Royal Wedding 2011: Prince William marries commoner Kate Middleton

Prince William and Kate Middleton were on Friday pronounced man and wife at the majestic Westminster Abbey where the couple exchanged vows in the presence of some 1,900 guests, while millions of people around the world watched the ceremony live on TV.

29-year-old Middleton wore an ivory and lace gown designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, while the Prince, 28, was attired in the red tunic of an Irish Guards Colonel - his most senior honorary appointment.

Prince William, the second in line to the British throne, has been given the title of the Duke of Cambridge by the Queen, and Middleton has become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge on their marriage.  

The Prince has also become the Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus, which means Middleton will become the Countess of Strathearn and Baroness Carrickfergus.

The couple were pronounced man and wife by the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

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Smartphone boom lifts phone market in first quarter

Strong demand for smartphones gave a further boost to overall cellphone market volumes in January-March and made iPhone supplier Apple Inc a rare winner on the market, research firms said on Friday.

IDC saw January-March market growth of 20 percent, helped also by strong gains by smaller vendors as the three largest phone makers -- Nokia Oyj, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and LG Electronics Inc -- lost market share.

Apple's iPhone sales more than doubled from a year ago, buoyed by strong sales on Verizon Wireless and additional carrier deals elsewhere, with market share rising to 5 percent.

"The iPhone once again sold particularly well in developed economic regions of the world, such as North America and western Europe," IDC said.

Apple is now within striking distance of LG, which had a 6.6 percent market share in the quarter. Nokia's share dropped to 29 percent from 35 percent a year ago while Samsung slipped to 19 percent, IDC said.

Blackberry-maker Research In Motion Ltd benefited from the smartphone boom in the quarter, winning market share, but warned late on Thursday its quarterly sales would miss earlier forecasts.

The Canadian group is in a transition period as it revamps its product line and launches its first tablet computer.

Separately Strategy Analytics estimated handset shipments grew 17 percent from a year ago, driven by surging smartphone demand in mature regions and increasingly popular models with multiple SIM cards in emerging markets.

"The first quarter of 2011 was marked by supply-chain disruptions related to the Japan earthquake tragedy and by ongoing mild component constraints in areas such as touchscreens, memory and cameras," said Neil Mawston, analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Mawston said component shortages would continue for at least the next six to nine months, causing restricted volumes or rising input prices, but operational challenges from this would remain minor for most manufacturers.

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BenQ Appoints Global Infonet As National Distributor

BenQ India Pvt. Ltd, a leading provider of networked digital lifestyle devices has appointed Global Infonet Distribution Pvt. Ltd, one of India’s leading IT Distribution Company as National Distributor for Digital Camera business.
With the appointment of Global, BenQ will expand its presence across India and also reach out to consumers in Metros, Tier II and Tier III towns with its latest range of Digital Cameras.

Global, with its focus on distribution of Consumer Electronics, PC systems, peripherals and IT Components and a nationwide network of 30+ branch locations has ensured that it encompasses all the requirements needed for providing quick response and efficient turnaround time which is required for a fast paced business like Digital Camera in India. BenQ aims to leverage the strengths of Global as it plans to introduce the entire line up of Digital Still Camera and Digital Camcorder in near future.

“Effective identification and superlative service to the channel is one of our focus areas for the current year and we are keen to work with an organization that brings deep domain expertise coupled with a pan India footprint. Global Infonet has an established capability in the markets and will provide immense value to our offerings. We are delighted to have Global as our distributor, and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship,” said Rajeev Singh, Country Head, BenQ India Pvt. Ltd.

Speaking on this occasion Mr.Vishal Sopory,Executive Director,Global said “This partnership with BenQ will enable us to diversify our portfolio of products for the channel community and cater to the growing demand of Digital Cameras. Our nationwide network and infrastructure will help BenQ to make deeper inroads into the regional markets of India.”

