Mobility july issue

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COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY JULY 2013

www.mobilityindia.com

Vol. 10

Issue # 3

Enterprise Embrace Tablets

Mobility Special

Best Smartphones Between `15,000 — 20,000 www.mobilityindia.com

Mobility Focus

Next Gen Tablets

Mobility Personality

“BlackBerry has a subscriber base of 76 millionJuly users" Mobility 2013

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Authorized Distributor Acro Engineering Company 32

C-87, DDA Sheds, Okhla Phase-I New Delhi - 110019 Mobility July 2013 saini@amigointernational.biz niranjan@migointernational.biz

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Content Cover Story

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Mobility Special Why are we taling about 5G?

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Mobility Special 8 Best Smartphones Between `15,000-20,000

Enterprise Embrace Tablets

Mobility Analysis Seven Trends for Enterprise

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Mobility Focus Next Gen Tablets

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Trends in Convergence Smartphones are Embracing GestureDriven Interface

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Mobility Personality “BlackBerry has a subscriber base of 76 million users”

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Mobility Review

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Mobility News

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Nokia Introduces Mail for Exchange on Asha...

ASUS unveils Transformer Book TX399

Samsung Launches ‘Galaxy Core’ in India

Imagination Beings with LG Optimus G Pro

Micromax Launches Canvas Lite A92

Share the Idea Behind Your Dream App And Win...

MTS India Doesits bit for Uttarakhand Flood Victims

Indians at risk while downloaidng games - Trend Micro

Juniper Finds Mobile Threats Continue Rampant Growth

Samsung Unveils Ativ Q Tablet

Saavn, Tata Docomo Launch marketing Program

Videocon Intros A55 HD Smartphone

handygo to Empower Rural Farmers

Nokia Lunahces 301 with 3.5G Internet Speed

McAfee Launches Smart Perimeter Beta

Karbonn Launches Titanium S9 IPS

Airtel, Google Partner on Free Mobile Internet

Micromax Presents Smartphone Canvas 4

Tata DOCOCO Reduces 2G, 3G Price by 90%

PayUPaisa Announces ‘ZERO Transaction Charges’...

Uninor Bangs ‘The Most Promising Mobile Operator...

Suntrike Launched Optima Smart Smartphones and Tabs

Vodafone Connects with Students in NCR

Goinee Launches HD Super AMOLED Smartphone

HP Aims to Re-enter the Global Smartphone Race

Gionee Launches ELIFE E6 Smartphone

Vodafone Launches Free Incoming on Roaming At... www.mobilityindia.com

Mobility July 2013

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Mobility Voice

Editor Choice

Sony Xperia Tablet Z It is true that the Xperia Tablet Z is Sony’s attempt at making a comeback in the tablet segment after its previous attempts with Xperia Tablet S and Tablet P. The tablet is based on the company’s recent flagship phone the Xperia Z in terms of design as well as software and is without doubt one of the sleekest devices available in the market. Is it the best tablet that money can buy at this point in time? We try to find out.

At 6.9mm, Xperia Tablet Z is the thinnest tablet around - iPad fourth generation is 9.4mm thick, in case you are wondering.

Sony engineers have done a commendable job, packing in all the power into such a sleek device. It weighs 495 grams and for a 10-inch tablet the weight to dimensions ratio of the device makes it easy to carry.

The back is made of plastic and sports a matte finish. The quality of plastics used here is better than what we’ve seen in products from rival brands. But our only gripe with it is that it’s a smudge magnet. You’ll see some silver Xperia branding at the centre and the 8-megapixel rear camera lens at the top right corner, flush with the tablet.

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z features an 8-megapixel rear shooter. The camera app is feature rich, having Superior auto, Normal, Video, Burst, Picture Effects, Sweep Panorama and different Scene selection modes.

T

Tablet in Healthcare: a $ 1.7 Billion Market

he global market for tablet PC devices in healthcare is expected to increase to $1.7 billion for 2013, reflecting an increase of nearly 27% over the prior year, according to Kalorama Information’s latest report. The healthcare market research publisher says several factors are driving the growth of this market including a shortage of qualified medical professionals, cost restraints, medical error reduction measures, expanding capabilities of devices, off-site medical care and more. Tablet PCs are increasingly being used for a variety of tasks in the health field including access to patient records at the point of care, improved viewing capabilities for medical images, and easy offsite patient monitoring.

The global market for tablet PC devices in healthcare is expected to increase to $1.7 billion for 2013, reflecting an increase of nearly 27% over the prior year, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research publisher says several factors are driving the growth of this market including a shortage of qualified medical professionals, cost restraints, medical error reduction measures, expanding capabilities of devices, off-site medical care and more. The finding was made in Kalorama’s new report, “The Market for Tablet PCs in Healthcare.”

The report also says that Apple’s iPad has continued to grab a larger share of the market each year, but that there are other competitors interested in the healthcare market. Among the vendors in this market are Samsung, Research in Motion (BlackBerry), Panasonic, Hewlett Packard, Motion Computing, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Tangent and others, though all are struggling to keep pace with the adoption rate of Apple.

Swapan Roy

Editorial Front

The Sony Xperia Tablet Z is powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor with 2GB RAM, and an Adreno 320 chip for processing graphics. There is 16GB of internal storage, which is expandable by another 32GB via a microSD card.

At a price of `46,990 the Sony Xperia Tablet Z is an expensive offering from the Japanese electronics giant. The tablet packs in a large number of features, a unique design and high-end specifications, but recommending it over the latest generation iPad (3G+WiFi) that costs a similar amount, is a bit difficult.

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Editor Chief Editor Asst. Editor

: : :

Swapan Roy Manoj Jha E.J. Jawahardatham

Design Desk Art Director

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Anit Kumar

Acct. & Finance Finance

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Sandip Sarkar

Marketing & Sales Marketing Manager : Marketing Executives :

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Tridip Dey Pratap Biswas Tenzin Kunkey S. Dutt Raj Kumar P. Biswas Ashish Ghosh Ashok Paul Ajay Biswas

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Mobility Special

Why are we talking about 5G?

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he news that Samsung Electronics has successfully tested a so-called fifthgeneration (5G) wireless technology, which will allow users to download an entire movie in just one second, should excite consumers or not that it the big question. After all, who does not want to surf the Internet or download videos faster? But are we ready for this kind of super internet?

Especially, in a country such as India that is

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, which is likely to launch by the year-end. TD, unlike FD or fixed division, implies that the “receive” and “transmit” channels divide the time between them on the same frequency band.

New mobile generations are typically assigned new frequency bands and wider spectral bandwidth per frequency channel (1G up to 30kHz, 2G up to 200kHz, 3G up to 5MHz,

the airwaves as rapidly growing usage of mobile broadband devices, such as smartphones and tablet computers, increases pressure on networks.

Global mobile data traffic, forecast the report, will increase 13-fold over the next four years, reaching 11.2 exabytes per month by 2017. An exabyte is a unit of information or computer storage equal to one quintillion bytes. The expected steady increase in mobile

yet to get its third-generation or 3G technology act right, let alone the fourth-generation or 4G technology, scepticism is in order—especially when the government is yet to satisfactorily resolve the spectrum issue in the country.

The 3G network is several times faster than the 2G one. Almost all telcos claim that they can provide speeds up to 21.1 Mbps on their 3G networks but real download speeds invariably fall when shared among users.

Besides, most telcos have a “fair usage” policy wherein speed drop after reaching a specified download limit. 4G, at least technically, should have data speeds capable of reaching 100 megabits per second while on the move, and 1GB per second when stationary.

In India, we have the time division-long term evolution or TD-LTE standard, similar to China’s 4G standard that was amended and published by China’s largest telecom operator, China Mobile. TD-LTE is the technology being adopted by Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) telecom venture,

and 4G up to 40MHz), but skeptics say there is little room for new frequency bands or larger channel bandwidths. In India, TD-LTE has been given the 2.3–2.4GHz band.

traffic is partly due to continued strong growth in the number of mobile Internet connections (personal devices and machine-to-machine applications), which will exceed the world’s population (United Nations estimates 7.6 billion) by 2017, the report said.

Broadband subscription in India reached 15 million in February, according to the latest data from telecom regulator Trai. According to Sam Pitroda, adviser to Prime Minister of India, a properly designed broadband rollout in the country can add 1-2% to the country’s GDP. The Indian government is also planning to provide high-speed Internet broadband connectivity to all villages under its National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) scheme in the next two years.

Given these developments, high-speed networks, regardless of the names they go by, are a must. But the government first needs to allocate spectrum properly while telcos and technology companies need to go beyond naming hype cycles.

www.mobilityindia.com

How about the 5G ecosystem?

To begin with, the term 5G is more a marketing term for advanced LTE or 4G, which also can theoretically offer speeds of up to 1GB. Besides, advanced LTE has been standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as a major enhancement of the LTE standard.

LTE itself is being marketed as 4G, which mobile technology purists would dismiss as a 3.9G technology. Second, the 5G service will be available only in 2020. It’s anyone’s guess that by then, speedier technologies would have surfaced in labs.

Third, 5G will need standards. In the UK, for instance, the communications regulator Ofcom is readying itself for the launch of 5G by holding discussions on how to free radio frequencies for 5G. To allay fears of a future capacity crunch in

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Cover Story

Enterprise Embrace Tablets 4

Mobility July 2013

Y

es it is a fact, we are living in a tablet friendly world now and Tablets are everywhere, they are in the enterprise segment as well, in a very big way though, whether put there by management or brought in by employees, and they’re becoming as indispensable to workers as smartphones.

The Web is becoming the winning platform. BYOD will become the norm, versus enterprise control. In a world where people are working anywhere and any time, a multi-screen world will be the norm.

Owing to the above factors, Tablets are becoming the new craze in the enterprise arena. The devices have been rapidly catching on in the corporate world since 2010 when Apple launched the iPad. The momentum that tablet adoption has continues as the corporate world has warmed to the idea of deploying slates to employees.

Tablets were mainly used in niche applications such as data collection out in the field by utility workers. Even by the time nearly every employee www.mobilityindia.com

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Cover Story had a smartphone, the number of people using tablets was still low. Now, though, enterprises are deploying one tablet for every five smartphones in the corporate world, according to research firm IDC. That might still seem like a wide span, but it says something about the corporate tablet use and where it’s headed. In essence, it means that tablets are working well for enterprise customers and they are going to deploy more of them.

the go. These tablets can significantly improve productivity by allowing users to securely access enterprise data from anywhere, anytime.

Mobility is one of the key focus areas for most of the organizations, and this will drive higher adoption of enterprise tablets, as they include key mobility features like video sharing and VPN access, amongst others,” he adds on.

Talking about the Indian perspective, Saji Kumar, Director – Product Management, Acer India, says that riding on diverse form factors, innovative user interface and app-enablement, the adoption of tablet PCs in the enterprise space have begun to pick up momentum. “With gaining traction amongst enterprisers across the globe we expect tablet PCs to be the next device for companies to move to. Several corporate companies have begun to accept the concept of BYOD, we believe one of the most important parameter for organizations to switch to enterprise applications on mobile devices is the connectivity feature it offers enabling consumers to access and share whatever they want” he explains.

