Honest

Pics of Treo Pro Leaked New pics of the Treo Pro have been leaked to the net. Looks great. This one's for real, unlike the previous buzzkill. A new Treo -- the Treo Pro was leaked today, through a Flash presentation, of all things. Sporting a Windows Mobile OS, the new look suits it very much, we think. Finally looks like a modern device and not something unearthed from 2002. Check out the shiny: Courtesy : Techtree

New BlackBerry rival, Palm Treo Pro Courtesy : Indiatimes NEW YORK: Palm Inc has unveiled a Treo smartphone based on Microsoft Corp software to compete for business users against rivals such as Research In Motion's BlackBerry. The new Treo Pro will be sold by Vodafone Group Plc and 02 in Europe in September, and by Telstra in Australia, Palm said. In the United States, Palm does not have an agreement with a carrier to sell the phone, but it said enterprise demand is growing for unlocked phones that can work on any network. CL King analyst Lawrence Harris noted, however, that the Treo Pro's price tag of $549 is high without the subsidies typically offered by carriers to lock in subscribers. "Given the pricing and lack of carrier sponsorship in the US, we believe initial sales of the Treo Pro will be limited," said Harris, adding that only 21 per cent of Palm revenue came from international sales in its fiscal year 2008. The Treo Pro is Palm's second phone with Wi-Fi, a short range wireless technology that could boost Web speeds in weak cellphone reception areas, and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that supports features such as directions. Palm said the use of Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 software would help it compete with RIM's BlackBerry Bold, a high-speed phone that goes on sale in Canada this week and is expected to be launched in the United States later this year. "We've chosen to partner with Microsoft to compete effectively with RIM," said Brodie Keast, Palm senior vice president for marketing, but he added that there was plenty of room for both companies to grow in the smartphone market. Even with the growth in this market, 90 per cent of the market doesn't have a smartphone. It doesn't make sense to fight over the 10 per cent," said Keast in a telephone interview. "We want to reach out to people who don't have a smartphone, not people who already love RIM." Keast said it was likely that more Palm devices would include Wi-Fi in the future as there is growing demand for alternative connectivity in areas where phone reception is weak, or when users want faster speeds to download big files. "Going forward for premium, fully featured devices, Wi-Fi is a requirement," he said. Keast said Palm was on track to come out with a new phone software platform aimed at consumers in the first half of next year, and that this would put it in more direct competition with the iPhone from Apple Inc. He said he does not see the iPhone, which now supports corporate email, as a direct competitor to the Treo Pro.

TATA launches Instachat voice conferencing service 21 Aug, 2008, 1757 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Limited (TTML), on Thursday said that it is partnering with Kodiak Networks, a provider of advanced wireless voice systems, to launch 'Instachat' Conferencing Service to all its customers in Maharashtra and Goa. TTML is the first CDMA operator in the world to offer this service which is accessible from any Tata Indicom post-paid handset, a press release issued here stated. By dialling a single number, Tata Indicom subscribers will be able to simultaneously reach a group of up to 9 other telephone users. The group calling application is aimed at large corporates, small and medium enterprises, community groups and families, wherever there is a need for instant, voice-based group communication, the release said. The unique, revenue-enhancing voice application is enabled by the all-IP, standards-based Kodiak Real-time Exchange System, it added. "Our relationship with TTML signifies the first commercial deployment of advanced voice services for CDMA in India. TTML's market reach and ability to deliver these services to the diverse subscriber base should make this a very successful endeavor for the company," Kodiak Network's Executive Vice-President and CTO, Kris Patel, said.

