Idea Cellular Introduces 3G Smartphones BLADE and id-280

Idea Cellular today announced the launch of a range of android powered 3G smartphones starting at Rs. 5850 onwards with attractive data package.

The new Idea 3G Android smartphones have been affordably priced to ensure rapid uptake by both – 2G users wishing to upgrade to 3G, and existing 3G users.

As an special introductory offer, Idea is offering data services worth Rs. 3500 with Rs. 259 pack, along with the new 3G smartphones. The pack offers free subscription to Idea TV for 3 months, 1 GB of 3G data download per month for 3 months, 3G Double Dhamaka benefits for 6 months, and Talktime of Rs. 25. This special introductory offer is available for both prepaid and postpaid users.

Hence, for the id280 (Huawei Ideos X1 Gaga) 3G smartphone which is priced at Rs. 5,850, Idea 3G user gets it for a value of just Rs. 2,609. Likewise, the IDEA 3G handset BLADE (ZTE Blade) priced at Rs. 7,992 has a value of just Rs. 4751 for Idea 3G users, thus making them the best buys in their respective segments.

The Idea 3G Smartphones are based on 2.2 Android Operating System (OS) and also have a 3.2 MP Camera, Touchscreen (3.5” & 2.8” Screen size), GPS Navigator software, FM radio and MP3 Player, WiFi, Bluetooth, Social Media Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, browser Operamini, and pre-loaded Google and Youtube, besides a range of other high-end smartphone features and Idea TV.

The handset devices can operate as mobile phone, mini computer, and also acts as a Wi-Fi router.

IDEA Blade 3G Smartphone : Full Specification
OS	Android 2.2
Network	GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G HSDPA 900 / 2100
CPU	600 MHz ARM 11 processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset
Size	Dimensions       116 x 56.5 x 11.8 mm Weight -110g
Display	AMOLED or LCD capacitive touchscreen, 256K colors Size-480 x 800 pixels, 3.5 inches (~267 ppi pixel density) - Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate (Gravity Sendor) - Proximity sensor for auto turn-off - Multi-touch input method
Sound	Alert types : Vibration; MP3, WAV Ring tones Loudspeaker -Yes 3.5mm jack -Yes
Memory	Phonebook       Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall Call records      Practically unlimited Internal 150 MB storage, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM Card slot          microSD, up to 32GB, 2GB included,
Data Connectivity	GPRS /EDGE 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps WLAN            Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Wi-Fi hotspot (Android 2.2) Bluetoot v2.1 with A2DP, EDR microUSB v2.0
Camera	3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, autofocus Features-Geo-tagging Video-Yes Secondary-No
Features	Messaging :SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM Browser :WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Opera Mini Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS Games  :Yes Colors: Black GPS :Yes, with A-GPS support Java :Yes, via Java MIDP emulator - Digital compass - Live TV _idea Mall - SNS integration - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, FaceBook, Twiiter - YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration - Organizer - Voice memo - Predictive text input
Battery	Li-Ion 1250 mAh Stand-by :Up to 192 h Talk time :Up to 4 h
Price (MRP)	Rs. 7992

IDEA id-280 3G Smartphone : Full Specification
OS	Android 2.3
Network	GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G HSDPA 900 / 2100
CPU	600 MHz, ARM1136EJ-S, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset
Size	Dimensions 60.5 x 116.3 x 11.9 (2.4 x 4.6 x 0.5 inches) 120 grams (battery included)
Display	Display; Type:  color transflective TFT display Display: Color;Depth:   18 bit/pixel (262144 scales) Display; Diagonal: 3.5 ” (89 millimetres) Display Resolution:       320 x 480 (153600 pixels) Viewable + Display: Size 1.94 ” x 2.92 ” (49.37 x 74.05 millimeters ) Pixel density;(dot:pitch): 164.6 pixel/inch (0.15428 millimeter /pixel) Graphical Controller :    Qualcomm Adreno 200 Multi-touch input method
Sound	Alert types : Vibration; MP3, WAV Ring tones Loudspeaker -Yes 3.5mm jack -Yes
Memory	Phonebook       Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall Call records      Practically unlimited Internal 150 MB storage, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM Card slot          microSD, up to 32GB, 2GB included,
Data / Connectivity	GPRS /EDGE 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps WLAN            Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Wi-Fi hotspot (Android 2.2) Bluetoot v2.1 with A2DP, EDR USB 2.0 client, Hi-Speed (480Mbit/s) USB Series Micro-B (Micro-USB) connector
Camera	3.15 MP, 2048×1536 pixels, (CMOS sensor) Video-Yes Secondary-No
Features	Messaging :SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, IM Browser :WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Opera Mini Radio: Stereo FM radio with RDS Games  :Yes Colors: Black GPS :Yes, with A GPS, Geotagging Java :Yes, via Java MIDP emulator - Digital compass - Live TV _idea Mall - MP4/H.264/H.263 player - MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player - Google Search, Maps, Gmail, FaceBook, Twiiter - YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration - Organizer - Voice memo
Battery	Li-Ion 1200 mAh Stand-by :Up to 192 h Talk time :Up to 4 h
Price	Rs. 5850

