching video etc.

For occasional users, plans start at Rs 11 for 10MB for a day, Rs 65 for 65MB for three days, and Rs 49 for 30 minutes of usage for a day.

There are also standard plans that are valid for 30 days: Rs 99 for 100MB, Rs 200 for 250MB, Rs 450 for 600MB and Rs 750 for 2GB.

If you do not want to pay the one time charge, there is a ‘Pay as You Go’ plan, which costs 30 paise for 20KB download. You can reduce this rate by paying Rs 20 for a 30 day package, which amounts to 15 paise for 20KB download.

Video calling is also available at 5 paise per second for both local and STD.

If we analyse the competition, Airtel doesn’t have the cheapest plans, but as the company puts it, the focus is on network quality and not price.

For instance, Tata Docomo offers 10 paise per 10KB without any pack. Even in monthly packs, it offers double the data for every Rupee, like for Rs 200 you get 500MB (with additional usage charged at 1 paisa per MB). It also offers unlimited plans starting at Rs 1,000.

Similarly, Vodafone also charges 10 paise for 10KB but its plans are similar to Airtel’s. Vodafone charges Rs 3 for a minute of video calling.

BSNL is surely the cheapest as far as 3G tariffs are concerned. It offers 10 for just 0.02 paise, and for Rs 100 you get 250MB. Higher priced plans are also available and are very cheap. There are several promotional plans which make BSNL 3G extremely cheap. MTNL has similar plans too.

All the other operators have plans that are more or less similar to Airtel’s. Unfortunately, with 3G you do not have multiple operators to choose from just yet.

All the tariff plans mentioned are of Delhi, except where the operator doesn’t operate in Delhi. However, plans across the country are similar.

BlackBerry to launch Bold Touch 9900 and 9930 in India in June

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Research In Motion (RIM) has unveiled its latest series of BlackBerry Bold Touch smartphones. While the new BlackBerry Bold Touch 9900 is a GSM phone; Bold Touch 9930 is a CDMA handset.

The new products are not very different from the existing smartphones in the BlackBerry Bold range. The only exception is that with regular functionality, the user will get a touchscreen along with keypad and trackpad.

The new BlackBerry Bold Touch handsets are slated for global launch soon and the expected date of arrival in India is not before June 2011 as confirmed by our sources. Prices of handsets are expected to be close to Rs 25,000 for the features that the new devices offer.

Both the handsets have similar specifications. BlackBerry Bold 9900 and 9930 support fourth generation networks, or 4G, with data connectivity. The devices are powered by 1.2 GHz processor that operates at almost double the speed of the processors of existing BlackBerry phones. Along with it, the 768 of ensures smooth functioning.

The new handsets will feature 8GB of onboard memory for storage, along with support for 32GB of expandable memory via SDHC cards. The operating system has also been totally overhauled. The new Bold Touch handsets will feature v7, which gives fast yet reliable performance for most present day tasks.

“The new BlackBerry Bold smartphones and BlackBerry 7 OS are inspired by millions of customers around the world who want the ultimate combination of performance, functionality and style,” said Mike Lazaridis, president and co-chief executive officer, RIM.

The display is one thing the company is majorly boasting about. The 2.8 inch display features or 640 x 480 resolution with 287 dpi per inch, for detailed and more vibrant graphics, along with the capacitive touch interface. The devices will have built in features to support Near Field Communication technology for touch-less transactions and the new OS will have built in support for augmented reality applications.

The difference between the two, Bold 9900 and 9930, is in their modes of connectivity. The 9900 supports HSPA+ connectivity; while the 9930 supports CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and HSPA+ global on GSM/UMTS networks.

Enjoy location based services on Aircel without a GPS enabled handset

nilabh-jha
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Aircel plans to offer its 2G and subscribers better location based services and to get real time tracking, navigation information and information services while on the move, without the need to buy a enabled phone from next month.

Aircel, has selected Ericsson to provide the mobile positioning systems for its subscribers. Through these services subscribers will be able to find nearby restaurants or gyms, the fastest route home, or keep track of children or the elderly with a tracking service. Enterprises could also use the services for effective resource management.

Mallikarjun Rao, chief technology officer, Aircel, said “There is huge potential in offering this value- added service to our consumers. Most Indians spend on average 90 minutes per day on the roads; location-based services will definitely increase efficiency and enhance the quality of their life.”

Ericsson’s Mobile Positioning Systems (MPS) will offer advanced Location Based Services (LBS) to Aircel subscribers and can support several positioning alternatives for GSM and WCDMA(3G). This ranges from network-based methods (using cell tower based information), which will be available to all users, to more accurate terminal-based methods (in phone/device capablity) using GPS positioning for people with GPS enabled phones.

Aircel already offers ‘pocketfinder’ service which helps users find places of interest nearby such as petrol pumps, ATMs, hospitals, restaurants etc. However, with this new deployment these services will be expanded and their accuracy improved.

