News | Fone Arena - Part 2850

Man gets mobile phone bill for 34 lacs

Imagine you get a mobile bill for Rupees 34 lacs !! You can even buy a Merc or an apartment for that kind of money.

An 22yr old Oil Field worker from Calgary,Canada -Piotr Staniaszek got an whooping 85000 dollar mobile phone bill . It was due to his mobile browsing charges. He had signed up for a $150 unlimited data service from Bell Canada

He happily connected his phone to his computer and downloaded tons of data including movies and games. Continue reading “Man gets mobile phone bill for 34 lacs”

Mobile Phones may Truly go Mass

So far India has about 290 – 300 Million Mobile Phone subscribers. While the number is definitely large, it has by no means reached its true potential, We are a nation of 1 Billion Plus where at least 750 Million people can have Mobile phones.While handset providers have done a lot to reduce the prices of mobile phones, most of our population still remains out of reach due to price and knowledge barriers.

The union labor minister, Oscar Fernandes, has made an announcement to launch low-priced phones having digital technologies. The announcement is targeted mainly at farmers – the hope is that farmers will be able to use mobile phones for productivity gains.

Mr. Fernandes also mentioned that the state plus privately owned communication companies have to step forward to introduce cell phones, which would cost just Rs.500. Continue reading “Mobile Phones may Truly go Mass”

Nokia Audiobooks Application

This is a good news for all you book worms out their with Nokia phones.Nokia beta-labs has come up with the Nokia Audiobooks application. I hope what do you mean by Audiobooks, you can listen them i.e. somebody will read it for you so that you just relax and listen to that Audiobook. Nokia Audiobooks application will allow you to listen to your favorite Audiobooks while you are on the move. This application includes a highly efficient audio compression technology optimized for voice (AMR-WB), a player application for S60 (Nokia Audiobook Player), and an audio converter tool for PC (Nokia Audiobook Manager). This application is made for Audiobooks; it will help you in listening them with clarity and also browse chapters. Cool. Continue reading “Nokia Audiobooks Application”

Value Added Services in India attract the VC Pie

India’s runaway success in mobile telephony has contributed to value-added services (VAS) for mobile and Internet emerging as the biggest investment focus for venture capitalists, with investments expected to double to $500 million this year.

India is now among the top three markets for mobile and Internet VAS along with the US and China.

There are about 291 Million Mobile subscribers in India and more than 38 Million of those are now accessing the Internet.

India’s subscriber base is expected to be at a staggering 500 Million by 2011. Continue reading “Value Added Services in India attract the VC Pie”

Now Upgrade Your Phone While you Shop

As of now it is extremely tedious to upgrade the VAS content on your mobile phone via the Internet. Upgrading your cell phone in an instant is now possible as you shop in a mall, sip your favourite drink, or just walk into a mobile kiosk. With the growing retail wave, VAS providers can wipe off the hassles with GPRS and connectivity.Mobile content providers are tying up with phone stores for setting up the kiosks that allow customers to preview and purchase downloads such as ringtones, themes, wallpapers, games and music videos at prices ranging from Rs 15 to Rs 40.

The kiosks have two components: a digital touch screen, which has a user interface allowing the customers to choose from the list of options and a server which allows the transfer simply through Bluetooth, data cable or memory cards. Continue reading “Now Upgrade Your Phone While you Shop”

Fox News Mobile now in India

FOX News Mobile services will allow PLUS users to access a range of international news content including headlines, and many more.The tie up is with Star Media’s PLUS mobile services.

The PLUS platform is designed to be a one point gateway to a whole new world of infotainment on the mobile screen, effectively addressing the entertainment and information needs of the consumer. PLUS will empower the consumer to be connected to the world on-the-go.

PLUS provides daily mobisodes of popular content from STAR PLUS, STAR GOLD, and STAR ONE. PLUS also brings to your mobile phones the latest happenings in the world of Movies, Music and Sport. Continue reading “Fox News Mobile now in India”

Vote for the best mobile startup

The 2007 Crunchies is an annual competition and award ceremony to recognize and celebrate the most compelling startups, internet and technology innovations of the year.

The nominees include

AdMob

AdMob is the world’s largest mobile advertising marketplace. Founded in 2006.

