Get A BSNL Fancy Mobile Number For Yourself |

If you always wanted to have a VIP looking-Fancy Mobile Number, then you will surely find this post interesting because India’s government sector telecom company BSNL has launched an online service which allows you to choose a fancy number for yourself at no extra cost! (Yes, its free).

Here is a simple procedure to get a number of your choice:

1. Go to the BSNL’s Page here.
2. Select your State and 1 number from the list of available numbers.
3. The customer can select any One GSM mobile number of his choice from the available numbers.
4. On basis of selection of choice number (Max. No 1) the customer will get an SMS with a PIN of 7 Digits which will be valid for next 72 hours.
5. Now you can go to your nearest BSNL Service Center and quote the Number and PIN to buy the number by submitting the requisite Documents and completing the formalities of release of new connection.

The service is absolutely free. You just pay for the usual SIM charges. Even if you don’t like BSNL’s network, you can get
your number and then opt in for MNP(Mobile Number Portability). This is a cool little feature that other operators might wake up to soon.

 Ankit is founder of TechDip. A student of Software Engineering. He is a passionate writer who loves writing about anything and everything related to Technology. Ankit aims to be at the top in every field he is involved in.Catch him on Twitter @techpil or Google+

Motorola Xoom 2- Detailed Review | Hungry N Foolish - Startups, Entrepreneurs, Business Ideas

Though the original Motorola Xoom stood out as the first big tablet push with backing from Google, it didn’t turn out quite to be pinnacle of Android tablets.

It was soon surpassed by the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as a straight-up iPad 2 competitor, Still, there’s no doubt the Xoom was a good device in its own right, so Motorola’s been tweaking and trimming, and has now released the Xoom 2.

Though there have been some internal changes, it’s the outside where the difference is most notable. Despite the thickness and weight similarities between the Xoom 2 and the iPad 2, they end up feeling quite different in the hand because of their different shapes. The Xoom 2 has a 16:10 widescreen display, while the iPad is 4:3.

This means that, in portrait, the Xoom 2 actually feels slightly more comfortable to hold in one hand, because it isn’t as wide. Conversely, the iPad 2 is slightly more comfortable in landscape, because the Xoom 2 stretches further.

Technical Specifications – 

• Android 3.2 Operating system.
• Thickness – 8.8mm.
• Weight- 599 grm.
• Processor – 1.2 GHz.
• Display – 1280 x 800 pixels in a 10.1-inch screen also it’s an IPS panel.
• RAM – 1GB
• Storage – 16GB

Surprisingly, this can’t be increased with a microSD card, despite there being a flap on the side of the Xoom 2 that you would think would cover a microSD card slot. Instead, it covers… some plastic.

Motorola seems to think that its included MotoCast software will cover the need for more media storage, enabling you to access the media on your computer from your device, anywhere. Well, nearly anywhere – there’s no 3G in the Xoom 2, though there is a GPS chip.

The two big software additions to Android 3.2 reinforce this idea of a handy portable screen: the Floating Notes app and MotoCast.

The Floating Notes app sits permanently in the bottom bar, where notifications come up. You can tap it at any time to bring up the options to create a new Floating Note, view your notes in a window where you can sort them by date create, title, and so on, or you can open the built-in Evernote app.

MotoCast is the other big software feature for the Xoom 2. It’s a media streaming app, essentially, but a custom one designed to make the process as easy as possible.

You install the MotoCast software on your computer, decide which folders to allow it to see, and then open the app on your Xoom to connect to those folders and stream music, videos and movies.

The reason for having a dedicated server app, and not just using DLNA streaming over a local network, is that it provides a simple way to get remote access to your media wherever you are – in another room in the house, or hundreds of miles away.

Moto is so convinced that this is the way forward, as that maybe its part of the reason why there’s no SD card slot, and only 16GB of storage. Like Windows Phone Connector, it’ll automatically convert videos if they’re in a format the Xoom 2 can’t play natively (though Motorola’s software is better than Microsoft’s, because it doesn’t insist on also converting the stuff that was fine to begin with).

One of the Xoom 2′s other party tricks, and yet more evidence of Motorola’s designs on the living room, is the built-in infrared receiver and bundled Dijit app. Essentially, the Xoom 2 can become a universal remote control for your TV setup. We had no problems getting it to work with our kit just by searching the database for the right models, though it has to be said that the on-screen remotes are a little light on features compared to the real thing.

Don’t assume that it’s all play and no work when it comes to the Xoom 2, though. There’s a Citrix app included, for you enterprisey types, and Quickoffice HD is also bundled, with cloud integration for Google Docs, Dropbox, Box, SugarSync and more.

There’s a rear-facing camera on the Xoom 2 that can take five-megapixel snaps and record video at 720p, while the front-facing camera has a 1.3-megapixel sensor. The camera on the Xoom 2 is decent enough, capturing accurate colours and crisp lines, and letting in a good amount of light even in low light. The detail can be a little soft, but overall they’re good snaps. Similarly, the 720p HD video is passable, if not spectacular. It’s not up to par with better dedicated cameras, or the best phones, but you can make out what’s happening easily, though fast motion can become quite blurred.