BenQ has launched 4 new sleek looking models of cameras in E & C series with pricing starting from Rs. 4599/-. These products are currently available in India ex stock.

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Micromax A70 Android phone with dual cameras coming next month

Micromax is all ready to launch the successor to its first Android smartphone Ando A60 in the form of A70. The launch is expected next month for a price around INR 9,000, reports The Mobile Indian.
Micromax A70 is be the first Android smartphone with dual cameras [5MP & VGA] under 10K. Other features A70 include 3.2 inch TFT capacitive display, Android 2.2, and 1450 mAh battery.
According to the sources at Micromax, Micromax A70 can be launched in May third week and A70 is not alone, company is also planning to launch Bling successor Bling 2 with Android next month.

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Motorola shipped 250,000 Xoom tablets in Q1

Motorola today announced that it has shipped around 250,000 units of Honeycomb tablet Xoom in the first quarter. These numbers might not be great but are decent considering the analysts were expecting shipments around 25,000.
These figures do not represent actual sales to the consumers, but the total number of Xoom tablets that reached Motorola’s inventory. While company did not disclose those numbers, it noted there was no build-up in inventory.
Motorola Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said he expects to “meaningfully improve that figure” in the second quarter as the company expands its distribution to different telecom carriers and more countries. To remind you Xoom went on sale on Feb 24 on United States for the first time.
India launch: While there is no official announcement till now, we would expect company to release the tablet’s WiFi only version next month in the country, but considering the latest upheaval at Motorola India top management, the launch could be delayed.

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Mahindra Satyam to hire 18,000 in FY'12

IT firm Mahindra Satyam said it plans to hire about 18,000 people during this fiscal. 
"We have plans of hiring about 18,000 people this year (FY'12). Over 5,000 are from campuses and the rest are from lateral hiring or recruitment of experienced hands," Mahindra Satyam Head Recruitment and Media Sridhar Maturi told PTI. 

At the end of the third quarter (October-December period), Mahindra Satyam's headcount stood at 28,832, an increase of 764 personnel from 28,068 employees on September 30, 2010. 

Maturi further added, "The campus hiring will be predominantly in India and the lateral hiring is from across the world." 

The company has its development and delivery centres in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary,Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia by which the company serves numerous clients, including several Fortune 500 companies. 

Mahindra Satyam, formerly Satyam Computer Services , in September last year had announced its first audited financial results for 2009-10 after its founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to multi-crore accounting fraud in January 2009. 

In November 2010, it announced its first quarterly result for the April-June quarter, the first time after disclosure of its July-September 2008 quarter earnings. 

The company's former chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju had in January 2009 confessed to the about Rs 14,000 crore scam wherein the company's profits were overstated and its assets falsified. 

Tech Mahindra bought Satyam in April 2009, which since then is operating as an independent company. 

Shares of Mahindra Satyam today closed at Rs 74.20 on the BSE, up 1.44 per cent from the previous close.

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Apple to sell iPad 2 in India from April 29

Apple's iPad 2 will be available in Indian stores from Friday, just over a month after the company started selling the updated version of its popular tablet device in the United States

The iPad 2, a thinner and faster version that features two cameras for video chat, is priced between 29,500 rupees and 46,900 rupees, depending on the model.

The device will be available through authorized resellers from 9 a.m. local time on Friday, a company statement said.

The model with 16 GB of memory that works only on Wi-Fi is priced at 29,500 rupees, while the one that can operate on both Wi-Fi as well as third-generation (3G) mobile networks costs 36,900 rupees.

Customers have the option to buy an iPad 2 with 16, 32 or 64 GB of memory and can choose a model that works only on Wi-Fi or on both Wi-Fi and 3G.

Research firm IHS iSuppli estimates Apple will ship 39.7 million units for all models of the iPad this year.

The first iPad - which went on sale a year ago - sold 300,000 units on the first day, 500,000 in the first week, and crossed the 1 million unit mark in 28 days.

