Apple’s new iPad not compatible with India’s 4G network

As reported earlier, the new iPad will be available in India from April 27, a month after it started selling the latest version of its popular tablet computer in 10 countries including the United States.
The third iteration of the best-selling device is priced between 30,500 rupees and 50,900 rupees in the Indian market depending on the variant.
The new iPad will be available in a choice of black or white, with the Wi-Fi models retailing for Rs. 30500 (16GB), Rs. 36500 (32GB), and Rs. 42500 (64GB), while the Wi-Fi+4G model will be sold for Rs. 38900 (16GB), Rs. 44900 (32GB), and Rs. 50900 (64GB).
The new iPad is, however, not compatible with the 4G LTE network currently available in India and customers will have to make do with the 3G networks.
Bharti Airtel launched India’s first 4G network in Kolkata this month and is expanding the high-speed network to Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh in the coming months.
But the Indian networks are powered by a different radio spectrum band than the ones used by the 4G iPad, which is supported only on the networks of a handful of U.S. and Canadian carriers.
While the iPad is the clear market leader globally, and the new version with its faster chips, fourth-generation wireless and a sharper display is only expected to cement Apple’s lead, the company has hit some bumps in the road.
In March, the consumer watchdog in Australia took legal action to ensure the company makes consumers aware the new iPad cannot connect to 4G networks in Australia, prompting Apple to offer refunds to all affected buyers in Australia.
There were also complaints in Britain about misleading claims about access to 4G, which is not available in the country.
Customers have the option to buy the new iPad in black or white with 16, 32, or 64 GB of memory, and can choose a model that works only on Wi-Fi or on both Wi-Fi and 4G.
As reported earlier, Apple continues to sell the iPad 2 in India at reduced prices, with the 16 GB Wi-Fi model now available for 24,500 while the 3G version will cost 32,900 rupees.

BSNL launches internet data centers in six locations across India

State-run telecoms company BSNL launched internet data centers in six locations across India in a tie-up with Dimension Data, in an effort to drive up its revenues.
BSNL will offer managed co-location, managed hosting and cloud services through these centers and the revenues will be split between the telco and Dimension Data that has built these centers and will operate and manage them in the future.

The centers are located in Mumbai, Faridabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ludhiana and Ghaziabad. Employees Provident Fund Organisation, Indian Oil Corporation Limited and Punjab Treasuries had already begun using these centers on a pilot basis, Dimension Data India CEO Kiran Bhagwanani told ET Monday.
The data centre market is estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 22% and may touch Rs 6,500 crore by 2016.
The duo is targeting to get around 25 clients and Rs 100 crore in revenue in the first year. “We expect to sign more contracts from state and central government departments as well as several private enterprises shortly,” BSNL chairman and managing director RK Upadhyay said at the launch.
Bhagwanani said that he was banking on the government organisations, distance education providers, private entreprises being serviced by BSNL and defence services that may be tempted to purchase the telco’s cloud and hosting services since data would be housed in state-owned premises, ensuring security.
The public-private initiative will leverage the strength of BSNL in telecom infrastructure and vacant buildings and that of Dimension Data in providing data center and cloud computing, communications minister Kapil Sibal said.
Sibal went on to add that he had asked the loss-making PSU to submit plans related to tower sharing, usage of land and unused infrastructure which will aid the telco in moving towards profitability.
BSNL’s losses tripled to Rs 5,997 crore during 2010-11 and the telco suffered a massive loss of Rs 1 ,823 crore in the previous fiscal. ET had recently reported that the company might lose its ‘mini-navratna’ status due to its poor financial health.
BSNL had reported the highest net profit of over Rs 10,000 crore in 2005-06 but since then its profits have been falling and reported first net loss in 2009-10.
BSNL has over 50,000 towers and one of the largest land banks and network assets in the country. “In my term, I want to see BSNL becoming a Navratna,” Sibal added.

Samsung officially launches the Galaxy S Advance and Galaxy Pocket smartphones in India

Samsung has introduced two new Galaxy smartphones in India today namely the Galaxy S Advance (GT-I9070) which is an upgrade to the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Pocket (GT-S5300) which is the smallest smartphone in its portfolio.

The Galaxy S Advance has a WVGA Super AMOLED display and a large 4 inch curved glass screen, it is powered by a 1GHz dual core processor and runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It also has a 5MP camera, FM radio, 3G HSPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and more.

The Samsung GALAXY S Advance is priced at Rs. 26,900.
The Samsung Galaxy Pocket is pretty small at just 11.9mm slim and 97.0gms but it packs a 832MHz processor, HSDPA 3.6Mbps, Wi-Fi, Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, 3GB internal memory (expandable up to 32GB) and a lot more.

The Samsung GALAXY Pocket is priced at Rs. 8150/-.
Samsung today also announced a consumer promotion on the Galaxy Note. Any consumer buying a Galaxy Note between today and May 31, 2012 can avail free Sennheiser headphones, download free music and games, download full version of Angry Birds Space free and get a free flip cover.

Airtel Rebrands its B2B Business, Comes up with New Name and Strategy

Airtel today refreshed its B2B business as airtel business. With this new identity, airtel business the company claims that its commitment of delivering innovative business solutions and a superior brand experience to all its large & small enterprises, government and carrier customers across the globe.

Airtel buisness also offers digital media services, a centralized online media management and distribution platform akin to a media exchange linking all the content owners, production facilities and screens enabling them to store , forward, share & trade multi versions of produced content to multiple platforms across the globe.
With a global network of 225,000 Rkms covering 50 countries across 5 continents, airtel business has established itself as one of the leading players in the B2B segment.Over the last 4-5 years, the company has invested over $500mn in next generation cable systems. It‘s globe spanning submarine cable assets offer the necessary diversity, increased redundancy and network resilience to the customers.

