News Digest: MyFM, RCOM, Shaadi, IRCTC, TringMe, Nokia, SBI, IRDA, FrontLine, Tejas, Swan, TechM

From http://www.medianama.com/2009/08/223-news-digest-db-groups-myfm-rcom-shaadicom-irctc-tringme-nokia-sbi-irda-frontline-tejas/ on August 25, 2009

By Preethi J

MyFM To Raise 15.2M

Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd, DB Group’s FM radio division, will raise Rs. 1.52 crore through preferential allotment of fully paid up equity shares. It has received approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Synergy runs 94.3 MyFM in 17 cities.

Related: Dainik Bhaskar IPO Filing: Digital Kiosks; IndiaInfo.com; I Media Corp

RCOM Launches Antakshari

Reliance Mobile launched a new VAS – Antakshari –  on its R-World platform which will allow the subscriber to play antakshari with anyone. Charges are Rs.30 per month with 30 minutes free usage. This service is being launched on both GSM and CDMA networks. (TelecomIndia Online)

IRCTC’s Online Sales Boom

Around 34% of the 880,000 tickets sold daily by the Indian Railways are booked online, ticket sale data between April and July 2009 by the IRCTC reveals. This is not all – online booking of the tickets is also popular amongst low income groups. An thumping 63% of online tickets were booked by them. (Business Standard)

Our Take: IRCTC continues to be the poster boy of Indian e-commerce. We only wish it were more efficient – instead of spending hours standing in a queue, we now spend hours on the website – logging back in due to jittery timeouts and searching for train names and numbers.

Related: IRCTC Does $102 Million In Online Transactions In August; Payment Trends; HDFC, ICICI, Cash Cards Significant

TringMe

This Bangalore based 2007 startup has a platform that helps developers create voice-enabled widgets for the Internet. Tringme hosts some 22 million call minutes per month and expects this to soar to 40 million in the next 3-4 months. One of its clients is Indiamart. (Moneycontrol)

Our Take: Such a platform could spark off more apps and options in the VoIP domain – so far ruled by Skype and Fring. Ofcourse there is still the regulatory hurdle to cross before VoIP usage picks up.

Strike At Nokia’s Manufacturing Plant in TN

Nokia employees at its handset manufacturing factory in Sriperumbudur have demanded a wage increase of €21 for all employees. (Evertiq)

M-Banking Adoption
State Bank of India has added 20,000 mobile-banking customers in 2 months, taking the total to 33,000. M-banking is rising in popularity for small value transactions. (PTI)

All Mobile Banking posts

Shaadi.com Stats

The site has 300m page views a month. 6,000 new profiles are added every day. (Guardian)

Insurance Inst Opts For Online Exams

Complaints of malpractices has led the Insurance Institute of India to make entrance exams for insurance agents online. The institute will be aided in setting up the online examinations by NSEiT, a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. (ET)

HomeShop18 To Raise Funding

The retail TV channel and online site is in discussion with prospective financial and strategic partners to raise money in the next year. It has outlined three priorities – be visible in every television household; to invest in customer experience; and, to reward loyal customers. Network18 owns 65% of HomeShop18. (VCCircle)

PE Firm Frontline Strategy Picks Up Stake In Tejas

The amount and stake are not known, and the stake was picked up by Frontline through a secondary transaction. Tejas has been backed by Battery Ventures, Cascade Capital Management, Mayfield Fund, Intel Capital, Goldman Sachs and Sandstone Private Investments. (VCCircle)

Change In Regulations Deferred: DoT

International telcos in India have been dealt a poor hand by the Indian government. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has postponed plans to remove the double taxation they currently have to comply with for offering long distance calls. They pay license fees twice to the government – for bandwidth which they purchase off domestic operators and again when they resell it to enterprises and their customers. (ET)

Etilsalat Awards IT Contract To Tech Mahindra

Following the move by other telcos to outsource their IT operations, Etisalat DB, which runs new telco Swan Telecom (renamed to Etisalat DB Telecom India), may award the majority of its Rs 150 million outsourcing project to Tech Mahindra. (ET)

Other telco-IT company relationships are: Unitech Wireless – Wipro ; Idea Cellular – IBM ; Bharti Airtel – IBM; Aircel – Wipro

Nokia to Offer Phone Installments in India

From http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125067421010342617.html?mod=rss_india_news on August 19, 2009

By R. JAI KRISHNA

NEW DELHI — Nokia Corp. said it is looking to make handsets more accessible and affordable in India, the world’s fastest-growing and second-largest telecommunications market.

