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COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY APRIL 2013 Mobility Personality
Amtrak Set to Intensify Focus on Tablets
www.mobilityindia.com Face to Face
Lava Focusing on Tablets Strategically
Mobility Special
Mobility Enabling Mobile Banking
Vol. 9
Issue # 11
Mobility Review
HP ElitePad 900 - The Enterprise Tab
on a Slippery Turf www.mobilityindia.com
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Content Cover Story
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Samsung on a Slippery Turf
Mobility Personality Amtrak Set to Intensify Focus on Tablets
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GupShup Zooms Ahead on Messenger Turf
Mobility Application Woxi Presents SmartPod for TV with AppCasts
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Face to Face Lava Focusing on Tablets Strategically
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Mobility Special Mobility Enabling Mobile Banking
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Mobility Focus Its Getting Hot on 4G turf
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Mobility Focus 13 Projector Goes Smart way with Portronics Trends in Convergence 10 Mobility Apps To Make Productive Business
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Mobility News
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CDMA operators to pay one time fee `3,033...
Emkore Brings Service for SMBs on Microsoft...
Sony launches Smartphone Xperia SP and L
Tata DOCOMO’s Facebook Check-in on Mobile...
Beam Receives Channel Excellence Award...
Videocon Introduces the VT75C 2G Calling Tablet
Nokia Launches Lumia 520 & Lumia 720
ValueFirst adds mobile video commercial capability
McAfee Improves Security for Android...
Mobility and Cloud Identified as Top Network Challenges
RAPOO Launches 6080 Bluetooth 3.0 Optical Mouse
Juniper Unveils Most Programmable Core Switch
Juniper Presents Supercore and Densest ...
Amtrak Unveils 5 My Buddy Tablets at Dealer Meet
Arogya and Nokia engage One Million people...
LG launched Optimis L-series II smartphones
Groupon Launches iPhone App
TataElxsi unveils HEVC Ultra HD (4K) Decoder
Vodafone India and ICICI Bank Launch ‘M-Pesa’
Mahindra Reva, Vodafone Announce Partnerrship
Gionee Launches P1 Smartphone with Dual Camera
Indus Towers Sponsors Joy-of-Science Lab
MTS Celebrates 4th Anniversary in India
Tata Elxsi Launches Technology Consulting Services
WishTel launches WishTel IRA Capsule Laptop
Canalys Names Trend Micro as Leader
ASUS Announces Nexus 7 Tablet in India
CLOUDSEC 2013 to Debate New Cybersecurity Threats
Dassault Announces V5-6R2013 with More Capabilities www.mobilityindia.com
Mobility April 2013
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Editor’s Choice
Samsung Galaxy S4 – Too Good to be True There is no doubt that Samsung Galaxy S4 is the most hotly anticipated smartphone ever from the Korean electronics major, and with an array of top end features, S4 the most powerful and desirable device Samsung has created yet. Delivering a great form factor, one of the most impressive things about the phone is the fact the size hasn’t changed from its predecessor - the Galaxy S4 comes in at 136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm, meaning there’s no extra heft to try and work with in the palm of a user. Like a number of features of the Galaxy S4, the phone borrows a lot from the other top smartphones of the moment. Both the Sony Xperia Z and the HTC One have screens that rock the same resolution, but neither of them have the jaw-dropping clout of the Super AMOLED HD screen. Additionally, there’s a much faster processor, ample storage space for media, expandable memory card slot, and the likes of 4G, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and pretty much any other connection you care to mention on board. As we mentioned before, the design of Samsung S4 is quite impressive in its form factor, thanks to the sub-8mm thickness, and at 130g it manages to still be light without shaving off so much heft that you feel like you’ve got a flimsy piece of plastic. Overall this is a great smartphone for the Indian users.
Mobility Voice
It is all about retaining customers for operators
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s we move ahead on the mobility and convergence front, India’s top telecom services providers such as Vodafone India, Bharti Airtel Ltd and Idea Cellular are shifting focus from competing for new users in saturated urban markets to adding subscribers and building customer satisfaction and retention strategy in semi-urban and rural markets of the country. Operators are now chasing revenue market share and not just subscriber market share, as new subscriber additions have been falling after the department of telecommunications (DoT) two years ago introduced stiffer mobile subscriber verification norms for the country. Most of the oprators are shifting their focus towards rural markets as well. Since India’s thirdlargest operator Idea has a clear focus on semi-urban and rural markets, it is maintaining a balance between attracting new subscribers and retaining existing ones to improve revenue. Moving forward, telcos will have to seek alternatives to the traditional voice model to make money in rural markets, akin to what consumer goods firms did when they introduced sachets to cater to rural demand. But one thing is for sure, it is exciting times ahead for us all.
Swapan Roy
Editorial Front Editor Chief Editor Asst. Editor
: : :
Swapan Roy Manoj Jha E.J. Jawahardatham
Design Desk Art Director
:
Anit Kumar
Acct. & Finance Finance
:
Sandip Sarkar
Marketing & Sales Marketing Manager : Marketing Executives : Circulation Manager : Production : System Manager :
Tridip Dey Pratap Biswas Tenzin Kunkey S. Dutt Raj Kumar P. Biswas Ashish Ghosh Ashok Paul Ajay Biswas
H.O.: Delhi / Editorial Office Roy Mediative S-39, 1st Floor, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi110020 (INDIA) Mob: 09810380882, 09811346846 Ph: 91-11-41602841, 65683896, 40536384-87
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Redg.Off.: 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India). Branch Office: Mumbai: E-mail: roy@ mobilityindia.com Kolkata: 105/12B, Dum Dum Road, Sil Colony, Kolkata-74 Contact: 09330922965; 09903392620 E-mail : roy@ mobilityindia.com Orissa: Krushna Nagar, 5th Lane, Lalji Palli, Berhampur760008 (Orissa) (India) Contact : Raj Kumar-09338410809 Email : info@mobilityindia.com ncn_reporter@yahoo.com Mobility monthly News Paper, Printed, Published & Owned by Swapan Roy at 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India). Printed at Pushpak Printer, C-96, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi-20. Retail selling price of News Paper Rs. 20/-. Annual subscription Rs. 240. Editor : edit@mobilityindia.com roy@ mobilityindia.com Marketing : tridip@mobilityindia.com marketing@mobilityindia.com Info : info@mobilityindia.com Subscribe : subscription@ mobilityindia.com Web : www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobility Application
Woxi Presents SmartPod for TV with AppCasts AppCasts deliver 100s of different Internet content channels from the cloud to your TV with perfect lean-back experience and no individual Apps to download
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oxi Media, a technology company headquartered in Silicon Valley recently launched SmartPod for TV, a small, beautifully designed box that connects to virtually any TV and converts it into a Super-Smart TV. The SmartPod is designed in Sunnyvale, California and Pune, India targeting superb user experience, quality and functionality, keeping the needs of Indian consumers in mind. The SmartPod is built with Enhanced Android, optimized for lean-back T V experience and for family-oriented multi-user environment around home TV. It supports up to eight unique users on t h e d ev i c e , so everyone in the family can get personalized Internet experience. Users can always be logged in to their own Internet services like Face Book, Twitter, Google, etc., and not have to log-in and log-out depending on who is using the SmartPod – a first for any Android device around the world. Android Games & Apps, AppCasts, movies and music, Internet radio and videos, social networking, education – all can be easily enjoyed on any TV now. “SmartPod will revolutionize the way people consume the Internet and enjoy gaming on TV. With the launch of the SmartPod in India, this is the first product in the world featuring breakthrough AppCasts technology that delivers users a unique and personalized Internet experience, without the need to hunt, download, manage and maintain 100s of individual Apps. Think of it like your personal content jinni – AppCasts technology does the hard work of sifting through the best internet content so you can just sit back, relax and enjoy the latest of the web in locally relevant categories such as Entertainment, Bollywood, Lifestyle, Education, Sports, Regional and much more”, said Amit Gattani, President of
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Woxi Media. “Even the latest, high end Smart TV’s currently on the market don’t have most of the functionality that SmartPod offers”. AppCasts is a unique cloud based Woxi Application that delivers 100s of Content Applications through only Android App that’s installed on the device: 100s of
Apps in 1. It is done by running these 100s of these Applications on Woxi Cloud servers and streaming them to the end device – hence the AppCast. It facilitates Content Aggregation, Curation, Delivery Optimization, Simplifies content discovery, Apps from the cloud, no downloads, Local and Regional customized, Analytics driven personalization and Slotting of premium content. The SmartPod further has a Magic Motion Gaming RF remote control with built in gyros and sensors for motion gaming comes bundled with the SmartPod. In addition to most popular pre-installed games, users can choose and download from a huge selection of thousands of free or paid games available on the Android Google Play store and enjoy an unrivalled gaming experience on the big screen. The Magic Motion remote also features an elegant, full function QWERTY keyboard for easy web browsing, searches, Twitter and Facebook usage. In addition to AppCasts, SmartPod
integrates advanced social connectivity software that allows for one-click share of your favorite videos on Facebook so your friends can instantly watch what you are watching. It connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. It also acts as a Wi-Fi router for your home to connect other devices like PCs, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The SmartPod is powered by dual processors, a 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 coupled with a 400MHz Mali 3D Graphics processor. In addition to internal flash storage, upto 32GB of storage is available using a plugin SD card, or 1TB or more of storage using external USB hard disk drive. Virtually all media playback formats are supported including formats that even Smart TV’s don’t support. Pricing Details: The SmartPod is now available at an MRP of Rs. 9,499, inclusive of the Magic Motion RF QWERTY remote and all other accessories. Key Products & Technology Components: SmartPod for TV; Multi-User enhanced Android Framework; Cloud-based Content Aggregation and Apps Delivery; and Cloud-services. Other features include: - Full 1080p HD video, HDMI 1.3 interface - Composite video interface for standard definition TV’s - Built-in media player with 3D graphics capability - DLNA capability to play you media from any other devices in the home - Google Play Store and Google web browser - WiFi 802.11b/g/n with Hotspot/ Router functionality - 10 / 10 0 B a s e -T E t h e r n e t L A N connectivity - SD/MMC card slot - 2 USB 2.0 ports
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Samsung on a
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he global smartphone giant may be moving ahead on the marketshare but it is surely been critically watched by many experts who believe that it is moving on a slippery turf and creating more strategic enemies than true business friends. Experts also believe that the company is following too aggressive approach on place placement and also engaged in global anti-competitive strategies that are giving the company short term gains but could proof to be its nemesis on the long run. 4
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Apple vs. Samsung: Price Wars in India There is a price war breaking out in India, as Apple and Samsung hand out discounts on their smartphones towards the end customer. That is in order to draw customers in on the world’s largest developing smartphone market, the Indian territory. The price struggle between the two companies gained traction when Apple decided to give discounts to customers in India who will trade in their older handset for an iPhone 4. Because of this, customers are receiving cash discounts of at least `7,000.