Everything’s easy to access on the device, with music in the Music app and photos and videos in the Gallery app. The Music is a bit slow in landscape when you’ve got a decent collection, but is faster to flick through in portrait. 1080p video plays back smoothly, except not over the HDMI port – everything mirrors smoothly when you connect to an HDTV

The Motorola Xoom 2 is an interesting change from the original Motorola Xoom. Being thinner and lighter – more like an iPad 2 – but with extra processing power and some media-focused features are all good things, but cutting back on things like a microSD card slot makes it feel like two steps forward and one step back

Pros –

1. The Xoom 2 has a nice design, and we definitely like how thin and light it is. And though the screen isn’t quite as bright as we’d like, it’s got vibrant colours and excellent viewing angles.
2. Performance is good on the Xoom 2, for the most part, and Android 3.2 works fairly smoothly. We were also quite happy with the battery life, even if it possible to eat up quicker than you’d think with some intensive web browsing.
3. Some of the media features are great ideas – the Dijit app may have some basic controls, but it’s easy as you like to set up, and worked perfectly for us, and MotoCast could grow to be a very useful service.

Cons –

1. The way the Xoom 2 rattles when the loudspeaker is high and the bit of give in the back are both unfortunate, as is the fact that screen is a horrendous fingerprint/grease magnet.
2. The keyboard is a weak spot, and the slow response to changing the orientation serves to make the operating system feel as though it needs a little more polish on this device.
3. And we said, the MotoCast could grow to be a useful service, but at the moment it’s fundamentally flawed. It requires your computer to be on all the time, your internet connection to have vast upload speeds if you’re using it remotely.
4. And the lack of microSD card is perplexing given the flakiness of the MotoCast service, and the lack of any larger storage option. Yes, 16GB will be enough for many people, but those who need more storage capacity than that simply won’t be able to buy the Xoom 2. Still Confused??  Have a look at this great video which will let you know the device better-

Final Verdict –

Taken in isolation, the Xoom 2 isn’t a bad tablet by any means. It’s thin and light, it runs fairly smoothly and has decent battery life. But it’s really hampered by the lack of storage options, and that inflexibility is its downfall when you consider the price of nearly Rs. 33000.

It doesn’t quite match the best Android tablets or the iPad for quality, and many good Android tablets have it beaten for price. The Xoom 2 is an improvement over the original Xoom, but not over the competition.

DoT Orders Telecom Operators to Stop 3G Roaming Immediately |

In the recent past, the 3G technology has been a bit controversial in India and I think the Telecom Operators must really be thinking that Does it really worth it?
Service Providers including the biggies like Vodafone, Idea and Airtel have entered into mutual-roaming agreements within themselves. And, someone complained about the entire scenario to the TRAI, who issued a notice to all of them to stop doing the same.

The operators in return reported that all this which they were doing was well totally in their rights, with second largest operator Vodafone threatening TRAI to give back their 3G license and Airtel reporting that this would be a policy breach.

The Secretary of DoT (Department of Telecom) Mr. R Chandrasekhar said:

The decision has been taken that this (3G roaming pacts) is in violation of terms and conditions of the licence, DoT will be issuing notices asking them (mobile operators) to stop their service with immediate effect. But on penalty, no decision has been taken yet.

If we consider this as the final decision, it would mean that single provider can give their customers a service of Nation Wide 3G and ofcourse it will be a big inconvenience for almost all. The only telecom-providers who are in a state of  giving all their users a nationwide 3G now, are government owned MTNL and BSNL.

A lot of telecom industry leaders like Sunil Mittal (Bharti Airtel) and Kumar Mangalarm Birla(Idea Cellular) have already voiced their strong opposition to this. The World-wide head of Vodafone Telecom, Vittorio Colao had a personal meeting with PM Manmohan Singh in November to implement a stable Telecom Policy.

Rickshawale - Revolutionizing Transport in India |

Mumbaikars be happy. No longer do you have to risk your lives on the road, stopping an autorickshaw and asking if they would take you to your destination. All thanks to rickshawale.com, with the help of which you will get an autorickshaw waiting at your doorstep, to take you to your destination. And no more haggling of fares too. Rickshawale displays the exact fare on their website, so that you do not get cheated.

 

Following are excerpts from an interview with Hemant Jain, the brain behind Rickshawale.com

HnF : Is Rickshawale your first venture?

Hemant : Yes this is our first venture

HnF : What kind of backing did Rickshawale get?

Hemant : Initially the response from drivers was very poor, almost for 20 days we could not induct any driver as our member but subsequently as we increased our road shows and meeting the response improved and we started getting very good backing both from the drivers and the customers

HnF : What was the inspiration to start Rickshwale?

Hemant : In April 2010, i had a fracture on my leg and i had to use crutches to walk, at that time when i need to travel i had to send someone to bring an auto-rickshaw to my door step and then travel, at that time the thought occurred to me ” that why does an auto rickshaw not do a pick up from home like the Radio Cab”, the whole idea started from this thought and evolved into rickshawale.com

HnF : How is the turnout from Rickshawale?

Hemant : The turnout from rickshaw drivers is excellent and daily we are adding new members to the scheme

HnF : What kind of financing did Rickshawale have?

Hemant : The funding has been done from our own funds

HnF : How is it possible to coordinate between the network of auto drivers?

Hemant : The driver community is driven by groups, we have been able to convince the group leaders and they have been the main force for coordinating between the network of drivers

HnF : What are the marketing strategies adopted by Rickshawale?

Hemant : We presently have not done any marketing, our presence in Mumbai is known through the media and social network site. Our biggest marketing has been word of mouth by satisfied customers. Recently, LOOP Mobile has become our branding partners and through their network we have started our marketing.

HnF : What expansion plans does Rickshawale have in mind?

Hemant : We shall be definitely taking this model Pan-India, we have received many inquires from Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and are in discussion but all this will only get going once we stablise Mumbai city operations.

