Feb 2008

Telecom: 9101214161819202224252628303236373941686970727374-

Warid Telecom Spread Love Get Connected Anytime, Anywhere PTCL to Launch Automated Fault 1.12 Billion Mobiles Sold Orascom to Provide Mobile Services in N. Korea The Launch of Mobilink Foundation Loadshedding Enhance Sale of Mobiles USF, Mobilink Reach Access Pact Warid Telecom Brings Cricket on Mobile Observations on Telenor Edge Data Network Ad 15 Million Telenor Customers Mobile Phone Linked to Insomnia PTCL, Huawei to Launch Network Operation PTCL to Invest $50m in Telecom Cable The New President of Alcatel-Lucent PTA Identifies Flaws in Telecom Operations The Poor-Rich Divide Allied Bank Chooses Teradata Bluetooth Revolutionising the Communication Chip in Mobile Phones Can Survive Fierce Fires Ericsson Broadband Technology for Lenovo Notebook PCs Ericsson Launches Ground Breaking Platform Nokia Siemens to Boost China Telecom Nokia to Acquire Trolltech Nokia Plans Closure of its Bochum Site

46 Cover Story:

20 Million illegal SIMs Challenge for PTA-Threat for Nation

20 USF, Mobilink Reach Access Pact

Cover Story: 46-

20 Million illegal SIMs Challenge for PTA-Threat for Nation

IT: 84575767778-

Technology, Innovation Apple Quarterly Profits Rise $1.58b Pakistan: A Choice for Outsourced Software Development Microsoft Builds Library to Challenge Google Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion to Buy Yahoo Internet Disruption

30 PTCL Launches Rapid Response Unit

Events: 42-

GSMA Mobile World Congress Telecom Giants: Ready to Boost Business

42 GSMA Mobile World Congress Telecom Giants: Ready to Boost Business

Informative: 5052576465-

Coming Mobiles Current Mobiles Mobile Reviews Motorola’s latest Fashion Device Are You Pink or Purple?

Briefs: 87914

National International

9 Warid Telecom Spread Love

Unregistered SIMs Nuisance for National Security The mushroom growth of the telecoms sector and increased use of cellphones in Pakistan made possible by low tariffs of calls and messages and easy availability of connections (SIM cards) has had the unintended consequence of the valuable communications tools being misused on a large scale. Bothersome missed calls from strangers, indecent messages and crank calls are some of the common complaints cellphone users often report. The Cell phone users complaint every day about the harassment at the hands of strangers or blackmailers. The only reason is lack of checks on the sale of Subscriber Identity Modules (or SIMs), is the principal reason for the misuse of cellular phones. SIMs are relatively cheap, ranging from Rs100 (with Rs50 balance) to Rs350 in price and easily available at paan stalls, public call offices and cellphone dealers without even the need of showing one's national identity card. Ironically, it is more complicated to lodge a complaint against cellphone harassment than it is to buy one. The sale of mobile phone SIMs have become a nuisance for national security as criminals behind terrorist threats, bomb blast, kidnapping for ransom, fraudulent prizing schemes, irritating and repetitive unknown calls and text messages, identity theft, all the illegal activity is done by using unregistered SIMs. Some people are of the view that earlier on when SIMs were expansive, the procedure of filing a complaint was much more effective as lesser people had them. It is also a fact that cellphone users receive numerous text messages and calls from a number and the person kept insisting that you have won a prize. Whenever victim of such calls called the cellphone companies to block the number, the network people would plainly say that it would do no good as usually people have more than one SIM and can use the others if one gets blocked. So ultimately, we have just stopped paying attention to such messages or calls. It is the need of the hour to under stand these issues seriously and to take immediate actions against those who are involved in this heinous act not only the users but the companies as well who sell their SIMs in footpaths with out id card.


6

Zubair Ahmed Kasuri

Editor-in-Chief

M. H. Khalid

Editor

Usman Yaqoob

Marketing Executive (Lhr.)

M. Farooq Malik

Marketing Executive (Lhr.)

Rashid Hussain Mughal

Marketing Executive (Khi.)

M. Naeem Mughal

Designer

Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Publisher of "FLARE" Leading Telecom Magazine printed it from Akkaz Printers Shama Plaza Lahore and published from 105 B, Gulberg II, Lahore. Lahore Office:

Ph: 042-5750732

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E-mail:

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Khawar Shahzad

Finance Executive

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Azhar Javed

Production Manager

Registration No:

PCPB/105

(Vol. 4

Issue: 5)

Letter to the

e

ditor

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Pakistan Package A Revolutionary Offer

Misuse of Cellphones

This is to draw the attention of the ministry concerned toward the vices erupting from the influx of mobile phone communications in Dear Editor, the last couple of years. In the initial stages when mobile phones I want to draw the attention of the masses were introduced, there were checks applied towards ‘Pakistan Package’. Many have lob- to applicants to provide their personal details bied against the Pakistan Telecommunication on the prescribed form of the mobile comCompany’s revolutionary offer-‘Pakistan pany. At that time the price of the SIM was kept high and, as a result, consumers did not Package’. It is a revolution in a sense that it makes mushroom. Decency, quality and courtesy contacting our kith and kens in other cities in was then maintained among the mobile the country affordable. Calling them had been users. But as mobile companies increased and costly before. For sure, it will make the fabric competition among them grew, all earlier of our family and friends stronger. The mobile euphoria, which encourages checks and balances were withdrawn in our youngsters to gossip and romance the favour of sales. SIM cards became available for as low as whole night and sleep the day out, has done enough damage to our culture. However, in Rs100. Gradually, these facilities led to misview of some complaints, the PTCL will only use by criminals. Hand -to -hand mobile purneed to make signing out of this package; chase and sales destroyed the identification system of the users. Bad calls, threats and hope very families will opt out. We need courage to appreciate and print other forms of misuse are employed by many who cannot be identified. Then they also something good coming out these days. choose to shut down their cellphones at will while their callers, some of them genuine M .Jahangir claimants of a certain commitment between Islamabad them, are denied access. Also, they keep more than one cellphone and play the same tricks with another round of sufferers. They do that on purpose when they are in need of hiding or running away from a Respected Editor, party, or person. The menace has become alarmingly ramThis is really appreciating that Caretaker pant among those who have little or no moral Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Abdullah values: they greatly misuse the facility Riar has directed PTA to facilitate availability because they need not provide any address of reliable data through mobile subscriber docwhile buying cellphones. So, it is easier for umentation and antecedent verification. such cellphone users to break commitments There was a need for the policy and directives or agreements to the peril of the other party. I to stop the sale of number of undocumented have personally sufferred on this count. mobile phones in the country and to allay the It is time to regulate cellphone trade. concerns of various agencies in this regard. Mobile companies should be asked to proThere was no policy formulated by PTA nounce verification and authentication of all for mobile subscriber antecedent data collecSIMs within three months. tion and verification by all mobile phone operFor this purpose, drop box facility should ators. The new directives are really encourbe provided by all mobile companies to their aging to keep check and balance on the users at various public places where a stanmobile subscriber’s data. The most important dard format of information published in the concern is that we have to wait what PTA and newspaper should be copied and completed cellular companies do to stop the unregisby the users, along with a photocopy of their tered connections and collect subscriber data NIC. This procedure or a similar one will help which is a challenge for the concerned mobile companies to carry out the verification authorities. and authentication of SIMs. All those SIMS that will not be presented Anwar Malik for verification within three months will stand Islamabad cancelled at the end of the deadline. And in

Need of the Hour

anticipation there will be many SIMs bought and sold hand to hand will never be presented for verification, thus making room for new business for the mobile companies. Those SIMs which could be verified successfully must be restored back. The mobile companies should sell the new SIMs only after obtaining personal details of the applicant, supported by a copy of his national identity card. Mobile companies should be made to develop control software so that if a SIM does not answer an incoming call five times consecutively, the SIM will be cancelled forthwith and made invalid for any further use of it. Thus a heavy penalty imposed on those who misuse of cellphones in this manner will help check the present attitude of free will to receive only selected calls. The SIM holder should have the facility to report shutting off his SIM for a minimum number of days on the sole grounds of overseas travel for a maximum of 30 days. The caller should then hear a tape: user is out of country till so and so date. The sufferers at the hand of a SIM holder should be provided the contact address of the SIM holder by mobile companies, at the reference of a police paper. M. M. Khan Karachi

Phone Towers Sir: All the cellular companies are constructing their towers in a densely populated locality of Bahawalpur, Shahdra. This is happening with out any check and balance by the authorities. The concerned authorities should take steps against these cellular companies to move their towers outside the residential areas due to the hazardous affects of these towers on human life. The higher authorities of both the regulators and the concerned companies are requested to behave responsibly and stop this construction. Shabbir Hussain Bahawalpur

Send us your letters at [email protected] or at our postal address. Flare reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and space.

7

IT

Flare Report

Technology, Innovation

Change Video Viewing Habits

Today's video servers are delivering real-time services, streaming 25,000 simultaneous videos, and ingesting 250 new titles per hour

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echnology’s improved ability to meet viewer demands and service provider innovation in response to increasing competition are changing video viewing habits. In turn, network designers are being forced to make fundamental investment decisions. Video on demand, where consumers play selected videos over their television sets, the Internet and mobile devices, is not being used the way industry experts or viewers themselves expected. VoD, for example, was envisioned as an extension of Pay TV, where movies on demand would dominate the service offering. Although VoD is used for movies on demand, other uses are more prominent. They include: • Time-shifted TV (subscribers view TV programs on their own schedules); • Network digital video recorders (network storage is used rather than the set-top box); and • Program restart (a viewer can watch a program from the beginning after turning it on after the show has begun). Internet video also surprised the experts, who thought it would compete with video rentals or bypass cable TV franchises. Instead it has opened new video applications, such as democratizing video through YouTube, and provided new distribution vehicles for major media companies that leverage their broadcast offerings. Fox leveraged its investment in the Major League Baseball playoffs, for example, through extensive Internet video offerings before and after each game. Mobile video is complementary to VoD and Internet video, emphasizing music and personal videos rather than TV or movie fare: HDTV on a 1-inch screen doesn’t make it. Much of this change in the way we view video is made economically feasible by technologies that support highly targeted advertising. On-demand ad insertion has been essential to VoD’s success. Viewers are much more tolerant of viewing advertising than the payper-view model. Also, advertisers can tailor their pitches to the demographics of each VoD 8

title, which increases their ROI. Pioneering companies already are introducing systems that personalize ads to each viewer’s interests and demographic profile. Once video is introduced onto the telecom network, the infrastructure and its design must be rethought from first principles. The access network that in most places is still designed for voice must become a vehicle for broadcast TV and high-speed Internet service. The aggrega-

Internet video also surprised the experts, who thought it would compete with video rentals or bypass cable TV franchises. Instead it has opened new video applications, such as democratizing video through YouTube, and provided new distribution vehicles for major media companies that leverage their broadcast offerings tion network must become a network to support VoD distribution. For example, cost models we have built for our clients show that at 40 percent penetration 90 percent of the aggregation network’s capacity is used for VoD. Each network element is affected. Fiberoptic cables must be extended either to or very close to the customer premises. New settop boxes are required. One intriguing opportunity is to use the cheap storage of the settop box to offload some network and central-

ized video server capacity. GPON, IP DSLAMs or Ethernet-based FTTH is needed in the access network. A converged IP/Ethernet aggregation network and a core network incorporating IP/MPLS also are needed. Video servers become a critical enabling technology since VoD, Internet and mobile video services are driving the network redesign. The requirements imposed upon video servers have exploded along with this change in video usage. Motorola estimates a video server used to deliver movies on demand in 2000 was streaming 250 simultaneous videos and ingesting 10 new titles per month. Today’s video servers are delivering real-time services, streaming 25,000 simultaneous videos, and ingesting 250 new titles per hour. Rebuilding access and aggregation networks requires a massive investment. The single largest expense is the buildout of fiber-optic cables and associated outside plant apparatus. Electronic systems investment from most to least expensive involves the DSLAM, settop box, switch/routers, and video server. The most important strategic decisions are: • Should VoD services be introduced and will they be well accepted? The success of a triple-play business case depends on how innovative the VoD-based service offerings are, since they offer the primary vehicle for differentiating the service portfolio from the competition. Revolutionary change in the network is not needed if VoD doesn’t sell. • Should a centralized video headend be constructed or are there attractive distributed video alternatives? Out-of-the-box thinking on video distribution can reduce network construction and operations costs substantially. • Should a Carrier Ethernet aggregation network be constructed and what should be its bandwidth capacity? Many network architects believe such a converged network is the logical end state with or without triple play. This need not be an immediate priority unless the business plan calls for the aggressive rollout of modern video services. n

Special Report

alentines Day was celebrated with great fervor throughout Pakistan. In recognizing the growing importance of this day throughout the country, Warid Telecom also wanted to 'share the love' with its consumers. To celebrate Valentines Day with the Warid-family, Warid Telecom launched numerous exciting services to spread the magic of love with diamonds, music and much more. Warid introduced value added services incorporating songs, dedications and an assortment of approaches for its subscribers to make their significant other to feel special on Valentines Day. This year, the foremost offering by Warid Telecom to make Valentines Day extraordinary for someone special was a diamond ring. Subscribers were offered a chance to win a diamond ring for their loved ones via a lucky draw. The procedure for participating in the lucky draw was as simple as to send a short message to become eligible for the lucky draw. The lucky draw for diamond ring was held on 11th February and Miss Kalsoom Akhtar of Islamabad was the lucky winner of this diamond ring. The diamond ring was presented to the lucky winner on 13th February in a ceremony held at Warid Telecom's Islamabad business center. Other content services we introduced for our subscribers to celebrate Valentines Day included classic Western, Bollywood and other

V

Telecom

popular love songs along with greeting dedications. Also included was a Love Zodiac Compatibility Test that allowed Warid subscribers to test the compatibility of their partners. In addition, a variety of mobile screen wallpapers and picture messages were also available to Warid subscribers for personalizing their mobile phones or forwarding as an MMS to loved ones. Marwan Zawaydeh Chief Executive Officer Warid Telecom said, "Festivities are extremely important facet of our daily lives. It is our job as an operator to make these occasions special for our consumers by providing the best in innovation. This year for Valentines Day we wanted to deliver unique products that make your significant other feel more special. The response has been excellent and we hope to continue to deliver new products and services for our subscribers in future as well." On the occasion Thomas Yeo Chief Commercial Officer Warid Telecom said, "Valentine's Day holds great significance in the west and now also has gained immense popularity in the east due to media exposure and increasing modernization and socio-cultural trends. It is a day of love, chocolates and roses. Warid Telecom wanted to do its bit with something more, a diamond ring because at Warid Telecom, We Care." He added.


Warid Telecom awarded the wineer Valentines Day contest. The winner Kalsoom Akhtar receiving the diamond ring from Farah Hussain, Public Relations Manager and Zubash Saleemi, Assistant Manager Product & Services.

9

Telecom

Flare Report

Get Connected

Anytime Anywhere In places where you cannot access PC, you can now surf social networking websites via your cellphone

S

ome people live their lives online as much as they live it offline, or even more! It is not uncommon in today’s fast-paced life to get in touch with friends more easily on social networking and blogging sites than from their home or office. Websites like Facebook, Flicker and blogger are the meeting places and provide a very friendly atmosphere which has made content sharing quite popular in last few years. Traditionally, PC is the only source of approaching these sites, but there is an increasing trend in making these services available over cellphones as well. So today we will take a look at two such applications which can be installed on cellphones and allows instant interaction with online networking sites. MOBILE FACEBOOK Available from GetJar.com site, Mobile Facebook is a small 50KB application. It asks for username, password and an authentication type to connect. You have to enter the e-mail address and password for logging in, and select one of the three authentication types: ‘Https’, ‘proxy’ (get) or ‘proxy’ (post). Once logged in, the count of new messages, pokes, shares, friend requests, group requests and event invites are displayed. Menu option lets user set status and refresh the information. Also, the screen image is shown along with the screen name. SHOZU This application allows direct upload of text, images and videos present in the cellphone to online sites such as Google Blogger, Picasa Web Album, You Tube, Word Press, Windows Live Spaces, Flicker and Facebook among many others. In addition to these, news-worthy images and videos can be sent to CNN, BBC and Scoopt or can be e-mailed or sent to an FTP account. This content sharing is called Share-It in ShoZu vocabulary, and depending upon the capability of the handset, users can also subscribe to multimedia contents using ZuCast or take contacts backup. You can download ShoZu from its website ShoZu.com, rather than from third-party websites just to ensure that it is the latest version. Downloading is assisted through a three step wizard interface. Step one is to select the device. Select manufacturer from the dropdown and select the exact model from the right side scrollable panel showing handset images. Although this panel loads a number of images for all the popular mobile phone 10

brands, it is pretty fast and almost all the phones that we use in Pakistan, including the new ones, are listed here. Select the handset model on which application is to be downloaded and press Continue at the bottom right. Step two asks for country and phone number. In case of Pakistan, enter country code 92 followed by the phone number without the leading zero in the adjacent field. Next field is the standard anti-bot text entry field. Press Continue. Within a couple of minutes, an SMS with ShoZu download link is sent to the specified number. Follow the link and download ShoZu - a 770 KB application. Before starting the application, set its permission to allow unrestricted reading and writing of local data. Typically, with the application selected, go to phone menu More> Permissions >Read User Data (and Write User Data)>Never Ask. Or follow equivalent procedure to allow this application access to phone data. Now start the application. It searches for snaps and videos and displays their number under All Files menu item. Second menu item is Destinations. This is the list of online networking and content sharing sites to which the user is registered and is ready to use with ShoZu. Initially, there is no destination available as user has to explicitly add them in ShoZu. Here is how to do it. With ShoZu running on mobile phone, use the right soft key and go to the menu More>Settings> AccountDetails. Here, a temporary username and password will be displayed. Use this information to log on to ShoZu.com site’s My ShoZu tab. The site will now ask for a permanent username and password that activates the ShoZu application on mobile phone. Verify it by going to More>Settings>TransferStatus. Here, ShoZu status should display ‘Activated’. Wait for a while for the application to update itself after activation. Once activated, the menu More>Settings>AccountDetails would show the permanent username along with masked password. ShoZu is now ready and activated and destinations can be added. Over ShoZu.com, log-in with permanent username and password and go to My ShoZu>Share-It >Add Destination. Press Select against the image of destination, say Facebook. Follow the link displayed by ShoZu that opens up a special Facebook page that asks the user to authorise ShoZu access. Such authorisation is required for all the destinations that are added to be used by ShoZu,

since instead of user itself, now the ShoZu through mobile phone will access these sites. These authorisation instructions differ slightly from destination to destination, but generally they ask the user to check remember password, and check authorise ShoZu access on destination pages displayed. Note that you must already be a user of destination in order to add it. Destinations added over the website appear over the phone application under Destinations. It takes approximately a minute for the update, or with Destinations menu selected, user can go to More>Settings>Check for Updates. The fun begins when destinations are added, for example to send data to Flicker and Facebook, first go to All Files in ShoZu application. Browse the file list with thumbnails of an image or video to be uploaded to a destination. Press the right soft key of Menu and select Send to Flicker. Or, use Sendto> Destinations>Facebook. Note that the first destination added became the one click destination. This can be changed from within the application or through the web. Before uploading pictures, their title (filename), description and tags can be set. Wait for a few seconds as the image uploads. Sending status can be viewed using More>Settings>Transfer Status from the main interface. Uploaded files appear instantly over the web. In case of Flicker, images appear in Home>YourPhotos and in case of Facebook, images appear in Applications>Photos>MyPhotos and there is no need to set up an album beforehand. ShoZu is a great little application not only for phone freaks but for serious on-the-run professionals who need to upload and share information rapidly to the internet. With auto compressed images and videos taken by mobile phones, uploading does not take much time. Imagine the ease this brings since without ShoZu, users have to first get hold of a PC, connect the handset using data cable, Bluetooth or Infrared to transfer the image or video files, then connect to the internet and upload the file. This may be easy from the comfort of home, but for instant publishing requirements such as citizen journalism and interactions between family members living abroad ShoZu can save a lot of time. It also makes it possible for less tech savvy users to publish themselves over the internet with ease and speed. n