Ve r y s o o n i t w a s c o u n te r e d by Samsung, which offers 15 percent cash back for those who will buy Galaxy Note II, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Grand, or Galaxy tablet. This offer goes in line with their previous promo, which enables customers to buy the said Android devices on a 12-month, interest-free installment plan. India’s Low-Cost iPhone India is the world’s second-most populous country. Meaning, it represents a tremendous market opportunity for both Apple and Samsung. In fact, the Cupertinowww.mobilityindia.com
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a Slippery Turf
based company is now in second place when it comes to the Indian smartphone market. But that’s still a long race to reach Samsung, which holds 38.8 percent of the market. Apple’s pricing is considered an obstacle, since network providers in India do not subsidize the cost of smartphones. Due to this, industry pundits are expecting that the iPhone maker will address the issue by introducing a low-cost iPhone. Google’s Concerns with Samsung Even though, the Korean major, Samsung is www.mobilityindia.com
a big customer for Google, its global executives are concerned that Samsung could leverage its growing market power and Android influence “to renegotiate their arrangement” and demand a higher percentage of Google’s lucrative mobilead business. Consequently, Google is hoping that new Android-based devices from HTC and Hewlett-Packard will serve to put a tab on Samsung’s increasing clout in the global Android ecosystem. Strategically enough, Google’s recently acquired Motorola Mobility division could
also serve as a barricade against Samsung’s growing market power. In particular, Google hopes that Motorola’s yet to be launched “X phone” could serve as a strong competitor to Samsung’s Galaxy line. Most importantly, in this price sensitive market, the competitive landscape in the mobile space is growing more complicated. Despite its recent stock slump, Apple continues to produce the most admired mobile products in the world and still commands 70% of all smartphone-industry profits. Google’s Android operating system Mobility April 2013
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Cover Story dominates the global mobile-sof tware market. At present, both Apple and Google face a growing challenge from Samsung, which is moving too aggressively to capitalize on its new position as the global handset leader. What IDC Says By the end of 2017, IDC as predicted that the tablet and smartphone markets will have enormous growth potential in emerging markets. The worldwide smart-connected device space will continue to surge with shipments surpassing 2.2 billion units and revenues reaching $814.3 billion in 2017. Worldwide shipments of smart-connected devices grew nearly 30 percent year over year in 2012, crossing 1 billion units shipped with a value of $576.9 billion, according to IT research firm IDC’s latest Smart Connected Device Tracker. I n t e r m s o f m a r ke t s h a r e , A p p l e significantly closed the gap with market leader Samsung in the quar ter, as the combination of the company’s iPhone 5 and iPad mini brought Apple up to 20.3 percent unit shipment share versus 21.2 percent for Samsung. On a revenue basis for the fourth quarter, Apple continued to dominate, with 30.7 percent share versus 20.4 percent share for Samsung, the report noted. By the end of 2017, IDC predicted that the tablet and smartphone markets will have enormous growth potential in emerging markets. During this time, tablet unit shipments are expected to increase by a factor of three with a shipment value of $125 billion, while smartphone unit shipments are expected to double and reach a shipment value of $462 billion. However, the report indicated portable PCs will show moderate single-digit growth while desktop PCs are expected to consistently decline year over year with almost no growth in 2017. Mature markets already saw a huge plunge in the PC market in 2012.
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Is Samsung engaged in ‘Kill Taiwan’ Campaign? Taiwan tech industry is dismayed by Samsung’s ill-practice of demeaning market practices At a time when globally Taiwan has always been looked upon as a region which is rich as a electronic gear manufacturer and supplier on global turf, Korean electronics major Samsung is now seen as the one engaged in tarnishing Taiwan’s image. Taiwanese companies have long viewed tech giant Samsung as a major threat and the battle has recently appeared to tilt in favor of the South Korean rival as Taiwan’s smartphone, memory chip and display panel makers suffered sagging exports in the recent months. The sales erosion has been driven by competition, some of it from South Korea, and a weak global economy but has also spawned fears on this export-reliant island of 23 million that Samsung has deliberately targeted Taiwanese firms as par t of a campaign to undermine their competitiveness in markets around the world. Industry experts in Taiwan are accusing S a m s u n g E l e c t ro n i c s o f l a u n c h i n g a “Kill Taiwan” campaign and targeting some of the island’s leading high-tech companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chip maker. This development comes at a time when Taiwan’s tech industr y is moving towards a critical phase and where growth and profits are hard to come by. Today’s business dynamics are dictating that Taiwan’s technology industry must remain agile and innovative in order to avoid the downward slide of globally well recognized companies such as Sony Corp. which were outrun by Korean competitors including Samsung. Taiwan’s high tech exports totaled $98 billion last year, accounting for about 20 percent of the island’s GDP. In their bid to counter the offensive from Samsung, a number of Taiwanese technology
manufacturers are carving out partnerships with high-tech companies in Japan and the United States that are also facing stiff competition from Samsung, in an effort to safeguard market share and give a boost to Taiwan’s economy. Until last year, HTC was a top global smartphone maker, cashing in on its status as the first company to make handsets using Google’s Android operation system. Now, however, it is struggling as Samsung smartphones dominate on the global turf. A p a r t f ro m t h e o n g o i n g b a t t l e o n the smartphone side, another emerging battlefield in the Taiwan-Samsung rivalry is the semiconductor industry, which has long been seen as a Taiwanese fortified stronghold. Putting all its supply of capital, Samsung has clearly moved from making memory chips that store data to more profitable logic chips that run as the brain of computers. The Korean major is also ramping up its expansion into the foundry business that fabricates chips, posing a direct challenge to TSMC, which provides application chips to companies such as Apple and Qualcomm Inc. On the other hand, TSMC is also engaged in an upgradation drive on the new technology front. The new technologies will enable TSMC to make the application processors that will run new iPhones and iPads. Apple currently gets such chips from its smar tphone and tablet rival Samsung. But industry analysts say that Apple’s transition will be complicated, because Samsung is involved in part of the processors’ design, in addition to fabricating the wafers that foundries normally handle. There is no doubt that Samsung is leading the world on many grounds and is set to further strengthen its position, however, it order to achieve more it must also show greater responsibility towards accepting business friendships rather than global rivalries - it must also try its best to make more friends than enemies.
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Amtrak Set to Intensify Focus on Tablets Set to Drive Amtrak’s Tab Business on the Right Track Amtrak Technologies Ltd is a customized solutions provider company incorporated in 1991 that specializes in IT, Audio-Visual, Electronics and Communications solutions. Amtrak Info System Pvt Ltd was founded in 2012 as a sister concern of Amtrak Technologies Ltd to provide user-friendly technology/products. Amtrak Info System believes in bringing about a change in the age of technology by introducing that was never seen before. Now palns to go in a big way into the tab market. Mr Sandeep Arya, Managing Director, Amtrak Info System Pvt Ltd, shares his views in an exclusive interview with Mobility. Q. Can you elaborate on your main focus and in what way your tabs will be different from others? A. Our tabs are segment-specific, profession-specific and user-specific tabs, in terms of content, apps and hardware. For different segments like healthcare, medical reps, education, e-governace, salseforce, security, general customer who seek entertainment, etc we bring out different tabs with different apps. We focus mainly on customers’ comfort and on the features they really need. Another innovation we are thinking is we want to launch tabs for those who spend longer hours traveling. However, this idea is still in evaluation and analysis stage. Q. What are the new tabs launched? A. In Mach we have launched 5 models: A-700, A-720, A-713G, A-723G and A-103G. My Buddy 103G won Editor’s Choice Award when we showcased at one of the Events in Nov 2012. My Buddy A-103G is a 10.1-inch 3D tab. Recently, we have also launched the 7-inch My Buddy A712G calling tablet is a single SIM model for 2G services. My Buddy A712G tablet is a Smart Social Solution which gives its users Personal security, Personalized choice of books, and an Elastic Storage for the user’s enormous valuable data. Q. What are your USPs? A. We offer 3-layer security---Personal, Data and Device. Our tabs will stand out in the crowd, they will be different from others’ tabs. As I have already said, all our tabs will be profession-specific and user-specific. Q. Can you throw some light on your marketing and channel strategy? A. We have traditional distribution channels such as IT-Telecom channel. Next, we have tie-ups with 28 online portals. We expect that, by the end of 2013, over 25% of our sales will be via online. We have www.mobilityindia.com
25 channel paners in traditional network. We are targeting to reach 5% to 6% of the 4 million anual tab market in India. We have 37 service centers and a toll free customercare center. Retailer queries are often solved telephonically. Q. Last but not the least—the competition. There is intense competition with multitudinous players entering the tab market. How do you plan to cut through this competition? A. There is intense competion, but
that also implies there are enormous business and opportunities. As I have said annual market for tabs is expected to be 4 million per year. We have been in different businesses successfully for the past 22 years. We use all our experience and infrastructure to promote and market our products. Yes, many players are entering the tab market, but after 2 years only a few successful players will remain—rest will wind up or merge with others. Only the competent and innovative will survive. Survival of the fittest principle applies here also. Mobility April 2013
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GupShup Zooms Ahead on Messenger Turf GupShup Mobile Messenger Set to Touch 65 Million Users Mark GupShup Messenger is India’s leading mobile messaging app. In an exclusive discussion with Mobility, Mr Ravi Sundararajan, Chief Revenue Officer, GupShup Technologies, shares his views regarding GupShup messenger, its special features and how it is different from others. Q. Please brief me how GupShup messenger works and how it is useful to the end user. A.The GupShup app works on Android, iOS, Blackberry and Nokia S40 platforms. The app, along with the previously available SMS and web interfaces, enables GupShup users to now send and receive messages from every mobile and web device. Smartphone users send / receive messages using the data channel, while feature-phone users send / receive messages using SMS. If the message recipient does not have the app, GupShup will deliver a text message to them free of cost. In a way, that is unlimited, free text messages bundled into the app – the app user need not buy an SMS plan. GupShup Messenger includes many innovative features.
are more that 900 million cell phone users in I n d i a . Right now about 95% use feature phones, but smartphones are rapidly increasing in proportion. In t h e n ex t few years significant number
Q. How customers come to know about your messenger? What kinds of brand building activities are you undertaking? A. We initially expect our 65 million public community user base to be the early adopters of our messenger product and drive further adoption amongst other users by word of mouth. We are also working on a promotional plan that will use mobile and digital marketing including events targeted at youth to augment our promotional plan and brand building activities. Q. Did
Q. There are many such messaging services that are being offered free of cost on smartphones. Then in what way your messaging is better over other messengers? A. GupShup messenger is different from other messengers in two important ways: First, there are public and private communities on the same app and, second, the user can create his own private community. There is a diverse set of icons pre-loaded in the app reflecting popular themes such as sports, foods, movies, culture, religion, regional content and more. Additionally, users also have access to a continually growing online library of icons. GupShup Messenger app bridges smartphones and feature-phones – enabling users to reach every mobile device. The app combines public and private messaging in one place – enabling users to reach every friend and follower. The app includes access to a large and growing online library of emoticons! Even better, unlike other messengers, GupShup enables users to upload their own emoticons, enabling them to express themselves in uniquely personal ways. There are 65 million members in the GupShup’s public community. Q. What is main target segment? A. Today social networking is a big trend, particularly among the youth. Internet penetration is still low in the country but there 8
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of feature phone users will switch to smartphones. Youth is our main target segment. Q. Earlier you have mentioned that you have 65 million users in India, whereas you have launched GupShup messenger only recently. How did you achieve this figure? A.Over the last 5 to 6 years we have been sending free SMS alerts to user generated SMS communities. Today we have about 5.5 million user generated communities and 65 million users who have opted-in to these communities to receive messages. We expect that about 5% of these 65 million users will start using GupShup messenger within the next 6 to 9 months. Q. You said your GupShup messenger is free for users, then how do you get revenues? A. Our messenger is free of cost for users. Eventually we will monetize this user base from advertising and payment revenues.