Studies Systems Science at IIT Jodhpur. Entrepreneur at heart, believes that Sociopreneurship with the use of technology to revive traditional industries as the way out for India’s socio-economic problems. He is involved in a startup focussing on the same lines. An avid blogger, he realizes the potency of the medium to reach mass audiences. Catch him on twitter at @mohdrehan

autorickshaw, Bangalore, cab, Chennai, doorstep, drivers, fares, hemant, Hyderabad, jain, LOOP, mobile, Mumbai, Pune, radio, rickshaw, rickshawale, rickshawale.com, taxi

Mobile Marketing (Games and Apps), Advertising and India's Role in theMobile Industry [Analysis] |

Mobile Gaming in India is on a high like never before. A recent report said, In the Top 10 countries accounting for 83 per cent of the total downloads, India contributed 52 per cent.  The count is expected to rise further. Gaming is no more just aimed as a source of fun and leisure for the user – marketing through mobile gaming is the latest trend that has picked up steadily in the recent past.

A number of underlying factors contribute to this growth –

• The evolving mobile technology environment: Better and faster wireless networks: We had 2G and now we have 3G. Even 4G is coming in India by the next year.
• More advanced and easy-to-use handsets are enhancing the user experience.
• Features such as touchscreens, 3D capabilities and online interactivity allow content developers to improve games

The year 2008 kick-started the advent of advertisers in the mobile gaming world and the trend has been on the rise ever since. According to a recent report by Gartner, mobile ad revenue in the world is forecasted to reach $3.3 billion in 2011, more than doubling the $1.6 billion generated in 2010.

The reason for this is obvious; the penetration of cell phones has taken all of us by storm. In India it is higher when compared to personal computers; hence more people are likely to get their first gaming experience on a cell phone. Moreover, a large proportion of youth is keen to try out new games.

• Cellular service providers such as Vodafone and Reliance had capitalized on the popularity of mobile gaming in order to attract more subscribers by offering games for download through their websites.
• Companies like Reebok exploited the mobile gaming advertising arena with its game Zigtech, developed to promote the company’s ZigTech brand of trainers. The game was localised to suit the Indian market with features like a TV commercial showing the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) and wallpapers with Reebok brand ambassadors from India.
• On similar lines, MRM Worldwide, the global digital advertising company has recently launched a first of its kind, interactive mobile technology based game for their client Lufthansa German Airlines. The game uses the player’s phone and giant LED screens to create a real life experience of taxiing the world’s largest commercial aircraft into its hangar. Players simply have to dial in from their mobile phones to turn their keypad into a control panel that then manoeuvres the Lufthansa A380.

The above games, all launched by global organisations are aimed at marketing their brands to the consumer. They help support the company’s overall marketing campaign is a clever way, and are especially a hit if the game turns out to be simple and fun to play.

India with its strong IT sector should also have a strong role to play in the mobile apps and games industry. It has great potential to become an attractive destination for outsourcing of game development activities. It can capitalize on its strong reputation for outsourcing of IT/ITES services in this regard. But India will have to compete with South Korea and Taiwan whose talent pool is greater than that of India with regard to game development. Privacy, copyright issues and lack of skilled developers would be major roadblocks.

P.S. – Can we not do better than just outsourcing? I think we can. We can be world leaders in mobile development. On seeing the quality and usefulness of Indian apps like Taazza, SMSGyan, and SMS Blocker, I feel we are headed in the right way.

 Student of Information and Technology at IIIT-Allahabad. A programmer by chance and a blogger by heart. Staunch Roger Federer fan and loves reading novels. Wishes to make it BIG in life which acording to him is too short to do everything that he wants to. Read his personal musings on jack & spades Follow his tweets on @nishant0garg

Gartner, Lufthansa German Airlines, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, MRM Worldwide, Reebok, Reliance, SMS Blocker, SMSGyan, South Korea, Taazza, Taiwan, Vodafone, ZigTech

Kaamyaabi – Redefining Recruitment |

Today Indian Education system is precisely the world’s only education system which provide such a high output of job ready freshers, but due to lack of proper recruitment system or we could say a platform where companies can meet and interact with candidates the organizations tends to hire professionals locally at their ease due to which potentially better candidates are missed out most of the times.

Well, a new startup Kaamyaabi is on the radar now which aims to stuff this gap between a job seeker and a recruiter. Its redefining the way recruitment of fresh college graduates is done in India. While sourcing and intake of skilled freshers has been challenging, filtering and enhancing the talent has been even harder for entry level recruitment. Unlike other monotonous recruitment firms Kaamyaabi emphasize on quality rather than quantity and to achieve the same they offer a Job Admission Test (JAT) which is a unique test to help employers judge the employment suitability of the candidate.

A candidate enrolling for JAT is assessed on Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation and Personality type assessment. This methodology is simple and effective as it brings the candidate and prospective recruiter on a same platform. A candidate can be judged on the basis of JAT scores and can be placed by recruiters according to job suitability. This concept is quiet fresh and companies are showing trust on it, a recent survey shows that 18% of the shortlisted candidates were been placed in industry which is a record conversion rate.

Time is changing and so as the need to differentiate our system to make it more efficient and fruitful. In all Kaamyaabi is providing students an equal opportunity and access to a huge number of companies spread across various domains and with more challenging job-profiles which they might never have been able to get access to. Given the competitive nature of market, efforts like this to redefine the defined will always be appreciated in future.

Studies computer sciences at The University of Delhi. Extremely net savvy, loves to write and a real techie by heart, He aspires to pursue his career in computer sciences and software engineering industry

TRAI Orders Call, SMS, Data Usage Details to be Given to Prepaid Users|

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been, off late working very hard towards improving the affairs of telecom services in the country. So, while last week was about a new set of stringent rules being put forth to discipline the ways of telecom, by the way of Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, 2012; this week’s about bringing transparency in the services offered to the prepaid mobile service users in the country, according to an official post on the TRAI website.

