The much publicised Zero Paisa plan from Videocon Mobile Services has been able to garner a lot of eyeballs, but as they say, nothing comes free, and this offer is no exception.

If you buy a Videocon mobile handset from among the seven models that are part of this scheme you get to make 10 to 30 minutes of free local calls to any network, every day for one year.

The amount of money you save, though, depends on which handset you buy, and at what price.

Here is a list of phones that offer the Zero Paisa scheme. We also tell you the amount you save and whether the deal makes sense.

Videocon V202

Videocon V202 is a very basic handset with FM radio and torch, and is priced reasonably at about Rs 1,500. You get 10 minutes of local calls free everyday for 6 months. You save about Rs 180 per month or Rs 1,080 over six months, assuming that you utilise the free Talk time every day because left over talk time doesn’t get carried over to the next day. The phone can be bought at a discount of Rs 200-Rs 300 without the offer, so buying it at MRP with the Zero Paisa scheme is certainly better.

Videocon V1292

Videocon V1292 is slightly better equipped than V202. It has an MP3 player with 20 mm speakers, FM radio on loudspeaker with FM recording, dual SIM support, and an LED torch. But its MRP is more than Rs 1,900 and the difference between MRP and market price is in excess of Rs 500. Yet, the offer is worth considering.

Videocon V1404

With a Videocon V1404 phone, the offer period is extended to 1 year. V1404 is a dual GSM SIM handset with a 4.5 cm (or 1.8 inch) display, VGA camera with video recording, an MP3 player, expandable memory up to 2 GB, FM radio with recording, and an LED torch. With savings in excess of Rs 2,000 (10 minutes per day for 365 days,) this handset is a better deal compared even to V202, as savings are even greater than the phone’s MRP, which is about Rs 2,000.

Videocon V1428

Videocon V1428 is also a dual GSM SIM handset with a slightly bigger, 2 inch screen, than that of V1404. You also get Bluetooth connectivity and memory expandable to 4 GB. In other respects the phone is similar to V1404. At an MRP of about Rs 2,700 and the same savings as with V414, it is a good bet even though it costs Rs 700 after you deduct savings.

Videocon V1676

Videocon V1676 is another handset that offers 10 minutes worth of free local calls every day for 1 year. V1676 is a QWERTY device with a 2.4 inch screen, 2 mega Pixel camera, EDGE and GPRS connectivity, and pre-loaded Nimbuzz and Opera mini browser, as well as a memory that can hold 1,000 phonebook entries or SMS messages.

With an MRP of more than Rs 4,300 this device is not exactly cheap. At this price you can buy phones with similar specifications from established brands such as Samsung and Motorola. Indian brands Micromax and Lemon sell the same set of features at Rs 1,000 less. However, since the savings are Rs 2,000 per annum, the offer isn’t bad.

For a user in Tamil Nadu, Videocon’s scheme is more lucrative with 30 minutes of free calls every day and unlimited locals calls to Videocon Mobile users for 1 year, which translates to savings of more than Rs 6,000 per year.

Videocon V7400

Expensive handsets such as V7400 come with 30 minutes of local calls free to any network, plus unlimited calls to local Videocon numbers daily for 12 months, translating to savings of more than Rs 6,000.

Videocon V7400 is an Android 2.1, 3G handset with a 2.8 inch touchscreen that has display Resolution of 320 x 240 pixels.

The phone uses Wifi connectivity, A-GPS for mapping, has a 3.2 mega pixel camera, uses Bluetooth, and its memory is expandable up to 16 GB.

But at Rs 13,000 the phone isn’t a good deal because Micromax Andro, which has similar specs, is available for Rs 8,000.

Videocon V7500

Another phone powered by Android 2.1 Eclair, which is an old version of the OS, V7500 has a 3.2 inch touchscreen, and comes bundled with an 8 GB micro SD card. The phone’s memory is expandable to 32 GB, and it has a 5 mega pixel camera. V7500 works on 3.5G, Wifi and A-GPS, networks. It has a preloaded push mail client associated with the Gmail server.