you offer anything special in your messenger apps for the recent Holi festival, the festival of colors? A. Yes, for the recent Holi festival GupShup Messenger we introduced a wide variety of rich, colorful greeting icons to enable users to creatively express themselves during the Holi festival. Users could send greetings full of gulal, water balloons, sprinklers, stained clothes and bucketful of colors to their loved ones, even if they’re far away. The icons are striking, visually appealing and large sized, almost like mobile greeting cards. GupShup brought Holi colors to mobile phones and redefined what it meant to celebrate Holi with the loved ones, even if they’re far away. Unlike other apps with standard smilies, GupShup Messenger has set the bar with compelling local icons that reflect the culture and diversity of its users. This special pack customized for Holi allows users to play Holi virtually, send wishes to friends and family, no matter where they are. www.mobilityindia.com
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Lava Focusing on Tablets Strategically Lava International Ltd., established in 2009, is one of the leading Indian companies in the feature-rich phones, smartphones and tablets category The company launched its first tab 7 months back and received an extremely encouraging response for the same. In a discussion with Mobility, Mr S.N. Rai, Co-founder and Director, Lava Mobiles, shares his thoughts on Lava’s strategy, future plans, and the vision of the company. Q. Can you brief me about your focus on the present tab market and your plans? A. We launched our first tab in India 7 months back. We sold over 32,000 tabs and exported 12,000 units to Middle East. Right now, the overall market size for tabs in India is around 2 lakhs/month. The lower end tabs cost US$ 6070 (`3500 to `4000), which are purely for entertainment. Even the government recommended Akash tablets have a limited scope, and their launch is more symbolic & nominal, and we believe that they do not meet the real needs of the students. A tab can offer real value when cloud computing and other advanced features are offered. A higher end tab with cloud computing and latest OS costs US$ 200-300 (`10,000 to `16,000). This higher end market has lots of scope. This will be our main focus segment for future launches. Some advanced features that we are working on include multitasking, dual core processing and enhanced data security. Even though high end market is a lucrative one, the low end market still remains and we will continue to focus on both. We are planning separate products for both the segments keeping in mind the consumer needs. Our in-house R&D based in Bangalore has been working vigorously since the last 1.5 years with a constant endeavour to offer a superior customer experience. The quality of our touch screen experience is excellent and gives nearly three times better and faster response compared to the other tablets in the market. Fusion software app, designed by our Bangalore R&D team, is for video and music consumption. Until Dec 2012 we had launched three tablet models: Z7H, Z7H+ and Edge. Recently, on Feb 13, we www.mobilityindia.com
launched ETAB XTRON that comes with 1.5 GHz dual core processor, IPS multi touch display, Android Jelly Bean OS, premium looks and free pre-bundled educational and entertainment content offers. The content partners include Hungama, Edukart, Meritnation, Bigflix and Uahoy. Our ETAB XTRON is an instant hit and excited users feedback has been very encouraging. Very soon, we will launch a new tablet which will have 3G and calling facility. Q. How do you compare Indian market with the international markets? A. A grey spot in India is the limited number of public Wi Fi hotspots. Though the number of such hotspots/outlets is rapidly increasing, the faster it is, the better it will be for tablet users. The dongles will have limited use in the time to come. For example, from personal experience, I observed that in Germany the awareness about dongles is quite low. This can be attributed to the fact that the Wi Fi network there is very well established. Q. What are the basic factors one should keep in mind while launching tablets and phablets? T h e t wo m o s t i mp o r t a n t factors for any tablet/phablet are: 1. Product form factor, and 2. Software. The product form factor, that includes the technology and hardware associated with a tab, can be improved to a certain limit, but the software presents an opportunity to differentiate and create an enriching experience for the user. We are focusing on both the factors with a slightly higher emphasis on the software experience. Our strong market intelligence helps us understand the customers’ needs better and all
our products are designed based on these inputs. As a matter of fact, I believe, that the ‘phone on tab’ concept is more of a fancy than a practical feature. When people really use tablets, they realize that the phone facility is of little use, because today everyone owns a cell phone which is more convenient to use for conversing. Q. Where do you want Lava to be in a year’s time? A. In the tablets space we aim to be amongst the top 3 players within a year. Currently, we are doing good business in South and West India regions in this category, where relatively, Wi Fi infrastructure is better, literacy levels are higher, and software ecosystem is excellent. We are also witnessing encouraging numbers from the foreign markets, particularly Middle East. Having said that, the tablet market is still in the infant or growing phase and going forward, there will be many changes to come in the required functionality and form factor in the near future. One of the key sources of demand in this category will be Institutional customers, mainly in the education, healthcare and retail sectors. Currently Lava has over 1000 distributors and tie-ups with many online portals like Flipkart. As of now, our online sales account for approx 5% of the total tablet sales, but this figure is expected to go up to 10-15% by 2015. Presently, we have orders for over 60,000 tablets from institutional customers in education and enterprise sectors, including national and international orders. It will not be a surprise if we sell 1 million tablets next year (2014) as we are forging some large volume deals, on which I cannot share any details at this stage.
Q. Can you throw some light on Lava’s feature phone and smartphone plans? A. Lava started with feature phones in India in 2009. 7 months back we launched our first smartphone, with XOLO A1000 being our latest model. At present approximately 71% of our revenue comes from feature phones, 20% from entry level touch phones while the rest from smartphones, data cards and tablets. In case of smar tphones, speed, performance and battery life are our USPs. Presently, we are offering smartphones with 1.6 GHz processor and soon we will launch an offering with 2.0 GHz processor. While XOLO is an INTEL processor based series, we are planning to launch phones with Qualcomm and other higher end chipsets as well. Besides, we also have plans to integrate Windows 8 platform into some of our smartphones. As a brand that strives to understand customers’ requirements deeply and has a complete in-house R&D centre to convert those needs into products, we are confident of bringing-in products that offer superior value through good quality and best-in-class features at an affordable price. Lava is the only Indian handset company that controls the design experience of its handsets fully backed by its R&D centre in India and abroad with more than 100 software and hardware engineers. Mobility April 2013
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Mobility Enabling Mobile Banking With more and more cutting edge technologies are getting packed up in mobiles and smartphones from global vendors such as Samsung, Apple, Nokia etc, mobility enabling applications such as Mobile Banking have a great future ahead
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n today’s mobility driven world, convenience holds the biggest key and mobility clubbed together with banking is delivering the biggest convenience for the end customers. As today, being connected with a mobile is a way of life. Mobile connections are fast and secure and mobile devices are capable of supporting a wide range of mobile banking services. There are already 3.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, equivalent
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to half the global population today. This device called mobile, of fers ‘anytime, anywhere’ convenience not only for communication but increasingly for mobile financial services - even for parts of the world where traditional banking does not exist. This is especially applicable for a country like India where most of the population still resides in rural areas and where banking related connectivity is a major point of concern.
Hence, financial institutions who offer Mobile Banking know for a fact that consumers demand choice as to where and when they connect, interact and transact with the financial services provider. They also know that as mobile services providers, they need to offer a combination of different mobile Banking technologies. Role of Mobility in Banking The concept of Mobile Banking is www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobility Special a powerful stand alone channel and an important element of an enhanced consumer experience, the business benefits are clear to see when used in combination with the bank’s other channels to achieve a complete and costeffective multi-channel customer lifecycle management strategy. A financial services provider works toward making first interaction with customers as easy and smooth as possible, differentiating itself from other providers through branding and service levels. Using Mobile Banking, customers can easily find out more about a bank and its services or locate its nearest branches and ATMs via their handsets. Mobile Banking will also extend the bank’s reach, providing services to customers who do not have access to online banking or even a local branch. Most importantly, these two stages in the lifecycle are all about the bank achieving operational efficiency. As an enabling concept, Mobile Banking will help in reducing cost through migrating c o n s u m e r s to m o r e c o s t - e f fe c t i ve channels. And with regards to applications that run on mobile banking, consumers can use their mobiles to do balance enquiries or transfer funds on the move, instead of contacting the call center. The all in one cost of an SMS text message is less than one-tenth the cost of interactive voice response (IVR). Mobile Banking can also help lead customers to other self-service channels, for instance the mobile can be used to locate the nearest ATM. Such mobile services also assist in using branch time effectively. Reminders of meetings with branch staff will make better use of their time, minimize noshows and ensure a better service. In addition to this, Mobile Banking helps in fighting fraud. Real-time cooperation with consumers to detect theft can be achieved best via mobile phones. Alerts can help to indentify a suspicious transaction, then the consumer’s bank card can be blocked instantly without any major effort. Interestingly, in today’s world full of mobiles and smartphones, a mobile phone is also considered more secure than a credit or debit card since it takes an average of 18 hours to notice the loss of a card, but only 6 minutes to notice that a mobile phone has gone missing. With mobility on their hands, customers can conduct transactions on the move; such as check balances, pay bills, or get notifications of due payments to their www.mobilityindia.com
handsets. This increases loyalty and improves retention. According to industry analysis, if a bank achieves 5% retention, profitability doubles. Mobile Banking also opens the door to increased wallet share. For instance banks can send promotional messages to clients based on their browsing history, and give them the option to buy products/services on offer instantly without any delay. Technologies Available In today’s scenario, there are various approaches to Mobile Banking based on different technologies. Each method offers a different range of functionality, consumer reach and user experience. Every technology has pros and cons, but when combined they create an ideal offer that realizes the full potential of the Mobile Banking channel. The three technologies in this ‘triple-play’ are: SMS text messaging, browser (sometimes referred to as Wireless Application Protocol –WAP) and downloadable application. And most of the banks while selecting a Mobile Banking solution banks’ needs to consider technology adoption that offers the right combination of customer experience and customer reach or
functionality in order to meet