India Adds 7.12 Million GSM Subscribers in October 2011– Uninor Leads

COAI today released India’s ‘GSM Subscriber Figures’ for October 2011. Once again Uninor tops in the new subscriber additions, added a total of 2.67 million GSM subscribers which is the highest number of new mobile subscriber additions followed by IDEA Cellular which has added 1.64 million new subscribers in October 2011.
 

According to the data released by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) total 7.12 million new subscribers added with 1.15% increase from previous month taking the all-India GSM cellular subscriber base to 625.41 million at the end of October 2011.

Among the leading GSM Mobile Service Operators, Vodafone Essar added 923,940 new customers, boosting its subscriber base 145.91 million. Bharti Airtel notched up 949,819 new subscribers during the month, taking its total base to 173.73 million.

State run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) manged 51,973 new subscribers boosting its subscriber base 91.58 million while AIRCEL increased its base by over 489481 customers to take its subscriber base to 60.28 million. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) added just 34,919 new users during the month, boosting its total base to 5.36 million at the end of Oct, 2011.

Please note : COAI GSM Subscriber base does not include the Reliance Communications and Tata Docomo’s GSM subscriber Base (same not submitted to COAI).

Radio One Launches IndiaONE – Premium Apps For ipad and iphone

Next Mediaworks (Radio One) has announced the launch of music apps for the apple ipad and iphone.

The premium application called “IndiaONE” streams out audio in high quality and consists of distinct channels that include Indian film music.

A huge collection of various genres of Non film music like Ghazals, Religious, folk, Indipop, lounge, News in 3 languages, Live stream radio in Hindi and Tamil, a Mood player that shuffles music for you and a 1000 song karaoke channel (only on ipad version) that includes tracks from the 70s to the latest film songs.

As a special launch feature the app also includes unplugged sessions of the best Indian musicians who have played exclusively at the Radio One studios and Bollywood stars who have presented their favourite songs in their own voices as played out in the Radio One stations across the country.

The ‘KaraokeONE” feature of IndiaONE is also available separately for ipad and iphone and is one of the very few authorized karaoke offerings of Bollywood music in India. One can sing out the latest 1000 Bollywood songs with synchronized lyrics and high quality back up music and support vocals.

With these apps you can stream these out anytime anywhere. Just connect your iphone / ipad to a sound system and hook up your microphone and sing along with the best music created in India. Songs will be updated every 30-45 days at no extra cost for the period of subscription.

Download Links :

IndiaONE for ipad : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/indiaone-ipad-edition/id465930088?mt=8

IndiaONE iphone :http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/indiaone-iphone-edition/id465889493?mt=8

KaraokeONE : http://itunes.apple.com/in/app/karaokeone/id477124393?mt=8

iPhone 4S Coming India Tomorrow, But Next Best Thing Is Already Here

Apple fanboys in India! iPhone 4S is coming tomorrow with Airtel and Aircel. iPhone 4S is the latest version of Apple’s flagship smartphone running on iOS v5.

The phone is much-hyped, as it was announced a day before Steve Job’s death on October 5, 2011.

Indian operators started pre-ordering of the iPhone some days back. Both operators priced same for the latest version of Apple’s iconic phone. 16GB version comes at Rs. 44,500 and 32GB one is at Rs. 50,900 as iPhone 4S is one of the most expensive mobiles in Indian market right now.

There is no official information regarding 64GB version of the phone from Aircel, but Airtel offering 64GB variant at Rs. 57,500. Earlier releases of the phone – 3GS and 4 are also on sale. iPhone 4S will reach to Aircel and Airtel Stores from November 25, 2011

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Apple iPhone 4S comes with A5 processor, CDMA+GSM Global phone chipset, 1080p video playback, faster download speeds, 8 MP camera, Retina Display and many more. But there is no 4G connectivity. Oh yeah it has SIRI to use iPhone by talking.

