March 16th, 2010
Videocon IMO would need to brand itself harder to be a cellphone player. Nothing wrong with manufacturing phones, but the only problem is that no on expects you to pull out a Videocon from your pocket. That aside, the V1675 is a well priced blackberry clone (at least in design). Videocon has somehow managed to deliver a QWERTY, Dual SIM smartphone with an optical trackpad for Rs 5500. While you will find many local china pieces at better price, mind you this one comes with a brand name like Vodafone with it. So is the V1675 really cool?
Well not really. Had Videocon thought a little about innovating and creating a real product instead of just copying Blackberry design, UI (icons etc) and attach to that a Nokia charging slot; I would have appreciated this product lot more. Yes the phone works with a Nokia charger and while you would say that its good for compatibility, its actually no better than a silly Chinese counterfeits who bundle in a Nokia charging pin (why not a MicroUSB that’s the industry standard?). Seems like the innovation and real product creation in mobile field is left to new entrants like Notion Ink only.
Coming back to the V1675
(more…)
Categories: First look, Reviews |
Tags: india, indian cellphone maker, indian smartphone, v1675, videocon, videocon mobile phones review, videocon V1675, videocon v1675 price india, videocon v1675 review | 2 Comments
March 15th, 2010
Aircel has launched “Peek” – a physical QWERTY handset made specifically for emails. Aircel claims that Peek is the thinnest email device ever. Peek can support upto three email accounts at a time. The email clients supported are Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail and all POP3 or IMAP accounts.
Peek supports PUSH email which allows automatic retrieval of new mails. The attachments supported are Microsoft Word, Excel, PDF and all image files. The screen on this device is 2.5″ QVGA with no touch support. The battery on the device is good to last for 2 to 3 days on a full charge, for ‘average’ email users. Aircel Peek is priced at Rs. 2999 which sounds quite affordable. Other charges involve a Rs. 897 for email access for first 90 days and Rs. 299 per month hence. The device would be available in two colors – Red and Black.
The rental charges per month might happen to be a deal breaker as Aircel charges only Rs. 98/month for unlimited GPRS on mobile. Mobile users can easily configure multiple email accounts to their handsets, which BTW is also used for making calls (unlike Peek) 
For more details on the device, check Aircel Peek’s official webpage.
Categories: First look, Launch Pad, Tech Industry News |
Tags: aircel, aircel peek, aircel peek blackberry, blackberry alternative, email device, email handset, india, peek, peek in india | 6 Comments
March 13th, 2010
The wait for iPhone 3GSs official unveiling in India has been way too long and event the most die hard Apple fans that I know have given up and purchased a 3GS from the grey market already. However we now hear (or rather our friends over at Fonearena 
) that the iPhone 3GS would be launched by Apple in India tomorrow i.e. 15th March 2010 with 4 operators. To my surprise Airtel has been dropped off according to this rumor. Last year we had seen Vodafone actually pushed iPhone aside and promoted Blackberry, but then given the market size you never know if Airtel dumped iPhone or its Apple taking the call! This time around Vodafone, Reliance, Aircel and Bharti would carry the phone officially in India (remember its still a rumor).
The issue now isn’t what price Apple would launch the iPhone 3GS for or if Bharti would offer 3G plans for the same or not – the iPhone 4G expected in June motivates people to wait a little more (you can’t blame them for their patience, Apple!). Just yesterday (before I heard this rumor) I happened to discuss with a friend about the iPhone 4G and he immediately shelved his 3GS plans . Does Apple really expect to sell 3GS in India with the iPhone 4th generation expected to be out (atleast in US) by June end?
Thx Varun
Categories: Apple, Launch Pad, Tech Industry News, iphone |
Tags: 3gs india, 3gs launch in india, 3gs price in india, aircel iphone, aircel iphone price, apple india, bharti 3g for iphone 3gs, bharti iphone india, india, iphone 3gs india, iphone india, reliance iphone, reliance iphone in india | 1 Comment
March 11th, 2010
LG is out with a refresh to its successful touchscreen series Cookie. Its amazing to see how companies like Samsung and LG have seen a great market in the low end touchscreen market after the iPhone came and swept the smartphone industry. The LG Cookie Pop would give competition to the Corby range and hopefully keep up the momentum that Cookie KP500 had set (yes the Cookie range has got new blood after a little delay IMO).
