How often do you look at your phone?

Well it is close to 150 times in a day. Here is the detailed explanation for those 150 times. People working in more engaging, on the go work profiles might use more.

Your text messages = the real you!

Show me your phone inbox and I will tell what kind of a person you really are. And I don't need to be a rocket scientist to do that. Anyone can. Texting is wonderful area to study and helps in understanding what a person is doing or can be doing. I know about some researchers who are interested in this phenomena and that proper studies are being done about the texting habits and how it can influence a person and his/her behaviour but here are certain points that you might find useful and see if it is the same in your life as well. If you are a parent or want to watch out younger ones in your family falling into this trap, think about these.

• We love love love love and love our text messages
• Texting is often used as an alibi to look busy, to ward off boredom or to just look cool
• You tend to say more direct, curt and personal stuff while texting, most of what you would never say in person
• More people use texts or bullying, sexting and undesired not-so-great things
• According to a study, 13% of the kids engage in sexting sending suggestive messages and almost the same number have taken part in exchanging nude or explicit photos
• The same study also showed that sexting can be fun but almost always leads to not so positive experience for those involved
• Texting can be really addictive and become twice more tough to quit than smoking!

So how can you tame this addiction and get out of situations where you send out a text and feel bad?

Do not send out a hate text or mail in the first place. Save it to drafts and revisit it later. Edit, delete and rephrase all the hate content if you actually want to send. A call is always better than a text. It saves a lot of time and emotional baggage.

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." -- Oscar Wilde.

1 in 6 wants to change service provider

More than one out of six mobile phone subscribers (17.6%) want to switch over to another telecom company. Given India’s mobile subscriber base of more than 700 million, it could mean that up to 120 million people want to switch. As number portability comes into effect on Thursday, a Hindustan
related stories

* Pay Rs 200 for cellphone number portability: TRAI
* Customer king with number portability

Times-MaRS survey — the first ever on number portability — across eight Indian cities covering 4,564 subscribers between December 15, 2010 and January 15, 2011 shows that Airtel and Vodafone Essar will gain the most.

One out of three consumers who are considering switching want to sign up with Airtel, and one out of five who want to change will go to Vodafone Essar. But only half the subscribers who want to switch are dissatisfied with the service they get.

Read full report here.

Don't text while driving!

Watch this video, pass it on to all your friends. So touching and naked.

Using a Blackberry?

I am using Blackberry for almost an year now and am super happy with it. Have you ever heard the cut about RIM's baby? Once you go Black, you never go back. True it is...

Here are some interesting facts about the usage and consumer trends about how Blackberry users check email:

• 83% on vacation
• 59% the second it arrives
• 53% in the bathroom
• 59% in bed
• 37% while driving
• 12% while in Church

Courtesy: Shiv's blog

Come to life!

Awesome isn't it? Check http://www.pomegranatephone.com for the firm behind it and Wiki for summary. Nice brand name :)

Click clap! Nokia N97 is here

Click Clap is the sound and is very sweet when you hear it on your mobile when you slide it open. I was at the Nokia N97 launch Event, Oberoi Hotels, MG Road, Bangalore today at exclusive blogger event of Nokia's latest N series update: N97!

Here is a video of the making of Nokia N97.

All my impression on black color as the best option for gadgets changed when I looked at the N97 white mobile. It was awesome. Will post a review and video soon. Just wanted to say saw it, touched it. The first feel its pretty good. Best features are the slide, comfort, style. The kind of research that went into this feature was huge. So keep waiting for the complete post in a short while.

This event was made available to a few (around 30) select bloggers around the country and is aimed to create a WOM. Well I think here I start.

Mobile banking

Over 150 million mobile subscribers will access banking services on their mobile devices by 2011. The fastest adaptability is by China 41%, UK 22%, US 12%, Africa 8% and India at 7%. The reason India is only 7% is attributed to the fact that most of the Indian masses do not have bank accounts and even for those who have accounts there is a technology hurdle to cross. This adaptability and acceptability issues have to be tackled. Accessing banking services on the mobile include transfer of funds, paying bills, etc. Several security concerns ward off consumers from using anything online. The positive thing in this is that Indian acceptability is growing at 200%. Are you in this league?

Consumer controlled communication

The Rio is testing an opt-in mobile marketing campaign that sends customers text message alerts for real-time promotions to their cell phone during their stay at the hotel-casino. Here is how it works: Visitors to the Rio text message the word "Rio" to a phone number posted throughout the property. The customer will then receive no more than 12 text messages during the next four days, the average length of a visitor's stay. The customer also can send "stop" to the same number to halt the flow of messages. The messages alert the customer to special deals, usually drink, food or show tickets at a discount.