Today Airtel and Aircel both reveal the tariff plans and recharge options for iPhone 4S.

Aircel 4S Tariff

Aircel offers two plans for 16GB and 32GB variants under 50% Money back offer with iPhone 4S. Both plans include 3G data of just 650 MB and 1GB data on Aircel’s WiFi hotspots.

Details of Aircel’s iPhone 4S Tariff:

	50% Money Back Plans
Device	iPhone 4S 16GB	iPhone 4S 32GB
MRP	Rs. 44,500	Rs. 50,900
Monthly Rental	Rs. 1880	Rs. 2210
Monthly Discounts	Rs. 930	Rs. 1060
You have to pay for rental	Rs. 950	Rs. 1150
2 yr savings	Rs. 22,320	Rs. 25440
Local + STD min/month	3,000	3,500
Local+STD SMS/month	350	450
3G Data/month	650 MB	650 MB
WiFi Data/month	1 GB	1 GB

Airtel iPhone 4S Tariff

Airtel sells all the three variants of the new iPhone. Buy any of three variant and can choose any plan starting with Rs. 300 (after discount).

	Plan A	Plan B	Plan C	Plan D
Monthly rental	Rs. 2000	Rs. 1600	Rs. 1000	Rs. 600
Local minutes/month	1500	1400	900	500
Local + STD SMS/month	600	500	400	300
Data/month	3072MB	1200MB	500MB	200MB
What you pay/month	Rs. 1000	Rs. 800	Rs. 500	Rs. 300

For more details of Airtel offers with iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS visit:  airtel.in/iphone-files/special-offers.html

There is no direct discount on iPhone 4S price, you have to opt plans offered by the operators, and you will get discounts on the recharges or on the monthly rentals.Airtel tariffs are more competitive as you can offer one from total of 4 plans. But no bundled STD minutes with any plans.

But Aircel offers less 3G data and adds WiFi hotspot data with its plans. If you are buying an iPhone 4S, choose operator and plans as per your requirements.

There is no direct discount on iPhone 4S price, you have to opt plans offered by the operators, and you will get discounts on the recharges or on the monthly rentals.Airtel tariffs are more competitive as you can offer one from total of 4 plans. But no bundled STD minutes with any plans. But Aircel offers less 3G data and adds WiFi hotspot data with its plans. If you are buying an iPhone 4S, choose operator and plans as per your requirements.

Do you think iPhone 4S is the best smartphone available in the market? Frankly I am no Apple fan boy staying in India and I say better look at the Android offerings – wide offerings from many brands! Even you are in tight budget, Android is always there.

Benchmarking by different experts shows iPhone 4S lags behind Google Nexus S, Motorola RAZR or Galaxy S II. With Android 4.0 is going to make available for most of the Android phone in future, Android has the potential to be the future.

At this moment I cannot resist myself to add this video with this story.

The Next Best Thing is Already Here, Samsung USA

Samsung says: ‘The Next Big Thing is Already Here’. It is Galaxy S II. Android lovers you must watch out this video. There are some other versions of this ad which is ‘clever to a punch and already is viral.’

This ad is one of best tech ads in recent times.
60 second spot: http://youtu.be/cuzlQ7sv-bY
30 second edit: http://youtu.be/c2lRRBbu2LU
15 second ad: http://youtu.be/kO5Il_rvZj8

Note Galaxy S II is available in India for Rs. 28,000 around.

Blackberry Bold 9790, Curve 9380 and Curve 9350 CDMA Launched in India

BlackBerry Smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) today announced the launch of three new smartphones the BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380 (3G) and BlackBerry Curve 9350 (CDMA – EVDO) each based on the BlackBerry 7 operating system (OS) in Indian market for Rs. 27490 (Bold) and Rs. 20990 (Curve).

The BlackBerry Bold 9790 is both powerful and compact, offering users a fully loaded, high performance smartphone with the dual benefits of a high resolution touch display and a highly tactile keyboard. The BlackBerry Curve 9380 and 9350 is the first-ever BlackBerry Curve smartphone with a touch display.