Design:
In this segment, what sells more than the features is the looks. LG has gone with a very simple bar shaped design, but managed to keep the phone housing a 3.0” screen very handy and compact. This thing weights just 87 gms and you will actually feel that when handling the phone. The buttons on the side have some chrome and all of them are pretty clickable and neatly placed. Press the camera button the the right once to open up favorite apps and long press to go to the camera mode. The button on the front enables a lot of single key operations like return to home screen, answer or disconnect a call etc. On the top you have the power button which also performs the wake / sleep function.
Features: (more…)
Categories: First look, LG, Launch Pad, Reviews, smartphones |
Tags: 2010 cookie, cokie pep, cokie pop, cookie, india, LG, lg cookie, lg cookie india, lg cookie pop, lg cookie pop india, lg cookie pop review | 3 Comments
January 22nd, 2010
We are hearing from a pretty reliable source that Infibeam (yes the shopping portal) is cooking up its ebook reader and has already got “killer” tieups with some publications. Currently no ebook reader has really launched in India and local publishers are still battling to get the hang of the social media wave and digital marketing. In such a scenario the possibility of an Indian Kindle is like the Apple tablet for local publishers.
The source goes on to say that the Infibeam reader would support local languages and in all probability will be called the ‘Pi’. No details on the hardware, pricing or launch but this one is said to be “thinner” than the Amazon Kindle (not sure if he was referring to the original Kindle or the Kindle 2 with the thinner remark). We also now note a ebook section on Infibeam that lists a ‘Reading Device’ with a ‘Pie’ symbol that adds some more fuel to the rumor.
Categories: Tech Industry News, eReaders & Tablets, rumor |
Tags: ebook, ebook reader, ebook reader pie, ereader, india, india ebook reader, indian kindle, infibeam, infibeam pie, kindle india, reader | 7 Comments
January 12th, 2010
Marks & Spencers has launched new netbook codenamed MSNB-2009 (in association with Elonex)
Following are the specs of MSNB-2009 (more…)
Categories: First look, Launch Pad, netbook |
Tags: Elonex, india, Marks & Spencers, MSNB-2009, netbook | No Comments
January 6th, 2010
When Google unveiled Nexus One yesterday, it left us underwhelmed. The most disappointing news was that Nexus One will initially ship only to US, UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. However, Google is expected to start shipping it to other countries from spring this year.
Folks in these 4 countries can have the phone ordered by courier with around $30 shipping charges. Note that Nexus One is a GSM phone, and so, obviously in the US, it won’t support Verizon Wireless’ CDMA service nor AT & T’s 3G network; however HTC is expected to release Verizon compatible version later this year. (more…)
Categories: Google, HTC, Launch Pad, smartphones |
Tags: Google Nexus One, Google Superphone, india, nexus one, nexus one avialability, nexus one price, nexusone india | 3 Comments
January 4th, 2010
18 lakh BSNL mobile customers in Kolkata (INDIA) were disconnected for more than six hours. According to a Senior BSNL Official, connection were disrupted due to power issues at a major service station in Salt Lake.
BSNL Employees have reported some equipment damages due to the power fluctuations, they had to shut down the remaining equipments (which were in use) to avoid more damages, which in turn disconnected more than 18 lakh mobile customers. Although the power is back but according to the BSNL employees, it will take sometime to resurrect the connections as they will have to replace the damaged equipments and check other devices.
One of the employee also said, customers will be experiencing difficulties in making calls, sending SMSes, accessing internet and other services via GPRS. While this incident would fade in our memories as time passes, see the brighter side of life; a good excuse to avoid your boss on a Monday morning!
Via SiliconIndia
Categories: Tech Industry News |
Tags: bsnl, bsnl kolkata, GPRS, india, india telecom outage, Offline, Power Outage | No Comments
July 2nd, 2009
With a total of 415 million cellphone connections India is the fastest growing mobile market globally. Just a year back this number was at 277 million. Such growth comes with its own side effects. Having exhausted the 9 series, mobile operators in India are all set to issue mobile connections beginning with ‘8′. Janta would surely find this weird, having being accustomed to mobile nos starting with no 9 for over 10 years now. But this would still be better than 11 digit mobile nos that will might slip in 2010.