the needs of their multi-channel strategy for the long run approach. SMS – text messaging is the simplest of all approaches and compatible with virtually all mobiles, ideal for simple transactions (e.g. check balance, transaction history), alerts and interactive alerts. However, the interface provides limited features and functionality. A text message is limited to 160 characters, so only a small amount of information can be exchanged. Additionally, browser-based banking should ’refactor’ the online banking experience to the smaller mobile phone screen. It is not just a case of making the same information available on the mobile in its raw state, this would not be very user friendly. Key information from the Internet banking pages will be transferred and repositioned on the mobile browser page to fit the handset screen better. For example, the main customer page will only include the log in fields, customer name and password. The fields will be moved around to create a neat and easy to use interface. The similar look and feel of online banking and browser mobile banking guarantees that online users are comfortable with the look and feel of experience. Browser approach is straightforward to roll out and offers a rich interface. Downloadable application enables customers to conduct transactions using menus. Either the application is pre-loaded on the mobile phone with the co-operation of the carriers before it is sold or the consumer has to download it. The downside to this approach is that not all mobile devices support the download of applications. There are also carrier dependencies. In total, today’s end consumers use their mobile in different ways and handset functionality varies. No one technology will fit all and multiple modalities are expected to merge rather than one technology, a synergy of all three is expected to support banks in getting the optimum breadth and depth of their customer base. Many banks are offering Mobile Banking in stages, most starting with SMS and browser and then moving to include downloadable applications too. Mobile banking is surely going to have a big impact on the way societies especially the rural ones move ahead on mobility front. Mobility April 2013
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Mobility Focus
Its Getting Hot on 4G turf Mobility driven devices, platforms and next generation ready networks are set to reinvent the communications ecosystem in the coming months
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s we move towards convergence friendly devices, the sales of tablets is expected to outstrip Per sonal Computer s (PC) altogether by the year 2015. This will cause a fundamental shift in the Operating System (OS) market hitting Microsoft where it hurts the most: sales of Windows and MS Office. According to a study, Android is likely to take the lion’s share of the OS market (estimated to be at 70 percent by 2015) and leaving Microsoft powered devices at the lower end. If you look beyond the window, this is a fundamental shift that is not just churning OS vendors. It is causing underlying changes in way mobile networks are built and mobile broadband is delivered too. As mobile broadband data consumption grows exponentially, 3G and increasingly 4G networks are unable to deliver required experience levels over macro networks. Or the cost and complexity involved in terms of outdoor cell site design, managing radio interferences and using expensive spectrum judiciously is becoming extremely high. As more mobile data is consumed indoors, it is beginning to become impossible to push the 4G radio signal to penetrate the walls of
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homes and enterprises without losing signal quality. Globally as well as in India, this scenario has prompted vendors to built a new category of products few years ago called the Femto cell (later evolved to Small Cells). The small cell is functionally a miniature base station that provides radio connectivity/access and backhauls via inexpensive broadband connections to the Internet. But early vendors in this space, such as Ubiquisys, thought through the entire deployment scenario in detail and as they were busy developing patch-work solutions required by operators of those days, they built in to the design advanced SON (Self Organizing Network) capabilities, non-interfering configurations for dense deployments and so on. As more 3G and now 4G LTE networks are getting deployed, these small cells are beginning to be indispensable for today’s cellular operators. G l o b a l v e n d o r s h av e a l r e a d y demonstrated a multi-mode 4G LTE, 3G, WiFi Small Cell with SON capability. In collaboration with its ecosystem partners the company has made several advancements - for example, with Intel, the SME Small Cell solution comes built-in with a cloud - edge solution which manages
CDN like capabilities. Also a new IP-PBX application built in so that cloud-based telephony application can be provided to a small enterprise which treats connecting mobile phones and fixed line phones as one zone for switching internal calls with ease. As enterprise requirement for better and efficient networks is growing many fold, Indian cellular operators are slowly rebuilding their businesses in order to prepare for growth in 3G/4G services, moving forward, they would be needing effective WiFi and indoor coverage strategies. Driven by their next generation ready 4G approach, global LTE operators have similar issues with in-building coverage on higher LTE spectrum bands. And small cells are likely to become the big saviors. Even though, years ago Cisco officially exited the RAN space and decided to focus on core packet data network for the service provider business as, it now finds itself in the manipulating position with best indoor coverage solutions that will complement any-metro RAN. This is an amazing play as no matter who wins the OS wars, or the connected applications space, Cisco will be strategically placed to offer what is believed to be the most effective plumbing. www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobility Focus
Projector Goes Smart way with Portronics
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he smart projector from Portronics is an all-in-one mini projector. It supports common business application file formats such as PowerPoint, PDF, Word, Excel and either standard movie files or music files. Using the interchangeable micro-SD card or the build in flash memory, you can load your presentation from a computer, cell phone, or smart-phone and view it on the smart projector. 1 This is billed as India’s first Android OS Pico Projector 2 Able to view and edit Power point presentations, Word files, Excel and PDF without computers 3 Make any wall an internet wall with built in Wifi feature 4 Internal 8 GB memory and expandable to 16 GB 5 I n b u i l t M e d i a P l ay e r a n d A u d i o p l ay e r fo r Entertainment 6 More than 20,000 Hrs of Lens life 7 Wireless mouse and wireless Keyboard can be used with the projector 8 Screen size upto 80 Inches
9 Works in 2 modes a. Standalone Mode: Can work without computer/or any other device b Connection mode: Can be connected to Computers, PDAs, DVD, Xbox, PS2, PS3, etc
Feature set Operating system
Android 2.1,ROCKCHIP2818
Wireless mouse & keyboard
Support
Wireless Network
Support WPA and WEP encryption
VGA port
Support
Chat software
Support MSN ,Googletalk, yahoo messenger, QQ, SKYPE, Fetion.
Interface
USB2.0 input,AV in, DC port, Micro TF slot, earphone port
like Outlook operate, send and receive e-mail support is less than 10M
Feature
Can be connected to Notebook, 3G Mobile Phone, IPHONE, IPOD, PDA, PSP, VCD, DVD,X-box,PS2,PS3
Network Online video
Support Youku, Tudou and Flash10.
Memory
built-in Flash -8GB, TF card ( max:16GB)
built in Speaker
Built-in 1.5W
E-books
Support e-book reading and recording, automatic page
earphone port
Support
Compression decompression tool
Support for RAR, ZIP file compression decompression
Aspect Ratio
4/3
image size(diagonal)
7”-80”
Operate
Touch Pad, Buttons
Project distance
17.8cm to 200cm
Display technology
LCOS Technoloy
Remote control
Support
Lamp house
RGB tir-color LED
LED lamp live
More than 20,000 hours
Language
English (More other language for optional)
Resolution
VGA 800*600 pixel
Focus
Manual
Brightness
30 Lumens(3M MM200)
Battery
Built -in li-ion battery,2200mAH, Charging Mode, DC interface
Contrast Ratio
200/1(ratio)
WIFI
support 802.11a/b/g
Power supply
INPUT, AC 120-240V,OUTPUT/ DC 5V /4A
File view(Directly)
Support for Excel, Word, PowerPoint browsing, simple editing operations, View PDF
Battery play time
Up to 70 Minutes
Dimension(projector)
128.1*70*20mm
video format
AVI, RMVB, RM, MP4, MOV, VOB, DAT, MPG/MPEG, 1280*720P,FLV, SWF, 3GP
weight (projector)
150g(With battery)
photo format
JPEG/BMP/GIF
Accessory
User Manual,DC Adapter, AV cable,USB cable, AV adapter, VGA cable, Tri-pod
www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobility News CDMA operators to pay one- Sony launches Samrtphones Xperia SP and L time fee `3,033 crore: DoT The government of India has asked CDMA telecom operators to pay one-time fee Rs 3,033 crore, for the spectrum they hold beyond the initial frequencies that were allotted to them. As per the order, the charges will be levied on additional spectrum for the rest of the license period. Operators unwilling to pay these charges will be allowed to surrender their spectrum held over 2.5 MHz. DoT has issued rates to be
Sony has launched two new midrange Xperia smartphones, the Xperia SP and Xperia L---both run the Android 4.1 version of Jelly Bean. The Xperia SP has a co-molded aluminum frame with a 4.6-inch 720p HD Reality Display. The Xperia L
a Qualcomm MSM8960Pro dualcore processor clocked at 1.7 GHz. It has 8GB internal storage that is expandable up to 32GB via miroSD
charged annually for each megahertz of frequencies, based on the reserve price that was fixed for spectrum auction held on March 11.
Beam Receives Channel Excellence Award in M-Banking Trailblazer Awards B e a m M o n e y, in a glittering I n d i a ’ s award ceremony revolutionary held on Friday, mobile wallet 15 March 2013 at has received Grand Copthorne the Channel Waterfront Hotel, has a 4.3-inch display. The phones Excellence Award Singapore. in Mobile Banking will hit global markets AnandShrivastav, for fostering by Q2 of 2013. CMD said “This Financial Key features of award is a tribute Inclusion at the devices Include: to India and each the Banking & The Xperia SP has customer, channel Payments Asia partner and staff T r a i l b l a z e r Anand Shrivastav, CMD, Beam Money of Beam. Indeed we Aw a r d s 2 0 1 3 . Banking & Payments, a leading journal are proud to receive this recognition for retail banking and payments and rededicate ourselves to serving announced the winners of its annual the people of India.”
card. The screen made of tempered glass has a resolution is 720×1280 pixels. The Xperia L has a Qualcomm MSM8230 dual-core processor, clocked at 1 GHz. This too has 8GB of internal storage that is expandable up to 32GB via miroSD card. The rear and front cameras are the same at the Xperia SP. The difference is SP supports 1080p HD video recording, the Xperia L supports 720p HD video recording.
Nokia LaunchesLumia520 &Lumia720 Nokia unveiled two new additions to its Lumia series, augmenting its range of WP8 devices in India across price points. With the launch of the two new devicesNokia Lumia 520 and Nokia Lumia 720-Nokia will bring a range of innovative, unique and high end experiences to a whole new set of audiences across the country. Blending exceptional style and innovation, Nokia Lumia 720 offers a powerful camera, multitude of navigation options and an integrated entertainment and social experience of Windows Phone 8. Nokia Lumia 520 is a highly immersive and affordable smartphone that provides 14
rich selection of innovations for a more fun and exciting smartphone experience. Presenting the unique features of Nokia’s latest devices, Nikki Barton, VP Smart Devices, UX Design, Nokiasaid “The Nokia Lumia 720 and Lumia 520 redefine the concept of human design where innovation is all about offering beautiful essentials to make the everyday things we do, even better. These power-packed devices are developed for young and socially active consumers who demand a stylish power-packed smartphone with a wide range of features to enhance their on-thego experience.”
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Mobility News McAfee Improves Security for Android Embedded Systems
Rishi Bhargava, Vice President of product management, Embedded Security at McAfee
McAfee announced that it has delivered the industry’s first ever white-listing security solution for Android based embedded systems. McAfee Application Control for Android is the only security solution that resides in the Android kernel, embedded in the operating system. McAfee provides protection from the installation or execution of a malicious application on an Android-based device. McAfee also provides protection at the application layer to Android devices. “McAfee is the only security technology provider that provides enforceable security by residing in the Android kernel space. As Android kernel has been adopted on core Linux platform, it was a natural ground for us to extend our white-listing solution capabilities to Android,” said Rishi Bhargava vice president of product management, Embedded Security at McAfee. “There was already growing interest in Android in embedded systems. With McAfee extending its security to Android, this will only enhance the operating system for new product designs,” said Hiroshi Komura, Associate Senior Vice President at NEC Infrontia Corporation. www.mobilityindia.com
RAPOO Launches 6080 Bluetooth 3.0 Optical Mouse RAPOO, a provider of wireless peripheral products, launched 6080-Bluetooth 3.0 Optical Mouse. RAPOO 6080 is inbuilt with a low voltage indicator, which blinks when battery is about to drain out. The new low-power consumption technology and power switch allows the battery to last up to 6 months. It is designed to provide long distance connectivity of up to 10m. The left and right symmetric design provides extra comfort to the user. RAPOO6080 Bluetooth mouse comes with a MRP of Rs 2,129. It comes with 2 years replacement warranty and available ex-stock. Mr Sunil Srivastava, India Sales & Marketing Manager for RAPOO said, “The aesthetically designed, stylish RAPOO 6080 is built to meet the high expectations of customers on the comfort factor and professional appeal.”
