Mobile devices

Idea Cellular has announced the launch of a range of 3G smartphones starting at Rs 5,850. Idea’s 3G users can buy the handsets at discounted rates. The Rs 5,850 phone is available to them for Rs 2,609 and the Rs 7,992 handset for Rs 4,751. The phones are based on the 2.2 Android operating system and pack in a 3.2 megapixel camera, GPS Navigator software, an inbuilt FM radio and an MP3 player. They also offer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity; social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter and Orkut; browsers like the Opera Mini and Google; and the video sharing website YouTube.

Wynncom Telecom has launched six low-cost mobile phones – the W401, the W403, the W257, the W259, the W352 and the W355 Sonic – priced at below Rs 2,600 each. These handsets offer Bluetooth technology, support for dual-SIM cards, inbuilt MP3 and MP4 players, video recording and mobile tracking facilities. The W401 and the W403 offer 4 GB of expandable memory, an inbuilt FM radio with recording facility, and a 500-contact phonebook. The W401 costs Rs 2,399 and the W403 costs Rs 2,599. The W257, priced at Rs 1,890, has a 1500 mAh battery with a backup of 22 days and talktime of 12 hours, and comes with a 2 inch colour display. The W259 with an 1800 mAh battery provides a backup of 30 days and talktime of 16 hours. It is priced at Rs 1,949. The W352 Magic and the W355 Sonic are priced at Rs 2,145 and Rs 2,075 respectively.

Micromax Informatics Limited has unveiled the A85 SUPERFONE device. The hand-held runs on a 1 GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and Android 2.2 Froyo platform (which can be upgraded to the Gingerbread operating system). These features permit users to work on various applications at the same time, for example, browse the net, check email, blog, share photographs, and update their status on social networking sites. Also, the device offers the Gesture Control feature, built-in games, a 3.8 inch capacitive touchscreen, a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera with autofocus. It is priced at Rs 19,900.

Motorola has launched a new version of the Razr smartphone. The latest version of the Android 2.3-based (Gingerbread operating system) device is equipped with a 4.3 inch super AMOLED display, a scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass screen, 1 GB RAM and a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor. It also has a front-facing 720 pixel high definition video camera and an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera. The handset is priced at Rs 35,990.

Zen Mobiles has launched the M-75 hand-held priced at Rs 2,399. The device supports dual-SIM cards as well as call, music and video recording. It has a 2.4 inch display screen and a 3.4 megapixel camera, and offers Bluetooth connectivity. Its other features include a built-in FM radio, and up to 16 GB expandable memory.

Samsung Electronics Company Limited has launched the Galaxy Note handset in the Indian market. The device operates on a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor and has a 5.3 inch WXGA super AMOLED screen, an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera. Its other features include support for high definition video recording and playback; support for MP3, AAC, AMR, WMA, WAV, FLAC and OGG audio file formats; and the Social Hub application. The Galaxy Note has 16 GB of internal memory and costs Rs 34,990.

TolMol.com has introduced a mobile device that offers complete Holy Quran recitation, along with translations in 29 languages. The dual-SIM ENMAC MQ3500 handset has talktime of 150 minutes and standby time of four days. It has a 1,000-entry phonebook, an FM radio, an image viewer, a video player and voice recorder. The GPRS- and WAP-enabled device has a 2 inch colour TFT LCD screen and a camera. The ENMAC MQ3500 is priced at Rs 5,499 and is available on TolMol’s website for Rs 2,999.

Maxx Mobiles has launched a touchscreen phone, the Maxx Zippy (MT105), for Rs 2,599. The dual-SIM device has a 2.4 inch TFT screen and a digital camera with LED flash. Powered by a 1000 mAh battery, it offers talktime of up to 4.5 hours and standby time of up to 350 hours. Its other features include an FM radio, an audio player with support for MP3, AAC and WAV file formats, and a video player with support for MP4, 3GPP and AVI file formats. The handset also has a complementary 4 GB memory card that is preloaded with multimedia content and an expandable memory of up to 8 GB. It offers Bluetooth connectivity and USB mass storage.

iBall has announced the launch of two mobile phones, the IPS-261 and Long B261. These dual-SIM phones have a long battery life and offer over 18 hours of talktime. They  feature a 2.6 inch screen display and dual cameras (a 2 megapixel primary camera with digital zoom and flash, and a 0.3 megapixel secondary camera). They also have built-in entertainment options such as a video player, MP3 player and FM recording with wireless FM and an e-book reader. Both support micro SD cards, and Bluetooth, EDGE and GPRS technologies. The iBall IPS-261 costs Rs 3,599 and the Long B261 phone is priced at Rs 2,999.