Nokia’s Indian unit plans to sell handsets in some rural areas under a program that allows the purchasers to pay in installments, the Finnish company’s chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said Wednesday.

View Full Image

Associated Press

Nokia expects about 500 million cellphone users in India by 2010, up from 427 million now. Above, a girl on her cellphone in Mumbai.

“There is a lot of opportunity here [in India], and we need to make mobility more accessible to all people, including those in rural areas, which is the next frontier to be conquered,” Mr. Kallasvuo said.

The company has more than half the share of India’s mobile handset market, according to analysts. Nokia said it plans to roll out the installment plan to sell its handsets in 12 Indian states after a pilot program covering more than 2,500 villages in the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Under the pilot program, a microfinance organization bought handsets from Nokia and sold them to women in rural areas by charging them 100 rupees, or about $2, in weekly installments for as long as 25 weeks.

Nokia expects about 500 million mobile-phone users in India by 2010, up from 427 million now, Mr. Kallasvuo said.

“We believe that much of this growth will take place in non-urban markets and rural penetration in India is still very low at 13%,” Nokia said in a statement.

T-Mobile to launch Dash in July – CIOL Products

via T-Mobile to launch Dash in July – CIOL Products, on http://www.ciol.com, Thursday, June 18, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: T-Mobile USA Inc, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, said that it will begin selling its new 3G-enabled Dash smartphone in July, yet another entry in the hotly contested mobile phone segment.

T-Mobile said that the Wi-Fi-enabled Dash 3G was designed by HTC, runs on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and features a full QWERTY keyboard.

The company said pricing was not yet available. Research in Motion’s BlackBerry and Apple Inc’s iPhone dominate the high-end smartphone market, while Palm Inc’s just-released Pre has also seen strong demand.

iPhone iPod get 45 patches – CIOL News Reports

via iPhone iPod get 45 patches – CIOL News Reports on http://www.ciol.com Thursday, June 18, 2009

Jim Finkle

BOSTON, USA: Apple Inc released 45 software patches on Wednesday to address rare security vulnerabilities in its popular iPhone and iPod Touch mobile devices.

The company released them as part of its widely anticipated iPhone 3.0 operating system.

“This is a large cluster of patches for the iPhone,” said Dino Dai Zovi, a security expert who is writing a book on cracking the iPhone.

Apple has a stellar reputation when it comes to securing its devices. While it is unusual for the company to issue so many patches at once, analysts have yet to uncover any malicious software targeting the iPhone since Apple got into the mobile phone market two years ago.

Wall Street analysts said they were not alarmed by the news.

Such vulnerabilities are not unique to Apple. Technology companies constantly battle to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated hackers. Every time a security flaw is identified, there is potential for hackers to exploit it.

Apple rival Research in Motion Ltd recently issued a security patch for its popular BlackBerry, addressing a glitch that had potential to let hackers use the device to break into corporate computer networks.

“Given the breadth of feature and functionality within the iPhone OS, it is not surprising that Apple would have security patches,” said Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross.

Hackers have traditionally focused most of their time on writing programs that attack PCs running Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system because it sits on more than 90 percent of the world’s personal computers.

Analysts expect that to change because sales of mobile devices are soaring as the PC industry slumps. Apple’s iPhones and iPods are dominant players in the rapidly growing sector.

“They are no longer dumb devices used only to make phone calls. They hold a wealth of personal information and in some cases are being used as electronic wallets,” said Joris Evers, a spokesman for No. 2 security software maker McAfee Inc.

The Hindu Business Line : Import of mobile handsets without IMEI number banned

via The Hindu Business Line : Import of mobile handsets without IMEI number banned.

Huge impact on grey market phones.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, June 17 In a move that could signal the end of grey market mobile phones, the Government on Wednesday banned import of all handsets without the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.

IMEI is a unique 15-digit code that identifies a mobile. It prevents the use of stolen handsets for making calls and allows security agencies to track down a specific user. However, a majority of handsets sold in the grey market do not come with the IMEI, which has is of concern for security agencies.

The Government move to ban handsets without the code will hit a number of Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers that were flooding cheap handsets in the grey market. The move will have no impact on the 25 million cellular users who already have bought a handset without IMEI. The ban is applicable only on new handsets being imported into the country.

The Director-General of Foreign Trade issued the notification on Wednesday imposing the ban with immediate effect.

Welcoming the decision, Mr Pankaj Mohindroo, President, Indian Cellular Association, said, “This is a step in the right direction to throttle handset grey market. However, much more needs to be done to tackle this menace. We are working with the Government in this regard.”

