Vodafone Essar has launched several value added services to mark the auspicious month of Ramadan.
It has announced a bouquet, or a Ramadan pack, which comprises the Quran Vodafone alert service and the Ramadan voice portal.
The Ramadan pack consists of special caller tunes, song dedications, recipes and information related to Ramadan. The Quran Vodafone alert service offers customers verses from the Holy Quran as well as the timings of Sehri and Iftari.
Additionally, callers can also dial 5674786 to subscribe to caller tunes, ringtones and dedicate songs from the Ramadan voice portal. The subscription cost for caller tunes is Rs 30 per month, and for songs the cost is Rs 15 per song.
Vodafone announces a bouquet of Ramadan services
Nokia to launch N8 in India in mid Sept
Nokia said that it is planning to bring its latest high end smartphone N8 to India in September. This is the first Nokia device that uses the Symbian 3 platform.
Speaking at a press conference, Mary McDowell, executive vice president, mobile phones, Nokia Corp, said, “We will be launching the N8 in India in mid September.” Nokia claims that it controls 72 per cent share in the smartphone segment in India, and about 42 per cent globally.
McDowell also said that Nokia will be rolling out its second Linux Maemo operating system device later this year. It had launched its first Maemo phone N900 in India at Rs 31,000 in June this year.
The Nokia N8 brings with it a 12 mega Pixel camera and Xenon flash set in the rear of the phone. It comes with HD quality video recording, film editing software and Dolby surround sound.
The smartphone offers the ability to make HD quality videos and edit them with an intuitive built in editing suite. Users can plug the device into their home theatre system to watch HD movies.
The N8 will come with free global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation covering more than 70 countries. The phone also offers multiple, personalisable homescreens which can be loaded with apps and widgets.
Indian youth would prefer mobile ads to those on TV
Mobile phones have become an integral part of the lives of young Asians. Youngsters nowadays just cannot do without their phones.
A survey of young Asians by global market research firm Synovate shows that the lives of Asia’s youth revolve around their mobile phones.
Overall personal ownership of mobiles has increased from 60 per cent in 2008 to 64 per cent in 2010. According to the survey, young Indians top the race for mobile phone ownership compared to the rest of Asia.
Personal ownership of mobile phones among young Indians has increased from 28 per cent in 2008 to 37 per cent in 2010, while the average in Asia is only 18 per cent.
Steve Garton, executive director of media research for Synovate said, “This year, we see that the mobile phone is simply inseparable from its owner. More youth across a number of Asian markets now own a mobile compared to 2008. With one in five (18 per cent) young Asians planning to use their mobile even more often, these findings show the great potential of this medium.â€
The survey also showed that young Indians are fatigued with TV adverts. Fifty five per cent of young Indians between 15 and 24 years would pay a higher TV subscription rate to avoid adverts (this percentage is the highest in Asia).
However, interestingly, they are of an entirely different opinion when it comes to mobile phone advertising, as 37 per cent say they won’t mind receiving ads on their mobiles, or responding to such adverts as long as they are incentivised.
This percentage is the highest in the region after Vietnam (44 per cent). The Asian average is 29 per cent.
Listening to music, playing games and taking photos are just some of the activities that youth turn to their mobile phone for.
Among Asian youth who own a mobile phone, about half of those surveyed perform the above activities on their mobile. One in five (21 per cent) also uses this device to record video.
In India, the most popular mobile phone activities over the past seven days were listening to music (59 per cent young users listened to music on their mobiles), SMS (58 per cent), taking pictures (51 per cent), and playing games (46 per cent).
This fifth Synovate Young Asians study provides an in depth look at the lifestyles, habits, product ownership and media consumption of youth across Asia.
Respondents ranged from eight to 24 years across 11 markets in Asia, covering China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
A total sample of 12,302 youth was surveyed by face to face interviews and through online methods during the second quarter of 2010. The survey by Synovate was supported by Friendster, Microsoft Advertising and Yahoo!
