DoT directs ban on usage of Chinese mobiles

New Delhi, Apr 4 (ANI): The Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed all mobile phone service users to disconnect the usage of unbranded Chinese mobiles that do not have IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) numbers and pose a serious security risk to the country.

The mobile phone companies have undertaken to acquire the necessary equipment to track these phones by April 15 and discontinue their services thereafter - a process that is expected to take another 15 days, that is, by April 30.

Around 30 million mobile phones or about 8 percent of all mobiles in the country, are therefore expected to become useless by the end of the month.

The DoT had earlier issued similar directives to the mobile phone service users and companies and had given them two deadlines - January 6 and March 31. However, the companies had failed to abide by the guidelines then.

According to law, all GSM phones are required to have a unique IMEI number that gets reflected at cell phone towers. This IMEI number helps in tracking down the location of the mobile phone user.

These Chinese phones, however, fail to find the users as they either have their own cloned IMEI number or show up as a series of zeroes at cell towers.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was the first to point out the risk of these mobile phones to the Union home ministry, which later took up the issue with DoT.

It may be noted that the security threat from these mobile phones becomes more apparent as the terrorists use them as essential equipment for getting instructions from their handlers or for passing on information without the fear of getting tracked.

According to security forces, the September 27, 2008 Mehrauli blasts in Delhi, which claimed the lives of three persons, were conducted by these Chinese mobiles.

Currently, an estimated 7 to 8 lakh Chinese phones come into the Indian markets every month.Source:news.yahoo

Stylish Accessories For Your Cellphone

Custom Cellphone Cover

Personalize your handset in a subtle way with these laser-etched designs from Coveroo. The covers snap onto the backs of phones, cost $20 to $30 and are compatible with select Samsung, LG, Motorola and BlackBerry devices.
 

Waterproof Cellphone Case

Think of these cases as flexible armor for phones, protecting them from drops, bumps and scratches. The name OtterBox refers to the waterproofing ability of some of the cases. Most cost $20 to $50.

Screen Protector

As phone screens expand, people are investing more in ways to protect them. Stick-on films like Zagg's Invisible Shield are a popular option. 3M makes a version that reduces visibility from side onlookers and cuts down glare. $12 to $25.

Thumb Protectors

Much has been said about "BlackBerry Thumb," the painful ailment that affects frequent BlackBerry typists. These $8 "AweThumb" slip-ons aim to reduce finger stress and improve accuracy while typing on BlackBerry-type keyboards.

Touch-Screen Gloves

Apple's sleek iPhone can get downright frigid in cold temperatures. These "dots gloves" are designed to let users navigate the iPhone's touchscreen while keeping fingers warm. $15 to $20.

Bluetooth Headset

Bluetooth headsets abound, particularly now that several states have passed hands-free driving laws. This one, the H15 from Motorola, features background noise cancellation and an unusual flip design. Users open the toggle to talk and close to preserve the battery. $80 to $100.

Bluetooth Car Speaker

Bluetooth doesn't just link cellphones and headsets. It can also connect earpieces to standalone speakers like this model from Jabra. When paired with a cellphone, the speaker allows drivers to voice-dial numbers, mute calls and place calls on hold.

Battery Charger

Even the best cellphones often disappoint when it comes to battery life. Portable chargers enable charging on the go using regular AA batteries.

Armband

Athletic types can ensure they won't miss a call by toting their phones in an armband. iPhone owners can even take their handsets swimming with this $70 armband from H2O Audio.

Straps, Charms and Stickers

Low-cost accessories like cellphone straps and charms are the cheapest, easiest way to personalize a handset. The Japanese e-tailer Strapya World carries jewel, food and cartoon-themed mobile accessories, mostly for a few dollars. (They ship overseas.) Just make sure your phone has a hole for attaching an accessory--not all do.