Speaking on the tablet market scenario, Sandeep Arya, Managing Director, Amtrak Info Systems, shares his views on the role of tablets in the Enterprise Sector.

“Truly, with the advancement of technology in every sphere of life and profession, the enterprise segment is also looking at having solutions in the form of applications onto devices like tablets. We are getting enquiries and requirements from various enterprises based on their respective requirements of using the device,” he adds on.

Today’s Scenario Shishir Singh, Director, Product Marketing, Dell India shares his views on Enterprise Tablets. “Tablets provide the benefit of mobility and having all-round accessibility that enterprises are today searching for. While the tablet market is vast with devices for almost everyone, today organizations are looking for devices which are mobile and versatile in nature and support the correct software and services to address the security and manageability issues that companies face. For enterprises, the option of mobility without any compromise on safety, provides many benefits for their employees, especially the mobile workforce. Tablets such as the Dell Latitude 10, which is the first business-class tablet that can seamlessly and easily integrate into secure and manageable IT environments, can help boost employee productivity by providing a one-stop solution for mobile professionals.

As an OS, Windows 8 has also opened up many opportunities in the tablet market and there is a proliferation of devices with different screen sizes and form factors to meet different needs of Enterprise Verticals users such as accessibility of information-on-the-go, mobility, etc.

Saji Kumar from Acer India says that the rising popularity of These new devices are power-packed in slim and sleek designs which enterprise mobility in India has resulted in a steady increase in the are committed to perform with great efficiency help in seamless adoption of tablets, especially businesses that require on-the-go technology convergence. Due to this, trends like BYOD can take productivity. “Enterprise verticals including automobiles, retail, BFSI, actual shape now and organizations can reap the benefits from healthcare, education and telecom are the key adopters of tablet them,’’ he adds on. devices in India. With the percentage of mobile workforce expected Leo Joseph, Director, Enterprise Sales, PPS (Printing and Personal to soar in the coming years, tablets will become an indispensible Systems) Group, HP India says that Mobility is transforming the way tool for remote employees. The escalating broadband penetration is how enterprises run their business operations and tablets are fast further poised to drive the adoption of tablets in businesses. becoming the device of choice as it is one such device that supports We are seeing massive demand coming in from the enterprise mobility. segment for our Windows 8 tablets. A number of our enterprise “According to a report from Gartner, enterprise sales of tablets customers have already enquired about the latest Iconia W3. Since will account for about 35% of total tablet sales sold in 2015. In the it’s on a Windows 8, we expect this model to sync well with the years to come enterprises will be happy to allow tablets as part of enterprise customers,” he adds on. bring your own device (BYOD) program. More of these tablets “Tablets provide the benefit of will be owned by consumers who m o b i l i ty a n d h a v i n g a l l - ro u n d use them at work,” he adds on. accessibility that enterprises are Speaking about the enterprise today searching for. While the tablet intake on tablets, Rahul Agarwal, market is vast with devices for Executive Director, Commercial almost everyone, today organizations Business Segment, Lenovo India are looking for devices which are says that tablets are finding its mobile and versatile in nature and place in almost all the verticals of support the correct software and enterprise segment today. services to address the security and “In the enterprise segment, manageability issues that companies we are witnessing an increasing face. For enterprises, the option of demand for tablets and they mobility without any compromise have become the most preferred on safety, provides many benefits computing devices after PC, for for their employees, especially the many users. Enterprise tablets mobile workforce.” are very convenient for viewing documents and accessing Shishir Singh, business applications; they also Director, Product Marketing, include advanced performance Dell India fe a t u r e s , s u p e r i o r s e c u r i t y measures and can be used on www.mobilityindia.com

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Cover Story “According to a report from Gartner, enterprise sales of tablets will account for about 35% of total tablet sales sold in 2015. In the years to come enterprises will be happy to allow tablets as part of bring your own device (BYOD) program. More of these tablets will be owned by consumers who use them at work,”

infrastructure, saving time and money by allowing them to easily connect to store systems,” he adds on.

The Tablet Advantage As being put by Leo Joseph from HP India, Portability, productivity and diver se utility of tablets make it the perfect tool for enterprises, Leo Joseph, especially for businesses Director, Enterprise Sales, PPS that are on-the-go.

“Some of the key (Printing and Personal Systems) Group, dif ferentiator s that give HP India the tablets an additional advantage are: Mobility: As Shishir Singh from Dell India puts it, some of the key segments that are moving towards integrating tablets are Tablets offer great mobility and hence are great devices for the segments like Insurance and Pharma that are implementing mobile workforce. According to a Salesforce Springboard research and adopting trends like Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), for their India’s mobile workforce will reach 205 million by 2015. Tablets are mobile workforce. For them, the ease of device mobility and increasingly finding their way in the work environment. Companies the ability to stay always connected with enhanced enterprise recognize the importance of mobility afforded by tablets to features to ensure data security, help them to work from anywhere executives and key employees. Creation and consumption device: Tablets are no longer meant only for consumption of content. HP’s and at anytime resulting in increased productivity. ‘’With regard to organizations where employees are allowed Elitepad 900, an enterprise based tablet, can be used as a primary to carry their own devices, they are automatically enticed towards device for business users as it can be used for both- creation and tablets for their small form factor that provides ease of portability. consumption of content. It balances smart design with enterprise Moreover, with technological innovation, tablets have become grade features, functionality, serviceability and support. The do-it-all devices that allow the consumer to easily switch between ElitePad’s thoughtfully designed accessories ecosystem allows their professional and personal lives while remaining mobile and the tablet to work as a primary notebook.” He explains.

According to Shishir Singh from Dell India, there are many connected.’ he adds on.

According to Leo Joseph from HP India, “We have seen positive advantages that tablets bring in. “With a change in lifestyle and traction from enterprises in verticals like retail, BFSI, healthcare, professional demands of prosumers, portable, do-it-all devices, education, hospitality and telecom with regards to adoption such as tablets, provide a one-stop solution. Tablets are compact and implementation of tablets. For instance, the HP ElitePad and light weight, allow all time connectivity enabling people to Mobile Point of Sale (POS) Solution helps retail and hospitality access their digital lives on the go and offer the ability to consolidate businesses enhance the customer experience and maximize staff all their entertainment, communication, and work needs in a productivity. With the rise of sophisticated ecommerce and mobile single device. Ease of mobility is one of the biggest factors that are technologies, today’s tech-savvy consumers expect instant, drawing people towards tablets. Unlike a PC or laptop, tablets are customized access to a brand’s offerings. However, delivering light-weight and with advancements in technology, can tackle most this type of personalized experience can be challenging for brick business needs an employee may have. All these factors together, and mortar businesses. The HP ElitePad Mobile POS solution, improve employee productivity and therefore are an advantage to which is composed of the HP ElitePad plus the Retail Jacket for organizations at large. Another factor that is leading to a growth ElitePad allows businesses to meet customer needs anywhere of tablets is the rise in acceptability of BYOD. This has triggered in the store with mobile POS and assisted selling capabilities. a demand for devices such as the tablets that provide portability The new mobile solution integrates into a retailer’s existing IT and are connected at all times. At the same time, their enterprise friendly features make it easier “In the past we have worked with for IT departments to integrate an Indian automotive major and into the IT environment from a supported them in implementing security and manageability point of view,” he adds on. sales force automation, taking the As being put by Sandeep sales process to the next level. Arya from Amtrack. “Indeed an We employed around 850 tablets ease in access is offered by to d eliver co n s istent pro d u ct devices such as tablets. In the messaging, through this initiative enterprise segment, if we look the sales executives were able at, few of the big advantages can to demonstrate features of the be a solution to many large level vehicles and capture customer requirements –digitized content, better connectivity, flexibility enquiry and test drive feedback.” in creating/using various applications/solutions, ability to Saji Kumar, operate and function remotely, Acer India and since tablet PC being light 6

Mobility July 2013

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Cover Story devise it has eliminated trouble carrying several devices while functioning away from the office,” he adds on.

“In the enterprise segment, we are witnessing an increasing demand for tablets and they have become the most preferred computing devices after PC, for many users. Enterprise tablets are very convenient for viewing documents and accessing business applications; they also include advanced performance features, superior security measures and can be used on the go. These tablets can significantly improve productivity by allowing users to securely access enterprise data from anywhere, anytime.”

What Future Holds?

More and more organizations that are looking forward to implement BYOD with lots mobile employees, should be looking towards enterprisefriendly tablets for the immense benefits they provide. Sectors l i ke B F S I , M a n u fa c t u r i n g , Automobile, Insurance and Pharma are showing interest in implementing BYOD. “With advancements in technology, a tablet today can Rahul Agarwal, provide all-round connectivity, Executive Director, while being extremely Commercial Business manageable, and therefore Segment, allow the employee to carry Lenovo India work with them wherever they need. Also, enterprise tablets such as the Dell Latitude 10 feature business-class security and easy IT integration to make it convenient for the user as well as more mobile solutions. Since workforce mobility is rising, the device the IT department of any organization to integrate it into their life needs to adapt to provide for their work needs. According to the 2013 and system. Informs, Shishir Singh from Dell India.

CIO Enterprise Tablet Survey, 80% of organizations are considering According to the 2013 CIO Enterprise Tablet Survey commissioned a BYOD implementation in the next one year. With a majority of

by Dell, 50% of the organizations are considering BYOD implementation organizations considering BYOD, the go-to device will become the in their organizations within the next 6 months. With CIOs seeing the tablet, with its ease of mobility and thus boost in productivity. The benefits of BYOD implementation, the go-to device will become the survey also indicates that 27% of the mobile workforce and 26% of tablet as it provides the employee with the ease of mobility and all- the senior executives have shown interest in using tablets to provide round connectedness. additional value in the organization. These are the people that are “These features provided by a tablet will further boost employee clearly the driving force behind organizations considering a BYOD productivity. With tablets like the Latitude 10 that are targeted towards implementation and tablet integration,” Shishir Singh adds on. enterprises there is also an ease of device management by the IT Speaking about his experience on enterprise tablets, Saji Kumar department as well as protection of data. Taking all these factors from Acer India says, “In the past we have worked with an Indian into consideration places the tablet as the solution for enterprises automotive major and supported them in implementing sales force with mobile professionals, as well as those implementing BYOD. The automation, taking the sales process to the next level. We employed average prosumer lifestyle is undergoing a change that is looking for around 850 tablets to deliver consistent product messaging, through this initiative the sales executives were able to demonstrate features of the vehicles and capture customer enquiry and test drive “Truly, with the advancement of feedback. We are confident in a few quarters technology in every sphere of life tablet PCs with more advanced enterprise and profession, the enterprise friendly features and functionalities will se g m e nt i s a l so l o o k i n g a t hit the market that will boost its adoption having solutions in the form of across business verticals. Enterprises have applications onto devices like begun to understand the benefits of the tablets. We are getting enquiries functionalities and are willing to explore and requirements from various the opportunity,” he adds on.