Where features are concerned, the phone is decent. But, it’s outrageously expensive. An MRP of nearly Rs 20,000 is not justified. V7500 is available at below Rs 11,000 in the open market, but for the free talktime you have to pay the MRP, which is not a wise decision.

You can, in fact, buy a much better Android phone from manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, LG or Sony Ericsson for Rs 20,000.

Verdict

While at the lower end, the offer brings substantial savings, with regard to higher end handsets, it does not result in any savings at all.

Moreover, there are several plans from service providers such as Reliance Communications, Uninor and Tata Teleservices which offer unlimited intra operator (e.g. Tata to Tata) calls for a small amount, like Rs 30 per month. Plans that enable free calls to any network are also available, though the simplicity of Videocon’s offer can’t be denied.

Note: We have calculated savings based on a call rate of 1 paisa per second.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Processor was a huge success at Mobile World Congress 2011. It was the highlighting feature of many new devices ranging from smartphones to tablets, but what made Snapdragon the preferred choice for so many device manufacturers, and how will the consumer benefit from it?

Platform

The Snapdragon platform is a simple, yet complex SoC (system on a chip). It combines two independent cores or processors on one chip to carry out complex computing tasks in smartphones and tablets. The two independent cores include Qualcomm’s Scorpion processor for mainstream computing, and an Adreno graphics processor to handle graphics intensive tasks. Therefore, two independent cores do the work faster without stressing each other.

Power Management

The newer Scorpion chips used in the Snapdragon platform help conserve up to 33 per cent more battery life as compared to earlier processors. Also, power management technology allows Snapdragon to switch cores between usage to improve functionality and conserve power.

Better visuals

The independent graphics engine by AMD, also known as Adreno, is optimised for better Flash support, shader performance, and to generally render graphics better, which is its core function. Adreno supports multiple visual standards of image rendering in order to deliver better visuals at faster frame rates of up to 60 frames per second, supporting 3D imaging.

Better features

Snapdragon is in a way future proof, and that is why device manufacturers are betting on it. The Chipset supports all standards of mobile telephony and data connectivity existent today. Along with that it supports up to 2 GB of memory, so more applications can run on the device. The chip further powers the phone to use next generation Wifi, and Bluetooth up to version 4.0. In short, device manufacturers just have to send out patches or upgrades for their devices and the Snapdragon platform will support the additional processing demands.

Rumours of Facebook branded phones in the market were killed by none other than the chief executive officer of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, though he indicated that the company is working closely with handset manufacturers so they can integrate the social networking site into their phones better.

Zuckerberg also said that there will be dozens of phones with Facebook functionality. He presented his mobile strategy through a taped video at the HTC press conference in Barcelona. His company is providing necessary software to handset manufacturers so that they can build it into the OS. Facebook chat and messages are also integrated into the OS.

A mobile experience is vital to the future of Facebook. HTC phones ChaCha and Salsa have dedicated Facebook buttons, which means users can access the social networking site with just one touch. “HTC has always understood that different people want different things and the new HTC ChaCha and Salsa offer special new ways to experience Facebook on a mobile device,” said Peter Chou, the chief executive officer of HTC Corporation.

These Facebook phones are aimed at young consumers, and their specs are definitely not mind boggling. The Facebook buttons on HTC Facebook phones, however, are context aware, which means they understand what users are doing and change their functions accordingly.

Those phones that use Facebook apps pose numerous obstacles to first time mobile users before they download the app. Facebook phones, on the other hand, have been built completely for providing users with a Facebook experience, so there should be no hitches along the way.

Motorola has launched Droid Pro business smartphone at Mobile World Congress 2011.

Droid Pro is among the few handsets launched at MWC 2011 that does not feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It uses Texas Instrument’s new OMAP processor running at 1 GHz, and the older version of Android, 2.2 Froyo. The purpose of using an older OS is not clear from the official announcement made by Motorola, and it is expected that the company will provide an upgrade soon.

The only thing that makes the Droid stand out is its 3.1 inch capacitive touchscreen and QWERTY keypad. Droid Pro has a 5 mega Pixel camera with dual LED flash, full Flash 10 supported web browsing, 30 frames per second video playback and 480p video recording.