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BlackBerry launches phones for CDMA users

BlackBerry handset maker Research In Motion (RIM) today announced the launch of its new dual-screen 'Style' smartphone for CDMA customers in India, to be sold in the open market. 

The earlier BlackBerry phones launched for CDMA customers were bundled with the services of Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications . 

The new smartphone has a compact flip design with dual high-resolution displays and a QWERTY keyboard. The phone has a 2-inch (diagonal) external screen for quick viewing of notifications and messages along with a 2.7-inch (diagonal) internal screen. 

"The CDMA segment represents a significant portion of the overall mobile subscriber base in India and we are pleased to further our commitment to Indian consumers with the introduction of this powerful and stylish BlackBerry smartphone," RIM India Managing Director Frenny Bawa said in a statement. 

It also comes with multimedia features which include a 5 mega pixel camera with flash. The handset will support video recording, offers built-in GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging, Wi-Fi access and an expandable memory slot for up to 32GB of additional storage. 

The BlackBerry Style smartphone will offer an optical trackpad for navigation. It will support applications like YouTube , BBM, Facebook , Twitter and MySpace. 

The phone is now available in the market and distribution of the smartphone is being managed by Brightpoint India, RIM's national retail distribution partner for CDMA-enabled BlackBerry smartphones, the statement said.

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Samsung launches Nexus S and first CDMA Android phone in India

Samsung Electronics today announced launch Nexus S smartphone along with five new models of its Android based Galaxy series handsets in the Indian market including the first CDMA Android phone in India. 

Developed in partnership with Google, Nexus S has Android 2.3 operating system platform which is known as Gingerbread. It is the first handset from Samsung Mobile with a 4 inch curved LCD screen and is prices at Rs 29,590. 

The company also announced the launch of Galaxy POP in the CDMA Version and claimed it to be industry's first Android based CDMA phone. This phone has been priced at Rs 10,500. 

Samsung also announced 3G enabled Galaxy Smart phones based on the Android 2.2 platform in the price range of Rs 10,290 to Rs 17,040. 

The handset manufacturer further said it is eyeing a 40 per cent market share of the growing smartphones market in India this year. 

"We intend to reach a 40 per cent market share in the smartphones category this year," Samsung India Electronics Country Head Ranjit Yadav told reporters here. 

Samsung currently has a market share of 15 per cent in the smartphone category. 

The handset manufacturer would be launching an upgraded version of its Tablets under "Galaxy" brand in June this year. 

"In November 2010 we launched the Galaxy 7.1" tablet... We will be launching the Galaxy 8.9" and 10.1" models in June this year...", Samsung Electronics Vice-President (Marketing) - Mobile Business Asim Warsi said. 

He further added, "Tablet PCs are growing at a rapid rate. Last year the tablet market was 2.50 lakh units. We expect it to reach 7.50 lakh this year. Our aim is to have 50 per cent market share in Tablet PCs", he told media.

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Motorola Xoom launched in Malaysia

Motorola has launched its Honeycomb tablet Xoom in Malaysia, making it the second country in the region to get the tablet after Singapore.
Launched at Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, Motorola Xoom is the first Honeycomb powered tablet.  It features 1 GHz nVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 10.1 HD display, 5MP ear camera with front cam, and 32 GB internal storage.
Motorola Xoom WiFi will be available in the country starting May 6. There is no word on the availability of 3G version as of now.
Telecom operator Maxis is also running a promotion in which you can buy Motorola Xoom WiFi and Motorola Defy for RM2499. This offer is valid till May 22.

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Gigabyte releases entry-level Android smartphone in Taiwan

Gigabyte has launched an entry-level Android phone in Taiwan along with Chunghwa Telecom. Dubbed as Gigabyte G1317S, it will be available for a retail price of NT$6,900 (US$238). It is also known as Gigabyte GSmart in other markets.
In sync with the pricing, there are no fancy internal here, Gigabyte G1317S features a 528 MHz processor, Android 2.2, 3.2-inch capacitive display and 3-megapixel camera.

