Creativatorz looking for Web Architects

This post reports the launch of the search for the Web Architects of tomorrow!

The web architects talent hunt is supposed to be the search for trainee web architects for the Kanpur office of Creativatorz Design Consulting.

Hillstock Festival - State Of Mind

State of Mind, one of the leading Brand Communications Agencies in India is organising Hillstock Festival, a musical extravaganza in the hills of Kumaon. Details of the Hillstock are available here.

If you are interested in becoming a part of Hillstock, please get in touch with

Raul at 9313332103
State Of Mind at 91-1151633393.
email us at som.experience@gmail.com

Blackberry 7100g - New Smart Phone from Airtel

One of the leading cellular services brands, Airtel and Research In Motion have introduced the internationally acclaimed, BlackBerry 7100g smart phone in India. This innovative mobile handset is the result of years of research and development by Research In Motion and incorporates SureType keyboard technology with the best combined wireless phone, e-mail & data experience for users who prefer a traditional candy bar handset design. The new model will prove to be a mobile phone lover's delight.

Airtel’s widening portfolio of BlackBerry products will help in expanding the adoption of BlackBerry in India and strengthening the brand equity of Airtel.

- A news report by Mobile Phones India

LG Establishes North American Research Center

The world's leading manufacturer of CDMA and GSM mobile handsets, LG Mobile Phones today announced the opening of its flagship North American Research and Development center. Located near the company's U.S. headquarters in San Diego, the center will provide a unique opportunity for LG's researchers and engineers to tap into the latest technical, cultural and style trends in America. This new facility will give LG increased access to the world of the American consumer and allow them to react quickly to trends, designing and producing handsets that truly meet consumers' most up-to-the-minute needs and raising the bar for form and function. LG's San Diego R&D center joins similar facilities in China, France, India and Russia in rounding out LG's industry-leading global R&D presence.

The San Diego R&D center will enable LG smart phones to continue to develop the world's most sophisticated mobile phones, but with an increased focus on the unique needs of the American consumer. LG BIhave increasingly come to represent the integration of advanced multimedia features with the sleek, stylish form factors that users demand, and the new R&D center will provide a unique environment for multicultural teams to collaborate on the best ways to integrate the latest technologies into LG's popular designs. Additionally, the San Diego R&D center will enable LG engineers to work closely with leading U.S. wireless carriers, creating handsets designed to make use of specific network technologies.

LG Electronics operates R&D centers in Paris, Beijing, Bangalore, and Moscow. As part of its ongoing effort to diversify its worldwide R&D staff, LG plans to recruit over 30% of its 5,000 global R&D engineers from outside Korea.

Wireless Internet Access Climbs Nearly 30% In 2004

The wireless projections 2003 from The Face of the Web study, the number of wireless Internet users in 2004 grew by 29%. The latest findings — based on interviews in 12 key global markets with 6,544 adults, including 3,304 active Internet users — show that an estimated 171 million people, or 44% of Internet users in the measured markets, have accessed the Internet wirelessly.

The Advancing markets and japan saw the largest year-over-year growth among adults who used the Internet via a wireless connection. However, wireless population growth was largely driven by the two biggest Internet markets, the U.S. and Japan, fuelling 69% of user increase and adding an estimated 15 million and 11.6 million new wireless Internet users, respectively. Wireless Internet also gained some popularity in Western Europe, South Korea, and Urban China.

The challenging popular thinking, it isn’t the growth in laptop and Wi-Fi usage that is leading wireless Internet take-up. The number of adults who used a laptop for connecting to the Internet wirelessly was smaller compared to those who used a device like a mobile phone. In Japan, for instance, where wireless Internet, laptop, and mobile handset prevalence is highest, twice as many adults (59%) have accessed the Internet through a mobile device such as a smart phone than have used a wireless laptop connection (28%). Similarly, outside of North America, Germany, and Urban Mexico, mobile devices like mobile phones are propelling wireless Internet use.