BlackBerry Bold 9790 Smartphone with Touch Display and Keyboard :

True to the BlackBerry Bold brand, the new BlackBerry Bold 9790 smartphone is powerful, full-featured and built with premium materials and finishes. It combines a high-resolution and highly responsive touch display with a highly tactile keyboard and a precise optical trackpad, but comes in a narrow design that is easy to carry and exceptionally comfortable to hold.

With the BlackBerry 7 OS and powerful 1 GHz processor, the BlackBerry Bold 9790 delivers fast, smooth performance for browsing the web, running apps, working with documents, and enjoying multimedia. It includes 8GB of onboard memory and an expandable memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB of additional storage.

All-Touch BlackBerry Curve 9380 (GSM 3G) and Curve 9350 (CDMA – EVDO) Smartphone :

The finely crafted BlackBerry Curve 9380 (GSM 3G) is the first all-touch smartphone in the BlackBerry Curve family and and Curve 9350 (CDMA EVDO) comes with touch and type facility. Curve 9380 features a highly responsive and brilliant 3.2” high resolution display while Curve 9350 (CDMA) has 2.4-inch (480 x 360 pixels) with 246 ppi and 24-bit color TFT LCD display. Both device comes with preinstalled social networking apps, including BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), Facebook, Twitter and Social Feeds apps, that offer a fun, easy and smoothly integrated mobile experience.

This compact and stylish handsets also features a 5MP camera with flash and video recording, allowing users to easily capture and share their favorite moments with family, friends and colleagues.

All 3 device will be available from December 1st in stores across India.

IDEA To Launch 3G Android Phone Today, Might Be Huawei Idoes X1 Gaga

IDEA Cellular, one of the leading mobile service operator with more than 100 million GSM subscribers will be launch their own-brand Android 3G smartphone in the Indian market today.

IDEA Cellular holding press conference in Mumbai by evening and their official invites mentioned “The national launch of Idea’s new initiative to drive 3G services.” We believe that IDEA is going to launch own branded 3G phone in Indian market today.

However the things are officially not yet confirmed by IDEA but we can summarize that new phone would be a re-branded or customized version of Huawei’s Ideos X1 Gaga run on Android 2.2 Froyo Operating System.

Huawei’s Ideos X1 Gaga features a 528 MHz processor and have 265 MB RAM. Having an inbuilt storage capacity of 152 MB, a micorSD card support up to 16GB. It has 2.8 inch capacitive display with 240 x 320 pixels resolution, 3.2 Mega Pixel camera Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1. It has a powerful Li-on 1200 mAh battery.

The device will be priced at Rs. 4990 (approx) and can expect that IDEA Cellular would come up with a much appropriate, low-cost 3G data plans for their new phone.

With the launch of low cost own branded 3G smartphone, IDEA Cellular focus on growth from semi-urban heartlands and rural India, as the company has experienced huge growth in next generation 3G data traffic in the largely semi-urban market.

RIM To Launch BlackBerry Curve 9380 In India For Rs. 19990

BlackBerry Smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) all set to launch BlackBerry Curve 9380 – first full touch smartphone under its Curve series for Rs. 19990 in India.

The finely crafted BlackBerry Curve 9380 was globally announced on 15 November and it is the first all-touch smartphone in the Curve family running BlackBerry OS 7.

The device has a 806 MHz processor, 5 Mega Pixel camera flash and video recording, highly responsive and brilliant 3.2” high resolution display. The responsive all-touch screen, optical trackpad, navigation keys and virtual keyboard make using the BlackBerry Curve 9380 effortless.

BlackBerry Curve 9380 comes with 512 MB RAM and preinstalled social networking apps, including BBM (BlackBerry Messenger), Facebook, Twitter apps that offer a fun, easy and smoothly integrated mobile experience.

The new BlackBerry Curve 9380 smartphone also features our Social Feeds application same is its BOLD series new phones, which ties all of your social networks together into one place. With Social Feeds you can update each of your social networks at once, and new messages from your friends pop up at the top of the screen so you can check them quickly and easily.

MTNL Launches Dolphin Unlimited Plan 198 For Postpaid Subscribers

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has launched new “Dolphin Unlimited Plan 198″ for its 3G Postpaid subscribers in Mumbai circle. Earlier the similar plan was available at monthly rental of Rs. 399.

MTNL’s New “Unlimited Dolphin Plan 198 will comes at monthly rental of Rs. 198 which offers Unlimited Free outgoing calls (Voice and 3G Video) to Local MTNL (Mumbai) Network (Mobile/Land-line). While other network Local and STD calls to any network will be charged for 70p/minute (Voice and 3G Video).