Airtel, Vodafone Bhaigiri on iPhone 21 Aug, 2008, 1032 hrs IST, INDIATIMES NEW DELHI: If as a potential buyer, you were expecting at least one of the two operators to aggressively price Apple's 3G iPhone, here is more disappointing news. The iconic iPhones to be sold by Bharti Airtel would carry identical price tag as those by Essar Vodafone. Indiatimes Infotech had on Wednesday confirmed that Vodafone would price 8GB iPhone at Rs 31,000 and the 16GB model at Rs 36,100, putting paid to the hopes of a large number of potential buyers who were expecting a price tag closer to the US pricing by Apple and AT&T. Many upset readers wrote in expressing their disappointment with the development. Unlike Vodafone which confirmed the price to its potential buyers by way of an SMS on Wednesday morning, Airtel has so far said it will not reveal the pricing. However, in a poorly hidden secret, the company has inadvertently given its pricing away in the iPhone FAQs section on the site. Incidentally, unlike Vodafone which sent out text messages, Airtel has sent e-mails to its pre-registered potential buyers. It has also asked them to deposit an amount of Rs 5,000. Vodafone had asked its prospective customers to visit the nearest Vodafone stores, and pay an advance of Rs 10,000 on August 20 and 21. Both GSM operators have been authorised to sell iPhones in India by Apple unlike in most countries where the company has stuck to choosing only one operator for the sales. However, sources in both operators told Indiatimes Infotech that Apple executives were controlling almost everything very closely, leaving very little elbow room for them. That includes pricing, mode of retail and publicity and branding material. It now also appears certain that the handsets sold in India would be locked by the two operators akin to the BlackBerry handsets and service offered by the four Indian operators (Reliance and Tata Tele being the other two). Since bundling of service is not done in India, the customers are not offered any subsidy by the operators on the sale of Blackberry handsets. Yet, the customers have no choice but to stay put with the respective operators, unless they change their handset. The iPhone buyers too will face the same quandary. They would pay prices which are many times more than that paid by the users in markets like the US. AT&T users in US can buy the 8GB iPhone, for instance, for $199 (equivalent to Rs 8,500). Despite provisioning for 27 per cent duties, it still does not justify the hefty price tag of Rs 31,000 in India. This is bound to dampen the spirits of a large number of prospective buyers who might look for options. And that is a prospect Apple's rivals -- Nokia, Research in Motion, Samsung, LG and Motorola -- would relish even as they feverishly gear up their product portfolio to take on iPhone.

Reliance targets US mobiles with Jump Games 21 Aug, 2008, 0636 hrs IST, ET NEW YORK: Reliance ADA Group's media and entertainment division is launching Jump Games USA, a publisher and developer of mobile video games, in its latest effort to expand into the United States. Reliance Big Entertainment, which has been working to build up a name in Hollywood, said on Wednesday that Jump Games is "aggressively looking" to buy mobile content licenses and brands for distribution to mobile phones worldwide. The company, which has licenses to create and sell games worldwide using popular brands such as Manchester United Football Club, did not give details of acquisition targets. Jump Games, which has set up its US headquarters in Chicago, expects "partnerships and alliances with America's biggest firms will be critical" to expand here with "both organic as well as inorganic" growth, Reliance said. It said Jump Games had appointed Amit Khanduja, a former Sun Microsystems Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co executive, as executive vice president for the Americas. In May Reliance, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, signed deals with eight Hollywood production houses run by A-list actors, including George Clooney's Smokehouse Productions, Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment. The company is also expected to clinch a deal with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen to set up a new studio that would split Spielberg and Geffen from Paramount Pictures, sources familiar with the deal have told reporter.

'3G has potential to bridge digital divide in India' 21 Aug, 2008, 0248 hrs IST, ET Bureau MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel is betting big on 3G. As India’s largest telecom operator readies to take on global biggies for third generation (3G) services, it’s keeping an eye on the rural market as well, which now contributes over 50% to its monthly subscriber addition. Airtel president for mobility Sanjay Kapoor spoke to ET about the company’s strategy on 3G, rural markets, tariffs and challenges ahead. Excerpts: Will 3G change experience for users? The change will be experience enhancement. For the bulk of users who started experiencing voice services, it was wireless because not many people had fixed line connections. Similarly, for internet, the first experience of most customers will also be on the mobile phone. This has the potential of bridging the digital divide between urban and rural India. Is India ready for 3G? The debate can go either ways. Personally, I feel it’s the right time. Most of the world got 3G when there were not enough devices. We are in a better position as there is a strong ecosystems around 3G now. We believe handset and data card manufacturers are working towards pricing points which will help us penetrate better. What is Airtel’s preparedness level to offer 3G and what are the challenges? We have gained experience on customer requirements through 2.5G (which Airtel currently offers along with 2G). Our content, applications and partners are 3G ready. From that perspective, we are well placed. The biggest challenge will be the availability of handsets at the right price. We don’t, as a policy, subsidise handsets and we will not subsidise 3G handsets as well. We believe the evolution of 3G handsets will begin with the launch of 3G iPhone. That should set the ball rolling. Which will be the stickiest 3G applications? Which user group will drive 3G? I believe the stickiest 3G applications will be voice and mobile internet. Besides these, India will pick up its own applications. Biggest utility for 3G will be for those seeking entertainment and there’s a large population of such users. They are the adopters of technology and they’ll determine the success or failure of 3G in this country. How crucial are rural markets in Airtel’s overall growth strategy? Growth will now be dominated by rural India. It is necessary to ensure that customer experience gets simplified in terms of value added services, tariffs and distribution. That’s what we are working on. Some collaborations (like with IFFCO, Nokia) have been put in place. There will be more tie-ups on money transfer (through mobile), m-commerce and microfinancing in rural areas. Mobiles have a huge advertising potential. What are your views? Because of the customer behaviour knowledge that resides with operators and because of the relationship with customers, I do believe there is scope for a lot better targeted advertising on mobiles. I see this application has the potential of being sticky and then we’ll see a big change in the structure of advertising and the way companies reach out to people.