To protect consumers who have already bought handsets without the IMEI number, the Cellular Operators Association of India has tied up with Mobile Standard Alliance of India to set up 1,600 retail outlets across the country to provide the IMEI number on handsets without one. It is estimated that there are 25 million subscribers across the country using handsets without the IMEI number. Concerned over the national security, the Department of Telecom had earlier asked operators to disconnect services to handsets that do not have the IMEI number by April 15. However, the COAI, representing the GSM industry, has developed a software that will provide the unique number to instruments that do not have it.

The solution is being implemented with the approval of the DoT and the security agencies. Subscribers who do not avail themselves of this facility will be disconnected by the operators after June 30.

Related stories at

• http://efytimes.com/efytimes/fullnewsxml.asp?edid=35220
• http://www.ciol.com/technology/mobility/news-reports/india-bans-mobile-handsets-without-imei/18609121163/0/
• http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Govt-bans-import-of-Chinese-mobiles/articleshow/4668458.cms

LG-GM730 Smartphone Features Windows Mobile 6.1

From http://www.efytimes.com on June 17, 2009

Wednesday, June 17, 2009:  LG has launched a new handset in LG’s smartphone line — LG-GM730. This is the first smartphone to offer the new version of Windows Mobile 6.1, integrated with LG’s 3D S-Class User Interface. Built-around a 3D cube layout, the S-Class UI eliminates nested menus wherever possible, providing more direct access to features and applications. A flick of a finger rotates the cube so that any one of its five faces can be accessed instantly.

“Users, especially beginners, find smartphones to be too complicated for everyday tasks because of their unfamiliar and complex environments,” said Dr Skott Ahn, chief executive officer, LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The combination of Windows Mobile and our new S-Class UI will make the LG-GM730 the most functional and easiest to use smartphone ever created. Starting with LG-GM730, we are introducing a new direction for phones that are smart and advanced but at the same time, user-friendly.”

LG-GM730’s multitasking environment allows users to run a number of applications simultaneously in separate windows without having to stop one task to start another. ‘Cut and paste’ allows users to copy content from the internet and paste it into documents or send it via email.

Networking on the Map Service, a navigation-based social networking service, enables users to see where their friends are while communicating in real time. Advanced multimedia features such as a 5 megapixel camera, MP3 player and action-packed games make this phone a full-featured entertainment device.

At 11.9 mm, this mobile device is available in three colours — black, lime and pale pink. The LG-GM730 will be available globally, with its initial launch in Asia this July.

The LG-GM730’s launch coincides with the opening of LG Application Store, which expand the capabilities of LG’s smartphones.

LG-GD900 Crystal: World’s First Transparent Phone

LG-GD900 Crystal: World’s First Transparent Phone

EFY News Network on Wednesday, June 17, 2009:

LG Electronics has launched the LG-GD900 Crystal, which according to the company is the world’s first transparent phone, at CommunicAsia 2009. The handset features LG’s next generation touch technology, Gesture Command, which complements the 3D S-Class User Interface.

LG-GD900 Crystal’s slide-down Crystal Touchpad first appears to just be an alphanumeric keypad, but it actually doubles as a touchpad for controlling the phone. It can be used like the trackpad on a laptop computer but also recognises handwriting, responds to multi-touch commands and enables a new way of navigation called Gesture Command.

To launch a feature on the LG-GD900 Crystal, press the phone’s multitasking button and draw one of 12 easy symbols on the keypad. Users can assign these symbols to any of the phone’s nine multitasking-enabled features.

For instance, if the symbol resembling a capital M is assigned to the MP3 player, launching this feature is as easy as writing M on the Crystal Touchpad. This is especially handy to start some background music in the middle of another task like writing an e-mail. This same M symbol could be assigned to a different feature like the Memo Pad instead, based on individual preferences.

LG-GD900 Crystal also features a dedicated graphics chipset so that multimedia plays perfectly and transitions between features are smooth. The phone includes 8 megapixel AF camera and MP3 player. The LG-GD900 Crystal is available in Chrome and Titan colour choices.

LG-GD900 Crystal is due to hit shelves in June in selected countries in Asia and Europe and will then debut in other countries across the globe. Phone buyers in Singapore will have the first chance to take this handset home in Asia.

via LG-GD900 Crystal: World’s First Transparent Phone.