In August 2011, similar plan was introduced for Prepaid subscribers by MTNL, dubbed as Unlimited Local Call Pack-198 as earlier we shared on TelecomTalk. Now postpaid subscriber can enjoy the same tariff benefits at Rs. 198/month.

For more details dial 1503/ 022-22221503 or 9869012345 (toll free from MTNL).

MTNL Delhi Introduces Online Recharge for Trump Prepaid 2G and 3G

India’s first 3G Mobile service operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), finally brings online recharge facility for its users in Delhi telecom circle in association with Paytm.
 

Now all MTNL’s Trump Prepaid and 3G Jadoo customers in Delhi circle can recharge their prepaid mobile accounts, STVs or 3G Data & by clicking over Internet.

MTNL Delhi’s prepaid subscribers can recharge online and pay through multiple payment methods like Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Bank Account, Prepaid Cash Cards, etc. in a secure and easy manner. To use the online recharge service; MTNL Delhi’s prepaid customer (2G / 3G) needs to visit its website (http://mtnldelhi.in/dolphin/) and click on Online Recharge option from the upper right dock’s ‘ Under “3G & GSM Services”.

Direct web link for MTNL Delhi’s online recharge portal -: http://mtnldelhi.in/dolphin/index.php/online-mobile-recharge .

Online recharges are available for MTNL mobile prepaid from 3G Data Recharges, Top-up, Special Tariff vouchers like SMS packs STD Pack, Trump-185, Vidyrthi etc.

Tata Docomo Introduces Rent Free Plans For Postpaid Customers

Tata Docomo has launched a new concept “Rent-free Plan” for postpaid customers in selected Cities.

Tata is the first telecom to launch the plan for customers based on the concept of “PAY AS YOU USE”.

Under the rent-free plan.

A new customer will be acquired under a rental plan of Rs. 149 ,based on his outgoing usage (OG calls+SMS+VAS+Data+net of FAT) the customer will be eligible for Zero rental as below:

If customer Usage is more than>499, Rental of Rs. 149 will be discounted from his bill.

If Usage is  <500 rental will be charged

The Unique point in the newly launched Rent-Free Plan are

a. No rental (Depending on Usage ARPU > 499).

b. Local calls at 1p/2sec. STD calls @ 5ps/6secs.

c. 100 Local+ 100 STD mins free per month.

d. SMS Charges (Local/National/International) – 60p/120p/500p

e. ISD – Standard rate apply

f. Roaming – incoming-Re 1/min, Outgoing Local-Re 1/min, Outgoing STD-Rs 1.5/min

This plan is available for both new customers and existing customers and is currently available on GSM customers & will be available very shortly for CDMA customers also.

If any other customer who is ported in from other operator can also choose this tariff plan. Customers can choose various add on packs as per the usage.Fore more details customers can call on 1800-266-0000 for the details on the Rent Free plans.

Visa Prepaid Accounts Now On Mobile Phones

Visa today announced a new product which will serve the needs of unbanked and under banked consumers.

Visa seems to be targeting developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America for its new mobile based prepaid product.

The new product a Visa prepaid account that can be accessed through a mobile phone, offers consumers in developing countries a secure, reliable, globally interoperable electronic payment account.

Visa’s new product enhance the security and extend the payment functionality by enabling account holders to send funds to each other, send and receive international remittances, make purchases at merchants or online where Visa is accepted or withdraw funds at a Visa ATM.

How it works :

Visa’s will offer consumers a new payment account that enhances the payment functionality of their existing mobile money service.In markets with Visa acceptance locations, consumers may also have the option to receive a Visa prepaid companion card that can be used at ATMs and merchants where Visa is accepted.

Exclusive: BSNL Launches New SMS Packs

India’s National Telecom Backbone and Pan India 3G Mobile Service operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today announced the new ‘attractive’ SMS Packs for its prepaid mobile subscribers (2G and 3G) across all circles.
 

BSNL has withdrawn its existing SMS pack of Rs. 53 Rs. 32 and introduced NEW attractive SMS packs at Rs. 36, Rs. 46 and Rs. 56 with more free sms and longer validity period. The New SMS STVs will be available via Ctopup and through SMS based activation from 17th November 2011.

BSNL’s New SMS Pack of Rs. 36 will offers 3000 Local/National/Roaming SMS FREE valid for 30 Days. While Subscriber can send 4500 Local/National/Roaming SMS FREE (200 SMS per Day) at Rs. 46 valid for 45 days.