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Sony’s Honeycomb tablets S1, S2 released

Entering the tablet arena, Sony Electronics today announced two Honeycomb tablets. These tablets will be available in the global markets in fall 2011. Codenamed S1 and S2, Sony is targeting S1 for the home and S2 for portable use.
Announced just now at a press event in Japan, Sony S1 is PlayStation certified and features 9.4 inch display, nVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, Wi-Fi, 3G/4G support. The S1 will have cross-device connectivity — it can serve as a remote control for a wide range of Sony products, including TV speakers.
On the other hand, S2 bears a Kyocera Echo like form factor with dual 5.5 inch display, nVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, front and rear cameras.
Both the tablet will come with Sony UI, Sony’s Qriocity service support, and Reader Store support for e-books. Company is yet to release the pricing for these tablets.

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BIOSTAR unleashes its H61MH Mother Board

BIOSTAR MICROTECH INT’L CORP, one of the leading manufacturers of motherboards and computer peripherals Worldwide introduce H61MH motherboard. The new product is based on Intel H61 chipset, and supports the operating systems like Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The latest addition to the BIOSTAR family has a wide range of ports, connectors and interfaces for proper operation of the system. The product supports Intel Core i7, Core i5, Core i3 and Pentium LGA 1155 (Sandy Bridge) with TDP up to 95 watts.

“ BIOSTAR H61MH will be a good choice for DIYS market and system integrators, those who is looking for compact, low noise and high-performance reasonable budget desktop PC. “ commented Eric Tung , Marketing Manager of Biostar. The product is available with two DDR3 DIMM slots that support upto 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1066/1333 MHz, and supplements two expansion slots for PCI single slot PCI-E x1 2.0 slot and one PCI-E x16 2.0. So, in case the user needs more than integrated graphics can support (Full HD video and DirectX 10.1), it is possible to switch to a powerful discrete graphics card with PCI-Express x16 2.0 interface

The additional feature this product offers  are four SATA2 3Gb / s ports, six USB 2.0 ports (four on board and two more on the panel), productive 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN controller based on the Realtek RTL8111E chip, and high-quality 6-channel HD Audio based on Realtek ALC662 chip. Board is equipped with all the up to date video outputs, including digital HDMI and DVI, Analog Interface VGA.
H61MH is build with the latest technology BIOSTAR has come up in last few years such as BIO-Remote2 Technology for remote control of PCs via mobile devices Android or Apple, and the Charger Booster Technology, which allows to reduce by 42% while charging battery mobile iPad or iPhone via USB. Board is equipped with high-quality capacitors with solid electrolyte. H61MH is equipped with two SATA cables, optional interface panel, Quick assembly and a CD with drivers and instructions. Delivery of BIOSTAR H61MH to India market has already begun. and the product is available at a price of Rs 3600+Taxes.

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Genius Unveils Face Cam 1020 HD720p Auto Focus Webcam

Genius is an international leading company in computer peripherals introduced its latest high definition quality webcam, face cam 1020which has High definition 720P resolution to 30 frame rate. It has a unique clip design and no driver is required for Windows7, MAC and Linux system and is great to use with Skype, MSN, Yahoo messenger and instant message communication. In addition it can rotate 360 degree and tilts up and down 90degree. The package includes Crazy talk cam suite for real time chatting and recording video to upload to YouTube or Face book.

