Handsets 

Nokia India has launched the Nokia C1-01 and the Nokia C1-02 handsets, priced at Rs 2,789 and Rs 2,394 respectively. The Nokia C1-01 comes bundled with a Bharti airtel offer, wherein customers can avail of 250 minutes of free talktime within the network, 50 MB of data usage and 500 local and national SMSs as well as local and STD call rates of Re 0.40 per minute for 30 days. These devices provide easy access to the internet and offer free access to Nokia’s Ovi Life Tools service for a month. Its other features include an inbuilt music player and FM radio.

Samsung has launched the Chat 322 and Chat 335 smart messaging phones. The Chat 322 has a QWERTY keypad, a touch-sensitive optical trackpad and a smart homescreen facility, which consists of a customisable shortcut toolbar that allows quick access to applications, a buddy list, access to mail or SMS and a personal information management tracker. The Samsung Chat 322 also offers access to SNS links to six social networking portals including MySpace, Orkut and Flickr, and support for dual-SIM cards. The hand-held is equipped with ActiveSync (push mail for Google) and offers support for instant messenger services such as Yahoo!, MSN and Gtalk. The handset also has a 3.5 mm audio jack, a 1.3 megapixel camera, LCD display, an inbuilt FM radio and 45 MB of memory. The device is priced at Rs 4,990. The Samsung Chat 335 offers Wi-Fi connectivity, advanced SNS apps, TFT-LCD display, Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, a 3.5 mm audio jack and a 2 megapixel camera. The handset is priced at Rs 5,800.

Zen Mobile has launched the X 414 handset. The device supports dual-SIM cards, GPRS and WAP, and has a 3.5 mm audio jack and a USB connector. The hand-held is priced at Rs 1,799.

Nokia has launched the X3-02 and the C3-01 touch-and-type devices in India. The X3-02 features a 256,000-colour TFT screen, support for MP4 ringtones, dedicated music and messaging keys and the photo call facility. Other features include 50 MB of internal memory, Class 10 GPRS, a 5 megapixel camera and support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The handset is priced at Rs 8,839. The C3-01 handset offers 30 MB of internal memory, 64 MB RAM, 128 MB ROM, a 5 megapixel camera and access to social networking sites, and is priced at Rs 9,389.

LAVA Mobiles has launched the LAVA B8 handset in the Indian market. It offers the push mail service, support for Wi-Fi, a 2.3 inch high resolution screen and a QWERTY keypad. Other features include a 3.2 megapixel camera, support for MP3 and MP4 files, Bluetooth, dual-SIM cards, the auto call recording facility, expandable memory of up to 16 GB, support for the Opera mini browser and access to social networking sites, and GTalk and Yahoo Messenger. The handset is priced at Rs 5,299.

Vertex Management Solutions has introduced the i1800 (Big Buzz), the i2200 (Picture Buzz), the i3300 (Multi Buzz) and the i4400 (Music Buzz) handsets in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. These devices are priced between Rs 2,200 and Rs 4,000. The Picture Buzz and Big Buzz handsets offer the auto answering machine facility and a video player, while the Multi Buzz has multiple memory card slots and can be used as a modem as well as a webcam. The Music Buzz hand-held offers a 1.3 megapixel camera and a 40 mm speaker with woofer.

AKAI has introduced the SAMURAI handset in India. The dual-SIM hand-held has a TFT screen and a digital camera, and offers voice and call recording facilities. Other features include an expandable memory of up to 2 GB, an audio and video player, FM radio and a 500-contact phonebook. The device is priced at Rs 1,800.

Services 

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched a scheme for new broadband customers, wherein they can access content worth Rs 149 from the operator’s entertainment portal free of cost. Users can also avail of a one-month free subscription to the games-on-demand service up to Rs 199. This scheme is valid for registrations till March 31, 2011.BSNL is also offering free installations worth Rs 250, free usage for the first 15 days and security deposit payments in three instalments to all new broadband customers.

TATA DOCOMO has introduced the “Not Out” range of recharge vouchers, with bundled offers connected to the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The 57 Not Out and 103 Not Out vouchers offer talktime worth Rs 28 and Rs 51 respectively, which can be used to make voice calls and is valid for 30 days. Other bundled offerings include a one-month free subscription to an interactive voice response-based voice game, the Guess Master.

Uninor has introduced a privilege plan, Sweet Treats, in Andhra Pradesh. The plan can be availed of by both existing and new customers. Users can choose from five Sweet Treats offers, which include 50 free local minutes (by recharging with a voucher worth Rs 100), 40 free STD minutes (by recharging with a Rs 198 voucher), 100 free local SMSs (by purchasing a Rs 41 recharge voucher), 20 free STD minutes (by purchasing a Rs 111 voucher) and 50 free local minutes (by recharging with a Rs 49 voucher).