Juniper Presents Supercore and Densest 100g Routing Interface Juniper Networks, the industry leader in network innovation, unveiled two new products designed to address key challenges facing service providers as they converge their networks to optimize their business. First, Juniper Networks has advanced the industry’s first and only Converged Supercorefor service providers with the introduction of the Juniper Networks PTX3000 Packet Rami Rahim, executive Transport Router. Unlike other core VP, Platform routers that are so large that they S y s t e m s Division, often require building retrofits and J u n i p e r redesigns, the new Juniper Networks Networks router at 10.6 inches in depth can be installed in virtually any space and energy constrained environment. “The Converged Supercore is an innovative platform that enhances service provider economics while providing greater value to their subscribers. Following on the heels of the revolutionary PTX5000, the PTX3000 extends these benefits to new markets and geographies with a solution that is tailored for their specific needs,” says Rami Rahim, executive vice president, Platform Systems Division, Juniper Networks
Arogya and Nokia engage One Million people for mDiabetes Arogya World and Nokia India reported that they have enrolled one million people into mDiabetes, the groundbreaking diabetes prevention mHealth initiative in India. As part of mDiabetes, an ongoing Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment and one of the first and largest programs of its kind in the world, alerts have been sent in 12 regional languages, informing Nokia mobile phone users in India about diabetes and its prevention with lifestyle changes. It is also estimated that more than 70,000 consumers have completed the six-month program, having received free-of-charge mDiabetes alerts twice a week. mDiabetes runs on the Nokia Life
platform, which delivers life-enhancing information and advice co-developed with more than 90 knowledge partners, and works on a wide range of Nokia mobile phones.
Market Services at Nokia said, “Nokia Life was designed to address livelihood and life improvement needs of consumers in emerging markets such as India. Since launch, the service has
Commenting on the development, B.V. Natesh, Director – Emerging
been experienced by more than 50 million people across India.”
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Mobility News Groupon Launches iPhone App
Vodafone India and ICICI Bank Launch ‘M-Pesa’
Groupon India announced that consumers in India will be able to download the Groupon app for iPhone. Groupon offers consumers the best things to do, see, eat, and buy across 48 countries. The Groupon mobile app makes it easier for consumers and allows them to buy, redeem and organize their purchases, effectively making their iPhone a ‘Groupon wallet’. Currently available as a free download in the Apple App Store, the Groupon application offers a comprehensive, seamless buying and redemption process for both consumers and merchants. The app will be available on iPhone. With the Groupon iPhone app, you can: 1. Buy and redeem deals directly from
Vodafone India, one of India’s telecommunications service providers, and ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, announced the successful launch of ‘M-Pesa’ a unique mobile money transfer and payment service. ‘M-Pesa’ is the trademark of Vodafone. The service was launched in Kolkata by Marten Pieters, MD & CEO, Vodafone India Ltd, Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank. The innovative use of mobile technology makes it possible for customers to enjoy a fast, simple and secure way to transfer money and make payments. Using their ‘M-Pesa’ account, customers can at their convenience: Marten Pieters, Managing Director & CEO, Vodafone India said, “Using ‘M-Pesa’, we will provide people in remote areas a convenient way to bank, transfer money and make payments in a safe and secure manner.” Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive
your iPhone; 2. Keep track of all your purchased Groupons by location and expiration date; 3. Save ink, and avoid paper cuts by never printing another Groupon.
Gionee Launches P1 Smartphone with Dual Camera Gionee a mobile device company announces the launch of its stylish Mass Market smart phone The Gionee P1 with a captivating 3.5” Display and Dual Camera. Goinee has launched 8 products in the last two months. The Dual Sim, Dual standby supported P1 is supported by a 1500 mAh battery to provide an exceptionally lasting talk time. With 2415 loud speaker listeners can enjoy crystal clear and realistic sound for a great music experience. P1 comes in with an in-built 512 MB memory and expandable up to 32GB. Gionee P1 will be available in Black color. As part of the inaugural offer the P1 would also include free 4 GB SD card, 2 Phone cases & a screen protection film. The Gionee P1 carries an MRP of `4999 for its Indian consumers. www.mobilityindia.com
Director, ICICI Bank said, “ICICI Bank has been at the forefront of technological innovations in banking. With the launch of ‘M-Pesa’, the Bank now offers a unique and innovative service that provides basic banking facilities to millions of Indians who still depend on informal channels for their banking needs.”
MTS Celebrates 4th Anniversary in India SistemaShyamTeleServices Limited (SSTL) that operates its telecom services under the MTS brand has unveiled a range of customer engagement initiatives in Mysore. The program has been rolled out to celebrate 4 years of brand MTS in India. A special walkathon was flagged off at KoteAnjeneya Temple, Mysore Palace by Mr K P Bheemaiah, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic and Crime, Mysore, to engage and connect with customers in the city. As part of the program, MTS is also offering a SURPRISE GIFT to all its new women customers.
According
to Suresh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Karnataka Circle, MTS India, “We are living in an age when internet has increasingly become an information storehouse. Mysore is an important market for us and through MBlaze; we are committed to provide the best High Speed Data experience to our customers. As part of our customer engagement program, all new women customers will get a surprise gift on every purchase”.
Mr. KP Bheemaiah Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic and Crime — Mysore flagging off MTS’ Customer Engagement Program at Kote Anjeneya Temple, Mysore Palace
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Mobility News WishTel launches WishTel IRA Capsule Laptop WishTel increases its portfolio in the tablet PC segment with the launch of WishTel IRA Capsule – a convertible tablet laptop. The convertible redefines technology advancement and promises to deliver superior quality graphics, smooth multi tasking capabilities and enhanced performance. With powerful features like the 10.1” LED Multi Touch Capacitive type touch screen, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 1.6ghz dual core processor, IGB RAM, screen resolution of 1024*786 HD, battery life of 5 – 6 hours with super powerful 8000 mAH battery,bluetooth,3G& Wi-Fi connectivity, IRA Capsule aims to be an inspirational product. Announcing the launch of IRA Capsule, Milind Shah, CEO, WishTel shares, “At WishTel, we always aim to create a products that are not only innovative and use advanced technology, but are also affordable, deliver high performance and meet the growing demand and needs of the consumers.” The IRA CAPSULE will be available from the first week of April 2013, next month and will be distributed through a strong network of 350 distributors across 35 cities in the country and is likely to be made available at a highly competitive price of `16,000
Dassault Announces V5-6R2013 with More Capabilities DassaultSystèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, in 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, announced the general availability of the latest release of its Version 5 PLM applications.V56R2013 release adds new composite fiber modeling technology (based on the recently acquired Simulayt), increased openness and standards Dominique Florack, Senior Executive Vice President, support and enhanced Products, R&D, Dassault Systems high-end surface modeling capabilities. V5-6R2013 includes nearly 40 new 3DEXPERIENCE technologies originally from V6R2013 and V6R2013x. “Today’s announced enhancements bring a whole new level of capability to our V5 install base. It is rich in features, functions, and new products. At the same time, we are thinking far beyond that,” said Dominique Florack, Senior Executive Vice President, Products, R&D, Dassault Systèmes. 18
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ASUS Announces Nexus 7 Tablet in India
ASUS India, has announced the ASUS Nexus 7 tablet, which sports stellar specifications and a portable design. Powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, and Jellybean OS, this stunning 7-inch tablet enjoys an all-day battery life and more storage. Moreover, there is mobile data for an uninterrupted connection, making the tablet the perfect outdoor companion. ASUS Nexus 7 comes with a textured tactile design for enhanced comfort measuring just 10.45mm thin and 340g light and featuring Android 4.2, which is the latest version of the world’s most popular mobile platform. Its 7” display delivers an advanced multimedia experience. “The ASUS Nexus 7 is a promisingly thin, light and portable marvel which will revolutionize your computing experience and to become your permanent travel companion. It is one of the finest products available at an affordable pricing with exceptional speed and performance,” asserted Mr. Peter Chang, Regional Head – South Asia & Country Manager, System Business Group, ASUS India.
Emkor Brings Services for SMBs on Microsoft Tech Platform Emkor Solutions Limited announced that it has become a Microsoft ISV Partner and will adapt the Microsoft technology platform including Dynamics CRM, Dynamics AX and Dynamics NAV solutions, along with the full Office suite for the growing Indian emerging and mid-size markets. The company Vikram Dham, CEO & Co Founder, Emkor will do a total outsource of the IT Solutions Limited & Vineet Kshirsagar, Director function including business critical – Partner Strategy & Programs, Microsoft. applications with Microsoft Dynamics, Office applications with SharePoint, and Office and communication applications with Exchange, Lync and Yammer. “Emkor has developed a user-friendly implementation model for SMBs in India for delivering the Business Function as a Service,” said Vineet Kshirsagar, Director – Partner Strategy & Programs, Microsoft. “We are very pleased to be recognized by Microsoft to offer their technology solutions in the market. Microsoft offers the familiarity that users, developers, IT professionals, and executives already know and trust while Emkor works with Microsoft to develop end-to-end cloud-based services based on Microsoft technology platforms,” said, Vikram Dham, CEO & Co Founder, Emkor Solutions Limited. www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobility News Tata DOCOMO’s Facebook Mobility and Cloud Check-In on Mobile without Identified as Top Network Internet Challenges Tata DOCOMO, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices Limited, has launched a first of its kind service for its ardent Facebook fansFacebook Check-In using USSD. Tata DOCOMO GSM customers can access this service without any Internet, GPS or mobile data services. Facebook Check-In is a unique location-based service which allows a user to “Check-In” to a location over USSD. This Check-in will show on the user’s Facebook profile. When
a user uses Check-in, he/she shares his/her physical location with other people on their network. Announcing these exciting new service, Mr Yatish Mehrotra, Regional Head- South, Tata DOCOMO said, “Companies today are leveraging services through innovative ways and facilitating services like Facebook and chat even without internet. We are certain that services, like the ones we have launched today, would be much sought after in our VAS portfolio.”
Videocon Introduces the VT75C 2G Calling Tablet Videocon Mobile announced the 2G Voice Calling enabled budget Tablet – the Videocon VT 75C. Bringing engaged tablet experience to the pricespecific telecommunications market of the country, Videocon Mobiles is on a path of revolutionizing the mobility device segment of the country, and has introduced the VT 75C with the said aim. The product features include a vivid display laden 7” High-Resolution Screen, multi-task enabled 1GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, Android 4.1 ‘Jelly Bean’ Operating System, 2G
Voice Calling with dedicated SIM slot, heavy-duty 3000 mAh battery, in-built 4GB memory storage expandable to 32 GB via Memory Card Slot, Pre-Loaded apps, Full HD Playback and much more. And all this for a “must-buy” price of `6,499/- only. Mr. Khalid Zamir, Head Product Planning & Development, Videocon Mobile Phone said, “The time has arrived for hybrid devices to rule the telecommunications market, and hence we have developed the Videocon VT 75C calling tablet.”
ValueFirst adds mobile video commercial capability ValueFirst Digital Media Private Limited, a digital media company, has acquired the clk2c.com (click-to-see) business unit of Samadhan Systems. Acquisition includes the technology platform, customer and all personnel working in the business unit. clk2c.com is a mobile video service that offers personalized video mobile messaging and advertising solutions for B2B and B2C marketplace. The services provided by the company target corporates, brand advertisers and consumers for their business or personal communication needs. Mr. Vishwadeep Bajaj, CEO, ValueFirst commented on this recent acquisition, “The mobile video platform from clk2c.com is a strategic fit in the ValueFirst portfolio – through this platform we will be able www.mobilityindia.com
A recent survey by CommScope shows that mobile devices are playing a larger part as game changers in today’s businesses, as enterprise IT managers struggle to keep pace with mobility’s dramatic effects on workplace productivity and requirements. Meanwhile, cloud-based IT services and applications also have grabbed the attention of those responsible for enterprise networks, according to the CommScope study. While nearly three-fourths of respondents confirmed they already are deploying some cloud-based applications, the shift to the cloud is far from slowing. “It’s clear from the survey that bring-your-own-device is a growing trend and places a heavy demand on organizational infrastructure, while weighing heavily on the minds of most network IT professionals,” said Kevin St. Cyr, senior vice president, Enterprise Solutions at CommScope.