It include the new IPM function to help prevent unauthorized outside access gain control of your webcam.
Features:

• Superior HD720P/1.3M pixel sensor
• Precise Auto focus lens
• Adjustable pan 360° and tilts 90° lens
• HD720P video in 1280 x 720, frame rate up to 30fps
• 1.3M video in 1280 x 1024, frame rate up to 30fps
• Microphone built in
• IPM (Image Protection
• Mechanism) feature
• Unique dangle clip, decrease the view angle to chat face to face
• True Plug & Play, no driver required

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Kingston Going strong on Bollywood

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced its collaboration with Fox Star Studio to present Special-Edition DataTraveler Mini Fun 4GB in India. This special edition USB drive will hit the shelves with unique “Dum Maaro Dum” themed packaging and will come preloaded with exclusive “Dum Maaro Dum” contents!
This is a strategic partnership with Fox Star Studio, who will be releasing the much anticipated Abhisek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Prateik Babbar and Rana Daggubati - Bipasha Basu starrer blockbuster on April 22, 2011 in cinemas worldwide.  The movie is an exciting stylish thriller drama which races through the by lanes, beach shacks and raves of India's largest tourist destination, Goa. Acquiring the latest trailers and contents, Kingston's Special-Edition DataTraveler Mini Fun 4GB will give consumers  the chance to get their hands on the exclusive preloaded contents, such as a plot summary, trailers, character sketch, wallpapers and  ringtones. All are wrapped up in a specially designed DataTraveler Mini Fun USB drive. Movie fans are sure to fall for this special edition USB drive, which will be sold exclusively through one of Kingston’s authorized Flash memory product distributors--Avnet India Pvt Ltd.
As anticipation for the summer blockbuster builds, Kingston Digital will be rolling out a full contact “Dum Maaro Dum” themed marketing campaign in support of the limited edition products and Kingston brand building. The marketing campaign includes co - branded outdoor campaigns, contests and advertisements. The movie features a Kingston USB drive in the climax of the story, which is a great boost for brand Kingston.
Speaking on the launch Nidhi Sethi, Flash Memory, Sales Director, Kingston India said: ” Kingston is the leading USB drive brand in the world. Numerous firms from entertainment industry have been approaching Kingston for alliance partnership. Kingston decided to choose Fox Star Studio as our first strategic partner in India. Fox Star Studio is a leader in providing quality content and this collaboration into digital media adds unique value to our memory offerings. This is a unique alliance, and we’re proud to be associated with this project.” she further added.

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Kaspersky Unveils Mobile Security Solutions for Smartphones

Kaspersky Lab, a leading manufacturer of secure content and threat management solutions, launched Kaspersky Mobile Security Solutions – targeting both consumer and corporate, at a press conference in New Delhi today. Present on the ocassion were Suk ling Gun, Corporate Sales Director – Asia Pacific; Altaf Halde, Head of South Asia Operations; Jagannath Patnaik, Director, Channel Sales (South Asia); and Thomas Abraham, Managing Director, Faxtel India.
Kaspersky Mobile Security Solution for Retail Consumers.

Kaspersky Mobile Security 9.0, a new generation of solution that protects smartphone and communicator users from malware, network attacks and SMS spam, safeguards the data on a smartphone or communicator if it is lost, and which offers a new Privacy Protection feature enabling users to hide information about any contacts they want to keep confidential. The new version now supports the Android and BlackBerry platforms alongside Symbian and Windows Mobile.

Smartphones like Blackberry and Android phones are gaining more and more popularity in the Indian market. According to a research, Indian consumers are expected to buy 12 million smartphones in 2011. This growth definitely is a precursor to the number of trojans and malware that may be aimed at the smartphones. The only way to be sure that your device is protected is to install a proactive security software on the device.

With the all-new KMS 9, owners of Blackberry and Android-based smartphones can now get comprehensive protection for their device and all of the data stored on it. “We always listen to our clients? preferences and desires, whether in connection with the capabilities of our solutions, or our distribution channels,” says Jagannath Patnaik, Director – Channel Sales, Kaspersky Lab, South Asia. “Obviously, the easiest way for owners of Android-based devices to start using a product is to download it from Android Market.”

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Zebronics Unveils Airwalk Headphones

Top Notch Infotronix, the brand owners of India's Leading IT brand'ZEBRONICS', have the largest range and variety in computer peripherals, the recently launched new wireless headphone Airwalk under diamond series of headphones.