Cellphone Wipes

Phones are germ magnets. Keep your handset clean with treated wipes or special cloths. A box of 24 Cleen Cell wipes is $8 on Amazon Source:forbes.com

Latest Mobile News

World's first solar-powered mobile phone
 
A Japanese firm is launching a solar-powered waterproof mobile phone that can be entirely operated by exposure to sunlight.

The new phone is a sunlight-powered device, which will be sold by mobile phone company KDDI from June, reports The Telegraph.

Ten minutes of exposure to sunlight is sufficient for a one-minute call or to power the handset in standby mode for two hours.he handset's 80percent battery can be recharged entirely by sunlight as a result of storage technology embedded in the front face of the phone, according to manufacturers.

Marketed as a "green" eco-friendly alternative to conventional mobile phone handsets, the company claims that the device's lack of dependence on standard electricity will help reduce carbon dioxide emission levels

Virgin Mobile launches online cricket game spoofing IPL

New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) Telecom service provider Virgin Mobile Wednesday launched an online cricket fantasy game, Indian Hatke League (IHL), with an aim to leverage the cricket mania during the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season.

The online game will provide users the option to play for any of the eight teams participating in the 47-day IPL, to be held in South Africa April 18-May 24, while their scores on the basis of performance will determine their standings.

Launching the game here, Virgin Mobile chief executive M.A. Madhusudan said the initiative was strictly a 'brand-building exercise'.

'We have launched the game for the Indian youth and not just for Virgin Mobile customers. The players will compete against each other during the period with the prospect to win prizes at the end of the tournament,' he said.

The company is offering Hyundai's recently launched hatchback i20, Sony's video game console Play Station and Virgin Mobile handsets as prizes to the winners of the IHL game.

According to reports, the company earlier had plans to be part of the Twenty20 extravaganza by striking sponsorship deals with Delhi Daredevils, but it pulled out as the tournament's venue was shifted to South Africa.Source:news.yahoo

 

 

 

Bluetooth 3.0 - features

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has released the Bluetooth 3.0 specification supporting data rates up to 24Mbps over a shared 802.11 radio, a small but significant step towards the technology becoming a de facto protocol for ad hoc, secure wireless peer-to-peer networks.

The group is planning an ultra low power version of its technology that could be released in about nine months to further expand its reach. It aims to decide this summer whether to make UWB a transport for a future 200Mbps version.

Bluetooth is just one of a host of technologies aimed at linking PCs, TVs and mobile devices into personal area networks that are easy to use and have plenty of bandwidth. Others include UWB, 60GHz networks and versions of Wi-Fi backed by companies including start-up Ozmo and Intel's My Wi-Fi programme.

The 3.0 spec essentially brings the Bluetooth ability to set up secure peer-to-peer connections to a higher bandwidth 802.11 link. Atheros, Broadcom and CSR are upgrading software to support the spec on their chips mainly focused on mobile handsets and MP3 players.

The Bluetooth 3.0 capability will initially appear mobile handsets. It will let them synch multiple files, send bigger files and even download or stream images or video to suitably equipped PCs, TVs and printers.

It could take three or more months to finish work on some of the audio/video profiles for the new spec. Systems supporting version 3.0 may not ship for nine to twelve months said Mike Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.

Target applications
Chipmakers are not turning new silicon for the capability which they are focusing initially at smart phones. For example, module makers will put existing Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips from CSR onto single 9.5mm x 9.5mm cards along with new software to enable the faster transfers, said Robin Heydon, a standards consultant for the company.

"Effectively you are enabling existing functions easier and more efficiently," said Heydon. "One of the hardest things for vendors these days is software integration because you can have hundreds of companies supplying software for a handset and that becomes an integration nightmare," he said.

Broadcom will enable the 3.0 techniques across all its Bluetooth products, including combination chips that merge FM radio, Wi-Fi and/or GPS on a single device. Such combo chips now represent half of Broadcom's sales in the area, said Craig Ochikubo, general manager of Broadcom's wireless personal area networking group.