The trend toward data-driven applications via devices such as a mobile phone can be found in the kinds of features that mobile handset have. In the 12 markets analyzed, close to half of the mobile phone handsets have email or Internet browsing capability. Smart phone have reached a turning point, evolving from primarily a voice communication device to a popular multimedia tool emphasizing data applications. Similarly, SMS may have been the growth vehicle for non-voice applications on a mobile phone in recent years. However, Internet-based applications are the wave of the future as evidenced by activities that have taken place on at least one mobile device in the household:

* One in three mobile phone households (estimated 175 million) has exchanged email via the mobile phone
* One in four (estimated 124 million) has browsed the Internet
* One in four (estimated 123 million) has exchanged digital image/video
* One in five has conducted Instant Messaging
* One in five has played a video game

Wireless Multi-media on the Rise
With the exception of SMS and ring tone download activity, the year 2004 saw a year-over-year increase in wireless activities across the board. Email usage grew by 21%, though exchanging video and pictures and browsing the Internet saw more than double that growth, pointing toward the tipping over of this traditionally audio or text based instrument to a multimedia engagement gizmo. Mobile commerce, while still a nascent activity, saw the biggest lift—prevalence of wireless online purchasers grew by 100% and wireless online bankers grew by 60% (year-over-year prevalence growth in these activities was highest).

The next phase of data use on a mobile device will be dependent on the value placed in mobile data activity, the disposable income available for these activities, and the resulting cannibalization of other data-centric activities in the household. According to Ipsos, 2005 will be a spring board year for the wireless Internet via a mobile phone, as 3G service offers start to reach more markets and the price of the service and 3G mobile phone subsidies present an opportunity for adoption of these services among the broader populations in many markets.

The mobile phone’s power in shaping the wireless Internet evolution can be demonstrated by the number of Internet-user households that own a mobile handset - currently, the majority (88%). The study found that Internet users are likely to have greater data driven functionality on their mobile handset than non-Internet users, validating the growing need and desire for a complement to wired Internet access while on the go.

The mobile phone’s strength in leading the wireless Internet comes from its sheer prevalence in both developed and lesser-developed markets around the world, growing at a rapid pace and now far surpassing the installed base for PCs and landline phones. Household ownership of mobile phones has already reached critical mass in Leading Edge markets like Japan and South Korea, and is growing by leaps and bounds in low prevalence and high population markets of Urban Russia and Urban India. Add to this picture, multiple phone ownership. Gone are the days of a single shared mobile phone within a household; two-thirds of the households surveyed in the Ipsos study own two or more mobile phones, Cruikshank added.

e-commerce turns cell phones into mobile credit cards

Cell phones are back in the news yet again; this time, however for a good reason.

If you thought that SMS, radio, camera, internet and net banking were some of the ultimate services available on your mobile phones and anything more was inconceivable, here's another service that just got added to your mobile menu.

India's very first mobile credit card, the m-Wallet!

Standard Chartered and VISA launched 'm-Wallet' at Westside in Mumbai.

It is now possible to make a style statement on your shopping sprees and impress fellow shoppers by flashing the latest feature in smart phones technology.

While other shoppers make payments by cash or card, m-Wallet users just have to 'beam' their mobile phones at the payment counter to complete their purchase.

If credit cards provided shoppers the freedom of cash free purchases, smart phones with inbuilt credit cards will make hauling wallets altogether redundant.

The application will extend from shopping to other areas like restaurants, hotels, ticketing and travelling.

The m-Wallet technology is backed by inbuilt PKI security and JAVA technology which makes it far more safer than credit cards, so obviously it is a much smarter and safer mode of payment.

The m-Wallet also has the shoppers' eternal favourite magic word 'free' attached to it as it uses infrared mode, a free feature in mobile phones, to operate.

Mobile Phones Are Replaced Most Frequently

The 20,000 worldwide consumers, a recent GMIPoll found that the latest models of mobile phones are the most converted in 20 of the world's top ecnomies including the USA, UK, China, Russia and India. When consumers asked what technology they most frequently upgraded, 63 percent cites mobile handsets.

