Karbonn Mobiles announced the availability of Karbonn K25, the latest multimedia device in its portfolio, on Sunday.
K25 is a QWERTY device which can support two GSM connections. The phone is pre loaded with social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo Messenger and MSN.
Other features include FM radio; video recording; torch; expandable memory up to 8 GB; a 2 Megapixel camera; A2DP Bluetooth; and an optical trackpad. K25 is priced at Rs 4,400.
Karbonn launches dual SIM Qwerty handset
BSNL launches bill payment and recharges through UBI across India
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) announced the national launch of bill payment and mobile top up facilities through mobiles and at Union Bank of India (UBI) ATMs.
At the launch of the service, Kuldeep Goyal, chief managing director, BSNL and M V Nair, chief managing director, UBI, emphasised that the service is the latest convenience offering for the common customers of UBI and BSNL, using cell phones and ATMs.
UBI account holders, after registering their BSNL mobile number through a mobile, can pay their BSNL bills using the mobile phone at any time and from anywhere.
Similarly, common customers of BSNL and UBI can top up their mobiles through the registered mobile as well.
To pay BSNL bills from a UBI ATM, the customer does not need to register beforehand, and can use his UBI debit card to make the payment at any UBI ATM, and can collect a receipt for it.
Similarly for recharging a BSNL phone from a UBI ATM, a common customer of the two companies can, without prior registration, top up his BSNL pre paid phone at the ATM and collect a receipt.
These services are in addition to the existing channels of bill payment and phone recharge available to customers of BSNL, which include payment through BSNL outlets, the BSNL website, post offices, bank counters etc.
Cafe Coffee Day to reach out to customers through Ovi application
Cafe Coffee Day is among the first brands in India to experiment with location based advertising on a mobile platform called Ovi. It’s a unique platform that is rolling out a pilot for only three brands in the country – Dominos, Cafe Coffee Day and ICICI Bank.
The main idea is to target customers based on their location and entice them to visit a neighbouring Café Coffee Day (CCD) outlet.
If a user has an N97 or higher Nokia phone, on clicking the weather or events page, he will see an ad. On clicking the ad, the user is given two options: click2web takes the user to the brand’s Facebook page and click2route directs him to their nearest CCD outlet. This is an exclusive pilot and the first ever location based ads offered by Nokia.
This campaign started on 24 July and CCD has witnessed a 7 per cent click through rate. About 3,702 impressions were served on the first day and about 263 users clicked to see the ad, out of which 73 looked at the map to go to their nearest CCD and about 30 landed on the CCD Facebook page. This is a two month pilot and touted to be a remarkable way to target customers.
CNN launches news app for iPhone
CNN on Friday announced the international version of its news application for iPhone and iPod touch.
Last year, the international broadcasting house had launched the application in the United States of America. The application will be available free of charge to users outside the USA.
The latest version of the CNN App is designed to provide a visually driven news experience for iPhone and iPod touch users.
Loius Gump, vice president, mobile, CNN, said, “The app features push notification, regionalisation and personalisation tools. It showcases important global news through text, video and photos, and also includes user generated content capture and upload functionality through iReport, CNN’s user generated news community.”
Other features include the ability to follow a story or topic; to access stories even when one is offline; to receive regionally targeted news based on the user’s selection of a region amongst Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America or the Middle East.
The app also provides access to on demand video clips across many categories, including world, most popular, sport, business, USA, entertainment, tech and CNN en Espanol.
Tata Docomo launches pre paid plans for BlackBerry users
Tata Docomo, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices, today announced daily and weekly offers for its BlackBerry pre paid subscribers.
The two new plans are BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry MaiLite. While the former will offer access to the internet, emails, instant Messaging and social networking sites, the latter will give unlimited access to email and instant messaging services.
BlackBerry MaiLite and BlackBerry Internet Service will be available at monthly packages of Rs 299 and Rs 900; weekly packages of Rs 85 and Rs 250; and daily packages of Rs 12 and Rs 35, respectively. Tata Docomo will also offer one week of free trial usage of internet on BlackBerry.
Telcos add 59 mn users in Jan-Mar; revenue per user dips
Telecom operators added over 59 million new subscribers in the January-March quarter this year, but witnessed an over 8 per cent decline in average revenue per user.
The total number of mobile subscribers in the country stood at 621.28 million at the end of March, 2010.
As per the quarterly performance report by telecom regulator TRAI, the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) from GSM mobile services declined by 8.6 per cent from Rs 144 in the quarter ended December, 2009, to Rs 131 in the quarter ended March, 2010.
On a yearly basis, the decline in ARPU was even sharper, at 36.1 per cent.
In the CDMA segment, the ARPU declined by 3.7 per cent from Rs 82 in the quarter ended December, 2009, to Rs 76 in the quarter ended March, 2010. In this segment, the yearly decline was 22.9 per cent.