With new SMS Pack of Rs. 56 subscriber will get the benefits of 6000 Local/National/Roaming SMS valid for 60 days from the date of activation. All new SMS Pack comes with the cap of 200 SMS/day  as per TRAI regulation and will be available from 17th November 2011.

Please Note : Presently all new SMS pack are available for subscriber in Tamilnadu and Chennai TDM.These plan will be implemented in other circle soon.

All SMS Packs are applicable while in HOME LSA as well as National Roaming across India. The SMS STVs under 2G & 3G Prepaid mobile services will not be applicable on “Blackout days”.  Normal SMS charges as per plan will be applicable on “Blackout Days.

Airtel Raises Prepaid Mobile Tariff

India’s largest Mobile Service operator Bharti Airtel surprisingly once again hikes its prepaid tariff by decreasing the validity period and offerings under certain STVs in all telecom circles across India.

Airtel increased the 2G GPRS Data rates by reducing the data benefit offered under its most popular monthly GPRS Pack of Rs. 98 which is now giving only 1 GB data download instead of 2 GB offered earlier.

The operator also has also reduced the tariff validity of some special tariff vouchers (STV) and Reduced Call Rate benefits by 50%  like 180 days from the existing 365 days.

Airtel also announced one small revision of its prepaid ISD tariff. Now ISD call rates are increased by up to 10 per cent  for some destinations.

In July-2011, Airtel had hike 20% in prepaid tariff as earlier we shared on TelecomTalk. Later, other leading mobile service providers live Vodafone, IDEA and BSNL also increased rates of their prepaid mobile services.

Tata Communications Eyes Entry into 4G Space

India’s leading telecommunication company Tata Communications is also looking to enter 4G space in coming days. Tata Communications took part in the BWA auction but left with no win.

In 2G & 3G space Tata Teleservices is not even in top 3 slots, but India’s iconic business group cannot ignore the potential of 4^th generation wireless broadband services in India and targets an entry into 4G segment.

Now some reports indicates that Tata may enter into a tie up with Reliance Infotel, country’s only pan India 4G spectrum winner as there are some talks between them.

It should be noted that Tata Communications owns prominent tower company Viom Networks (earlier known as Tata-Quippo). So Tata Communications can offer towers, optical fiber network & international gateway to Reliance Infotel. Similar prospectus also comes from Reliace Communication, owned by Anil Ambani.

It also peeps the fact Reliance Industries is in talks with several passive infrastructure providers and can enter into agreements with more than one companies.

Tata Communications is also looking to enter 4G space directly by buying Qualcomm’s asset of four circles’ BWA spectrum as hinted by NDTV. But as Qualcomm is messed up with the four companies for four circles and one ISP license the buy-out will be delayed for months.

Qualcomm entered the BWA auction to ensure LTE roll out and also announced that eventually they will leave the Indian ISP market. Industry rumor is Airtel is keen to buy Qualcomm’s wireless broadband business as Qualcomm holds lucrative circles like Delhi & Mumbai.

Mumbai and Maharastra are like den of Tata Communications, where they have great base. It is expected that Tata Comm will try their best to buy out atleast Mumbai’s 4G license from Qualcomm.

MTNL Delhi Revamps Landline Tariff, Launches Freedom Plans with Unlimited Free Calls

In a bid to promote the Landline Phone services, state run telecom giant Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd today revamps its land-line tariff and annoucned the launch of new Land-line Plans with Unlimited Free Own Network calling facility and per minute pulse rates in Delhi circle.

MTNL Delhi introduced new land-line plan Freedom 495, Freedom 1995 and One Minute-250.

MTNL’s Freedom 495 plan comes at monthly rental of Rs. 495 offers Unlimited FREE calls on MTNL Delhi and Mumbai network (Mobile and Landlines) and 500 free calls on other networks in Delhi. Beyond Free usage call charges will be 90 paisa per minute.

While Freedom 1995 plan comes at monthly rental of Rs. 1995 and offers Unlimited FREE calls on MTNL Delhi and Mumbai network (Mobile and Landlines) and 2000 Free Calls on other N/W in Delhi. Post free usage call charges will be 70 paisa per minute.

Uniform One Minute Pulse Rate for All Local Calls in Delhi and NCR :

MTNL also announced that Uniform pulse rate of 60 Seconds for all local calls with in Delhi and NCR will be will be implemented for all land line plans w.e.f 18.11.2011.

