Sunday, January 30, 2011

iPhone vs. Android

Many Verizon customers are asking themselves whether they should stick with the carrier's Android devices or jump ship to iOS.
PCWorld editors Tom Spring and Robert Strohmeyer both have strong views on the subject, and they're ready to present their arguments. First up, senior editor Tom Spring explains why he's had it with Android.
Read the Remaning on - http://www.pcworld.com/article/218104/head_to_head_iphone_vs_android.html

What is Contactless Mobile Payment Service and How it Works?

This service is going to be introduced in UK by this summer on selected retail stores in UK, and this service is especially introduced to pay small items like bread, cheese, soft drinks, snacks, lunch or dinner expenses. Maximum spending limit of this mobile payment service is not more than 15 Euros  per transaction, and this is set initially  in order to stop the loss to a limit when the phone gets lost or stolen. This mobile payment service is called Contactless mobile payment service.
You need to have smart phones. Those are enabled with Near field communication chips. I believe very few models have this chip inbuilt to it. You can see many new smart phones enabled with this chip in the future.  If your smart phone is in built with this chip, you need to just go near to the Wi-fi device which is kept in the store and by just waving your smart phone you can pay the amount for the transaction.
Current suitable smart phone enabled with Near field communication chips is currently Google Nexus S and there will be plenty of models going to come, which has Near field communication chip in the future.

See What GOOGLE MOBILE APPLICATIONS are there for your MOBILE


Google has got a lot of Mobile Applications for you....Check out whats in for you on http://www.google.com/mobile/more/

New Regulations on Indian SMS and Telemarketing Industry


Menace of Unsolicited Commercial Communications(UCC) is growing day by day and to curb this, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a new regulationscalled “The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010″ on 1st December 2010. These regulations are prescribed as protection of telecom users from the sending of UCC.
Effective 1st of Feb 2011 :

NO COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION TO TELECOM USERS REGISTERED WITH NDNC/NCPR

How to register for National Consumer Preference Register (NCPR)
Telephone customers (landline and mobile) can register their telephone numbers with their telecom service provider for inclusion in the National Consumer Preference Register (NCPR) by dialing Toll Free or sending SMS “START 0″ to 1909.
For more details refer http://www.nccptrai.gov.in/nccpregistry
For customers who would like to register/de-register their request for NDNC registry may dial 1909 or SMS to 1909 with keywords ‘START DND’ for registration and ‘STOP DND’ for de-registration
For more details refer http://ndncregistry.gov.in/ndncregistry/index.jsp

Operators may miss unsolicited calls deadline


Mobile subscribers looking for respite from unsolicited calls may have to wait for some more time as operators are facing technical difficulties in implementing system mandated by TRAI to check pesky calls.

With telemarketers mandated to use '700' series number, the originating operator now has to verify that the dialled number is not a part of the 'Do Not Call Registry' (filtering) and only after the verification is completed that the call can go through.

The system currently analyses only the dialled number and not originating number (from where the call is made).

"Operators have highlighted certain technical issues in implementing the 'filtering' requirements mandated by TRAI for originating operators," GSM operators lobby COAI Director General Rajan S Mathew told PTI.

Asked if the operators would be able to meet the January 31 deadline, Mathew did not give a firm reply but said, "All operators are presently working to implement this."
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had set a deadline of January 1, 2011 for operators to implement the guidelines on unsolicited telemarketing calls and SMSs. This was, however, extended to January 31.

"Operators had requested until March 31, principally to implement the filtering requirement. However, TRAI did not grant this request but provided an extension only until January 31 for implementation of this particular feature," he said.
As per the guidelines, telemarketers will be issued a different set of numbers starting with '700', which will help subscribers identify commercial calls and decide whether to accept or reject such calls.

Unlike the previous guidelines, which only provided for a 'Do Not Call' Registry, the new regulations give customers different options to list under the 'fully blocked' category (Do Not Call Registry) or the 'partially blocked' category, under which he/she will only receive SMSes in the categories chosen by him/her.

"In order to do filtering, operators will now have to install new hardware and software to perform filtering and will also have to programme their mobile switches to facilitate integration of the new hardware and software installed to do filtering," Mathew said.
Given the number of operators involved and the number of circles and mobile switches involved, this is a complex and large task, Mathew added."There are only one or two small manufacturers of filtering hardware and software and these manufacturers are finding it difficult to have their equipment handle the larger volume of calls experienced on the networks in India," he said.

Operators had to get their networks ready for MNP during this same time period for national roll out, which has also posed a problem, he said.source

Google Service Solves Sudoku By Looking At It.

 If you're stuck on your sudoku puzzle, there's hope. New photo recognition software for Android mobiles, Goggles, can help solve the puzzle. 

Just hold the numerical puzzle up to the camera on your mobile. Goggles will then recognize the numbers already in the puzzle and calculate the missing values. 

Goggles, now in version 1.3, is also capable of reading ads in US magazines and newspapers and pulling up the appropriate websites. Recognition of bar codes has also gotten better, reported Google in its blog. 