Now, according to a directive issued by TRAI to all mobile phone operators, it will be mandatory for them to provide accurate updates regarding all the calls made and data downloads – each time voice and data services are consumed by a user. All the details, reportedly will be sent to the users via an SMS or via a USSD based flash message. These messages will include details like – the duration of calls or data usage (2G/3G), the charges deducted and the remaining prepaid account balance. This move will allow prepaid users to have an account of all the charges that have been levied on them.

Among other changes that have been added, the TRAI has decided to make identifying vouchers an easy task for the consumers, and hence have decided to take up color coding. There will now be a color band code with colors like red, green and yellow placed on the reverse of the voucher to differentiate between a Plan Voucher, Top Up Voucher and Special Tariff Vouchers.

 An IT student from CEM,Kolaghat. A Blogger, little bit of Web Developer, and a future Software Engineer. Love to spend time on social networking sites. Inspired by a single person who rules the tech world for many years with a single english letter ‘ i ‘.

Nokia Partners With EdServ to Dish Out Educational Content on SmartPhones |

Nokia Smart Phones all over the world will have new educational apps, powered by Chennai-based company EdServ. India’s largest mobile-based educational company has entered into an agreement with Nokia. The Chairman and CEO of EdServ, Mr. S Giridharan was quoted saying:

Nokia has approved our HumThum Apps for hosting the apps in Nokia Ovi Apps Store and the apps is now available to run inside all Nokia smart phones.

How Will Students Gain?

• Students will be able to use EdServ’s wide-range of educational content on their mobile phones through HumThum Apps. The content is not only aimed at school students, but specific content for undergraduate and post-graduate students is also available. Since, these apps will be dished out in phones all over the world, it is till unclear whether the content will be modified as per region or not.
• HumThum Apps has a PDF Converter. Students can also use their phones as a mobile scanner or a photocopier then.
• A talking dictionary might not be one of the most powerful features of HumThum Apps, but its presence their still adds value to the package.
• HumThum helps users design and host websites from their mobile phones itself. I don’t think this is an asset to the students as such. If they had to host a website, they’d use teir computers rather than using their phones. At least that’s what I’ll do.

EdServ which is also listed on BSE and NSE has been doing very good recently. Mr Giridharan’s words echoed this as he said:

EdServ has already garnered over 2.5lakh users on lampsglow.com, out of which over 50 per cent was from mobile segment. EdServ is targeting a subscribed user base of 1crore for its mobile apps by end of next year.

With this new deal, EdServ is surely going to gain advantage as far as the mobile education domain is considered. Who knows – it may be looking to strike deals with other biggies in the mobile handset industry pretty soon.

By the way, I had a look at lampsglow.com, one of EdServ’s website. The content there can be accessed only after payment. So, I am not sure how many students will pay to access this content on their mobile phones. Whatever be the number, this deal will surely bring new customers to EdServ. The financial figures of the deal are still unknown. We have sent a mail to the EdServ team to know more.

Abhineet Kumar is the co-founder of Hungry N Foolish. A student of Business Administration, he is passionate about entrepreneurship and blogging. Abhineet urges you to do your bit in making this world a better place to live in, in your own small ways. Catch him on Twitter @abhineetsays.

5 Must-Watch Indian Startups |

In the last decade, India have given a lot to the World in terms of startups. Since 2000, we have seen an average 7% GDP growth which speaks for itself. India ranked second in Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report. Coming back to point of discussion, here are 5 must-watch Indian startups list compiled by us.

Date Founded:April 2011.

Founder: Anurag Dod.

Concept: Mobile advertising platform and Ad-exchange.

Funding: Sequoia Capital.

Important Point : They are giving more than 2.5 billion ad-impressions per month. AdIQuity says this is Asia’s first RTB (real-time bidding platform).

Date Founded:August 2006

Founder: Phanindra Sama

Concept: Travel booking

Funding: Helion Venture Partners

Important Point : Redbus offers easy online travel booking.  Its important to note that many of India’s most visited cities are frequented more by domestic travelers then by foreign ones.

Date Founded:2008

Founder: Girish Redekar, Raghuveer Kancherla & Raj Sheth

Concept:  Application based recruiting service

Funding: Self funded

Important Point : Recruiterbox offers an easy to use web based application already given legitimacy through it’s use by Groupon China and Levi’s India.

Date Founded: 2010

Founder: Girish Mathrubootham and Shan Krishnasamy

Concept: Customer support software

Funding: Self funded

Important Point : FreshDesk has made a mark by entering a market that’s generally hard to penetrate.

Date Founded: 2009

Founder: Sharat Potharaju and Ravi Pratap

Concept: Mobile publishing platform

Funding: Accel Partners and Mumbai Angels

Important Point :MobStac is making content mobile ready, for smartphones and tablets, providing analytics, and access to leading ad markets.