Desi hackers get cracking on Apple iPhone 21 Aug, 2008, 1017 hrs IST,ET KOLKATA: Hackers across the country are working overtime to find ways to unlock the SIM cards that will come with Apple’s iPhone once it is launched at the stroke of midnight on August 22. Since the SIM-locked iPhone will be sold by Airtel and Vodafone Essar, non-Airtel /Vodafone GSM subscribers won’t be able to use it unless codes are available to break the SIM lock. While Airtel and Vodafone Essar executives aren’t ruling out the likelihood of the much-hyped phone being hacked within days of its India launch, the companies were unwilling to comment on the safeguards that have been put in place to keep hackers at bay. However, a brand new way to unlock the phone is now available, in case the hacking software doesn’t work. A mobile phone expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, told ET: “If your iPhone is loaded with 04.02.13_G, the 1.1.2 firmware (read: the latest version), it cannot be unlocked with any software. A Turbo SIM card, available for upwards of Rs 1,500, does what a hacking software cannot do even for the latest version of iPhone. The manufacturers are claiming it will not get locked again—an issue that plagued earlier hacking methods.” The Turbo SIM may not be available in India immediately , but one can always order it online or even do a Google to unravel ways to use the card to unlock the iPhone. Airtel and Vodafone officials remain unfazed. “SIM lock-related issues will have obviously been addressed by Apple. The phe-nomenon isn’t new as codes to break the iPhone SIM locks have evolved in global markets where the phone has been launched. One cannot rule out such a phenomenon in India. But since the iPhone is being offered at a full-blown price in India, all network-related issues will have been factored in,” said a top Airtel executive. Officials at Vodafone said: “We are launching the 3G iPhone in two variants—8 GB and 16GB. The operating system is proprietary of Apple and we cannot share any further details.” While both Vodafone and Airtel execs remain tightlipped on the actual operating system/version that will power the iPhone in India, ET has learnt the phone may be launched with the latest iPhone 2.0 software update. If you are not an Airtel or Vodafone Essar user but are still keen to use the phone, you first need to find out the version of your iPhone. To find out the firmware (version ), open the emergency call menu on the iPhone and type *3001#12345#*, suggests a software spe-cialist . Detailed instructions are available online, but the process basically involves copying the information from your SIM onto a Turbo SIM, and then switching your SIM for your carrier SIM. This al-lows the Turbo SIM to piggyback on your carrier SIM, and report-edly gives the phone full calling, SMS and EDGE capabilities. For older versions of the software, a quick search on Google will throw up a number of ways to unlock the SIM. Such software is freely avail-able on the internet.

Telecom watchdog calls for operator-specific calling cards 20 Aug, 2008, 1821 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: Telecom sector watchdog on Wednesday recommended introduction of operator-specific calling cards for both domestic and international long-distance calls. In its recommendations to the Department of Telecom (DoT), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the move would allow subscribers to choose service providers for both national and international calls. "Through long distance calling cards, the customer can make long distance calls from telephone of any access provider," TRAI said in a statement. "A consumer can subscribe to any access provider and still not be dependent on the access provider for long distance calls," it added. The telecom watchdog also said licence rules for long distance operators be amended to allow them to access customers directly. TRAI said competition from private operators would lead to more efficient service in the long distance segment, apart from offering choice and affordable prices.

