Mobile Phones India - News, Views & Reviews

Creativatorz looking for Web Architects

2006-05-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

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

2005-10-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

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

2005-07-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

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

2005-03-18T11:07:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

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

2005-03-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

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

2005-02-19T20:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2005-02-14T22:52:00.000-08:00

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?

2005-02-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

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. ;-)

Suggestive Moans for Mobile Phones

2005-02-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

Polyphonic ring tones are passe. Now, your mobile handset can be actually moaning, that too, suggestively!

So, are you ready for the moan tones. Yes, that's the latest addition to the fancy services on your mobile handsets.

Porn star Jenna Jameson and her 'girls' are now offering "moan tones." For just $2.50 mobile phone users can choose from a variety of moans, and sexual noises all recorded by Jenna Jameson.

If that's not enough, Jenna Jameson also offers to talk dirty to you when your phones rings, in your choice of language - English or Spanish.

Jenna Jameson, who recently wrote a best-selling memoir, has launched the venture with Wicked Wireless, a mobile music and entertainment company. Jenna Jameson also plans to make color pictures of the herself posing naked available for download and can be displayed on your mobile phone for $2.99.

The venture looks inspired by the Rock stars who make their songs available through music tones and rake in the moola! With Jenna Jameson, now the porn stars are making their moan tones available to the masses!

Jenna Jameson's charms are already being zealously downloaded in countries Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, and in a couple of weeks will be available from Mexico to Uruguay.

Latin American users can download a moan or a picture for $1.00 each, while U.S. customers will pay $2.50 for a moan and $2.99 for a wallpaper once the service is launched.

U.S. users might have to wait to get Jenna Jameson on their phones as no mobile carriers in the United States have expressed any interest in carrying the service as of now.

Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Haier, Motorola to showcase new mobile phone models at Mobile Expo 2005

2005-02-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

Consumers can expect a slew of new mobile phone launches at Mobile Expo 2005, which will open on 9 February in New delhi, India. The Mobile Expo 2005 will go on till 12 February. The event is being organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Cellular Association (ICA).

The expo would provide an excellent platform for manufacturers of mobile devices, cellular phones and related products, wireless service providers, distributors, retailers, application developers and the like, to come together and showcase their products and services to Indian consumers.

Almost all the big players in the Indian market like Airtel, Hutch, Haier India, LG Electronics, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Bird International, Reliance, Philips India, Akasaki International, Cellnext Solutions, among others, would be exhibiting their products.

The exhibiting companies from service providers cover almost 70 per cent of subscriber base in India. Participating mobile handset manufacturers cover over 90 per cent of the market share in India. In addition, mobile phone accessories manufacturers' would also be displaying add on products and services to change the look of the existing mobile phones.

Consumers can look forward to new launches, events and contests through out the four day event. In fact, Sony Ericsson will launch J200i, K508 i, K700 i, S700 i, and along with the range of accessories and PC cards. Similarly, Nokia will also launch new products like N9300, N7270 and N7280, besides state-of-the-art accessories like digital pen and kaleidoscope. Meanwhile, Haier would also be launching its new products like Z100, Z 300, V100, Z 3000, Z 1100, V200 and P7. Motorola will showcase a series of high technology products, including the recently launched iconic MotorazrV3. Samsung would also be launching new products during the exhibition.

BSNL gunning for over 50% market share by 2007

2005-02-05T11:37:00.000-08:00

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) is targeting a marketshare of 50-55% to achieve its share of 120 million phone connections out of the 250 million phone connections target by 2007 announced by the government.

Government has set an ambitious target of increasing the total number of fixed and mobile phone connections in India to 250 million by 2007 from about 95 million now. BSNL operates all across the country except Delhi and Mumbai. Private operators have to provide 125 million connections if the target of 250 million connections is to be achieved.

BSNL is also working on achieving rural tele-density of 3% from the current 1.6% by 2007. As per the current progress, BSNL is hoping to achieve a rural tele-density of two per cent by 2005-end.

BSNL is undertaking massive expansion plans for its mobile and CDMA based fixed wireless services as CDMA based fixed wireless service offers the advantage of greater last mile reach that is considered extremely crucial in rural areas. BSNL already has a two million capacity of CDMA based fixed wireless lines that have capability of 14.4 kbps data rate.

BSNL also has plans to expand this base by a further one million lines through CDMA 2001x that offers data rates up to 144 kbps. Most of these lines are planned to be deployed in rural areas. In the next phase of its mobile expansion, BSNL plans to go in for 15 million more GSM lines of which order for 12 million has already been placed.

This network will adopt edge-based GSM technology which provides data rates upto 384 kbps and will support applications such as streaming video.

Nokia to manufacture handsets in India

2005-02-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

World renowned cell phone manufacturer Nokia has definitive plans to set up a mobile handsets manufacturing unit in India.

Nokia India has already started negotiating with various state governments in India to finalise the location of its proposed mobile phone manufacturing plant and the company expects to zero in to the site by end of this financial year.