 Ankit is founder of TechDip. A student of Software Engineering. He is a passionate writer who loves writing about anything and everything related to Technology. Ankit aims to be at the top in every field he is involved in.Catch him on Twitter @techpil or Google+

Wishonphone-Voice Greetings No Longer a Dream |

Do you still think text greetings are good enough to make someone feel special? Well, if yes then you are surely unaware of “Wishonphone”. Gone are the days of text greetings, instead musical recorded greetings is the gen next technology.
Chennai rooted Tangylabs has launched Wishonphone, an awesome application that enables its users to create musical recorded greetings and send them to friends and relatives across 150 countries in the world. Although this service is already available in India with some mobile phone carriers but the detailing and convenience that Wishonphone is offering has never been experienced ever.
The site handles it all from creating a personalized musical greetings to delivering them on phones with scheduled date and time. Wishonphone is based on a super cool and simple to use utility called Easymixer, which enables to create the greeting messages, using the same you can record your own voice, add stock music or even upload MP3 during the recording session and once you are done you can send this personalized greeting to the desired phone number at a very nominal cost of Rs. 9.99 per 45 seconds of recording, but if the greeting message is not delivered on the prescribed phone due to any reason the cost will be credited back to the sender’s account. The utility is built with sound manager 2APIs(SM2) which enhances the quality of sound recordings.

https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1550751827-4bd374c3f58b?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=2070&q=80

Although the application provides an extremely user friendly and personalized way of sending musical recorded greetings but everything has its pros and cons. The one and only limitation of Wishonphone as even the company admits is that a user can buy no less than 5 credits, but taking an overall look of what it is offering it seems to be a bearable one as all the 5 credits can be used further as well.

The product seems to be a promising one by its founder Mr. Balachandran Rajaraman(MBA from IIM-Indore). But just launching a good product could not define its future, it needs an aggressive marketing policy. In all it’s a good one and has the potential to make it big in Indian as well as in overseas market.

 Studies computer sciences at The University of Delhi. Extremely net savvy, loves to write and a real techie by heart, He aspires to pursue his career in computer sciences and software engineering industry

BlackBerry’s e-mail services aiding terrorists |

Yes, nearly a month after UAE announced to ban e-mail, web browsing and messaging for the BlackBerry smartphone citing national security concerns, India seems to be following suit due to concerns about terrorism.

As stated by Mohammed al-Ghanem, the chief of the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority:

The decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain BlackBerry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national-security concerns.

Blackberry a product from the SmartPhone maker Research In Motion Ltd, now faces a similar threat from India’s Department of Telecommunications, which according to a WSJ report, is testing the monitoring of some services provided by BlackBerry currently and is expected to hand back the report in a month.

So why a sudden surge across nations to ban BlackBerry’s services and how could it possibly be compromising national security? Here’s what makes Blackberry a strong and powerful weapon for the anti-social elements.

The e-mail and messenger services provided by BlackBerry handle data in highly advanced encrypted form. The data is routed overseas through the Canada based company’s networks and this makes it impossible for nations to monitor the encrypted form.

The encryption methods employed by RIM were developed keeping in mind the security of confidential-corporate business data and to ensure user privacy. But this has un-intentionally led towards making BlackBerry a useful weapon among terrorists to exchange information without the fear of a Government interception.The Mumbai Terror Attacks of 2008 are a recent reminder, when Indian Commandos went inside the hotels after the incident, they were not only surprised to find the devices in the terrorists’ rucksacks, but also to come across the fact that the device was used to monitor the Indian Media for inside information and real-time access to the outside developments.

RIM has in the past offered help to monitor internet surfing and messenger services on the BlackBerry to aid terror investigations but it has clearly stated as before that it’s practically impossible to intercept corporate e-mails sent via BlackBerry since no such Technology exists currently.

It’s a known fact that India has been under constant threats and attacks from domestic as well as foreign sources for quite some time and the situation doesn’t seem to be improving in the near future. Considering a scenario like this, continuing BlackBerry’s services uninterrupted does not seem to be the best bet as far as National security is concerned. On the other hand, shutting down a major corporate enterprise completely would definitely not go down well with other foreign investors planning to invest in the county which has possibly the world’s fastest growing technical sector.

What happens next, only time will tell but where does this battle takes us to would be interesting to see.

Samsung working on Galaxy S 3D smartphone |

Samsung is secretly working on the successor of its hugely successful Galaxy S II smartphone which may feature a glasses-free display, a Korean website has reported.

Notably, according to the report, it will be a 3D smartphone with a quad-core mobile processor and is expected to be launched as ‘Galaxy S 3D’, probably in the second half of 2012.

Samsung certainly wishes to join the bandwagon of flagship devices with HD quality native resolution bearing display and more horsepower packing hardware. The purported Samsung Galaxy S 3D handset will feature the new generation Super Amoled HD Plus display supporting 1280×720 pixel resolution natively. At this moment, the screen size can’t be judged but considering the Galaxy Nexus, expect the Galaxy S 3D to feature a display ranging between 4.2-inch to 4.65-inch.

The handset running Android operating system will be up against the HTC Evo 3D and LG Optimus 3D smartphones in particular. It would also have 3D content display along with 3D image and video recording capability. Some sort of content push capability with 3D TVs can also be expected.

The slimmer profile bearing Galaxy S 3D may house the Samsung’s self-designed Exynos mobile processor which will have two or four cores and might be clocked at 1.4 to 1.5 GHz clock speed. It may also feature dual cameras capable of recording 3D videos in 720p HD.

In terms of software, the Galaxy S 3D certainly would come with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich coupled with the new version of Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz User Interface with TouchWiz UX live panels widgets. Obviously we are looking forward to a large battery pack with this handset considering the 3D capabilities.

As of now, confirmations on Galaxy S 3D is difficult to obtain for those plans are pretty raw and might change in due course of time.

 Studies computer sciences at The University of Delhi. Extremely net savvy, loves to write and a real techie by heart, He aspires to pursue his career in computer sciences and software engineering industry

Mahindra Satyam eyes Chinese Market |

Mahindra Satyam, the brand identity of Satyam Computer Services Limited is intending to extend it’s presence in the global market, specifically in China , the World’s second largest democracy.