Department of Telecom and TRAI are burdened with many things. From the upcoming implementation of number portability to 3G auctions, banning of Chinese phones to ensuring privacy (Do Not Call etc), the mobile markets exponential growth keeps the regulators busy.
Via @danishk
Categories: Market Watch, Tech Industry News |
Tags: cell phone, india, india mobile, mobile nos, numbers | 1 Comment
June 24th, 2009
Airtel and HTC have introduced India’s first handset featuring the Google Android OS. And its not the G1 (thankfully) but the HTC Magic. Airtel would also be providing few utility based applications with the HTC magic – Portfolio Manager, Hello Tune Manager, Weather Channel, Mobshare, In-mobile search and City Search to name a few.
“Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector. Being the first to bring the Android-powered HTC Magic to India further underscores our commitment to enrich the communication experience of all Airtel users,” said Raghunath Mandava, Chief Marketing Officer, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel. “The HTC Magic presents a powerful mobile internet and multimedia experience that should drive the uptake of accessing the internet over mobile amongst Airtel users.”
“HTC is proud to partner with Airtel in launching the much-anticipated Android-powered HTC Magic in India. The HTC Magic opens up a whole new world of possibilities for people to enrich and customize their mobile phone. HTC has always been known for its industry firsts and technology advancements, and is thus a natural partner to Airtel.” said Jack Tong, Vice President, HTC Asia.
HTC magic features a 3.2″ TFT-LCD touchscreen with a 3.2 Mp camera and Trackball. It comes with a Smart Dialer and an on-screen keyboard. HTC magic would also allow free data download upto 100Mb to Airtel customers for the first six months. The phone is priced at Rs. 30,000 in India and will be available across all Airtel Relationship Centres and HTC resellers across 17 cities in India. It would be interesting to see how this lines up against the upcoming iPhone 3GS, which would incidentally be launched by Airtel (and Vodafone) itself.
via [Tech2]
Categories: Android, HTC, Launch Pad |
Tags: airtel, android india, HTC, htc magic, india, smartphone | 3 Comments
May 28th, 2009
Looking at this latest camera from Fujifilm would make you think that its some kids toy or a dummy camera for kids to play with. But this camera is for real and takes some great pics. The 10 Mp camera from Fujifilm performs much better than what it looks like.
The placement of the lens on the top left corner may have a few guest appearances of your finger in the pictures. The rubber buttons may turn off a few. Still, the cool shades may look great in the hands of a young kids (teenagers certainly have a better taste these days). Here are the quick specs.
- 10Mp camera
- 2.7 inch TFT LCD
- 3x optical zoom lense
- Scene Recognition (Auto recognition of scenes, faces, subjects)
- Face detection and red eye removal
- video shoot and editing
- SD/SDHC card
The camera has been launched in India with an introductory offer of Rs. 9,499.
via [TechGadgets]
Categories: Cameras, Launch Pad |
Tags: fuji, fujifilm, fujifilm z30, india, z30 india | No Comments
April 10th, 2009
Nokia has announced a customised N-Gage platform for Indian customers. Though the service was available for Indian customers earlier but the service was not Indianised. The N-Gage users will now be able to play in Indian Currency. Initially, 30 games will be available through this platform. These games have been developed by EA Mobile, Gameloft, Glu Mobile, India Games and Nokia Games Publishing.
The users can pay through Oxigen pre-paid cards or Oxicash. The Oxigen vouchers will be available in Nokia Priority Dealers, initially over 9 cities in India.
The games cost between Rs. 49 – 299 and the users will be able to try the games before they buy it. N-gage is available now in N81, N81 8GB, N82, N79, N85, N95, N95 8GB, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic and 6210 Navigator. More handsets that have N-Gage support can be expected in ‘09.