Nokia is looking for a site that will be able to provide its proposed mobile handsets manufacturing plant an ideal mix of quality infrastructure, logistics availability and skilled manpower.

Nokia is also expecting a host of tax incentives from the state government to kick-start its manufacturing activities.

Considering the earlier announcement of Nokia in December 2004, which involved an investment of up to $150 million over the next four years in setting up a mobile phone manufacturing facility in India, which would give employment to about 2,000 people, various state governments in India must currently be vying to be the chosen one.

We shall keep you updated on who wins the race. Keep checking back! :-)

Delhi to host Mobile Expo 2005

2005-02-03T08:08:00.000-08:00

A number of mobile phone manufacturers and service providers are converging towards New Delhi, India to participate in Mobile Expo 2005, an exhibition that will showcase the evolving mobile phone industry in India.

Mobile Expo 2005 will be held during Feb 9-12 and is expected to help the industry reach out to more consumers and boost business. The exhibition is organised by Confederation of Indian Industry and the Indian Cellular Association.

Mobile Expo 2005 will be a platform for manufacturers of mobile devices, wireless service providers, distributors and retailers to promote their products. The mobile phone market in India is on an upswing again, with service providers slashing call rates. India is now considered the world's second largest market after China for mobile phone handsets.

LG Unveils Range of 3G Mobile Phones in India

2005-02-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

LG Electronics became the first mobile phones vendor in India to introduce 3G mobile handsets in the country.

LG's new range of handsets is priced between Rs 16,000- Rs 30,000. LG's four new compact, lightweight and versatile 3G-enabled GSM mobile phone models launched by LG would offer live video streaming, gaming, continuous video recording, downloads, among other features at a speed of 384 kbps as against a GPRS speed of 48 kbps.

The only catch, however, in this story is that Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is yet to make its recommendations over spectrum required to launch the 3G mobile service in the country. LG expects that its new mobile handsets will find ready market in India on expectation that the service will be launched soon.

The company plans to start manufacturing 3G-enabled mobile handsets at its Pune plant by early next year. LG officials maintain that the idea behind showcasing latest 3G mobile handsets in India is to make people aware of the plethora of features that the 3G telecommunications technology can offer.

The other features of LG's new 3G mobile phones are multimedia player like MP3, e-mail, video MMS, 72 polyphonic. The models launched in India are U8110, U8120, U8138, U8130. The company has also announced a new value-added service in the form of a new website that will offer ringtones, graphics, games, photos can be downloaded.

LG has a 54 per cent marketshare in 3G mobile handsets in Europe and West Asia. LG Electronics India Ltd., a part of the 30 billion Korean major LG, is aiming at increasing its marketshare in GSM segment by focussing on colour and camera phones.

LG's new extra slim clam-shell mobile handset models stand out because of their live video streaming capability, video conferencing capability, 3D gaming, continuous video recording, auto launch browser, 384 kbps download speed, and USB support.

Review - Nokia 6670 - Style Unlimited!

2005-01-31T09:54:00.000-08:00

Nokia 6670 - Style Unlimited!
Cool Smartphone for the Mobile Executives

I purchased the Nokia 6670 recently and have all my colleagues and friends droooooling over the beauty, ever since!

The model has recently been released in India and is making waves amongst the many smart phones models available in the market from different vendors. The Nokia 6670 replaced my earlier model, the faithful, Nokia 3310.

My primary motive to select this model was to have a smart phone and a powerful organiser rolled in one as my professional quests require me to be on the move all the time and also be connected to my office. The Nokia 6670 serves all these purposes and more!

It's an MP3 Phone, Camera Phone, Smartphone all rolled into one.

Let me take you through the fetures of Nokia 6670, which make it an irresistible and indispensable tool for mobile executives.

Design
Nokia has never been afraid to push the limits of imagination through its creatative designs (the 3650 springs to mind), but to target the more restrained commercial market, the Nokia 6670 is rather more sobre than usual. It's a standard candybar handset, attractively decorated in silver, chrome and black - although both front and back covers can be replaced. Like all of Nokia's smartphones, the Nokia 6670 is a little on the bigger side but it's not uncomfortable in my pocket.

Screen & Camera
The front of the handset is graced with a typically excellent display with good colours and brightness. The screen acts as an excellent viewfinder for the 1.2 Mega Pixel camera, located on the reverse of the unit. Although not protected by a lens cover, or equipped with a flash or vanity mirror, my Nokia 6670 clicks impressive photos that never cease to wow my friends and colleagues, of course, my superior photographic abilities play their own vital role in this. ;-)

Keypad and Operating System
The frequently crazy Nokia keypads have been foregone in favour of a standard layout. Feedback is good through the clear plastic, blue-backlit keys, but I find the spacing a wee bit too close. Nonetheless, the OS and keypad keep up with my fast T9 input. The call-control and menu keys are unfortunately placed close to the edges of the front face, making them hard to push - but not as hard as the power button, which lurks, hermit-like, on the top of the phone. The directional pad, on the other hand, is great. What's more, the two soft keys are very large and easy to press.

