http://www.fonearena.com/blog The Mobile Blog Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:36:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45392/airtel-blackberry-bbm-plan-now-available-for-pre-paid-customers.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45392/airtel-blackberry-bbm-plan-now-available-for-pre-paid-customers.html#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:24:38 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45392 Airtel launched the BlackBerry BBM Plan for post-paid customers last month. This plan is now available for pre-paid customers. This would lets the Airtel customers enjoy unlimited use of Blackberry Messenger (BBM) and free 300 local + national SMS per month. This comes at a Monthly Rental of Rs 129 and available for existing and new postpaid Airtel mobile customers on BlackBerry and is valid for 30 days from the date of activation. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45392/airtel-blackberry-bbm-plan-now-available-for-pre-paid-customers.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45360/airtel-offers-manual-gprs-settings-for-non-ota-devices.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45360/airtel-offers-manual-gprs-settings-for-non-ota-devices.html#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:10:50 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45360 Airtel has offered Manual Mobile Office Setting instructions for Non-OTA devices after they received complaints about problem in GPRS settings on certain devices. Since the automatic GPRS settings doesn't work on some devices, these instructions would help the customers to set manual settings for the these devices. Manual Mobile Office Setting instructions for Blackberry, iPhone, HTC and Samsung Phones ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45360/airtel-offers-manual-gprs-settings-for-non-ota-devices.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45340/airtel-launches-name-tunes-personalized-hello-tune-service.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45340/airtel-launches-name-tunes-personalized-hello-tune-service.html#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:15:25 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45340 Airtel has launched Name Tunes,  personalized Hello Tune service that enables you to personalize your caller tune with your own name. Airtel mobile customers can stamp their caller tune with their own identity by following a simple process that allows them to search and set their name as their Hello Tune. You need to SMS NT to 543215 (TollFree), and search results of names would be presented with 4,500+ common Indian first names (expected to expand further on a daily basis depending upon customer usage). User can choose from the list of names and set the same as Hello Tune instantaneously. The Name Tunes service costs Rs. 30 for Hello Tunes subscription and Rs. 15 for 90 days for song download. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45340/airtel-launches-name-tunes-personalized-hello-tune-service.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45211/airtel-easy-recharge-on-airtel-in-now-supports-net-banking.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45211/airtel-easy-recharge-on-airtel-in-now-supports-net-banking.html#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:42:29 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45211 Airtel has announced that the Easy Recharge for pre-paid customers on airtel.in now supports payments via Net banking. They launched the online recharge for the prepaid users across India last August. It had payment support via Master/Visa credit or debit cards. Now the net banking support is a great advantage for those who have online net banking accounts. The users can recharge using their Visa / Master Credit or Debit card or via Net banking in 3 simple steps. They just need to enter their number, select the required amount and enter the credit or debit card details through the secure payment gateway. The transaction summary shows the details before payment and the recharge is complete in the 3rd step after the payment is made. Airtel prepaid mobile customers can head to airtel.in and click on prepaid mobile under recharge prepaid tab or simply type airtel.in/prepaidrecharge in their browser to get to the recharge page. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45211/airtel-easy-recharge-on-airtel-in-now-supports-net-banking.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45150/nokia-airtel-still-rank-as-top-trusted-brands-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45150/nokia-airtel-still-rank-as-top-trusted-brands-in-india.html#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:06:12 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=45150 Nokia has been voted as India's Most Trusted Brand again and retains their first position from the last year according to a recent survey conducted by research firm Trust Research Advisory (TRA). In the telecom sector, Airtel leads by retaining the same 9th spot as last year. The Brand Trust Report, India Study, 2012 (BTR 2012) has listed India's 1000 Most Trusted Brands and this research was conducted among 2718 'influencer' respondents across 15 cities. Tata has also retained the 2nd place as last year. Sony has moved to the 5th spot from the 3rd compared to last year in the electronics category. South Korean giants LG and SAMSUNG has moved one spot front that stands at 3rd and 4th place in the household appliance category. BlackBerry saw great improvement. They moved to 32nd spot from the 84th spot last year. Vodafone moved a step back this year and remains at the 17th place, followed by the Idea at the 18th place that was at the 38th spot last year. Here are the top 20 rank list of the survey. You can view the 2012 Brand Trust Report rank list for all the 1000 brands here. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/45150/nokia-airtel-still-rank-as-top-trusted-brands-in-india.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44953/airtel-launches-blackberry-bbm-plan-for-post-paid-customers-for-rs-129.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44953/airtel-launches-blackberry-bbm-plan-for-post-paid-customers-for-rs-129.html#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:55:53 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44953 Airtel has launched new BBM Plan for mobile customers using BlackBerry smartphones. This would lets the Airtel customers enjoy unlimited use of Blackberry Messenger (BBM) and free 300 local + national SMS per month. Vodafone launched similar BBM plan for both the pre-paid and post-paid customers earlier today. This comes at a Monthly Rental of Rs 129 and available for existing and new postpaid Airtel mobile customers on BlackBerry. They can call 121 or walk-in to their nearest Airtel postpaid activation help-desk to activate. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44953/airtel-launches-blackberry-bbm-plan-for-post-paid-customers-for-rs-129.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44917/airtel-launches-comedy-fm-new-vas-for-mobile-customers.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44917/airtel-launches-comedy-fm-new-vas-for-mobile-customers.html#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:41:58 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44917 Airtel has launched Comedy FM, a new VAS (Value added Service) for mobile customers. This would offer jokes, fillers, standup comedy acts to humourous excerpts from sitcoms. Airtel customers can now dial 52747 to subscribe to Comedy FM to get daily dose of humour from Comedy Circus, FIR, Office-Office, Lapatagunj. Rangeela Raju and much more! Comedy FM is a IVR service and is available at Rs 2/day and 2paise/sec browsing charges. Users can access help and unsubscribe option for the service from the settings section. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44917/airtel-launches-comedy-fm-new-vas-for-mobile-customers.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44590/airtel-customers-facing-service-outage-in-western-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44590/airtel-customers-facing-service-outage-in-western-india.html#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:26:42 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44590 Airtel customers in Mumbai are facing network outage since today morning. According a report by Times of India, Airtel customers in western part of Maharashtra are experiencing a service outage due to a technical glitch, and Airtel is working toward rectifying the outage at the earliest. Airtel has also tweeted the same saying that it is due to some unforeseen technical outage on some of their circuits. It has also affected BlackBerry services and data services which has resulted in service blackout in Western parts of India including Mumbai and Pune. There are no further updates from Airtel. Hope they get it checked and resolve it soon. Are you facing Airtel service outage in your area? [Update: Airtel has officially said that this outage a fire in central POP (point of presence) location in Malad, Mumbai. Their teams have been working since morning to normalise all affected services. Mobile voice, Blackberry and SMS services have largely been restored and are stabilizing. They are working towards restoring 2G & 3G data services later tonight. Enterprise services like IPLC, Leased lines, MPLS and Internet services, the restoration work is in progress and it would be restored in the next 24 hours] ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44590/airtel-customers-facing-service-outage-in-western-india.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44498/airtel-launches-new-on-net-local-voice-calling-packs-for-prepaid-customers-in-rajasthan.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44498/airtel-launches-new-on-net-local-voice-calling-packs-for-prepaid-customers-in-rajasthan.html#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:21:32 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44498 Airtel has launched new calling packs for pre-paid customers in Rajasthan that would offer on-net (Airtel to Airtel) locals calls at as low as 25 paisa/minute. Rajasthan, customers can now purchase these packs that offer Airtel-to-Airtel local call minutes in recharge denominations of Rs. 10, 45, 165 and 300 for different validity periods. Recharge benefits of voice calling packs MRP of pack (Rs) Local Airtel to Airtel Talktime (mins) Validity (Days) Rate/minute (Rs) 10 40 1 0.25 45 180 5 0.25 165 400 30 0.41 300 1200 30 0.25 These voice packs are available for purchase across Airtel retail outlets across Rajasthan. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44498/airtel-launches-new-on-net-local-voice-calling-packs-for-prepaid-customers-in-rajasthan.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44365/airtel-launches-gifting-and-call-me-back-sms-services-for-prepaid-customers.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44365/airtel-launches-gifting-and-call-me-back-sms-services-for-prepaid-customers.html#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:59:40 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44365 Airtel has launched 2 new services, Airtel Gifting and Call Me Back SMS for prepaid customers. The Airtel Gifting service would let the customers send and receive talk time and other packs just by dialing *141# from their pre-paid connection. Call me back SMS would let customers send an emergency call me back SMS to other Airtel customers if they doesn't have minimum balance to make a call. You can share a minimum of amount of Rs. 5 and a maximum amount of Rs. 30 with your friends provided you have a minimum balance of Rs. 10 post deduction (inclusive of service fee). You can share talk time upto 5 times a day and 30 times in a month. You can share talktime with 10 unique friends every month. You can also share 5 gift packs such as Voice minutes, SMS or GPRS in a day and upto 30 in a month. To be able to send a gift, you should be using your airtel prepaid connection for 60 days or more. You can now send an emergency call me back SMS from your mobile phone even when your balance is below Re. 1. This service lets you send upto 5 SMS in ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44365/airtel-launches-gifting-and-call-me-back-sms-services-for-prepaid-customers.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44287/bharti-airtel-awarded-for-best-delivery-of-network-services-with-customer-focus-in-2011.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44287/bharti-airtel-awarded-for-best-delivery-of-network-services-with-customer-focus-in-2011.html#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:47:57 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44287 Bharti Airtel has been awarded with Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCOE) Award for delivery of network services with customer focus for the year 2011. This award is based on Network Quality of service KPIs, Network Coverage, Product Innovation and Network Bench-marking processes based on network parameters and customer voice. Airtel offers 2G services in 23 circles and 3G services in 13 circles across India. Press Release below New Delhi, December 12, 2011: Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa has been awarded with “Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCOE) Award” for service provider with customer focus for best delivery of Network Services - for the year 2011. The evaluation criteria were primarily focused on Network Quality of service KPIs, Network Coverage, Product Innovation and Network Bench-marking processes based on network parameters and customer voice. The award is a recognisation of Airtel’s commitment to offer best in class service experience to its customers. Jagbir Singh, Director Network Services Group – Bharti Airtel received the award from Sachin Pilot and Milind Deora - Ministers of State, Communications and Information Technology in a glittering ceremony at New Delhi. The Quality of the Telecom services offered to subscribers directly affects the ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44287/bharti-airtel-awarded-for-best-delivery-of-network-services-with-customer-focus-in-2011.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44217/airtel-announces-top-customer-download-preferences-in-2011-kolaveri-di-tops.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44217/airtel-announces-top-customer-download-preferences-in-2011-kolaveri-di-tops.html#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:50:50 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44217 Airtel has released its annual survey of customer preferences for this year, Airtel Mobitude 2011. It shows in-depth study of data capturing all content downloaded round the year by over 170 million plus Airtel subscribers in the country. It includes various categories including top cine stars and sports icons, most downloaded songs, various sports, music downloads etc. Talk2me and Live Concert made it easier for the customers to interact with the movie stars, favorite singers & cricketers. According to Airtel Mobitude 2011 - In the entertainment space, the ‘Kolaveri Di’ song has topped the Indian mobile charts with 2,10,000 music downloads within 18 days of its launch. The song has beaten all previous record holders like ‘Munni Badnaam Hui ‘and ‘Tere Mast Mast Nain’. In the Bollywood segment, Katrina Kaif and King Khan maintains the leading position in the category of images downloaded this year. Despite several new entrants in Bollywood – Imran Khan and Jacqueline Fernandes were the only new comers to feature among the top 5 categories. In the Hollywood segment, Kim Kardashian and King of pop – Michael Jackson holds the top position in the category of images downloaded. Among sport stars, Sachin Tendulkar clearly continued to be India’s favourite, followed ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44217/airtel-announces-top-customer-download-preferences-in-2011-kolaveri-di-tops.