Juniper Unveils Most Programmable Core Switch Juniper Networks unveiled EX9200 Programmable Switch that enables accelerated response to changing business needs, while its built-in ability to support a virtual WLAN controller, the Juniper Networks JunosV Wireless LAN Controller, will deliver high levels of reliability and flexibility across the enterprise to lower capital expense. The Junos Space Network Director provides a single-pane-of-glass network management solution for wired and wireless LANs and data centers, consolidating multiple management tools to simplify network operations and deliver a comprehensive advanced platform that prepares enterprises for tomorrow’s applications, services and workload demands.
Amtrak Unveils 5 My BuddyTablets at Dealer Meet Amtrak Info System Pvt. Ltd. (AISPL) organized a dealer’s meet in Chandigarh announcing the launch of its exclusive range of tablets: My Buddy A103G, My Buddy A723G, My Buddy A713G, My Buddy A712G, and My Buddy A700. My Buddy is available in 5 different models suiting up to the different industries and areas of professional and personal lives. These are light in weight, easily fit in hand, ranging from the basic 7 inches Wi-Fi model, to 2G SIM, 3G SIM, dual-SIM, and the most high-end model of 10 inches supporting 3D viewing. Ms. AnkitaSaikia, Head-Marketing & Alliances, Amtrak Info System Pvt. Ltd., commented, “Through this launch we believe we are able to offer our customers a whole new experience towards premium quality at affordable pricing.”
to execute rich media campaigns on our opt-in consumer base on behalf of brands & agencies. This platform extends digital interactions to include video along with our existing multimodal reach through SMS, Voice, USSD, E-mail and Display.” Mobility April 2013
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Mobility News LG launched Optimus L-series II smartphones LG Electronics launched Optimus L-series II smartphones - LG L7 II Dual and L3 II dual, its next generation of Optimus L series devices. The widely successful L Series has evolved to include contemporary design aesthetics and innovations that improve on the original. With more than 10 million Optimus L Series phones sold in the first 10 months, L Series II looks to continue this momentum with its sophisticated style and differentiated features. LG’s L Series II smartphones are designed around LG’s L-Style philosophy, which seamlessly blends an ultra- contemporary design with a timeless layout. Optimus L Series II embodies the beauty of the first L Series but with a more refined touch. According to Mr. Amit Gujral, Head Marketing, LG Mobiles, “With the launch of LG intense smartphone demand in India, Optimus L7 II Dual and L3 II Dual, as well as to build on its heritage of LG plans to reap the benefits of the technological innovation.”
TataElxsi unveils HEVC Ultra HD (4K) Decoder Tata Elxsi has announced the availability of a licensable HEVC Ultra HD (4K) Decoder thereby leading the way in next-generation video technology space, targeted for the broadcast, video conferencing and proliferating smart CE devices.
streams and efficiently considers the disparity in the size of the input tile streams. The Tata Elxsi’s HEVC Ultra HD (4K) Decoder software is poised to be implemented on an array of CE devices such as Smartphones, tablets,
Tata Elxsi has been providing encoding and decoding solutions for broadcast and video conferencing on leading audio video standards. Optimized versions on multi-core architectures for real time decoding like Intel x86, ARM Cortex- A8, ARM Cortex-A9 are being made available. It supports multiple tile
set top boxes, gaming consoles, media players etc. Tata Elxsi’s HEVC Ultra HD (4K) Decoder is demonstrated at NAB 2013, Las Vegas: South Hall (Upper) SU12414. Also showcasing product ready H.264 Ultra low latency hardware encoder and decoder having end to end latency of 13 ms.
Mahindra Reva, Vodafone Announce Partnership Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd., a part of the Mahindra Group, and Vodafone Business Services (VBS), the enterprise arm of Vodafone India Ltd one of the telecommunications service providers announced a strategic technology partnership. This partnership will enable Vodafone to provide Machine-to-Machine (m2m) communication services to power the recently launched electric vehicle, Mahindra e2o. The e2o which has just been launched in India is a truly ‘connected car’ and is among a select few in the world to support telematics. Commenting on this unique and pioneering initiative in India, Naveen Chopra –Director, Vodafone Business Services said, “Vodafone’s partnership with Mahindra Reva is a true convergence of distinct, yet aligned visions- to develop a world of connected machines.” Speaking on the association, Chetan Maini, Chief of Strategy & Technology, Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. said, “The e2o is the first and only Indian car, and among the few worldwide, to have telematics based features that enable ‘anytime, anywhere connectivity’ between our customers and their cars.” 20
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Mobility News Indus Towers Sponsors Joyof-Science Lab
Canalys Names Trend Micro as Leader
As a part of its The latest independent Canalys study green/sustainability of worldwide IT security declared initiative, Indus that Trend Micro the global leader Towers Ltd – India’s in cloud security, maintained its lead l e a d i n g To w e r in the 2012 global small business Company – has content security market segment with collaborated with Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Vikram A Sarabhai Security solutions. Community Science “We would like to thank our Centre (VASCSC) for small business customers for their the ‘Science Express – Biodiversity Special’ (SEBS). The SEBS 2013 edition is scheduled to be flagged-off from Delhi B.S. Shantharaju, CEO, Indus Towers Safdarjung on 9 April 2013 and during its journey till climate change is imperative, 28 October 2013, it will travel to we believe this is an excellent 62 locations across India. At each way of inculcating environmental location, it usually halts for 3-4 days c o n s c i o u s n e s s i n o u r y o u t h . during which the exhibition remains Environmental sustainability should continued trust in allowing us to open for visitors. not only be practiced by adults but protect their business year after Commenting on the impending also become a way of life for today’s year. We also would like to thank resumption of SEBS’ 2013 journey, youth to ensure the legacy we behold B.S. Shantharaju, CEO, Indus Towers today on Earth, is sustained for our said, “In an era when controlling future generations to enjoy.”
Tata Elxsi Launches Technology Consulting Services Tata Elxsi, a technology and engineering services provider, announced the launch of Strategy & Technology Consulting services (S&TC) for the Media & Entertainment industry. The bouquet of consulting services is directed towards Multi System Operators (MSOs), Broadcasters and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) facing challenges related to growth, expansion and technology in both mature and emerging markets, including US, Europe, Latin America and India. Tata Elxsi brings over 15 years of specialized and global experience in working with leading MSOs, Broadcasters, OEMs, platform and software vendors, supporting their technology, product and services roadmaps. Tata Elxsi’s S&TC services leverages this depth and breadth of experience across the industry ecosystem, and a dedicated team of experts across technology, operations and service delivery. Speaking on the launch of the www.mobilityindia.com
M Thangarajan, Vice President and Head of Tata Elxsi’s Broadcast Business Unit
S&TC services, M Thangarajan, Vice President and Head of Tata Elxsi’s Broadcast Business Unit said, “Our customers face different and constantly evolving priorities and challenges across geographies. The expertise and insight we have developed in mature markets will help us provide the right solutions and strategies for such customers.”
our channel partners worldwide for their support in helping Trend Micro to continue to be the small business content security market leader. Partnering with our channel is extremely important to Trend Micro and we would like to recognize our partners’ commitment to representing, selling and supporting Trend Micro’s Worry-
Free security solutions,” said Magi Diego, SMB marketing director at Trend Micro.
CLOUDSEC 2013 to Debate New Cybersecurity Threats CLOUDSEC summits, founded in 2011, are Asia Pacific’s leading cloud security events for CXOs and senior managers. These events are vendor-neutral and feature presentations by industry experts who will address a wide spectrum of real-world challenges and strategies in cybersecurity today. “Each year, CLOUDSEC Summits bring together some of the worldrenowned cybersecurity experts and industry thought leaders for a valuable time of knowledge sharing, interactive discussions and networking. As many new topics in cybersecurity has surfaced in recent times, the Summits will grow beyond its original focus on cloud security to include other key topics such as Cyber Threats (Targeted Attacks), Consumerisation (BYOD/ Mobile Security), Data Privacy & Protection, Security Management, Big Data Security and Cybercrime & Law Enforcement this year,” said Ken Low, Program Director of CLOUDSEC Summits and Chairman of Asia Pacific Executive Council at Cloud Security Alliance. “VMware and Trend Micro have partnered to deliver the first agentless security solution designed for VMware
Ken Low, Program Director of CLOUDSEC Summits and Chairman of Asia Pacific Executive Council at Cloud Security Alliance
Toni Adams, Vice President — Partner & Alliance Marketing, VMware
software-defined datacenters, desktops and cloud deployments,” said Toni Adams, Vice President - Partner & Alliance Marketing, VMware. Mobility April 2013
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Trends in Convergence
10 Mobility Apps To Make Productive Business
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obility magazine is presenting 10 top picks for productivity apps that are either brand new or offering new features in early 2013. Enjoy—and feel free to chime in with your own top recommendations and picks for the New Year. 1. Meeting Mapper and Meeting Mapper Fierce, from Point N Time Software Meeting Mapper is a new productivity tool from Point-N-Time Are you having successful meetings? How do you know? Meeting Mapper is an intuitive and elegant application for iPads
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that makes it easy to gather up and “map” (thus the name) the information you need for truly successful meetings. This application tracks the role and the stance (opinion) of every participant in a meeting, and makes it easy to create action items or next steps and automatically schedule the actions for follow up. www.mobilityindia.com
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Trends in Convergence 2. EchoSign for iOS, from having to type out confusing web addresses or email attachments. Adobe Here’s a new 7. Tappestry for Organizations, from e-signature application Float MobileLearning for traveling sales reps Tappestry for Organizations, from who need to get contracts Float Mobile Learning signed quickly. This new A newcomer in the social field, app allows users to send, Tappestry is a bit different than sign and manage documents from within the application. It eliminates the the social tools such as Yammer need to carry large paper-based contracts. Users can access documents or Salesforce Chatter. Tappestry or contracts from their Box, Dropbox, or Acrobat.com accounts or from the was built for sharing knowledge mobile device itself and use EchoSign to get them signed immediately and and to learn new information. It in-person. integrates with many of the traditional technologies human resources and 3. Workshare learning departments use. Workshare, for iPhone or iPad Have you ever been working on a story late at 8. StratPad v2, from Glassey the office and wanted to finish it at home, but you Technologies Inc. StratPad v2, from Glassey lost (or forgot) your USB stick? At that point, your typical options—emailing it to yourself or popping Technologies it in Dropbox—are easy enough but perhaps not StratPad v2 promises to take safe enough if you’re dealing with confidential strategy out of the boardroom and put it on the desktop of everybody or sensitive files. Workshare will alleviate this issue with mobile app and syncing functionality in the company. StratPad premiered as an iPad app in 2012 and quickly of the employees. With this solution, employees will be able to synchronize files between became the highest rated app of the Workshare platform and any mobile device, which is more important than its kind in the iTunes App Store, ever in our age of BYOD. Workshare also helps employees collaborate more developers say. It’s the first iPad app to be integrated with Yammer, readily from the road with real-time insight into file updates, comments and allowing people to collaborate on strategic business planning activities access for all collaborating parties on any device, from any location. online in real time. 4. Evernote for Business, from 9. UX Write for the iPad and iPhone, from Evernote UXProductivity.com This mature multi-platform note UX Write for the iPad and iPhone taking application is now in its fifth UX Write is the first fully -featured version, which includes upgraded word processor for the iPad, developers functionality in Evernote for Business, maintain. Because many entrepreneurs are at a price of $10 per user per month. rarely in their offices, they find dealing with For many companies that rely on large complex documents from their iPads collaboration, the simplified billing, quite difficult. UX Write is designed to bring the enhanced support and additional powerful word processing capabilities of desktop Business Notebook features in this iTunes classic make the application a systems to the iPad and iPhone. It handles high-end professional authoring “must upgrade” product. tasks such as creating books, reports, research papers, and theses, for a 5. Dropbox for Teams surprisingly economical price of $14.99 and is available in the iTunes Store, M ov i n g f ro m D ro p b ox to here. Dropbox for Teams is another wise consideration for 2013. Enhanced 10. Speaktoit, from Speaktoit.com sharing options and integrated Speaktoit, from Speaktoit.com Speaktoit is the top-rated virtual assistant file revision history are two of the additional features in “Teams” for Android or iOS/Windows, but will be that make the increasingly popular targeting productivity for business users in Dropbox, super power ful for 2013. Speaktoit was a top 10 NY Times App of the Year in 2012, but is adding specific businesses and teams. S o m e o r g a n i z a t i o n s a r e features for workers in early 2013. Top new considering this option as an alternative to traditional file server storage capabilities include the following: •Calendar/meeting scheduling: Business for files. people can schedule meetings with their voice 6. RabbleBrowser for iPad, from through their Assistant (the app is linked to your calendar). Speaktoit will remind users of Float MobileLearning their agenda for a given day every morning, Rabble Browser, for iPad This iPad application makes by speaking to them. Speaktoit will also give sharing URLs, files and anything business people reminders, as necessary, stored on Dropbox easy to do. With about their schedule. If you have “Meetings RabbleBrowser, any number of iPads in Dallas” on the calendar, for example, the in a conference or meeting room can Speaktoit Assistant can remind you to book flights, hotels, etc. •Stock exchange and other financial news/information: Speaktoit will instantly chat or share a browsing session. The app streamlines be partnering with financial news services to provide automatic updates conversations by allowing everyone to and notifications on stock quotes and market news as part of users’ see the same things together without customized briefings each day. www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobility Review - Tablet
HP ElitePad 900 – The Enterprise Tab
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oming from the global IT superpower, the HP ElitePad 900 is a Windows 8 tablet that targets enterprise users. It was announced in October 2012 but reached the Indian market only last month. Windows 8 is the first iteration of the desktop operating system that was optimised for touch use. In fact after the release of the OS, hardware makers decided to offer hybrid devices that mash keyboards and touch screens together in different ways. The USP of the EliteBook is its optional accessories, also called “Smart Jackets” that extend its capabilities with additions such as extra battery life, connectivity ports, a keyboard, a stylus or memory-card slots. We try to find out if the tablet can become your only computing device replacing the laptop.