Garton said, “This shows the opportunities here and now for mobile marketing. Youth in Asia are looking to receive the latest information to wow their peers, so reaching them through mobile is the most immediate way to gain their attention.”
He added, “The spontaneity and active lifestyles of youth means that mobiles are always helping them to live life to the fullest.â€
Nokia enters dual SIM market
The Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia today unveiled its first two dual SIM phones in India – C1 and C2. These two devices are from the Nokia C-series range.
As reported earlier by Telecom Yatra, the Nokia C1 (C1-00) will be launched globally by mid-September and the Nokia C2 (C2-00) will be launched later this year.
On being asked why Nokia entered the dual SIM segment so late, D Shivkumar, managing director, Nokia India, said, “The dual SIM market in India took off only in the last one year, mainly due to the tariff war amongst telecom operators. These phones have been in the market from the last 5 years, but they never picked up so fast. Right now the segment is significant and we feel that it is the right time to enter this market.â€
Nokia C1 will be available at Rs 1999 and a user can use it only for voice and SMS. It comes with a standby battery time of up to six weeks, the longest ever for a Nokia phone.
Nokia C2 will be priced around Rs 2500 and will comes with services such as Ovi Life Tools and Ovi Mail. It also has a music player and supports micro-SD cards of up to 32 GB.
Wynncom to launch Hindi QWERTY phone
Wynncom has announced the launch of their latest model Y45, which comes with a Hindi QWERTY keypad.
The company aims to facilitate easy communication between people, especially the tier 2 and tier 3 towns, by facilitating texting in Hindi.
With this device the users would be able to send upto 15000 SMSes free across India, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines with an inbuilt soft key for 160by2.com.
Other features include dual SIM support (GSM+GSM), Facebook, Twitter, 1.3 MP camera, talk time up to 7 hours, expandable memory up to 8 GB, Bluetooth with A2DP etc.
The Y45 is priced at Rs 3395.
Sony Ericsson to launch three handsets in India
Sony Ericsson has unveiled three new devices for the Indian market – a smartphone, a Walkman series device and an entry level 3G device.
The first to hit the market would be the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8, which runs on Google’s Android platform. This will be the last addition to Sony Ericsson’s Android device portfolio for this year and will be launched in September. Although the phone will run on Android 1.6 at the time of launch, users will be able to upgrade the OS via the web.
The Xperia X8 will be priced around Rs 14,000 in India, informed Anurag Kontu, head of channel marketing, Asia Pacific, and head of marketing, India, Sony Ericsson.
Cedar, the next device in the line up, is an entry level 3G handset. Kontu added, “The device is for consumers who want to use basic 3G functionality without jumping to a smartphone.” The phone will come with features such as 3G HSPA, Widget Manager 2.0 (an application which will allow users to access social networking via the stand by screen). The Cedar is part of Sony Ericsson’s GreenHeart portfolio, which incorporate environment friendly technologies.
Another interesting addition to Cedar is that users will be able to transfer contacts from their previous phone to Cedar via GPRS. The company is working on integrating all available platforms with this feature. Cedar will be priced around Rs 6,000.
The third device Yendo, first showcased during CommunicAsia 2010, will be the first full touchscreen Walkman device. The phone will be launched in the first week of October and will be priced around Rs 8,000.
Yendo will be available in various colours, while two changeable back covers will be provided with the handset.
Sony Ericsson will also incorporate digital living networking alliance (DLNA) technology in its handsets starting December. DLNA is a group of around 250 consumer electronic manufacturers who have formed a consortium to produce standards based technology. DLNA compatible gadgets are meant to be able to share media seamlessly among one another.
Women flock to the mobile Web
The percentage of women on the mobile web has risen 575 per cent over the past two years, according to Opera’s State of the Mobile Web report, published yesterday.
South Africa leads the world’s push for gender equality on the mobile web, with women accounting for nearly 44 per cent of mobile web users, followed by the United States (35.6 per cent), Russia (32.4 per cent) and the United Kingdom (31.5 per cent).