Goggles photographs items and loads them up to Google's servers, where they are analyzed before results are sent to the user's mobile. 

Google says the app can also recognize products and famous sites. It also translates texts between English, German and Spanish. 

The free software is available for all smart-phones that use the Android operating system. The Sudoku assistance is also available in the Google Mobile app for the iPhone.source

Mobile Tariffs Likely to ShootUp

In a field agitate in contract that haw attain ambulatory medium services costly, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal today said henceforth every operators would impact to clear mart toll for initial as substantially added spectrum.
Delinking spectrum from the licences in the consequence of the 2G cheat , Sibal said, “In future, the spectrum module not be bundled with licence. The authorise to be issued to medium operators module be in the nature of ‘Unified Licence’ and the authorise bearer module be liberated to substance some of the varied medium services.
“In the event, the authorise bearer would same to substance wireless services, it module impact to obtain spectrum finished a mart unvoluntary process,” he told a advise conference.
As of today the medium operators were effort spectrum bundled with the medium licenses which had sealed the artefact for baritone tariff program and pure toll struggle among the assist providers.
But now, the newborn operators, if their licences are held valid, would impact to clear a mart toll for the added 1.8 Mhz of 2G spectrum and this haw attain their dealings financially unviable.
For the older operators same Bharti, Vodafone and Idea, who are retentive spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz, they would impact to clear mart unvoluntary toll for the player airwaves.
These changes would be implemented with unmediated effect, Sibal said.
One of the newborn operators, when contacted, said that the newborn program has presented a field plus to the older operators by allowing them to keep 6.2 Mhz of spectrum patch the newborn operators would be at expiration as they impact to clear mart toll for the added 1.8 Mhz spectrum.
At a instance when the newborn operators are struggling to intend newborn subscribers, added outlay on them would impact them hard.
“We requirement to earnestly study the acceptation of an sell impact for portion and pricing of spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz patch ensuring that there is competent rivalry in the sell process,” Sibal told reporters here. source

IDEA not happy with GOVT and POLITICIANS

Sorry for the late post but life is turning into a hell with Governance Deficit and Paralysis of Policies headed by one of the Weakest Prime Minister’s in our History.
In the Conference Call hosted on the 25th of Jan, Idea Cellular Management expressed their unhappiness over the Government’s reluctance to indulge Operators and various stake holders in talks. They hoped that the Minister will take inputs but my guess is he didn’t. I am not an advocate of Idea Cellular nor have any interest [direct / in-direct got nothing to do with them], but in the past 2 / 3 years they have repeatedly written to the Telecom Ministry and on some occasions even to the Prime Minister to come with a complete road map for the sector yet the the Puppet like Prime Minister chose to ignore their requests.
Idea Management also expressed the following views, [My Comments in Italics]
  • There must be efficiency at National Level with Multidisciplinary committee
  • Competition does not increase when operators go from 6 to 16
  • As sector evolves, command and control must be market based. Regulator must be able to act freely [Regulator is to write regulations, some Regulators are influenced by their ex-chairman now working for Nira Radia.  Based on the kick-back the Politicians and Bureaucrats receive, rules of the game will be tweaked]
  • Telecom cannot be governed by Media [Nira Radia / Barkha Dutt / NDTV] or Parliament [ ufff Politicians]. Special institutions must takeover and it should be evaluated on how they should be funded [Somebody like Nandan Nilekani should be asked to Head such a institution along with Academic Researchers]
The management which is taking directions from the toughest Chairman of the Aditya Birla group, Kumarmangalam, has been able to cut costs and increase efficiencies at all levels since they need to survive the major shakeout with just plain vanilla Wireless services. Some of the other things discussed in the call by the management are as follows,
  • ARPU is higher than Telecom Sector’s Average.
  • Mobile Number Portability will not be a game changer and Strong Brands will be net gainers
  • 3G launch in 11 cities very soon and nationwide roaming arrangements in place.
  • Idea’s network now carry 1 Bn minutes a day of Voice making it amongst the Top 10 operators globally in traffic
  • Further CAPEX will depend and will be directly proportional to the profits and Cash Flow
  • Idea Cellular has tied up with Axis bank to encash upon the m-commerce opportunity. RBI wants to get most of Indian Population into the banking stream and hence is utilizing the reach and network of Telecom companies. Regulations are evolving with respect to settlement, KYC, UIDAI etc. Idea thinks that m-commerce roll out is still 9 to 12 months away.
  • Data Usage on Idea Network has shot up but no details were given due to competition.
  • To a question on doubling of subscriber acquisition by Merrill Lynch Analyst, Reena Verma, the management didn’t give a satisfactory answer in my view and took shelter under the excuse of seasonality as the Analyst questioned, if their were any strategies the management had adopted, what was stopping them from being implemented earlier :-)
And finally, the Telecom Sector is a mess which I don’t have to explain. I am not really excited to write a lot on this as the stake holders lack the attitude to move ahead in life and grow that you and I have. My priority is something else now, so if time permits, will share my thoughts :-) source