Category: India

Global mobile giant Nokia is on schedule to commence manufacturing at its maiden plant here in the first half of next year.

Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran told visiting newspersons here today that the Rs 650-crore facility was expected to become operational before April 2006 considering the rapid progress since the ground-breaking ceremony in July 2005.

”When the facility goes operational, a mobile phone will be manufactured every second.” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the facility with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi also participating in the function, he added.

Nokia would have chosen Goa as its investment destination in 1994. But due to the efforts taken by him and the UPA Government at the Centre, it opted for Chennai, Mr Maran claimed.

Elaborating, he said the Finnish company’s decision to establish this plant, spanning over three lakh sq ft, one of the largest facilities in the country, fructified after the formation of the inter-Ministerial Joint Task Force under the Chairmanship of Telecom Secretary. Bangalore and Noida had also been considered by Nokia before the company decided on Chennai.

This temple town, about 40 km away from Chennai, would no longer be considered just a manufacturing hub for auto companies but a manufacturing centre for telecom also. ”I am confident that telecom giants like Motorala and Ericsson will come soon.” Mr Maran said Nokia was a big contender for ensuring that BSNL and MTNL achieve the 60 million mobile phone base, with the policy having a clause of manufacturing networks being within India.

To a question, he said the handset pricing was market driven. In a voice-driven market with India having the lowest tariff, certainly it was possible to have ”lowest-priced” handsets.

Besides providing employment to 2,000 people, at least 10,000 people would stand to get indirect employment when the facility is completed.

Nokia Corporation Operations and Logistics Senior Vice-President Raimo Puntala said the company was on course with its plan to start operations in the first half of 2006.

Expressing satisfaction over the progress being made in the construction of the plant, he attributed it to support from the Centre and the State government

 

source:webindia123 

Maran visits Nokia site in Sriperumbudur

Chennai: Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dayanidhi Maran Tuesday visited the site of Nokia’s first handset manufacturing unit in India, that is coming up in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

The state government and the mobile phone major had signed a memorandum of understanding Apr 6 for setting up its manufacturing unit in the country.

It is located at the State Industries Promotion Corporation of the industrial estate in Tiruvallur district.

Nokia is expected to invest $150 million in the first stage and an equal sum for ancillary units, providing direct and indirect employment to 8,000 people.

The day is considered auspicious on account of Ayudha puja, when all mechanical things are worshipped. Vishwakarma, the master craftsman and Saraswathi, the goddess of learning are worshipped on this day

Nokia’s Sriperumbudur plant (near Chennai) is likely to be completed by March/April next year, a little ahead of the original schedule, said Dayanidhi Maran, Union minister of communications and IT.
 
Between Nokia and its component suppliers located within the Nokia Special Economic Zone (SEZ), more than 10,000 people would be employed, said Maran after a review of the construction work today.
 
The Sriperumbudur plant is Nokia’s 10th facility in the world. The plant and those of the component makers would be located within the 210.87 acre SEZ. Nokia’s plant would cover a floor space of 29,000 square metres.
 
Between Nokia and its component makers, an investment of $ 300 million (about Rs 1,315 crore) is expected to flow in over the next few years.
 
When Nokia announced its intention to set up the plant in Sriperumbudur in April 2005, the company’s officials said the plant would be initially used to make mobile handsets.
 
Maran said that there was a possibility that Nokia could also make telecom network equipment in India. It came in the context of the manufacturing obligation that has been imposed on global telecom companies that have bid for network contracts in India.
 
Some of the successful bidders such as Nortel are expected to use contract manufacturers to fulfil their obligations.
 
Flextronics, which is to set up a plant to make electronics/telecom equipment in Sriperumbudur, has a global manufacturing agreement with Nortel. Flextronics is likely to use its planned plant to make some equipment for Nortel.
 
A media release from Nokia said that construction work at the SEZ is being carried out by Leighton Contractors. Over 1,000 people are deployed at the site, added the release.