TRAI's STD move to hit telcos 21 Aug, 2008, 0301 hrs IST, ET Bureau NEW DELHI: Telecom regulator TRAI’s move to ask the government to give customers the freedom to choose their long-distance carrier for STD and ISD services, coupled with the introduction of internet telephony, is set to impact the bottom lines of all service providers. ET spoke to several telecom analysts and market watchers who were of the view that if DoT were to give a go ahead for both sets of the regulator’s recommendations, it would result in a 33% to 77% fall in telcos’ revenues from long-distance services. About 10-20% of the service providers’ total revenues come from long-distance services. ET first reported on Wednesday that TRAI would ask the government to give customers the freedom to choose their long-distance carrier (via calling cards) a move that will lead to cheaper tariffs—both STD and ISD. While telcos stand to lose, the consumer will be the biggest beneficiary. Telecom tariffs in India, which are already the lowest in the world, are set to fall further. “In overall terms, the revenue loss for the telcos may not be much, but it will be significant as long-distance services offer moderately higher margins. These recommendations are the final mail in the coffin and truly rings in the death of distance. Since many service providers already have the long distance infrastructure in place, they may forced to offer flat charges. First, they may have to do away distance based tariff structure. At a later stage, they may even have to do away with duration based charges,” explains Mahesh Uppal, director, Com First (India) and a consultant on regulatory issues in telecom. “Operators have no choice but lower their long distance tariffs. We are set to move to a system where there is large scale bundling where service providers will provide certain number of local and long distance minutes free. Telcos revenues will not fall from current levels, but their total sales will not increase at the same rates as in the past. In the long term, India’s telecom stocks may lose some of its shine,” added an analyst with a leading brokerage firm. According to Rohit Prasad, who is a telecoms analyst and a professor at Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, telcos would try to hit back by using the interconnect regulation in the favor. Currently, all long distance calls involve carriage and termination costs. “In the case of both internet telephony and calling cards, interconnect agreement will be the key to their success,” he added. As reported earlier by ET, TRAI on Wednesday asked the Department of Telecom to permit all national and international long distance carriers, which include several non-mobile operators such as Gail, Powergrid, RailTel, Sify, Tulip IT, AT&T, British Telecom, France Telecom, Cable and Wireless and Verizon amongst others to market their products directly to the consumer in the from of pre-paid package or through calling cards.

Apple iPhone may have some problems 21 Aug, 2008, 0320 hrs IST, ET Bureau NEW DELHI: Can’t wait for that first bite at the new Apple iPhone on Friday? Well, you may want to visit technology websites, gadget blogs and even the company’s official discussion forums before jumping the gun. Just two days before the launch of the much-awaited 3G iPhone in India, the forums are being bombarded with complaints from users across the world about the new device’s reception problems, dropped calls and choppy internet connections. In the meantime, Apple on Tuesday released a software (version 2.02 distributed via the iTune) to rectify problems with its new iPhone 3G. Apple was forced to respond after users increasingly complained of dropped calls and bad reception. The 3G iPhone, which hit the showroom on July 11 2008 in the United States and 21 other countries, sold record one million handsets solely on its launch weekend. Its fate in India will only be tested over the coming weeks and months. While Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar are all set to offer the product here, market watchers share the view that the online backlash against this iconic handset is unlikely to dent its sale figures in India. “The maximum complaints have been about the dropped calls and poor quality of reception when this device is used over 3G networks. We will not have this problem in India as the country does not have 3G-enabled networks, (currently, all mobile services here work on second generation networks),” argued an industry executive. Bharti Airtel did not comment when asked if the increasing number of reports in global media and the cyber community over glitches in the iPhone would impact sales here. Ditto Vodafone. However, an executive with one of these telcos said that Apple had assured his company it was looking into all complaints. “Apple has told us that it releases software updates to address any glitch as and when the matter is brought to their notice. So, if there are any issues with the 3G iPhone, Apple will solve it,” he added. On Wednesday cyber space was once again filled with complaints from customers who said that the software released by Apple a day earlier did not solve their woes. Users say that despite downloading the software update, the new 3G iPhone frequently switches from the faster 3G networks to the older and slower EDGE (2.5G) network without warning or drops the data signal altogether. Even on 3G, some users are disappointed by the performance, which seems far short of Apple’s promise that it would be twice as fast as the old iPhone. Users have also said that the new software has not led to faster web browsing speeds. A section of bloggers have been speculating that the earlier software update (version 2.0.1) is responsible for the bugs, but others claim it’s a problem with the Infineon HSDPA chipset. Apple, however, has so far failed to respond to the complaints satisfactorily. Blogs have been rife with speculation that the 3G iPhone has poor reception because its chip is programmed to seek out the best network. This according to tech blogs is the reason that iPhone at times chooses a slower 2G networks as these could be stronger then the 3G networks. Globally, several users have also complained about some of the third-party applications on their handsets crashing or failing to launch. They have also added that this problem was generally accompanied by another more serious issue where music and other media get erased from the iPhone. Unconfirmed reports doing the rounds on the internet also add that the nature of the OS X operating system used for iPhone makes it vulnerable to the same hacking attacks and viruses as a desktop operating system. On the other hand, smartphones like BlackBerry using a JVM (Java Virtual Machines) are able to “box in” applications and block malicious code and/or applications.