Huawei Unveils New Smartphones @ CommunicAsia 2009

Huawei Unveils New Smartphones @ CommunicAsia 2009

EFY News Network on Wednesday, June 17, 2009:

Huawei Technologies today showcased two new smartphones at CommunicAsia 2009 in Singapore – the Android-powered U8230 and the C8000 which utilises the Windows Mobile operating system. Equipped with the latest mobile handset technologies, the new smartphones were being exhibited in advance of their commercial release in the second half of 2009.

The Android-powered U8230 smartphone allows users to switch between full and half QWERTY keyboards and to navigate programmes easily via a 3.5-inch LCD touch screen. Huawei’s U8230 uses the Google Chrome Internet browser which supports a variety of Google applications such as Google Map, Google Search and Google Talk. It is also fitted with a battery which has a capacity of 1500 mAH — the longest battery capacity amongst Android-powered handsets currently available.

The C8000, which supports Windows Mobile operating software, incorporates a 3-D menu graphic user interface (GUI) and an independent display adapter which enables the smooth presentation of video files and DVD-quality pictures on a 2.8-inch touch screen. With optimised power management, the new handset is capable of playing video files continuously for six to eight hours.

“Having joined the Open Handset Alliance in 2008, Huawei is rapidly moving forward with the development of cutting-edge high-end handsets, especially smartphones powered by Android and Windows Mobile operating systems,” said Glory Chueng, the spokesperson of Huawei Terminals. “The U8230 and the C8000 handsets on display here at CommunicAsia take the interactivity experience of smartphones to a whole new level and Huawei is looking forward to working with our customers to bring them to market later this year.”

Huawei plans to launch a series of touchscreen handsets that support WCDMA, CDMA and TD-SCDMA standards in the second half of 2009.

via Huawei Unveils New Smartphones @ CommunicAsia 2009.

Early Palm Pre sales solid but new rivals due soon- Telecom-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

via Early Palm Pre sales solid but new rivals due soon- Telecom-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times on June 17, 2009

NEW YORK: Sales of Palm Inc’s closely watched Pre mobile phone are running on track with — and exceeding some — Wall Street expectations after just one week n stores. But analysts said it may be too soon to tell if the initial excitement will be dampened by new smartphones debuting from Palm’s much bigger rivals: Apple Inc’s iPhone 3GS starts selling on Friday and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry Tour is expected in coming months.

While Palm has yet to comment on the pace of demand, most analysts, citing their own data, said the company shipped some 50,000 units for the weekend of the Pre’s debut on June 6. Another 50,0000 units followed soon after. Pacific Crest Securities

analyst James Faucette said sales to consumers so far appears to be stronger than anticipated. “We believe that between 90,000 units and 100,000 units were sold in the first week,” he said.

“Given the high number of people still on waiting lists … the company appears to be on track to exceed our previous August quarter unit shipment estimate of 500,000.” The successful launch of the Pre smartphone is seen as a badly needed shot of adrenaline for Palm and exclusive provider Sprint Nextel Corp.

David Eller, analyst at JRPG, a boutique securities firm, said Palm sold 84,000 Pre phones in the first weekend, with some 35 per cent going to new customers for Sprint. Palm is scheduled to report earnings on June 25, when Jon Rubinstein — who last week was named as the company’s CEO — may shed some light on the Pre’s progress as well as potential addition to the Pre family of phones With a touchscreen control, slide-out keyboard and operating system designed for trendy Web services such as social networks, the Pre has garnered mostly positive reviews.

Sprint said it had record sales of the smartphone in its first weekend, and was restocking the phones “as quickly as Palm could make them.” “Pre shipments seem to be tracking our expectations, and there is still pent-up demand, assuming (consumers put on waiting lists for handsets) can be converted into purchases,” JP Morgan analyst Paul Coster said in a note to clients.

Shares of Palm climbed on Tuesday to their highest level since October 2007, rising 3.2 per cent in afternoon trade to $14.57, after hitting a session high of $15.25. Palm Pre’s moment as the new kid on the block will last only about two weeks, with the arrival of the iPhone 3GS, a, updated version of the popular smartphone, this Friday.

RIM also unveiled the Tour, the newest Blackberry, on Tuesday but did not give a launch date. It is expected to be popular with business customers since it can easily access voice and data services on networks internationally. Analysts suggest that demand should be strong for all three devices, as more and more consumers migrate to smartphones, which typically have more multimedia

and Internet-based features than traditional mobile handsets.

But Tavis McCourt of Morgan Keegan says it may be hard for the Pre to convince current smartphone users to switch. “We continue to believe the Pre will be wildly successful at Sprint, although we don’t believe it will cause meaningful iPhone or BlackBerry defections due to its lack of third party apps to draw away iPhone users or enterprise capabilities to draw away BlackBerry users,” he said.