However, Indian women do not seem to follow the trend with just 4.0 per cent using mobiles to access the web. Nigeria, with 5.4 per cent, has the second lowest figure, followed China (11.6 per cent) and Vietnam (17.9 per cent).
Over the last two years, the percentage of female users in Russia increased from 12.5 per cent to 32.4 per cent. In China, the percentage of female users increased from 5.5 per cent to 11.6 per cent. The percentage of female users In the United States increased from 19.4 per cent to 35.6 per cent, and from 24.7 per cent to 43.5 per cent in South Africa. Growth in Ukraine was also staggering, increasing to 24.4 per cent compared to just 8.5 per cent two years ago. In the United Kingdom, the percentage of female users increased from 16.6 per cent to 31.5 per cent.
Kenya joins the list of top ten countries using Opera Mini, replacing Nigeria. The current top ten Opera Mini using countries, in ascending order, is: Indonesia, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, South Africa, the United States, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and Kenya.
Aircel app store goes live
Aircel said that its applications store went live starting yesterday night. A company spokesperson told Telecom Yatra that the App store was launched in Gujarat yesterday, and that it has now gone live nationwide.
Aircel had announced the roll out of its app store in January this year, along with Infosys Technologies. The store offers mobile applications related to health, lifestyle, entertainment, productivity (traffic, weather, etc.) and education, among other areas.
Subscribers can access these apps through voice, SMS, GPRS and internet (on a desktop). The store offers apps that are compatible with most handsets, irrespective of the model and manufacturer. Aircel is currently offering several free apps along with marginally priced and premium ones, and it also has several India focused apps in its store.
Infosys has provided the ecosystem and the platform for the store. The app store has been powered by Flypp, a ready to launch application platform by Infosys that enables operators to offer a range of apps across devices.
Oscar launches handset targeting youth
Oscar has launched its new handset targeting the Indian youth. Oscar J4 is said to be a mix of good looks and cool features that will appeal to the young, and the young at heart.
Oscar J4 is a dual SIM handset with a QWERTY keypad, 5.08mm color display, 2.0 mega Pixel camera, wireless FM with recorder, MP3 and video player, Bluetooth, torch, GPRS, WAP, social networking and microSD card support up to 8GB. Oscar J4 is priced at about Rs 2,750.
Oscar J4 has a one touch FM radio. This means that with one press of the FM button on the key pad, users can listen to the radio. Another feature is the auto call record that allows users to record all incoming and outgoing calls for future reference.
The phone has a host of social networking features, and a 2GB Memory card is being given free with the phone.
Oscar Group is a recent entry in the telecom sector.
S Tel launches mobile services in North East
Telecom service provider S Tel, a joint venture between Siva Group and Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) today launched mobile services in three North Eastern states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya.
This follows the recent launch of its GSM services in Assam.
This is the fifth circle S Tel is starting services after Assam, Bihar, Orissa and Himachal Pradesh.
Starting with eight towns including Agartala, Dimapur, Kumarghat S Tel plans to reach across 87 towns and cover 26 per cent of the population in these states by year end, S Tel said in a statement.
Soumen Ghosh, COO, Assam and North East Circle, S Tel said, “Today onwards S Tel products and services can be availed across 1200 plus retail points starting with 3 states.
Within six months, we aim to double the size of our retailer universe above 2300 point of sales.”
The company has also offered a starter pack of Rs 49 for first 30 days with recharge of Rs 6 only as a promotional offer and has announced full talk-time on all top-up denominations.
S Tel, a new telecom operator which launched services in India in December 2009, had acquired Unified Access Services Licenses (UASL) and spectrum to operate in six Category C circles Orrisa, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, North East, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.
The company has also bagged 3G spectrum in three states of Bihar & Jharkhand, Orrisa and Himachal Pradesh and is planning to invest Rs 700 crore for rolling out services.