Telecom

Azhar Javed

PTCL to Launch Automated Fault Detection and Correction System

PTCL, Huawei Technologies Pakistan and Hewlett Packard (HP) signed an agreement to jointly launch their ‘Network Operation Center’ project which has state-ofthe art fault detection and resolution technology, at an impressive ceremony at the PTCL Headquarters

H

uawei Technologies Pakistan, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Hewlett Packard (HP) inked an agreement to jointly launch their 'Network Operation Center' project in Pakistan. On the occasion, Walid Irshaid, President and CEO PTCL said this project would enhance the relationship between PTCL, Huawei and enable HP to become an important partner in the transformation that had been initiated by PTCL. With the assistance of both leading companies Huawei and HP, PTCL would establish a Network Operation Centers (NOCs) to facilitate millions of its subscribers in the country. Once in place, the network operating centers would enable automated fault detection and correction in any location in country for the convenience of subscribers. Mr Irshaid emphasized although the Network Operation Center project was a back-end system, the ultimate beneficiaries were the customers of PTCL, which is country's largest telecommunications provider. CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, Yixiang appreciated PTCL's foresight in selecting Huawei as a solution provider for the project. He said the project was breaking new ground, as it was the first of its kind in Pakistan, which would lead the way for similar programmes in future. Vice President South East Asia of HP, Joseph Poon lauded both PTCL and Huawei for choosing HP for implementing the project and said his company was committed to ensuring that the project becomes "a true success story." Elaborating on its functionality, he said the project would provide the services including establishment of one main network operation center and three regional ones, one each in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. The other services are implementation of an alarm management system across the entire PTCL network in an integrated manner and implementation of a traffic management tool performance moni-

12

toring and capacity management. SEVP Finance PTCL, Nehmatullah Toor signed the agreement on behalf of PTCL. PTCL SEVP HR, Ismail Taha, SEVP Procurement, Feisal Elkathiri and SEVP Commercial, Sadik Al-Jadir were also present. Yi Xiang, CEO Huawei Technologies Pakistan, expressed that the company was very pleased to be chosen as a solution provider for the project, and he said that the project was breaking new ground, as it was the first of its kind in Pakistan that would lead the way for similar programmes in future. Upon completion, the network operating centers will add more benefits for PTCL subscribers, as it would enable automated fault detection and correction in any location in Pakistan. Huawei is a Chinese telecommunication (wireless, networking) equipment maker with presence in 41 countries. Huawei defines itself as the leader in next generation telecommunication networks. In the recent times, Huawei had signed two mega deals worth over a billion US dollar with Pakistani telecommunication companies Worldcall and Ufone. The Ufone deal was worth US$ 550 million and involves GSM expansion. The Worldcall deal was estimated to be US$ 720 million and it’s for setting up Wireless Local Loop service in South Pakistan. The tremendous growth of Huawei in the last few years is impressive, given that it competes with established international giants. As experts have noticed Huawei's advantage goes beyond lower prices. Huawei is positioning itself as an innovator and leader of cutting edge technology products. An important feature of the Chinese policy is the emphasis on developing its own technical standards. For instance Chinese are pushing for IPV6 in an effort to catch up with the US. Another example is the TDS-CDMA standard, which was developed in China. Hewlett Packard (HP) is a technology company that operates in more than 170 countries around the world. HP provided infrastructure and business offerings that span from

handheld devices to some of the world's most powerful supercomputer installations. It offered consumers a wide range of products and services from digital photography to digital entertainment and from computing to home printing. This comprehensive portfolio helps us match the right products. HP was founded in 1939 and its corporate headquarters are in Palo Alto, Calif. Mark Hurd is president and CEO. HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $104.3 billion for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. HP's 2007 Fortune 500 ranking: No. 14. HP's three business groups drive industry leadership in core technology areas: In 1995, when government had announced to privatized the company there were countrywide protest and strike by PTCL workers. They even disrupted phone lines of some big government institutions and many lines of public sector were also blocked. Military had to take over the management of all the exchanges in the country. They arrested many workers and put them behind bars. The contention between government and employees ended with a 30% increase in the salaries of workers. Many big change events are happening in PTCL at the moment after its privatization. These include the VSS (Voluntary Separation Scheme for its employees), ERP (SAP based), restructuring, B& CC (Billing and Customer Care Software) etc. Another seemingly minor change was change of brand identity (logo) that will present PTCL's new face after privatization, with greater focus on customer satisfaction and bringing about of new advancements in telecom for consumers. Now the employees of the company are satisfied with the policies and new packages introduced by the PTCL management. It is hoped that PTCL once again captured the telecom sector with dedication and hardworking. If PTCL will succeed to facilitates the subscribers in the country and solve the problems within a hour like faulty phone, over billing, late bill receive, etc., no doubt, the company touch its new high. n

Telecom

Flare Report

1.12 Billion

Mobiles Sold Around the

World in 2007

Sales increased about 12 percent from one billion in 2006 to 1.12 billion in 2007 and for 2008 predicted another 10 percent surge to 1.24 billion phones

ore than 1.1 billion mobile phones were sold around the world last year, and developing countries in Africa and elsewhere should maintain the momentum in 2008, according to a study.

M

Apple's much vaunted iPhone was not as big a hit as expected however, the study said.

Emerging regions, particularly Africa, will continue to drive shipments," it said. Saturated Western markets -many of them likely to see weak GDP growth -- will remain sluggish in 2008 Sales increased about 10 percent from one billion in 2006 to 1.12 billion in 2007 and for 2008 Strategy Analytics predicted another 10

Nokia of Finland strengthened its position as the world's best selling phone maker while South Korea's Samsung moved up to second

The study said better third generation (3G) phones and "cooler sub-branding" by Samsung, LG Electronics and Nokia ate into Sony Ericsson's market share place and American maker Motorola dropped back to third, according to the study. 14

percent surge to 1.24 billion phones. "Emerging regions, particularly Africa, will

continue to drive shipments," it said. "Saturated Western markets -- many of them likely to see weak GDP growth -- will remain sluggish in 2008." The market information firm said Nokia made sizeable gains in Africa and the Middle East "despite fierce competition from dozens of rivals in every price tier." It sold 437 million handsets in 2007, up from 347 million in 2006 to grab a 38.8 percent market share. Samsung increased sales from 113 million to 161 million -- growing three times faster than the industry average -- to move ahead of Motorola which saw sales collapse from 217 million to 159 million. "Motorola's device portfolio remains weak; without a more attractive lineup of handsets the pain is likely to continue into the second half of 2008." The study said better third generation (3G) phones and "cooler sub-branding" by Samsung, LG Electronics and Nokia ate into Sony Ericsson's market share. The study said Apple with its iPhone came in "slightly below our expectations," sending 2.3 million phones for a 0.6 percent market share. "The European launch in France, Germany and the UK was handled successfully, but demand from buyers was less frenzied than the US entry in June, 2007," said Strategic Analytics. "High retail prices for the iPhone have been one issue," it stressed. The phone costs 399 euros (587 dollars) in France and 269 pounds (360 euros/530 dollars) in Britain. Apple Inc. reported its best quarter ever as profits soared to 1.58 billion dollars in the last three months of 2007 on demand for its iPhones, Macintosh computers and iPods. Its chief executive Steve Jobs said that Apple has sold more than four million iPhones, touch-screen mobile devices that combine telephone, video, music and Internet access. n

Telecom

Flare Report

n Egyptian firm Orascom says it has won the right to provide a mobile phone service in communist North Korea, a country which currently strictly restricts such services to the general public. Orascom Telecom, in a statement on its website, said the licence was granted to its subsidiary CHEO Technology, which is 25 percent owned by a North Korean state body -the Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation.

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The North Korea deal "is in line with our strategy to penetrate countries with high population and low penetration by providing the first mobile telephony services," said Naguib Sawiris, chairman and CEO. The firm "has consisNaguib Sawiris, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Orascom. tently proved its ability to successfully roll out mobile services into and began recalling unauthorised handsets. countries where no other operator has." There is still thought to be a mobile netIt was unclear how widely the Orascom work in Pyongyang which is open for governTelecom service would be available to the ment officials. Most foreigners are not allowed public. North Korea began a mobile phone service to use mobile phones inside the country. Authorities have staged periodic crackin November 2002. But 18 months later, it downs on residents in northern border areas banned general public from using the service who illegally use mobile phones through relay stations in China. The 2004 recall was ordered for security reasons, said Cho Han-Bum of South Korea's state-financed Korean Institute for National Unification. North Korean authorities regard mobile phones as sensitive items because they can be used by outsiders to acquire information on the country. Cho said the deal with Orascom Telecom, if confirmed, would be meaningful. "It could be interpreted as a significant step towards the opening of its society. "If North Korea approves a full commercial mobile phone service, it cannot maintain its tight lid on the flow of information." The deal with North Korea is the second announced in six months by the Egyptian group. Orascom Construction Industries last summer sealed a 115 million dollar agreement to invest in a North Korean cement plant. Egypt has historically had good relations with North Korea. De facto head of state Kim Jong-Nam visited Cairo last July and President Hosni Mubarak has been to North Korea several times. Orascom Telecom currently operates networks in Algeria, Pakistan, Egypt, Tunisia, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.


Orascom Telecom intends to invest up to 400 million dollars in network infrastructure and licence fee over the first three years in order to rapidly deploy a high quality network and offer voice, data and valueadded services at accessible prices to the Korean The North Korea deal "is in people line with our strategy to penIt said the terms allow it to offer services etrate countries with high throughout the country over a 25-year period with an exclusivity period of four years. "Orascom Telecom intends to invest up to population and low penetra400 million dollars in network infrastructure and licence fee over the first three years in tion by providing the latest order to rapidly deploy a high quality network and offer voice, data and value-added servicmobile telephony services," es at accessible prices to the Korean people," it said. said Naguib Sawiris, chairOrascom said it intends to cover Pyongyang and most other major cities during the first year of operations in the country of 23 man and CEO Orascom million.

Telecom

Special Report

orporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a term that has become synonymous with the operations of leading companies world over. It has come to represent a commitment whereby organizations act ethically, responsibly and actively give back to the community and environment within which they operate. Although a concept recognized and practiced by companies in most developed countries, this is a relatively new idea for companies operating in developing nations like Pakistan. However, the importance of CSR initiatives cannot be stated enough, as at the core of any argument for the advancement of developing nations is a promise that its corporate

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Mobilink has embraced their responsibility and chosen to lead the way towards socially responsible business practices which transcend the usual practice of periodic donations and sponsorships

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citizens will recognize their obligation to share their success and improve the lives of the community they operate in; giving rise to the socially conscious corporate citizen. Mobilink, Pakistan's leading cellular service provider has consistently remained at the forefront of the Telecommunications industry and maintained its position as both an innovator and integral part of the country's cellular industry. Since their operations, they have contributed significantly to the social development of the nation and following through with their vision of being an accountable corporate citizen, Mobilink has now entered a new phase of its commitment. Having achieved a milestone of 30 million customers they have used this opportunity to solidify their promise of reshaping lives and supporting initiatives for the development of Pakistan, through the formal establishment of the Mobilink Foundation. The Mobilink Foundation has been estab-

The Mobilink Foundation is a prime example of the company's sincerity and its intrinsic commitment to improving the lives of Pakistanis across the country lished through an initial funding of Rs. 30 million which has been donated by Naguib Sawiris, Chairman Orascom Telecom. As the largest private sector organization in the country, Mobilink has embraced its responsibility and chosen to lead the way towards socially responsible business practices which transcend the usual practice of periodic donations and sponsorships. Guided by a pledge to give back to the country, it was deemed important to expand the current CSR activities and have a separate dedicated organization which would focus on Mobilink's CSR efforts; giving birth to the Mobilink Foundation. The main efforts of the foundation are in the areas of education and health, with a vision of providing free access to education

and healthcare for all Pakistanis, and additional projects geared at protecting the environment and poverty alleviation. Moreover, whenever possible, the telecommunications infrastructure and expertise will be leveraged to further the cause of the foundation. The Mobilink Foundation is a prime example of the company's sincerity and its intrinsic commitment to improving the lives of Pakistanis across the country. Mobilink has also published their first CSR Report in 2007, which is available on www.mobilinkfoundation.org. It is an initiative which separate the leaders from the followers and it is hoped that other companies will follow suit in a similar manner and improve the lives of the community within which they live and thrive.


Flare Report

ENHANCE SALE OF Mobile that these mobile phones are not that much ‘in’ with the teenagers. “No I don’t want this old model handset,” said Ajmal Aziz, a college student when a mobile vendor showed him a brand new handset that has the torch in a mobile market of he sale of mobile phones with a torch Rawalpindi. has gone up in the country, mainly due “It’s for old men and women,” Ajmal said, to the ongoing electricity loadshedding. adding: “Please show me some other model “The rates of these mobile phones are not that has a camera and bluetooth.” more than Rs3,000 and certainly it has an While the sale of ‘torch-mobiles’ has certainly added advantage of a torch,” customers picked up, there were some mobile vendors, believe. who believed that it’s the temporary phase. Not only the brand new mobiles with torch “Once the loadshedding is over, the market are selling like hot cakes, the sale of even of these mobiles will certainly decline,” said used ones that has torch installed in it is not Iqbal Bukhsh, who has been in the business of that much bad. Used mobiles come for around selling both brand new and second hand Rs1,500 with a good condition. mobiles for the last eight years. The buyers of these mobile phones believe The torch mobiles are also popular among that it’s better to have handset with torch the housewives. “When I bought this mobile because as soon the light goes off, it’s easier some one and a half years back, the immedifor them to locate candles or light up a gaslight ate thought that came to my mind was that it (if the pressure is good) with a matchstick. will be quite useful during the loadshedding,” said Mrs Imtiaz, a housewife, who lives in Such mobile phones with torch do not have all the latest gadgets installed in it, like camera Rawalpindi. or bluetooth. Perhaps that’s the main reason be quite useful during the loadshedding,”

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Telecom

Phones

said Mrs Imtiaz, a housewife, who lives in Rawalpindi. While it is convenience for most of those who are using these torch mobile phones, it’s been unlucky for some carrying these hand-

The sale of ‘torch-mobiles’ has certainly picked up, there were some mobile vendors, who believed that it’s the temporary phase. Once the loadshedding is over, the market of these mobiles will certainly decline sets. “A friend of mine was coming at night near Khanna Bridge and he was watching his steps with the help of the torch in his mobile phone,” said Ghulam Mohiuddin, who lives closeby. However, to the bad luck of Ghulam’s friend, few mischievous snatched the mobile and ran away. “Had my friend not switched on the torch, he could have saved his mobile,” Ghulam added. n

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Telecom

Flare Report

elecommunications infrastructure and services in the rural areas can play a pivotal role for the long-term socio-economic benefits of the people and in reducing the 'digital divide' between rural and urban areas within the country, Care Taker Federal Minister for IT Abdullah Riar has said. The minister was addressing the contract signing ceremony between Universal Service Fund Project and Mobilink. The contract aims to provide telecom related services to the underserved areas of Districts Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur, Nosheroferoze and Nawabshah spread over a population of over 600,000. After the implementation of this project, citizens of Sukkur Division would have 100% access to telephone services. The IT minister

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Abdullah Riar appreciated the efforts of USF in bringing the penetration of telecommunication services to the rural areas into focus and hoped that Mobilink would live up to the expetations of the people and that the project augured well for the people

said that the establishment of USF and the allocation of subsidy to operators was an important factor in accelerating the availability of telecommunication services in rural areas. "Fixed-line and mobile operators can play an important role in providing coverage to rural areas in particular where there is no fixed line service", he said. This, he said, included areas where the cost of the operations was too high due to lack of infrastructure or scattered populations. "These areas would include cities and towns other than those where mobile companies are bound to reach as part of the mobile cellular policy obligation", he added. Riar

akistan Television signed an agreement with Mobilink for providing regular SMS/IVR updates for the forthcoming general election. The SMS/IVR services will provide customers with updates on national and provincial assembly results, profiles of various political parties and prominent political candidates. In his comments, Vice President Marketing of Mobilink, Bilal Munir Sheikh said in an era of advanced technology, everyone would like to be the first to know the results of election. Therefore, keeping in view customers interests, the company is providing them easy access on election news and updates. "We have partnered with PTV to bring timely results and information to our customers in the palm of their hands, in a matter of nanoseconds," he added. He said the SMS/IVR service will keep subscribers posted on their mobile phones even in areas where there is no availability of television set or electricity. The new service will help

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Caretaker Federal Minister for IT & Telecom Dr. Abdullah Riar witnessing the contract signing ceremony of Universal Service Fund Project for the un-served areas of Sukkur Division.

appreciated the efforts of USF in bringing the penetration of telecommunication services to the rural areas into focus and hoped that Mobilink would live up to the expetations of the people and that the project augured well for the people of Sukkur, particularly those living in the remote areas of the Sukkur Division. CEO Mobilink Zohair A Khaliq and CEO USF Pervez Iftikhar signed the contract on behalf of their respective organizations, Hifzur-Rehman, Secretary IT and Chairman PTA Maj Gen (Retd) Shahzada Alam Malik as well as several key individuals related to the telecom industry were also present on the occasion.


people stay connected, he said and added since the entire nation will be keen to find out the results of their preferred political party. Giving further details, he said the users interested in national assembly results, just need to SMS "NA" to 2008 and they will receive all the results on their mobile phone. Price for this service is a nominal Rs 100 + Tax. In addition to SMS services, customers can also listen to Live PTV Election transmission along with regular results updates (On election days) by dialing 1947 from their Mobilink number. Mobilink has achieved an unprecedented customer base of over 30 million and provides the most extensive network coverage footprint across Pakistan through an integrated technology infrastructure in more than 6,000 cities, towns, villages, and countless remote destinations, including International Roaming in 127 countries through 300 partner operators.