LG to launch record 50 handsets in India – CIOL News Reports

By Joyeeta Dey via LG to launch record 50 handsets in India – CIOL News Reports on http://www.ciol.com on June 17, 2009

SINGAPORE: Eyeing to double its market share to 11 per cent in the fast growing GSM mobile telephony, world’s third largest mobile phone maker LG Electronics today said it will launch 50 handsets by the end of 2009 in the Indian market.

“The number of product line-up has doubled as compared to 2008. We plan to launch 50 handsets by the end of December and aim to keep our market share over 11 per cent there (India),” Bo H Choi, Head (Asia Pacific Region), Mobile Communication Company of LG Electronics told PTI.

At present, the South Korean firm has a 5.25 per cent in GSM segment while the company enjoys nearly 50 per cent market share in the CDMA space. Choi was speaking after LG’s launch of three new smart phones — Crystal, GM 730 and Viewty Smart — at telecommunications conference CommunicAsia 2009, here.

He pointed out the company would be eyeing India as one of the important investment destinations since the demand from developed economies are witnessing a saturation.

In terms of global sales, LG is the third-largest behind Nokia and Samsung. The South Korean entity is ahead of Motorola and Sony Ericsson.

Related stories at

• http://efytimes.com/efytimes/fullnewsxml.asp?edid=35201

Now Write On Air With Your Mobile Phone!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 on http://www.efytimes.com

Engineering students at Duke University, Durham, US have created a new cell phone technology called PhonePoint Pen, that permits users to write short notes in the air with their phone and have that message automatically sent to an e-mail address. To create this first-generation application, the students took advantage of the accelerometers in emerging cell phones.

According to researchers, accelerometers are the devices in phones that not only keep track of the phone’s movements, but make it possible for the display screens to rotate from landscape to portrait modes depending on how the phone is rotated. These devices are always ‘on’, so there is no additional burden on the phone to use this new application.

“We developed an application that uses the built-in accelerometers in cell phones to recognise human writing,” said Sandip Agrawal, electrical and computer engineering senior, Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, who with Duke graduate student Ionut Constandache developed the PhonePoint Pen. “By holding the phone like a pen, you can write short messages or draw simple diagrams in the air.”

“The accelerometer converts the gestures to images, which can be sent to any e-mail address for future reference,” Constandache said. “Also, say you’re in a class and there is an interesting slide on the screen. We foresee being able to take a photo of the slide and write a quick note on it for future reference. The potential uses are practically limitless. That this prototype works validates the feasibility of such a pen.”

While this first-generation application permits the writing of short messages or simple drawings, it is only a matter of time before this prototype system will be able to handle larger and more complex air-writing capabilities, said Agrawal’s mentor Romit Roy Choudhury, assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering.

“One of the efforts of our group is to take a fresh look at how people get their information into the Internet,” commented Choudhury. “We’re trying to get past the whole idea of typing on a keyboard or using a stylus to enter information into devices. Many people get discouraged with current phones and their small keys. As phones get smaller, this frustration will only grow.”

“And today, especially now in the age of Twitter and micro-blogs, the speed at which you send information becomes more important. To be able to write quickly using only one hand would be very attractive to many people,” Choudhury added.

“It is only a matter of time before we improve the performance of this application,” Agrawal said. “We plan to further augment the pen with real-time feedback, character recognition and better support for drawing diagrams.”

The PhonePoint Pen prototype is expected to be available for download within the next few months.

Nokia Tops List of India’s Most Trusted Brands – BusinessWeek

From Economic Times of India June 17, 2009, 9:50AM EST

via Nokia Tops List of India’s Most Trusted Brands – BusinessWeek.

Nokia’s tagline of ‘connecting people’ certainly seems to have struck a chord with the Indian consumer. For a second year running, the handset maker has topped the prestigious, ‘Brand Equity Most Trusted Brands (MTB) Survey’. In second and third places are the two venerable consumer brands, Colgate, a four-time winner, and Lux, respectively.

The survey was unveiled last night at a glittering ceremony, which saw the who’s who of India’s brandsphere making their way to Mumbai from all parts of the country to be in attendance. The marque names included HUL MD Nitin Paranjpe, Nokia MD D Shivakumar, P&G MD Shantanu Khosla, Britannia MD Vinita Bali, BCG India MD Janmejaya Sinha, JWT CEO Colvyn Harris, Madison chairman Sam Balsara, Ogilvy India executive chairman & NCD Piyush Pandey and McCann Erickson India executive chairman Prasoon Joshi.