ARPU is an indication of how much money a company makes from the average user. ARPU provides a breakdown of what is driving revenue growth and also gives some indications of what is driving margins.
The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 562.16 million at the end of December, 2009, to 621.28 million at the end of March, 2010, registering a sequential growth of 10.52 per cent over the previous quarter.
This reflects year-on-year growth of 44.58 per cent over the same quarter of last year.
The overall national teledensity stood at 52.74 per cent in the reporting period.
Urban teledensity was 119.73 in the January-March quarter of 2010, compared to 110.96 in the December quarter of the previous year. Rural teledensity was 24.29 in January-March, 2010, against 21.16 in the previous quarter.
In the wireline segment, the subscriber base shrunk from 37.06 million to 36.96 million.
The number of Broadband subscribers increased from 7.82 million at the end of December, 2009, to 8.71 million at the end of March, 2010, translating into a quarterly growth of 12.15 per cent.
GSM subscriber usage stood at 411 minutes during the reporting period, the same as in the December quarter of 2009.
In the case of CDMA, average subscriber usage declined by 3.7 per cent to 307 minutes in January-March, 2010, from 318 minutes in October-December, 2009.
Olive launches Android based 3G tablet at Rs 25,000
Olive Telecom has announced the launch of OlivePad VT100, an Android based tablet that supports 3.5G HSUPA, WiFi and Bluetooth. The tablet is priced at Rs 25,000.
The device comes with an inbuilt 3 Megapixel camera and a front camera, and can be used as a touch notebook with capabilities for browsing, multimedia, instant messaging, social networking, GPS, gaming, an e-book reader, television, and voice and video calling.
OlivePad is equipped with features which include flash support, mini USB port, camera and a smartphone. It will be available at all Croma stores in the country from August.
The company expects to sell around one lakh units over the next six months and aims a turnover of $250 million (more than Rs 1,100 crore) during this fiscal.
Olive Telecom has a product portfolio across the areas: WCDMA, CDMA, GSM and EVDO handsets, mobile computing devices, advanced data modems and devices for wireless broadband. The company currently works with 24 network operators across the globe.
LIC will soon allow payment of premium via mobile phones
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) said that its policyholders will soon be able to pay their insurance premiums through mobile phones.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, TS Vijayan, LIC chairman, said, “We are in discussion with two to three banks; if you have a bank account with them, through mobile you will be able to transfer (funds).” He expects to roll out the facility some time this year.
Till now, only account holders of Corporation Bank, in which LIC owns a stake, can use mobiles to pay premiums on select LIC policies. This facility was introduced two years ago and is available to customers who sign up for the bank’s mobile payment service.
The customer needs to send a text message to a given number and once the payment gateway verifies his or her details from LIC, the premium is deducted from the customer’s account. This service does not allow payment for unit linked insurance plans.
LIC had started using information technology way back in in July 1995. Its first information and communication technology (ICT) enabled offering to its customers was an online service through which customers could receive immediate policy status reports. Further, their payments were promptly accepted and get they could get revival and loan quotations on demand.
After that, the company started using interactive voice response (IVR) functions to enable customers to receive information on the next premium due, policy status, loan amount, maturity payment due, accumulated bonus etc. through their mobile phones in 59 centres across the country.
Clay Telecom ties up with Jet Airways for Edujetter programme
Clay Telecom, a provider of mobile services for Indian customers travelling abroad, has announced a tie up with Jet Airways for a students’ programme named Edujetter.
As per the programme, students going abroad will be offered customised rental plans as per their usage pattern. The Edujetter programme is applicable to students travelling from India to the UK, Australia, Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, USA and to Canada. Tickets to the mentioned destinations bought before March 31, 2011 will make the buyers eligible for this scheme.
Students can avail free Talk time worth Rs 1,000 with a three month lock in period. Further, activation, deactivation and delivery charges will not be applicable.
The SIM cards will be pre activated.
Students can avail some benefits through Jet Airways such as excess baggage allowance etc.
Vodafone launches new prepaid plans for BlackBerry customers
Vodafone Essar has announced the launch of BlackBerry service plans for its prepaid customers in India, starting at Rs 15 per day.
The new tariffs will allow Vodafone customers to choose from daily, three day, weekly and monthly offers, and avail unlimited access to email, BlackBerry Messenger, instant messaging, social networking, internet browsing and BlackBerry App World application store.
This service comes in four packages: Rs 15 for a single day, Rs 44 for three days, Rs 100 for a week and Rs 399 for a month.
Kumar Ramanathan, chief marketing officer, Vodafone Essar, said, “Our prepaid segment is highly cost conscious and through the democratisation of data services, we are providing an entry threshold at an accessible price point of just Rs 15 per day. We believe that this initiative will appeal to young professionals, students and a broad spectrum of retail customers who are looking for an exceptional experience for messaging, social networking, email, music and entertainment.”