PlayBook Tablet updated with video chat, BBM, and more

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PlayBook Tablet updated with video chat, BBM, and more

BlackBerry has announced the upgrade of its Tablet operating system. This update, called Tablet v1.0.3, brings a bunch of new features to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, including a video chat application and BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) support via BlackBerry Bridge (a secure connection) apart from other features.

The Video Chat application enables video and voice over WiFi calling between BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in peer-to-peer or enterprise environments using your BlackBerry ID profile. The application allows one click calls from your Video Chat contact list, log of recent calls or simply by entering the BlackBerry ID email address of the person you want to call.

You will receive a notification pop-up when a new comes in, allowing you to accept the call as either a video or voice call, or decline the call. You also get a “Do Not Disturb” option to automatically ignore all incoming calls.

Some of the innovative features include the ability to see a preview of what your camera is seeing prior to placing the call to see the video feed you will be sending. You can also easily switch cameras from front to rear so your friends can see what you see.

The application will enable multitasking capabilities, where video and voice over WiFi chats can continue running in the background while you interact with other applications. You can also watch the video chat on the TV by connecting the tablet to TV using HDMI cable.

The expands the BlackBerry Bridge experience to include BBM. BlackBerry smartphone users with BlackBerry Bridge enabled can now mirror their smartphone BBM on the PlayBook tablet’s large high-resolution display over a secure Bluetooth connection. You can also edit documents using bridge function. This means that documents sitting on your BlackBerry smartphone can now be accessed via secure Bluetooth connection, edited on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s large high-resolution display and then saved back to your BlackBerry smartphone.

Users who purchase and activate a PlayBook tablet on or after Tuesday (May 3rd) will be automatically upgraded to v1.0.3 as part of the BlackBerry setup process. Existing PlayBook users will be presented with a software update notification on the BlackBerry PlayBook status ribbon, or they can go check for the software update at any time in the settings menu under Software Updates.

BlackBerry has also introduced a Facebook application for its Playbook tablet. The app has been integrated well with the Tablet and will support every function of Facebook and some additional design elements introduced to make user experience better. The application will be available by the end of this week along with other updates talked about here.
BlackBerry Playbook tablet has not been launched in India. However, it is available online through Homeshop18.com, Amazon.co.uk and shopyourworld.com.

New Android IceCream Sandwich version on the way

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The next version of operating system will be known as Ice Cream Sandwich, a posting by Google engineer Romain Guy has indicated.

It is expected to be version 3.1 of Android, and is likely to be a merger of smartphone and tablet operating systems.

Eric Schmidt, Google’s chairman, had recently indicated that the name of the next version of Android would start with ‘I’ or may even be ‘Ice Cream. Even Android chief Andy Rubin had dropped some hints about it in an interview with a news website some time back.

The earlier versions of Android are called Cupcake, Donut, Eclair, Froyo (Frozen Yogurt), Gingerbread and Honeycomb. As users may notice, all the versions are named after desserts, and Ice Cream Sandwich could be a new addition to the list.

Honeycomb is the only version that has been created specifically for tablets. The use of the word ‘Sandwich’ also suggests that it could be a combination of smartphone and tablet operating systems.

BlackBerry OS 7 to come before QNX on smartphones

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Research In Motion (RIM), the makers of BlackBerry, has announced a new operating system ahead of the QNX OS.

BlackBerry OS 7, the new operating system, does not have access to the apps or Flash despite the fact that RIM is working on Android virtual machine for its tablet PlayBook.

The new operating system is available only for dual core phones, so it will not work with the older phones, which do not feature such processors.
The new operating system is expected to come up in the first half of the next year.

Most of the hard work at RIM is taking place around QNX, so the intensity around the existing products cannot remain the same. That’s why the interest around 7 is likely to be much less, since the users and developers would rather wait and watch out for the next news on the QNX front.

RIM worries about this sort of perception, and that’s why it perhaps introduced hardware graphics acceleration for a better gaming experience for the users.

In the new version of BlackBerry operating system, the users are likely to get more pre-installed apps, voice activated searches, and smoother user experience. Another likely interesting feature would be the users’ ability to separately manage the personal and corporate content.

The features given here were expected in BlackBerry version 6.1 itself, but the changes seemed bigger to the company which eventually decided to call it BlackBerry OS 7.

Now pay for Samsung apps through your phone bills

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Samsung’s application store has introduced a new method to purchase apps for its users. From now on, users don’t need to rely on credit cards alone to make their payments from Samsung App. Users can now buy apps and pay it later through their postpaid bill or get it deducted from their prepaid balance irrespective of the service provider, such as Airtel and Vodafone.

A positive aspect of this is that users now need not to furnish their sensitive credit card information in order to purchase an application.

Apart from India, the service is now available in various other countries that include Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Ukraine, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.