A clear indication that today the Brand Equity MTB Survey is the one study that marketers put their faith in. In this, the sixth year of the MTB survey, there are two new entrants into the top 10. Coming in at No. 6 is one of the oldest brands in India, Horlicks.

The brand, which has perennially been in the top 20, has finally managed to leapfrog into the coveted top 10. However, it is Reliance Mobile which is the star of this year’s edition, considering that it had failed to crack the top 20 in 2008. Telecom, as a category, is clearly on the ascendant. Airtel, BSNL and Vodafone have all surged up the charts to finish in the top 30, ranking 12, 19 and 30, respectively.

Hindustan Unilever, as has always been the case, continues to dominate the overall rankings with three brands (Lifebuoy, Lux and Pepsodent) in the top 10 and seven in the top 20. However, Pond’s, a brand from the HUL stable, also happens to be the biggest loser in the top 10, falling from No. 5 last year to No. 16 this year.

In the listing of the top 50 service brands, three out of the five brands are public sector brands namely SBI (13), LIC (17) and BSNL (19), perhaps an indication that public sector brands are perfectly capable of holding their own against their private counterparts.

The Brand Equity MTB survey is the largest, most diverse and most prestigious survey of its kind, with over 8,000 respondents nation-wide and is conducted by The Nielsen Company on behalf of Brand Equity. The detailed survey findings are available in today’s 12-page special edition of Brand Equity.

Also, watch out for all the action from the launch party and interviews with winners and India’s premier marketers on ET NOW, the soon-to-be launched cutting-edge channel for business news.

Apple’s new iPhone sells out before launch

The Hindustan Times on June 16, 2009

Apple’s latest edition of the iPhone is matching the popularity of its predecessors.

The company, and its exclusive US carrier, AT&T, said on Monday that pre-orders of the phone had sold out, and that customers could face a wait of a week or two after launch day on Friday to get their coveted gizmos.

Apple announced the launch of the faster, larger capacity and more capable iPhone 3G S June 8 and gave customers the option of pre-ordering them over the Internet. A 16-gigabyte capacity phone costs $199 with a two-year contract, while the 32GB version costs $299.

Apple and AT&T have not revealed how many pre-ordered iPhone 3G S handsets were sold, and some industry watchers think the companies will have a hard time matching the iPhone 3G’s launch, which sold more than a million units in three days when it launched last year.

Related stories at

• http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Apples-new-iPhone-sells-out-before-launch/articleshow/4660628.cms

New Smartphone from Samsung: The Jet has landed

By Vishal Mathur on www.ciol.com on June 16, 2009

Singapore: Samsung has unveiled the Jet mobile phone, which does boast of a few features never seen before in smart-phones.

At the UNPACKED 2009 event in Singapore, an evening prior to the inauguration of the CMA 2009, Samsung unveiled the handset to a group of journalists from the APAC media. The launch event was also held in Dubai and London giving it a global feel.

The tiny tower of power has the world’s first 800MHz application processor making it the fastest touchscreen based smartphone in the market. This translates into immediate application and command response. Speaking at the event, Goon Go Ha, President and CEO, Samsung Electronics, S.E.A Headquarters said, “Jet brings in unmatched speeds in a smartphone”.

Samsung has also loaded the Jet with a 3.1 inch WXGA AMOLED display which makes colors richer and consumes up to 60 percent less battery power than conventional screens. The screen is complemented by the TouchWiz 2.0 interface, which at first sight reminds of the Ultra Touch mobile, but has a lot more new features under the sheets.

The most interesting is the Smart Unlock feature, which allows you to set a command for every alphabet. When a user traces the shape of that alphabet on the screen, the phone will automatically unlock and the preset command will be launched- be it starting an application or calling a particular number.

Samsung’ new Dolfin browser promises faster browsing speeds and allows multiple downloads in the background. What will also interest the business user are the MS Exchange with Active Sync as well as Wi-Fi browsing and the share Picture widget. The GPS application in the Jet plots and saves the route beforehand and will not go blank even if GPS connectivity is lost for a while. It also has the usual features like Bluetooth, music player, FM radio, 5MP camera and us 3G ready. The memory on the Jet can be expanded up to 16GB with a MicroSD card. This phone will reach our shores by the end of June at an estimated box price of Rs 21000.

Airtel allowed to ‘unlock’ Apple’s iPhone

From www.ciol.com on June 16, 2009

MUMBAI, INDIA: According to Apple’s global support site, Bharti Airtel has been authorised to legally unlock the iconic 3G iPhone handsets in the country.

