MOBILE FAN

Micromax is the future on India in terms of mobile handset brand. It is highest selling Indian mobile brand today. The end of Nokia raj is round the corner (Not only because of Micromax but they are one in the leading pack). They are coming up with their IPO. Initially they bought components from China but now they are doing some manufacturing in India. They will be soon a indigenous mobile handset maker. So, I think, it will be a trusted brand. If you are in need of such a mobile, I think you may consider going with it. Btw, I am not a Guru and still giving my opinion

Look like a good offer. Still the customer has to pay from the next year. The offer should have been free till the time you are the customer.

MTS should make the offer lucrative for Port-in customers.

^^^^ Yes, I am ok to be with RCDMA just because of the ₹440 plan. The ARP4999 plan is for a year. For saving, I m using an additional Vodafone sim of 1p/s. My large usage is R2R STD (around 1000+ min/month) and also R2R local (around 300 min). It not only saves my billing but also of my parents and my wife's. Also, I am not at all comfortable with the idea of paying 4999 upfront. My belief is that in this era of telcos facing cut throat competition, it is not a prudent idea to pay ₹4999 upfront. Who knows what new offers come our way from other telcos ? No, changing circle has no impact on plan. Yes, it will change my number but not my plan. And that I have done previously.

But to avail ₹100 off just for 3 months, is not very attractive offer for me. I am already on ₹440 plan. I need ₹100 off for very long period or atleast ₹50 pack free for calling the local numbers at 50p and also an SMS pack. If they are not offerring any of these for a longer duration, there is no point for me to bargain.

I am on the same 440 plan. Should I ask them to give me retention plan - same 440 but with100 waiver on other network ? If they give it is best suited to me. I called up CC. But he told me that I was on the best plan and he tried to convince me. He was tough guy to crack. So I called up once again and talked to a girl. She tried to pass me to the retention department but that was busy for long time. So she told me that she would ask the retention dept. to call me back. However, its been 5 days since then and nobody called me. I think I need to call them again. But I would like to ask you one question. The ₹ 100 discount that you got was for 6 months or for continuous period of time ?

So, now teclos will bundle phone and plan. Are we moving westward ?

^^^^ I am talking abt 440 unlimted plan There is another thread dedicated to find an alternative to this plan. So far we dont have any alternative. RGSM is not a good option as of now in Pune because of the coverage problem. I agreed with Rajesh because CDMA s**cks when it comes to Data. Why to waste money on buying costly data packs and also to use them you need to buy those foreign handsets sold on this forum when off-the-shelf GSM handsets are available ?

Thats a new innovative phrase I agree. However, the better alternative is to have CDMA+GSM handset, stay on Reliance for tariff and keep GSM for 3G data. Have best of both worlds. But for that need to wait for such good handsets.

source :: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Firing-up-DTH/Article1-673059.aspx This is exactly where I'm pining at. The signal flow chain in DTH platform is Production-Broadcasters-DTH operators-Settop box- TV. The entire chain from production to consumption should support HD for real HD experience. For 7 channels (Disc HD,NGC HD,Travel XP HD,DD HD,Movies Now HD,Star Cricket HD& ESPN HD), the entire chain is HD. ps:: DD HD,Star Cricket HD & ESPN HD are event based channels For rest of the channels mentioned in the list, the signal flow from Broadcasters to TV is HD. Only missing link is production. What it means? All those channels in the list will have few of the serials/movies in HD to start with and the rest of the programs in upscaled SD. As and when their serial/movie producers start HD production, the percentage of HD content in those channels will increase and will reach 100% over the time. Thats really a good explanation. Thanks for taking time to research on that.

I agree. What you said is matter of choice and the willingness to spend a whole lot of money on an HD panel. It is now clear that only 4 channels are in True HD. I am still reiterating that 95% of your TV watching time, you are viewing SD (or Expanded SD). However, the cricket enthusiasts can still feel that they need to buy and LCD for the true HD experience because he doesnt want to miss the amazing quality. Yes, that is true. But along with that, he will have a pain of watchhing the 95% of the channels in a substandard resolution which will mar his normal TV watching experience. I am not against anything. I am just stating the current scenario, where most of the TV content is SD and most of the TV marketing is for HD. Its a total mismatch and the consumer is loosing money in this process or atleast he is not getting value for his money. I also agree that future is HD. There is no denial. But that future is not near. It will take years. The content developers are not ready for the immediate change. If you buy a Full HD panel today, I am sure, by the time you get most channels in HD, your TV technology will be old. Still the matter is of choice.

PMed.

Its a universal truth that SD is best viewed on analog TV. But, in this era of marketting, you can sell anything. People are buying LCD/LED/Plasmas with a big hole in the pocket for a substandard viewing experience. Because here what matters is prestige and not the viewing experience. Except for the last year's soccer world cup and this year's cricket world cup, what you find on HD channels are HBO, Discovery and National Geography. Not sure but may be Colors too. When the 95% of the channels are SD, when you are going to watch only SD channels 95% of your TV watching time, why to buy a TV which costs a mullah ? But you are right, the best part is recording. You can pause live tv, record any program and watch them anytime with forwarding all ads and save time. Effectively you are using DVR the most and not HD. I am having Airtel DVR for 7 months now. Believe me, DVR (any brand) is the best thing ever happened to us after Mobile Phones. You will never like to return to the live TV. Infact I dont remember, I have ever seen any live TV in last 7 months and never missed any of my favourite programs. Especially in Airtel, if you forgot to schedule a program and you remember when you are not at home, you can still record it using your mobile. I remember, I recorded my fav. programs from Manali when I was on seven days of vacation. The happiness receipe for now = Have all comfort of wathching TV (DVR) + Best viewing experience (CRT).