With new iPhone, download photo sharing application too 21 Aug, 2008, 1136 hrs IST, ET BANGALORE: As excitement heightens for the launch of Apple's iPhone in India Friday, two Indian techies from the US have pitched in to offer a free download of their mobile application on iPhone for photo sharing, with value added features to boot. The entrepreneurial techies - Apoorva Ruparel and Keshav Murthy - are part of the team that established AirMe Inc at Colorado Springs a year ago to design, develop and offer AirMe on the Apple applications store for iPhone users. "Our unique application enables an iPhone user to take pictures and upload them instantly to any social networking site such as Flickr, Facebook or Orkut for viewing by anyone," Ruparel told IANS at a peek demonstration of the proprietary software product here. The pictures can also be shared with the near and dear, friends and others through SMS or e-mail from iPhone, whose operating system is General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enabled. What's more, all photos are auto-tagged with location (map), time, weather and any user customised information. As iPhone is GPRS-enabled, the easy-to-use application can be downloaded from the photography section in iTune store of Apple in less than a minute on 2G and 3G networks. "Similarly, photos can be transmitted to other GPRS-enabled mobiles or web sites at the same time for sharing with others," said Ruparel, who is also the start-up's vice-president (strategy and marketing). As a packet-based wireless communication service, GPRS ensures data rates from 56-114 kbps and continuous connection to the Internet for mobile phone and computer users. The higher data rates allow users to take part in video conferences and interact with multimedia web sites and similar applications using mobile handheld devices as well as notebook computers. GPRS is based on Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication and complements existing services such circuit-switched cellular phone connections and SMS. As against the standalone camera or existing mobile handsets with camera whose pictures have to be uploaded from a laptop or desktop computer, AirMe allows users to take photos with the three mega pixel camera of iPhone and upload with unique tags. Photography and video are among the top five applications used on mobile phones. A recent study by global consulting and market research firm Deloitte revealed photo application was number one on the list of use at 63 percent. Video application accounted for 41 percent of users. "AirMe is about sharing the moment in the moment. Every day we experience something new, unique and memorable. There are special moments in everyone's lives and they just pass by. Our application is about sharing such moments as they happen," Ruparel said. Murthy hopes mobile phone users will find their application a great way to connect with their families and friends even on the move and share photos instantly. "The application can be downloaded by users of Nokia and Sony Ericsson handsets in the next 40 days. In spite of a soft launch in the US July 12, there has been an overwhelming response to our application, with over 40,000 downloads till date from as many as 56 countries worldwide," Murthy said. The start-up has timed the official launch of AirMe in India with the entry of iPhone this week. The co-founders are betting on 250,000 downloads over the next six months to enable them to get advertisers on board for generating revenue around the application. "The uploaded photos can be viewed by anyone once they are authenticated or stored for private viewing. Going forward, other social sites such as Picasa on Google and Photo Bucket can be used for uploading and viewing," Murthy noted. The start-up plans to hard-sell the application to enterprises after scaling the volume of downloads in the consumer segment for creating a steady revenue stream. "The advertisement will be non-intrusive and will not take away the privacy of users as the text or visual message will be wrapped around the application, akin to what search engines such as Google and Yahoo! do on their sites or e-mail accounts," Ruparel added.