Categories: Gaming, Launch Pad, nokia |
Tags: gaming phone, india, n-gage india, ngage, ngage india, nokia engage, nokia india | No Comments
February 5th, 2009
HTC G1 / DREAM has been officially announced in Singapore and Australia for now and will be launched on Singtel (Singapore telecommunications Ltd) and Optus networks respectively. Incidentally even the iPhone was launched by Singtel and in the same deal contracted to Airtel in India. This certainly makes us belive that Airtel would get the Android powered HTC to India shortly.
Airtel already provides the HTC Touch / Diamond and other models in India.
(more…)
Categories: Android, Launch Pad, Tech Industry News |
Tags: airtel, Android, android india, australia, htc g1, htc-dream, india | 2 Comments
January 30th, 2009
Last year there were reports of Indian govt working on a $10 Laptop (yeah thats lot more ambitions than the OLPC); however it was later clarified that its actually a $100 laptop that the govt is planning. While that was somewhat acceptable, here comes the $10 news again.
Apparently it seems like the Govt is now really planning a $10 Laptop in partnership with IIT M and IISC. And this time they aim to make it available in 6 months! Anyone excited?
“The computer will be a small equipment with expandable memory, LAN and Wi-Fi facilities. The government will also produce e-content on every subject which will be made available free of cost.”
Via Pluggd.in
Update: Times of India reports that it would be on display as soon as 3rd feb …
(more…)
Categories: Tech Industry News, Weird or not? |
Tags: $10, $10 laptop, cheap notebook, educational notebook, india, laptop, olpc | 1 Comment
August 30th, 2008
Categories: Launch Pad |
Tags: india, kodak, motorola, motozine, zn5 | No Comments
April 13th, 2008
I have been a online shopper for over 6 years now. Its nothing new in India. But over the past few years the adoption of Online Shopping in India has increased considerably. And as we know – Growth is directly proportionate to Drawbacks. So here I would take this opportunity to highlight a key issue in buying goods online: Warranty!
“Difference between Seller’s Warranty & Manufacturer’s Warranty.”
Just to be competitive, the mantra for most of the online shopping portals in India is to sell products at lowest possible prices. Buyers often get fascinated by the offering of these online portals. But have you ever wondered how can someone sell a digital camera woth Rs 20000 at Rs 14000? Does that mean these companies are selling goods at losses? They are not making money out of it or giving these products at throw away prices just to boost their sales?
Answer is obviously “NO”. Most of the vendors on popular market places (I refrain myself from naming these portals, however I can take the questions offline) are selling these products for gray. They procure goods from gray market where prices are as much as 30% less. These goods are procured illegally without paying custom duties and sales Tax to the government. There is no manufacturer’s warranty and bill for all these products. But very cunning these products are posted online claiming to be genuine and give 6 months or even a year long of seller’s warranty. Seller’s warranty means these portals will be responsible if any mishap occurs with the product. This is similar to buy a camera from local gray markets like Gaffar market in New Delhi and Richie’s street in Chennai. This ‘sellers warranty‘ is a simple service warranty wherein they offer free servicing but will charge you for any new parts or components that has to be added / replaced. It doesn’t require a genius to guess that you are being tricked here!
Online forums are full of negative and bad buyer experience while shopping online. Yet the market continues to grow strong. Online ticketing has boomed, the next one certainly is Online Shopping in India, but are we ready for it? So next time you shop from any of these websites just see if they are offering seller’s warranty or manufacturer’s warranty. Save yourself from getting cheated.
Very few online portals offer every single product with genuine manufacturer’s warranty. One of them I noted is
CafeGadgets.in, Although they are rookie in this market but basic seems right. CG is looking for establish itself as a long term player in this niche market. Once the consumers are aware and educated enough, I hope they would start making a wise decision. Happy Shopping!
By: Sachin Singhal & Ankur Agarwal
Categories: Concept / Educative, Reviews |
Tags: ecommerce, ecommerce in india, eretail, india | No Comments
May 12th, 2007
NEW DELHI – India was set to pay homage with full pomp and honour on Friday to the
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Abdul Kalam and other dignitaries were to attend ceremonial events at the sprawling 17th-century sandstone fort with performances by singers and dancers from across the country.
Security was stepped up across the capital, particularly at the Red Fort, which has been attacked in the past by Islamic militants fighting New Delhi
Categories: Tech Industry News |
Tags: india, ManMohan Singh | No Comments