Airwalk is wireless headphone which works on RF frequency. The headphone is done in glossy finish and with black and red color combination it looks excellent. The transmitter also comes with a mic so it can be also used for voice chat. It also has built in FM radio.

The headphone as well as the transmitter runs on dual AAA batteries. If you are running low on batteries then the headphone can also be directly connected through 3.5mm port. The operating distance of the headphone is 30mtrs from the transmitter if there are no obstructions.

All accessories and cables required to use the headphones as well as the mic is provided in the package. It comes in very attractive transparent case. It also covered by Zebronics one year warranty.

Commenting on the new headphone Mr Pradeep Doshi (Director Sales, Topnotch Infotronix) said  “ This is well designed product with a loads of features. We have also given a lot of stress on the looks as headphones are kind of product which people like to be stylish to go with their personality. ”

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iPhone, iPad users sue Apple over location tracking database

An iPhone user and an iPad user have sued Apple over its location tracking database on their devices. The federal class action suit alleges that Apple's tracking violates the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

In the complaint, the two users say they are bringing the suit "to stop Apple's illegal and intrusive scheme of collecting personal location information." They're asking a federal judge in Florida to force Apple to disable this kind of tracking in the next release of its iOS software, and ask for damage awards for "violations of their statutory and common law privacy rights."

The complaint is online at Scribd.com.

BACKGROUND: Apple iPhone location tracking has been no secret, researcher claims

The plaintiffs are Vikram Ajjampur of Hillsborough County, Fla., who uses an iPhone, and iPad user William Devito of New York state. They appear to base their complaint, and their understanding of what Apple is doing and how, entirely on news reports from a variety of sources, which are cited in the complaints footnotes.

The two men argue that they, and other users, "did not provide any sort of informed consent to the tracking" and that "Apple collects the location information covertly, surreptitiously and in violations of law."

By storing the information without encrypting it, "Apple places users at serious risk of privacy invasions, including stalking." Finally, they claim they and all users "were harmed by Apple's accrual of personal location, movement and travel histories because their personal computers were used in ways they did not approve, and because they were personally tracked just as if by a tracking device for which a court-ordered warrant would ordinarily be required." 

They claim that Apple's actions are in violation of the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. "By secretly installing software that records users every moves, Apple has accessed Plaintiffs computers, in the course of interstate commerce or communication, in excess of the authorization provided by Plaintiffs" as described in the act. Those computers, they say, are "protected computers" as defined by the act.

Apple also violated the act by "causing the transmission of a program, information, code or command both in deploying the iOS 4 operating systems, and also as a result of the syncing of user handheld devices with their laptop or desktop computers." This action "caused harm aggregating at least $5,000 in value."

Among additional allegations, the suit argues that Apple violates state laws that follow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, banning actions that are either unfair or deceptive. The plaintiffs say Apple's "inadequate disclosures made in its privacy policy" are both; as are its tracking and syncing of users' personal information, because users "had no knowledge of Apple's intent or actions."

John Cox covers wireless networking and mobile computing for Network World.

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LG launches Cinema 3D TVs based on FPR in India

After getting a firsthand experience at Seoul, LG has finally launched its Cinema 3D TVs based on its new patented FPR technology in India. The best part is the pricing which is pretty aggressive as compared to existing 3D TVs. Prices start from Rs. 94,990 for a 40-incher and goes all the way up to Rs.1,64,990 for its flagship model.

LG will also be launching its Smart TV line-up which will give users access to Internet apps like YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, etc as well as India centric content through various tie ups with Hungama, NDTV,   Indiatimes, CarWale and Zapak. All Cinema 3D TVs will come with patent technology like 3D Light Boost for a brighter and vivid picture, 2D to 3D conversion on the fly and DivX HD support. The initial roll out will include a total of seventeen models in various price segments and they will be bundling four sets of glasses with every TV. Additional glasses are considerably cheaper compared to shutter glasses at just Rs. 1,000 a pop. The Cinema 3D TVs should start rolling out in all major stores in the coming weeks.  