"The intention is to deploy this broadly across our mobile and PC products," said Ochikubo. "Expanding into higher data rate apps is really the next step for PAN technology," he said. Source:eetindia.co.in

Court restrain on dual SIM phones

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court restrained mobile phone manufacturers Samsung, Mirc Electronics and Spice Mobile and several retailers from manufacturing and selling multiple SIM holding mobile phones.

"On a petition filed by our client Somasundaram Ramkumar, Justice Jaypaul has issued an injunction whereby Samsung Electronics, Mirc Electronics and Spice Mobile were restrained from manufacturing multiple SIM holding mobile phones," D Ferdinand, Ramkumar's lawyer and a partner at legal firm BFS Legal said.

Several retailers, including online retailers ebay India, Rediff.com and importers were also restrained from selling such phones, he added.

Earlier, Ramkumar had accused the companies and retailers of infringing his patent for multiple SIM mobile phones. The case will be taken for hearing April 13.

In another case filed by Ramkumar, the high court Justice K Venkatraman ordered the Customs Department to implement the Intellectual Property Rights (Imported Goods) Enforcement Rules 2007 to protect the petitioner's legal rights.

The rules enable the customs officials to seize imported goods that infringe patents.

"This is my first step in establishing my right as a patent holder," an elated Ramkumar said.

A 36-year-old electronics engineer, Ramkumar holds the Indian patent (No.214388) for plurality of SIM cards in a single mobile handset as well as plurality of Bluetooth devices in headphone and earphone jacks.

In his petition, Ramkumar said Mirc, Spice and Samsung were manufacturing mobile handsets infringing his patent for the product and the technology and 10 others were advertising and selling the products all over India.

On his complaint to the Chennai Customs Office, officials in various cities have already impounded import consignments of mobile handsets with plurality of SIM cards. Source:infotech.indiatimes.com

Microsoft MyPhone vs Nokia Ovi

Consumers are struggling to find an easy way to get files like photographs out of their phones to share with friends and family. Microsoft Corp's upcoming MyPhone service seems to solve the mobile industry's eternal challenge: how to make a wireless service easy to use. It may not have as much storage or as many features as the equivalent from Nokia but an early version of the service is easier to use.

Sales of cameraphones have already passed those of digital cameras, and last year alone some 700 million cameraphones were sold. But sharing the pictures requires cables (or shaky wireless connections), time and nerves.

Microsoft's MyPhone is the solution at least for users of Windows phones. It is a simple back-up service, still in limited testing, that uploads pictures and any other data from a phone to a Microsoft data center via the Internet.
Microsoft MyPhone vs Nokia Ovi
Here's Microsoft MyPhone versus Nokia's Ovi.
 
Access
Users can then log on to myphone.microsoft.com and tweak or download the pictures and data. Usage is as simple as it gets: the service works on its own, quietly downloading files when the phone is not in use.
Access
 

Storage

To someone who has used Nokia's comparable "Share on Ovi" service since it was launched in early 2008 for storing and sharing photos, MyPhone is shocking at first: it offers total storage of just 200 megabytes. That's enough for only a few rolls of pictures with a good quality camera.

A Microsoft official plays this down, saying 200 megabytes should be enough for most users, and if demand shows more is needed, the company is flexible.

Storage

Sharing options

 

Nokia's Share has more features than MyPhone, like links to other services and sharing options. It has no data limits apart from one that stops people downloading single files larger than 100 megabytes, big enough for a decent video recording.

But flashier outlook comes at a price. It is much more difficult to use, and it takes time.


Design

Starting to use MyPhone is pretty much pain free. It takes a couple of minutes to download the file to the cell phone. Then you restart the phone, and the service is up and running. It works, and you don't have to do anything.

By contrast, although logging on to Nokia's "Share on Ovi" site on the Internet surprises positively with an attractive new design, using the service can present problems.

To make usage from a cell phone easier, Nokia has linked a small upload icon to every picture on the phone -- but leaves the uploading work to the user.