Source : Business Standard

 

MUMBAI, India–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 11, 2005–Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that its award-winning Palm(R) Treo(TM) 650 smartphone is now available on the Hutch network in India.

"The Treo 650 smartphone provides Hutch customers with increased mobility and a way to simplify their business and personal lives with an all-in-one device," said Paul Blinkhorn, vice president for Palm Asia Pacific. "Whether it’s reviewing email, viewing a presentation or simply making a conference call, the Treo 650 smartphone lets busy people manage the critical components of their lives while out of the office."

Naveen Chopra, corporate vice president of Group Marketing at Hutchison Essar, said, "Hutch is committed to bringing its customers value-added services that consistently enhance their service experience and help manage business with optimum efficiency, even while on the move. The Treo 650 smartphone is truly a professional mobile handset that will aid Hutch customers in optimizing our high-end services."

About the Palm Treo 650 Smartphone from Palm, Inc.

Building on the award-winning Treo 600 design, the Treo 650 smartphone from Palm makes it easier than ever for mobile professionals to stay connected. With carrier activation, the Treo 650 combines a compact, full-featured mobile phone with email, an organizer, messaging and web access,(1) allowing users to organize and simplify their business and personal lives all in one place. The Treo 650 offers integrated Bluetooth(R) technology, a higher-resolution screen, multimedia capabilities, a removable battery, non-volatile memory, an improved backlit keyboard, and support for direct corporate email access to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 using VersaMail(R) email software.(2) More information can be found at www.palm.com/Treo650.

About Hutchison Essar

Hutchison Essar, with over 9.2 million mobile users under the Hutch and Orange brands, is one of the most reputable telecom companies in India. Over the years, it has been named the "Most Respected Telecom," the "Best Mobile Service in the country" and the "Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year."

(Figures from Cellular Operators Association of India, as of August 2005).

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc., a leader in mobile computing, strives to put the power of computing in people’s hands so they can access and share their most important information. The company’s products for consumers, mobile professionals and businesses include Palm(R) handheld computers, Palm Treo(TM) smartphones, Palm LifeDrive(TM) mobile managers, as well as software, services and accessories.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels throughout the world, and at Palm Retail Stores and Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com.

(1) Within wireless service coverage area only. Email, messaging and web access requires data services from a mobile service provider at an additional cost.

(2) Requires Exchange Server 2003 and access enabled by IT administrator.

Palm, LifeDrive and Treo are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned by or licensed to Palm, Inc. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.

New Delhi: To cash in on the popularity of camera phones, Nokia on Wednesday announced that it has selected acclaimed Indian photographer Raghu Rai as its imaging ambassador for the Asia Pacific region in the Nokia Nseries `See New’ Competition.

The competition is a Nokia Nseries global initiative aimed at increasing awareness about mobile photography. Along with Rai, Nokia has selected four high-profile photographers – Juergen Teller from Germany, Jian Cheng Dong from China, American photographer Philip-Lorca DiCorcia and the UK-based Nick Waplington to serve as ambassadors for their respective countries during the competition.

 

Full Story at Sify

Next time you hold a sensitive meeting, you might want to see if anybody around you has a Nokia telephone. And don’t be so sure the phone is turned off.

AGLAYA, a small Indian company is offer for just $250 software that can convert any Nokia 6600 model telephone into a spyphone.

"When someone calls the phone, it rings and operates as a normal telephone but when the phone is called using the pre-defined number, it automatically answers without any ringing, lights, change in the phones screen display or creating logs," the company’s website brags, adding "The phone works like a normal mobile phone and so shows nothing suspicious or unusual to the user."

AGLAYA says "you can access the phone from anywhere in the world with no range limitations, just dial in and listen."

The solution to all this? Ban telephones – or at least take out the batteries – that is if you can find them.

 Via [Spero Forum Weblog]