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44151/airtel-launches-3g-high-speed-usb-data-card-plan.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44151/airtel-launches-3g-high-speed-usb-data-card-plan.html#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:12:16 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44151 Airtel has launched a new 3G Unlimited High Speed USB Data Card Plan, Airtel Super 950 in Rajasthan. This plan is priced at Rs. 950 / month and it would offer 7.2 MBPS for the first 6 GB data after that speed would be throttled to 20 kbps and remain unlimited for the rest of the month. Airtel launched their 3G services in Rajasthan, Jaipur in March and later expanded it to other towns including, Chomu, Bharatpur, Dausa, Pratapgarh and Chittorgorh later. Now Airtel 3G is available across 42 towns in Rajasthan. This offer is available for limited period in the Double Dhamaka offer, after that high-speed data would be 2.5 GB in this plan. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44151/airtel-launches-3g-high-speed-usb-data-card-plan.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44079/airtel-offers-free-mobile-twitter-access.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44079/airtel-offers-free-mobile-twitter-access.html#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:02:52 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44079 Airtel subscribers can now access Twitter on their mobile phones free of cost till 1st March 2012. They can visit mobile.twitter.com or SMS 53000 from their mobile phones to get access to Twitter free without any data charges. This would let the users to view their timeline, find and follow accounts, post new Tweets, see Tweets mentioning them, and reply to other users and retweet their Tweets for free. Those who doesn't have an account can sign up for Twitter or subscribe to SMS updates of specific users (via short code 53000) on their mobile phones free for the period of this offer. To Create a new account on Twitter on SMS START to 53000, upon receiving reply – SMS SIGNUP to 53000. Next, type a username (unique and less than 15 characters) and send that to 53000. Once Twitter approves your username, you will get a confirmation message, prompting you to SMS a chosen password to 53000. On completion of this process, your Twitter account would be created. Sign up is only required if a user wants to tweet Follow specific Twitter users on SMS: To receive updates from a specific user, SMS Follow to 53000. Users can follow others on ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44079/airtel-offers-free-mobile-twitter-access.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44037/airtel-launches-mediphone-unique-24x7-mhealth-service.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44037/airtel-launches-mediphone-unique-24x7-mhealth-service.html#comments Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:23:18 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=44037 Airtel has launched Mediphone - unique 24X7 mHealth service in partnership with Healthfore, A division of Religare Technologies Ltd., with Fortis Hospitals as knowledge partner. This would let the Airtel mobile customers to avail quality health advice through their mobile phones, anytime and anywhere. This is a tele-triage service that determines the priority of patient's treatment based on the severity of their condition. This is available for 24 hours, 7 days a week and offers Emergency assessment and advice from medical professionals & doctors, to assess & ensure right diagnosis based on clinical decision support systems. Both the Airtel pre-paid and post-paid subscribers can call 54445 (IVR) to avail this service. Appropriate care advice and recommendation would be provided through SMS after consultation. As a part of a special introductory offer, customers will be charged Rs. 15 per call/consultation till 2nd January 2012. After that Rs.35 would be charged. The charges would reflect in next bill in postpaid or will be deducted from your account balance in the prepaid. This is service is currently available for Airtel customers in Bihar, MP-CG, Rajasthan, NCR, UP & Uttarakhand, Himachal, Haryana and Punjab. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/44037/airtel-launches-mediphone-unique-24x7-mhealth-service.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43948/iphone-4s-launched-in-india-on-airtel-and-aircel.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43948/iphone-4s-launched-in-india-on-airtel-and-aircel.html#comments Fri, 25 Nov 2011 05:09:25 +0000 Dhruv Bhutani http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43948 The Apple iPhone 4S was launched on both Aircel and Airtel in India today at a midnight launch ceremony. The Airtel launch was held at an upscale restaurant while Aircel decided to keep it real by holding the event at their South Extension market retail outlet. The launch events included handing over the handsets to the first pre-order customers. You've already seen the plans on both the carriers. The iPhone 4S in India does not seem to have any specific tweaks made to Siri. Mapping via Siri did not work during our trials. The Indian accent was also quite a hit or miss for the voice control service. The iPhone 4S has been priced at Rs 44,500 for the 16GB model. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43948/iphone-4s-launched-in-india-on-airtel-and-aircel.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43926/airtel-iphone-4s-plans.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43926/airtel-iphone-4s-plans.html#comments Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:54:07 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43926 Airtel has announced the pricing for both the pre-paid and the post-paid plans for the iPhone 4S.  They started pre-orders for the iPhone 4S last week and it is expected to be available from 25th November. The 16GB version comes at Rs.44,500 and the 32GB is available for Rs.50,900. These plans offer free Local Minutes, Local and National SMS and 3G Data. Aircel has already revealed their post-paid plans for the iPhone 4S earlier this week. Airtel iPhone 4S Postpaid Plans Monthly Rental (Rs) 600 1000 1600 2000 Discounts (Rs) 300 500 800 1000 Montly Rental After Discounts (Rs) 300 500 800 1000 Free Local minutes / month 500 900 1400 1500 Free Local & National SMS / month 300 400 500 600 Free 3G data (MB) / month 200 500 1200 3072   Airtel iPhone 4S Prepaid Plans Monthly Recharge Amount (Rs) 600 1000 1600 2000 Discounts (Rs) 300 500 800 1000 Monthly Charges After Discounts (Rs) 300 500 800 1000 Free Local minutes / month 500 900 1400 1500 Free Local & National SMS / month 300 400 500 600 Free 3G data (MB) / month 200 500 1200 3072 All the plans mentioned here are monthly for the period of 24months. After the monthly consumption in the offered prepaid plan is over, you would be charged at 50p for all Local & STD calls, Re. 1 for SMS (Local/ National) and applicable data tariff as per your subscribed pack. In case you have not subscribed any data pack, standard browsing charges of 3p / 30 kb ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43926/airtel-iphone-4s-plans.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43824/airtel-apple-iphone-4s-pricing-16gb-rs-44500-32gb-rs-50900-64gb-rs-57500.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43824/airtel-apple-iphone-4s-pricing-16gb-rs-44500-32gb-rs-50900-64gb-rs-57500.html#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:24:19 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43824 While we got some news about the Apple iPhone 4S pricing  from Aircel ,  we now have the pricing from Airtel. Its not looking very different.The 16GB model is about Rs.400 lesser than on Aircel and priced at Rs.44500.There is a 64GB option at Rs.57500. The 32GB model is priced exactly the same at Rs.50900. Looks like Airtel is taking pre-bookings online . Apple does not directly sell iPhones in India and operators actually procure them and sell it here. The iPhone 4 pricing at Rs.34500 was actually pretty decent. But the iPhone 4S pricing seems very high. There is also news that the iPhone 4 8GB version will cost Rs.37900 and the 3GS will cost Rs.20900. That looks like an increase in the cost of the iPhone 4  as well. Till now we know about the expensive pricing of the device. Still no info on the tariff plans. UPDATE: 64GB iPhone 4S has gone missing from the Pre-order page. Would you buy a phone at that price ? An entry level Macbook Air comes with an MRP of Rs.56,900 ! Source: 1 , 2 ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43824/airtel-apple-iphone-4s-pricing-16gb-rs-44500-32gb-rs-50900-64gb-rs-57500.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43690/airtel-launching-iphone-4s-in-india-soon.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43690/airtel-launching-iphone-4s-in-india-soon.html#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:12:31 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43690 Like Aircel , Airtel India has also announced on it's Facebook page about it's plans to launch the Apple iPhone 4S in India soon. As of now only Airtel and Aircel are the official operators authorized by Apple to sell the iPhone 4 in India. So this news is not very surprising. But then for those of you who have been waiting for the iPhone 4S to launch in India, good news ! We are not sure if Apple will get the pricing right though ! There have been reports of the Apple iPhone 4S not working in India and surprisingly the device we have here at the FoneArena HQ refuses to work on Airtel or Aircel. It shows no signal bars but data works.It is working perfectly file on BSNL and Vodafone who are not official iPhone partners.  Looks like the India launch will solve these issues. Are you looking forward to the iPhone 4S India launch ? ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43690/airtel-launching-iphone-4s-in-india-soon.