Telecom

Flare Report

Warid Telecom introduced cricket alerts, ball-to-ball services and live commentary - for the first time ever in Pakistan. Through these services, users can remain up-to-date with live coverage throughout the matches arid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. is the first telecom company to bring the nation's first love - cricket - to mobile phone. Warid Telecom is owned by the Abu Dhabi Group, led by His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. Cultivating cricket into GSM technology is part of Warid's strategy to customize services based on subscribers' interests, providing value added services of their choice and rewarding users for their loyalty. In its bid to support cricket enthusiasts, Warid has introduced numerous services and prize campaigns to delight the Warid family. Warid Telecom introduced cricket alerts, ball-to-ball services and live commentary - for the first time ever in Pakistan. Through these services, users can remain up-to-date with live coverage throughout the matches. The coverage instantly updates subscribers with complete information, all the way from the toss to the man-of-the-match ceremony. The services are seen as a revolutionary way to stay involved in the game while being away from the television or stadium. Additionally, MMS (Multimedia Message

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Service) based cricket video alerts are offered to GPRS subscribers. The subscriber can view a video alert every time a wicket falls. Warid Telecom's complete cricket solution allows you to integrate the full experience so no unforgettable moments are ever missed in your favorite game. As a reward to users of cricket services, the product development team of Warid Telecom had launched two prize campaigns 'Play N Win' Voting Game and the Cricket Quiz Mania. The 'Play N Win' voting game allowed the subscribers to vote for their favorite cricket team and make predictions about the outcome (both before and during the match). The maximum number of votes and the correct votes by the users can results in winning exciting prizes Warid has offered. On the other hand, the Cricket Quiz Mania campaign allows customers to answer questions on cricket details where users with maximum voted and correct answers are entered a lucky draw featuring prizes. Prizes include LCD Home Theatre System, Sony Flat Screen TV, Bars of Gold (10 grams each), Handsets (Nokia and Ericsson) and

cash prizes worth up to million rupees. Thus far, many users have already collected their prizes and both campaigns have received an overwhelming response. Marwan Zawaydeh Chief Executive Officer Warid Telecom noted, "Cricket services and alerts are new and extremely popular products in the Pakistan telecom industry. Warid Telecom was the first company to launch these services. 2008 will be a gigantic year for Warid Telecom where we will be known as the premier service-provider to introduce the most innovative ideas, products and services." On the results of the successful campaigns, Thomas Yeo - Chief Commercial Officer Warid Telecom added, "Innovation is a norm at Warid Telecom. With cricket services we wanted to introduce something that customers actually demand and then take it a step further by rewarding them for using our services. We hope to continue introducing such schemes in the future as well, because at Warid Telecom, We Care."


arid Telecom has introduced a new international dialing tariff plan for its ZEM Prepaid and ZAHI Postpaid subscribers. Now all Warid subscribers will be able to avail the lowest call rates for the USA, UK (landline) and Canada. Since launch, Warid Telecom has been providing customers with the most competitive tariff plans and has now made its international calls even more attractive. With new international dialing rates, subscribers can call three exciting international destinations for as low as Rs. 1.25/minute. In addition to reducing international dialing rates to USA, UK, & Canada; call charges to

Middle East (esp. KSA, UAE, & Kuwait), Europe (esp. Germany, France, Netherlands, Norway, & Sweden), and East Asia (esp. China, Malaysia, & Hong Kong) have been drastically cut down and the benefit has been passed on to our subscribers. This is not a limited-time or a package specific offer; instead these rates can be availed by all existing pre and postpaid subscribers. Marwan Zawaydeh - Chief Executive Officer Warid Telecom said, "When Warid entered the market in 2005, cost of calls in the market was extremely high. Not only has Warid been instrumental in bringing down the

costs for local telephony, we have been at the forefront of providing the maximum service at the lowest price". Thomas Yeo - Chief Commercial Officer Warid Telecom said, "In this era of globalization, business, families, friends and associates can be found scattered throughout the world. By introducing these new international call rates, we want our subscribers to know that nothing is out of their reach. Our loyal subscribers deserve the best, because at Warid, We Care".


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Open Forum

Flare Report

n my opinion, before Telenor, the world of telecom seemed to be nothing more then just calls and SMS. Look it now, where we can access mobile TV, share our pictures, MMS, emails, use internet and so many other value promising features, and big thanks to leader Telenor. The ad looks crisp and is understood to all I am sure. The most recent and most attractive offerings have been highlighted in the most vivid execution. Comments and a healthy discussion is welcomed on the said ad.

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Ayesha Khan, [email protected] -------------------------------------------------------------Dear Ayesha, With reference to your post, I would like to inform that Mobilnk has been offering all these services way before Telenor even came to Pakistan. The only difference that Telenor has made is MobileTV. Mobilink, unfortunately, is in a fix as it has a fixed monthly charge of Rs.500 for GPRS the technology that would enable such services. However, they are not able to bring in this service as it will be a free ride for the consumers. Telenor on the other hand charges per megabyte download that makes the consumer be cautious while using more of the service and Telenor makes money from the content download onto your mobile device. The commercial to me has good execution but in terms of concept is a bit far-stretched. It should have been a usage based tactical campaign. Adnan Shekhani [email protected] -------------------------------------------------------------But here, Ufone never captured the market it should have had done years before Telenor and others jumped in. They had the equipment and services ready but somehow things could not click for them.

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Faisal Naik [email protected]

Telenor launched value added services ad that truly reflects the innovation which it brought in Pakistan. Customers have the different opinions on it and we are including their opinions which we have received from them on our online forum. The Management of Flare is not responsible for any comment of these people -------------------------------------------------------------I agree Ayesha that telenor is one of the most innovative brands of Pakistan and it introduced a lot of services. They are very first one to launch MMS and GRRS was not Telenor but Ufone. It differentiated itself with these services way back when there were only two GSM players in the market, Mobilink and Ufone. The ads aired in those

times were also truly innovative and reflected their, then, target market. Truly youth were not in that sphere because these services were really expensive at that time. Considering the current scenario, yes Telenor has now differentiated itself by becoming the most innovative brand and its ads are executed perfectly but i think other telecom brands also do a great job with their ads. The new Telenor media campaign is perfectly executed and represents no doubt about it, let's wait and see what other brands come up with. SH [email protected] -------------------------------------------------------------I consider that this campaign is not only doing well for Telenor's image but the entire country/people from all sects learning the meaning of Internet on the go in different verticals. There are operators who exist with this service before TP but the upbeat attached through this campaign makes Telenor distinctive as for now when compared to others. campaigns like these not only represent and benefit the company but also Industry's growth image and uptake-maturity in front of other foreign media. I agree with your idea. Mobilink advertising is also fantastic no doubt on that - however, slightly low in variation of advertising...they're trying to penetrate rural, like one example is on Apna Channel promoting 555 service in Punjabi however, a company of size should be doing more. Mobilink is like a GCP of local Telecom World (Ghee Corporation of Pakistan) - no matter how many new operators step into Pakistan there will always be share for Mobilink and there would be specific sections in society who will always prefer Jazz and Indigo over other offerings. Campaigns like Malamaal and smart/timely moves like offering Indigo Valentine BB Pearl package hit the hopes of many at competition. Being quick is the key! Bilal Mughal [email protected]




Flare Report

Telecom

with a total of 143 million subscriptions in its mobile operations. The high underlying revenue growth continued in the fourth quarter of 2007. Compared to the previous year, Telenor's revenues increased by 15 per cent in 2007, to NOK 105 billion. Profit after taxes and minority interests increased by 13 per cent in 2007 compared to 2006, reaching NOK 18 billion. In the fourth quarter of 2007, revenues increased by 10 per cent compared to the same period last year, reaching NOK 27 billion (including Kyivstar). The EBITDA margin in the fourth quarter of 2007 was 32.8 per cent, compared to 33.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2006.


elenor Pakistan has announced excellent financial results for Q4 2007, with 2 million subscriptions added to its base within the 3-month period. The company also grew its revenue by 18% in local currency from Q3 2007 and improved its EBITDA margin by 17% from Q3 2007. The company crossed 15 million subscribers in mid-January 2008, in less than three years of operation. CEO Telenor Pakistan attributed the success of the company to Telenor Pakistan's belief in "responsible growth." Commenting on what has propelled Telenor Pakistan to achieve such performance in the face of intense competition, Telenor Pakistan's CEO Tore Johnsen said, "I am happy with the way we are growing. Our cus-

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tomer growth comes hand in hand with solid revenue growth. We believe we must grow but we must grow responsibly - balancing the interests of the shareholders, the employees, and the public at large." "We are succeeding because of the faith the Telenor Pakistan team members have put in one another and the strong sense of purpose they continue to display. We genuinely believe that mobile telephony is the best way of breaking socio-economic barriers, and trickling down wealth and information to the bottom of the pyramid. It helps businesses, communities, and the country." The Telenor Group secured 30 million new subscriptions in 2007. Telenor is now ranked as the world's seventh largest mobile operator

he pilot site, which is in Buner, is a solar-electricity hybrid system that runs entirely on solar energy during the day and switches to electricity or battery power at night. Such Telenor Pakistan's use of alternate energy sources in its operations is of particular significance considering that the company has the fastest growing network in the country. "Telenor Pakistan continues its efforts to roll out modern networks in a socially responsible manner, delivering on environmental, health, and safety standards," says Chief Technical Officer Telenor Pakistan Peter Anthony Dindial. "We are first in the industry to have started using solar energy to power a commercial site. We aim to help reduce the load on the national power grid through innovative solutions and in longer term we mean to upscale this pilot project to other parts of the country after assessing its success. Such solutions are more eco-friendly and less of a burden logistically in difficult terrains, where

mobile coverage might be needed the most, and constant generator refueling might be an issue. The industry must boldly experiment with alternate energy solutions in order to connect the remote, unconnected populations of Pakistan in a sustainable manner." Telenor Pakistan technical team briefs on the environmental and operational staAlthough the solar pan- bility benefits of solar panels used to energize telecommunication towers. els used in the unit are imported, the batteries, cables and installation sites across Pakistan. The Telenor Group is an international expertise are all local. The solution involves a provider of high quality telecommunications, one-time cost but requires low maintenance, data and media communications services. thus also reducing capital and operational Telenor ranks as one of the biggest GSM expenditure in the long-term. service providers in the world with over 133 Telenor Pakistan plans to expand the use of solar energy to power other BTs sites in the million subscribers. Telenor Pakistan is 100% owned by Telenor ASA and adds on to its country. Another area of focus for the compaoperations in Asia together with Thailand, ny is to create and install other hybrid power Malaysia and Bangladesh.
combinations such as solar-genset, solarelectricity, and solar-wind to power its BTS

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Research Study

Mobile Phone Linked to

Insomnia

If you have trouble sleeping, you should think about not talking on a mobile phone right before you go to bed. The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system

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he evidence on mobile phone safety has been contradictory. Using a mobile phone before going to bed could stop you getting a decent night's sleep, research suggests. The study, funded by mobile phone companies, suggests radiation from the handset can cause insomnia, headaches and confusion. It may also cut our amount of deep sleep interfering with the body's ability to refresh itself. The study was carried out by Sweden's Karolinska Institute and Wayne State University in the US. This research suggests that if you need to make a phone call in the evening it is much better to use a land line. Dr. Joseph Dunbar, Wayne's vice president for research is of the view that, “If you have trouble sleeping, you should think about not talking on a mobile phone right before you go to bed. The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system”. Funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum, the scientists studied 35 men and 36 women aged between 18 and 45. Some were exposed to radiation equivalent to that received when using a mobile phone, others were placed in the same conditions, but

given only "sham" exposure. Those exposed to radiation took longer to enter the first of the deeper stages of sleep, and spent less time in the deepest one. The scientists concluded: "The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals components of sleep believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear are adversely affected."

Another theory is that radiation may disrupt production of the hormone melatonin, which controls the body's internal rhythms Researcher Professor Bengt Arnetz said: "The study strongly suggests that mobile phone use is associated with specific changes in the areas of the brain responsible for activating and coordinating the stress system." Another theory is that radiation may disrupt production of the hormone melatonin, which controls the body's internal rhythms.

About half the people in the study believed themselves to be "electrosensitive", reporting symptoms such as headaches and impaired cognitive function from mobile phone use. But they proved to be unable to tell if they had been exposed to the radiation in the test. Alasdair Philips is director of Powerwatch, which researches the effects of electromagnetic fields on health. He said: "The evidence is getting stronger that we should treat these things in a precautionary way. "This research suggests that if you need to make a phone call in the evening it is much better to use a land line, and don't have your mobile by your bedside table." Mike Dolan, executive director of the Mobile Operators Association, said the study was inconsistent with other research. He said: "It is really one small piece in a very large scientific jigsaw. It is a very small effect, one researcher likened it to less than the effect you would see from a cup of coffee." Last September a major six-year study by the UK Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research Programme (MTHRP) concluded that mobile phone use posed no shortterm risk to the brain. However, the researchers said they could not rule out the possibility that long-term use may raise the risk of cancer. n

Telecom

PTCL, Huawei to Jointly Launch Network Operation Centers

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akistan Telecommunication Company Ltd. (PTCL), Huawei Technologies Pakistan and Hewlett Packard (HP) signed an agreement to jointly launch their ‘Network Operation Center’ project which has state-ofthe art fault detection and resolution technology, an impressive ceremony at the PTCL Headquarters. Mr. Walid Irshaid, President & CEO, PTCL, termed the project “a landmark project for all three stakeholders” and stressed the need for serving PTCL’s customers all across Pakistan to the best of the ability that PTCL had. He expressed his sincere hope that this project would strengthen the relationship PTCL shared with Huawei and that HP would become an important partner in the transformation that had been initiated at PTCL. Mr. Irshaid emphasized that although the Network Operation Center project was a back-end system, the ultimate beneficiaries were the valued customers of PTCL. Mr. Yixiang, CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan, appreciated PTCL’s foresight in selecting Huawei as a solution provider for the project. He said the project was breaking new ground, as it was the first of its kind in Pakistan, which would lead the way for similar programs in future.

Mr. Muhammad Nehmatullah Toor, SEVP Finance PTCL and Mr. Joseph Poon, Vice President, HP, South East Asia, exchange documents after signing the Network Operation Center (NOC) Agreement, at the PTCL Corporate Headquarters.

Mr. Joseph Poon, Vice President, HP, South East Asia, appreciated both PTCL and Huawei for choosing HP for implementing the project and said his company was committed to ensuring that the project becomes “a true success story.” Elaborating on its functionality, he said the project would provide the following services: • Establish one main network operation center and three regional ones; one each in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.

• Implementation of an alarm management system across the entire PTCL network in an integrated manner. • Implementation of a traffic management tool performance monitoring and capacity management. Mr. Nehmatullah Toor, SEVP Finance, signed the agreement on behalf of PTCL, Mr. Yixiang, CEO, Huawei Technologies Pakistan signed on behalf of his company and Mr. Poon represented HP. Also present at the ceremony were PTCL’s SEVP HR&A, Mr. Ismail Taha, SEVP Procurement, Mr. Feisal Elkathiri and SEVP Commercial, Mr. Sadik Al-Jadir. Once in place, the network operating centers will enable automated fault detection and correction in any location in Pakistan for the convenience of PTCL subscribers. PTCL, the country’s largest telecommunications provider, continues to be the largest CDMA operator as well with the addition of 0.8 million Vfone customers. The entry of Etisalat, UAE’s leading telecom service provider, into the Pakistan market has augured well for PTCL, which is now evolving into a professionally managed customer-focused company, offering value-added services to its valued customers. n

Major Initiatives to Improve

PTCL Connectivity P

akistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL) has embarked upon a crach program to improve its nationwide and international connectivity as part of its netowrk expanson and netowrk improvement plans that have already been kick started. The Company has invested millions of dollars in the two (2) submarine consortium cable systems namely SEA-ME-WE 3 and SEA-ME-WE 4 with landings in Karachi and in data infrastructure in 45 PoPs in 24 cities. PTCL is improving its National and International connectivity for diversification and resilience along with core equipment and delivery enhancement by investing Rs. 775 Million. On National side, redundant optical fiber cable system is fully operational along with equipment diversification. On International side, terrestrial cable connectives have been established with neighboring countries, and a submarine cable called IME-WE has been finalized by PTCL which would make PTCL’s network more robust & reliable. PTCL is the biggest IP Service provider in the country. It is not only providing IP service to its customers but to other national operators as well. PTCL Voice/Data & IP services to its valued customers were not affected as in the other countries, when the cable was 28

PTCL is improving its National and International connectivity for diversification and resilience along with core equipment and delivery enhancement by investing Rs.775 Million. On National side, redundant optical fiber cable system is fully operational along with equipment diversification

damanged a few days ago near Alexandria. PTCL connectivity and routing were preplanned in such a way that any outage on either cable will not disrupt the PTCL Data/Voice & IP service. IP Ports connected on both the cable systems with different Tier-1 Service providers in West & East directions give Diversity of route and of service providers On 30th January 2008, SEA-ME-WE 4 and FLAG submarine optical fiber cable system were damaged due to ship anchor near Alexandria which caused a major disruption of International connectivity and the Internet in the Middle East , Pakistan and India. The situation was further worsened by damage to the FALCON in the Persian Gulf on 1st February 2008. Further; two more regional submarine cables near Kuwait & Qatar were damaged which made the situation more vulnerable for voice/data and specially IP traffic in this region. Disruptions up to 70 percent in Middle East and 60 percent in India were reported. The countries mostly affected were Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran & India. Since service was affected in Pakistan through other cable systems in matter of days; PTCL manage to add 10xSTM-1s for IP connectivity from Tier-1 Service providers in Italy, Hong Kong, & Singapore in West & East directions. n

Telecom

he Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL), with an investment of US$ 50 million, is part of a consortium that will put in place a high-capacity fiber-optic submarine cable that stretches from India to Italy and France via the Middle East. The consortium of nine leading telecom operators, have signed the Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) and the Supply Contract of the fiber-optic cable named I-ME-WE (India, Middle East, Western Europe) on 5th February 2008 which will be the fifth in a series of similar systems.

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The consortium of nine leading telecom operators, have signed the Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) and the Supply Contract of the fiber-optic cable named IME-WE (India, Middle East, Western Europe) on 5th February 2008 which will be the fifth in a series of similar systems The cable design covers a distance of almost 14,000 kilometers and the system is likely to be available for service by the end of

2009. The system will have a capacity of 3.84 terabits per second. PTCL and the other members of the consortium intend for this system to meet the ever growing capacity requirement of Asia, the Middle East and Europe besides satisfying the capacity needs of the USA to these regions as well. The nine companies that form the consortium include Bharti (India), Etisalat (UAE), France Telecom (France), Ogero (Lebanon), PTCL (Pakistan), STC (Saudi Arabia), Telecom Egypt (Egypt), Telecom Italia Sparkle (Italy) and VSNL (India).

The signing of the Agreement and the Supply Contract was made at a high profile event bringing together the nine consortium partners involved in the IMEWE project in Rome, Italy, and was attended by representatives and guests of all the other consortium partners. The Chairman of the Interim Management Committee of the IMEWE Consortium, Mr. K P Tiwari, has expressed his deep appreciation to all parties involved for their devotion, commitment, and untiring effort over the past year and a half in effectively addressing various challenges and making this project a reality and successful. He added, "We as a consortium are very happy to part of the development of the world telecommunications that plays great roles in today's economy and well being of human kind." Sher Bahadar Khan, Executive Vice President of PTCL (Pakistan), stated that this project was an important addition designed to cater to the ever growing capacity requirements towards the Middle East and the western countries with Pakistan in general and PTCL in particular. He stated that this project will also play a pivotal role to provide effective resilience to the existing cable systems (SMW3 & SMW4) available with PTCL to provide flawless communication to its esteemed customers within and outside of Pakistan. This entire venture was, of course, a result of the untiring teamwork of the consortium member countries to achieve the target.


PTCL Launches Rapid Response Unit P

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akistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has launched Rapid Response Unit (RRU), an exclusive mobile maintenance team, for its customers, on Jan 6. PTCL Senior Executive Vice President (Commercial) Sadiq Al Jadir inaugurated the unit in the presence of prospective customers of the company. While speaking on the occasion Sadiq Al Jadir said that PTCL was transforming towards the betterment with a view to living up to the expectations of customers, who ostensibly happen to be the backbone of the company. He said that PTCL's aim is to be the leading customer service organisation. He further added that launching of the Rapid Response Unit is in fact a customer service initiative being taken as part of PTCL's commitment of providing efficient and state of the art services to its valued customers. PTCL EVP Arif Hussain and EVP Business (North) Jameel

Khawaja also spoke on the occasion. It is worth mentioning here that the project is an addition to ongoing PTCL initiatives to improve the service quality and ensure uninterrupted voice and data services. PTCL Rapid Response Unit, a mobile laboratory, on the run, will respond in minimum time span to customer complaints. The unit comprises top quality PTCL staff especially trained to handle the complex situation. The unit Senior Executive Vice President Sadiq Al Jadir with mobile maintenance team. has been well equipped with all the necessary tools required for swift redress customer complaints. Three censervice restoration. tralised control rooms have also been established at Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad for PTCL has conducted a major overhaul of close monitoring of the whole process. the existing corporate services complaints Besides, Key Account Managers will always be helpline, where trained customer support representatives will be available round the clock to available to respond to any queries.


