Handsets

Nokia has introduced the N900 handheld in the country. The phone packs in a TFT screen with 65,000 colours, a full QWERTY keypad, 32 GB storage memory and 256 MB RAM. Its other features are GPRS, Bluetooth connectivity, a 5 megapixel camera and support for video recording and playback. The N900 is priced at Rs 30,639.

 

Grapes, the mobile brand of Unitron Exim, has launched the CG888 handset. The phone has a QWERTY keypad, two dual-SIM options (CDMA+GSM or GSM+GSM), a 1.3 megapixel camera, an inbuilt web camera, expandable memory up to 2 GB, support for MP3, MP4 and 3GP audio and video formats, FM radio, WAP support and Bluetooth 1.2. The phone allows access to Facebook, Yahoo! and MSN instant messaging platforms, and costs Rs 4,999.

 

Spice Mobiles' latest offering, the S7000 video handset, comes with a 3.2inch full touchscreen for wide screen viewing, digital surround sound and a multiple format video player. Its multimedia features include a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth connectivity, expandable memory up to 16 GB, an inbuilt modem and support for EDGE. It also supports dualSIM cards and has a built-in FM radio. It is priced at Rs 7,499.

 

Wynn Telecom has unveiled seven dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) handhelds with prices ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000. All the handhelds come equipped with video recording and playback features, an inbuilt MP3 player, a mobile tracker and number blacklist facilities.The Y-50 handset comes with a QWERTY keypad, track-ball navigation, a 2 megapixel camera with flash and a TFT colour screen. The Y-30 handset has a 2 megapixel camera, a webcam, PC synchronisation facility and a shared phonebook. The Y-22 offers a VGA camera, torchlight, currency checker and support for Bengali and Tamil languages. The Y21 has a digital camera and application protection facility and the Y-20 has a 1,000-name-capacity phonebook and file protection facility. The Y-11 is GPRS enabled and the Y-10 has a 500-namecapacity phonebook.

Sony Ericsson's new Android handset, the Xperia X10 Mini, has been launched in the country. The phone features a 2.6-inch QVGA touchscreen, a 600 MHz processor, 128 MB of internal memory that is expandable to 32 GB using microSD cards, and WiFi connectivity. Its other features include an inbuilt GPS system, a 5 megapixel camera, and Bluetooth and USB connectivity. The device is priced at Rs 15,000.

 

Research In Motion (RIM) has announced the launch of the BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone.The device incorporates BlackBerry email, messaging, social networking capabilities and support for 3G. Its other features include WiFi connectivity, GPS, an optical trackpad, dedicated volume and media keys, a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, and support for up to 32 GB of personal content. The BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone will be available in two models in India, the BlackBerry Pearl 9100, featuring a 20-key condensed QWERTY keyboard, and the BlackBerry Pearl 9105, with a 14-key traditional phone keyboard.

Karbonn Mobiles has unveiled two new andhelds: the K777 and the K485. Both handsets pack in an MP3 player, FM radio, voice recorder, video player and GPRS. The K777, a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device, houses a QVGA screen and a 3.2 megapixel camera, and comes preloaded with Java applications, games, Opera Mini web browser and Google search. The phone has expandable memory of up to 8 GB and is priced at Rs 4,500. The K485 is a multimedia handset with a digital camera, WAP, MMS and an expandable memory of up to 4 GB. Its other features include handwriting recognition and support for Hindi. It is priced at Rs 3,500.

LAVA Mobiles' latest offering, the M 23, is a dual-SIM handset that has an inbuilt MP3 and MP4 player, an FM radio, a digital camera and a video player with support for unlimited video recording. The handheld's other features include support for WAP, GPRS, Bluetooth connectivity, T flash card support of up to 8 GB and Hindi language support. The M 23 is priced at Rs 4,499.

 

Nokia has launched its latest C-series mobile phone in India, the Nokia C5. Sporting a 2.2-inch display with 240x320 pixels, the C5 comes with a 3.5 megapixel camera with LED flash and video recording VGA at 15 frames per second. The phone also offers support for Nokia Ovi Maps, which enables free global navigation.Running on Symbian OS 9.3, the phone comes with a 2 GB memory card, which is expandable up to 16 GB. Its other key features include Class 32 GPRS and EDGE, FM radio, 3G support, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and a micro USB 2.0 port. The phone is priced at Rs 7,999.

 

LG has announced the launch of another handset under the Cookie brand name in India, the LG Cookie Zip (LG 510). Targeted at CDMA users, the phone offers a 3-inch touchscreen display and a 2 megapixel camera with a 2X digital zoom. The handset has features like live TV using EVDO. Itsother key features are Bluetooth 2.2, an MP3 player, voice recording, FM radio, video messaging and streaming, caller tunes, song IDs and push-to-talk. The phone comes pre-installed with social networking applications such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Orkut. It has 72 MB internal memory that can be expanded up to 4 GB. The phone costs Rs 8,299.