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:25:21 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=43653 If you are one amongst consumers who had purchased the iPhone 4S from outside India and were facing issues getting it to work here , good news for you. Many users including me were seeing no signal bars on the iPhone 4S in India. Calls and SMS were not working.Surprisingly 3G data was working fine on most operators including Airtel , Vodafone and BSNL. I had tried using some international SIM cards such as AT&T, T-Mobile , O2 UK, 3 UK, SmarTone (HK). The issue was strange as I had another iPhone 4S which was working perfectly fine with all the SIM cards. Look at the speedtest below on BSNL. Awesome speeds but no signal bars ! Weird right ? Awesome speed yet no bars iPhone 4S was working perfectly fine outside India This is the same phone which was working perfectly fine in the UK. In fact i was using the 4S as a Hotspot for my laptop as I had unlimited data from 3UK. Hardware problem  ? Not convinced If the device had a manufacturing defect or if the hardware was faulty, how would it work in the UK that too for a couple of days without throwing up an error. In fact ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/43653/the-mysterious-story-of-the-apple-iphone-4s-not-working-in-india.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42796/airtel-launches-f1-race-pack-for-prepaid-customers-across-8-major-cities.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42796/airtel-launches-f1-race-pack-for-prepaid-customers-across-8-major-cities.html#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:05:26 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42796 Airtel has launched new Formula One Race pack for the forthcoming 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India. This pack offer Local Airtel Calls at cheaper rates, free local SMS, free 2G data and Free Value-Added-Services such as racing games and Formula 1 app. Benefits from the Formula One Race pack Local Airtel Calls @ 30p/min (first minute of the day @ Re.1) for the first 60 days 100 Free local (A - A only) SMS every day for 60 days 200 MB free 2G data Mobile TV - F1 clips NFS & other racing games Formula 1 app The value added services would be available as trial offer for 30 days. This pack is available for pre-paid customers in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Hyderabad and it will be valid for 60 days from the date of activation. Customers could also get a chance to win ‘A-Ticket’ - an ultimate F1™ experience for two - inclusive of air travel and 5 star hotel stay to the Grand Prix on October 28 by subscribing to the pack. This is a limited period offer. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42796/airtel-launches-f1-race-pack-for-prepaid-customers-across-8-major-cities.html/feed 3 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42792/exclusive-is-the-nokia-800-coming-to-airtel-in-india.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42792/exclusive-is-the-nokia-800-coming-to-airtel-in-india.html#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:14:47 +0000 Varun Krish http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42792 An Anonymous tipster just sent us this rather shady picture of the rumoured Nokia 800 for Airtel India. We are not sure why the image is in Black and White and not in colour. But anyways Airtel and Nokia have been long time partners and it's very much possible that Airtel might be the first to carry the first Nokia Windows Phone device which is expected to be unveiled later this month at Nokia World. UPDATE: The source sent us a color version of the same image and it looks a lot more credible now. The device in the picture looks like the Nokia SeaRay which is also making rounds as the Nokia 800. We should be finding out the real name of the device pretty soon. We are still not convinced about the authenticity of the image so do take this news with a pinch of salt ! ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42792/exclusive-is-the-nokia-800-coming-to-airtel-in-india.html/feed 3 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42466/airtel-3g-now-offers-double-data-on-select-plans.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42466/airtel-3g-now-offers-double-data-on-select-plans.html#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 05:55:35 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42466 Airtel now offers Double Data Benefit on select 3G plans. All the Standard 3G packs now offer double data on recharge for both the Prepaid and Postpaid users. The Rs. 101, Rs. 201, Rs. 451 and Rs. 751 packs now offer 200MB, 500MB, 1200MB and 4GB (pre-paid) / 5GB (post-paid). They have also added some new sachet packs. You can SMS 3G to 121 or call 12134 to know about 3G plans in your circle. The recharge amount for the plans differ based on the region, head on to Airtel 3G Tariff Page to check the details for your circle. Double benefit offer is valid for limited period only (3 months) from 19th September 2011. So, Hurry! Update: This offer is available in select circles only. Check the Airtel 3G Tariff Page if the offer is available in your circle. Thanks Shivaranjan ! ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42466/airtel-3g-now-offers-double-data-on-select-plans.html/feed 1 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42409/airtel-launches-go-go-goal-contest-for-football-lovers-in-rajasthan.