 

Design

 
 
Uploading photos
 
Once you click on the icon and choose the access point to the Internet, the phone starts to send the file into the Nokia cloud.
But if you choose the next picture and click on upload, you get an error message -- the service declines to send it as the other file transfer is still ongoing. On the next try, the phone says "service not responding."
"Back-up and restore services are important to users, but they must be simple and intuitive to use. Such services deliver loyalty from users and allow providers to understand more about their customers," says analyst Paolo Pescatore from research firm CCS Insight.
Availability

Availability

Source:infotech.indiatimes.com

MyPhone will be made open to everyone in the second half of this year when the first phones using the new version of Windows Mobile reach the market.

Also, once the back-up service is up and running, Microsoft will explore linking it to other Microsoft services.


Online Mobile Store in India

  1. Indiatimes Shopping: www.shopping.indiatimes.com
  2. The MobileStore : www.themobilestore.in
  3. Rediff Shopping : www.shopping.rediff.com/
  4. IndiaPlaza : www.indiaplaza.in/
  5. Ebay India : www.mobiles.shop.ebay.in/  
  6. Home shop 18 : www.homeshop18.com/
  7. FutureBazaar: www.futurebazaar.com/
  8. Naptol : www.naaptol.com/
  9. Bechana : www.bechna.com

Tips for use of CDMA cell phones

  • Kindly read the User Manual carefully before using the CDMA cell phones.
  • Do not use unauthorized accessories (batteries, chargers etc). The use of the same could result in mishaps. Kindly buy accessories from authorized centers only.
  • Please avoid use of CDMA cell phones while charging.
  • Keep the CDMA cell phones away from water and moisture.
  • The CDMA cell phones are manufactured by various OEMs and for any faults or claims the purchaser of handset should approach the Authorized Service Centre (ASC) of the manufacturer with the warranty card

Currently available CDMA Mobile Phones:

Samsung

  • Mpower 309 mobile phones
  • Mpower 569 mobile phones
  • Samsung Super Hero mobile phones
  • Samsung Hero 139 mobile phones
  • Samsung Raaga mobile phones
  • Samsung Max mobile phones
  • Samsung DUO mobile phones
  • Samsung FLO mobile phones
  • Samsung Champ mobile phones
  • Samsung Champ FM mobile phones
  • Samsung Explore mobile phones
  • Samsung Wideo mobile phones

Motorola

  • Motorola W212 mobile phones
  • Motorola MotoQ mobile phones
  • Motofone F3C mobile phones
  • Motorazr V3c mobile phones
  • Radio Moto W170 mobile phones
  • Motorola A 840 mobile phones

Huawei

  • Huawei C5100 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2206 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2901 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2803 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2821 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2802 mobile phones
  • Huawei 5320 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2605 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2905 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2801 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2900 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2601 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2285 mobile phones
  • Huawei C2900i mobile phones

Haier

  • Haier C200 mobile phones
  • Haier C6000 mobile phones
  • Haier c3010 mobile phones
  • Haier c3000 mobile phones
  • Haier c3010 mobile phones
  • Haier c2020 mobile phones
  • Haier 2010 mobile phones
  • Haire C2000 mobile phones
  • Haier T1100C mobile phones

Nokia

  • Nokia 2505 mobile phones
  • Nokia 6275 mobile phones
  • Nokia 2865 mobile phones
  • Nokia 6265 mobile phones
  • Nokia 2255 mobile phones
  • Nokia 6235 mobile phones

ZTE

  • ZTE-C336 mobile phones
  • ZTE-C335 mobile phones

BlackBerry

  • BlackBerry 8830 Smartphone

Indicom

  • Radio Phone mobile phones
  • Sumukha mobile phones

Kyocera

  • Kyocera Topaz mobile phones

Konquer

  • Konquer mobile phones

Pantech

  • Pantech PA 711 mobile phones