Telecom

Middle East and Africa are among incenzo Nesci has been appointed Alcatel-Lucent's most promising as President of the company's markets, and we are committed to business in Africa and the Middle help our customers in this region East. In his new position, Vincenzo Nesci grow their business by making it will be responsible for growing Alcatelpossible for them to offer useful Lucent's business in more than 62 counnew services to the people of this tries in Africa, and the Middle East. region. We have talented and dediAlcatel-Lucent provides solutions that cated teams in this region as well enable service providers, enterprises and as an International Service Centre governments worldwide, to deliver voice, in Egypt that is committed to servdata and video communication services ing our customers here and worldto end-users. wide." Vincenzo Nesci brings a great deal of Vincenzo Nesci, who will be first-hand experience to this position, located in the company's regional having served in the region for many office at The Smart Village in Cairo, years. He currently serves as President said that Alcatel-Lucent will continof Alcatel-Lucent's Middle East Regional Vincenzo Nesci a new President of Alcatel-Lucent in Africa and Middle East. ue to leverage its strong positions in Unit. Previously he had served as Alcatel ty lecturer for some years in Europe and sevthe fixed and mobile segment, applications Vice President for the Middle East, a position and professional services, while entering he was named to in 1999. He joined Alcatel in eral African countries. "I am very proud to be appointed to this Industry and Public Sector markets outside 1980 and held several positions in Italy, East challenging position and I am personally very the company's traditional customer base, in Africa and Belgium. Prior to joining Alcatel, particular in energy, transport, public sector, Vincenzo Nesci worked for General Electric in happy to come back to Africa, where I worked defense, and security.
Libya and Nigeria, after working as a universi- for many years", Vincenzo Nesci said. "The

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Strengthens Egypt as communication hub connecting Asia/Africa to Europe

elecom Egypt (TE), the incumbent telecom operator in Egypt, and AlcatelLucent announced they have signed a US$125 million contract to deploy a new submarine cable network linking Sidi Kerir in Egypt to Marseille in France. Named TE North, the project will enable Telecom Egypt to expand international connectivity, providing diversity from existing cable routes. Additionally, the TE North submarine cable system will help Telecom Egypt enhance its network capacity to operate as a wholesale carrier to other operators and expand its service offering to businesses and consumers. Spanning 3,100 km, TE North will deliver an ultimate capacity of 128 x 10Gbit/s on eight fiber pairs, which makes it one of the largest cable systems in the region. As a result, Telecom Egypt will be able to meet the growing demand for broadband services of its business and residential users at more affordable costs. Moreover, it will further establish Egypt's role as international communication hub between Europe and Asia/Africa, and it will also reinforce the city of Marseille as a communications hub with 'open access' facilities.

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"Egypt has a young population with a growing demand for more and more capacity. In addition Telecom Egypt has decades long tradition of being the partner of choice to all Asia-Europe submarine cable systems, by providing the infrastructure for The signing ceremony between Telecom Egypt and Alcatel-Lucent to deploy a submarine cable network which will link Egypt to France. crossing from Red to "Access to advanced technologies is key Mediterranean Seas. Today, through TE to operators like Telecom Egypt to best serve North, we extend the Telecom Egypt service their customers," said Georges Krebs, Chief footprint by offering an option to extend this Operating Officer of Alcatel-Lucent's submainfrastructure from the Red Sea to Europe," rine network activity. "By meeting the requiresaid Akil Beshir, Chairman and CEO of ments of communications infrastructures in Telecom Egypt. "Alcatel-Lucent's turnkey terms of capacity, flexibility and scalability, expertise and technological lead in submarine Alcatel-Lucent helps Telecom Egypt respond networks shall help us achieve our project and to the ramping demand for innovative applicabusiness objectives on time." tions."


Telecom

Flare Report

ellular services are said to be resisting fine-tuning of telecom regulations that could ensure policing of telecom traffic, lower tariffs and improve service quality. PTA has identified some flaws in the operations of the telecom companies that include identification of subscriber through his/her Computerised National Identity Cards, mushroom installation of telecom towers by each mobile operator instead of sharing the facility etc. The regulator is still lenient of quality of service, consumers' complaints on excessive billing and higher interconnects charges of the telecom operators. The regulation to issue SIM only against CNIC has been openly flouted by the telecom operators. This according to telecom experts has given rise to many problems. The number of obnoxious calls and SMS has increased many folds in past three years, as the unethical callers are not bothered if their SIM without CNIC is blocked. They get another connection by paying Rs.50-150. In case the new connection is issued against CNIC and the SIM is blocked the subscriber would be bared from getting new connection from any mobile operator provided the blocking information is available with all of them. If the CNIC of subscriber were available then any defaulter of one operator would not be able to shift to another operator. Each cellular service has installed commu-

PTA has identified some flaws in the operations of the telecom companies that include identification of subscriber through his/her Computerised National Identity Cards, mushroom installation of telecom towers by each mobile operator instead of sharing the facility etc

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nication towers throughout the country to ensure accessibility of its services in larger areas. These towers could be found in large numbers within a radius of one kilometre in big cities. According to telecom experts even 25 per cent of these structures could service the needs of the consumers of all mobile opera-

The PTA has in fact been urging them to share infrastructure to reduce cost and ensure better environment. The companies having larger network are resisting the move as all operators would have the same level of accessibility tors. The PTA has in fact been urging them to share this infrastructure to reduce cost and ensure better environment. The companies having larger network are resisting the move as all operators would have the same level of accessibility. They even neglect the fact that those using their facility would also pay some service charges as well that would substantial-

ly reduce their operational cost. Some operators with larger network also support some of the moves of PTA. Managing Director of Wateen Telecom Tariq Malik favours sharing of infrastructure to save cost. He stressed the need to rationalize interconnect charges. Some experts point out that most operators have drastically reduced the charges of calls made within their network to Re1 per minute. But for calls made by other subscribers to their network are charged at Rs1.25 per minute. This means that the operator earns more if the calls originate from outside their network. Telecom experts say that there is a need to rationalize this anomaly. Similar discrepancy exists when a mobile call is made to PTCL landline. The PTCL charges its subscriber Rs2 per 5 minutes for a local call. In case of five minutes call from mobile phone the PTCL gets Rs2.50 per five minutes because its connectivity rates for mobile operators are Rs0.50 per minute. The telecom operators also face some problems while enlarging their infrastructure. Different provincial and local governments levy differemnt charges, as Wateen's Tariq Malik pointed out that the right of way demanded by authorities from Sibi to Gawadar is $1 million. Similarly the Sukkur administration demand Rs1,000 per meter as right of way to the operators while Sialkot authorities asked for Rs5,000 per meter. He said the regulator should ensure through federal government lower and uniform rates for laying infrastructure.


Ali Qadir Gilani

The

Poor-Rich Divide

The difference between the rich and the poor countries is not even that of the extent of natural resources available; A country like Japan with its limited territory and scarcer resources, impacted with a major nuclear disaster during World War II, coping with earthquakes with alarming regularity, is today one of the largest economies of the world

I

Economy

n reflection and action the difference between the poor and the rich is not the antiquity of the civilization or the age of the country as is evidenced by countries like India and Egypt which date back thousands of years but remain poor while Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Western European countries have barely a few hundred years of history but are economically developed. The difference between the rich and the poor countries is not even that of the extent of natural resources available; A country like Japan with its limited territory and scarcer resources, impacted with a major nuclear disaster during World War II, coping with earthquakes with alarming regularity, is today one of the largest economies of the world. Japan is particularly unusual in that it imports most basic raw materials from other countries but is one of the biggest technology exporters. Another extraordinary country is Switzerland, which, produces some of the best chocolates in the world but does not grow cocoa. Within its little territory the Swiss raise animals and grow crops in the four months of the year when the climate permits and manage at the same time to produce some of the best dairy products globally. It is a small country, which projects an image of security and prosperity such that it is perceived as the world’s monetary reservoir. Executives from wealthy countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries have asserted that there is no intellectual difference between the people, nor are issues of race or color important. Immigrants labeled lazy in their countries are productive in rich western countries.

What is the difference then? The real difference then is not of history or resources, color or race but is one of attitude – the attitude of people framed through years of education and the cultural environment. While analyzing the behavior of people in

As we do not follow the basic principles of the rich and developed societies we are left poor, out in the cold as far as development is concerned. Only the will to develop and the right attitude can make a difference allowing us to enhance our socio-economic level developed countries we find that the vast majority live according to certain principles, certain ethics, those of integrity, self-respect, responsibility, respect of the law and rules in general, respect of the rights of other citizens and tolerance, well-being and security as the

Ali Qadir Gilani E.V.P. Corporate Communication, PTCL.

goals of productive work and punctuality. In poor countries only a rare minority follows these basic principles in their daily lives. These countries - are not poor due to lack of resources or the machinations of a cruel nature but because there is a deficiency in ‘attitude.’ We lack the ‘will’ to work and build which leads us to develop jealousies, intolerance and general insecurities. As we do not follow the basic principles of the rich and developed societies we are left poor, out in the cold as far as development is concerned. Only the will to develop and the right attitude can make a difference allowing us to enhance our socio-economic level. The right attitude and the will to succeed can do miracles leading to not only improvements in our personal lives but also in improving the quality of life in our country as a whole. One needs to remember that our country and our company within it both have tremendous potential. In both, however, the problem is identical and it is a flaw in the attitude. Our potential in fact is far greater than that of much of the developed world as our natural resources are in abundance but having resources available means nothing unless we have the will to utilize them. Our attitude is everything and following basic principles practiced in successful countries will allow us to join their ranks. In reality a little effort made to change our attitude will lead to immense benefits and for those willing to reach for it the sky alone is the limit. The writer is an E.V.P Corporate Communication, PTCL. n 37

Pictorial

Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, left, watches test launching of Pakistan-made Ghauri missile with President Pervez Musharraf at undisclosed location in Pakistan. Pakistan successfully test-fired an upgraded version of a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

This image released by the Interservices Public Relations department shows a test flight of a medium-range ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in Pakistan.

Federal Caretaker Minister for Science and Technology, Shamas Qasim Lakha poses for a group photo with the office bearers of Lahore Chamber during his visit.

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Rector University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) Lt. Gen. Muhammad Asghar playing a shot to open the tournament during the inauguration ceremony of HEC Intervarsity Badminton (Men) Championship 2007-08 organized by NUST held at a Liaquat Gymnasium.

Employees of Pakistan's Geo television celebrate the resumption of their broadcast, in Karachi, Pakistan. Geo, Pakistan's most popular independent television station resumed broadcasting after the government lifted a ban imposed during emergency rule in November.

Telecom

Allied Bank Chooses Teradata

for its Contact Center Implementation A

llied Bank Limited has signed an agreement with Teradata to transform its call center into a single-window Customer Contact Center for all its customer interactions and phone banking services. Customers will be able to pay bills, generate their PIN numbers, get real time access to transaction history and customize their banking services through the contact center. Mr. Azhar A. Jaffri, Head, Consumer Banking Group, Allied Bank and Mr. Khuram Rahat, Managing Director, Teradata Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., signed the agreement. Also present on the occasion were Ms. Scellina Nawaz, Head, Service Quality Group, Mr. Asim Tufail, Head, Product & Marketing Group, Mr. Ghazanfer Iqbal, Account Director, Teradata, Mr. Ahsan Mashkoor, Account Manager, Teradata and Mr. Hassan Razzaq Shaikh, Professional Services Consultant, Teradata. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Azhar A. Jaffri, Head Consumer Banking Group, Allied Bank said: "Choosing Teradata as Allied Bank's technology partner is part of our endeavors to further expand our world class technology platform. We already have the largest number of 432 ATMs and 757 real-time

online branches across Pakistan. This modern Customer Contact Center will add more value

Khuram Rahat, Managing Director, Teradata Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. "We look forward to being

Mr. Azhar A. Jaffri, Head, Consumer Banking Group, Allied Bank and Mr. Khuram Rahat, Managing Director, Teradata Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., signing an agreement on Customer Contact Center for all its customer interactions and phone banking services.

by providing exceptional Customer Experience through 24/7 phone banking services." "We are pleased that Allied Bank has chosen Teradata as its strategic partner." said Mr.

a part of Allied Bank's growth plans and partner in setting up state-of-the-art customer care facilities in Pakistan." n

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Pictorial

Intel Corporation Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner holds a Terascale Research Processor during a press conference to update on the work undertaken at Intel's Corporate Technology Group Labs on processor circuits and multi-core computing platform research, in Bangalore, India.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer makes a point during a news conference at the seventh annual CEO summit held at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

LG Continues Charitable Mission A model poses next to a Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive car at the European Auto Show in Brussels.

As part of it philanthropic mission, LG Mobile is committed to play its responsible role towards the local community in an environmentally sound and structured manner. This time it has renovated the Peshawar Railway Station which was inaugurated on 12th Feb, 2008 where people from different media fragment were invited. The aim is to provide passengers with the fundamental amenities that include;







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A man looks at an NTT DoCoMo shop in Marunouchi business district in Tokyo.




Filtered Water Tanker Benches Fans Digital Clock Washrooms Information Desk Televisions

Khawar Shahzad

Telecom

Sending instant messages and communicating over wide distances has been a matter of grave concern over the past many years, but now the Bluetooth technology has made it possible to get connected invisibly and share data securely ith the development of new technologies, things have become quite simple and easier. Sending instant messages and communicating over wide distances has been a matter of grave concern over the past many years but now the technology has made it possible by connecting invisibly from device to device and person to person. All data, in the form of emails, photos, contacts, addresses and more can now be sent securely. Latest softwares have not only enhanced convenience but also introduced a lot of problems like hacking and instant virus transmission etc. To ensure user's privacy and secure information experts have been thinking for safer means of data exchange and sending services. Bluetooth wireless technology is an efficient and convenient solution to the problem. It is a short-range communication technology intended to replace the cables connecting portable and fixed devices while maintaining high levels of security. The key features of this technology are robustness, low power, and low cost. It defines a uniform structure for a wide range of devices to connect and communicate with each other. Each device can simultaneously communicate with up to seven other devices through ad hoc networks known as Pico nets. Fundamental strength of this technology is the ability to simultaneously handle both data and voice transmissions. This enables users to enjoy variety of innovative solutions such as a hands-free headset for voice calls, printing and fax capabilities, and synchronising PDA, laptop, and mobile phone applications. The use of Bluetooth is increasing due to the numerous interactive features it offers. The low power consumption, small size and

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low cost of the chipset solution enables this technology to be used in the tiniest of devices. Despite the benefits of Bluetooth technology, experts are of the view that the technology does not come without drawbacks. They say that these flaws may not be technological but are of great concern on the medical grounds, as the continuous or frequent use of Bluetooth device may greatly affect the hearing ability. As far as the data security is concerned in Bluetooth devices algorithm encryption is used, through which specifications are secure. The Blue tooth Special Interest Group (SIG), made up of more than 8,000 members, has a Security Expert Group. It includes engineers from its member companies who provide critical security information and requirements as the Blue tooth wireless specification evolves. Cases where data has been compromised on mobile phones are the result of implementation issues. The Blue tooth SIG diligently works with members to investigate any issues that are reported to understand the root cause. If it is a specification issue, members work to create patches and

Bluetooth technology provides personal connectivity to access important information and communication wirelessly. Robustness, low power, and low cost are the key features of the technology

ensure future devices don't suffer the same vulnerability. This is an on-going process. The recently reported issues of advanced "hackers" gaining access to information stored on selected mobile phones using Blue tooth functionality are due to incorrect implementation. Today, with Blue tooth wireless technology, the office can be a sleek, organised machine, with fewer wires in sight. PDAs sync with computers to share calendars and contact lists, peripherals communicate directly with computers, and Blue tooth headsets allow phone use throughout an office space, all without connecting a single wire. Gaming devices with Bluetooth technology built in allow for the spirit of competition to take hold in any location. Because no wires are required, gamers can find each other easily - even anonymously - and strike up a friendly game. In short the Bluetooth technology has made life far easier and can be deemed as a first step towards modern communication.
41

Event

Ismail Qureshi

The conference covered both new and existing industry issues and trends, providing informed and thought-provoking insights through balanced, informative presentations and discussions he 2008 GSMA Mobile World Congress was underway from 11-14th February in Barcelona. The Mobile World Congress offers unlimited networking opportunities with the elite in the mobile industry. Where conventional trade shows fall short, the Mobile World Congress provided an ideal personal experience and environment for networking with a select circle of mobile professionals who can positively impact their business.
GSMA and IMGA Collaborated to Drive Mobile Gaming Innovation
GSMA announced 13th Annual Global Mobile Awards Nominations
Completion of LTE Underpins High-Speed Mobile Future
Mobile Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse
Leading Operators to Work Together to Measure Mobile Advertising
GSMA Selected LG Handsets to Lead 'Horizon Phone' Campaign
High-Quality Global IP Network Prepares To Go Commercial
Winners of 2008 Mobile Innovation Global Awards were announced
GSMA Chairman's Award 2008 was presented to India's Sunil Bharti Mittal
13th Annual Global Mobile Award Winners were announced Founded in 1987, the GSMA is the global trade association representing more than 690 GSM mobile phone operators across 214 territories and countries of the world. In addition, more than 180 manufacturers and suppliers support GSMA's initiatives as Associate Members. The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers

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and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association's members serve more than 2 billion customers - about 82% of the world's mobile phone users. The GSMA plays a pivotal role in the development of the GSM platform and the global mobile industry. Much of the GSMA's work is focused on two areas: Emerging services and emerging markets. The GSMA helps its members develop and launch new services, ranging from mobile instant messaging to video sharing to mobile Internet access, which will work across networks and across national boundaries. At the same time, the GSMA is heavily engaged in the industry's push to extend basic voice and text services to more people in emerging markets. GSM is an evolving wireless communications standard that already offers an extensive and feature-rich 'family' of voice and data services. The GSM family of technologies consists of today's GSM, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) and third generation GSM services (3GSM) based on W-CDMA and HSDPA access technologies. Together these technologies underpin the GSM platform. The Mobile World Congress and its sister event, the Mobile Asia Congress, are now being produced and managed by GSM Conference Ltd. (GSMC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the GSM Association. GSMC has its own management team and now includes over 30 staff covering sales, marketing, finance, operational and delivery requirements, and is focused on the management and development of commercial initiatives that run in parallel with the GSMA's focus on mutual activities for its members. GSMA Mobile World Congress is built around an exceptional conference agenda that

features the most prominent CEO and boardlevel speakers from mobile operators, content owners and vendors from across the globe. The Mobile World Congress is etched in the diaries of mobile industry leaders across the world as the event at which to debate the future of wireless services and technology. In a mixture of private meetings and public conference sessions, chief executives of the world's biggest mobile operators and vendors gather to lay out their agendas for the year ahead and exchange ideas about how best to serve the world's 2.5 billion mobile phone users. Each year, hundreds of new products make their global debut at the Congress exhibition, which showcases more than 1,300 companies from all segments of the industry. GSMA, the global trade association for the mobile industry, announced this years; High-Quality Global IP Network Prepares To Go Commercial GSMA Selects LG Handsets to Lead 'Horizon Phone' Campaign GSMA & Mofilm to Premiere Unique Short Film Collection at The Mobile World Congress Leading Operators Work Together to Measure Mobile Advertising GSMA Announces Winners of Mobile Broadband Notebook Competition to Serve New Market Segment GSMA Launches Mobile Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Completion of LTE Underpins HighSpeed Mobile Future The conference covered both new and existing industry issues and trends, providing informed and thought-provoking insights through balanced, informative presentations and discussions.


