You would be forgiven for thinking phone companies have just forgotten about people who enjoy typing on real buttons, not just on the ‘virtual keypads’ on phone displays. Over the last one year, smartphone buyers have spoilt for choice, with company after company launching bigger, faster and smarter phones almost on a weekly basis. Since […]
Qualcomm, the US-based chip designer and manufacturer, said it will revamp its entire Snapdragon chip architecture by the end of the year with a view to addressing the fast-growing tablet market. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processor, the company’s primary all-in-one chip, is one of the most popular chips for making smartphones and tablets at present, but is […]
Government has issued show cause notices to the top four private mobile operators in the country violating the laws related to Mobile Number Portability (MNP). As of 2nd May, show cause notices have been issued to Bharti Airtel Ltd, Idea Cellular Ltd, Reliance and Vodafone for failing to carry out their duties under the MNP […]
The government of India is thinking of creating a ‘Sovereign Wealth Fund’ to make it easier to acquire coal blocks in other countries, coal minister Sripraksh Jaisawal said. “There are issues which need to be resolved urgently in regard to acquisitions abroad especially in view of the fact that other energy deficit countries are rapidly […]
If you thought you were the only one paying for your cable, think again. New research says an average TV channel pays Rs 20 per household per year to compensate the cable network for bringing it to you in the prime band. In other words, if you get 150 channels, the cable operator would end […]
Airtel has entered the online phone retailing business, entering a market already boiling over with competition. The shop primarily sells handsets. Going by the rates, however, only some handsets are priced below the rates offered by competitors like Flipkart and Letsbuy. For example, the Nokia Lumia 800 is available for 23,338 on Airtel’s shop, compared […]
Only about 6% of the families registered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) got the full 100 days of work during last financial year, according to numbers from the Rural Development ministry. The numbers also revealed a sharp increase in complaints from Uttar Pradesh. While the ministry did not reveal how […]
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India or TRAI has revamped the entire regulatory structure of the broadcasting, cable TV and DTH industry in India, dealing with issues such as carriage fee, channel prices and channel availability. Once digitized, all channels (pay and free-to air) have to be offered on a-la-carte, or individual, basis to subscribers, […]
Market analyst firm Canalys reported today that global pad shipments more than tripled year-on-year in Q1 2012. Vendors shipped 20.3 million pads, representing 19% of all client PC shipments in the quarter. A year ago pads accounted for just 7% of PC shipments. Adoption rates, however, vary significantly across regions, shaped by differing economic conditions […]
In keeping with an overall slowing trend, India’s goods exports fell in March — for the first time since they started recovering from the recession in 2009. Exports fell 6% to $28.7 billion. However, the government can heave a sigh of relief as the overall target for exports for the full year, $300 billion, has […]
India held on to its position as the world’s most optimistic market for the ninth consecutive quarter despite worries about job security, the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions found. Established in 2005, tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 28,000 Internet consumers in 56 countries. Consumer confidence […]
HP retook the lead in the worldwide client PC market in Q1 2012, according to the latest figures published by analyst firm Canalys. Apple had ousted the long-time PC market leader in Q4 2011, thanks largely to record iPad shipments (in excess of 15 million units). In Q1, however, Apple shipped 11.8 million iPads, bringing […]
India and Russia will be the first two markets to get Nokia’s next generation imaginging-oriented phones — the Nokia 808 PureView. Nokia said Nokia 808 PureView will start rolling out in May, starting with the two countries — now Nokia’s biggest markets. The Nokia 808 PureView has a 41 megapixel camera with high-performance Carl Zeiss […]
iBall has launched a new version of its ‘Slide’ tablet, but with very few changes, making it less attractive than the Micromax Funbook or the Datawind Ubislate — which cost about half or less than the iBall Slide. Basic specs remain the same: 1 GHz single-core ARM Cortex A8 processor Multitouch 800 x 480 pixel […]
Idea has managed to convert only 2.6 million out of its 113 million customers to its 3G platform, more than six months after the services were launched, according to the March-end numbers released by the company today. That translates to a conversion of just about 2.3%, highlighting the difficulties operators in India are facing in […]
China has finally overtaken the United States as the world’s top smartphone market. According to numbers released by research firm Canalys, shipments in China doubled and overtook those in the US for the first time in the first quarter of 2012. In Q1, China represented 22% of global smartphone shipments, while the US accounted for […]
The Datawind Ubislate tablet, a more powerful version of the Aakash tablet, was launched by the Canadian company today. Thanks to its cheaper price — a difference of Rs 2500 — the Ubislate 7C, which has a capacitive display, is now the most value-for-money tablet in India. It is also the cheapest tablet in India […]
Broadcasters and their associations have questioned the right of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to frame rules restricting the number and duration of advertisements on television. In multiple responses, channels and associations have pointed out that the telecom regulator derives its mandate to regulate the media sector only from a notification by the […]
Digital research agency comscore today said Amazon’s Kindle Fire now accounts for more than half of all the Android tablets sold in the United States. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab has seen its share tumble over the last three months, numbers revealed. Within the Android tablet market, Kindle Fire has almost doubled its share in the past […]
The numbers are in, and contrary to many expectations, India’s number portability has actually ended up helping the big three incumbent operators — Idea Cellular, Vodafone and Airtel. As of March end, a total 4.2 crore subscribers have used India’s mobile number portability — 15 months after they were introduced in January 2011. The sheer […]