^^^ @Ani My dear friend, just go through the post number 16 of this thread and you will get the answer to your querry. Regards.

Yes my dear friends, I too prefer going with Nokia N96 instead of Iphone. Nokia N96 is much better feature rich handset. Regards.

Video of Palm Treo Pro Leaked We showed you the pics of Palm Treo Pro, now here comes the video. Some details of the new handset also made a brief appearance on the company website. Here is the link for Video : The Palm Treo Pro will feature a 320x320 touchscreen, the Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, Wi-Fi, a microSD memory slot, a microUSB port and a QWERTY keyboard and navigational soft keys as with other Palm Treo devices. In addition, it will also have GPS, microUSB port and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Some other rumors hint at the handset being equipped with 400MHz processor, 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM. Courtesy : Techtree

Motorola, Airtel Offer Motomusic Service Motorola and Airtel have tied-up to offer Motomusic to all Airtel customers. Tightly integrated with mobile devices to deliver a complete consumer experience, Motomusic offers approximately 350,000 downloadable, digital music items to Airtel consumers across India. Motomusic content includes ringtones, full songs, wallpapers and music video clips. Airtel consumers can enjoy tunes anytime, anywhere by accessing the online music portal Motomusic at www.hellomoto.com/in/music through Airtel Live. The wide selection of genres includes Bollywood, classics and evergreen, international music, regional language melodies and devotional songs. Motomusic, as a combined service on the web and WAP, allows consumers to download full songs, ring tones, music video clips and wallpapers to both their PC and mobile at the same time. The service also offers Music ID application on Motorola phones, which enables users to identify recorded songs and their music artists, and download the songs instantly from the Motomusic website. Motomusic is available to all Bharti Airtel customers using "Airtel Live" through GPRS settings on their mobile phones. To activate "Airtel Live", sms FUN to 54321. Current nominal fees for full song downloads or video clips are Rs. 20, while ringtones or wallpapers are Rs. 15. The fees are added to the monthly mobile phone bill. Motomusic is currently available on several Motorola mobile phones - ROKR E8, ROKR U9, refresh models of ROKR E6 and ROKR Z6, RAZR2 V8, SLVR L9, MOTOYUVA W230 and W270. Courtesy : Tech2

To add 8 lakh customers in 1 yr in Mumbai: Idea Source : CNBC-TV18 Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group said that the total expense for Mumbai operations is seen at Rs 800 crore till March. Idea is looking at garnering 20% of the net additions in Mumbai circle in the next one year and atleast 8 lakh customers in the next 12 months, he added. KM Birla also said not to expect number portability in the next 10-12 months. He said that he is not targeting any specific consumer segment in Mumbai. He expects Idea's Mumbai operations to break even in four years. Excerpts from CNBC-TV18’s exclusive interview with Kumar Mangalam Birla: Q: What would be Idea’s philosophy for gaining the market share in Mumbai? A: This is the first time a network of this caliber in terms of technology is being used for a launch for a city anywhere in the world. So it’s superior technology, it’s as usual better and more customized consumer care, competitive price points. The big USP for us is going to be the fact that the network is designed in a way, which is superior and unique. We will start with thousand towers, which is the largest ever in the world for a launch in the city. Q: Out of these thousand towers, how much would you be putting on your own Idea? You also have tie-up with other service providers for your tower business, so how would these towers be divided between the two set ups? A: That’s a little bit difficult for me to put in exact number but it would suffice to say that it would be a judicious and optimal mix between our own towers and of Indus. Q: Mumbai itself is the highest postpaid ARPU (average revenue per user) at about more than Rs 600, so will you target that particular segment and how do you think will number portability help you in the coming years or so? A: We don’t expect number portability to happen in the next 9-12 months. So, we will have to see how it impacts us but that would basically bolt down to the quality of telephony and customer care. In terms of targets, we aren’t targeting any specific consumer segment and we have different price plans for different segments. Idea as an operator is very much looking at being a service provider that every Mumbaikar will be proud to use. Q: Would your service be in any case different from the current competitors that you have in the market. We have a lot of call drops, conversations don’t get completed, calls don’t get initiated. Will Idea be any different? A: Some of the issues of call drops are due to the geography topography, which remain common. Idea would have or does have a superior network, which will ensure the lowest call drops and incomplete conversations because of the architecture of the network and the technology that has been deployed. A network of the telecom operator takes about a couple of weeks to start running optimally but Idea will position itself as a superior Mumbai telephony player in Mumbai through superior technology. Q: When do you think will Idea’s Mumbai operations break even? A: We have consciously made a decision to make a large investment. We are investing Rs 800 crore in Mumbai because we want to provide Mumbaikar with the best technology possible anywhere in the world. We expect to have a profit break even in four years. We could have chosen to invest lower than Rs 800 crore and breakeven earlier but it’s a very conscious decision to provide a state of the art, best in the world technology and in actual terms experienced by Mumbai. Q: How many users you think you will have in a year’s time on Idea’s Mumbai network? A: We are aiming to get about 20% of the net additions that happen in Mumbai. We would hope that 20% of customers would latch on to and become Idea customers in Mumbai. Q: Would that number translate into something like a shade below a million customers? A: That target comes down, a little less than a million in the first one year. Q: How would your pricing strategy be for instance in mobile telephony? We have seen how the prices have gone down in the past five years and they continue to slide further. What would you be doing on that particular department and how will your ARPU look like six months from now specifically for Mumbai? A: I can’t talk about price plans specifically; it would have to be relative to what the competition does. Idea isn’t playing on price; it’s a composite offering of very high technology or minimum number of call drops and technological hiccups. So, it’s a composite offering and not really an offering that’s pegged on price alone.

