Arun

The only method now for getting ringtones to your handset is through R-World. It is not possible to get ring tones from third party WAP sites. I do like the idea of a WAP site, will think on it soon.

Reliance Infocomm launches R Connect Data Card on its wireless network This product was launched this week by Reliance Infocomm... here is their official release.. DAKC (Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City), Navi Mumbai February 5, 2004 Reliance Infocomm today announced the launch of India's first wireless data card on its pan India network. The data card is introduced by Reliance as part of its R Connect Internet service, provided by Reliance Communications Infrastructure Ltd. The R Connect Data Card is a slim device that can be slipped into the PCMCIA slot of a laptop or other devices for high-speed wireless connectivity to Internet. With the pan-India CDMA2000 1x network, R Connect Data Card enables instant Internet connectivity for laptops and other computing devices anytime, anywhere. The ready-to-use card, manufactured by GTRAN Inc of the US - a world leader in high-speed data access solutions, is initially launched in five cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. "With this Reliance is offering the most comprehensive wireless data connectivity for people on the move. They can use attractively priced R Connect Data Cable to connect to Internet through Reliance IndiaMobile phones or else use a wireless PDA to access Internet without a cable or laptop or use R Connect Data Card to directly connect a laptop to Internet", said Mr. SP Shukla, President - Wireless Products and Services, Reliance Infocomm Ltd. The introduction of high speed data card is another step forward in Reliance Infocomm's commitment in bringing about a digital revolution in India by changing the way Indians communicate, get entertained and do business. R Connect Data Card is an invaluable communications solution for corporate leaders and mobile professionals. The retail price for the card is Rs 14,700 and the customer can choose from any of the three data tariff plans viz. Standard, Silver and Gold.

sounds great.. i hope you will come up with something nice for us soon !

DAKC (Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City), Navi Mumbai. December 30, 2003 Continuing to offer a plethora of handset choices to Reliance IndiaMobile customers, Reliance Infocomm has launched two CDMA 2000 1x colour camera phones - GTRAN GCP 4020 from GTRAN Wireless Inc of the US and Samsung SCH A603 from Samsung Electronics of South Korea. Both the phones continue with Reliance IndiaMobile's tradition of offering multimedia rich and data capable phones. They can be used as a modem to connect laptops and other computing devices to Internet. They are also Java enabled and can be used to access R World suite of data applications on Reliance IndiaMobile network. The GTRAN GCP 4020 is also the first mobile phone in India to work with RUIM card (equivalent to a SIM card in GSM phones) in India. RUIM card stores all subscription related information, phone book and stores SMS messages. GTRAN GCP 4020 The GTRAN GCP 4020 phone with external attachable camera is priced attractively at Rs 14,001, while the phone without the option of camera is priced at Rs 12,001. GTRAN GCP 4020 is initially launched at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad and is available at the Reliance IndiaMobile outlets and Reliance WebWorlds there. Some of the other features GTRAN GCP 4020 include: - Photo Album with memory to save a maximum of 50 pictures including those downloaded via PC sync - Internal Phonebook that can store 300 entries with 5 numbers per entry plus company name, addresses, email id, etc per entry - PC Synch that synchronise the Phone Book, Scheduler, Messages, Ring tones, Wallpapers, and Photo Album with your PC - High quality display with 65536 colour UFB CSTN LCD, displaying up to 9 lines of text, 4 line Monochrome Sub LCD to view incoming calls without having to open the phone - Lightweight at just 88 gms. - Long battery life: 140 min talk time and 120 hours stand-by time Samsung SCH A603 The feature rich Samsung SCH A603 is one of the most advanced camera phones in the market and is priced very attractively for Reliance IndiaMobile customers at Rs 21,900. The 120 gms, compact, Samsung SCH A603 is a colour phone with rotating lens and screen folder for convenient camera use. With 260K TFT colour LCD and display of up to ten lines of text, it offers an exciting display screen to the user. It supports both English and Hindi user interface and text input. The Samsung SCH A603 is launched initially in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Some of the unique features of Samsung SCH A603 include: - 300k pixel embedded camera with flash. The phone comes with an installed digital camera equipped with advanced functions, including a digital 2X ZOOM. The camera has the ability to rotate 180 degrees. - Screen Folder Rotation. Every SCH-A603 is outfitted with the innovative folder design that provides the user with limitless options in a shooting environment that makes the best of the rotating folder design. - The SCH-A603's 40-poly melody chip produces a high advancement in sound. It allows the user to create unique personal sounds. - 260K TFT LCD display. The resolution of the 260K TFT LCD phone offers images of excellent clarity. - Other features include Phone book with photographic caller ID, voice functions like voice dial, voice memo and answering machine and a Planner loaded with Scheduler, To-Do list, calculator, alarm and World Clock and 46(including 6 downloadable) polyphony ring tones and PC sync facility