Closure of OLD Land-line Plans for new bookings :

Apart from the launch of above new Freedom plans for land-line service, MTNL also discontinue/closed its old non popular land line plans for NEW customers starting from Rs. 250 to Rs. 2000. However exiting customers can continue with their current plans.

MTNL Delhi’s New Landline Plans:

Tata Docomo Launches 3G Video Conferencing

Tata Docomo today launched Video Conferencing services in the 3G circles.

Tata Docomo Video Conferencing will allows max of 8 participants to enter into a single video call where everyone can see each other and converse. Video Conferencing can be accessed by dialing 5333370 at 5ps/sec and book a conference at Rs. 10/conference.

Other Participant need to dial 5333370 at 5ps/sec to participate in a conference. Every conference booked is charged at Rs. 10 and there are 5p/sec access charges.

The conference can be booked by 3 means

1. By Dialing the IVVR 5333370 at 5p/sec

2. By sending an SMS “Book Vconf ” to 5333370 at toll free.

3. By accessing videoportal.tatadocomo.com/vconf from your mobile phone browser.

Video Conferencing is available to all 3 G subscribers in 3 G Circles only.

Uninor Will Bring Operator Billing and India-Centric Apps To Android MarketUninor Will Bring Operator Billing and India-Centric Apps To Android Market

Telenor, the Norway based telcom company that operates mobile services under the Uninor brand in India has announced that it will bring operator billing and India-Centric mobile apps on the Android Market to Indian users in 2012.

Telenor and Google launched a global agreement to stimulate further growth of the Android ecosystem.

Uninor’s Android smartphone users will be able to access a carefully selected and continuously updated suite of local relevant apps inside a fixed destination on the front page of Android Market, in a store-in-store concept.

After the launch of above service, Telenor / Uninor customers can also pay for apps via Operator billing system, considered crucial in driving app adoption. Local developers benefit by the increased exposure of their apps and the potential of increased revenues.

An editorial team in each market will be responsible for selecting and presenting up to 50 apps with high local relevance. Operator billing makes it easy for Uninor / Telenor’s Android users to pay for apps, via prepaid or postpaid subscriptions, and enables developers to more easily monetize on their products. Industry data shows that, given the option of paying via credit card or operator billing, approximately 70% prefer the latter.

The agreement between Google and Telenor covers its 11 international markets, with initial launch in the first quarter 2012 in Thailand, Malaysia, Hungary, Sweden and Denmark. While remaining global markets (India, Bangladesh, Serbia, Montenegro and Norway) will be able to enjoy the upgraded Android experience later in 2012.

Tata Docomo SmartPicks – Offer Extension on Nokia E6

In our last article “Tata Docomo SmartPicks – Offer Extension on Sony, Dell, Acer, HTC , LG & Motorola” we saw that Loads of 3G handset were introduced with some bundled offers.

Now once again it’s back with the new Handset under the Smartpick offer, yes it’s the New Nokia E6-Touch & Type Smart phone with 3G & 2G Vas bundled offer, TATA Docomo has Extended its smartpick offer on the new Touch & Qwerty phone from nokia.

This offer is applicable for both Prepaid & Postpaid users. Customer can walk in to any Tata Docomo outlet or can call on 18002660000 (for the post pay users) and get this amazing offer at your door step.

3G offer is applicable in the towns where TATA DOCOMO 3G service is available. It also has got other exciting nokia handset under the same offer Like Nokia C5-00, Nokia C6-00, Nokia C3-01, & Nokia C6-01 also.

TATA DOCOMO Smart Picks for Prepaid
Benefits	3G Circles	2G Circles
1	3 GB data with 90 days validity	3 GB data with 90 days validity (2G network)
2	30mins video calling valid for 90 days*	300 Local Tata to Tata mins with  3 months validity
3	3 Hours of Mobile TV including data access charges valid for 90 days

TATA DOCOMO Smart Picks for postpaid
Benefits	3G Circles	2G Circles
1	1GB data per month for 3 months  (1GB*3 months=3GB)	1GB data per month for 3 months  (1GB*3 months=3GB)
2	10mins video calling per month for 3 months*.(10 mins*3 months=30 mins)	100 Mins Tata to Tata local calls per month for 3 months.(100*3=300 mins)
3	3 Hours of Mobile TV viewing including data access charges valid for 90 days