Breakthrough in RCom interconnectivity spat likely Source : CNBC-TV18 A breakthrough in the interconnectivity spat between Reliance Communications and GSM players seems likely. After Idea and Aircel the chances are, even Bharti and Vodafone may follow suit and interconnect with Reliance Communications GSM network. Before the deadline of August 21 Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL could also be actually interconnecting with Reliance Communications (RCOM) GSM network. That could be a huge positive for RCOM. During the last couple of weeks, all the big GSM players has refused to interconnect with RCOM’s GSM network and that in a sense could have delayed the RCOM- GSM launch because an RCOM subscriber would not be able to call a BSNL or a Bharti or an Idea subscriber. So from an operation point of view they would not been ready to launch. The TRAI, last week, has ordered all GSM players to interconnect before August 21. Yesterday, the COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) , which was the GSM’s distribution body, met and decided to file a petition in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) challenging the TRAI order. While the petition wasn’t filed, there were late evening talks between some of the leading GSM players. As interconnectivity talks are mutual agreements, so it is not between an association and an operator but it’s between two operators. Idea and Reliance Communications struck at a mutual understanding similarly Aircel and Reliance Communications struck a mutual understanding. So now we are at a stage where even Bharti and Vodafone and BSNL are actually talking to Reliance Communications. So there is a possibility that it might happen. GSM operators don’t want to invite the ire of the regulator, who has made it very clear that if they don’t interconnect he will even look at imposing some kind of a penalty on that for not doing so or even ask the duty to take some kind of a legal action. So it is a very sensitive issue and we could now look for the first time at a possibility of a breakthrough.

Trai recommends choice of operator for STD, ISD calls Business Standard Telecom regulator Trai today recommended that National and International Long Distance operators be permitted to offer STD and ISD voice calls using operator-specific calling cards, a move that will give subscribers the freedom to choose a service provider. In its recommendations to the government, Trai said the provision of calling cards would allow consumer to exercise choice of long distance operator for the national and international calls. "Through long distance calling cards customer can make long distance calls from telephone of any access provider.... Consumer can subscribe to any access provider and still not be dependent on the access provider for long distance calls," Trai said in a statement. The Authority has therefore recommended amendment of NLD/ILD operators licence conditions to allow them to access customers directly for national and international long distance calls, respectively. Competition brought in by carrier selection was considered important for bringing in operational efficiencies in the long distance segment and also in offering choice, quality and affordable prices to the consumers. Telecom sector was in the process of opening up and availability of carrier selection was considered an important pre-requisite for vibrant competition.