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42409/airtel-launches-go-go-goal-contest-for-football-lovers-in-rajasthan.html#comments Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:28:05 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42409 Airtel has launched GO! GO! GOAL Contest 2011 for their Rajasthan customers. This contest would let the Airtel customers in Rajasthan to subscribe to their Football Day Alerts and Hall of Fame  packs and win exiting prices. The HALL OF FAME PACK lets you follow your favorite footballer of all times and Football Match Day Alerts Pack offers you Live and specialized content from the world of football like European leagues (EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga and lots more), the Indian I-League and International Championships. To take part in the contest, Airtel customers in Rajashtan can subscribe to either one of these packs Football Match Day Alerts Pack (SMS ‘SUB GOAL’ to 54321 or dial USSD: *321*471# for Rs 3 per match day) Football Hall of Fame Pack (SMS ‘SUB HOF’ to 54321 or dial USSD: *321*471# for Re 1 per day) After subscription, Airtel Mobile customers will get access to exciting football alerts and also receive 5 simple questions on the sport every day. Each correct answer will help participants earn points and stand a chance to bag a range of prizes. The prizes for the contest include football jerseys, Samsung Galaxy Tabs, Sony Playstations and even a 50 inch LED TV. The contest is now open for all football loving Airtel prepaid and postpaid customers ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42409/airtel-launches-go-go-goal-contest-for-football-lovers-in-rajasthan.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42180/airtel-launches-3g-services-in-tripura.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42180/airtel-launches-3g-services-in-tripura.html#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:55:11 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42180 Airtel has launched their 3G services in Tripura. Airtel 3G services are now available in 50 plus towns across India. Airtel 3G services would be available for customers in Agartala starting midnight on 6th September 2011. Other than the high-speed internet on the move, Airtel 3G also offers Mobile TV, International video calling, Video streaming and much more. Press release below Agartala, 6th September 2011: Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced the availability of its 3G services in the North Eastern State of Tripura. With this, more than 53 Lakh plus Airtel mobile customers across the North East will now be able to experience the Airtel 3G advantage and enjoy a host of innovative service capabilities including fast mobile internet access, Mobile TV, video calling, video streaming and social networking – at anytime, from anywhere. Airtel 3G services will be available for customers in Agartala starting midnight on 6th September 2011. Airtel also offers high speed USB data cards that provide customers with 3G access on laptops. Commenting on this much awaited launch, Mr. George Mathen, CEO – NESA, Bharti Airtel said, “Having successfully launched Airtel 3G services in 50 plus towns across India, we today have over 3 million customers enjoying the Airtel ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42180/airtel-launches-3g-services-in-tripura.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42165/airtel-launches-mangalmurti-pack-for-ganpati-festival.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42165/airtel-launches-mangalmurti-pack-for-ganpati-festival.html#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 05:19:35 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42165 Airtel has launched their new special pack called Mangalmurti for the Ganpati festival that offers a host of products that include LIVE Aarti at Siddhivinayak and Lalbaugcha Raja, Ganpati downloads and Ganesh predictions. List of Ganpati festival offers Call 55237 (Toll free) to listen to LIVE Aarti from Siddhivinayak and Lalbaugcha Raja temples at Rs. 2 per day with a one time activation fee of Rs. 5 Special recharge voucher- RC33 that offers talk time worth Rs. 22 with Free Live Aarti Service at Lalbaugcha Raja for 5 days Meet & Greet contest- By activating the Mangalmurti Pack before 7th September, you could get a chance to experience Live Darshan and Aarti at Lalbaugcha Raja & meet top Bollywood stars 300 Airtel to Airtel night local minutes and 5000 local / national SMSes valid for 30 days are free with this pack Those who recharge for Zabardus packs will get Double the benefits with the Zabardus Dugna Fayda Aarti timings for the day will be sent via SMS. The offer is available to both pre-paid and post-paid customers. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42165/airtel-launches-mangalmurti-pack-for-ganpati-festival.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42052/airtel-3g-now-in-dharamshala-mandi-and-manali-in-himachal-pradesh.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42052/airtel-3g-now-in-dharamshala-mandi-and-manali-in-himachal-pradesh.html#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:20:40 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42052 Airtel has launched launched its 3G services in Dharamshala, Mandi and Manali in Himachal Pradesh. They launched their 3G services in Shimla, Solan, Baddi & Parwanoo recently in Himachal Pradesh. Other than the high speed internet on the move, customer can enjoy services like Mobile TV from ‘3G Zone’ on Airtel LIVE, International video calling, Video streaming and much more on Airtel 3G.Press release Dharamshala, 31 August 2011: Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced the availability of its 3G services in Dharamshala, Mandi and Manali. This follows the recent launch of Airtel 3G services in Shimla, Solan, Baddi & Parwanoo. With this, Airtel mobile customers across Himachal Pradesh will now be able to experience the Airtel 3G advantage and enjoy a host of innovative service capabilities including fast mobile internet access, Mobile TV, video calling, video streaming and social networking – at anytime, from anywhere. Airtel also offers high speed USB data cards that provide customers with 3G access on laptops. Commenting on this much awaited launch, Mr. Shishir Kumar, CEO - Upper North, Bharti Airtel said, “Having successfully launched Airtel 3G services in 4 cities in Himachal Pradesh, we are happy to extend this delightful experience to ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42052/airtel-3g-now-in-dharamshala-mandi-and-manali-in-himachal-pradesh.