As explained by Sandeep Arya from ente r p r i ses ba se d o n t h e i r Amtrack, in an enterprise driven world, the respective requirements of future belongs to tablets. “A combination of using the device,” tablet and enterprise needs often brings out something unique and different. The future Sandeep Arya, looks really promising and exciting while we Managing Director, see this combination generating results.

Amtrak Info Systems Future will offer many new innovations and solutions to meet the changing needs of the enterprises.” He added. www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility Special

Best Smartphones Between `15,000 — 20,000

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t a time when you are looking for a smartphone that is unlikely to become obsolete sooner, you need to be ready to shed a few extra bucks. Here is the list of smartphones worth considering, if you are willing to spend in the range of Rs 15,000--20,000. Please note that the following list is not in ranking-order of best features or value for money; but in the descending order of price. (Note: Prices mentioned are only indicative and are subject to changes from time to time).

Gionee E-life – E5 (MRP `19,999) Coming from the brand of Gionee, we have yet another specimen of great craftsmanship, the E-life – E5. At 1.5 Quad Core and just 6.85 mm Thin, the E5 is sure to get heartbeats racing. The E5 is a stunning example of exquisite style and exemplary substance. The Unibody Elife E5 is powered with 1.5 GHz Quad Core Processor, which enables high performance as well as high efficiency at low power consumption. It is available in vibrant colors including Yellow, Graphite Black and White. The Gionee E5 would be available at an estimated price of INR 19,999.

Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS (MRP `19,990): Coming grom Karbonn brand, Titanium S9 IPS has some great features making it a competitor of highend smartphones in the current market scenario.

Priced at Rs 19,990, Titanium S9 IPS is a dual SIM phone and all the features seem to be matching the other brands of that price range. This smartphone operates on latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and powered by a 1.2GHz quad core processor. Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS sports a 13 Mega pixel primary camera with auto focus and LED flash, a 5 Mega Pixel front camera. Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS is topped with 5.5 inch HD IPS Capacitive touchscreen that offers 16 million color output. Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS comes with 16 GB of internal memory. It also has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, technology support and runs on 2,600 mAh battery.

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Lenovo IdeaPhone K860 (MRP `19,999): The Lenovo IdeaPhone has a massive and impressive 5-inch HD display that is really good at handling text, images and videos. The phone also coomoes with top-ofthe-line performance thanks to its 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 processor and 1GB of RAM. This smartphone has premium looks and is very well built as well. IdeaPhone K860 has a 2250mAh battery. The 8GB of internal storage coupled with microSD card support up to 32GB. It has a 8MP primary camera and 2MP secondary camera for imaging.

Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos I9082 (MRP Rs 19,500): This smartphone from Samsung is set to revolutionize the dual SIM phones cateory. Featuring a 5” capacitive touch screen phone running on Android 4.1 the Grand Duos has a 1.2 GHz Dual core processor. It has a 8 megapixel rear camera offering full HD recording and a 2 megapixel secondary camera good enough for video calls.

Galaxy grand has a 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage that can be extended up to 64 GB using microSD slot.

Other basic features include Wi-Fi, smile detector, LED flash and a massive 2100 mAh Li-ion battery.

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Mobility Special

Sony Xperia ion (Street Price: `18,900): After the recent price cut, the Xperia ion is now available under Rs 20,000. This smartphone features a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, and 1 GB of RAM. It has a 4.6” LCD display with 720x1280 pixels. For photography, it flaunts a 12.1 megapixel auto-focus camera equipped with Exmor R mobile sensor. In addition to all those, the phone packs in Wi-Fi, 3G, HDMIOut, A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1, NFC, 1.3 mp frontfacing camera, 3.5 mm jack, and 1900 mAh battery. Overall build quality is fairly decent.

The Xperia ion runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

Micromax Canvas 4 (MRP `17,999) Micromax Canvas 4 comes with a 5.0-inch HD (720x1280) display.

It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor alongside 1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. Storage is expandable by adding microSD cards (maximum up to 32GB). Micromax Canvas 4 has a 13megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. It runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. Canvas 4 is powered by a 2,000 mAH battery. The smart features that the phone offers include a pop-up play like video player allowing users to simultaneously view videos while doing other tasks, automatic pausing of videos when one looks away and the ability to unlock the phone by blowing air on the screen.

Nokia Lumia 720

HTC One

(MRP `17,900):

(MRP `17,450)

The Nokia Lumia 720 is one of the best looking smartpones that you can get for under the Rs 20,000 mark. The handset features a 4.3” WVGA IPS screen with ClearBlack tech, which is known to offer deeper blacks. The 720 packs in a 1 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor with Adreno 305 graphics, which offer a fluid Windows Phone 8 experience. Other hardware features include 8 GB internal storage, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC, and 2000 mAh battery. This also comes with Nokia Music (free music download for a year) and Nokia Drive (maps).

This smartphone has a 3.7” Super LCD2 capacitive touchscreen mingled with the smooth HTC Sense UI4.0. It also comes with Android 4.0 ICS out of the box. However, an outdated 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon causes it to lag at times when multitasking. A 5MP rear camera is able to shoot pretty decent pictures and it is quite impressive in low-light and bright light as well. On the flip side, the smartphone is not a gaming phone and it has comparatively less internal strorage (only 1 GB of 4GB available).

LG Optimus L9

Lava Xolo Play

(MRP `17,400): The LG Optimus L9 comes with 4.7” IPS screen with 960x540 pixels.

It is powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor (Cortex A9), coupled with PowerVR SGX540 GPU. There is 1 GB RAM to aid the device’s multitasking capabilities.

The 5 megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash is capable of recording HD videos. Other features include Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS 3.5 mm jack, 4 GB of internal memory, microSD card slot, and 2150 mAh battery.

The Optimus L9 offers ICS out of the box, and the Jelly Bean update is being rolled out in phases. www.mobilityindia.com

(MRP `15,999)

Lava Xolo Play smartphone with Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 4.7-inch display, 720X1280 pixels resolution with pixel density of 312ppi, is powered by 1.5GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor with 416MHz 12 Core Nvidia ULP GeForce GPU, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded by up to 32GB through a microSD card. There is an 8-megapixel rear camera with BSI sensor and a 2-megapixel front snapper.

This smartphone comes with a 2,000mAh battery on board. Xolo Play will be a single SIM smartphone and will support 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 and GPS/ aGPS. Xolo Play will support Nvidia Tegra games through Nvidia TegraZone.

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Mobility Analysis

Seven Trends for Enterprise Applications

We are presenting these seven trends that are set to reshape the future of enterprise applications

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ver the next five years, technology changes will disrupt our long-held beliefs about the ownership and value of core enterprise application. These changes will introduce new levels of process flexibility, improve the transparency of ownership costs, and accelerate the speed of process execution.

Seven technologies will drive this

transformation: SaaS or software-asa-service, mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, business process management (BPM), usability, platform-as-a-service (PaaS), social networks, and elastic computing.

However, these trends have farreaching implications that extend beyond the technologies themselves. With applications evolving towards greater

www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility Analysis business processes – Mobile technology including devices, software, networks and product distribution channels - is evolving at breakneck pace. The potential of mobile applications to transform business processes hinges not only on the speed and convenience of mobility itself, but also on the unique capabilities of the devices to sense, respond to, deliver and capture information in real time.

Enterprise application suppliers, however, will struggle to adapt their product development cycles to the pace of the mobile world.

•Trend 3: Business process flexibility evolves via embedded modelling tools – Enterprise application configuration and process management has historically been the domain of technical specialists within IT, prioritising and queuing the change requests coming from business stakeholders. The end result has been a low level of business flexibility, where processes often adapt to the limitations of the software or customisation layers are built onto the applications.

Package configuration tooling that is flexible, graphical and model-based - no coding required - is evolving and will become a way to differentiate between packaged application suppliers. Building out these capabilities may prove challenging, given the high degree of flexibility, variability and adaptability built into BPM services, so packaged application suppliers may need to acquire some of the remaining pure-play BPM suppliers instead. levels of flexibility, business experts will increasingly play a more active role in defining the business processes, rules, organisational structures and performance metrics within the software.

Already, we recognise that buying decisions and ownership responsibility for applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) and human resource management (HRM), and potentially enterprise resource planning (ERP), is shifting more to the business side of the house.

•Trend 1: Cloud deployment models change application economics – Traditional onpremises applications have reached breaking point: software upgrades have become so costly and difficult that most customers defer for four years or longer.

Customisation further complicates the upgrade challenge, and supplier support deadlines and technical obsolescence, rather than business value, drive upgrade decisions. However, SaaS - and, more broadly, cloud computing - represents an alternative deployment model that is much more predictable. As SaaS adoption grows, we expect that application economics will change for customer and supplier alike.

•Trend 2: Mobile technology accelerates www.mobilityindia.com

•Trend 4: Application user experiences advance

to the next level – Packaged application software was initially designed to optimise the capture of transactional data, using bland, character-based user interfaces (UIs) with rows of input fields and field descriptions.

The addition of colours, drop-down lists, icons and other features has done little to advance application usability beyond the data capture orientation of the most frequent users. Today, applications have reached a turning point. Suppliers now design newer user experiences; their products have rich graphical features that deliver business intelligence and interactive displays that enable decision-

orientated activities and real-time customer interactions. The focus is moving from data capture to business outcomes, extending the application reach to a more diverse array of user roles.

•Trend 5: Extensibility improves via platform-asa-service – While most packaged applications offer some proprietary tools to customise or extend, the cost of doing so and the downstream impact on upgrades have caused many companies to seek alternatives.

This often leads to decisions to buy and customise or build from scratch to meet business requirements outside of the relatively commoditised core packaged applications.

Moving forward, expect to see PaaS, a set of rapid application development tools for extending apps to the cloud, disrupt the notion of “build versus buy” in applications.

Instead of build versus buy, the application platform will enable “buy plus build”. Standard functionality plus PaaS extensibility means that ERP and other complex applications can be more effectively aligned with business requirements.

•Trend 6: Elastic computing platforms scale transactions and analytics – Forrester defines an elastic application platform (EAP) as an application platform that automates the elasticity of transactions, services and data, delivering high availability and performance using elastic resources.

EAPs will deliver faster performance and be more cost-effective to use. Yet the benefits from a business process perspective will likely gravitate towards the insight and predictive analysis that come from processing massive amounts information instantaneously. This will not only help large companies efficiently manage high volumes of transaction and internal data, but will also help many companies draw insight from the vast data resources that exist in public and industry domains.

•Trend 7: Collaboration comes to applications in context via social tools – Rampant adoption of social-based communications in the consumer world has left application suppliers scrambling to harness this technology within, or alongside, business applications.

In the near term - the next one or two years - social collaboration will sit alongside enterprise applications, as only a few enterprise application suppliers will harness it successfully in the context of enabling business processes.

Effective use of social collaboration in enterprise applications and business processes will take several years to mature, eventually becoming a relatively ubiquitous and standardised feature.