Services
Bhas introduced several new offers for its harat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) subscribers. Users can avail of a free 3G data card bundled with various internet plans. For example, 15 months of free usage is bundled with a 2 GB internet data plan; 10 months of free usage is available under the 10 GB usage plan. The unlimited 3G data service plan provides 10 GB worth of data downloads for Rs 999 per month. BSNL has also introduced EVDO cards priced at Rs 2,500 upwards and high speed internet for Rs 750 per month. For its CDMA customers, the company has launched CDMA 1X (NIC) cards that are priced at Rs 2,000 and offer unlimited internet access for Rs 250 per month.

Videocon Mobile Services has introduced an offer for customers opting for a Vrecharge voucher worth Rs 83 under which they can avail of full talk value on all top-ups for three months, along with 100 free SMSs for 30 days. STD calls are pegged at Re 0.50 per minute while local calls within the network and to other networks are charged at Re 0.20 per minute and Re 0.40 per minute respectively.

Videocon has also introduced its first recharge coupon 102 and a special tariff voucher 63 in Mumbai. The recharge coupon 102, which is priced at Rs 102, offers pay-per-second tariff with one-year validity and talktime of Rs 60 with 60 minutes of free local calls. The special tariff voucher is priced at Rs 63 and is valid for 90 days.

Vodafone Essar has introduced the Mobile Box Office value-added service. This enables subscribers to listen to the storyline, trivia, dialogues and songs of their favourite movies. Every week, subscribers can choose from a catalogue of over 50 movies across seven movie industries. They also have the option of downloading caller tunes and ringtones, and dedicating songs to their friends. To subscribe to this service, customers can either call 56700 toll free and request for activation or SMS `MBO' to 111 or 444. Once activated, subscribers can call 56700 toll free and listen to their selected movie. Customers can choose from various packages. For example, by paying Rs 30 as monthly charges, users can avail of five movie capsules with 30 days' validity.Similarly, by paying Rs 10 as monthly charge, users can avail of three movie capsules with a 20-day validity but they need to have a balance of Rs 20 to Rs 30 in their mobile handsets.

Tata Teleservices' GSM brand, TATA DOCOMO has introduced a series of GPRS plans for prepaid customers. The new GPRS packs offer five different tariff plans, ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 95. The pack priced at Rs 5 offers users 10 MB of free usage until midnight on the day of recharge, the pack worth Rs 15 allows subscribers to avail of 500 MB of free usage within three days and the pack worth Rs 33 is a night pack that offers free usage worth 1 GB for 30 days from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.Similarly, the GPRS pack available for Rs 48 offers 2 GB of free usage for 30 days and the GPRS pack priced at Rs 95 offers subscribers free data usage worth 6 GB for 30 days. After the free data usage, customers are charged at Re 0.10 per 20 kB.

IMI mobile has joined hands with Bharti Airtel to launch the "Cell Shakti" service for rural users. This service provides infoRmation related to weather conditions, health care, mandi rates, education, law and order, etc. on the user's handheld via an interactive voice response (IVR) platform. Subscribers can call 52345006 to subscribe to the service, which is also available in Telugu. The subscription charge for this service is Re 1 per day.

Loop Mobile's latest offering, a group SMS service called Reply ALL, permits users to simultaneously communicate with multiple people using SMS. Users can create a group of up to six friends, who are then assigned a dedicated shortcode.Members of the group can send messages to the shortcode to communicate with each other. The messages (and responses) reach all members of the group at the same time. Subscribers can invite friends from other operators to the group too.
Messages sent to the shortcode are charged at Re 0.50 per message while messages to members are free.

BSNL has introduced 13 tariff vouchers or users in Andhra Pradesh. The vouchers have been clubbed into three categories. Category 1 comprises eight vouchers, priced between Rs 13 and Rs 298, all valid for 30 days. The Rs 13 voucher permits users to send local and national text messages at Re 0.10 per message, while the Rs 56 voucher offers the user 125 minutes of free local video calls, and the Rs 54 voucher pegs local calls within the BSNL network at Re 0.10 for three seconds. With the Rs 61 voucher, users can make local calls within the BSNL network for Re 0.30 per minute, and with the Rs 47 voucher, they can make local and STD calls for Re 0.20 per minute. Under Category 2, three vouchers are available, priced at Rs 31, Rs 151 and Rs 501. All of them offer unlimited free local and STD calls within the network. Category 3 has two vouchers, priced at Rs 23 and Rs 33.The former offers 2,000 local and 1,000 free national SMSs, while the latter gives 3,000 local and 1,000 free national SMSs.

BSNL has also introduced various tariff plans for rural areas. The BBG Rural USOF 99 plan and the BBG Rural USOF 150 plan offer download speeds of up to 2 Mbps and 400 MB and 1 GB of free usage per month respectively. The customer has to pay telephone connection charges separately under both these plans. The BBG Rural Combo 250 plan offers download speeds of up to 2 Mbps along with 1 GB free broadband usage and 100 calls per month. Under the BBG Rural Combo 550 and the BBG Rural Combo 999 plans, the customer gets download speeds of up to 2 Mbps and is provided with 6 GB and 12 GB free broadband use. Under the BB Home Rural Combo UL 500 plan, the customer gets 512 kbps download speed with up to 4 GB download, and 256 kbps speed beyond that. The registration, modem, security deposit and installation are free for all these offerings.