Battery life, according to the company, is 480 minutes or almost 8 hours of talk time. Even if the phone manages close to 5-6 hours of Talk time in real world conditions, most users will be happy.

Motorola Droid Pro is available for purchase on websites such as Amazon with a price tag of $500. However, information about its launch in India and its price are yet to be disclosed by the company.

The Mobile Store, a mobile retail store from Essar group, is offering a wide range of handsets at up to 30 per cent discount and is also giving a booklet full of discount coupons with offers on holidaying, travelling and eating out.

Discount voucher booklet will be given on every purchase of mobile handset above Rs 3000.

Alok Gupta, group head –Essar Retail, said “Sometime back we introduced Dial-a-phone offer, which has set a new trend in the industry. The February offers are one step closer towards enhancing buying experience. We will continue to come up with innovative schemes.”

The offers are available across 1100 stores spread over 200 cities in India, throughout February.

Nokia launched two new handsets from its affordable C series range, Nokia C1-01 and Nokia C1-02, in India.

The Nokia C1-01 and Nokia C1-02 are available with a price tag of Rs 2,789 and Rs 2,394 respectively. Both the phones vary in looks and C1-01 having additional internal speaker. Rest every feature remains the same.

Both the phones support expandable memory up to 32 GB. Both the phones do not have many features to talk about, both of them come with a 0.3 mega Pixel camera, Bluetooth and and 3.5 mm audio jack.

Both the handsets however enable people to access email, supports OVI Chat and OVI store function. And will also have free access to Ovi life tools (gives alerts for Agriculture, Education and Entertainment).

Nokia C1-01 has been launched with an exclusive offer from Airtel. As part of the offer, you will get 250 night minutes of Airtel-to-Airtel talktime, 50 MB data usage and 500 SMSes (local & national), as well as local and STD call rate of 40p/min for 30 days.
Viral Oza, head activation, media and online marketing Nokia India said, “Mobile devices coupled with internet are opening millions of opportunities to people around the world. We are excited to add two new devices to our C-Series portfolio, offering powerful features like 32 GB expandable memory and enabling easy access to information, news and entertainment”.

Nokia C1-01 and Nokia C1-02, also have music player and FM radio with recording.

Both the handsets where designed with emerging markets like India in mind but have arrived almost six months after they were launched in other markets including Europe.

Nokia’s recent partnership with Microsoft has taken the world by shock, but smartphone users will benefit from it in many ways:

Better email solutions

Microsoft Mail Exchange has become an integral part of many businesses around the globe. People and organisations prefer MS exchange to any other service partly because it is compatible with MS office, which is used by millions of people. Among smartphones, BlackBerry is the king in mobile emailing solutions, but it has some issues with Microsoft Exchange. Now, with the Nokia and Microsoft partnership, devices with advanced mailing capabilities will be possible.

Mobile Office

Even with experiments from vendors all over the world, Nokia was unable to find a possible alternative to Microsoft Office Mobile, but with the partnership all Nokia devices are expected to have a far better version of Mobile Office, with minimal compatibility issues. Now, you can expect a future in which you don’t have Office reader suites to struggle with, but fully functional Office suites to access documents on your Nokia device.

Multimedia

The best thing about Microsoft is that it seamlessly connects to other Microsoft devices. Just like you could wirelessly connect your Xbox to your TV and stream media from a PC to a TV, you can now expect Zune- (Microsoft’s media player) like media capabilities built into new devices, along with a familiar user interface.

Smart backup solutions

Microsoft has implemented one great thing in present day smartphones that allows users to wirelessly take a backup of their data. Also, the moment a user connects to a Windows based PC, Windows automatically takes care of the backup, and syncs the device. Newer devices will also feature these functionalities, and with Microsoft’s amazing My Phone utility, users do not need to pay for smartphone backups, thus saving money and critical data.

Share Point

Organisations now understand the importance of working on a common platform, and they understand that, ideally, the platform should be globally available. Microsoft’s Share Point has been adopted by big organisations at a fast pace. Global adoption of Nokia’s newer generation smartphones, working on Share Point, will enable smooth and cheap collaboration within organisations.