Thus enabling the Indian company to sell it to any user, not necessarily only an Airtel subscriber. The companys may also charge an additional fee for the unlocking, the website said.

This is in contrast to the existing practice of Apple in offering the iPhones — launched in two versions, 8 GB and 16 GB — bundled with the services of only two operators, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Essar.

In India, the 8 GB model costs around Rs 31,000, while the 16 GB is priced at Rs 36,000. Apple is also set to launch the latest version, iPhone 3GS, billed as the “fastest, most powerful iPhone yet”, on August 9.

Related stories at

• http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/airtel-allowed-to-%5Cunlock%5C-apple%5Cs-iphone/361195/

Nokia, Samsung heat up smartphone contest

16 Jun 2009, 0327 hrs IST, REUTERS on www.economictimes.com

HELSINKI/SEOUL: The world’s two largest cellphone makers, Nokia and Samsung, unveiled new phone models, offering features comparable to iPhone  and Palm’s Pre, but at lower prices.

In the last two weeks Apple’s launch of an updated version of iPhone and Palm’s Pre model have heated up competition in the sweetspot of the otherwise shrinking industry.

The cellphone market volume is expected to fall about 10 per cent this year as recession dampens consumer demand, but the market for so-called smartphone is expected to rise 10 per cent to 20 per cent, boosted by new and attractive models from many of the top vendors.

“Consumer demand for more capable devices seems to be accelerating despite the general economic doom and gloom,” said Ben Wood, a research director at CCS Insight.

“Samsung andNokia are playing smart by offering these sorts of products at punchy price points,” Wood said.

Top cellphone maker Nokia launched three new handsets on Monday, including a new touch-screen model, the 5530 Xpressmusic, which would sell for 199 euros ($280) before subsidies and taxes, starting next quarter.

Samsung unveiled on Monday its “Jet” model, which features full touch screen, a next-generation display and improved processor to deliver speedy mobile Internet access.

Samsung did not reveal the price of the phone, but analysts said it was comparable to most mid-range models.

Samsung called its new phone “smarter than a smartphone,” but noticed it could not officially be considered a smartphone because it lacked the open operating system defining the category.

“Consumers really don’t care about the software platform or operating system — they just want a capable device at a punchy price that lets them do the things they want to do whether that is listen to music, take pictures or update their status on Facebook,” CCS’s Wood said.

RAYS OF LIGHT

The cellphone industry saw its worst-ever quarter in January-to-March, with the market shrinking 14 per cent from a year ago, and Nokia reporting its first-ever quarterly pretax loss.

Several companies and analysts have said the worst could well be over for the industry as the fall was partly caused by retailers selling stockpiles of older phones, but only a few have seen any improvement in demand.

The head of sales and marketing at Samsung’s mobile unit said he was hopeful phone sales would fall 8 per cent to 9 per cent this year across the industry, slightly less than the company’s official expectation of a 10 per cent drop, as the global economy begins to recover.

“In the second half … I do not see any special surge in demand. However, there is a small sign of recovery of the general economy. Hopefully, the mobile industry also will recover some,” Lee Donjoo told Reuters in an interview.

“Currently, we’re focusing on around 10 per cent lower,” he said. “I’m expecting a little less, eventually — minus 9, minus 8, hopefully.”

Related stories at

• http://www.ciol.com/technology/news-reports/samsung-nokia-heat-up-smartphone-race/16609121014/0/

Nokia launches three new handsets

From www.ciol.com on June 15, 2009

HELSINKI, FINLAND: Top cellphone maker Nokia launched three new handsets on Monday, including a new touch-screen model.

Nokia said it would start shipping 5530 XpressMusic phone in the third quarter. The other model, E72, an updated version of its top-selling E71 business phone, will also be available late in the third quarter, while, ‘3710 fold’ will be available in the fourth quarter of 2009.

According to a Nokia press release, the 5530 XpressMusic, priced at 199 euros, is a compact XpressMusic device that uses a touch interface for accessing people and content on the homescreen. The ‘scrolling’ contacts bar provides direct access to 20 people and their latest conversations and media updates. The homescreen also features one touch shortcuts to content and popular social networks, like Facebook and MySpace.

This handset follows in the footsteps of Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, said the release.

On the other hand, Nokia E72, costing 350 euros, brings a rich mobile email and instant messaging experience right out of the box, claimed Nokia. For the first time, owners will be able to set up instant messaging (IM) accounts provided by Nokia Messaging direct from the homescreen, it added.