“Mahindra Satyam is seeking new growth opportunities by exploring a number of venture partnerships in China, as part of the global growth strategy,” company’s Senior Vice-President for Asia Pacific, India, Middle East and Africa, Rohit Gandhi said. “So, if we can, (we will) form a strategic alliance or a joint venture, with a strong local group.”

Emphasizing the need for market access, he added “Whether it is within China or outside, we have got the capability. But what we don’t have there is real good market access” He hoped mid-sized firms with a larger access into the market would do the trick for them since “Large-sized (partners) will be bureaucratic, and basically I think the criterion more than the size is the sort of access to the market.”

Satyam Mahindra currently has four offices in China at Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Dalian and Guangzhou with almost 90% of local workforce. “We intend to grow further in China through inorganic activities,” he added.

He also eyed significant growth opportunities in South Africa, Qatar and Saudi Arabia comprising of the company’s Middle East markets.”South Africa is growing from a low base and the Middle East markets shows huge potential for sports vertical,” he said.

He denied divulging specific details regarding the ventures in China but he did mention that the company is looking for “expertise in engineering and manufacturing, as Mahindra Satyam has strong capabilities in the engineering space in China.”

For the Indian markets, the company is still banking on high profile public sector projects, especially automation of the government services, said Gandhi.

Startup Tips: Team Building for Startups |

Every startup has a dedicated set of people working day and night to make the idea a success. This doesn’t happen in one day nor does it happen at an individualistic level. One of the Key Factors to Success are Great Teams.

Once you have your startup up and running, every founder dreams of scaling up. With scaling comes more responsibilities which require hard work to deliver with the same passion. It is obvious that as the business grows, so does the team behind it. Team building is an art and many successful entrepreneurs pledge to it.

Though a necessity, it is not easy to manage a large set of diverse individuals. Here are a few ways that would prove useful:

Make your vision the team’s vision: As a founder you may have a clear vision of where you see the company after a few years, but members of your team may not be able to follow through. Sometimes we are more focused on the short term goals and lose sight of the bigger picture. As a leader you should make your team understand your vision and treat it as their own.

Communicate effectively: There should be good communication not only from the top to down but from the bottom up as well. Team members should be able to communicate well with each other, then only they can work together. Get your team to know each other well, because people who know each other socially collaborate better. It is always a great idea to create a sense of community in your team.

Build accountability: As your team grows, it must be accountable to one another. As a leader it is great to set an example, show your team that you can be held accountable for your mistakes too. There should be trust and building trust is only possible if the team is working together for a common goal.

Adapt to the environment: As a startup it is unlikely you have specialists for every field. Each team member is generally filling more than one shoe. Effective teams develop the skills needed along with their business and there in lies their strength. If someone is lacking experience or knowledge in a particular field, they build it up on the way.

What are your experiences as a team member or a leader? Let us know in the comments below.

Yatra.com Launches Deals Section |

Yatra.com has newly launched Travel Deals web site and according to us, Its “a platform for the most lucrative and cost saving deals.” But Yatra.com has always been providing offers and discounts on travel packages, so what’s different this time?

First of all, it is not actually a separate website rather the Yatra Travel Deals (aka Steal-a-Deal) is simply a new section within the Yatra.com portal. A user can access it through a link on the home page too. More importantly, the section has been around for a while (released in beta version back in July this year) and it finally became live last month.

But why did the company decide to launch a ew section in the first place,

“The primary objective of a dedicated travel deals section on Yatra.com is to give travellers access to last-minute deals on hotels, holidays and other travel products available with Yatra.com. The deals section is also a marketing platform for hotels and resorts that require a larger brand visibility in a very short span of time.” – Akhil Gupta, VP, Group & Bulk Deals at Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd.

Gupta says the deals platform of Yatra.com is different from the regular promotions in terms of life-span of the offer and a typical deal on the new section is valid for 3-4 days or until it is sold out.

“Moreover, a deal on a particular hotel or resort may not be available on our regular booking channels purely for the nature of the product. For example, a deal on camping in Rishikesh may not feature as a
promotion due to season and time- bound nature of the product itself,” he added.

Comparison of this new segment with other travel deals sites

What’s new Section?
It is a revamped user interface, simpler process of checkout, dedicated support team for deal buyers (we tried the helpline number and were instantly connected) and a better mix of deals including some which are otherwise currently only available as part of a holiday package.

What’s Different?
The company also claims that in the future it will offer exclusive deals.

What’s Similar?
Customers can subscribe to get the deals through an email.

As far as traction goes, as of now the company lists 2-3 deals a day on pan-India basis and it claims that 95 per cent of the deals sell out within 4 days (holiday packages and flight deals are often sold out but deal coupons are the all-time favorites’ among customers).

What’s next?

“At the moment we are offering pan-India deals. In the coming weeks we will open up city wise deals also,” concluded Gupta.

So its now the right time for daily deal sites to pull up their socks or else Yatra will takeaway all in this niche!!

Will 4G hit India in 2012? [Analysis] |

It has been more than year that mobile subscribers in India are offering 3G services to their customers. Its not yet so famous as more than 70% of Mobile Users don’t even know about it. Coming directly to the point, I want to say that 3G results have not been upto the mark as yet there are less than 10% users who’ve shifted to 3G.