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Mobility Focus

Next Gen Tablets What will the next generation of tablets offer? That’s the big question today

Gesture applications, multi tasking, waterproofing etc are set to take center-stage

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ry this, try that and see what entices customers. That’s the mantra for tablet makers that are experimenting with new tablet features in the elusive quest to deliver a big hit that – while they might not take on the iPad for its current user base, might pull in a wider audience.

Sony and Fujitsu are waterproofing their tablets, while Samsung is pushing multitasking by enabling users to simultaneously watch video, take notes and send email with the new Galaxy Note 8.0. Asus is bringing Android and Windows dual-boot capabilities to its Transformer AiO tablet-and-desktop hybrid.

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Device makers are flooding the market with new tablet designs to see what consumers are willing to pay for. It’s really about vendors wanting to differentiate and how they can get an advantage. The tablet market is very young, and will go through many changes just like the smartphone and PC markets.

Waterproofing Given their penchant for introducing innovative features to gadgets, it’s not surprising that Japanese tablet makers are the first to waterproof tablets. Sony will soon begin www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility Focus The Galaxy Note 8.0 has Android 4.1 and a 1.6GHz quad-core ARM processor. The screen displays images at 1280 x 800 pixel resolution.

Other features include a 5-megapixel rear camera and 1.3-megapixel front camera, 16GB or 32GB of storage, and 2GB of memory.

worldwide shipments of its Xperia Tablet Z, a waterproof and dustresistant tablet running the Android OS, and Fujitsu will ship its Arrows Tab Q582/F tablet, which has similar features and runs Windows 8.

The tablets can remain submerged in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes and still work, according to Sony and Fujitsu. It’s a handy feature for clumsy tablet users like me who tend to drop devices.

This feature could ultimately come by default as tablet makers add ruggedness to their devices and at the same time make them look trendy and sturdy.

The Xperia Tablet Z has a 10.1-inch screen, is 6.9 millimeters thick and weighs 495 grams. It has a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Android 4.1. Other features include an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera. The screen displays images at 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution.

Fujitsu’s Arrows Tab Q582/F tablet (top of this article) has an Intel Atom Z2760 processor code-named Clover Trail and an integrated Fujitsu LTE modem. It has 64GB of solid-state drive storage and 2GB of RAM. The tablet provides an estimated 10 hours of battery life.

Multitasking Samsung is emphasizing the ability to do multiple things at once with its Galaxy Note 8.0, which will ship in the second quarter. In demonstrations, Samsung officials showed that users could watch video and take notes simultaneously on the tablet, and link a note to a mapping application while the video was playing. Samsung has added some software fe a t u r e s a n d t h e multitasking was aided by extensive use of Samsung’s S-Pen stylus.

Multitasking on the Galaxy Note 8.0 didn’t seem as seamless to me as it is on a PC, but Samsung gets points for trying.

It’s difficult to switch between applications or to adjust window sizes on a small touchscreen interface, but as customers demand more from their tablets, Samsung is listening.

Multitasking is not a make-or-break feature for tablet usage, which revolves around tasks like email and video streaming, but not intense video editing. But multitasking is being heavily touted by Android tablet makers as a key feature. www.mobilityindia.com

Multiboot Asus recently announced it would ship a dual-boot Transformer AiO PC that can be an Android 4.1 tablet or a Windows 8 desktop when connected to a wireless PC docking station. With an 18.4-inch screen, the tablet is oversized, but the dual-boot feature provides an interesting twist to a market where tablets are closely tied to operating systems.

The oversized tablet can also connect to the docking station wirelessly to become a remote Windows 8 virtual desktop. In the future, we may see dual-boot tablets offering the option to load Windows or Linux-based operating systems.

The tablet weighs 2.28 kilograms, provides five hours of battery life and runs on an ARM processor. Other features include 2GB of RAM, a front-facing camera, mini-USB 2.0 port, micro-SD slot and Wi-Fi. The docking station has typical PC hardware with an Intel Core i5 processor based on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, a Nvidia GeForce GT730M graphics processor, 1TB hard drive, 8GB of DRAM, USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI port and Wi-Fi. Lenovo also introduced new Android tablets with 3G connectivity for developing countries, where LTE is not available. And HP is looking at Slate 7 tablet, made a conscious decision not to include 3G as the company considers Wi-Fi connectivity sufficient.

More tablets are being released with 3G and 4G chips included, but many opt not to use mobile networks and find Wi-Fi enough for Internet access.

But whether users like it or not, connectivity to 3G and 4G networks is being integrated into the Wi-Fi chip, Gold said. So the feature will increasingly become available by default in many tablets, and it’s cheaper for device makers to just put the combined chip in tablets.

Screen resolution The race to improve screen resolution is already under way, with the next goal perhaps being 4K resolution, which is four times today’s high-definition screens. Panasonic at International CES showed a 20inch tablet capable of displaying images at a 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. The best available resolution today is on Google’s Nexus 10 tablet, which displays images at 2560 x 1600 resolution, and Apple is a close second with the iPad’s 2048 x 1536 resolution.

Right now, Panasonic considers the 4K tablet a niche product, relevant mostly for multimedia tasks like video editing. But as gaming and movie companies begin offering 4K content, higher-resolution screens will become more relevant.

Other new features Screen sizes and prices apart, there’s a lot of untapped potential in the tablet market and many designs will appear as companies try to figure out what works for buyers.

Tablets are already being pitched as gaming consoles and mobile payment terminals, Kay said. Tablets are also being touted as the centerpiece of living rooms to operate TVs and other multimedia devices.

The cloud is encouraging the development of specialized tablets and gadgets that fit snugly into corporate environments or for delivering online services like video streaming. There will be devices built in the vein of Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which is designed mostly to purchase books, video and music from Amazon’s online retail store.

It becomes important to note that the tablet market has changed tremendously in the few years since Apple’s iPad was released. Moving forward, the market will continue to evolve, with some tablets succeeding, and a lot failing based on their support towards next generation feature sets and cutting edge design.

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Trends in Convergence Beyond The Keys

Smartphones are Embracing Gesture-Driven Interface

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ou probably remember the launch of Apple’s first iPhone as if it was yesterday. Among other things, it introduced a completely touchscreen-centered interaction to a individual’s most private and personal device. It was a game-changer.

Today, kids grow up with touchscreen experiences like it’s the most basic of the natural things available. Parents are amazed by how fast their children understand how a tablet or smartphone works. This shows that touch and gesture interactions have a lot of potential to make mobile experiences easier and more fun to use.

The Challenge with Buttons The introduction of “Human Interface Guidelines” and Apple’s App Review Board had a great impact on the 14

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quality of mobile applications. It helped a lot of designers and developers understand the core mobile UI elements and interactions. One of Apple’s popular suggestions, for instance, is to use UITabBar and UINavigationBar components.

In fact, if you can honestly say that the first iPhone application you designed didn’t have any top or bottom bar elements, get in touch and send over a screenshot.

The issues with top and bottom bars, is that they fill almost 20% of the screen. When designing for a tiny canvas, we should use every available pixel to focus on the content.

In this innovative industry, mobile designers need some time to explore how to design more creative and original interfaces. Add to that Apple’s frustrating rejection of apps www.mobilityindia.com

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Trends in Convergence that “think outside the box,” it is no surprise that experimental UI designs such as Clear and Rise took a while to see the light of day. But they are here now. And while they might be quite extreme and focused on highbrow users and early adopters, they show us the great creative potential of gesture-driven interfaces.

The Power Of Gesture-Driven Interfaces For over two years now, we have been exploring the ways in which gestures add value to the user experience of a mobile application.

The most important criterion for me is that these interactions feel very intuitive. This is why creative interactions have become a standard in no time.

Removing UI Clutter A great way to start designing a more gesture-driven interface is to use your main screen only as a viewport to the main content. Don’t feel obliged to make important navigation always visible on the main screen.

Rather, consider giving it a place of its own.

Speaking in terms of a virtual 2-D or 3-D environment, you could design the navigation somewhere next to, below, behind, in front of, above or hidden on top of the main view. A dragging or swiping gesture is a great way to lead the user to this UI element. It’s up to you to define and design the app.

What we like about Facebook and Gmail on iOS, for instance, is their implementation of a “sideswiping” menu. This trending UI concept is very easy to use. Users swipe the viewport to the right to reveal navigation elements. Not only does this make the app very contentfocused, but accessing any section of the application takes only two to three touch interactions. A lot of apps do far worse than that!

In addition to the UI navigation, your app probably also supports contextual interactions, too. Adding the same two or three buttons below every content item will certainly clutter the UI! While buttons might seem to be useful triggers, gestures have great potential to make interaction with content more intuitive and fun. Don’t hesitate to integrate simple gestures such as tapping, double-tapping and tapping-and-holding to trigger important interactions. Instagram supports a simple double-tap to perform one of its key features, liking and unliking a content item. We would not be surprised to see other apps integrate this shortcut in the near future.

after five seconds of no interaction?

The rise of touch and gesture-driven devices dramatically changes the way we design interaction. Instead of thinking in terms of screens and pages, we are thinking more in terms of time, dimension and animation.

You’ve probably noticed that fine-tuning user interactions and demonstrating them to colleagues and clients with static wireframe screenshots is not easy. You don’t fully see, understand and feel what will happen when you touch, hold, drag and swipe items.

Certain prototyping tools, including Pop and Invision, can help bring wireframes to life. They are very useful for testing an application’s flow and for pinpointing where and when a user might get stuck.

Your application has a lot more going on than simple back-and-forth navigation, so you need to detect interface bugs and potential sources of confusion as soon as possible. You wouldn’t want your development team to point them out to you now, would you?

To be more innovative and experimental, get together with your client first and explain that a traditional wireframe is not the UX deliverable that they need. Show the value of interactive wireframes and encourage them to include this in the process. It might increase the timeline and budget, but if they are expecting you to go the extra mile, it shouldn’t be a problem.

The Learning Curve When designing gesture-based interactions, be aware that every time you remove UI clutter, the application’s learning curve goes up.

Without visual cues, users could get confused about how to interact with the application.

Why not challenge yourself and gradually introduce creative UI hints as the user uses the application? This pattern is often referred to as progressive disclosure and is a great way to show only the information that is relevant to the user’s current activity. YouTube’s Capture application, for instance, tells the user to rotate the device to landscape orientation just as the user is about to open the camera for the first time.

Adding visual cues to the UI is not the only option. In the Sparrow An Interface That Fits with everything app, the search bar appears for a few seconds, before animating upwards When designing an innovative mobile product, predicting user and going off screen, a subtle way to say that it’s waiting to be pulled behavior can be very difficult. The sheer number of contextual scenarios down. and preferences made it very hard to come up with the perfect UI. So, usually users decide to integrate a simple dragging gesture to enable Start Gesture and Stop Talking them to adjust the balance themselves.