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42049/airtel-easy-recharge-now-available-on-airtel-in.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42049/airtel-easy-recharge-now-available-on-airtel-in.html#comments Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:54:31 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=42049 Airtel has announced its online recharge for the prepaid users across India. The users can recharge using their Visa or Master Debit card in 3 simple steps. They just need to enter their number, select the required amount and enter the credit or debit card details through the secure payment gateway. Details of Recharge denominations available Recharge amount (Rs.) Talk time (Rs) Processing fee (Rs) Service tax (Rs) Validity (days) 50 43.33 2 4.67 30 100 88.66 2 9.34 30 200 179.32 2 18.68 30 300 269.99 2 28.01 30 333 333 0 0 0 444 444 0 0 0 500 451.31 2 46.69 30 1000 904.62 2 93.38 30 They also offer 5% cash back on transactions done with VISA Debit Card. You can also check the transaction status by entering the transaction number. To recharge your prepaid number head on to www.airtel.in and select recharge prepaid. ]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/42049/airtel-easy-recharge-now-available-on-airtel-in.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41994/airtel-announces-new-contests-for-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41994/airtel-announces-new-contests-for-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:45:01 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41994 Airtel announced earlier this month that they would be the title sponsor of the Indian F1 Grand Prix. Now they have announced 3 contests, Airtel Grid Girls, Simulator Challenge and Ultimate Race Game that would provide an opportunity for the F1 fans to be part of the F1 Grand Prix. Airtel Grid Girls is a reality show based hunt for India’s Formula 1 Grid Girls, similar to SingTel Grid Girls that happened in 2008 for Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. The 48 shortlisted Airtel Grid Girls will play the coveted role of paddock girls of 2011 Formula1 Airtel Grand Prix of India and the top 3 shortlisted Grid Girls would be selected by public voting. The online registration for the Grid Girls is now up on Airtel F1 site. ‘The-A-Ticket’ is the ultimate opportunity for two people to watch the F1 Grand Prix live. One could win this chance by playing Ultimate Race Online Game and Voting for Grid Girls on Airtel.in/formula1 or by taking part in the Airtel Simulator Challenge that would take place in select cites (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Noida) from 24th September to 22nd October. The 17th Formula One Grand Prix of this season ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41994/airtel-announces-new-contests-for-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html/feed 0 http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41782/bharti-airtel-betting-big-on-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41782/bharti-airtel-betting-big-on-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:00:51 +0000 Srivatsan http://www.fonearena.com/blog/?p=41782 Bharti Airtel has announced that they will be the Title Sponsor for the Indian Formula One Grand Prix by joining hands with Formula One Group Companies. They have also announced the official logo and the F1 Grand Prix in India would be known as Airtel Indian Grand Prix. The 17th Formula One Grand Prix of this season would take place at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, India on October 30, 2011. Airtel has also announced that they would offer lots of innovative offerings and initiatives for Formula One enthusiasts in coming weeks. Press Release New Delhi, August 18, 2011: As millions of fans gear up to witness their Formula One dreams come alive in India, leading global telecommunications company Bharti Airtel today joined hands with Formula One Group Companies to announce Airtel Grand Prix of India, India’s eagerly awaited F1 foray. Announcing Airtel as ‘Title Sponsor’ for this sporting event, Sanjay Kapoor (CEO - India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel) and Bernie Ecclestone (Formula One Group CEO) together unveiled the official logo of Airtel Grand Prix of India. To be hosted at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh, India) on October 30, 2011 – this first ever Airtel ...]]> http://www.fonearena.com/blog/41782/bharti-airtel-betting-big-on-indian-formula-one-grand-prix.html/feed 1