I am on the same 440 plan. Should I ask them to give me retention plan - same 440 but with Rs. 100 waiver on other network ? If they give it is best suited to me.

I am using RCDMA with data mode always on. Most of the time the IM+ , chatting client on Blackberry is on. But this is creating a problem. Even if I am not chatting, the data is on and it keeps the phone busy continuously and for a long time. When somebody tries to call the phone he gets busy tone continuously. Somewhere I read that that on CDMA this is always like that. When on data, it cannot take voice. But then what is the workaround ? How to be Online (accessible to people on chatting client), but when not exactly chatting, the phone should receive the call ?

The first start in India for HD content was last year during soccer world cup. I completely agree that till the time Indian broadcasters are not upgrading for HD content, there is no point in watching the SD content on the HD panels. Till now, I am resisting the urge to buy LCD just because of this fact. HD TV buyers are actually paying more to see a substandard viewing experience. I dont want to be fooled my sheer marketing campaigns. I will wait till majority channels start on HD.

I agree completely.

Now-a-days looking at the trend, one should say - nice phone and ALSO micromax !

I have Verizon BB 8330 and 1x is working on RCDMA. I guess, it is ESN based. Can EVDO be activated on it without registering MEID ? If yes then I think I need to pay Rs. 750. for this. Let me know if my understanding is correct or not. Thanks.

Source Bangalore: With the government approving prepaid calling cards for STD and ISD, the users will have the benefit of cheapest call rates for national and international long-distance calls regardless who ever the mobile operator is. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has allowed all long-distance license holders in the country to market their products directly to consumers in the form of prepaid packages or through calling cards, which will bring down international call rates by half. The companies will also be allowed to sell the product online. For instance, a Vodafone Essar subscriber can purchase a package from Verizon, which offers the cheapest ISD tariff. The user can feed a set of numbers specified in the package to get onto the Verizon network and make the calls. The same apply for STD calls also. There are 25 long distance licence holders in the country, which include PowerGrid, RailTel, Gail, Sify, AT&T, British Telecom, Cable & Wireless, SingTel, Verizon, France Telecom (Orange) and Tulip Telecom. Tata Communications (formerly VSNL) and BSNL have welcomed the move, describing that it will reduce ISD rates dramatically while STD rates may not be impacted much as they are already highly competitive. "Customers will finally have a choice of long-distance providers. I expect ISD rates to come down significantly due to true competition," said Srinivas Addepallim, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Tata Communications. Tata Communications has said to offer ISD tariffs at 50 percent of the existing rates to several international destinations if calling cards were allowed. Long distance tariffs have fallen 20-53 percent globally after customers were allowed to choose their operator. As the ISD contributes only three percent of the revenues, it will not impact the companies. The service providers generate around 10-20 percent of the total income service providers' revenues and ISD accounts mere 15 percent. "We are exploring and examining all opportunities that would come in its way due to this regulation change," said Atul Bindal, President, Bharti Airtel, which is India's largest long-distance provider in terms of revenues. Calling cards is a multi-billion-dollar business, as the country specific cards are very popular in markets like the U.S. In fact, many Indian companies sell calling cards to NRIs settled in the U.S. and elsewhere. Indian foreign carriers feel a little about the DoT move. "The government should have taken this step a few years ago and it would have made huge difference to the consumer. The impact will be marginal now," said SN Zindal, Director General, Association of Competitive Telecom Operators (ACTO), which represents foreign carriers such as AT&T, BT, Cable & Wireless, France Telecom (Orange) and Verizon in India. "Calls rates to leading countries like the U.S. are competitive, but it can bring down tariffs to some of the other countries," added Zindal. The call rates to Europe, Australia and Gulf countries may go down with this move. "Calls to the U.S. are priced at about Rs 5 per minute by most operators, but calls to Australia cost about Rs 10 per minute. The distance from India to the U.S. and Australia is almost the same. The big change will be that rates to a lot of countries, especially Europe and the Persian Gulf will become very competitive," commented V Sridar, Research Fellow, Sasken Communication Technologies. Telecoms regulator TRAI had recommended this offer of long distance calling cards in August 2008. The DoT took a year to clear the TRAI proposal.

The new operators like Aircel, Docomo, Uninor, STel will be the ones would get maximum gain out of MNP.

Its end of November and there is no signs of such calling cards

And I thought, Anil lost his clout after split from Mukesh.

Can we have the new PRL v5 ?

Hi Dr. Sahab, The 8330 - from you, is always on 1x and I have never seen 1xEV. Do I need to ask CC to do something here ? Or is it the PRL ?