Nearly 3,100 customers have signed up for the program since it was launched in December. Harrah's Entertainment is testing similar programs with different technology companies in different jurisdictions in which the casino owner operates. The Rio platform is run by interactive marketing firm Acxiom Corp. and Acuity Mobile, a mobile-marketing company based in Washington, D.C.

Others are using similar technology. The Las Vegas Review-Journal offers a service available on its Web site that offers casino discounts, specials at local bars and pubs, and sports promotions. Studio 54 at MGM Grand and the N9NE Group, which runs the Palms nightclubs, have been using mobile marketing in the competitive Las Vegas club scene.

This indicates a changing scene from the regular push messages which are deleted and considered intrusive. The do-not-call registry is filled by members who are irritated by these messages and donot want to be distrubed. Rio seems to opt for a solution benefiting both the consumer and the marketer behind the message. Permission marketing and promotion go hand in hand but here they are controlled by the consumer, who is relavant and willing.

Where to spend your marketing greens

Most of the mobile connected tech-savvy population are online in some form or the other for almost 29.16% of their time. This is be the time you spend online wither on phone or on your comp. No this does not include official purpose. Most of this is just to stay connected. Nokia and TNS India, who conducted this joint survey across a sample of 3500 users from 15 cities across the country says mobile advertising will pick up in the country. The survey also revealed was the fact that more users are finding out about new product information via the mobile web (28 percent) than the traditional web (26 percent). Some even felt disconnected or lost when they couldn't access the net for some time. 

So it is much more relevant to spend your ad money on mobile advertising. As much as 25% to 30% of the $100 billion spent each year on brand advertising will find its way onto the mobile screen.

Mobile Ads

As much as 25% to 30% of the $100 billion spent each year on brand advertising will find its way onto the mobile screen" and according to OVUM "mobile phone advertising market [is] expected to grow to $1.26billion by 2009"

Chinese? No papa

Its official now. No more tolerance towards the Chinese mobile sets in India. Addressing security concerns, the centre has notified the customs department to only allow imports of mobile handsets after the declaration of the 'International Mobile Equipment Identity' (IMEI) numbers of each handset.

Official estimates are that more than 8 lakh phones are being sold every month for the last 3 years! these are high end cheap versions without the IMEI code with out which it is difficult to trace them. If you own one you need to get a software costing a meagre Rs100 can be downloaded into the handset for an IEMI number to be added to the handset. Check with your service provider about this.

My suggestion is sell it and get a new genuine one.

Girly mobiles?

It seems like the Iphone 3G or the HTC Dream were made only for boys - here comes a slightly girly mobile phone device straight out of the French Riviera.

France's SFR is a delicious looking phone with some vibrant color schemes and innovative keypad.

The phone will be powered with the Intel MID chip and will feature the latest craze among youngsters - 3G. The SFR is padded with an 800 x 480 touchscreen display, and is loaded with 800MHz Atom CPU and 4GB of RAM.

The goodies include Bluetooth, WiFi, a VGA webcam, 3 megapixel camera, and a full slide-out AZERTY keyboard along with a strange, circular navigation wheel. The SFR will operate on Linux. Price should be anywhere between $310 to $350.

Source: FFO

Pick my Guitar

Well Nokia seems to have understood what people want to do with their mobiles. After sticking to its legacy of having a keyboard Nokia 5800 has moved on to join the touch craze in mobile phone design. Most of the look and feel are similar to other phones but this has a complete touch panel. Now you might say, "we have seen that before, do you have anything new?" Oh yes Nokia 5800 has touch, stylus and more- a guitar pick like device that helps you swipe through photos and music.

What makes you stand out in the crowd when everyone around you are performers? Innovate and stay one step ahead. I think Nokia 5800 will rock for the following reasons:

• Costs around 300$, no frills attached
• Launching in India in December
• Has everything iPhone 3G has to offer and more
• Nokia brand name

Will I buy it? Yes, for Christmas.

Read more here.

Atta, Tel, phone call...

People shopping at retail outlets run by Future Group may soon be able to make mobile phone calls for free.

The group, whose companies run stores such as Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, is entering the mobile phone business as a so-called virtual operator.

The idea is to allow customers to pay less for airtime as it has become a grocery item such as rice or sugar, said chief executive Kishore Biyani. The company plans to roll out the business next year. “We are not in a hurry. We have just begun talking with some network operators,” Biyani added.

“We plan to offer free outgoing calls to customers who buy food, groceries, clothes and mobile handsets from our stores,” he said.

Future Group will also sell the service to other customers at tariffs that are lower than those offered by other telcos because it will not incur any costs related to infrastructure or air waves.

Read more here.

iPhone 3G Killers

Though it is still early days for any potential iPhone killer, there are some compelling phones loaded with touch screen and, not to mention, umpteen bells and whistles that are trying to take a stab at the iPhone market.

The ones that come close are those that can compare or exceed the iPhone's performance, price and features such as touch and 3G capabilities.