The iPhone ushered in a revolution in interactive communication. Only Gesture adds a creative contextual dimension to the smart phones five years later, touchscreen devices are all around us, and interaction and their application. The dragging gesture does not take the user from designers are redefining the ways people use digital content. one section to another. Rather, it enables the user to focus on the type of We need to explore and understand the potential of touch and gesturecontent they are most interested in, without missing out on the other. based interfaces and start thinking more in terms of time, dimension and animation. As demonstrated by several innovative applications, gestures Time, Dimension and Animation What action is triggered when the user taps an item? And how do you are a great way to make an app more content-focused, original and fun. visualize that it has actually happened? How fast does a particular UI And many gesture-based interactions that seem too experimental at first element animate into the viewport? Does it automatically go off-screen come to be seen as very intuitive. www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility News Nokia Introduces Mail for Exchange on Asha Smartphones

Samsung Launches ‘Galaxy Core’ In India

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okia Asha users can now send and receive office e-mails from the comfort of their mobile phones with the arrival of Mail for Exchange app on Nokia Store.

The new app, which is compatible with the Nokia Asha 311, Asha 310, Asha 309 and Asha 308 will allow users to sync their email, calendar and contacts data with Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010 Servers and Microsoft Office 365 Mobility Online Service.

“The introduction of Mail for Exchange app on Nokia Asha devices will enable our consumers to access and conduct their work on the go. As a brand we are committed at enhancing everyday experiences of our users and this is another milestone by our Nokia Asha range,” said, Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India.

amsung Electronics, the smartphone provider in India, announced the launch of the Samsung GALAXY Core, strengthening its popular GALAXY smartphone offering.

The Samsung Galaxy Core offers users with a powerful and intuitive smartphone performance; smart Dual SIM operations and the best of Smart Services to bring alive the proposition of ‘Power Comes from the Core’. Powered by 1.2GHz Snapdragon Qualcomm Dual Core processor and Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system, the Samsung GALAXY Core provides the user with a fast, fluid and smooth transitioning between various applications.

Announcing the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Core, stated Mr. Vineet Taneja, Country Head, Samsung Mobile, “Galaxy Core is designed especially to provide a power packed experience to the users by combining dual core processing power, compact design, and Dual SIM technology all into one device. The device is also loaded with various smart features that provide the users with advanced tools that continue to set the GALAXY series apart.”

Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India

Micromax Launches Canvas Lite A92

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icromax has launched its Canvas Lite A92 in the market at a price tag of `8,499.

Micromax Canvas Lite A92 sports a 5-inch TFT capacitive touch screen display with a resolution of 480X854 pixels and a pixel density of 196 ppi. It is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor alongside 512MB of RAM. C a n v a s Lite A92 has 4GB of internal storage, of which 0.94 GB is user accessible. The storage can be further expanded by up to 32GB via microSD card. It is a dualSIM (GSM+GSM) smartphone with dual standby. Other connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS. Canvas Lite A92 has a 5-megapixel auto focus camera with LED flash.

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MTS India Does Its Bit For Uttarakhand Flood Victims

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TS India has partnered with Goonj, an NGO for its Raahat (Relief and Comfort) Floods campaign. A collection drive has been organized at the various MTS offices in which employees have been generously donating woollens, blankets, cooking utensils, dry fruits, baby milk powder, biscuits, noodles and other utility items such as flex banners, torch, umbrella, lantern, candles, rope and first aid kit. The donated items are in the process of being handed over to Goonj to be sent to the affected people in Uttrakhand and the nearby areas.

MTS UP (West) circle team has set up phone booths at Doiwala Government hospital and at Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun. The on ground services are helping the rescued pilgrims and tourists to connect with their friends and families.

This service has been made available for FREE. www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility News Juniper Finds Mobile Threats Continue Rampant Growth

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uniper Networks, the industry leader in network innovation, released its third annual Mobile Threats Report showing the rapid growth and evolution of mobile malware into a profitable business for attackers. From March 2012 through March 2013, the Juniper Networks Mobile Threat Center (MTC) – the only threat center in the world devoted exclusively to mobile security research – found mobile malware threats growing at an exponential rate of 614 percent to 276,259 total malicious apps, demonstrating an exponentially higher cyber-criminal interest in exploiting mobile devices.

Additionally, it is clear from developments in the threat landscape

that malware writers are increasingly behaving like profit-motivated businesses when designing new attacks and malware distribution strategies. Attackers are maximizing their return on investment by focusing 92 percent of all MTC detected threats at Android, which has a commanding share of the global smartphone market.

Saavn, Tata Docomo Launch Marketing Program

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aavn, the digital music service for Bollywood and South Asian content, announced the rollout of a pop culture marketing campaign to complement its recent data partnership with Tata DOCOMO, one of India’s largest telecom operators. DOCOMO’s target audience in India is comprised of more than 80% youth, resulting in a conscious effort to roll out a marketing campaign featuring U.S. artists Justin Timberlake and Daft Punk. Saavn and DOCOMO have taken a joint initiative to run the campaign aimed at increasing the level of awareness through various touch points. The campaign will include TV, in-store, social and a massive SMS marketing program.

Paramdeep Singh, Co-founder and Managing Director of Saavn, said, “The combination of DOCOMO’s stellar reputation as a carrier, our vast Indian music catalog, and the appeal of global pop brands like Justin Timberlake, Daft Punk, Pink, Michael Jackson and Rihanna will only amplify the benefits of a worldwide shift in the way mobile users consume data.”

handygo to Empower Rural Farmers

McAfee Launches Smart Perimeter Beta

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andygo Technologies Pvt. Ltd, India’s mobile Value Added Service (mVAS) provider, has been awarded a grant from the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation to support the design and launch of an agricultural mVAS to benefit approximately 1 million small holder farmers in India over the next two years. The grant is awarded from the mFarmer Initiative, (a partnership between the GSMA, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID) which was launched in 2011 with the aim to provide small holder farmers with high quality, relevant and timely

information and advice delivered via mobile. handygo has termed this rural mVAS initiative as ‘mKisan’. The project aims to empower small holder farmers by providing information and advisory on agriculture and livestock to help them improve their yield and income.

Commenting on the announcement Mr. Praveen Rajpal, CEO, handygo Technologies, said, “It’s a matter of pride for handygo Technologies to have the privilege of being associated with the GSMA for such an important cause aimed at empowering the rural community as a whole.’’

cAfee released Smart Perimeter, as part of the new McAfee Mobile Innovations app, which provides enhanced protection for consumers against lost or theft of mobile devices.

Smart Perimeter thwarts this activity by creating a perimeter that allows devices to track each other and alerts the user immediately when their Android smartphone or tablet moves out of the pre-defined range created among devices. The Smart Perimeter feature, created jointly by Intel and McAfee, solves

challenges associated with multidevice growth. The McAfee Mobile Innovations app is a free application that is available at the Google Play marketplace.

According to recent research, 60% of US consumers own a smartphone and 39% own a tablet, and half of consumers say they would rather lose their purse or wallet than their smartphone. Despite that fact, a mere 20% of multiple device owners have security software on their smartphones and even fewer (13%) have security on their tablet.

Mr. Praveen Rajpal, CEO, handygo Technologies

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Mobility News Airtel, Google Partner on Free Mobile Internet

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hartiAirtel has partnered with Google to launch a service ‘Free Zone’, which enables subscribers to access Google services such as Gmail, Google+ and Google search on their mobile phones without any data cost, according to market sources.

However, the users are required to pay for advanced services such as attachment downloads.

The company added when users leave the Free Zone to navigate deeper into a website or download an attachment they are informed about

the data charges and given the option to purchase an appropriate data package. Free Zone is expected to encourage millions of users to discover the power of mobile Internet. Users can search information, check email and involve in social collaboration – at no incremental cost, as per the sources. From their mobile browsers, users can have unlimited access to Gmail. But if they click on a link or attachment within the email, they are directed to a page where they can purchase a data package.

Tata DOCOMO Reduces 2G, 3G Price By 90%

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ata DOCOMO, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices, announced that it has reduced its 2G and 3G data volume based charging (VBC) tariffs by 90 percent. The reduced rates will be applicable from 1st July 2013 for its existing as well as new prepay GSM customers across the country. The strategic move will accelerate mobile internet adoption and usage.

The revised tariffs will be applicable on 2G data packs - RC 126 (1.5GB for 30 days), RC 149 (2GB for 30 days) and RC 249 (3GB for 60 days) and 3G data pack – RC 255 (1GB for 30 days). Once customers exhaust their free 2G or 3G data quantum, they can continue to

access high speed mobile internet by paying only 1 paise per 10 kb instead of the earlier 10 paise per 10 kb data; thereby enjoying a 90 percent discount. This proposition will be applicable even while customers are roaming on Tata DOCOMO GSM network nationally.

“Customers can now enjoy uninterrupted, high speed mobile internet access at the most attractive prices available in the market.

This will increase data penetration across segments and a 90 percent discount will serve as a customer friendly yet clear differentiator for our customers,” said, Mr. Gurinder Singh Sandhu, Head Marketing, Tata DOCOMO.

HP Aims To Re-enter The Global Smartphone Race Uninor Bags ‘The Most Promising Mobile Operator In India’ Award

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ninor has been awarded ‘India’s Most Promising Telecom Company of the Year 2013’ in recognition of the company’s achievements and path breaking innovations in the telecom space. Uninor has made outstanding & remarkable progress in product innovation, efficient IT and network outsourcing apart from providing best in class affordable services to the mass market in all operating 6 circles namely UP (West), UP (East), Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat . Having achieved the milestone of break-even as the fastest ever telecom operator in India, the company is aiming to hit break-even in all six operating circles by the end of 2013. The award was presented by Dr. MukeshBatra, CEO, Dr Batra’s Positive Health Clinic Pvt Ltd at the 4th Annual India Leadership Conclave 2013.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Yogesh Malik, CEO, Uninor, said, “Uninor is pleased to receive this award on behalf of its customers, partners and employees who are the core of our successful business model. We are built around people and whatever we offer is keeping the needs of our customers in mind.”

Vodafone Connects With Students In NCR

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odafone India has launched a special Campus Pack to reach out to college students this admission season in Delhi and NCR. This attractive Campus Pack offers two value-for-money deals for the youth, enabling them to stay in touch with their family and friend easily.

Students can avail of these attractive offers by recharging through bonus card of either INR 149 or INR 275 to enjoy STD calls at 40 p/min. The pack also offers 100 free SMS (local + STD) valid over 28 days. Additionally Bonus Card of INR 149 offers 1 GB of 2G data services, whereas the INR 275 bonus card offers 1 GB of 3G data services.

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echnology giant HP is looking at re-entering the smartphone race with a new device, which will offer a “differentiated experience” to consumers, according to market reports. However no definite timeline is mentioned. HP is focusing on all segments including tablet PCs, notebook PCs as well as all-in-ones (AIOs). With the likes of Apple and Samsung seeing a strong spurt in sales pushed by smartphones, it seems HP also wants to cash in on the opportunity.

HP earlier made an attempt to enter smartphone market, but those attempts

did not take off.