TDSAT asks telecom PSUs to file their replies by Aug 26 Press Trust Of India / New Delhi August 20, 2008, 18:30 IST The telecom tribunal TDSAT has directed the state-controlled telecom firms BSNL and MTNL to submit their reply on the ongoing crossover spectrum matter by next week. After finding that both PSUs have not filed their counter affidavits, the tribunal has suo motto listed the case today and directed their counsel to file their replies by August 26. Meanwhile, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) also directed the GSM lobby COAI, which is the main petitioner in this case, to file its rejoinder over PSU's reply. Justifying its decision to list the case for hearing, TDSAT Chairman Justice Arun Kumar said,"Yesterday it was noticed that Respondent no 6 (BSNL) and 7 (MTNL) had not filed their counter affidavit. This is an order to avoid any further delay in the final hearing," the bench said. Other telecom companies including RCom, TTSL have already filed their replies on the matter. The tribunal clearly indicated that they do not want any further adjournment in this much delayed case on account of non-submission on any document. In this case, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) is insisting for an early hearing on the pretext that any delay would cost them dearly. COAI has filed petition last October, challenging the new telecom policy which had approved allotment of GSM spectrum to their rival CDMA operators RCom and Tata Teleservices under cross-over technology regime. DoT had on March 20, 2008 approved BSNL for usage of dual technology spectrum in 18 service areas along with MTNL on April, 7 for Delhi and Mumbai circles. The tribunal has listed the matter on September 4 for hearing this matter.

^^^ Thanks for the ringtones my dear Kaushik. Keep it up buddy. Regards.

^^^ Well my dear friends, if the above is going to be implemented, then this will be really great for all users of networks. Regards.

Vodafone, Airtel start marketing Apple's 3G iPhone 20 Aug, 2008, 2012 hrs IST, PTI NEW DELHI: The countdown for the much- awaited iPhone has begun with cellular operator Vodafone and Airtel offering potential customers a chance to own the device "before others do", by placing a deposit of up to Rs 10,000. The 3G-enabled device which will hit the Indian market by mid-night tomorrow, is expected to be priced between Rs 31,000 for the 8 GB model and Rs 36,100 for the 16 GB model. Although Vodafone declined to share details about handset bookings, sources said the response is very encouraging. Vodafone has already started sending SMS to its subscribers giving details of the iPhone's availability. The announcement comes ahead of official word from Bharti Airtel, country's leading wireless provider, which will also offer the iPhone. The iPhone is an Internet-enabled multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It has a multi-touch screen with virtual keyboard and buttons.

^^^ Yes my dear friends, Nokia N96 also could be a better choice. Regards.

Idea Cellular plans Rs 800-cr capex in FY 09 20 Aug, 2008, 1903 hrs IST, PTI MUMBAI: The Aditya Birla group-promoted Idea Cellular has drawn up a Rs 800-crore capex plan, which includes Rs 200-crore for new licences in the current fiscal, a top company official said. "We plan to invest Rs 800-crore in FY 09. We will invest Rs 600-crore for the roll-out of our Mumbai operations while Rs 200-crore will be spent on new licenses," Aditya Birla Group Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, said on the sidelines of a conference to announce the launch of Idea's mobile service in Mumbai today. The company now plans to start services in Bihar, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Orissa by end-December-January-2009. After the merger of Spice Telecom, the company will start services in Karnataka and Punjab, Birla said. Idea Cellular currently runs operations in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and holds spectrum for Bihar, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and licenses for the remaining six service areas. With the planned launch of services in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, before the end of this fiscal, Idea's footprint will soon cover approximately 90 per cent of India's telephony potential, Birla said. Idea has made a remarkable progress in the last two years, as its subscribers base has vaulted from 9-million to 28-million and cell sites to 29,000.

Vodafone to sell iPhone 3G from $708 20 Aug, 2008, 1156 hrs IST, ET NEW DELHI: Vodafone Essar, India's third-largest mobile operator, will sell Apple's iPhone 3G at 31,000 rupees ($708) for the 8GB model, a senior company official, who could not be named, said on Wednesday, Vodafone Essar and larger rival Bharti Airtel will start selling the device from Friday. Vodafone Essar will charge 36,100 rupees ($824) for the 16GB model. The new iPhone sells for as low as $199 in the United States. A spokesman for Bharti Airtel said the company would announce its price for the iPhone soon.