G’Five Mobile has launched three handsets – the E720, the E780 and the E505 – under its Movie King range. The phones come bundled with a 4 GB card that is preloaded with full-length movies, music videos and ringtones. The G’Five E720 has a 2.4 inch touchscreen display, dual cameras (a 3.2 megapixel rear camera with flash and a digital camera in the front), a 1300 mAh battery, a music and video player, LED torch, G-sensor and expandable memory up to 16 GB. It supports short-range wireless connectivity with A2DP and wireless FM. The G’Five E780 is a full touchscreen phone with a 3.2 inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, dual cameras, a 1050 mAh battery, wireless FM facility and a music and video player. The G’Five E505 has a 2.2 inch display, dual cameras (a 1.3 megapixel rear camera and a digital camera in front), a 1000 mAh battery and expandable memory of up to 16 GB. The E720, the E780 and the E505 are priced at Rs 2,909, Rs 3,689 and Rs 2,219 respectively.

Vodafone Essar has launched the Vodafone Smart 3G Android phone in India. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S1 processor and Android 2.2.1 operating system, the Vodafone Smart is priced at Rs 4,995 and enables customers to avail of several Android-based applications. The device features a 2.8 inch capacitive touch display, a 2 megapixel camera with video recording facility, up to 32 GB of expandable memory and stereo FM. It can play MP3 and MP4 file formats and supports integrated Google services, for example, push mail, maps, speech to text, Gtalk and YouTube.

Lenovo has launched the IdeaPad A1, the IdeaPad K1 and the Thinkpad tablets in India. The price of the tablets ranges from Rs 14,990 to Rs 46,900. The Android Gingerbread-based IdeaPad A1 offers a 7 inch display and costs Rs 14,990. Its other features include a 1 GHz TI OMAP A8 processor; 512 MB RAM; 2 GB of internal memory; a micro SD slot; dual cameras (a 3 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera); and support for GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies. The IdeaPad K1 is a 10 inch tablet that operates on the Android Honeycomb platform. It packs in a 1 GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, 1 GB RAM, 32 GB on-board storage and dual cameras (a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera). The tablet is priced at Rs 29,500 for the Wi-Fi-only version while the 3G+Wi-Fi version is priced at Rs 33,900. Both devices have 32 GB of internal memory. The ThinkPad operates on the Android Honeycomb platform and offers a 10.1 WXGA 1280x800 pixel display, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass screen, an NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, and 32 GB of internal memory. Its other features include dual cameras (a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera with Adobe Flash). It is priced at Rs 29,500 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi-only version, Rs 41,900 for the 32 GB Wi-Fi+3G version and Rs 46,900 for the 64 GB Wi-Fi+3G version.

Dell has launched the Windows 7-based tablet, Latitude ST, starting at Rs 36,000. The tablet has a 10 inch multi-touch display with a stylus and also features a docking station with a keyboard. It uses the Intel Atom chipset with 2 GB of RAM and has 5 megapixel front and rear cameras with high definition recording facility. The device also connects to projectors, printers and other devices using built-in ports, and supports Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0 and A-GPS technologies.

Beetel Teletech has introduced the Magiq Glide tablet for Indian users. Priced at Rs 11,999, the device runs on the Android 2.2 Froyo platform and offers a capacitive touchscreen. The Magiq Glide also features a WVGA screen, 2 megapixel front and rear cameras and 8 GB of internal memory, which is expandable to 16 GB. The tablet is powered by a 2200 mAh battery, and supports Wi-Fi and 3G technologies.

Services

Uninor has introduced the Extra Talk Time recharge offers, wherein subscribers in Mumbai can avail of additional talktime with unlimited validity. The offer is valid on recharges of Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 300 with talktime worth Rs 55, Rs 115 and Rs 350 respectively.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has announced bonus recharge vouchers for Trump prepaid card users in Mumbai. To avail of this offer, Trump prepaid subscribers need to purchase a bonus recharge voucher of Rs 46 or Rs 55, which has no credit value but  offers users a discount on incoming roaming calls. Both these recharge options are available through e-recharge and web recharge. For the Rs 46 voucher, users are charged Re 0.50 per minute when they receive or make calls while roaming, and for the Rs 55 voucher, they are charged Re 0.01 per second. The tariff is applicable for both local and national calls. The Rs 55 voucher has a validity period of 90 days and the Rs 46 voucher is valid for 180 days from the date of recharge.

Vodafone India has joined hands with HDFC Bank to launch the MobileBank Account with Vodafone m-paisa facility. HDFC has appointed a Vodafone India subsidiary company as a corporate business correspondent, thereby allowing the operator’s select retailers to represent the bank as sub-agents. Through this arrangement, customers can make basic banking transactions on the mobile and also deposit and withdraw cash at appointed Vodafone m-paisa outlets.