Accessories The company says that one can use a different jacket for different use cases, in addition to the dock that turns the tablet into a desktop PC, making it fit for business use. Our review unit came with two jackets. One of them was the expansion jacket that offers two USB ports, an HDMI port and a SD/MMC card reader. The jacket can also accommodate an extra battery that has to be purchased separately. As per HP the extra battery can increase the tablet’s backup to up to 20 hours. The jacket increases the bulk of the tablet but has a soft rubber finish making the tablet easier to hold. One has to slide the tablet inside the jacket by removing the top. The detachable part does not latch tightly so if someone holds the tablet from the top, it might slide away. The other jacket, also known as the productivity jacket, offers a chiclet keyboard in addition to acting as a case that offers 2 USB ports, an SD/ MMC card reader and the tablet’s proprietary charging port. The jacket has a hinged frame and a magnetic base that lets you position the tablet upright and use it like a laptop. This jacket also sports a soft rubberised finish and makes the tablet a perfect laptop replacement.
Design/ Build The HP ElitePad 900 is one of the more sleek Windows 8 tablets that we’ve come across. Its form factor is pretty similar to the iPad barring the thickness. The aluminum back extends till the front enclosing the bezel. However the bezel is not flush with the frame and there’s some gap. It has rounded corners. Looking at the tablet from the front in landscape mode (horizontally), you will find a power/screen-lock button on the top left edge of the tablet, Software and a screen rotation lock and 3.5mm headset jack on top right edge. The tablet comes with Windows 8 Pro, which is the most touch-friendly Overall, we found the HP ElitePad 900 to be sturdy in terms of build version of the OS. The tablet comes with some pre-installed apps including quality and pleasing in terms of design. CyberLink YouCam, CyberLink Media Suite, HP Pagelift (a tool that lets you scan documents and straighten them), HP Wireless Hotspot, HP ePrint, Display LANDesk Management Suite, Skype, Evernote Touch, Skitch and Amazon The ElitePad 900 has a 10.1-inch multi-touch display with Gorilla Kindle. It also bundles enterprise security tools such as Security Manager, Glass 2, which sports a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. The screen is Credential Manager, Password Manager, Computrace, Sparekey, Drive bright and vivid and makes using the tablet a good experience. Text and Encryption and HP BIOS Settings through HP Client Security. images appear sharp and videos look vibrant. However we observed that the screen was very reflective and under-sun visibility was not too Performance/ Battery life good. The HP ElitePad 900 is powered by a 1.8 GHz Dual-core Intel Atom (Z2760) Clover Trail Processor. The tablet has 2GB of RAM and features Camera Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GPU. In our usage we found that the The tablet sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and tablet performed well in daily tasks including browsing the web, playing an LED flash. It takes good photos in both daylight and artificial light. some casual Windows 8 games, using a text editor, and watching HD However, the bundled YouCam app lacks manual-focus, and we observed videos. We don’t think that the users HP is targeting with the tablet would some lag while clicking photos. Looking at the pictures, we can say that play graphics intensive 3D games. The tablet offers a good Windows 8 experience except missing the it’s one of the best tablet cameras we’ve used. While, we’re not sure if Snap view functionality. With casual use the tablet delivers close to 6 a lot of users would click pictures with a 10-inch tablet, it’s nice to have hours of battery backup though HP claims that it offers a usage time of a good quality option to fall back upon. 10 hours. The tablet offers Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity and we were able to easily set-up the tablet for use with our 3G network through its mobile broadband settings. Verdict The HP ElitePad is a great Windows 8 device in terms of portability. It’s sleek, light and easy to carry. At a price of `43,500, the tablet is priced a bit on the higher side. If you want the jackets, you’d have to fork out `6,999 for the expansion jacket, and `9,999 for the docking station. The extra battery also costs `5,000. ■ Great screen ■ Good camera
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■ Not exactly a value for money proposition ■ No snap mode due to low resolution www.mobilityindia.com
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Mobility Review - Mobile
Intex Aqua Wonder – True Value for Money
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ndian handset makers seem to be riding on most of the Android handset wave. Intex seems to be one of the late comers to join this party of smartphones on Android. ‘Intex Aqua’ range of smartphones were launched quite recently and are surely a true value for money proposition. The company has recently launched three new large display smartphones in the range - Intex Aqua Wonder, Intex Aqua Style and Intex Aqua 5.0. The major difference between these three smartphones lies in the screen size. Intex Aqua Wonder comes with a 4.5-inch screen, while Intex Aqua Style comes with a 5.9-inch screen, and Intex Aqua 5.0 as the name suggests comes with a 5-inch screen. Intex Aqua Wonder is also the least expensive smartphones that is available for Rs. 9,990. It offers Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box. We try to find out whether Intex Aqua Wonder is good value for money purchase. Build/ Design Of lately, the Indian smartphone makers are paying a lot of attention to the design of the smartphone to ensure that their smartphones don’t look flimsy or cheap. We had earlier marvelled at Xolo X1000 for its alluring looks, and Intex Aqua Wonder too aspires to be in the same league. Intex Aqua Wonder looks appealing at first glance. It comes in black and white colour options. We were given a white unit for the review. It is rectangular in shaped with well rounded corners. The smartphone is made primarily of plastic, but does not look cheap. It comes with 4.5-inch screen that takes most of the screen and there are three familiar looking capacitive buttons for Menu, Home and Back. Intex Aqua Wonder weighs a mere 125 grams and is quite nice to handle and as it is only 8.9mm thick, it also slips easily in the pocket. The left panel houses the volume rocker and the power/ standby button is on the right. In our experience, the smartphone is fairly comfortable to use. Display Intex AQUA Wonder comes with a 4.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 540X960. The smartphone offers a decent display. Pictures, text and videos appear quite sharp and crisp on the smartphone. The smartphone has decent viewing angles and the under-sun visibility is not bad either. The touch sensitivity of Intex AQUA Wonder is good. The screen is very reflective and is also a fingerprint magnet.
Camera Intex Aqua Wonder comes with an 8-megapixel auto focus rear shooter. The camera does an average job of clicking pictures in the broad daylight but does not show the true colour of objects (a grey colour object seemed like a shade of blue in the picture). The smartphone also comes with 1.3-megapixel front camera, which can be used to take pictures of self or to do video chatting. The quality of the images and videos through this camera too is a bit grainy. Software/ Interface The Intex Aqua Wonder runs on Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box. Intex has skinned some elements of the user interface, such as the lock screen and the notification tray. On the lock screen you have the choice of going to the home screen, launch the message inbox or head to the calling application. The smartphone can have a maximum of nine home screens to fill with widgets and apps. Intex Aqua Wonder also comes pre-loaded with plenty of apps such as Documents to Go, Whatsapp, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Facebook, Google Maps, YouTube, Nimbuzz, Skype and Google+. Apart from all these, there is also an Intex Zone app, which houses a mobile tracker and can maintain an auto call record. This app can also direct you to the Intex Web Zone which consists of three Intex websites. Performance Intex Aqua Wonder is powered by dual-core 1GHz processor along with 512MB of RAM. It comes with 1.93GB of available internal storage on-board, which can be expanded by up to 32GB via a microSD card. The experience of playing popular games such as Angry Birds, Temple Run and Fruit Ninja is smooth. However, as the smartphones comes with a mere 512MB of RAM, we recommend closing all apps (or at least the ones that take up more memory) running in the background before launching any game. Verdict Intex Aqua Wonder is a budget 4.5-inch device, which looks good and has a decent display. However, the company could pay a little more attention to detailing of this smartphone. The smartphone runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and gives average performance. In the camera aspect, Intex Aqua Wonder does no wonder. However, the biggest disappointment for us is the battery backup.