Event

President and CEO of Nokia Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo shows a new phone during a press conference at the World Mobile Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.

A prototype of the Google Android mobile by Qualcomm is on display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Samsung president Geesung Choi shows a new mobile phone 'Samsung Soul U900' during a press conference at the Mobile World Congress.

A mobile KF510 by LG is displayed during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Yahoo's Executive Vice President Connected Life Division Marco Boerries (L) and T-Mobile's Group Product & Innovation Officer Cristopher Schlaffer announce Web services provider in Europe during the Mobile World Congress.

Nokia presents a new model 6210 Navigator on show at the Mobile World Congress.

Models present LG's new handsets at the Mobile World Congress.

43

Event

Google's new software platform for mobile phones entitled 'Android' in its prototype form on demonstration at the Mobile World Congress.

Executive Vice President of Connected Life at Yahoo, Marco Boerries speaks during a press conference at the Mobile World Congress.

Vodafone's Chief Executive Arun Sarin speaks during a conference during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Motorola presents a new model MOTORO Z6w on show at the Mobile World Congress.

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Telefonica's Chairman Cesar Alierta attends the Mobile World Congress.

Microsoft's Entertaiment and Devicer Division President Robbie Booh shows a Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 mobile during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

A woman shows mobile phone handsets with television screens at the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain.

Aamir Attaa

pple Inc. reported its best quarter ever as profits soared to 1.58 billion dollars in the last three months of 2007 on demand for its Macintosh computers, iPhones and iPods. "We're thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple's history," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. Apple's profits of 1.76 dollars per share topped those from the same quarter in 2006 by more than 50 percent. Apple posted revenue of 9.6 billion dollars, with sales outside the United States accounting for 45 percent of that figure. Apple reported shipping 2.32 million Macintosh computers, a 44 percent increase from the number of machines shipped in the last three months of 2006. Sales of iPod MP3 players rose 17 percent to top 22 million, while iPhone sales for the quarter were 2.32 million. Jobs said that Apple has sold more than four million iPhones, touch-screen mobile devices that combine telephone, video, music and Internet access.

A

Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer says the California Company expects per-share earnings of 94 cents on revenues of 6.8 billion dollars in the current quarter. The price of Apple's stock dropped more than 10 percent to below 140 dollars per share in the wake of the report as investors seized on what they saw as a lackluster forecast. "I guess you can't win for losing sometimes with Wall Street," said Gartner technology

IT

We are thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple's history," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs analyst Mike McGuire. "It would seem Apple is simply being relatively conservative in what they are putting out there, which to me makes sense. Apparently, that is not what Wall Street wants to hear." Historically, sales of consumer electronics

gadgets slow in the months after the year-end holiday shopping season, and this year an economic slump in the United States could exacerbate that pattern, McGuire said. "The short term, given the economy, is anything but extremely clear," McGuire said. "I expect most companies, unless they sell heating oil or winter overcoats, to be relatively conservative going forward." Apple's stock is being punished, in part, due to expectations set by a long string of quarters in which it has been "knocking the

Apple CEO Steve Jobs gestures during MacWorld conference in San Francisco.

cover off the ball" with its hip products, McGuire said. Macintosh computers that benefited from a "halo effect" cause by Apple's hot iPods and iPhones are "proving themselves in the marketplace," McGuire said. Jobs pulled off a coup by uniting major film studios behind an iTunes online movie rental service he announced last week at Apple's annual Macworld Expo in San Francisco, according to analysts. Investors may have locked onto the fact that unit sales of iPods were flat in the United States while Apple took in more money in the category because people bought more costly models, such as the new iPod Touch. "People are wondering if the iPod market is saturated," said Gartner analyst Van Baker. "I don't think it is. I do think that the bigger you get the harder is to achieve huge growth numbers." Challenges ahead for Apple include plans for a February release of an Android developers' kit expected to clear the way for a mobile phone with service supported by Google advertising. "Apple has strong growth and a lot of cash in the bank," Baker said. "It is hard to argue with what they are doing. Still, Apple has to keep working and innovating so as not to ride the curve down."


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Cover Story

20

Zubair Ahmed Kasuri

Million

illegal SIMs

Challenge for PTA-Threat for Nation

Illegal sale of SIMs have become a problem for national security as criminals behind terrorist threats, bomb blasts, kidnapping for ransom, fraudulent prizing schemes, irritating and repetitive unknown calls and text messages, identity theft, you name the illegal activity and you will find the use of these unregistered SIMs. A SIM can be purchased quite easily and cheaply from the hawkers without ID card. This phenomenon is facilitating criminals while the PTA has failed to take any action against such sales

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akistan telecom market started its journey slowly from a state owned monopoly before transitioning into a deregulated, rapidly growing, robustly dynamic environment. Today, telecom domain of Pakistan has witnessed the heights of phenomenal growth, which has impressed not only regional but also the global observers. Either its millions of customers or the billions of investments, thousands of cell sites or the increasing number of service providers, every aspect is demonstrating rather roaring the tremendous achievement of this industry. Let’s review following stats that reflects the progress of telecom sector n Overall teledensity of Pakistan reached 52.8% in December 2007. n During 2006-07 total telecom revenue was

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Rs 236 billion. Total telecom investment during the year was US $ 4.12 billion and the share of telecommunication sector in GDP was 2.0%. Telecom companies have invested over US$ 8 billion during the last four years, mobile sector investment share accounts for 66% of the total investment. During 2006-07 the revenue of mobile industry was Rs.133 billion, an increase of 48% from pervious year. China Mobile investment is US$ 704 million during 2006-07 for expansion of CMPak networks. Mobile Sector paid approximately Rs. 63 billion taxes to the National Exchequer during the year 2006-07.

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Upto December 2007 cellular subscribers in Pakistan reached 76.6 million. n On average 2.3 million subscribers were added every month during 2006-07. n Upto June 2007 6,000 cities/towns/villages covered by mobile operators. n Upto December 2007, total cell sites 17,779 all over Pakistan. n Now, mobile network coverage is reaching to almost 90% of the total population n The telecom sector received above US$ 1.8 billion FDI, 35% of the total FDI. n Telecom sector contributed Rs. 100 billion in the national exchequer in terms of taxes and regulatory fee which was 32% higher than the previous year. n GST/CED collection during the period reached Rs. 36.28 billion.

Cover Story

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Over one million jobs have been created since deregulation of the telecom sector. n Rural Telephony Project launched during the year under which 400 Rabta Ghar (Tele Centers) are being established in rural areas. n Total investment in the LDI sector grew upto US$ 603 million in 2007. n New LDI sector revenue stood at Rs. 15.3 billion. n At the end of 2006-07 total fixed line connections stood at 4.8 million where as the teledensity was 3.04%. n There are total of 387,490 PCOs including WLL based PCOs which are working across Pakistan at the end of year 200607. n By June 2007, Broadband subscribers reached 71,000 and 65% of Pakistani broadband users enjoy DSL broadband technology. n The total teledensity of AJK & NAs was 20.1 in 2006-07 as compared to 3.6 in 2005-06. Overall growth in teledensity in the region due to deregulation is 450%. n By June 2007, Cellular subscribers reached 912,227 all across AJK & NAs. However, these glittering stats given above have a painful hidden fact that is causing some serious damages to our nation. The guilty of this damage is yet to accept its

noticed this issue and given a special task to the police to stop the sale of SIMs from shops other than only the registered franchises or Sales & Service Centers of cellular companies.

Instructions were recently issued in the wake of reports that some hardened criminals and terrorists had used dozens of mobile SIMs at a time in the criminal and terrorists activities. The police investigation officers also took into custody some mobile SIMs from the possession of the criminals, which they had used in high profile crimes. They got these SIMs from the shopkeepers, mobile phone shops and general stores that

A vendor is selling SIMs of different cellular companies on a road side.

responsibility. Yes, we are mentioning the number of falsely registered mobile connections or SIMs. The dilemma of illegal SIMs or wrongly registered SIMs is not new to us; this very issue dates back to year 2000, specifically during the time span when price war among cellular service providers started, however it really geared up with its full bloom after the emergence of Warid and Telenor. Now, over 20 million illegal SIMs are in use. After the reports of use of ‘illegal mobile SIMs’ in the criminal and terrorist activities, the law enforcement agencies have also keenly

were not authorized to sale the SIMs. During investigations it was found that mostly these SIMS were purchased from the shops on fake documents. A source in the CPO revealed that the IGP Punjab was informed that misuse of Mobile SIMs of the cellular companies operating in the country, was a major source in orchestrating crimes. The Punjab police were finding it too hard to trace out the criminals who mostly used mobiles SIMs and later discard it after completing their targets. Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr.

Abdullah Riar has directed PTA to facilitate availability of reliable data through mobile subscriber documentation and antecedent verification. The Minister illustrated the need for the policy directives in an interactive session with the media in a press conference on Jan 25. Dr. Abdullah Riar said that due to the existence of a substantial number of undocumented mobile phone users in the country and to alleviate the concerns of various agencies in this regard, Ministry of Information Technology has issued policy to the PTA establishing framework for mobile subscriber antecedent data collection and verification by all mobile phone operators. He said that the Ministry of IT as the policy maker has held extensive collaboration with the PTA and the industry to address the issue through comprehensive measures for correcting the anomaly in current subscriber data and at the same time setting robust mechanism for collection of such data

Instructions were recently issued in the wake of reports that some terrorists and criminals had used dozens of mobile SIMs at a time in the criminal activities. The police investigation officers also took into custody some mobile SIMs from the possession of the criminals, which they had used in high profile crimes for new subscribers. This policy aims to adequately balance the interests of all stakeholders including the industry, regulator and law enforcement agencies, the Minister added. The Minister said that the Ministry of Information Technology has rolled out renewed policy directives with the key objective to achieve optimal balance between security and consumer convenience. This policy, he said would address issues arising out of un-documented Subscriber Identity Modules and at the same time ensures continued growth of Telecommunications sector. These directives will build on and improve the standard operating procedures currently being followed for the purpose, he added. Dr. Riar emphasized the cooperation of PTA, the cellular industry and all stakeholders in formulation of the policy. The policy makes the cellular operators ultimately responsible for collection of the desired antecedents at the point of sale. The identification documents which can be used, will have CNIC in case of Paki47

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stani citizens, refugee ID card in case of Afghan refugees, appropriate document issued by government registration authorities for all other aliens and passport with valid visa

for foreigners. Thumb impression of the customer and the stamp of retailer will be mandatory for sale of new connections. To enable timely transmission of ID related data from retail point to databases the operators will also use automated mechanisms like SMS based applications. All operators will be required to update the data of their existing customers with in three months of issuance of the policy with the help of their Franchise. Data to complete the records will be solicited through diverse mechanisms such as SMSs and Calls to the subscribers for provision of the required data and relevant documents within a period of two months after which connection may be made one way for a period of one month and in case during that period the data is not received then that connection shall be closed till such time the proper documentation or required information is received. In case CNIC is not available with the consumer but has been applied for the proof of application for CNIC will suffice for regularization purpose. The Minister while presenting salient features of the policy highlighted that validation and verification of data received by operators from retail agents is critical. In this regard, received antecedent data will be duly validated and verified by the cellular mobile telecom operators (CMTOs) and cross-referencing against NADRA CNIC database. Cross-referencing may be done through submission of batch data to NADRA (as currently done) or through IT applications developed by CMTOs in collab48

oration with NADRA. PTA will devise necessary regulations and amended SoPs to be followed for the implementation of the policy including relevant penalty clauses in case of

violations. PTA will also continue to monitor the collection of antecedent data by franchisees and retail agents of the franchisees of the CMTOs through spot and random checks. But at the end, we have to rely on PTA and

there is criticism on PTA the sole entity who monitors the in and out of all cellular operators who took this element of illegal SIMs lightly, or it was not anticipating rather expecting this much growth in the telecom sector. One can easily term PTA responsible for this worsening issue, who did not address the matter; but the carelessness PTA shown then, has squirted the problem beyond the control. The much awaited cyber crime law is likely to carry numerous illegal activities, particularly when the government of Pakistan has some

hard plans for the culprits such as putting three to ten years behind the bars and/or fine of one hundred thousands to five hundred thousands rupees. There would be no one, but Pakistan Telecommunication Authority who is liable to get this law implemented. PTA has been digging hard into the heads of franchisers by sealing their businesses; is this all what the regulator is supposed to do? Seizing couple of franchises and circulating a press release in the evening to shout the efforts they are making. This actually shows our weak approach like other national matters where only weak and lowest level actions are seen and all big guns and big fish are enjoying their status. They openly doing what they want and challenging the authority of Government. There seems a major settlement amongst the telecom operators and the regulator, which restricts PTA to approach senior management and make them accountable for selling SIMs without verified data along with necessary documents required. This is why we can still eyewitness the stalls in main bazaars and lorry adas, where hawkers are selling SIMs of various companies in just few rupees.

One can easily term PTA responsible for this worsening issue, who did not address the matter; but the carelessness PTA showcased then, has squirted the problem beyond the control How PTA can guarantee the documentation on those selling spots. These small shopkeepers bring SIMs from franchises as well as from the wholesale market. These SIMs never get registered in the buyer’s name. It is a norm these days to find the data of crank caller unavailable from the Mobile Operator. There is no point this network can be stopped unless Mobile Operators get involved. Canceling just franchises will not make a big difference. There has to be serious measure taken by authority and the operators at the same time. Talking with ‘Flare’, a mobile phone user from Lahore said that it is not possible that without underhand deal of company's sales staff, any franchisee can sell the connections with out CNIC to the hawkers/retailers. They always know what is going on as this is not something happens over night. Nothing can change here....it’s all bogus! Flare was told that PTA has proposed new set of requirements for registering new SIMs. However, on the other side, telecom operators have replied in big NO to these proposals that may take at least a year to start practicing these requirements; which include photograph, thumb impression etc. This NO from telecom operators can also be the result of the settlement they were having with PTA earlier on. n

Informative

Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism

Nokia 2600 Classic

Size Dimensions 112 x 45 x 11.3 mm, 55 cc, Weight 101g Display Type OLED, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Yes, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls Card slot No, 1GB internal memory Data GPRS Class 32, 107 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, USB Yes, microUSB Features Messaging, SMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), flash, Java MIDP 2.0, UPnP technology, MP3/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player T9, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo, Living wallpaper Configurable keypad backlighting color Battery Stand-by Up to 240h, Talk time Up to 3h

Size Dimensions 109.6 x 46.7 x 12 mm, 63.5 cc, Weight 73.2g Display Type TFT, 56K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 5-way navigation key Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Yes, 1000 entries, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot No Data GPRS Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, Infrared port No, USB No Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes Colors Black, Orange, Blue, Beige, Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video Java MIDP 2.0, Stereo FM radio, Calendar, Calculator, Voice memo Expense manager, T9 Battery Stand-by Up to 580h, Talk time Up to 6h

Design: Features: Performance:

6.2 6.0 6.1

Design: Features: Performance:

6.2 5.8 6.0

Nokia 1209 Size Dimensions 102 x 44.1 x 17.5 mm, 70.5 cc, Weight 79.9g Display Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 96 x 98 pixels, 27.6 x 21.8 mm, 5-way navigation key Ringtones Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization, Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Yes, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls Card slot No Features Messaging SMS (up to 60), Browser No, Games Yes, Colors Blue Languages 80 languages, Camera No, Multiple phone books with up to 200 entries, Dust-resistant keypad, Built-in handsfree, Flashlight, Time tracker, Cost tracker, Calendar, Calculator, Converter, Countdown timer Stopwatch, T9 Battery Stand-by Up to 365h, Talk time Up to 7h Design: Features: Performance:

5.4 5.4 5.4

Models show off the Walt Disney Company Japan's new mobile handsets during the company's press conference announcing the inauguration of Disney Mobile phone service in cooperation with Softbank Moble in Tokyo.

Samsung L320

Samsung L310

Size Dimensions 89 x 45.5 x 23.5 mm, Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 1.9 inches, Second external OLED 4Gry display (176 x 16 pixels) Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3 Customization Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 x 12 fields, Photo call, Call records 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash) 20 MB internal memory Data GPRS Yes, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v1.1 Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + Downloadable, Colors Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, MP3/AAC/ACC+ player, Java MIDP 2.0, T9, Organizer Calculator, Unit converter, Female applications (shopping list, calories consuption, fragrance type), Built-in handsfree, Voice memo Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion

Size Dimensions 93.4 x 44 x 17.9 mm Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 1.8 inches Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3 Customization Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 x 12 fields, Photo call, Call records 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash) 20 MB internal memory Data GPRS Yes, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + Downloadable, Colors Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, MP3/AAC/ACC+ player, Java MIDP 2.0, T9, Organizer, Calculator Unit converter, Female applications (shopping list, calories consuption, fragrance type), Built-in handsfree, Voice memo Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion

Design: Features: Performance:

50

5.8 5.6 5.5

Design: Features: Performance:

6.0 6.0 6.0

Informative

Sony Ericsson T280 Size Dimensions 100 x 45 x 13 mm, Weight 82g Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.7 inches, Wallpapers, screensavers Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3 Customization, Composer, download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 contacts, Photo call, Call records 30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot No, 10 MB shared memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Silver on Black, Copper on Silver, Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, MP3 player, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio, Image viewer Voice memo, Built-in handsfree, Alarm clock, Calculator, Calendar, Notes Stopwatch, T9 Battery Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 7h Design: Features: Performance:

7.6 7.1 7.3

Sony Ericsson T270 Size Dimensions 100 x 45 x 13 mm, Weight 82g Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.7 inches, Wallpapers, screensavers Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Composer, download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 contacts, Photo call, Call records 30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot No, 10 MB shared memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, Infrared port No, USB No Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Silver on Black, Copper on Silver, Camera No MP3 player, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio, Image viewer, Voice memo Built-in handsfree, Alarm clock, Calculator, Calendar, Notes, Stopwatch T9 Battery Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 7h Design: Features: Performance:

6.5 6.1 6.4

Sony Ericsson R300 Radio Size Dimensions 101 x 46 x 12 mm, Weight 75g Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.8 inches, Wallpapers, screensavers Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3, AAC, Customization Composer, download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook, 1000 contacts, Photo call, Call records 30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot No, 8 MB shared memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, Infrared port No, USB Yes Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Antique Copper, Steel Black, Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, TrackID, MP3/AAC player, Java MIDP 2.0 T9, FM/AM radio receiver/recorder with RDS, Image viewer Picture editor, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree, Alarm clock with radio Calculator, Calendar, Notes, Stopwatch, Battery Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 9h

A Chinese salesgirl holds up a hacked Apple iPhone that is illegally on sale for USD570 at a computer centre in Shanghai. China Mobile, the country's largest handset operator, has temporarily terminated talks with the US-based Apple Inc.