DAKC (Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City), Navi Mumbai, February 3, 2004 Reliance Infocomm announces the new tariffs under the new Interconnect User Charge (IUC) regime. In a move which will benefit millions of mobile users, Reliance announced that under its popular Economy 149 and Budget 149 plans all local and intra circle calls to mobile phones will cost Rs.1.49 per minute. Earlier, calls to GSM phones were charged at Rs.1.99 and the new tariffs will offer a savings of 25% for calls to this category. The calls to fixed line phones at more than 500 kms distance will continue to be charged at Rs.3.99 per minute as before In light of the enhanced charges under the new IUC regime, the national long distance call rates in the 50-200 km and 200-500 km slabs have been marginally increased by Rupee 1 per minute. For calls to GSM phones in this category, the rates have been increased from Rs.1.99 per minute to Rs.2.99 per minute, while for fixed lines, the applicable rates in these slabs have been increased by Rupee 1 respectively. SMS messages sent within India will now cost Rupee 1 per message, while SMS messages to international destinations will be charged at Rs.3 each.

In Hindi section -> Roja & the hindi version of Pachai Niramae (tamil)... unfortunately, both the ringtones are not available now.

UNI The new ten-digit numbering scheme for cellular services has been deferred by a month till March 1, Telecom Secretary Vinod Vaish said today. ''The postponement has been done following requests for more time from BSNL, Tata Teleservices and a few other telecom companies,'' Mr Vaish told UNI. The Department of Telecom had earlier announced that the numbers of all telecom operators would have ten digits from February 1, with the first two digits enabling the consumers to identify the full mobility status and the service provider. Since the scheme has to be adopted by all the telecom operators simultaneously, more time is being given so that everyone is taken on board, the Secretary said. The decision has been taken in consultation with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), he said. TRAI had earlier announced that it would introduce the new interconnection usage charge (IUC) regime, coinciding with the new numbering scheme from February 1. However, the regulator would now go ahead with the new IUC regime from tomorrow, though it would now be implemented in stages and the process would be completed by March 31, Mr D P S Seth, senior member of TRAI told UNI. Official sources had earlier stated that Reliance had been allotted 93 as the first two digits and the Tatas 97. Bharti was given the '92' series, while the smaller players would remain in the '98' series. The numbering scheme is a complicated exercise as every operator has to be given an mobile switching centre (MSC) code for each circle. TRAI had recommended a 10-digit numbering scheme for limited mobility phones going fully mobile. According to the regulator, based on the principle of level playing field, all fully mobile cellular service, irrespective of technology deployed, should be treated at par as far as numbering scheme was concerned. Numbering scheme for full mobility provided by the existing basic service operators who had migrated to unified access service licence should be at the same level as that of GSM cellular users, the regulator had recommended. For CDMA and GSM services, the first number 9 would represent the full mobility access code, the second digit the mobile operator code, followed by MSC codes. PTI Telecom tariffs across all types of services may undergo a change in the coming days with implementation of new inter-operator settlement of charges interconnect usage charge from midnight today. New IUC regime will come into effect from midnight. However with regard to change in numbers by hitherto limited mobile operators now converted into unified service providers like Reliance and Tatas will happen gradually by March, Mr D P S Seth, member, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India told PTI. The TRAI has specified IUC charges payable between two operators for usage of network, and it is up to the service providers to work out the tariffs based on margins. As of now, none of the operators have announced new tariffs under IUC regime but industry sources indicated that additional burden on service providers, in terms of access deficit charge to be paid by them to incumbent the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, could be passed on to subscribers. Earlier the private telecom operators cellular and unified had raised concerns over BSNLs approach of calculating inter-operator charges saying they (BSNL) have been using different pulse rate for making payments to other operators and separate pulse rate for taking payments on the basis of IUC.