A report says that if everything goes well, we will be having 4G bidding in India next year. First of all, let me tell you a bit about 4G. It is the newest generation of Mobile Technology and will take up the speed constraints from ~4Mbps in 3G network to nearly 100Mbps in fast moving vehicles such as Cars and even better i.e. upto 1Gbps speed for Stationary users. The figure might look a bit amazing but coming to ground reality, this speed is not there for even the Wired Broadband users in India.

However, what I am concerned about is that top mobile service providers have invested more than 50,000 Crore rupees in the 3G spectrum bidding already and for getting on the profit side, they need a tenure of atleast 6-7 years to get going. And, with 4G bidding to follow next year, I guess most of them would have to stay away from bidding  as they won’t be having an amount which will be even more than the 3G bidding to spend. Keeping all this in Mind, TRAI and the Govt. of India are planning to postpone it for a while, but that will again make us lagging in terms of technology as many countries including China and Japan have already launched 4G.

However, there are mobile operators in India such as Etisalat DB (largest Provider in Middle-East Asia) who to protect themselves from such a situation and have therefore kept themselves away from the bidding. So they will be eyeing to get the most out of it.

Ankit is founder of TechDip. A student of Software Engineering. He is a passionate writer who loves writing about anything and everything related to Technology. Ankit aims to be at the top in every field he is involved in.Catch him on Twitter @techpil or Google+

PhoneDeck.com – Managing Mobile Data Just Got Easier |

We all love keeping accounts… specially ones related to our phones. We never realize when but our mobile phones become a very integral part of our daily lives. And all the data related to our mobiles keeps us going in the big world outside.

Trust me, i am not exaggerating. Not a bit. Consider just for a moment that you lose all your contacts and have no specific backup. or maybe you need to recall what time someone called you, or maybe you just want to revisit a jovial text conversation. Now you see how difficult it might be.

But worry not my friends, PhoneDeck is here…

Managing all you mobile phone related data is just a click away. You can make calls, read and write SMS, get reminders on who called you and whose call you missed, keep you contacts safe and much more. It is all really a click away.

The chief feature that this website executes is that you don’t need separate websites to manage your telephone data. It’s an all in one package.

One feature that will bowl you out is the “Communication Analysis” division. it gives you detailed analysis of all the people you are connected with. Making a graph for all the callers at once and also one for each caller. All he communication that you do with you mobile phone is well analyzed an updated every time you make or take a call. Wonderful! isn’t it?

Another feature of this awesome engine is the locate your phone (happens to me very often). Left your phone in your jacket or at a friends? Phonedeck can easily locate your misplaced device with just one click.

Now YOU tell me how awesome this is…

• Get notifications on incoming calls including a detailed caller profile
• Start a call remotely from the web service
• Auto update your contacts from FB & LinkedIn (coming soon)
• Read & write SMS on the big screen using a large computer keyboard
• Get meaningful insight into phone communication behavior
• Detailed phone log
• Locate the phone with just a click

What more could you ask for? (at least i couldn’t find anything more that even my phone can do)

Although Phonedeck is out as a beta version for now, you can ask for an invite and they’ll have you in to check out their services. Soon they’ll be full on into service.

Phonedeck now supports Android, BlackBerry and iOS(limited) mobile platforms.

Its and old quote : “the prospects of a product is best judged by the ambition of the maker”. and very suitably the homepage flaunts the acknowledgments that say

“The holy grail of real social graph is the phone” – TechCrunch

“Improves call management and increases productivity” – NETZWERTIG.COM

Well well… have i said enough? I doubt. But you can certainly find more at the website itself. Trust me, you’ll love this one, at least your phone certainly will.

Huge Response to Bank Transfer Day: Attracts 83,400 people on Facebook|

On Tuesday (Nov 1) it was just an event page on Facebook and now it has grown to a national movement. This Nov 5 in the USA, will be marked as the Bank Transfer Day, where activists are going to transfer funds from for-profit banks to non-profit institutions and credit unions in their home cities.

Organised by Kristen Christian, who is a private citizen and small business owner, the Bank Transfer Day Page has more than 83,400 RSVPs as of now.

Why is a normal citizen going out to such lengths to do this?

I was tired — tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers & sisters. So I stood up. I’ve been shocked at how many people have stood up alongside me. With each person who RSVPs to this event, my heart swells. Me closing my account all on my lonesome wouldn’t have made a difference to these fat cats. But each of YOU standing up with me… they can’t drown out the noise we’ll make.

Is this going to cause another economic crisis?

No it is not, because according to Kristen,

It’s not people taking their money and burying it under their mattress. It’s shifting the money to a company people respect the practices of. It’s like, if you don’t like Wal-Mart’s practices, shopping at a local grocery store instead.

What will happen with these protests? Are they going anywhere?

According to the Credit Union National Association, “at least 650,000 consumers across the nation have joined credit unions in the past four weeks.” These developments have been greatly accelerated due to the announcement of Bank of America, according to which they will be charging $5 (Rs 250) per month fee for debit cards.

These movements come at a time where America is facing public outcry resulting to many movements like Occupy Wall Street and Move Your Money, it would be interesting to see if back home in India we could see movements like these which will force the governments to stop being slaves to the corporates.

A point to note from this is that people will oppose wrong decisions, no matter where they come from, the government or the big companies. Infact decisions which are against the public opinion will only create negative publicity which is bad for any business. So it is always the best policy to try please the public and hence your customers!

What do you think of this movement? What would happen if something like this happens in India?

Interesting note: The 5th of November was chosen as the date by Guy Fawkes to carry out the unsuccessful attempt on the life of King James I of England, know as the Gunpowder Treason. Here is a little poem that’s famous for it.