Aakash 2 tablet to be launched in May: Kapil Sibal

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said many foreign companies have shown interest in manufacturing the second version of the low-cost tablet Aakash 2 in India.
“We have invited companies from across the world for manufacturing and many are ready to manufacture it here,” Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of World IT Forum 2012.

“Currently we are looking at the design and other parameters. After we freeze the design and technology, manufacturing will take place. The second version of Aakash will be launched in May,” he added.
The new tablet would have a better 3200m AH battery with a three-hour backup, a 700 MHz Cortex A8 processor and a capacitive touch screen which would get over the earlier issues observed in the tablets, Sibal had said earlier.
The announcement comes even as Canadian firm Datawind, which has been manufacturing Aakash, got into a spat with the Hyderabad-based assembler of the tablet, Quad Electronics, in the last few months.
Quad has reportedly alleged that it has not got its payments for the initial order of assembling 20,000 tablets.
Datawind on the other hand said that Quad breached Datawind’s intellectual property, circumvented their relationship with IIT-Rajasthan, signed an agreement with them and then sold off their inventory in the open market.
Aakash 2 is expected to have three times more powerful processor and the resistive touch screen of the older version will be changed to capacitive touch screen. The device which was earlier expected to be launched in April will also become expensive compared to the earlier version which was priced at $35.
Talking about empowering the masses with 3G and 4G services, Sibal said these services would have limited access to the masses unless the government ensures that the cost of these devices go down.
“We must develop manufacturing in India,” he said while inaugurating the two day forum which will focus on use of ICT in agriculture, education, health and e-Governance, within the overall theme of ‘ICT for Sustainable Human Development’.
The forum will discuss the role of IT interventions in bringing about greater transparency in governance, issues of privacy and security while dealing with public databases, financial inclusion and ways of leveraging wireless technologies.

BlackBerry Curve 9220 launched in India for Rs 10,990

BlackBerry smratphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) today officially unveil and launch its new sleek, stylish, low-cost smartphone – BlackBerry Curve 9220 in India.

The new BlackBerry Curve 9220 smartphone comes with 2.44-inch (320×240 pixels) TFT display with Full QWERTY keyboard, BlackBerry OS 7 and a 2.0 Mega Pixel camera. Other features include,dedicated BBM key for faster, better communication, 512 MB of RAM, 2G (GPRS/EDGE), FM Radio, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1, 3.5 mm audio jack.
The device will be available in 4 colors – Black, Fuchsia Pink, Pure White and Teal Blue. RIM claims that BlackBerry Curve 9220 is further enhanced with a long lasting battery, giving users up to 7 hours of talk time or up to 28 hours of music playback or FM radio listening on headphones.
BlackBerry Curve 9220 run of BlackBerry 7.1 OS offers the full complement of BlackBerry services and the smartphone’s built in Wi-Fi can provide smooth and fast Internet browsing without incurring mobile data usage costs. It also includes a built-in FM radio, allowing users to tune into their favorite local stations, and listening to the FM radio does not require a data plan or use data services.

As part of the launch in India, BlackBerry Curve 9220 customers can download a selection of apps from BlackBerry App World worth 2500 Rupees, for free (data charges applicable as per operators/service providers). The offer is valid until June 30, 2012 and includes a wide range of apps that will roll out in a phased manner, including utilities, games and other apps. Pencil Camera, Photo Studio Pro, Horoscope Oracle – Follow Your Lucky Stars, Drive Safely Pro and Ultimate Cricket are just a few of the popular apps that will be available through this promotional offer.

The BlackBerry Curve 9220 will be available from April 19th for purchase from authorized retailers and distributors across India. It is expected to be available in other markets across the Glob starting in the coming weeks.

Jabra launches affordable in-car speakerphone

It comes with a micro USB cable, in-car charger, clip for visor and a quick start manual. It is priced at Rs 3,999.
Jabra, makers of popular Bluetooth handsfree devices, have launched a new in-car hands free device called Jabra Drive.
The speakerphone (handsfree) is very easy to set-up. In fact, it doesn’t require set-up at all, or that’s what the company claims. The device is basically a Bluetooth handsfree with loudspeaker that can be clipped onto the visor of the car.

Jabra Drive automatically pairs up with two mobile devices simultaneously (Multiuse Technology), allowing drivers and passengers to stay connected.
The device offers clear sound with echo and noise cancellation (using DSP, or digital signal processing,) and automatic volume control instantly adjusts the speakerphone’s volume to best suit the user’s environment.
Ann Goh, head of sales, South Asia Region, GN Netcom (parent company of Jabra,) said, “The Jabra Drive also features A2DP technology, which allows users to stream music from their smartphone or Bluetooth-enabled MP3 player, podcasts, directions from GPS applications etc. Whether it’s a phone call with dad, the latest hit song or directions to a soccer game, Jabra Drive transmits clear audio with ease. Our broad line of in-car speakerphones offers something for everyone and at every price point.”
The Jabra Drive also features a voice guidance system that announces battery status and Bluetooth connectivity, and comes with large control buttons for volume and power on/off.
According to Jabra, the Drive offers 20 hours of talk time and 30 days of standby time. Jabra Drive is equipped with enough battery life to last even the longest commute or road trip.
Drive comes with a micro USB cable, in-car charger, clip for visor and a quick start manual. The speakerphone is priced at Rs 3,999.