According to IDC, smartphone shipments are expected to grow 32.7 percent year-on-year reaching 958.8 million units in 2013, up from 722.5 million units shipped last year. IDC also expects 2013 to mark the first year when smartphone shipments would surpass those of feature phones, accounting for 52.2 percent of total mobile phone shipments worldwide. Emerging markets are forecast to account for 64.8 percent of all smartphones shipped during 2013, up from 43.1 percent in 2010.

Vodafone Launches Free Incoming On Roaming At INR 5 Per Day

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odafone India, one of India’s telecommunications service providers, launched a Special Tariff Vouchers (STV) for its pre-paid customers who can now enjoy free incoming while on national roaming at INR 5 per day. Roaming outgoing call charges under this daily plan will be 1.5p/sec. To activate the daily plan, customers will have to dial *444*500#. Additionally, Vodafone also offers a monthly plan which offers free incoming calls on roaming starting from INR 71 for its pre-paid customers and INR 75 for its post-paid customers.

Vodafone also launched two new attractive Roaming Tariff Plans for its pre-paid and post-paid customers offering various roaming benefits. The two new plans, Roaming Tariff Plan (RTP) and Roaming Tariff Plan Free (RTP FR), offers reduced incoming roaming tariff and free incoming roaming benefit, respectively to both the pre-paid and post-paid customers. The price point for the RTP-FR for pre-paid customer’s starts from INR 196 and varies by state and INR 149 for its post-paid customers. www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility News ASUS unveils Transformer Book TX300

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SUS India, together with UTV, unveiled the Transformer Book TX300 – World’s thinnest Window 8 tablet and detachable Notebook – in association with Chennai Express at the music launch of the film.

The evening witnessed much grandeur with the presence of Mr. Shah Rukh Khan, Mr. RohitShetty and Mr. Apratim Sharma – ASUS India. The ASUS Transformer Book will be available in India at an MRP of Rs. 91,999/- across select ASUS authorized retail outlets starting second week of July 2013.

Expressing excitement on the launch of Transformer Book, Mr. Apratim Sharma - Country Product Manager - System Business Group, ASUS India, elaborated, “The

ASUS Design Center starts with what people need and want and crafts perfect solutions that are aesthetic, integrated, intuitive and sustainable. The ASUS Transformer

Book supports this belief to the fullest and we are positive that the world’s thinnest Window 8 detachable tablet cum notebook will stun the masses in the way it has been designed to.”

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Share The Idea Behind Your Dream App And Win A Blackberry

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ll BlackBerry fans now have the opportunity to share their ideas for apps that would make the most of their smartphone experience – and by doing so, stand a chance of winning a BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

BlackBerry fans are encouraged not just to submit their ideas but also to be part of the development of the ultimate BlackBerry 10 experience for all BlackBerry users.

Countries participating in the BlackBerry Dream App Factory campaign include Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and

Imagination Begins with LG Optimus G Pro

Vietnam.

The top three ideas will then be narrowed to one application idea by a panel of judges within BlackBerry.

Ideas will be selected based on the local country’s need.

The idea that has been nominated by the judges for each country will be passed to a pre-identified local developer.

The developers from each of the participating countries in the BlackBerry Dream App Factory will then have eight (8) weeks to complete the applications and ensure that they are Built for BlackBerry.

nheriting the distinctive design and features that are fast-becoming LG signatures, LG Electronics, a worldwide technology, and design leader in mobile communications today introduced the newest edition to its Optimus family- Optimus G Pro. With 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor and 5.5 inch full HD display that gives life like quality, Optimus G Pro smartphone is a power-house. It boosts advanced UX features developed specifically for the device, Dual Recording and Virtual Reality (VR) Panorama and its full HD quality is that of LG’s high definition TVs. The smartphone offers Dual Recording feature that captures video with both the front and rear cameras simultaneously for a unique picture-in-picture experience. The VR Panorama feature allows 360 degree viewing, from taking pictures of both horizontal and vertical environment. The smartphone has the largest battery capacity with 3, 140 mAh, allowing for full HD viewing enjoyment with an improved 13 MP rear and 2.1 MP front Full HD camera.

Indians at risk while downloading games – Trend Micro

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ccording to Trend Micro’s latest findings 293,091 apps were found to be malicious and of these, 68,740 were found on the official Google Play store. Around 22% of these malicious apps were found to leak information about the user. While not inherently malicious, adware can be abused by cybercriminals for their own gains.

Adware not only uses aggressive advertising tactics such as persistent notifications, but also collects information about the user. This could be construed as a violation of the user’s privacy. Trend Micro has also predicted that malicious and high-risk Android apps will hit 1 million sometime this year. It is seen that shady developers are now taking advantage of Candy Crush, one of the hottest gaming apps in both social networks and Android.

“It is common for suspicious developers and parties www.mobilityindia.com

to use the name of popular apps as social engineering bait. As soon as new versions make headlines, expect that these guys are out there concocting their bogus versions,” said, ShardaTickoo, Product Marketing Manager, Trend Micro India.

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Mobility News Samsung Unveils Ativ Q Tablet

Karbonn Lauches Titanium S9 IPS

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amsung has launched 9 new products that are expected to hit the Indian market over the next few months, according to market reports.

The Ativ Q tablet that runs both Android and Windows 8 operating systems were among the range of products unveiled at the Samsung Premiere 2 0 1 3 event, held in London recently.

With a global strategy

to cash in on the popularity of its Galaxy S4 series, Samsung also unveiled a water-resistant version of the company’s flagship handset called Galaxy S4 Active.

Other devices announced

by Samsung include the successor to the Series 9 laptop, the Ativ Book 9 Plus, featuring a similar display, but have a touchscreen and claims to have 12 hrs of battery life weighing just 1.39 kg.

Videocon Intros A55HD Smartphone

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ideocon Mobiles Phones Division, to enhance the user experience of the customer with greater clarity and an enhanced user-experience, launched its A55HD. Videocon Mobiles’ A55 HD smartphone is laden with new-age features which sets it apart in the market. Addressing the needs of consumers who demand high processing speed, HD resolution visuals, high quality photography backed by the comfort and trust of an established brand – the Videocon Mobiles’ A55HD is THE device that will help take the smartphone experience to a new level. The Videocon A55HD also comes with the

V-Store, which enables you to quickly access your favorite apps, including games, mail, social networking, new channels and many, many more from the universe of Android applications.

arbonn Mobiles has launched its latest smartphone Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS in the Indian market. Titanium S9 IPS has some splendid features making it a competitor of high-end smartphones. Priced at Rs 19,990, Titanium S9 IPS is a dual SIM phone and all the features seem to be matching the other brands of that price range.

Features and specifications of Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS: It operates on latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and powered by 1.2GHz quad core processor and 1 GB RAM. It is a 3G phone. Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS sports a 13 Mega pixel primary camera with auto focus and LED flash, a 5 Mega Pixel front camera. Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS is topped with 5.5 inch HD IPS Capacitive touchscreen that offers 16 million color output. Its output ports include a micro SD card slot that can be used to expand the memory up to 32 GB, 3.5 mm audio jack. Karbonn Titanium S9 IPS comes with 16 GB of internal memory. It also has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, technology support and runs on 2,600 mAh battery.

Micromax Presents Smartphone Canvas 4

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icromax has recently launched its new smartphone the Canvas 4 in India. Priced at `17,999, the smartphone has a quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz comes with a 5-inch screen and 16 GB memory space. okia launched the new 301 with 3.5G Internet speeds for better Here are our first impressions connectivity and online streaming. Available in cyan, yellow, magenta, of the smartphone based on black and white, the smartphone is priced at `5349. It has three key areas. a 2.4-inch screen, elegant design and a The Canvas 4 might bold color palette. appeal to those who The Nokia 301 comes with a 3.2MP are buying their first smart camera that allows people a choice of smartphone and image capture, editing and sharing options, perhaps are okay including. Panorama: for wide-angle shots, w i t h including group photos and landscapes; sequential shots: capture five frames in a row with just one click; and self-portrait: even without a front-facing camera, the built-in voice prompt guides the user to ensure they are in the frame before taking the shot. The 5-in-1 camera app lets users choose and apply one of five camera effects to an image. The Nokia 301 is available in Easy Swap Dual SIM model.

Nokia Launches 301 with 3.5G Internet Speed

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pushing their budget from Rs 15k to 18k.

Micromax is reportedly India’s second largest mobile phone vendor. The 5-inch screen has 720 pixel resolution (not the 1080 Full HD resolutions that many tech critics were expecting). The other disappointing feature is the battery which is a standard 2000 mAh with 8 hour battery life.

The Canvas HD had the same battery and thus the Canvas 4 has nothing new to offer in that area.

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Mobility News PayUPaisa Announces Gionee Launches HD Super ‘ZERO Transaction Charges’ AMOLED Smartphone ionee brings yet another to deliver breathtaking multimedia on Online Payments ayUPaisa, the new online payment solution brand from PayU India, recently announced to make its payment gateway services absolutely free. It has rolled out a

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automatically upgraded to this free offer. PayUPaisa also offers a gamut of free tools like webstores, webfronts and e-mail invoice to anyone who wants to collect money online. This

‘ZERO Transaction Charges offer’ from 1st July 2013, which waives off transaction charges levied on a merchant for any transaction. This means a merchant does not need to pay any TDR (Transaction Discount Rate or Merchant discount Rate) to PayUPaisa on any transaction.

All existing merchants have been

offer stands valid for merchants opting for these free tools as well.

Zero Transaction charge offer is valid till 30th September 2013.

“With the launch of PayUPaisa, we started with an objective to revolutionize the way online payments happen in our country,” quoted, Nitin Gupta, Co-founder and CEO, PayU India.

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specimen of impeccable craftsmanship, the Elife E5. At 1.5 Quad Core and just 6.85 mm Thin, the E5 is sure to get heartbeats racing. The latest in the ELIFE series, the E5 is a stunning example of exquisite style and exemplary substance. The UnibodyElife E5 is powered with a lightning fast 1.5 GHz Quad Core Processor which will enable high performance as well as high efficiency at low power consumption. With a stunning 4.8” HD Super AMOLED display at 306 PPi with 1280x720 pixels screen resolution this piece of art provides excellent screen clarity along with super smooth multitouch interface with an Android Jelly Bean v4.2.

E5 powered by a 2000 mAh battery to provide a long lasting standby time with high efficiency processor with low power consumption. With an in-built Digital Theatre System (DTS) and 3D Surround System, E5 is sure

experience. E5 comes with an in-built memory of 16GB which provides plenty of space to install apps and save music and video files. It will be available in vibrant colors including Yellow, Graphite Black and White.

The Gionee E5 would be available at an estimated price of INR 19,999.

Sunstrike Launched Optima Gionee Launches ELIFE E6 Smartphone Smart Smartphones And has announced the performance and convenience.

Tabs ELIFE E6 boasts an industrySmartphone of its ELIFE GIONEE

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unstrike Telecom Pvt Ltd launched its Optima Smart, smart, sleek and stylish smart phones and tabs. Optima Smart will offer consumers a whole new range of smart technology phones that keep users active and connected on the go.