Fring

Fring is a free mobile VOIP application that lets you make free voice calls via Google Talk , Skype using your phone.It works over Wifi and GPRS. It also support instant messaging networks such as MSN,Google Talk.I have tried Fring and it seems impressive.The initial version used to kill my battery but the latest version seems to have solved the problem.

Loopt

Loopt is a mobile social mapping application that works only in the USA as of now. It display the location of users on a mp using GPS and other data.Users can interact with each other, exchange info etc.

Shozu

Shozu is a great mobile photo and multimedia application.I personally use it to upload photos from my phone to my flickr account. We had already covered Shozu as a part of the Killer Mobile Apps

Twitter

Twitter is similar to Jaiku and is one of the Micro Blogging platforms. It lets users post short status messages which can be read by other users who are following. The entries are archived and can be viewed in the future. Continue reading “Vote for the best mobile startup”

Local Content might be key to increase VAS adoption

The opportunities for VAS services are growing in India. Reliance Communication recently sponsored a seminar called “Opportunities for mobile VAS in Rural India.” The 4 participants in this seminar represented telecom service providers and rural application providers. Continue reading “Local Content might be key to increase VAS adoption”

Shahrukh Khan will now say Chak De ho Chak De Nokia

India is becoming an important market for Nokia in terms of sale and company growth. To continue with this trend, Nokia has roped in the leading superstar, whom we also know the King Khan of Bollywood, Continue reading “Shahrukh Khan will now say Chak De ho Chak De Nokia”

10 Reasons why the Apple iPhone wont hit India

Apple iPhone is creating waves across the globe and the Time magazine has named the iphone as the invention of the year of 2007

No doubt that iPhone is a great device , Its a revolutionary phone – much more than a phone

But the sad part is that the iPhone has not come to India so far. Its available in the Grey markets for under Rs.30,000 but without warranty. Anyone buying it / already bought it ? I wanted to highlight why the iPhone wont be coming soon to India.

Users dont spend much on Value Added Services

I was just comparing the various mobile markets in the world where the iPhone has been introduced – USA, UK,Germany and France. These markets are places where purchasing power is more. In this context Im referring to the amount of cash the users burn on their mobile phones and related services such as ringtones,songs etc. We Indians spend a lot on phones for sure but mainly for calls and messages nothing more. Continue reading “10 Reasons why the Apple iPhone wont hit India”

India added a whooping 8.3 million mobile users in November 2007

The no of mobile users in India is increasing again month after month. A TRAI report suggests that India added a whooping 8.3 million mobile users in November 2007 compared to the 8 million odd added in October.

Land line usage is declining due to the portability factor and Mobility is playing a vital part in India’s growth story.Total telephone user base is expected Continue reading “India added a whooping 8.3 million mobile users in November 2007”

eBay and YouTube Optimized Phone???

Recently while reading my monthly subscription of the T3 magazine of UK, I came across two small digital cameras. One was from Fujifilm and the other was from the Casio Exilim Series. These cameras has features which all mid range digital cameras have, but the most distinguishing features were that, Continue reading “eBay and YouTube Optimized Phone???”

Sony Ericsson’s Water Proof Casing Patent.

Cameras have become common to mobile phones. Most of the phones, which are launched have cameras. Every phone has a camera that is better than the other. Continue reading “Sony Ericsson’s Water Proof Casing Patent.”

Mobile phones Travel fast than Electricity

I know this is a rare (read: impossible) phenomenon, but this has happened in the Kajrai village, which is 80 km from Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.

In this remote village people have mobile phones (impressive) but they don’t have electricity to charge them. The villagers are so mush into mobile phones that they travel a whooping 20 kms just to charge them. 30 to 40 people have mobile phones in this village and they don’t mind traveling 20kms just to charge them. Continue reading “Mobile phones Travel fast than Electricity”

Gold Nokia 8800 Arte coming in 2008

Nokia showed the Art of Seduction by launching the Nokia 8800 Arte and Sapphire. These premium handsets are aimed at the elite and style conscious consumers.

The 8800 Arte series has brought 3G functionality to Nokia’s highly accepted 8800 series of premium phones. By the way this post is not bout the Arte series, Continue reading “Gold Nokia 8800 Arte coming in 2008”