Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Mobile Gambling - The new entertainment package

Habits die hard, bad habits die with death Someone did have gambling in mind when they spoke thus. The lure of gambling is so strong that once a person gets hooked, he is hooked forever. And understandably, that is the reason why the telecom industry is set to exploit the opportunities by introducing mobile gambling application and a hoard of other applications that is expected to take mobile entertainment to another level altogether. Colour screen mobiles, 3G technologies, GPRS, Java enabled graphics together with mobile banking are combining to make waves like never before. The fact that it is a recession-proof industry is also an additional bonus to everybody in the value-chain. While the mobile casinos and mobile lotteries remain an area of huge business opportunities, the concentration on sports-betting is also immense as it is another area which is expected to see a boost in revenues. The fact that one can keep betting on the move or dynamically while they are watching a game of cricket for example is the most attractive part of the whole deal. 

Nokia to introduce mobile cash transfer service

Union of Bank of India and Nokia is all set to join into a collaboration to introduce mobile money transfer. They have initiated a mobile-to-mobile cash transfer service called Union Bank Money.

This process will allow any mobile users on any network to shop, pay utility bills, top-up prepaid cards using only a mobile phone. Union Bank of India and Nokia are hopeful that this process will be helpful to government in their obligation towards financial inclusion in rural areas.

Having targeted the financial inclusion, more than 2lakh Nokia retail outlets would become business correspondents. This will provide the facility to open no-frill accounts, deposit and withdraw cash up to 50,000 and conduct transactions of the same value every day. Apart from this, Union bank plans to add disbursement of micro-loans, ticketing facilities and other government services in the near future.

Nokia will be imparting a six ? week training to each business correspondent at Nokia's retail outlets in order to handle the process swiftly.

Nokia is all set to install the application on all its mobile phones. Existing mobile phone users have to register for the service at a Nokia retail outlet. Though the timeline and charges are yet to be decided registration is free for first six months. Customers in Noida, Faridabad and Delhi can start using its service. And by the end of this year this service will reach to rest of India. 
source

Reliance Mobile Launches Celebrity Chat Service ‘Star Talk’


-Offers ‘STAR TALK’- Celebrity Chat Service with Top Indian Film Stars, Singers, Cricketers, TV Stars , Sport Stars, Regional Celebs, Directors and others.
Customers can now Chat and follow their favourite stars (Anil Kapoor, Hritik Roshan, Emran Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut , Harbhajan Singh, Madan Lal, V.V.S Laxman among others).
Dial 53031 to connect and chat on ‘STAR TALK’
Imagine chatting real time with your favourite star on your Mobile! Now you can connect and talk to your favourite Bollywood Super Star Anil Kapoor and others on Reliance Mobile. Reliance Communications (BSE: RCOM), India’s largest integrated telecom operator introduces Star Talk – a unique mobile voice platform service to reach out to your favourite celebs. Star Talk service includes round the clock Celebrity entertainment news, Gossips, Film news, Star interviews, Movie Masala Movie Reviews, archives etc.
‘Star Talk’ gives an opportunity for the die-hard fans to get close and personal touch with their favourite Stars. Reliance Communications is roping in an array of Indian celebrities including leading Bollywood Stars, Directors, Regional Stars, Sport Stars and Singing Sensations to launch first-of-its-kind voice-based mobile Chat service. Reliance Subscribers are already enjoying talking to celebrities like Anil Kapoor, Hritik Roshan, Emran Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut , Harbhajan Singh, Madan Lal, V.V.S Laxman, Minisha Lamba, Manoj Tiwari, Shweta TiwariKumar Sanu, Kajal Agarwal, Yana Gupta among others. Many more stars will be added in coming months.
The service will allow a select group of callers at a time to connect with the celebrity for a live conversation. Every caller will be prompted in advance and given equal time to interact with their favorite star through the IVR. The celebrity will have an option of managing the call by extending the time or move to next customer.
Announcing the launch of new service, Mr. Mahesh Prasad, President- Wireless Business, Reliance Communications said, “For any film buff, being able to actually speak to a super star, would be like a dream come true. We are delighted to offer Star Talk Service on IVR”
To activate your Reliance Star Talk service, customers have to call 53031. Charges will be Rs 10 /month for 20 mins. Star Talk Live Pack is available at a subscription of Rs 30/ celebrity and 10p browsing. The customer will be connected to celebrity on the first come first serve basis. source

Bharti Grabs 2million 3G Subcribers


Bharti Airtel revealed its 3G subscribers now number 2 million as the carrier expanded its network and launched 3G services in another major Indian city.
 
Airtel has now gone live with 3G in the city of Hyderabad in Andhra Prakesh, after its launches in Begalura, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore, Manipal, Udupi and Jaipur.
 
Bharti also announced the launch of high-definition mobile gaming for its 3G customers, as well as a range of services catered toward the enterprise segment.
 
Bharti’s president of mobile service said the carrier’s 3G network would be extended to other locations such as Vizag and Vijawada over the next few weeks.
 
Bharti holds 3G licenses in 13 circles in India. The carrier is also in talks with Idea Cellular and Vodafone Essar about a potential 3G sharing deal for the circles where it does not have spectrum.

Vodafone 3G at Zoozoo World


Spread across 1000 sq ft area the Zoozoo world will give customers a firsthand experience to try out a host of 3G services like high speed internet, video calling and better gaming experience.


Vodafone Essar Ltd, one of India’s leading cellular service providers, invites everyone to experience Vodafone’s 3G services at the exciting world of Super Zoozoo on 9th -10thApril & 16th - 17th April at Inorbit Mall, Malad and High Street Phoenix, Mumbai Respectively. This unique experience zone will give fans and visitors an opportunity to enter the fascinating world of Super Zoozoos, and enjoy the 3G services in an interactive and fun way.

Spread across 1000 sq ft area the Zoozoo world will give customers a firsthand experience to try out a host of 3G services like high speed internet, video calling and better gaming experience.

Speaking on the occasion, Anuradha Aggarwal, Vice President – Marketing, Brand Communication and Consumer Insights, “With this initiative we are giving our customers a chance to peep into their much loved Zoozoo’s world and letting them engage with the iconic Super Zoozoo. Here, they can also get a step closer to the ‘Faster, Smarter, Better’ world of Vodafone 3G services and experience it in a fun and interactive manner.”

Fans and visitors can get free pictures clicked with their much loved Super Zoozoo, play fun games, take home Zoozoo goodies and win exciting prizes. At the Zoozoo world, visitors can put on their dancing shoes at the ‘dance zone’ where Super Zooozoo will follow and copy your dance moves.

To create awareness for 3G, Vodafone has outlined a full 360-degree campaign that includes a good mix of print, television and outdoor. source

Mobile Application Developers Opting for Cloud Service

Mobile application developers are taking note of cloud computing. With some popular applications recording a huge number of downloads, cloud service, which can be defined as borrowing of IT resources, is getting an increasing attention for its advantages in traffic handling and cost reduction. 

IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), a type of cloud service for leasing servers and storages, is an effective method to cope with a sudden traffic surge. As the cost is in proportion to the amount used, it can be especially attractive to small and mid-sized mobile application firms. Currently, most of those companies are run by 20 or less staff each and they find it burdensome to maintain their own computing resources. 
  
“We are going to promote our cloud service mainly to mobile service firms with many members or download hits,” said KT, adding, “We expect that those companies concerned about skyrocketing users and traffic will get much interested in it.” source