Sabeer Bhatia back with new venture - JaxtrSMS |

Serial entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia is now back with his latest venture JaxtrSMS, seeking to create a revolution in the way we message. Known for his highly relevant and innovative startups, this time, according to Sabeer, he was inspired by his wife, who wanted to switch from a Blackberry to an Iphone, but was hesitant to do so, citing apprehensions about leaving the BBM network. Highly ambitious Sabeer saw an exciting proposition in this, which took the form of JaxtrSMS. A part of the Jaxtr platform, JaxtrSMS enables users to send SMSs to any mobile phone in the world, free of cost. Yes, I said any mobile, free of cost, and unlimited number of messages.
What makes JaxtrSMS different from Whatsapp is the fact that it does not require the sofware to be installed on the recipient’s device, or the recipient to be connected to the internet. JaxtrSMS is a multi platform application, working acros iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackberryOS, and Windows phones alike. What makes Jaxtr different from other messaging startups is the fact that it does not require any special applications to receive messages and that it works across the globe. JaxtrSMS has massive potential, especially in a country like India where messaging is viral. 160by2 and way2sms have proved that users do not mind advertisements along with their messages.

However, it is unclear what strategy Jaxtr takes to overcome the TRAI regulations with respect to timing of messages and delivery of messages to NDNC registered numbers. No doubt, JaxtrSMS will not have such an easy journey as Sabeer’s other ventures.

Studies Systems Science at IIT Jodhpur. Entrepreneur at heart, believes that Sociopreneurship with the use of technology to revive traditional industries as the way out for India’s socio-economic problems. He is involved in a startup focussing on the same lines. An avid blogger, he realizes the potency of the medium to reach mass audiences. Catch him on twitter at @mohdrehan

all over, Android, Bhatia, BlackBerry, free, global, hotmail, Internet, iOS, Jaxtr, NDNC, Sabeer, sms, software, Symbian, TRAI, unlimited, WhatsApp

Nokia Unveil The Much Awaited Lumia 900 |

Consumer Electronics Show(CES) 2012 has started off in full swing at LAS VEGAS, NV, United States, and in addition to a host of brands unveiling their upcoming products, Nokia too, have raised the curtains on their upcoming flagship handset – the Lumia 900. It is no surprise that Nokia would showoff their flagship handset at the Consumer Electronics Show as various reports in the past have indicated that they would unveil their Windows Phone Mango handset at the event. As of now, the smartphone has been announced only for the U.S and it will use AT&Ts 4G LTE network.

The Nokia Lumia 900 allows data downloads up to 50Mbps on AT&T’s 4G LTE network. What does that mean? It means that you’ll be able to view videos as fast as you can click on them, and never wait. It means your email arrives on time and you’re not sitting looking at an hourglass. It means the Web is totally fun to use on your mobile.

If you don’t have LTE, then the next step down is HSPA for a mere (cough!) 21Mbps download speed.

Starting with the screen, the Nokia Lumia 900 puts an end to squinting at your smartphone display. It boasts a large, 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display to offer a big, crystal clear and super-colorful screen indoors and out. The resolution is 800 by 480 pixels.

Inside, there’s a 1.4GHz processor, running on an updated chipset, to support LTE. It’ll keep the phone running smooth and make sure everything happens now. For the tech aficionados, it’s a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8055 + MDM9200.

But not everything is totally new. We’ve recreated the popular polycarbonate unibody design pioneered by the Nokia N9 and the Nokia Lumia 800 for this new, bigger model. It looks amazing, fits the hand superbly – and it’s really hard to do it any damage from our experience here on Conversations.

Another big plus is the battery. Often, you’d expect a bigger screen means that your battery won’t last too long. That’s far from the case here. The souped-up 1840mAH battery in the Nokia Lumia 900 will last for about 7hrs talk-time and up to 300hrs on standby.

To give another measurement of that battery, if you switch to flight mode and use it just as an MP3 music player, it’ll keep going for more than two-and-a-half days.

Fully integrated into the totally intuitive Windows Phone ease-of-use experience, the Nokia Lumia 900 offers Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive through the Windows Phone Marketplace. Nokia Drive offers free, turn-by-turn, voice-guided navigation everywhere.

Social networking is embedded to the core with all your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn contacts available from the start. The built-in Games and Music hubs ably handle music and entertainment – including Xbox and Zune integration.

This phone will also please users wanting to ditch their compact camera. On the back, there’s an 8-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and a dual LED flash. This model has a larger, f2.2/28mm aperture, allowing more light into the camera for faster performance, lower chance of motion blur and better low-light shots.

It also supports hi-res video capture for 720p/30fps action footage. In addition, there’s a second, front-facing camera to give support for video calls (1-megapixel with an f2.4 lens and 30fps capture).

So in short all the Technical Specifications

• Networks: GSM/EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1900/2100, LTE Band 4 (1700/2100) & 17 (700)

• OS: Windows Phone Release 7.5 – Mango Commercial Release 2 (Mango + LTE)

• Storage: 16 GB internal memory (14.5GB user memory) + SkyDrive cloud storage

• Weight: 160g (5.6 ounces)

• Dimensions: (max): 127.8 x 68.5 x 11.5 mm (5 x 2.7 x .45 inches)

• Extra Features: A-GPS, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), USB 2.0 high-speed, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, 3mm headset connector

As of now, there is no known launch date, but we expect that Nokia would launch this handset pretty soon. There is no information on when this phone will be announced, globally, but we will surely keep you updated regarding the same.

We’ll be giving you more in-depth detail on the new Nokia Lumia 900 during the course of the week and onwards. But what questions do you want us to answer about this great new smartphone?