Here's a look at some of the contenders:

LG Voyager (Rs. 6500 Yet to release in India)

Samsung Instinct (Rs. 5500)

HTC Touch Diamond (Rs. 27,500)
Blackberry Thunder(Price not known)

Read more.

Nokia 6639: Its got all!

NOKIA 6639
Frequency: GSM/GPRS/EDGE network, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000.
Israel set arbitrary color options :
Size : 109 48 quenching
Weight : 100 grams
Battery : Lithium Ion Battery BM12P, Convergence 9800
Standby time : 100 hours
16 million color TFT color screen parameters : ;1024 768 pixels, 3.2 inches;
* For the system : Symbian 12.0 v16.6z simplified Chinese version
Processor : Pentium M-Dothan binuclear 2.0GHMz
Memory : Dual Channel DDR2 512M, the biggest can be expanded to 2GB
Display : nVIDIA Geforce Go 7800GT
WAP support fly along :
Nowhere 256 Chord :
Embedded speakers : 7.1-channel surround sound output
Photo identification of the caller calls Animation :
160 GB internal hard disk :
Support memory expansion : Mixed-CF, Microdrive miniature hard disk compatibility, RS-MMC, miniSD , maximum support 160 GB
Adapter Type : USB2.0/IEEE1394
: Support WAV music format, MP3, conjecture, Ogg Vorbis, RAW, VOX, CCIUT u-Law, PCM, MPC (MPEG plus/MusePack) , MP2 (MPEG 1 Layer 2), ADPCM, CCUIT A-LAW, AIFC, DSP, GSM, CCUIT G721, CCUIT G723, G726 format CCUIT
Video Format : All support
20 EQ sound effects sound effect modes : Mode
: DAB radios can receive digital broadcasting / FM stereo radio broadcasting group memory ;DAB/FM 50;
: 12.8 million effective pixel sensor, the APS size CCD, with Fangdou, ultrasonic dust removal function.
Scene: the main revolutionary cell phone cards mouth open, compatible CNMOP lens LEICA Lycra AF24-180mm/F2. 8 receptors produced in Germany in support of a full-time manual focusing.
Deputy: German production Zeiss lens coating 50mm/F1.0 nematic Chase.
Autofocus mode : 11/7 zone TTL focusing, AF-1 to +19EV working environment :
Shutter speed : electromagnetic control longitudinal curtain shutter doors B, 30-1/10000 seconds
Lianpai : 12 / sec, which can be taken 90 or 50 RAW format photos in JPEG format photographs
Photometry : 3D matrix photometric II, the central focus point photometric and photometric (3mm yen, about 2% of the area)
Exposure modes : automatic, procedural exposure aperture priority, shutter priority, manual, users set up
Photo : RAW format, JPEG
Exposure compensation : +5EV half class, third-class or 1.0 grade
Sensitivity range : ISO 50-3200 (third stall incremental) , and 6400 can be expanded to 25
White Balance : Automatic, Manual, pre -
White balance preset : flash and shadow, overcast sky, sunlight, fluorescent lamps and incandescent lamps
Embedded camera flash :
Effective flash range : 20 m
Flash modes : 1005-pixel RGB TTL flash control sensor ;i-TTL balance filled with flash flash flash or standard i-TTL
Video : audio video film shooting, 720 480-definition DVD RMVB compression, support for real-time optical zoom.
Video broadcast : Windows Media Player, H.263 /MPEG4, WITH AMR-NB, AMR-NB audio decoders, decoder
Other additional functions :
First, Swiss Plug procedures remotely Train (with the public wireless transmission protocol), sparking Zippo;
Second, the LED beam, severe chemical devices, thermometer, filter and needle guide function for wild camping.
Third, the exclusive beer and bottled champagne opening device adapter, the adapter can be connected to a dedicated electric razor (compatible with Brown shaving support);
Fourth, Micro Electric Drier (external hard drives need 12V power supply)
5, welcoming everyone to keep abreast added

High End Mobile set for 2000?

Mobile manufacturers through the Indian Cellular Association (ICA) estimate that 600,000 to 800,000 Chinese unbranded phones are making their way to India every month, accounting for 8 to 10 per cent of GSM-technology mobile phones sold in the country.

These are not entry-level phones but mid-level, feature-rich products at aggressive prices between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000. Most of these, branded mobile manufacturers said, would cost consumers at least three to five times more if they came from them.

According to research firm IDC, China shipped 85 million GSM handsets in the last fiscal. And it says China's percentage share is likely to go up since these phones offer swanky features ranging from 3 megapixel camera, terrestrial TV, music and MP3 players.

"This is an open and competitive industry and these products come through an open channel. The entry of Chinese products follows a fair amount of competition for all players," said Sunil Dutt, country head for Samsung's mobile business in India.

Read more.