Priced at 140 euros, Nokia 3710 fold adds a personal touch with an artistic pattern on the cover and comes with an appealing array of features in a renewed, but instantly familiar user interface, according to Nokia.

In a keynote at the opening ceremony of Nokia Connection event held in Singapore today, where the new models were unveiled, Nokia’s executive vice president and chief development officer Mary McDowell said, “Nokia envisions a world where people will be empowered to share and connect with what matters most to them through highly personalized and contextually relevant solutions.”

She said Nokia is driving this transformation both as a company and externally to build a vibrant ecosystem and deliver relevant and delightful solutions to consumers.

Related stories at

•  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Nokia-launches-new-touch-screen-music-phone/articleshow/4657918.cms

Nokia intros phones for farmers

From www.ciol.com on June 15, 2009, source PTI

MUMBAI, INDIA: Leading mobile phone maker Nokia has launched cellphones, which will help farmers get instant information on farm prices in ‘mandis’.The company claimed that the new phone could display information in two languages and offer graphically rich user interface.

The company will be selling the devices first in Maharashtra and later to other states as also to select countries in Asia and Africa, officials said today.

The new devices costing about Rs 2,000 will also help users access education and entertainment services. Agriculture service will contain information on seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, market prices and weather.

The content will be available for Rs 30 to Rs 60 per month depending upon the information availed.

Nokia India Managing Director D Shivakumar said the company has tied up with Idea Cellular to offer the service and is talking to other mobile operators as well.

(Please see also story on Nokia Life Tools)

Handsets: Maharashtra Organised trade to feel the heat

Akhilesh Shukla on Voice&Data, June 15, 2009 Published June 16, 2009

The proposed hike of VAT to 12.5% on mobile handsets in Maharashtra could hit the organised trade in the Maharastra. Organised trade, which is already hit by higher property rates, shirking margins and high trained employee cost and other operational costs, would loose customer to the unorganised trade.

The decision, on the other hand, will force the unorganised retail industry to switch trade in grey to survive. The sale of grey handsets, especially of higher end model will become more profitable for them and help them to maintain footfalls, as well.

In case the decision came into force, the price of handset costing Rs 20,000 will go by Rs 25,000. Buyers will prefer to buy the phone from grey market, as the difference would be phenomenal.

The organised trade contributes to 13% of the over all handset retail market in India. However, as per number of outlets they occupy 3% of the pie. The handset retail market is slowly and gradually moving towards organised trade. But the state government’s decision will hamper the shift.

Maharastra and Mumbai is one of the biggest handset retail market in the country commanding more than 13% of the market share in the country. As per the current market estimates around 120 mn handsets are sold in the country every year, Of which, 15.6 mn are sold in Maharastra alone.

As per Indian Cellular Association the state government, which is eying a huge revenue from VAT on handset, will loose money as well. ICA says that the state stands to loose at least 473.6 crore in the next three years, if the proposed 12.5 per cent VAT is implemented because of increased sale in the grey market.

The pioneer in mobile handset retail in India The Mobile Store is headquartered in Mumbai and have a strong presence in the region. Besides, HotSpot, another market leader, have a strong presence in the country.

See also: VAT hike on handsets may bring in less tax for state at https://telcobizpedia.wordpress.com/2009/06/08/vat-hike-on-ha…-tax-for-state/

 

Micromax to invest Rs 250 cr in Himachal Pradesh

14 Jun 2009, 1331 hrs IST, PTI on http://www.economictimes.com

NEW DELHI: Micromax Informatics, a Gurgaon-based mobile handset maker, will invest Rs 300 crore in the current fiscal for setting up a production plant in Himachal Pradesh and brand building exercise.

“We will spend Rs 250 crore in 2009-10 to set up a mobile phone manufacturing plant in Himachal pradesh (Baddi) and another Rs 50 crore on brand-building exercise,” MicroMax Informatics COO Rahul Sharma told media.

He said the plant, which will be operational by March next year, would have a capacity of producing three lakh units of handsets a month, which is scalable to one million units over a period of time.

At present, the company is doing contract manufacturing in China, Korea, Taiwan and Himachal Pradesh (Baddi). The company is also spending Rs 50 crore on advertising, which will be a 360-degree campaign, for brand building.

“Our main target is to enter the urban market now. Till now we have been a tier-II and tier-III player. Soon we are going to open 100 exclusive stores in four metros and tier-I cities,” Sharma said. The company claims to sell about half a million handsets a month and is targetting to sell six million units this year.