Sony Ericsson R306 Radio Size Dimensions 90 x 47.9 x 15.8 mm, Weight 93g Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.9 inches, Secondary external monochrome (96x32 pixels) display, Wallpapers, screensavers Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3, AAC, Customization Composer, download Vibration Yes, Stereo speakers Memory Phonebook 1000 contacts, Photo call, Call records, 30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot No, 5 MB shared memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, Infrared port No, USB Yes Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Coffee Black, Champagne White, Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video, TrackID, MP3/AAC player, Java MIDP 2.0, T9, FM/AM radio receiver/recorder with RDS, Image viewer Built-in handsfree, Alarm clock with radio Battery Stand-by Up to 410h, Talk time Up to 9h Design: Features: Performance:

6.5 6.0 6.2

Design: Features: Performance:

7.5 7.0 7.5

Samsung L170 Size Dimensions 102.3 x 45.8 x 10.7 mm, Weight 86g Display Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 1.6 inches Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Customization, Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot, microSD (TransFlash) 21 MB embedded memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Class 11, 236.8 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML(NetFront), RSS feeds, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Metallic Silver, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, autofocus, video, flash; secondary VGA video call camera, Java MIDP 2.0 MP3/AAC/eACC/WMA player, Mobile blogging, Google search FM radio with RDS, T9, Built-in handsfree Battery Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 2h 50 min Design: Features: Performance:

7.0 6.9 6.9

51

Informative

Nokia 1650 Rs. 3,750

Samsung C450 Rs. 3,950

Size Dimensions 104.2x43.8x17.8 mm, 69 cc, Weight 80g Display Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 35 x 28 mm, Themes and wallpapers Ringtones Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Yes, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot No, 8 MB user memory Features Messaging SMS (up to 250), EMS, Instant, Messaging, Browser No, Games Snake Xenzia, Beach Rally, Soccer League, Colors Red, Black Camera No, FM radio, T9, Calendar, Calculator Currency converter, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree Flashlight Battery Stand-by Up to 420h, Talk time Up to 8h

Size Dimensions 103.5x44.5x14.9 mm, Weight 72g Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.52 inches Ringtones Type Polyphonic (16 channels), Customization Download, order now, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Yes, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot No 2 MB shared memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps Infrared port No, USB Yes Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Games Yes, Colors Black Camera, VGA, 640x480 pixels, FM radio, T9, Organizer, Built-in handsfree Battery Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 3h 20 min

Designed to deliver a wide range of mobile features, the contemporary Nokia 1650 phone offers an inspirational design and practical features to help consumers balance their personal and professional lives. Supporting up to 75 local languages, the Nokia 1650 comes equipped with a flashlight, music-onthe-go via FM radio and MP3-grade ring tones. With an integrated application that allows for a pre-set time limit to be set for each call, the Nokia 1650 answers the need for cost control that is especially important in entry markets. Design: Features: Performance:

7.0 6.7 7.0

Samsung presents SGH-C450, a low-end cell phone with basic mobile communication capabilities. Comes in two-tone color and a flex-touch wave-pattern keypad, the slim device (just 14.9mm height) runs on dual-band (900/1800) GSM network with support for GPRS Class 10 connectivity. To match the features, the phone is designed for simplicity, but still will style in mind. Check after the jump for the detail specs. Design: Features: Performance:

7.0 6.7 7.0

Sony Ericsson K200i Rs. 3,700 Size Dimensions 103x46x16.7mm, Weight 82g Display Type STN, 65K colors, Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.6 inches, Wallpapers Ringtones Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization Download, order now, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 300 entries, Call records 20 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot No, 2 MB internal memory Data GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps Infrared port Yes, USB No Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP 1.2.1, Games 3 embedded, Colors Metallic Black, Light Champagne, Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, T9, Slide show, Full screen viewer Stopwatch, Timer, Built-in handsfree Battey Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 8h The Sony Erickson K200i is available in either metallic black or pale champagne casing. The February 2007 announcement described a highly attractive case and a keypad which has a good feel. There is no opening system. There is a generally solid bar design to the handset which weighs 82 grams including the battery and measures 103 mm by 46 mm by 16.7 mm. The Sony Ericsson K200i arrives with a substantial 2 MB of internal memory. This allows for easily saving contact details, messages and photos. The battery allows approximately 900 hours of standby time and 8 hours of talk time from a full charge. Design: Features: Performance:

7.0 7.0 7.0

52

Above prices are subject to change as per market

LG KG270 Rs. 2,400 Size Dimensions 98 x 45 x 12.9 mm, Weight 60g Display Type TFT, 65K colors Ringtones Type Polyphonic (16 channels) Memory Phonebook 300 entries Features Java, FM radio, T9, Organiser, Calculator Built-in handsfree Battery Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 3 LG KG 270 is another blaster from LG for the lower end market. It has got everything to meet basic communication requirements. However, polyphonic tones and FM are good plus for music lovers Design: Features: Performance:

7.7 7.6 7.6

Informative

Nokia 5200 Rs. 8,800

Samsung X630 Rs. 6,800

Size Dimensions 92.4x48.2x20.7 mm, 85cc, Weight 104g Display Type CSTN, 256K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels Downloadable themes Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Yes, Call records Yes, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), hotswap, buy memory, 5 MB internal memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No Bluetooth Yes, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes, order now, Colors Red, Blue, Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video, Java MIDP 2.0, Stereo FM radio, MP3/SpMidi/AAC/AAC+ player, T9, Reminders Battery Stand-by Up to 263h, Talk time Up to 3h 10 min

Size Dimensions 104 x 43 x 19 mm, Weight 84g Display Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels Ringtones Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization Download, order now, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot No, 28 MB internal memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes Infrared port No, USB Yes Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Games, Colors Black, Blue, Titan Silver, Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video, Java MIDP 2.0, Stereo FM radio, MP3 player T9, Organiser, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo Battery Stand-by Up to 350h, Talk time Up to 2h 15 min

Nokia 5200 describes this phone's styling as 'street smart', which is just another way of saying that it's aimed at young 'uns rather than fuddy duddies. The phone's chunky, bulbous feel and loud colours certainly give it a cheeky look that's rather endearing, but undoubtedly won't be to everyone's taste. We had the blue and white version, but it's also available in red and white or all black if you prefer.

Enjoy your favourite songs together with the SGHX630's music player. Or if you prefer to stay updated on the latest hits, the phone's FM radio puts your finger on the pulse of the latest chart-toppers. The auto and manual tuning function also lets you tune in easily to your favourite DJ on the airwaves, while you can transfer and share songs via Bluetooth.

Design: Features: Performance:

Design: Features: Performance:

7.4 7.2 7.2

8.0 7.8 7.8

Motorola Rizr Z3 Rs. 9,600 Size Dimensions 106 x 46 x 16 mm, Weight 115g Display Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 30 x 37 mm, Screensavers and wallpapers Downloadable logos Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 10 dialed, 10 received, 10 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 16 MB internal memory Data GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v1.1 Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes, Colors Red, Blue, Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (CIF 15fps), flash, Java MIDP 2.0 MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9, Organizer, Calculator Built-in handsfree, Voice dial, Voice memo Battery Stand-by Up to 350h, Talk time Up to 6h 40 min Ever since it introduced its popular Razr phone, Motorola has done everything it can to capitalize on two trends: thin phones, and a vowel-dropping naming convention. After the Razr and the bizarrely named Krzr, Motorola now gives us the Rizr Z3 (it's a slider phone, so it rises up, get it?). While we thought the pretty Krzr put the Razr's design to shame, we now realize that we spoke too soon. In fact, it's the Rizr that should compete in a cell phone beauty contest. Yes, we're focusing on design here, but even Motorola admits that all of its thin handsets are design-first models. Fortunately the Rizr also offers decent call quality, and while its feature set offers nothing new, it's still pretty respectable. Design: Features: Performance:

LG KG320 Rs. 8,400 Size Dimensions 96 x 46 x 9.9 mm, Weight 70g Display Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels Downloadable wallpapers Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Customization Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Call records, 10 dialed, 10 received, 10 missed calls, Card slot No, 128 MB shared memory Data GPRS Yes, Bluetooth Yes, Infrared port No, USB Yes Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes, Colors Black, Camera 1.3 MP, 1280x960 pixels, video, flash, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3 player T9, Organiser Battey Standard battery, Li-Ion The KG320 is extremely flat saving for a slight bump which is the camera cover. This makes the phone easy to store even in the smallest handbag and you will still have space for anything else you might want to carry around like your wallet or PDA. Normally, slim phones are to use. The alphanumeric keys and function keys are really flat unlike other phones where the keys are slightly raised. Design: Features: Performance:

8.2 7.8 7.9

8.2 7.6 7.5

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Above prices are subject to change as per market

Informative

Sony Ericsson W610i Rs. 13,200

Nokia 7500 Prism Rs. 13,100 Size Dimensions 109x44x14mm, 70cc, Weight 83g Display Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 30 MB internal user memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF), flash, Java MIDP 2.0, UPnP technology, MP3/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player FM radio, T9, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree Voice memo Battery Stand-by Up to 240h, Talk time Up to 2h 50 min The Nokia 7500 Prism is a stylish compact device for GSM 900/1800/1900 or GSM 850/1800/1900 with a 240 x 320 pixel 2.0" active TFT 16.7 million color display, integrated 2 Mega pixel digital camera and video player/recorder, MicroSD card support, USB, Bluetooth and MIDP Java 2.1 with additional Java APIs. The Nokia 7500 Prism also features Macromedia Flash Lite 2.1 for interactive user experiences with video, audio and graphics. Design: Features: Performance:

6.1 6.0 6.0

Size Dimensions 103.5 x 51 x 12.9 mm, Weight 85g Display Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 32x42 mm Ringtone Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Amount 30 preset Customization, Download, Vibration Yes 3D sound speaker Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photo call, Call records 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 60 MB embedded memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No USB Yes, v1.1 Features Messaging, SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + downloadable, order now Colors Black, Wine-Red, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(CIF), flash, Java MIDP 2.0 FM radio, MP3/AAC/ACC+ player, T9, Organizer TV output, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree Battery Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min The Samsung D900i is a subtle aesthetic upgrade to its predecessor, the D900. It adds an FM radio and a sleek metallic finish to an already successful and popular slider phone. It definitely won't compel current D900 owners to upgrade, but for those after a feature packed, stylish and compact handset the D900i is definitely worth considering.

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Above prices are subject to change as per market

The W610 Walkman phone is all about the detail, whether this is detail in design that builds on the look of earlier Walkman phones or the detailed combination of mobile music with a credible digital camera. The W610 stores up to 470 full-length music tracks on the 512MB Memory Stick Micro provided, and offers the inventive Track ID music recognition application; a feature that lets the user record a clip of an unknown music track onto their phone and immediately receive a notification of the track name, artist and album. Design: Features: Performance:

Samsung D900i Rs. 12,800

Design: Features: Performance:

Size Dimensions 102 x 46 x 14 mm, Weight 95g Display Type TFD, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 1.96 inches Wallpapers, screensavers Ringtones Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3, Customization Composer, download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call, Call records, 30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 512 MB card included, Up to 64 MB user memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, 28.8 kbps, EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0 Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/HTML (NetFront), RSS reader, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Plush Orange, Satin Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, autofocus, video, flash, Java MIDP 2.0, Walkman player 2.0 FM radio with RDS, TrackID music recognition, T9, Image viewer Picture editor, Picture blogging, Organiser, Built-in handsfree Voice memo/dial Battery Stand-by Up to 350h, Talk time Up to 7h

8.0 7.8 7.9

6.1 6.0 6.0

Nokia 6300 Rs. 11,900 Size Dimensions 106.4 x 43.6 x 11.7 mm, 56 cc, Weight 91g Display Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 31 x 41 mm Downloadable wallpapers, screensavers Ringtones Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization Download, order now, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 7.8 MB of user memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, Infrared port No, USB Yes, miniUSB Features Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + Downloadable, Colors Silver, Black, Red-Silver, White-Silver, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), Java MIDP 2.0 FM stereo radio, Push to talk, MP3/MP4/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ player, Voice memo, Voice command, T9, Calendar Calculator, Built-in handsfree Battery Stand-by Up to 348h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min An entry level handset designed to do the basics, the Nokia 6300 is a stylish, well designed mobile phone with a 2 mega pixel camera, MP3 player and stereo FM radio. The matt stainless steel finish adds a touch of class to a unit that will serve most users needs with excellence. Design: Features: Performance:

8.2 7.8 7.8

Informative

Nokia E51 Rs. 20,000

Samsung i450 Rs. 24,000

Size Dimensions 114.8x46x12 mm, 61cc, Weight 100g Display Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches, Five-way scroll key, Downloadable themes Ringtone Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization, Download Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call records Detailed, max 30 days Card slot, microSD (TransFlash), hotswap, buy memory, 130 MB user data memory 96 MB SDRAM memory, ARM 11 369 MHz processor Data GPRS Class 32, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11g, VoIP over WLAN, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0 miniUSB Features OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Downloadable, Colors Black, Silver, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QVGA@15fps), Push to talk, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/video player, FM radio, Document viewer, T9, Voice command/memo, PIM including calendar, to-do list, Integrated handsfree Battery Stand-by Up to 310h, Talk time Up to 4h 20 min Nokia added another handset to its E series portfolio with the introduction of the new Nokia E51 mobile phone. Targeted at business professionals, the Nokia E51 comes in a slim form factor. The phone offers one-touch keys for quick access to most common applications including email, contacts, calendar and the Home screen. Design: Features: Performance:

8.2 8.1 8.1

LG KE970 Shine Rs. 16,550

Size Dimensions 101 x 52 x 17.8 mm, Weight 114g Display Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches RINGTONESType, Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook Yes, Photocall, Call records, 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot, microSD (TransFlash) 40 MB built-in memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No USB Yes, v2.0 Features OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML Games Yes, Colors White, Blue, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, flash; secondary VGA videocall camera Java MIDP 2.0, Flash player, FM radio with RDS, 3.5 mm audio jack, WMV/3GP/H.263/MPEG4 player, WMA/MP3/AAC/AAC+/OGG/ASF player, Organiser Document viewer (MS Word, Excel, PPT, PDF), Built-in handsfree Battery Stand-by Up to 500h, Talk time Up to 5h The Samsung i450 is a dual slider which slides up to reveal a spacious alphanumeric keypad for making calls or communication and down to reveal metallic speakers. Other features included an ergonomically shaped touch navigation half-wheel, a dedicated music interface, 2.4-inch large LCD screen, a 2M primary camera with flash and a VGA camera for video calling, 35MB internal memory and microSD slot. Design: Features: Performance:

8.2 8.1 8.1

Motorola RAZR2 V8 Rs. 22,800

Size Dimensions 99.8x50.6x13.8 mm, Weight 119g Display Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches, Mirror effect screen, full metal body, Downloadable wallpapers Rintones Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 50 dialed, 50 received, 50 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 50 MB internal memory, 300 text messages Data GPRS Yes, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN No Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + download, Colors Silver, Titanium Black, Gold, Pink, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, autofocus, video(QCIF), flash, Java MIDP 2.0 MP3/AAC++/3GP/MPEG4 player, T9, Organiser Voice memo, Document viewer (.ppt, .doc, .pdf, .xls, .txt) Battery Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 3h

Size Dimensions 103 x 53 x 11.9 mm, Weight 117g Display Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches Second external 256K colors, 2 inches display (240 x 320 pixels) with contextual touch interaction, Screensavers and wallpapers, Downloadable logos Ringtones Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization, Download, order now Vibration Yes Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot No 420 MB or 2 GB internal user memory Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No EDGE Class 12, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB Features Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera 8.5), Games Yes, order now Colors Dark Pearl Gray, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9 Organizer, Calculator, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo Battery Stand-by Up to 330h, Talk time Up to 7h 50 min

Because of its metal frame, the LG KE970 Shine is nicely weighted, but a lot heavier and a tad longer and wider than the Chocolate. However, surprisingly it is 1.5mm thinner than its colleague and makes for a trim and compact proposition. The spring-assisted slider action is very slick, while the etched keypad is responsive.

Motorola's special edition of the RAZR2 comes fully loaded with a myriad of features including 2" external color display, quad-band technology, a full HTML browser, Crystal Talk TM technology, and a 2.0 mega pixel camera with 8X digital zoom, video capture and playback, 2GB of on-board storage for up to 1,000 songs and Windows Media Player® 11.

Design: Features: Performance:

Design: Features: Performance:

6.2 5.8 6.0

8.3 8.2 8.0

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Informative

Rs. 14,800

Rs. 2,299

Rs. 7,999 Rs. 1,999

Rs. 10,500

Rs. 5,600

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Above prices are subject to change as per market

Rs. 2,600

Rs. 6,999

Informative

The Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism Nokia's Prism Collection has a brand new addition, and this time it is the Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism that joins the fold. Targeting (obviously) design and fashion conscious consumers, you get, in Nokia's very own words, "seamless diamond-cut design with a crystal centre key, the Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism continues to highlight the geometric shapes and personalized style of the Prism Collection". I personally think that the entire Prism Collection is an acquired taste, and to date it is realized that most of users think this line of handsets are just butt ugly - it is definitely a miracle that there are folks who would gush after those cold, calculating designs which in turn causes Nokia to continue manufacturing these ugly beasts. Nokia's designers were working closely with creative designer Frederique Daubal to come up with these special laser-etched graphic designs, distinctive wallpapers as well as exclusive accessories to the Nokia 7900 Crystal Prism. The wallpapers that come with every 7900 Crystal Prism purchase was inspired by Daubal to communicate the reflection of light and capture the feel of angular prisms and triangles. What are some of the features you can get with this handset? For starters, a large OLED display, a 2 megapixel camera, 3G support for anytime, anywhere Internet browsing, 1GB of internal memory, audio playback and a matching headset.


LG KU380 LG KU380 is a slider cell phone supporting 3G platform. When there are 5-mega pixel cameras buzzing in the market all over the world, this model from LG comes with a 1.3MPixel camera. Therefore, the price of this cell phone will be affordable. Talking about other features, the LG KU380 equips a Screen TFT with up to 262 thousand colors and resolution of 176X220. It supports audio MP3 and Video playback. There is nothing that makes one think that this cell phone from LG is the best model to pick on. However, those who have limited budget can try this one. LG KU380 is a triband GSM (900/1800/1900)/UMTS slider phone. It sports a 1.76 inch 262K color TFT display, 1.3 megapixel camera, 10MB of memory, Bluetooth 1.2 (A2DP), microSD memory card slot and MP3 player.


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Nokia N96 Nokia's flagship N-Series device and replacement for the popular N95, the Nokia N96 adds more features than ever before in an attractive package that looks good too. Nokia N96 is a two-way slider phone immediately obvious is the large 2.8" 320 x 240 pixel display. On the back of the N96 is a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash and a Carl Zeiss lens. In addition, there is a clever stand mechanism built into the camera surround that allows the N96 to be propped up when in use. Underneath the large screen is an enhanced navigation pad and control keys. Overall, these improvements combined with the sleek design make the Nokia N96 a very elegant looking device, much more so than the previous model. The Nokia N96 also has integrated GPS (advanced GPS). The N96 is capable of helping you navigate in the car, or when travelling on foot. One drawback with the N96 is that it lacks a touchscreen, which will make the N96 harder to control while driving. A surprising addition to the Nokia N96 is the inclusion of a DVB-H digital TV receiver. This means that the N96 can be used to watch live broadcast TV over the air, if you have DVB-H coverage in your area. Internal memory is a massive 16GB, expandable to 32GB using a microSD memory card. With that much memory, you may not even need to bother expanding it. The memory has been boosted in order to use the Nokia N96 as a video player, which is also the reason for the integrated stand that we announced earlier. Multimedia capabilities are impressive. The Nokia N96 can play back MPEG-4, WMV9 (Windows Media), Flash Video and H.264 video, plus MP3, AAC and WMA audio types. As we mentioned before, the Nokia N96 has a DVB-H receiver, and it also comes with a FM radio with RDS. One vital thing with any mobile phone is connectivity. This is a dual-band 3G phone with HSDPA support, quadband GSM with GPRS and EDGE plus WiFi. The Nokia N96 supports stereo Bluetooth and high-speed USB 2.0. Sadly, the N96 lacks an FM transmitter, but the inclusion of a standard jack plug should help for in-car connectivity. Nokia say that the N96 should be available during Q3 2008 at an estimated price of Rs. 45,000 at launch.