BSNL has reduced tariffs under several of its broadband plans and introduced new plans. Download charges for the BBG 250, BBG Combo 299, BBG FN Combo 600 and BBG 700 tariff plans have been reduced to Re 0.20 per MB up to 5 GB and Re 0.10 per MB thereafter. Earlier, these charges were in the Re 0.50-Re 0.60 per MB range. Additional download charges for all limited broadband plans with a monthly rental of more than Rs 999 have  been reduced to Re 0.10 per MB. The operator has also launched the BBG Combo ULD 850 plan, which provides unlimited download to business customers at 1 Mbps for up to 8 GB and 256 kbps thereafter. The Home Combo ULD 1000, 1350, 1700 broadband plans, which were restricted to home users, have been made available to all subscribers. The free download limit has been increased for various tariff plans, including the Speed Combo 2799 (from 50 GB to 60 GB), the Super Speed Combo 4999 (from 110 GB to 125 GB), the Super Speed Combo 9999 (from 220 GB to 250 GB), the Rural Combo 999 (from 12 GB to 20 GB) and the CSC 1000 (from 8 GB to 10 GB) plans. The free call limit has been increased for the Combo 1111 (from 250 to 500 calls), the Speed Combo 2799 (300 to 500 calls) and the Super Speed Combo 4999 (500 to 1,000 calls) plans. In addition, the free call facility has been introduced for the Combo ULD 3300 (500 calls), the Combo ULD 6000 (1,000 calls), the Combo ULD 9000 (1,500 calls) and the Combo ULD 15000 (2,000calls) plans.

Bharti airtel has joined hands with Nuance Communications to launch the One Number, One Voice service that will allow airtel mobile customers across India to access key voice-based services offered by the company. Powered by Nuance Recognizer 9.0, the service is available in the Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Kerala, Chandigarh and Uttar Pradesh (east and west) circles. The service supports English, Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, and will be rolled out in other languages in the future. It covers all major voice services on airtel like Hello Tunes, airtel Radio, news and sports, and is charged at Rs 2 per minute.

Uninor has launched the Talk Time Transfer facility in the Karnataka circle. The facility enables prepaid subscribers to borrow or transfer talktime from relatives or friends. Subscribers can transfer balance amounts ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 50 at one go. A maximum of seven such transactions are allowed per day. To request for the transfer of balance, users need to dial 201, followed by the mobile number and the amount in rupees. To initiate the transfer, customers have to dial 202, followed by the mobile number and the amount to be transferred in rupees. A transaction fee of Rs 2 would be deducted from the transferred amount.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited has introduced exclusive deals and discounts for its prepaid voice and data customers. Users can access the company’s website and recharge with a denomination of their choice to avail of several deals and discounts. These are available on products and services like consumer electronics, travel packages, beauty services, restaurants and apparel. MTS customers need to pay in advance through the internet and the product is delivered at the specified address.

Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited has introduced an offer for new customers. These users can avail of the operator’s mobile broadband device, MBlaze, at Rs 1,999, along with 5 GB of free data usage for the first month. Also, subscribers can avail of 50 per cent additional data usage by recharging through special tariff vouchers (STVs) of Rs 496 and Rs 899. For example, STVs priced at Rs 496, Rs 597, Rs 702, Rs 796 and Rs 899 will offer 1 GB, 1.5 GB, 3 GB, 4.5 GB and 9 GB of data usage respectively.

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) has joined hands with Jet Airways to launch an offer for members of JetPrivilege, Jet Airways’ frequent flyer programme. The offer is available for JetPrivilege members who purchase either a Tata Photon Plus or Tata Photon Whiz connection for Rs 1,249 and Rs 699 respectively. The offer is available only on Tata Photon Plus and Tata Photon Whiz post-paid plans.

Uninor has launched the Soochna Shakti scheme, a pilot project to provide mobile value-added services, and information and communication technology-related livelihood skills to women’s self-help groups. The programme will provide information and news alerts on health, education, self employment and finance through an interactive voice response platform, which can be accessed by dialing a code.

TTSL has introduced the ULTA SMS pack for prepaid customers. It allows customers to send national text messages at Re 0.50 per message while each local message is charged Re 0.10. Users can send up to 100 text messages per day at these rates. Thereafter, all local messages are charged at Re 1 per message and national messages at Rs 1.5 per message. While roaming, all messages will be charged at Rs 3 per message, while international messages will be charged at Rs 5 per message. Subscription charges are Rs 11 for 30 days.