“At Samsung Apps we’re committed to doing all we can to provide our customers with an enhanced user experience” said Kang-Hyun Kwon, senior vice president of media solution center, Samsung Electronics.

“The new payment method offers flexibility, choice and ultimately a simpler purchase journey,” added Kwon.

The new payment procedure is a secure and simple method which enables users to buy an in just two clicks. Samsung Apps was launched in June 2010. At that time users were able to pay for the applications through their credit cards and other prepaid cards.

The new billing launch is being marked with a promotional event in which those customers buying apps during the promotion will be eligible for a lucky draw and random prizes. The promotion will continue from May 17 to June 20.

Samsung launches Galaxy S WiFi smart players

nilabh-jha
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Samsung has launched two Galaxy S WiFi smart players , featuring 4 inch and 5 inch screen-sizes respectively. These media players (or mini tablets as you wish to look at it), are based on 2.2 with a 1GHz and supports WiFi. These are now set to directly compete with iPod touch.

What makes it a tablet and not a smartphone is the absence of support for mobile network. These two devices are similar to what iPod is in Apple’s product portfolio, where they have iPhone based on and iPod on same OS platform worth every other feature except calling.

This means that Galaxy S WiFi will be directly in competition with the iPod and if so it is expected to be priced similarly. The iPod Touch 32GB is currently sold in the Indian market at 32GB at Rs 15,500, and we expect Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 to sell at couple of thousand less and the 5.0 at the same price.

The Galaxy S WiFi 4.0 will be launched in Russia first while Switzerland will be the first country to get Galaxy S WiFi 5.0. Both the tablets are expected to be launched in other countries, including India, later.

“With the GALAXY S WiFi 4.0 and 5.0, we’re delivering a rich, immersive experience for multimedia enthusiasts.” said JK Shin, president and head of Samsung’s mobile communications business.

He added, “A large, high-quality screen, a world of fun and useful applications and great communications services make this a powerhouse device at an affordable price.”
Samsung Galaxy S wifi, however, support (video as well) calling apart from being an audio and video player (with multi-codec support). It has also the capability of playing games, downloading applications, web surfing and doing some content editing.

Samsung is truly hoping to challenge the dominance of iPod in the personal media player market with these two products. And it is being seen as a challenge from the Android camp. While Android has already gained the top slot in smartphone arena, it will be interesting to see how it performs in this space.

Apart from the features already mentioned above, the device will feature, GPS, 3.2 rear and front camera, Google mobile services such as Gmail, Google Talk and YouTube.

Another very important benefit of Galaxy S Wifi over iPod is the fact that it will come with 8/16 memory, plus mircoSD slot.

Tata Docomo announces Summer Carnival Contest

anil-satapathy
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Tata Docomo, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices, has announced an based ‘Summer Carnival Contest’ across all its circles for both its prepaid and postpaid customers.

Under the contest, five lucky winners from each circle will get a chance to avail scratch and win vouchers carrying prizes worth up to Rs 5,000 daily by answering simple questions based on cricket, Bollywood, general knowledge etc.

For each correct answer, the customer will score 10 points, amongst which top five highest scorers at the end of the day will get a ‘Scratch and Win’ voucher carrying prizes worth up to Rs 5,000 each. The contest is valid till 28th May.

The vouchers offer eight branded gifts including wrist watch, digital camera, travel bag, iPod, sunglasses, cash back, home theatre and holiday packages.

The winners can redeem their vouchers by entering their Scratch Card number on Click2Redeem.com.
“We are extremely excited and eager to experience customer response to the Summer Carnival Contest launched today. We are confident that the contest will be one of the most sought after, for the gratification worth Rs 2.3 crore,” said S Ramakrishna, chief operating officer, Andhra Pradesh circle, Tata Teleservices.

He added, “The contest is easy and customers stand a golden chance to win exciting new prizes. We hope that our customers will enjoy every bit of the contest and answer simple questions related to cricket, Bollywood, General Knowledge, etc.”

To participate in the contest, customers have to send SMS ‘SUB DAYCRI’ to 54321 or Dial *654*1# (chargeable at Rs 5) daily. Post the subscription, customers will get cricket score updates along with a chance of participating in the contest by answering simple questions. Customers can respond to the questions by replying A or B to 54321 at Re 1.

The scratch card/assured prize voucher cannot be substituted or en-cashed.

Vodafone launches new bonus card for local calls

nilabh-jha
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Vodafone Essar launched a new Bonus Card, priced at Rs 39, for its customers in Kolkata. The card offers all prepaid Vodafone customers to make local calls at 35 paise per minute. STD calls will be charged at Re 1 per minute.

Valid for a period of 30 days, Bonus Card 39 is currently available in Kolkata only.
Vodafone offers mobile services in all the 22 circles in the country. It has also got spectrum for services in 13 circles of which it has so far launched services in few cities but is adding newer locations fast.

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