■ Decent looks Lightweight Mobility Rating
www.mobilityindia.com
■ Poor battery backup •Camera
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Mobility Review - Mobile
Karbonn S1 Titanium – Solid Performance
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fter the launch of the Micromax Canvas HD, quad-core processors rear camera. started trickling down to budget Android smartphones. The The phone is also capable of shooting 720p video and we found the Karbonn S1 Titanium is one such phone. It’s got a 4.5-inch screen recording quality to be decent. The dual camera mode can also be used so you can’t exactly call it a phablet. while recording videos. The front camera is strictly functional at best but can be used for casual video chats. Build/ Design The Karbonn S1 Titanium is a plain looking phone bearing the usual Performance rectangular slab design with rounded corners. The front of the phone The Karbonn S1 Titanium is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm features the 4.5-inch qHD display, four capacitive touch buttons for Snapdragon S4 MSM8625 quad-core processor. It has 1GB RAM onboard, navigation, and the front camera lens, in addition to the proximity sensor and Adreno 203 chip for processing graphics. There is 4GB of internal and the earpiece. storage, which is expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. The back of the phone is made of plastic and is extremely glossy. The phone doesn’t offer FM Radio, which is a little strange considering You could use it as a mirror but it’s a fingerprint magnet and it’ll be full most budget Android phones come with it. We were not able to play fullof smudges as soon as you start using the phone. The rear camera lens HD clips, but the phone supported formats like .AVI, natively. The speaker is located towards the top along with a flash. There’s some Karbonn on the phone delivers average quality sound at high volume levels, but branding towards the bottom. there’s some muffle when the phone lies on its back, as the speaker grill Display The S1 Titanium comes with a 4.5-inch qHD IPS screen that has a resolution of 540x960 pixels and pixel density of 240ppi, which is decent, and graphics and text appear sharp. The viewing angles looked good. However, it’s really difficult to read or take pictures in sunlight, as the screen is extremely reflective. Videos and pictures looked good but colours appeared to be a little saturated. Software/ Interface The Karbonn S1 Titanium runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. Karbonn has not skinned the OS barring some elements of the user interface, such as the notification tray. The notification tray includes toggles for settings such as Wi-Fi, Brightness, Rotation, Bluetooth, GPS, and mobile data. There are five customisable home screens that can be filled with app shortcuts and widgets. Karbonn has also bundled some apps with the phone including a DSP Manager for controlling sound input, a File Browser, Flipboard, Yahoo Messenger, nexGTV, Paytm, POPi (an m-commerce app), a StopWatch app, WeChat messaging app, TOI news app, a World Clock app and download links for Kingsoft Office and WhatsApp. The Phone app has been modified to support dual-SIM functionality. Camera The phone features a 5-megapixel autofocus shooter that takes average images in daylight. Pictures taken indoors under artificial light were grainy. The camera app is a little different from the stock Android camera app and features the capability to simultaneously use the rear and the VGA front camera. There’s a photo mode where a front shot is merged with the shot taken through the 26
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is located on the back. The headphones that come with the phone offer average quality sound output. Verdict The Karbonn S1 Titanium is a decent budget smartphone option. A 4.5-inch screen phone, with a quad-core processor, running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, at a price point of Rs 10,990 is a value for money proposition. Other phones in the budget range include the Micromax Canvas HD if you’re looking for a bigger screen. The XOLO A1000 is another phone to look out for.
■ Decent performance ■ Excellent value for money ■ Plasticky back ■ Placement of Power button ■ Lack of FM radio
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Mobility Review - Mobile
Micromax A89 Ninja – Performance Ninja
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The phone comes with the native Android browser and renders all he Micromax A89 Ninja is a budget Android smartphone that first made an appearance on the company’s website in late-January, webpages well. It doesn’t come with Adobe Flash. The speaker on the though the listing was without a price tag. It started retailing online phone delivers good quality sound with average volume levels. Also, since the speaker is located at the back, the volume levels further decrease a few days following the listing for `6,490. when the phone lies on its back. Call quality was good. The phone is a dual-SIM GSM phone with Build/Design support for one active and the other in active-standby mode. The On first look, the phone doesn’t evoke any emotion. It more or less Micromax A89 Ninja comes with a 1450mAh battery and it’s one of the follows the same design language that we’ve seen in other budget Android major pain points of this phone. With intermediate usage during the day, phones from Micromax. It has rounded corners, a chrome frame and a including playing games, an hour of phone calls, and e-mail and Twitter plastic back cover. notifications turned on, the phone just lasted half a day, or just 7-8 hours The front features a 4-inch screen, three capacitive touch buttons on a single charge, which is very disappointing. But it’s worth mentioning Menu, Home and Back, for navigation, and a light sensor. that we had turned off Wi-Fi and the phone was hooked on to a 3G In terms of hardware, the device is powered by a 1GHz dual-core network, with brightness set to the highest level, during our use. processor with 512MB RAM, and has 2GB internal storage expandable up to 32GB with microSD card. The Micromax Ninja A89 is a dual-SIM smartphone and supports GSM SIM card in both the slots. The SIM Card slots and a slot for the microSD card hide behind the back cover just above the battery slot. Unfortunately, the SIM cards are not hot swappable and you’ll have to take the battery out if you want to replace either one of them. The microSD card is hot swappable though.
Verdict The Micromax A89 Ninja is a decent budget smartphone for anyone looking to step on to the Android bandwagon but doesn’t want to spend more. However, we wish Micromax could have shipped this phone with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Other Android smartphone options that you could look at include the Lava Iris N400, Karbonn A6 and Xolo A500. If you don’t really care about a rich app ecosystem, or multi-tasking, you could also consider Display The Micromax Ninja A89 comes with a 4-inch 262k-colour capacitive the Nokia Asha 311. touch screen sporting a resolution of 480x800 pixels. We found the screen resolution to be decent for a device of this size, and the graphics and text appeared fine. The viewing angles looked good, and the under-sun visibility on the phone was decent, though we found the screen to be pretty reflective. Camera The 3-megapixel shooter takes decent images in daylight, although we feel that colour reproduction could have been better. Also, we observed that pictures taken in low-light conditions and indoors were a bit grainy. Software/ Interface The Micromax A89 Ninja runs Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Micromax has skinned some elements of the user interface, such as the notification tray. The notification tray includes toggles for settings such as Wi-Fi, Brightness, Rotation, Bluetooth, GPS, Data and profiles (for alerts and other notifications). Similar to other ICS devices, there are five customisable home screens that can be filled with app shortcuts and widgets. Performance/ Battery Life The phone is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor that is a MediaTek chip, and has 512MB of RAM on board. We did not encounter any crashes while working on the phone and multitasking was comfortable. We did notice some lag while navigating through the menu, and while playing some games. We were not able to play 1020p HD video clips, and 720p clips also stuttered. The phone also doesn’t support .mov videos natively, but that can be easily fixed by downloading third-party video players. www.mobilityindia.com
■ Decent Hardware ■ Decently priced Mobility Rating
■ Slight lag ■ Poor battery life Mobility April 2013
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Mobility Review - Apps
Google Maps app for iPhone steers right
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oday, Google Maps for the iPhone has arrived. It’s free, fast and fantastic. Now, there are two parts to a great maps app. There’s the app itself - how it looks, how it works, what the features are. In this regard, few people complain about Apple’s Maps app; it’s beautiful, and its navigation mode for drivers is clear, uncluttered and distraction-free. But then there’s the hard part: the underlying data. Apple and Google have each constructed staggeringly complex databases of the world and its roads. The recipe for both companies includes map data from TomTom, satellite photography from a different source, real-time traffic data from others, restaurant and store listings from still more sources, and so on. In the end, Apple says that it incorporated data from at least 24 different sources. Lots of iPhone owners report that they’ve had no problem with Apple’s driving instructions, and that’s great. But I’ve been idiotically misdirected a few times - and the trouble is, you never know in advance. You wind up with a deep mistrust of the app that’s hard to shake. Google’s directions weren’t great in the app’s early days either, and they’re still not always perfect. But after years of polishing and corrections, they’re right a lot more often. Along with driving directions, Google Maps gives equal emphasis to walking directions and public transportation options. This feature is brilliantly done. Google Maps displays a clean, stepby-step timeline of your entire public transportation adventure. If you ask for a route from Westport, Conn., to the Empire State Building, the timeline says: “4:27 pm, Board New Haven train toward Grand Central Terminal.” Then it shows you the names of the actual train stops you’ll pass. Then, “5:47 pm, Grand Central. Get off and walk 2 min.” Then, “5:57 pm, 33rd St: Board the #6 Lexington Avenue Local towards Brooklyn Bridge.” And so on. Google has even managed to incorporate Google Earth, its zoomable photographic model of the entire world and its oceans. You know, just in case you want to know not just where a building is relative to Detroit, but relative to the Mariana Trench. It’s a lot of features. The big question: How well did Google cram them in without sinking the app with featuritis? This, it turns out, is the best news of all. The brand-new, completely rethought design is slick, simple and coherent. Google admits that it’s even better than Google Maps for Android phones, which has accommodated its evolving feature set mainly by piling on menus. The new software conceit here is the horizontal swipe. Plotting a trip? Maps shows possible routes on the map; a banner at the bottom summarizes the current traffic and time to destination. Swipe the banner to see the next proposed route. Movie Tarot app – Reinvigorating Entertainment Everybody love watching a good movie and want to make sure that our time and money spent are totally worth it. What if you could know that the next time you decide to watch a movie, it will definitely be worth your while? Enter Movie Tarot. Here’s an app that sounds too good to be true. Movie Tarot is an Android app that predicts a movie’s performance at the box office before it is released, based on data collected from various news forums, blogs, videos, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds and other sites. The data is then put together, crunched and the results offer meaningful insights. We played around with the app a bit and it was interesting to see what it can do. This app has been developed by RIAFY, an ‘incubatee’ of Kochibased Startup Village that comprises a group of 6 engineering students, mostly from Sree Narayana Gurukulam College of Engineering (Kochi). The company is known for its relational intelligence, predictive analysis and big data solutions as is evident from the app. 28
Mobility April 2013
The app interface is a no brainer in terms of usage and is pretty intuitive. The app is a mere 819KB download taking just a couple of seconds to land on your device’s home screen. Under Box Office Predictions you can access various Bollywood movies recently released along with new launches. The movies are lined up in a two-columned tile format or tarot cards, allowing you to read the title and the expected opening on the home screen itself. Tapping on a particular movie will enlighten you with a gist of the movie, the lead actors and an essence of the buzz intensity surrounding that particular film. You can also see trending tweets related to the film that gives you an idea about what people are talking about a film that you are planning on watching. Various predictions include Blockbuster, Super-Hit, Hit, Average, Flop, Sleeper etc. At the bottom, you’ll see predictions for the expected opening and the Life- Time collection the film is expected to pocket. The movie Vishwaroop has been predicted a ‘Sleeper’. For those unaware, Sleeper is a term used for a film that runs successfully for a long period and becomes a success even though it doesn’t have a successful opening or isn’t promoted well enough. The Happiness card for Special 26 has a 91%happiness quotient, which simply means that a very high percentage of people would return home from the cinemas, feeling good about the film. The movie has been predicted as ‘Hit’ with Life-Time moolah of `70 crores.
The Trending Trailers section lists trailers that are currently popular amongst the public and currently the movies listed are Fast and Furious 6, David & Goliath, Kai Po Che, Zila Ghaziabad, Himmatwala and Iron Man 3. The trailers are of YouTube origin and you can tap on a movie to view a specific trailer. This is another area that we were particularly disappointed. Unless you have a good connection speed, the video watching experience will be ruined. Also, there are no on-screen controls for pause, stop, volume and not even the streaming bar. As of writing this review, Movie Tarot stands at an average user rating of 4.9 on Google Play with 92 user reviews and has already seen over 2,000 downloads within 5 days of its launch. Users can rate Movie Tarot, read the Movie Tarot blog and also check for updates from within the Android app via the Menu button of their device. ohn Mathew, co-founder and CEO of RIAFY has said that the app makes predictions on a number of factors that will be shared at various stages of movie promotion. This will help not just film producers and distributors to plan “effective promotion strategies” but also filmmakers. Movie Tarot (Google Play, Free) www.mobilityindia.com
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National Computrade News ÂŚ 15 Mar. - 30 Mar., 2013
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