Reliance's Broadband Strategy: The most exciting of the Indian telecom companies’ broadband projects unquestionably is Reliance Infocomm’s venture. According to an informed source, the company’s broadband offering has two key components. Unlike many other telecom companies, Reliance is not looking at offering TV and broadband services through DSL lines, a route taken by most international telecom companies. Instead, Reliance is laying high speed fibre optic cable to the basement of residential buildings all across the country. From this point, individual homes will be connected through an ethernet – or a special cable (called CAT 5). The second element to the Reliance strategy is an indigenously developed set top box connected to its high-speed highway. The multi-purpose box will virtually transform your television set – it will provide TV channels (with or without CAS), pay TV, video on demand, video conferencing capabilities, high speed internet services and up to 40 gibabytes per second of storage capacity. With this kind of storage, you can record programmes (cricket matches, for instance) or download matter from the internet. And if you attach a phone to it, you’ll get IP and internet telephony services too. The aim, apparently, is to price the set top box at between Rs 4,500 and Rs 6,750. A company spokesman declined to comment on Reliance Infocomm’s plans, but Reliance, it is understood, will use its existing infrastructure at its telecom exchanges. Reliance will put in servers and other equipment at its telecom equipment centres where channels will be downloaded and content stored for redistribution to homes. Why has Reliance adopted a different model of distribution? Explains a close Reliance watcher: “The DSL route makes sense for incumbents like BSNL which can leverage its copper wires. Reliance does not have that advantage. So it can chose a more cost effective technology where the price of the set top box is more affordable than that of a DSL set top box. It has also gone in for a technology which is more scaleable.” Reliance Infocomm is also looking at other ways to reduce the cost of broadband services. One answer is to see whether the hard disc of a set top box can be shared among households that do not require large storage space. That would again make the total package cheaper for customers. The Ambani company has worked closely with Microsoft to jointly create, test and deliver next-generation Internet Protocol (IP)-based television services such as video on demand, on-demand storefronts, interactive programme guides and managed content services. Says a broadband industry analyst who has closely followed the Reliance broadband model: “Realising that PC penetration is low, Reliance is virtually converting the TV set into a PC monitor with the set top box being the hard disc or the central processing unit of a PC and the remote being the key pad of a computer and offering customers as much broadband capacity as they want.”

Most probably, the videos might be charges for the time they take to download/buffer. Yeah, must be 40 paise/minute.

I guess you are conveying something like this... The incoming number is shown as 009198xxxxxxx (international format) and you want to put it like 98xxxxxxxx when saving the number to your phone book. If thats what you mean, then, it is not a problem as the charge for call/sms when you use the international format is the same as when you use the local format. Also, only if u save it in international number format, the name that you saved will be shown in the display when receiving call/sms. This happens for most GSM numbers. Happens for LG handsets too.

lucky dude... anyway keep your fingers crossed till your next bill comes, hope the post September calls won't be listed !

the login page for viewing bill at relianceinfo.com doesnt open up at times for me too. It is working fine though when I checked just now.

lol, I'm not the one to decide that ! Only time will tell us what the new number will be.

Press Trust of India New Delhi, January 8 A survey has found that all mobile operators, both GSM and CDMA, fall short of service quality standards set by TRAI, with more than 50 per cent of respondents reporting problems while making or receiving calls. According to the third National Mobile Users' Satisfaction Survey 2003 carried out by Voice & Data-IDC, in the overall category, BPL emerged at the top with an overall satisfaction score of 79.8 per cent. Idea cellular came ahead of Hutchison-Essar joint venture by 0.2 per cent to take the second position. No CDMA service provider (the technology under which WLL services were started) could figure in the top five; the survey has attributed it to their relatively newer operations in comparison to GSM players. Tata Teleservices is at the top in CDMA category followed by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the survey said, adding that in the overall category, Reliance Infocomm lay towards the bottom of the table with a score of 69.3 per cent in CDMA and 67.9 per cent in GSM services. The nationwide survey was based on a sample of 2217 GSM and CDMA mobile users spread across 14 cities, including the four metros. On the billing part, one of the most important factors in services, state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam topped the list with a score of over 78 per cent in both types of services, the survey said, adding that most service providers continued to be way below the TRAI benchmark.