Connectivity
Nokia 6670 offers Tri-band 900/1800/1900 MHz GSM and Class 10 GPRS based connectivity, which take care of WAN connections. Its well-implemented and reliable Bluetooth covers the PAN end. I have personally found reception to be reliable, even in marginal areas, and volume from both normal and speakerphone modes proved to be loud.

Under the hood
Nokia 6670's 8 MB of RAM is expandable through an RS-MMC slot, a bit inconveniently placed under the battery. One 64 MB card is icluded with the handset. The Lithium Ion battery gives me nearly 3 days of battery life, which is quite impressive as I consider myself a very heavy user.

Applications
I am utterly spoilt by the plethora of applications my Nokia 6670 handset offers. Worth mentioning are the top-quality camera application, which takes 1280 x 960 pictures and 10 minutes of 176 x 144 video clips; speaker-dependent voice control; RealPlayer; chat/presence functionality; an electronic Wallet; NetFront web browser; three print applications (Kodak, Fuji and Print); the handy Quickoffice document viewer; a photo and video editor; a 'Transfer' app for copying data from another Nokia, and the exciting Lifeblog. Also available, for free, is Nokia Album - a picture taker and viewer that tags each image with the location it was taken, using cell information. Amazing... :-)

Conclusion

In terms of hardware, the good-looking 6670 has a great screen and camera, good reception and battery life, and usable buttons. On the software front, it offers a great range of media apps, utilities and even business viewers. The only downsides are the small memory and fiddly expansion. However, it's certainly good enough to be the handset of choice for a demanding technology PR professional cum journalist ;-)

Can't really expect anything better.

Pros:
Very solid all-round performance; great software bundle

Cons:
Small memory, RS-MMC for expansion, fiddly power button, no lens cover

Rishu's Mobile Quotient for Nokia 6670
80%

Disclaimer: All trademarks and brand names belong to their respectiove owners. The images used here are sourced from the publicly available data on the internet. The owner of this blog does not intend to infringe upon anyone's copyrights. In case you come across any image that you have a copyright on, please contact me at rishuzblogsATyahoo.com (change AT with @) and I will have them removed immediately. Thanks.

Mobile Handests to deliver Kamasutra?!?!

2005-01-30T00:48:00.000-08:00

Well, that's exactly what Russia's largest mobile operator, Mobile Telesystems is offering its subscribers. Thanks to this mobile operator one can now listen to passages from the Kamasutra on their handsets. This enticing service claims it can help one "master new sensations" while they "listen to passages from the Kamasutra - the ancient Indian art of love and erotic awareness."

Develop and master new sensations to enhance your private life! That's not your counsellor's tip on how to spice up your personal relationship.

After stock bulletins and astro predictions, will aphorisms on love then be the next hot offering from mobile subscribers? I had a quick poll amongst my colleagues and friends, 50 odd in numbers, on if they are open to such erotic enlightenment, and i must say that the results are quite interesting ;)

Check it out for yourself -

90% of the males responded that they would definitely subscribe for the service while females were a little reserved than men with 70% of them saying yes
Primary reason quoted for subscription (45%) was, just for kicks
To enrich the life experience with spouse/boyfriend or girlfriend 30%
rest of them were not sure why they'd subscribe but said they would
Almost all the respondents were equivocal on the privacy issues related to such service, if offered in India, and admitted that it would be the major point they'd consider before joining. The figure was 95%

No Indian Mobile operator has made any plans public to have any such content services till now. It remains to be seen which service will be adventurous enough to give it a try and ruffle a few feathers as is common in India.

Though the Kamasutra might not be considered pornographic, it is definitely adult content and the regulatory environment in India is quite strict to make it possible to offer such a service in the country. I don't think the Indian public is ready for it. Moreover, no service provider would like to spoil their corporate image by offering such a service.

If you ask me, well, curious subscribers might be willing to look out for such an offer, but for the majority, it will just be a passing fancy.

Mobile telephony is reasonably regulated in India and the possibility of such content creation by any of the companies seems to be a remote possibility as of now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring ;)

News, Views & Reviews on Mobile Handsets

2005-01-29T00:26:00.000-08:00

Hello people,

This is my second blog - Mobile Phones India. Mobile handsets are fetish for many including yours truly ;)

I just have to lay my hands on the latest handsets that hit the market and flaunt it amongst my friends. I just am a freak when it comes to mobile phones.

I have started this blog to share my experiences with others like me and keep everyone abreast of the latest happenings in the mobile phones arena in India and the trends worldwide. I will also publish my personal reviews of the mobile handsets that I have used and those that my friends are familiar with. Also featured will be the best deals available online or in your locality (will start with various Delhi outlets).

My other blog is Branding in India, which features the latest in the branding, advertising, PR and media industries in India.

Drop me a line if you have any suggestion to make.

Cheers!

Rishu