Sunstrike Telecom’s Range mobile series is already hugely popular in the rural and semi urban market centers of the country. With its latest smart technology updated features and most stylish designs, Optima Smart marks Sunstrike Telecom’s foray into the high end premium m a r k e t

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category in India.

“We are proud to announce our entry in the premium smart phone market in India and we are sure that our innovation based products will charm their way into the hearts of young Indians. We are confident that we will be successful in replicating the success of our Rage mobile series in this high end category as well,” said, Capt.

Chanpreet Singh, Managing Director, Sunstrike Telecom Pvt. Ltd.

series, the ELIFE E6. ELIFE E6 is designed specifically to bring stronger performances and increased user friendliness to exceed the needs of its users across the globe.

As the world’s first White OGS phone, its 2.54mm narrow edge and 6.18mm thin miniature size allows it to slide comfortably into your pockets. Powered with a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor combined with a 5.0” FULL HD 1080P Retina Display, ELIFE E6 is designed to enhance the life styles of mobile phone users across the world, regardless of whether you are a multitasking working class or graphic-intense g a m e r. C o n t a i n i n g a Memory of 31 GB + 2GB, a non-removable 2020 mAh Battery and weighing only 128g, it is the balance of

leading 13MP rear-end camera, 5MP front-facing camera, and modified Android ROM software, allowing users to quickly and easily capture high quality images and videos.

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Mobility Personality

“BlackBerry has a subscriber base of 76 million users”

Please brief us about your business and how it is doing?

BlackBerr y, a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerr y products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, BlackBerry operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. BlackBerry develops integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless networks. BlackBerry is best known for creating the BlackBerry smartphone and providing solutions that allow seamless mobile access to time-sensitive information through emails, text messages, the Internet and applications. Globally, we have a subscriber base of 76 million users who have integrated

Even though, Canada based global smartphone maker BlackBerry has gone through tough times, the company is looking forward to enabling mobility for the end users, with the help of its latest launched products. Mobility India engages in a talk with Ashish Gupta, Director Marketing, Blackberry India about the company’s current focus and future plans.

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Mobility Personality BlackBerry devices into their life and lifestyle.

BlackBerry started its India operations in the year 2004 offering the most trusted and iconic BlackBerry smartphones and solutions to enterprise, SMB and individual consumers.

BlackBerry has partnered with nine carriers and three national distributors; Redington India, Brightpoint India and Ingram Micro, respectively. Today we have presence in over 250 cities with over 5000 retail points across the country. We have more than 46,000 app developers in India who develop relevant applications backed by cutting-edge technology for providing superior utility experience on the BlackBerry 10 and BlackBerry 7 platforms.

What are the segments you are targeting in general?

When we entered the Indian market, our primary focus was to cater the Enterprise segment. We had the capability of providing a holistic mobile ecosystem deployed in various organizations to enable end-to-end secure and seamless communication. However, we also realized that Indian market had big opportunities for us in terms of the vast consumer segment. Over the past few years, we have successfully realigned ourselves to the dynamics of the Indian market and today we are positioned as makers of smartphones laden with high utility and functionality that caters to both Enterprise and Consumer segment.

Now market focus is on the smartphone segment. Where does BlackBerry stand?

BlackBerr y is strongly positioned in the smar tphone segment. BlackBerry Curve series is the entry level smartphone which is priced from Rs 9,900 onwards. Then we have the BlackBerry Torch and BlackBerry Bold series which are priced in the mid-level and high-level segments. Earlier this year we launched the BlackBerry Z10 followed by the BlackBerry Q10 in June. These are premium smartphones based on our latest flagship mobile computing platform BlackBerry 10. All our devices have been accepted with much excitement and fervor in the Indian market. We are steadily growing our business and plan to be more aggressive to churn out innovative technology that our users need.

Recently you have launched BlackBerry Q10. What is the market reaction? And, BlackBerry Q10 is targeted at which segments?

BlackBerr y Q10 is the first hybrid (touch-and-type) smartphone based on our flagship mobile computing platform, BlackBerry 10. In January of this year, when we launched BlackBerry Z10, our objective was to provide a premium and complete touch experience to our customers. However, a big market segment that prefers a smartphone with a physical keyboard has always existed in the mobility industry. Keeping this in view, we have launched the BlackBerry Q10 for our cherished customers who want the finest experience of touch and type. BlackBerry Q10 has a physical QWERTY keyboard providing superior user experience to our customers who have been fans of the traditional BlackBerry keyboard.

The device has been received with a lot of positivity in the market and garnered rave reviews from technology evangelists as well as our customers. BlackBerry Q10 is a high end premium smartphone targeted at the Prosumer and Enterprise segment who wanted the QWERTY experience integrated with the mobile computing abilities of BlackBerry 10.

What is your channel strategy? www.mobilityindia.com

We continue with our commitment towards providing the premium communication experience to our customers. We have announced the introduction of new EMI Schemes for BlackBerry Z10 and Curve 9220 smartphones. Customers can now buy the BlackBerry Z10 via their credit cards by paying an EMI of `4799 per month for nine months. Similar scheme for BlackBerry Curve 9220 is also available where customers can use their credit card to buy the device and pay an EMI of `799 per month for 12 months. Both schemes have the unique feature of `0 down payment, 0% processing fee and 0% interest. It will be rolled out in 2500 BlackBerry outlets across the country by this weekend and will be available in additional 400 outlets by next week. Further, Idea Cellular customers can avail full 1-year unlimited data plan at just `999/year in 8* circles.

We have also announced the introduction of a new data plan for BlackBerry OS 7 consumers in India. Subscribers across 15** circles of Aircel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone network can avail one Gb of data at `129/- per month. Customers on the new data plans can enjoy access to email, BlackBerry Messenger, instant messaging, social networking, Internet browsing, as well as access to the BlackBerry World application store, at a pocket friendly price. For Corporate users, in addition to the above services, they can also deploy BES Express at zero cost of software license to enable corporate email access even on employee owned BlackBerry devices.

Last month, we announced an exclusive offer for American Express on the purchase of BlackBerry Q10 smartphone in India. Customers who buy the BlackBerry Q10 during the offer period of June 12–July 3, 2013 with their American Express Card(s) will get Rs. 5000 back as an American Express Gift Card. This offer was also applicable on online purchases. The American Express Gift Card is a prepaid card and is accepted at over 100,000 locations in India.

Recently, we announced an exclusive buyback offer on the purchase of BlackBerry Z10 smartphone. Customers in India can exchange their old phones for a new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone and avail discount of `3000–11,000. Additionally, the amount after deduction of discount amount can be paid through 9 easy monthly installments at 0 down payment, 0% interest and 0 processing fee. This offer on BlackBerry Z10 is available in 17*** cities across 1400 outlets. This is a limited period scheme and is applicable on all purchases made by or before July 31st. To avail the EMI offer after cash deduction, customers can use their credit cards (American Express, Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC Bank, HSBC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak, SBI and Standard Chartered) What are your future plans and what kind of market share you are looking for?

We recently launched BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 smartphones in India. These are premium devices meant for the sophisticated professional users. The sales figures of both the devices have been very encouraging and we believe that these two smartphones shall continue to gain momentum in the mobility market of India. We have showcased BlackBerry Q5 smartphone at BlackBerry Live event in Orlando targeted at the emerging and youth markets. Additionally, BBM will be launched for Android and iOS platforms and we shall be expanding the size of our application store, BlackBerry World to add more numbers of high performance and utility oriented apps. The focus on BlackBerry OS 7 shall continue and we will be rolling out interesting offerings, solutions and schemes to strengthen the positioning of devices running on the BlackBerry OS 7 in the market.

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Mobility Review

Xolo Q700 review – The Best in Economy World

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olo has recently started offering affordable quad-core smartphones under its ‘Q series’. The first smartphone in this series was the Xolo Q800. Recently the company added the Q700 to the list. The Xolo Q700 is priced at Rs. 9,999 and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

In this review we try to find out whether this smartphone is a worth the bucks or has Xolo cut corners to deliver a sub-Rs. 10,000 offering.

Hardware/ Design Xolo as a company is known for launching good looking smartphones such as Xolo X1000 and Xolo A1000. We were pleasantly surprised that the company did not comprise on the design and build quality for their under Rs. 10,000 smartphone either.

The Xolo X700 does not offer a path breaking design, sporting a rectangular frame with rounded corners. It comes with 4.5-inch qHD display, which has an edge-to-edge glass. The smartphone seems to be just the right size, neither too large nor too small. The device is 10.2mm thick, so it is not going to fit in the category of the size zero smartphones doing the round. The smartphone weighs 151.3 grams but does not feel too heavy.

The volume rocker is placed on the right panel while the power/ standby button is on the left panel. The top panel houses the USB port and 3.5mm jack. The front panel also has three capacitive buttons for Menu, Home and Back. However, these buttons are not backlit, which makes them difficult to use in dark.

Under sun visibility on the Xolo Q700 is average and the screen used in this smartphone is reflective. The downside of this screen is that it is a finger print magnet and even prone to scratches.

However, the company has bundled in a screen guard along with

the purchase of this smartphone.

Camera The Xolo Q700 packs in a 5-megapixel rear camera with Back Side Illumination (BSI) sensor. The pictures captured through this camera in the broad day light are good. The images are sharp and the colour reproduction seems to be good.

Software/ Interface The Xolo Q700 runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) out of the box.

Hence, one can enjoy many features such as lock screen widgets, Day dream, Quick Settings, et al, which are not available on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).

There are five customisable home screens to fill with apps and widgets. The lock screen and the setting menu of the Xolo Q700 looks pretty much like on any other stock Android smartphone.

However, the app categories on this smartphone have been tweaked slightly. The apps are listed under four major heads Main, Apps, Games and Widgets, as opposed to having just two main categories for Apps and Widgets.

The Xolo Care app was also pre-installed on some of the previous Xolo smartphones that we have reviewed. Its primary function is to help access the customer care in a jiffy. However, the apps Xolo Power and Xolo Switch have been introduced for the first time with this smartphone.

Performance/ Battery Life The Xolo Q700 is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589M processor with PowerVR SGX544 GPU. The smartphone also packs in 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage, out of which 2.70 GB is user accessible.

The smartphone features a 2,400mAh battery, which we think gives an impressive battery backup. Based on our usage, the smartphone is easily able to last almost a day and half on a single charge.

With medium to heavy usage, including 2-2.5 hours of phone calls, about 30 minutes of Skype call, one Gmail account with push notifications, screen at maximum brightness, Twitter and Facebook notifications and WhatsApp chats, the Xolo Q700 lasted good 30-31 hours.

The final word In our mind the Xolo Q700 is a great value for money proposition. The smartphone offers a good battery backup, looks sophisticated for a `10,000 phone and has a decent display. The only real disappoint for this smartphone comes from the camera department, which does not perform too well especially in low light.

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■ Great design ■ Sufficient battery back-up

■ Underperforming camera www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility Review

Micromax A88 Canvas Music – The Musical Extravaganza!