Nokia 3120 Classic As you might guess from the 3120 model number, this is going to be a pretty inexpensive device, but it is worlds apart from the earlier 3120 handset. Nokia have given this handset a fairly low-key launch, which is surprising. This is a very lightweight 3G phone - the Nokia 3120 Classic weighs only 85 grams, but it manages to fit in a 2.0" 320 x 240 pixel display, 2 megapixel primary camera with flash, video calling, microSD expandable memory, Bluetooth, a multimedia player and an FM radio. This is all pretty good for a mid priced handset. So it's pretty clear that the Nokia 3120 Classic offers good value for money, but presumably there must have been some compromises to keep the price down? Well, in truth there are not many compromises that we can see. True, this isn't a smartphone, the 3120 Classic runs the Series 40 operating system that most people are familiar with. There's no autofocus on the camera, the screen could be a little larger, the 3120 Classic lacks HSDPA and there is no memory card in the standard sales package. But on the plus side, the Nokia 3120 Classic comes with a 2.5mm audio socket plus headphones, a media player that can deal with MP3, MP4 and Windows Media file types, the Opera web browser, an email client and it can also capture video at 15 to 20 fps at 320x240 pixels (QVGA) resolution, which is pretty adequate for most people. Talktime on 3G is 2.5 hours which is a little short for some, with 12 days standby time. The standard sales package includes a BL-4U battery, AC-3 charger, HS-40 headset and user guide in addition to the phone. Overall, the Nokia 3120 Classic does appear to be a very good value for money 3G handset that doesn't miss out any important features, it is impressively lightweight and looks quite attractive. We think that this might be a strong seller for Nokia when it comes out during Q2 2008 in several different color combinations.


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Nokia N78 Nokia's replacement for the aging N73, the Nokia N78 is an HSDPA capable 3.5G handset, with a 3.2 megapixel camera, aGPS and built-in WiFi. It's a sleek looking smartphone running the Symbian S60 operating system, in common with most other N-Series devices. Nokia N78 has a much improved GPS system, with several improvements for those who want to navigate on foot. Photographs taken with the camera can also be geotagged with the location automatically, a feature that has been missing for some time. While we're on the subject of the camera, the Nokia N78 has a 3.2 megapixel unit with a Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus and an LED flash. This combination of features has proven to be very capable in the past. This is a dual-band HSDPA /WCDMA phone with quad-band GSM support, plus GPRS and EDGE data. WiFi connectivity is built-in too, as is stereo Bluetooth and USB 2.0. In other words, the Nokia N78 has plenty of fast connections to the outside world. The N78 comes with a multimedia player capable of handing MPEG-4, MP3, WMA and AAC clips. Video capture is VGA resolution at 15 frames per second, not quite as good as some other recent Nokias, but still pretty good. There's also an FM radio and integrated stereo speakers. The Nokia N78 comes with a useful FM transmitter, so it is possible to connect it to a car stereo using just the radio, where it is legal to do so. This looks like a decent phone, but there's a fly in the ointment. Nokia have gone all trendy with the keypad - the key legends light up when in use, and the keys themselves have been replaced with a sort of bar arrangement. It looks good, but we suspect that it won't be as easy to use as a traditional arrangement. The battery life is pretty reasonable - the Nokia N78 has just over 3 hours talktime on 3G with up to 13 days standby time. This is helped by a large 1200 milli amp hour BL-6F power cell. The N78 features up to 24 hours of audio playback time. Nokia say that the N78 will be available during Q2 2008.


Sony Ericsson C902 There seems to have been an outbreak of sanity at Sony Ericsson. The new Sony Ericsson C902 not only ditches the horrible keypad of the K850, but it also does away with the K-Series branding for Cyber-shot branded phones. So, Cyber-shot handsets no longer have to put up with the K for the Swedish word Kamera, and have the C for Cyber-shot instead.. So, what we have here is a smart and sensible looking 3G phone with HSDPA support, a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash and a QVGA resolution display. The camera is the main selling feature of the Sony Ericsson C902, and it seems to be essentially the same camera found in the K850. Featuring the same multishot capabilities of other recent Cybershot phones, the C902 also comes with face detection, red-eye reduction and image stabilisation. Sony Ericsson haven't stated the video capture resolution of the C902, but the old K850 was a little disappointing in this regard. When not in use, the camera and flash are hidden behind a protective panel, a nice feature that other handsets would do well to emulate. Another notable feature are the touch-sensitive image control keys that activate around the main screen when the camera is in use, emphasising that this is a phone worthy of the Cyber-shot name. As you might expect, the Sony Ericsson C902 has a built-in MP3 player, and it also has an FM radio. The usual Sony Ericsson applications are built in - a web browser, email client, RSS reader and a bunch of personal information management functions. This is a very elegant looking handset, measuring 108 x 49 x 11mm and weighing 107 grams. The Sony Ericsson C902 has quad-band GSM support plus UMTS 2100, comes with stereo Bluetooth and has 160MB of internal memory, expandable with Memory Stick Micro cards (256MB is included in the standard sales package). Sony Ericsson say that the C902 will be available during the second quarter of 2008 in "Luscious Red" and "Swift Black" colour combinations, although no pricing details are available.


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Samsung T819 Samsung SGH-T819, which is another 3G-capable phone for T-Mobile USA, coming with UMTS 1700 MHz on board. While it is nice to see a new 3G phone, most people will be rather disappointed that it doesn't really stand out of the crowd when it comes to specifications, coming with only 1.3-megapixel camera. Judging by the photos posted on the FCC site, the T819 will most probably be advertised as a slim 3G slider at a low price. It is another "copy-and-paste" cellular phone from Samsung. The design and outlook of the T819 is very similar to T-Mobile Blast, which is also a slider phone from Samsung. Featuring sleek coffee brown finish, the Samsung SGH-T819 is designed to impress buyers instantly. Features and specifications wise, the T819 phone comes equipped with a 1.3-megapixel digital camera that also record short video clips, a built-in MP3 music player, a pair of blasting stereo speaker, and a built-in microSD memory expansion slot. The downside is its 30 MB of internal memory isn't sufficient for carrying enough music or pictures, which means you must buy a microSD card if you would like to carry more songs in the T819 phone.


Trend T-786i Dual Sim GSM Trend mobiles were the first in introducing the dual SIM mechanism that allowed a person to hold two different SIMs in one mobile phone. Trend is their brand which markets imported cell phones in the local market. It has now come up with the simplest and yet the most loaded of the mobile phones. It is called the, Trend Perfect Dual Sim, T-786i is available in Bar shape with keypad and touch screen facility. The features of T-786i are startling. Its basic edge is that a user can retain different network operators’ SIMs in one cell phone and can receive calls in both. It is a complete multimedia cell phone with 2 mega pixel camera, which has an audio and video recorders and players as well. The USB data cable allows the user a unique facility of ‘Plug N Play’. Attach the cable with your computer and view what you have recorded. There is no need of any software or driver installation unlike other cell phones. Trend T-786i having Bluetooth connectivity, GPRS and MMS. Trend mobiles offers an unmatched Deluxe Package along with the set which includes a free-of-cost Bluetooth Device, 256 MB memory card, hands free, USB port, Desktop charger, 2 extra batteries and In-Car charger and a Trendy pouch to carry your cell phone in style. The Trend T-786i is a fashion conscious handset, which has a good and attractive size of LCD and gives solid and quality feel when in use. Mobile phone holds another edge to other cell phones in the market. It has the style, it has the attractive look and it has all that you require in cell phone to begin with.


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LG KE970 The LG KE970 is a beautiful and highly capable mobile phone which is better known as the LG Shine. The beautiful KE970 Shine is the second Black Label Series mobile handset deigned by LG. The highly attractive mobile phone has been given the name LG Shine due to its stunning appearance & mirror effect casing. The LG Shine comes in a super slim casing with a tactile slide opening mechanism. The phone comes with a shiny stainless steel casing & with a large mirror effect screen. The screen displays a real mirror when the LG Shine is in its closed position, for all to admire. The handset has a roll bar navigation tool which allows the user to scroll through menu with ease. The keypad is etched into the stainless steel surface & the keys have a blue backlight which is highly effective. The keypad can be accessed when the handset is in its slide open position. The LG KE970 Shine is an appearance & feature focused mobile phone which will be admired by all. The LG Shine is from the same family as the popular LG KG800 Chocolate which is also a slide opening mobile phone with a high quality finish and imaging focused features. It has also been developed for the Korean mobile phone market where it is known as the LG SV420 Shine. The LG SV420 is identical in design to the European LG KE970 Shine. The large screen provides a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels on a 2.2 Inch high colour screen. The screen provides the user with a sharp and clear viewing tool which comes with the stylish mirror effect feature. The user can take photos and record video footage with ease using the built in imaging features. The user can save, edit, share & store their photos and video footage. The LG KE970 Shine comes with a photo album & video gallery which allows the user to store & locate their photos and video easily.


Samsung L170 Samsung has been unveiled unusual cell phone on the market which named Samsung SGH-L170 which is ultra slim lightweight 3G phone. The fashionable and glossy finish with metal highlight, come with wide screen display and large navigation but unusual touch keypad. Samsung L170 touch pad has raised and looks quite conventional and not looks like most touch sensitive keypad. The display unusual too, with wide screen display 1.6 inch 220×176 pixel panel. Maybe Samsung want to retire in small screen. On the back there are 2 megapixel camera with microSD expanded memory, bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0 connectivity. The software includes blogging application, RSS reader, web browser and multimedia player. Also Samsung SGH L170 has radio FM too with video calling. The 3G handset usually come with less than 100 gram weight but Samsung L170 only come with 86 grams. The maximum battery talk time only 2.7 hours. Samsung L170 will be available.


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Sony Ericsson T270 & Sony Ericsson T280 "We have developed two phones that meet the needs of two distinct audiences," said Howard Lewis, Vice President and Head of Entry Level products at Sony Ericsson. "The T270 and T280 build on the appeal of iconic Sony Ericsson phones like the T610. They are good looking and tick all of the right boxes; whether it's for the business user wanting a compact work phone or the everyday user looking for a classic, stylish camera phone." At home on the catwalk or in the boardroom The T270 and T280 offer classic pocket-sized style. At less than 13mm slim and built using brushed light metal with a glass finish, they offer premium design without the premium price tag. Take the T280 to the fashion mall and snap a picture of a possible new purchase or use the T270 at work to send a calendar appointment to a colleague via Bluetooth™ technology. Fast texting and a simple navigation key to switch-on the FM radio or access your contact list. Easy access to the 1.3 megapixel camera and just one click to begin writing a new text message. As well as its good look, the T280 lets you take and send a photo in just a few clicks. Browse through your pictures on the phone's screen or send them via Bluetooth™ to a friend's phone. Both the T280 and its sister-product, the T270, are compatible with Bluetooth™ Headsets such as the newly announced HBHPV770. The HBH-PV770 headset sits discretely in your ear and offers remarkably clear audio, even in noisy environments, thanks to its Digital Noise Cancellation and fast Automatic Volume Adjustment features. The T270 combines grown-up good looks with a set of features designed to meet the needs of the busy professional. Access key menu functions such as phonebook, calendar or messages with just one touch and use the built-in speakerphone to take a conference call. The T270 and T280 will be available in the same colors, Silver on Black and Copper on Silver. They will be available in selected markets from Q1 2008.


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Sony Ericsson R300 Radio

Sony Ericsson R300 Radio and R306 Radio Mobile Phones The R300 Radio and R306 Radio allow you to tune-in to your favourite music shows or sports reports, across both AM and FM broadcasts," said Howard Lewis, Vice President and Head of Entry Level Products at Sony Ericsson. "They certainly look and sound the part, offering a radio-inspired design and feature set on a choice of either a candy bar or clamshell phone." Both of these new phones are designed to have a clear radio look-andfeel. Sit either phone on its side and let the radio blast out through the dedicated loudspeaker…in stereo in the case of the R306 Radio. Preset buttons on the front of both the R300 Radio and R306 Radio let you switch easily between your favourite stations. It takes just one click to boost the volume when you want to share music on the radio or the live action from the sports ground. These two phones really let you get the most from the radio. Set it as your alarm clock or record the final moments of your team's winning match and play back the commentary again and again. You can even record a clip of a song and use it as your ring tone. TrackID™ is now a familiar feature on many of Sony Ericsson's high tier phones. It now comes as standard on both the R300 Radio and R306 Radio, turning listeners into instant music experts! Record a clip of a song from an external source, such as a sound system in a coffee shop or bar, and find out within seconds who sang it, the name of the track and which album it is from. With the R300 Radio you can listen-in via the stereo headphones provided or 'play it loud' thanks to the high performance speaker integrated into the phone. Switch on 3D sound enhancement or volume boost with the dedicated Audio Enhancer key on the phone. Both phones feature Bluetooth™ technology, allowing you to handle your phone calls handsfree with optional accessories such as the Bluetooth™ Headset HBH-PV703. The R300 Radio offers a built-in VGA camera and the R306 Radio boasts a step-up to a 1.3 megapixel camera on-board. So, whether you are listening to the radio or not, these two new phones are set to hit the right note. The R300 Radio will launch in two colors: Antique Copper and Steel Black. It is a GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 phone that will be available in selected markets from Q2 2008.


Sony Ericsson R306 Radio

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Flare Karachi Report

Ultra-slim and eye-catching mobile device bathed in gold and clothed in snake-like skin for the consumers of Pakistan otorola Makes Latest Fashion Statement with Launch of MOTORAZR 2 V8 Luxury Edition, in Pakistan. Motorola has given the RAZR2 a new outfit, so behold the Motorola RAZR 2 V8 Luxury Edition, this highly fashionable phone has a sense of style with blended class and fashion written all over it with cutting edge technology and stunning details that is matchless in style and luxury. The mobile phone maker, Motorola, arranged demonstrating its new fashion gadget to the people visiting famous shopping malls as a gift for the loved ones on Valentines. RAZR2 V8 Luxury camp at the shopping mall to provided knowledge & information about the new ultra slim & sleek Motorola's handset RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition targeting both male & female audience who are style oriented. The consumers were given a mobile phone demo where they checked all the characteristics and features of the phone. The RAZR2 Luxury was on display for sale along with fun activities like face paintings for children, brand ushers and music. Commenting on the RAZR2 V8 Luxury launch ceremony, Shahneela Ahmed, Assistant Public Relation Manager, Motorola Mobile Devices said, "The families can come from evening till midnight and they will get a chance to exclusively see and purchase the glamorous designed, soft touch back, embossed with a snakeskin effect RAZR2 V8 Luxury. I am sure people of Karachi will like this new handset and can enjoy their valentine with their new Motorola RAZR2 V8 as it is ideal for the one you love as well as fashionistas and trendsetters." Motorola has future plans to display their other products and to initiate such kind of activities which are fun and entertaining for the people of Pakistan. The team of Motorola is determined and would continue to be one of the global leaders by surpassing the customer's expectations when it comes to technology and quality.


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(L-R) Shahneela Ahmed with V8 Luxury Team1.

(L-R) V8 Luxury Team with Shahneela Ahmed in the Middle.

Flare Karachi Report

otorola now know how to buck a design trend, it was last year when they released their famous MOTO PEBL collection that other manufacturers had to stand up and listen. The PEBL range was promoted and advertised on electronic and print media as a stone on the beach, a smooth, pebble shaped device that when touched would smoothly open to reveal its keypad and display screen, nothing had been seen quite like the Motorola PEBL phone before. That was until recently, when Motorola decided to continue on with the success of the PEBL design and launch the new Motorola U9, a direct upgrade to the popular PEBL phones which were originally named U6. U9 comes in Black, Wine Red, Pink and Purple colours, but in Pakistan only Purple & pink are available. Smarter and more sophisticated than the PEBL but with all the strong features and functions included, the Motorola U9 identifies itself as a new generation of ROKR's that will supercede all others. Design & Display: Motorola have obviously worked hard on the looks of this model and to be fair they seem to have got it right. Instead of opting for the pastel colours of before, the manufacturer has now gone down the metallic route giving the casing of the phone a glossy glint of expense and sophistication, these are not expensive phones but the

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new U9 model do look far more expensive than the original. With smooth rounded edges and a high gloss exterior, the Motorola U9 fits comfortably into the palm of your hand and has the power to motivate and stimulate all your sensors. The external screen is a borderless screen which is 1.4 Inches in size. The touch sensitive external screen is similar in design to the screen technology on the popular Motorola RAZR2 V8. The casing is 90mm tall by 49mm wide by 16.4mm deep & is available in a choice of two colours including deep red & black. The handset is smooth & tactile with curved edges which make this phone feel good to hold. The handset weighs only 88 grams which is lightweight for the user to carry. One major difference between the new and the old is the ability to be able to control certain functions whilst the handset is in the closed position, this includes the playing of music tracks on the integrated MP3 player, with the help of an external colour screen the user can see which song is playing and who the artists is. Much like the Motorola RAZR2 V8 there are touch-sensitive music buttons that pop up only in the music mode - with their help you can skip forward/backward within tracks and also jump between songs. The screen lights up when the phone is closed to show the clock, or when playing music to indicate track details. If you've never seen this before, this is what an OLED screen does and as a novelty it is very cool. The Motorola U9 comes with a large internal screen which measures 2 Inches & provides a high resolution screen display with up to 262k colours. From a design standpoint, the display and its styling are next to perfect and can possibly astonish the user. Features: Another advancement is the upgrading of the internal camera, the original PEBL offered a simple VGA camera lens for capturing short video clips and still pictures, the new Motorola U9 has a 2.0 megapixel camera for high quality shots with zoom, flash and and video capture. Users are now able to synchronise files and contacts with their PC using a USB connection and create their own individual playlists for the music player further enhancing the listening experience. What most girls are fond of is lanyards for their phones and the U9 can be carried with one - the holes can be found on the top edge. The Motorokr U9 also features EDGE data services for fast download times and much quicker connections, bluetooth wireless technology for transferring files to compatible devices as well as connecting to handsfree headsets, expandable memory so that users can save their music tracks, pictures, video clips and applications, a web browser for surfing the net, email access and built-in handsfree as standard. The fitted battery will provide approximately seven hours of talk time from a fully charged battery, or approximately 350 hours of standby time Dressed to impress, the Motorokr U9 is snazzy, and seriously fashionable especially for girls who want exclusivity; and with more colour variants on the way this new U-Series range looks set to be as successful as the original U6 models, if not more so.


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Memory boost for iPhone, iPod touch pple is muscling up on memory for its popular iPhone and iPod touch devices - doubling the amount of music, photos and videos people can store on them. The new iPhones, though, might not be enough to nudge some customers still waiting for Chief Executive Steve Jobs to announce an anticipated next-generation iPhone with a much faster data connection. The iPhone part phone, multimedia player and WiFi gadget is now available in two versions, the company announced.. Ben Bajarin, analyst with Creative Strategies, says he believes rolling out the memory-packed iPhone signals Apple isn't ready to release a 3G, or third-generation, version of the iPhone. A 3G iPhone would allow quicker data transfer, which is particularly important for video. "People are holding off buying an iPhone because they are waiting for the nextgeneration iPhone," he said. "This sends a very important message. I really don't believe they will come out with a new iPhone this year." But analyst Roger Kay, president of Endpoint

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Doctor Howard Stark sits in front of his computer displaying his website in his office in Washington. Stark has moved most of his practice, based in Washington, onto the Internet and he couldn't be happier.