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SATURDAY, JANUARY 10, 2004] KOLKATA: Reliance Infocomm has told the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) it will be unable to migrate to a 10-digit national mobile numbering plan in a mere 30 days. In separate letters to DoT secretary, Vinod Vaish and Trai chairman Pradip Baijal, the company has said “implementing any number change across our networks in such a short span will be an anti-consumer step that will severely disrupt services to our 6.2 million RIM subscribers, resulting in grave financial consequences for the company”. Reliance Infocomm has till end-January to migrate to a mobile numbering scheme on the `93’ Access Level as per DoT’s diktat. The company feels this would be impossible to achieve since it “involves changing the 8-digit numbers of all its 6.2 million subscribers through a massive database overhaul across 18-circles”. The exercise is also expected to cost Reliance Infocomm over Rs 100 crore. Infocomm’s decision to buy more time from DoT assumes significance, especially at a stage when BSNL has just opened up Access Level 93 to facilitate the launch of Infocomm’s prepaid service by January 16. When contacted, top DoT circles declined to comment on the issue. When contacted, Reliance circles said “any interim move to change the national numbering plan of unified access service licence would be tantamount to pre-empting Trai’s consultation process on the same issue. In its letters to DoT and Trai chairmen, the company has said: “Since the numbering plan is the most crucial aspect of the unfinished consultation process on unified licensing, DoT and Trai should realise that any interim change in the numbering plan would pre-decide and pre-empt consultation on the most crucial issue”. Furthermore, a top Reliance Infocomm source said: “Under DoT’s unified access service licence norms the company is mandated to offer both the WLL-M (limited mobility) and full-mobility services, wherein the RIM subscriber has the choice to opt for either service and also switch from limted to full mobility or vice versa.” In this light, Reliance Infocomm has told the DoT and Trai “that existing 8-digit numbering scheme in its earlier capacity of basic service operator is more suitable for the CDMA-based mobility players in the unified licensing regime, especially for computing ADC and IUC charges”. However, both the DoT and Trai remain unconvinced in this light as they believe “only a migration to a 10-digit mobile numbering scheme would create a level-playing field in the full-mobility space in a regime of unified access licences.

I've been faced with this 'huge sudden changes' (once it added some 400 bucks in one day) too. When I enquired, they said that the amount shown is not accurate but and 'approximate' calculation only. I guess they need a better unbilled amount application, though it might be difficult for them to implement in the post paids. The pre paids (expected to be launched by January end) may have instant reporting of balance.

Chirag, it does work like that. Also, for Mumbai subscribers, the numbering scheme will be from 93200 to 93214 series. Similarly, Delhi subscribers will get 93100 to 93114 series. These (200, 214, etc.) are MSC (mobile switching codes) and will vary for every circles.

Not sure why the RIM Bill option itself isn't showing up in your handset. But I've seen in some handsets that the 'Unbilled Info' (under RIM Bill option) isn't showing up. There is an option for 'View Bill' in Tools menu also. Please check it.

There are 8 kilobits for every 1 kilobyte. So 115 kilobits gives you around 14 - 15 kilobytes only.

Get more details here, tezo

Click here

Your RIM number has only 7 digits now, excluding the STD code. When the new numbering scheme (the number format is 9PXYZaaaaa, where 9 is the full mobility access code and P is mobile operator code, XYZ could be your mobile switching code) comes, then your number will be having 10 digits.

I have tried Yahoo! Messenger on RIM and it doesn't work sometimes. I've noticed recently that you get an error like "Unable to process request" when you check for new messages, check friends online, etc. during daytime. But it does work well when traffic is low (late night or early morning).

They have launched new Samsung phones, here is the info...