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icromax is rapidly expanding its Canvas portfolio and the latest addition is A88 Canvas Music. Available for Rs. 8,499, this smartphone comes with free JBL Tempo headset. The company is also offering Micromax A88 Canvas Music owners unlimited music downloads for three months from M!Live mobile Web application.

Hardware/ Design Micromax A88 Canvas Music looks very similar to Micromax A116 Canvas HD. The smartphone has a plastic body with rubberised back for a steady grip. The thin chrome lining at the edges and the well-rounded corners make the smartphone look presentable.

Display The Micromax A88 Canvas Music sports a 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 480x854 pixels and a pixel density of 217ppi.

This is not one of the best displays we have seen on a sub Rs. 10,000 smartphone. Pictures and videos look washed out and at times it becomes difficult to read text.

The screen is reflective and under sunlight legibility is just about average. The viewing angels are bad. The smartphone lacks the ambient light sensor, and as a result auto-brightness option is missing.

Even the lock screen appears to be slightly different on the A88 Canvas Music. It offers quick access to dialler and SMS application. The notification tray includes toggles for settings such as Wi-Fi, Brightness, Rotation, Bluetooth, GPS, Data, Screen timeouts and profiles (for alerts and other notifications).

Micromax A88 Canvas Music comes pre-loaded with Micromax’s own suite of apps such as HookUp!, M! Zone+ and M! Live.

HookUp! is a messaging service while M! Zone+ lets you schedule SMS alerts for various

services such as Jokes, Astrology, love tips, Cricket, et al. M! Live is catalogue of over 3 lakhs songs in various languages including English, Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi.

Camera Micromax Canvas Music comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera along with dual LED flash. The images clicked through the camera in broad daylight are decent. However, the dual LED flash tends to make the images too bright at times.

The Camera app leaves out the Panorama mode, but offers a burst mode. The phone offers three basic modes - Face Beauty, HDR and Photo. The Photo mode allows users to modify settings like exposure, colour effect, ISO and white balance, among others.

There’s a self-timer of up to 10 seconds as well.

Micromax Canvas Music A88 comes with 4GB of internal storage of which 1.93GB is user accessible. The internal storage can be expanded by up to 32GB through a microSD card. The phone comes with an 18000mAh battery, and based on our experience, it lasted almost full day with a single charge.

The final Word Micromax Canvas Music A88 is an interesting option for people looking for a good music smartphone on a budget.

However, apart from the JBL Tempo headset, this smartphone does not have much to offer. The competition is the `10,000 market has increased many folds in the last few months.

■ Decent Looks ■ The audio output feels great ■ Below normal performance ■ Low resolution screen

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Mobility Review

Kindle Fire HD – super cool tablet

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mazon launched the Kindle Paperwhite ebook reader and Kindle Fire HD range of tablets in India recently. Kindle Fire HD, a 7-inch tablet, and Kindle Fire HD 8.9, its 8.9-inch avatar, sport very similar looks, though they differ under the hood.

Kindle Fire HD is a 7-inch tablet, but seems even smaller when you see it at first. It fits well in your hand, and feels just the right weight as well. The high quality plastic that the tablet is made of gives it a premium finish.

The Kindle Fire HD looks pretty plain from the front, with the screen surrounded by a thick bezel on all four sides. There are no buttons or sensors on the front of the tablet, with only the presence of the camera module at the top breaking the monotony.

The left edge of the Kindle Fire HD is completely bare, while the top features the microphone, located exactly above the camera. The bottom houses the Micro-USB and Micro-HDMI ports. The right edge has the headphone jack, volume rocker and the power button. The power and volume buttons are completely flush with the body, which means they can be a little hard to locate when you are using the tablet.

Software/ UI Kindle Fire HD runs a customised version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, though it looks nothing like other Android devices you may have come across. Instead of multiple home screens with small icons you can click to launch applications, you are greeted by a carousel with giant icons that take up the entire screen.

Thankfully, you can switch to viewing just your Apps or Music or any other type of content, by selecting the category from the top of the screen. Items inside a particular category are listed as a grid of icons, with an option to switch to list view if desired.

Users can also use the favourites feature to quickly get to your most frequently accessed apps, books, movies, or other types of content. However, there’s no app-switcher as seen in Android or iOS. Though the Kindle Fire HD runs a variant of Android 4.0, you do not have the option to install apps from Google Play. Instead, you get access to Amazon’s own Appstore that features a curated set of apps. Unlike Google Play, that can resemble Wild West at times, apps need to be approved by Amazon before they get into Appstore, similar to the policy that Apple follows with its App Store, so discovering quality apps is a little bit easier.

However, unlike Apple, which does not officially support jailbreaking your iOS devices, Amazon lets you install apps from other sources (also called side loading) by simply enabling the relevant preference. This lets you install apps like Dropbox and Firefox that are not available in Amazon’s Appstore by visiting the respective websites, or by getting the APK file from other sources.

Kindle Fire HD comes with a notification centre and the top left corner of your screen displays the number of pending notifications, adjacent to the name of your device. However, there are no pop-up notifications to give, for example, a preview of the email you just received.

What you get instead is an indicator that you’ve received one or more new emails. You can pull down the notifications drawer, and even then, you’ll just get to see the number of new emails in each account, but no information about the emails themselves. This can be a bit of a problem if you wish to stay on top of your emails while, say, reading a book.

and octa-core processors, the tablet performs admirably in all departments. We did not experience any lag in the considerable amount of time we spent using the Kindle Fire HD. Casual games like Temple Run work without any hiccups and other games like Dead Trigger run flawlessly. However, some popular games and apps are not available on Amazon’s Appstore and you may have to resort to side loading to acquire them.

Kindle Fire HD comes with dual-speakers that are quite loud and the sound quality is good, even at high volumes, which makes watching videos and listening to music quite pleasurable.

Battery life on the tablet is pretty impressive and we got over 6 hours of continuous video playback on full brightness and the volume turned all the way up. Auto-brightness, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were all turned off; your mileage may vary by toggling one or more of those settings.

Even with heavy usage, that involves a mix of browsing the Web, emails, reading, and watching videos, the tablet should last you a full day, and more, on a single charge.

The final word Amazon has priced the Kindle Fire HD at Rs. 15,999 that puts it directly in competition with the likes of Google’s Nexus 7 and Asus’s FonePad that carry identical price tags. All three tablets sport similar specs, but bring something different to the tablet.

While Google’s tablet offers you the core Android experience and promises quick software updates thanks to its ‘Nexus’ status, the FonePad comes with support for voice calling and 3G connectivity, as well as a 3-megapixel rear camera.

If you are looking for your first tablet and do not have the budget to buy the iPad mini (`21,900), which remains our top pick in this segment, we recommend you give the Kindle Fire HD a look.

Performance/ Camera/ Battery life Kindle Fire HD is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor alongside 1GB RAM, and while they may not sound impressive in this era of quad-

■ Lack of cellular connectivity

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Mobility Rating

■ Great build ■ Wonderful display ■ Ease of use ■ Great battery Performance Mobility July 2013

27

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CMYK

Mobility Review

Lava Etab Xtron+ - The Performance King

L

ava launched its first Android 4.1 Jelly Bean-powered tablet, the Etab Xtron, earlier this year. The company has now added a rear camera, an HDMI port and updated the OS to Android 4.2, and launched the Etab Xtron+, the successor to the first Etab Xtron tablet. We try to find out if the budget tablet delivers value for your hard earned money.

The back of the tablet is made of polycarbonate but has been given a brushed aluminium finish. The frame extends to the front, and adds to the design of the tablet. A microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack sits at the top edge at the right side while the speaker grill is located towards the left. There are no ports on the bottom edge.

Lava-etabxtronplus4.jpgThe power button, a volume rocker, and a refresh/ ‘return to home screen’ button and a microphone are located at the right hand side of the tablet.

Lava-etabxtronplus8.jpgTurning the tablet over, there’s some Lava branding at the bottom right corner and ETab Xtron+ branding in the middle.

The 2-megapixel camera lens is placed towards the upper part.

Display The Etab Xtron+’s 7-inch IPS TFT display comes with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels, which is not that great but given the price of the tablet, we can live with it. Images and videos look good but text, specially with smaller font size, is not very legible.

The touch sensitivity is good, and we didn’t encounter any issues while using the device. Overall, we were not satisfied with the quality of the tablet’s display and it feels like a downgrade from the Lava Etab Xtron.

Similar to the Nexus 7, the tablet’s onscreen controls are located at the centre. However, instead of one there are two slide-down trays at the top, one at the left, with the date, time and notifications, and another one at the right with toggles for Brightness, Settings, Wi-Fi, Screen rotation, Battery, Airplane mode, and Wireless Display (an Android 4.2 feature).

During our use, we didn’t notice much lag while navigating through menus, and Google’s much touted ‘Project Butter’ makes the overall experience more responsive than tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich.

The other major feature that Jelly Bean brings is ‘Google Now’, a voice-based information assistant and an extension of Google search. You can ask questions and the tool returns answers or search results. It uses ‘cards’ which are essentially small boxes that offer different sets of information ranging from weather forecast, directions, traffic information, scores, appointments, and currency conversion, among others. Google Now collects information based on the user’s behaviour, location and even email to offer information, automatically.

Another Android 4.2 feature for tablets is multi-user accounts i.e. different profiles and access for different users. However, this tablet doesn’t include this functionality, which is a pity.

It also offers another Android 4.2 feature, Daydream, that displays photo albums or the clock while the phone’s charging.

The option to wirelessly mirror the phone’s display with an HDMI enabled device through a wireless display adapter is also present.

Camera The Etab Xtron+ tablet comes with a 2-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front camera. Personally, we’re no fans on using tablets for clicking needs, but some people may use a rear camera for taking casual shots or just for scanning some documents.

The pictures that we clicked with the front camera, indoors, were strictly functional, but it does a decent job when used for making video calls over Skype or other video chat apps.

Performance/ Battery Life The tablet is powered by a 1.5GHz Cortex A9 dual-core processor, a Mali-400 GPU and 1GB of RAM. We did not encounter any crashes while working on this tablet and multitasking was comfortable.

There’s no voice calling but the major omission is Bluetooth connectivity. We’re not sure why Lava had to exclude it since most major Android devices offer this functionality, and consumers might use it for wireless file transfers or for connecting a wireless input device. However, we see a lot of budget tablets these days ship without Bluetooth and we’re not convinced it’s a good trend.

The final word The Lava Etab Xtron+ is an above average tablet for its price. At a price of Rs. 6,990, it offers a good package with decent hardware, compact form factor and the latest version of Android Jelly Bean. It’s interesting to look at if you’re looking for a device for browsing the Web or playing casual games and are on a budget.

■ Runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean ■ Super performance ■ Wonderful build

■ Reflective screen ■ Battery life could have been better ■ Lack of Bluetooth is a hindrance

Mobility Rating

28

Mobility July 2013

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CMYK

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Mobility July 2013

33

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