The proportion of consumers who are swapping older for the newest models is highest in the fastest growing and potentially largest markets for mobile services, including Asia and South America. Almost 75 percent of consumers surveyed in India and China, and 67 percent in South America has also upgraded their mobile phones more frequently than any other technology. This compares to 47 percent of American and 38 percent of French consumers.

This and other findings highlight how new consumer technology products are transforming markets worldwide, but also adding to a growing environmental problem of the waste generated by old technology being disposed of for the latest models. By 2005, 100 million mobile handsets will be thrown out annually in Europe alone .In the United States, nearly 130 million cell phones and 65,000 tons of waste and will be thrown away every year is an independent research organization. Disposed mobile phones are growing faster than the volume of waste overall, according to recycling experts .

There is an opportunity for marketers to tap into 'Generation Eco', the young green early adopters that are tech sarvy and planet conscious. Marketers should explore designing responsible products that will retail at a premium. Additionally, recycling programs, such as the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association's pioneering partnership with Planet Ark, are role model examples of excellent 'problem solution' marketing at work.

Despite the media alarmism, environmental concerns appear to be having little or no impact on making people think twice about replacing their mobile phones with new models phones.Only nine percent of American consumers and 12 percent of UK consumers take environmental impact into account when upgrading new technology; however, in other parts of the world, namely India and China -- 20 and 26 percent respectively -- said environmental reasons could prohibit them from upgrading.

The GMIPoll found that the overall factor in buying a new model mobile phones is cost and contract terms, with 79 percent of consumers surveyed saying this would stop them from upgrading; in India and China, the major factor was also cost.

This kind of a trend is also visible in India where the India consumers their basic mobile phones to feature-rich smart phones, always looking for enhanced functionalities without too much emphasis on cost!

Nokia declared CII Brand of the Year

Mobile phone brand Nokia has won the Brand of the Year award instituted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Nokia was presented the award at the recently held CII Brand Summit. This is the first year of the award. Read more about the CII Brand Summit at Branding in India.

Nokia was chosen from among 10 finalists that included Dabur Chyawanprash, Lux, Pond's, Rin Advanced, Indane and Titan, Eveready, Fair and Lovely and Pond's Body Lotion. There were 135 entries in all.

In a period of 10 years, Nokia has gained tremendous acceptance among the people in India. Nokia seems to have imbibed the magic branding mantra for the Indian market - build a brand in the heart of India.

Nokia seems to not only understand but have mastered the art of utlising the power of "word of mouth" to enhance its ever growing popularity. Nokia's smart phones are a rage in India. Every other mobile phones user in India sports a Nokia.

Nokia's mobiles are supposed to be the most rugged ones, particularly suited to the Indian way of handling things - rough. The features of a Nokia mobile handset can wow any gadgets freak.

And the fact is that Indians love Nokia and I am an India. So, what does it tell you about my preference when it comes to a mobile handset? ;-)

Nokia Mobile Phones to be Microsoft Media Player powered!

Much to everyone’s surprise, Nokia has made a very interesting announcement that they are to put Microsoft's Media player software on their mobile handsets.

Prior to this, Nokia has had a long running, and seemingly-solid relationship with Real Networks. When asked about how this would affect the relationship with Real, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Mobile Phones said that as an open platform, Nokia was happy to work with all audio players.

Whatever else, it has to be music to the ears of mobile gadgets freaks like me ;-)

Smart phones with media player... wow, must be a treat :-)

Mobile Phones to kill iPods?

With the top French radio group NRJ unveiling plans to become France's third high-speed mobile service provider after Orange and SFR, its prediction that mobile phones would replace portable music players such as Apple's iPods, is making quite a noise in the industry. read full story at Yahoo.

It had to happen sooner or later. Even though I am in love with my iPod Mini, I personally have always been of the opinion that it should have had the capabilities that my smart phone. It's real good to know for a gadget freaks like me that at least, there are some companies around that are working on getting this done.

Let's see it up and running guys, and with the way Indian market is evloving, there would be huge demand for such a phone, provided the battery life is long and that the pricing suits the pockets of the discerning Indians. ;-)