Category: India

News from India the most happening mobile market

Nokia India brand image under attack

The brand image for Nokia India is under serious threat due to the recent Nokia battery recall which we had covered last week.

nokia-india.battery.jpg

The company even made a status check possible via SMS to 5555 with the BT <26 digit battery no>.

But panic struck people are thronging Nokia service centers and dealers to check the status of their battery.

About 4-5 % of phones in India are affected according to IntoMobile

Airtel, Hutch and other operators are co-operating with Nokia according to HT

Nokia CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is going to be in India on Aug 22-24 . May be to have a idea of ground level situation in the country.

But He’s coming for meeting Top government officials.

via [IntoMobile]

Mobile Prices for August Updated

Hello Friends,

We have updated the mobile prices for August to help you purchase the handset of your choice.

The Highlights of this month are

We will be adding some new Brands to the list of phones and update their prices also.

Please post your comments and suggestions so that we can improve the site.

Nokia opens its design studio in India

Nokia has partnered with Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore, India for the first of its kind design studio in India.Nokia has picked India as a starting point for a series of satellite design studios it plans to establish in design hot spots around the world, signaling the increasing impact the country is having on the development of mobile phones. Established via a two year partnership with the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore, it will give Nokia designers and India’s talented young designers the opportunity to work together on new design ideas for India and the global markets.

Alastair Curtis, Nokia’s Chief Designer and Ms. Geetha Narayanan, Founder & Director, Srishti has issued a joint press release today.

Looks like Nokia wants to do some serious research on designing handsets for the Indian user.

Feel happy the Indian Mobile User is given importance.

http://srishti.ac.in/

Sony Ericsson announces 8 new phones for India

Some great news for Sony Ericsson fans in India. Thanks to a market demands in India – product launch divides between rest of the world and India is getting shorter. Until a year back, new mobile handsets would atleast 2-3 months or even more to surface in India.

Last week Sony Ericsson announced 8 new phones for the Indian market

sony_ericsson_p1.jpg

P1i – the business smartphone

Walkman phones

W580i

W910i

W960i

Cybershot phones

K810i

k850i

and under the general category

S500i and the T650i

All the phones are expected to be available with all mobile retailers across the country immediately.

Nokia N81 looks likely

nokia_n81.jpgThe Device profile of yet another phone has been spotted on Nokia’s Developer forum. This time its the Nokia N81

Its a 8 GB slider phone  and is a sequel to the N91 8 Gb edition.

Specs

  • 8GB Internal Memory
  • Over 12 Hrs of Music Playback
  • 3G, Video Calling
  • Dual Camera
  • Slide form factor

The phone if not a rumor is expected to be launched in Q4 2007

UAProfile 

Hutch logo will be replaced by Vodafone soon

We had hinted earlier the Hutch might change colors again in What will Vodafone do with Hutch

Looks like Vodafone wants to spread its brand image in India soon. So its going to be the the Battle of the Reds (Vodafone vs Airtel) as Hutch and Airtel are the largest mobile operators in India. Hutch has always been seen as an elite brand in the country as it is present only in a few circles.  Vodafone is known for its Premium services around the world. Vodafone cannot use the same global pricing strategy in India for sure due to the nature of the market here. Lets wait and watch Till then it may may bid good bye to the Hutch Pug

Apple iPhone might be available in India soon

Reliance Retail is trying hard to launch India’s first Apple store.

No official confirmation from both sides yet but looks like talks are on.

Recently HCL and Wipro have started in their quest to bring the Iphone to India.

HCL is already a nationwide distributor for Nokia.

So its time to start saving for the iPhone

via [Fin Exp] and [TOI]

Sony Ericsson to set R&D unit for mobile phones in Chennai

After Nokia its Sony Ericsson which is going to be making handsets in this city of Chennai. The Indian mobile market is currently on a upward trend and there are so many handset brands available.

The Chennai research and development unit will be headed by Anders Grynge, who was previously based at the Sony Ericsson R&D centre in Sweden. The new facility will become part of Sony Ericsson’s global network of R&D units which currently comprises sites in China, Japan, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US and the UK.

via [Business Standard]

Press Release

New Delhi, India, 19 June 2007 – Sony Ericsson today announced that it is establishing a research and development unit for mobile phones in Chennai, India. The move follows closely on the company’s January announcement of sourcing local manufacture of phones in Chennai with EMS partners Flextronics and Foxconn; with a production target of 10 million units by 2009. Today’s announcement is part of Sony Ericsson’s global strategy to strengthen its capabilities within the world’s fastest growing telecommunications market and generate the growth required to reach a top three position in the global handset market.

Nokia 8600 Luna announced

nokia-8600-luna-1.jpgThe successor to the Nokia 8800 has finally arrived. Aimed to target the luxury phone market, the 8600 Luna has been named so after the Roman god of Moonlight. The body is made of glass and stainless steel similar to the Nokia 880 and the 8800 Sirocco.

Features

  • 2 Megapixel Camera
  • 16 Million colors QVGA Display
  • FM Radio
  • Stereo Bluetooth
  • microUSB

What’s Missing

  • Memory Card Slot
  • Wi-fi

The expected price of this handset is about Rs.40000-45000 similar to the 8800 and Sirocco (700 EUR)

Mobile Blogging Guide

Mobile Blogging – You might have heard about this term. I spoke about this topic at Mobile Blogging BlogCamp.In back in September last year.

Methods

  • WAP / XHTML
  • SMS
  • Using a 3rd party Application

Blogging using WAP / XHTML over GPRS / EDGE

In this method we will take wordpress.com for example

Login to m.wordpress.com and you would see the screen below

moblo1.jpg

Type the content of you blogpost here.

moblo2.jpg

Hit publish on your phone and this is what you will see on your PC.Do you notice that the new post is not top ?

moblo3.jpg

Blogging via SMS

This is a costly solution but there are many providers like Reliance for instance which offer blogging via SMS.

You send a SMS to a predefined  number with the post contents and it gets published to your blog.

Using a 3rd party Application

Shozu is a application which is currently free which lets you upload phones / videos to flickr or Youtube

Litefeeds is a free Mobile RSS reader which has blogging support.

MoMo Mobile Monday to kick off in Chennai on April 22nd

I take great pleasure in announcing the launch of the MoMo Chennai Chapter.

In case you are wondering what MoMo is , it stands for Mobile Monday and was founded in Helsinki , Finland in 2000.Since 2004 the enthusiasm has spread globally and in India such events take place in Bangalore Mumbai

Its basically an event where participants exchange ideas , opinions & knowledge.

If you want to be part of the event check the links below

Alternatively you can mail me varun at [nospam] fonearena.com if you would like to be a part of the event.

We need your help to make this event a big success.

Forum Nokia Open C Roadshow comes to Chennai

Great news for Mobile Developers in and around chennai.

Nokia is starting of its Open C Events in the Country.

If you are wondering what Open C is about but are interested to find out, then head to the venue.
Venue

Le Royal Meridien
1 GST Road,
St. Thomas Mount,
Chennai – 600 016,
Tamil Nadu,
India.

Date 24th April 2007, Tuesday
Time 09:00 – 17:25

Register Now