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RIM launches Blackberry style 9670

Research in Motion has launched the new BlackBerry Style 9670 in India. This CDMA based smartphone runs the new BlackBerry OS 6.0. It has 360 x 400 resolution internal display and 240 x 320 resolution external display. The 9670 has a 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash and can record videos in VGA resolution. It has the standard BlackBerry full QWERTY keypad and the optical trackpad, along with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.

The phone has 512MB internal memory and comes with an 8GB microSD card. The 9670 is priced at Rs. 24,999 in India and is available on Reliance and Tata networks.

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MTS launches “Free Android phone on contract” Scheme.. The new Trend?

Times of India today caught my eye – It announced “You pay just for usage, we will pay for the phone”. In the U.S, it is a norm to offer high-end mobile phones with yearly Contracts – But in India these kind of contract offerings have not yet taken root as yet. MTS is probably one of the first Telecom carriers who have bundled a Free high end smartphone along with an yearly contract.

Essentially, MTS has tied up with HTC to bring MTS Pulse Android phoneto market . The subscriber, who avail this offer, will have to sign a yearly contract with MTS and subscribe to minimum plan of Rs. 1500/- per month. Meaning, even if you don’t make a single phone call, your bill will come to minimum Rs. 1500.

To me, this is a win-win situation for MTS – Let us do some simple calculations – At Rs. 1500/- per month MTS ends up getting about Rs. 18k in a year. The real cost of this phone is probably close to about Rs. 10k (and MTS may have got it much cheaper). So, come what may MTS stands to make 8 to 10 k in a year from a new subscriber. Additionally, for MTS, they have gained a new post-paid subscriber who probably will stay with them for more than a year.
Although the details are not given, I am sure the phone offered by MTS is a locked phone and can be used only with MTS simcard.
From Subscribers point of view, although it works out expensive, they have luxury to pay the whole sum over 12 months in smaller instalments, instead of paying for handset upfront.

MTS Offering details

• Activation Charge – Nil
• Monthly Rent Commitment – Rs 1500 for 12 months
• Free Value/month – 1500 mins(Local + National), 1500 SMS(Local + National) & 1500 MB data usage
• Call Rate After Free Value – Local@ 1p/2sec, STD@ 1p/sec & data charges @ Rs. 2/MB
• Standard ISD & Roaming rates will be applicable
• MTS is also offering quite a freebies on this phone

If you want to avail this offer, subscriber will have to furnish following details:
Document required to avail the offer-

• Salary slips (last 2 months) or IT returns (last 2 years)
• One Photograph
• PAN card copy
• Address Proof
• 6 post dated cheques (Amount will be notified at our branded retail store)

It would be interesting to see if other telecom carriers also come up with similar schemes. There is also question that needs answer – what happens if the subscriber refuses to pay half-way through the year?. The legal processes in India are not as black & white as they are in the U.S and company may actually end up suffering.

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HTC Flyer India launch possible in May-end for INR 35K

HTC India has been on a launch spree in the recent times. First Incredible S, then Desire S, both these were released in India soon after their international launch. Same is the case with upcoming HTC Flyer. The word on the street is that HTC will be releasing its first Android tablet Flyer in India by the end of next month.
HTC Flyer, which was first announced at Mobile World Congress, is soon going to make its debut in UK and US. It features a 7 inch display and it powered by Qualcomm 1.5 GHz processor.  Although on the downside it runs on Gingerbread with a heavily customized HTC Sense interface, but company is expected to release Honeycomb update for the tablet. As the Sprint version of the tablet Evo View is being launch with Honeycomb pre-installed.
Coming to the pricing, company is expected to launch the 32 GB/3G version in India for INR 35,000, which seems normal considering Samsung Galaxy Tab’s launch price was INR 38,000. But, we would expect the price to go down similar to Galaxy Tab.

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