Equity traders with Knight Capital Group follow stock prices computer screens following the open of trading in Jersey City, N.J. The Federal Reserve is likely to follow its bold action last week to battle an economic downturn with further interest rate reductions.

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A demonstrator of the Nokia company listens to music with a mobile phone in the 42nd MIDEM (International record music publishing and video music market) in Cannes, southern France.

Technologies Associates, says he believes Apple will sell a 3G iPhone later this year. Last fall, the CEO of Apple partner AT&T, Randall Stephenson, said that a 3G version of the iPhone was in the works and could be released this year. Unlike last year, when Jobs pre-announced the iPhone six months before it hit the stores, Apple will spring the new version without a moment's notice, Kay said. "I think they will introduce a 3G iPhone when it's ready to ship, and not a minute before," he said. "They have to protect against the rumor of the 3G iPhone because they don't want to kill existing sales. They pre-announced the iPhone (last year) because it would kill other people's sales." The current iPhone and iPod touch updates don't require much engineering, Kay added. "Swapping in better components is easy to do. And it lets them touch their customers again and say, 'We've got better stuff.' "


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Flare Report

Chip in Mobile Phones

Can Survive Fierce Fires S

IM cards in mobile phones can survive heat at up to 450 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) and possibly beyond, a finding that should help probes into terror attacks and other crimes, scientists said. The subscriber identity module (SIM) card is the heart of a mobile phone, providing a record of numbers received, numbers dialled and text messages. So the fingernail-sized slice of plastic and silicon can be a goldmine for detectives, provided they get their hands on intact data. For instance, investigations into the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings, in which 191 people were killed, made a breakthrough thanks to SIM cards recovered from phones that were intended to trigger two unexploded bombs. In an unusual investigation, electronic engineers Benjamin Jones and Tony Kenyon from University College London subjected SIM cards to trial by heat. They collected 12 cards, currently or recently in use, from members of the public in Britain, Ireland and Sweden. Using acid, the researchers gently stripped

the protective epoxy moulding surrounding each chip in order to expose its circuitry. The cards were then placed in heated air for 10 minutes, were allowed to cool and the researchers then sought to recover data by attaching tiny probes to the circuit and reading its contents via an interface pad. Six cards were heated to around 180o C (356 F) and could be read after rewiring with no loss of data. Five were cooked to 450o C (842 F). Four of them could not be read by the researchers, but the fifth one could, briefly. The 12th card, heated to a searing 650o C (1,202 F), could not be read. Jones and Kenyon say the experiment proves that SIM cards can survive to 450 C (842 F) -- and quite possibly beyond that. They point out that the rewiring technique they used is not even the last resort for forensic experts who want to delve into a damaged SIM card. Other hi-tech data-reading methods include probing the external connections to a processor and monitoring power consumption during operation and using a so-called electrical scan-

ning probe microscope to read the electrical charge at key "gates" in the SIM circuitry. In addition, SIM cards may survive for much longer in a blaze if they are close to the floor or on a desk, for previous research has shown temperatures in a building fire vary greatly according to the location, they say. "A chip that has been exposed to such temperatures may also be mechanically damaged, and the data may not be retrieved by simple probing or rewiring. But the data itself remains uncompromised and can possibly be read using other techniques," say Jones and Kenyon. Their paper appears in the latest issue of the journal Forensic Science International. n

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SPA provides a DSL-like experience wirelessly and is currently capable of peak download rates of up to 14.4 Mbps and peak upload rates of up to 2.0 Mbps. There are currently more than 160 commercially deployed HSPA networks globally, serving more than one billion subscribers. "Lenovo is committed to PC innovation and providing customers the latest functionality and tools to enhance their computing experience," said, Frances K. O'Sullivan, Senior Vice President, Product Group, Lenovo. "Our engineering team is working with Ericsson's engineers to deliver ThinkPads with the fastest and most reliable connectivity available. We firmly believe that this effort will dramatically change the user mobile experience, allowing ThinkPad customers to more easily search, download, share, and store information and content when they want." "With mobile networks being upgraded globally to handle greater demand for Internet services and data connectivity, consumers are increasingly utilizing mobile phones and notebooks to access the high-capacity services that they have typically experienced only through a wired or WiFi connection," said Kurt Jofs, Executive Vice President and head of Business Unit Networks, Ericsson. "Ericsson is doing for broadband what the company did for telephony 20 years ago - making it mobile and available to everyone, everywhere. We respect Lenovo's innovative approach to business and their vision in this maket and we look forward to future opportunities to work with them to create even more advanced mobile computing solutions that translate into direct customer value."

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Ericsson and Lenovo, the world's third largest PC maker, have aligned to provide mobile broadband modules based on HSPA - the world's most widely commercially deployed technology for mobile broadband. Select Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks will include mobile broadband modules beginning in 2008. Lenovo is Ericsson's first announced mobile broadband module customer

Ericsson's mobile broadband modules provide the end user with a simple and cost effective solution for broadband access while on-the-go. Seamlessly integrated with and optimized to work within the notebook, the built-in broadband module provides superior downloading and uploading performance and

This undated photo released by Disney shows children aboard the 'Disney Magic' inside of the Ocean Quest area for kids. Ocean Quest features a scaled replica of a ship's bridge, complete with LCD screen "windows" that let children look out over the bridge via live video feed. The interactive space also has areas for children to play computer or video games, participate in arts and crafts, or watch a movie on one of the multiple plasma screen televisions.

takes less power from the battery. Leveraging Ericsson's in-house HSPA chipset technology and strong patent cross-licensing position, the company's economies of scale and longstanding operator relationships, Ericsson can offer a very competitive mobile broadband module solution that will help further drive a mass market for mobile broadband. Market projections indicate that in 2011, approximately 200 million notebooks will ship annually and Ericsson anticipates that 50 percent of those notebooks will feature a built-in HSPA mobile broadband module. Users will increasingly have the option to take their broadband connections with them, delivering on the promise of full service broadband, which is anytime, anywhere access from the screen or device of choice.


An arriving passenger uses a new biometric scanner at George H. W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. The new system is set up to scan all ten fingers instead of the two finger scanners previously used.

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Press Release

ricsson announced that it had demonstrated for the first time Long Term Evolution (LTE) in both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode on the same base station platform. LTE is the only technology that can use the same platform for both paired and unpaired spectrum, thereby enabling large economies of scale for operators Ericsson's LTE TDD mode demonstration encompassed a variety of applications and showcased speeds over 90Mbps in the downlink with 2x2 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output). Ericsson has previously demonstrated LTE in FDD mode several times with speeds of up to 160Mbps. Mobile broadband is rapidly growing, and LTE offers a superior user experience. It will enhance more demanding applications like mobile video, blogging, advanced games, rich multimedia telephony and professional services. It also interoperates with existing cellular

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ricsson announced its U500 mobile platform, a next generation architecture with a triple processor solution and a powerful multimedia subsystem, enabling new multimedia functionality and advanced multitasking capabilities. The U500 will not only pave the way for new consumer services, but also improve the usability and quality of existing multimedia services. Robert Puskaric, head of Ericsson's mobile platforms business, says: "The U500 is a powerful multimedia platform with performance, graphics and usability, more resembling a mobile computer than today's mobile phones. With the U500 platform Ericsson will keep its world leading position within the multimedia mass market for years to come." The U500 mobile platform is a response to the rapidly growing demand for advanced multimedia features and services requiring enhanced user experience. Designed for mass market mobile devices, the U500 is capable of groundbreaking features such as high quality camcorder, 12 Mpix camera, WVGA displays, advanced 3D gaming and 3D user interface, CD quality audio performance and high resolution video for a true mobile TV experience.

systems. LTE is the next evolution in mobile network standards defined by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) and supports operations in both the paired spectrum and unpaired spectrum. It enables efficient spectrum utilization for both legacy and future wireless frequency bands. Channel bandwidths of 1.4-20MHz are supported. The wide industry support for LTE ensures economies of scale, providing costefficient solutions. Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says: "We have now demonstrated that LTE can be used in both paired (FDD) and unpaired spectrum (TDD) on the same base station platform. This means that operators with only unpaired spectrum also can plan for LTE and benefit from the optimal global LTE solutions." With its latest achievement in LTE TDD/FDD, Ericsson is continuing to drive important global research in this area. At the

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The Ericsson U500 mobile platform combines raw power through the implementation of three ARM11 CPUs and hardware accelerators, with state-of-the-art platform architecture through the integration of the digital baseband and an advanced multimedia companion chip into a single-die processor. The result is a powerful multimedia platform that is smaller and more cost efficient than what is currently

same time TDD continues to play an international role, featuring in markets such as China, where Ericsson has initiated cooperation with the Chinese company Datang Group. Today more than 90 percent of all mobile spectrum is paired and less than 10 percent is unpaired. Operators are now able to get access to a healthy ecosystem regardless of the duplex mode. On January 17, 2008, 3GPP confirmed that the LTE Terrestrial Radio Access Network technology specifications have been approved and are now under change control, leading to their inclusion in the forthcoming 3GPP Release 8. Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.


available. The advanced graphics capabilities available in the U500 are enabled through the implementation of ARM Mali200 GPU, a programmable, OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics processor producing fast, high quality graphics with the low power consumption required for a handheld device. The U500 will be commercially available in the first half of 2009. Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 185 million subscribers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices. Ericsson is advancing its vision of 'communication for all' through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 70,000 employees generated revenue of USD 27.9 billion in 2007. Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on the Stockholm, London and NASDAQ stock exchanges.


Telecom

Flare Report

okia Siemens Networks to enable broadband and multimedia services for operators through its industry leading Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) capability. China Telecom, the leading wireline provider of telecommunications services in China has selected Nokia Siemens Networks as the primary solutions provider for its video monitoring service, MegaEyes. This video monitoring solution is an operator host IP based offering capable of providing high end images for remote monitoring. Nokia Siemens Networks will support new broadband and multimedia services for China Telecom's MegaEyes by leveraging its complete solution portfolio ranging from video monitoring platform to Consulting and Systems Integration, IMS, Network Security and Multi-media Service Delivery Platform. China Telecom has identified MegaEyes as a strategic multimedia service that will drive new business opportunities and revenues for the company. Nokia Siemens Networks has been engaged to develop the next generation version of the product, migrating the existing solution into a mobile enabled offering. Users will have access to the solution (camera) on a computer or handheld device that can log on to the Internet/Intranet. Consequently, it will provide corporate and individual users with an entirely new, objectively visual and range-extended auditory and

China Telecom has identified MegaEyes as a strategic multimedia service that will drive new business opportunities and revenues for the company. Nokia Siemens Networks has been engaged to develop the next generation version of the product, migrating the existing solution into a mobile enabled offering

okia Siemens Networks and WWF, the global conservation organization, will work together on a series of activities, including learning on environmental matters. Additionally, WWF will provide an outside view and guidance on the company's environmental activities. As a result of this agreement the two organizations will be working closely together over the next three years to further strengthen environmental awareness within Nokia Siemens Networks. The spirit of the agreement is to learn from one another, and to facilitate active dialogue and activities that will benefit the environment. Concrete examples of the agreement are training workshops, global web campaigns and other environment-related information sharing for Nokia Siemens Networks employ-

ees, as well as communication and seminars targeted at other Nokia Siemens Networks stakeholders. "Our employees wish to make a personal contribution and help the environment in their daily lives and together with WWF we can support them to achieve this goal. We can also help increase internal awareness of the innovations and investments Nokia Siemens Networks has put into environmentally sustainable solutions that decrease the environmental footprint of humankind by better use of technology." says Juha-Erkki Mäntyniemi, head of environmental affairs at Nokia Siemens Networks. "With its long history and know-how on environmental matters WWF is the perfect partner for us also in providing an expert view on the status of our environmental activities."

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vision management tool that can help improve work effectiveness and life experience. Enhancing the usage ratio of broadband to IP backbone, the solution which is operator hosted is slated to be low cost and easy to deploy. Leng Rongquan, Vice President of China Telecom says: "Nokia Siemens Networks' support for MegaEyes service development has been widely recognized by all parties of China Telecom. We see tremendous potential in MegaEyes which brings value to our customers and supports value added services development for China Telecom. Looking for a carrier grade solution partner, we chose Nokia Siemens Networks to support MegaEyes service and market development." Austen Lin, Head of China Telecom Customer Business Team at Nokia Siemens Networks Greater China Region, adds: "Leveraging our leading position in both mobile and fixed market, Nokia Siemens Networks has always been at the forefront of Fixed Mobile Convergence in helping operator customers explore new business opportunities. We are delighted about this MegaEyes partnership with China Telecom which is one of such examples. Here we successfully demonstrate our multimedia application leadership by introducing our consulting and systems integration capability, video monitoring platform, IMS as well as our industry leading network management systems."


"We see this cooperation with Nokia Siemens Networks as a positive step towards reducing the ecological footprint of the information & communication technologies sector" said Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Director of Business & Industry relations at WWF International. "The company's environmental policy already demonstrates good progress in this area. Through our partnership, we aim to help strengthen environmental awareness within Nokia Siemens Networks in order to enable the company to drive towards greater sustainability in its business activities".


Flare Report

okia and Trolltech ASA announced that they have entered into an agreement that Nokia will make a public voluntary tender offer to acquire Trolltech www.trolltech.com, a company headquartered in Oslo, Norway and publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Trolltech is a recognized software provider with world-class software development platforms and frameworks. In addition to the key software assets, its talented team will play an important role in accelerating the implementation of Nokia's software strategy. Nokia will offer NOK 16 per share in cash. The board of directors of Trolltech has unanimously recommended that its shareholders accept Nokia's Offer. Holders of 35,024,830 shares, representing approximately 66,43 %

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Trolltech's Qt based technology assets facilitate application development for multiple platforms and devices of Trolltech's issued shares and votes have as of January 27, 2008 irrevocably undertaken to accept the Offer. Haavard Nord, Vuonislahti Invest AS (controlled by Eirik Chambe-Eng), Teknoinvest and certain funds managed by Index Ventures are among the shareholders who have agreed to tender their shares to Nokia. The acquisition of Trolltech will enable Nokia to accelerate its cross-platform software strategy for mobile devices and desktop applications, and develop its Internet services business. With Trolltech, Nokia and third party developers will be able to develop applications that work in the Internet, across Nokia's device portfolio and on PCs. Nokia's software

strategy for devices is based on cross-platform development environments, layers of software that run across operating systems, enabling the development of applications across the Nokia device range. Examples of current cross-platform layers are Web runtime, Flash, Java and Open C. "The technology landscape evolves and, for Nokia, software plays a major role in our growth strategy for devices, PCs and the integration with the Internet. We continue to focus on areas where we can differentiate and add

Nokia intends to continue to enhance Trolltech products through active and ongoing development, for both desktop and mobile. To further stimulate industry innovation based on Trolltech's products, Nokia plans to continue to license Trolltech technology under both commercial and open source licenses more value. Common cross-platform layers on top of our software platforms attract innovation and enable Web 2.0 technologies in the mobile space," said Kai Öistämö, Executive Vice President, Devices, Nokia. "Trolltech's deep understanding of open source software and its strong technology assets will enable both Nokia and others to innovate on our device platforms while reducing time-to-market. This acquisition will also further increase the competitiveness of S60 and Series 40."

Telecom

Nokia aims to continue the development of Trolltech's products and support of new and existing customers. Nokia strives for an open approach to technology that will encourage and support innovation in the industry, enable fast adoption of new technologies and advance healthy competition. Nokia embraces open source technology and will take further the open source development culture found in Trolltech. "Trolltech and Nokia share the goal of accelerating the adoption of Trolltech's Qt based technology in the commercial market and in the open source community," said Haavard Nord, CEO and founder of Trolltech. Eirik Chambe-Eng, Chief Troll and co-founder of Trolltech continues "We are thrilled to join forces with Nokia. The company's innovative culture and resources will give our employees new and exciting possibilities and fulfill our vision of "Qt everywhere"." Nokia intends to continue to enhance Trolltech products through active and ongoing development, for both desktop and mobile. To further stimulate industry innovation based on Trolltech's products, Nokia plans to continue to license Trolltech technology under both commercial and open source licenses. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including acceptance by shareholders representing more than 90 % of the fully diluted share capital, and the necessary regulatory approvals. The complete details of the offer, including all terms and conditions, will be set forth in an offer document expected to be sent to Trolltech shareholders within two weeks. The offer is expected to be open for acceptance for a period of four weeks and to be completed in the second quarter of 2008. If the conditions to the offer are satisfied or waived, Nokia will have a legal duty to make a mandatory cash offer for or compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares.


Cellphones, coffee unlikely to cause cancer: study Drinking coffee, using mobile phones or having breast implants is unlikely to cause cancer, according to a risk ranking system devised by an Australian cancer specialist to debunk popular myths. The cancer risk assessment reaffirms smoking, alcohol and exposure to sunlight as leading risk factors, but allays concerns about coffee, mobile phones, deodorants, breast implants and water with added flouride. The five-point system created by University of New South Wales Professor Bernard Stewart lists the risk of cancer from

proven and likely, to inferred, unknown or unlikely. Stewart found active smokers and ex-smokers to be the most at risk, although the risk is reduced for people who quit smoking. Drinking chlorinated water and using a mobile phone was far less likely to cause cancer, Stewart said, although the risks associated with the long-term use of mobile phones had not been fully established. He said there was little risk from drinking coffee, using deodorants, drinking flouridated water and having breast implants or dental fillings.


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Manufacturing to be transferred to other Nokia sites in Europe okia announced plans to discontinue the production of mobile devices in Germany and close its Bochum site by mid-2008. The company plans to move manufacturing to its other, more cost-competitive sites in Europe. Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communica-

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An employee of Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia holds a Nokia cellphone as she protests.

Nokia employees demonstrate with banners reading "Nokia - deleting people" in Bochum after the Finnish mobile phone giant announced it would close its factory here at a cost of 2,300 jobs.

innish mobile phone giant Nokia said that it had reached an agreement with Google to incorporate the Google search engine in its handsets. In a first stage, the US firm's search technology will be available in a limited number of countries on Nokia's high-end N96 and N78 models as well as on the Navigator 6210 and the classic 6220. The agreement, for which financial details were not disclosed, will gradually become available in more 100 countries in 40 languages, Nokia said in a statement. The Google search engine is already available on

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tions industries. As a consequence of the planned shift of production from Bochum to other European sites, Nokia also intends to discontinue other non-production activities at the Bochum site. In conjunction with the announced plans to close its Bochum site, Nokia is also announcing plans to sell its line fit automotive business and it is in negotiations with Sasken Technologies to sell the Bochum-based adaptation software R&D-entity. The planned closure of the site in Bochum is estimated to affect approximately 2,300 Nokia employees. Nokia's decision to discontinue manufacturing in Bochum is based on the lack of competitiveness of the location. Renewing the site would require additional investments but even this would not result in manufacturing in Bochum being globally competitive. "The planned closure of the Bochum pro-

duction site is necessary to secure Nokia's long-term competitiveness," said Veli Sundbäck, Executive Vice President of Nokia and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Nokia GmbH. "Due to market changes and increasing requirements for cost-effectiveness, production of mobile devices in Germany is no longer feasible for Nokia. It cannot be operated in a way that meets the requirements for global cost efficiency and for flexible capacity growth. Therefore, we have to make this tough decision." Nokia will start the consultations with the employee representatives as soon as possible in order to to reach a satisfactory solution for all parties concerned. The financial costs associated with this restructuring will be determined along with the consultation process and reported in Nokia's quarterly reporting for 2008.


Nokia Internet navigators, known as Nokia Internet Tablets, and Nokia last year signed an agreement with Google to share videos from Google's You Tube service to make them accessible on Nokia's N95 8GB model. The latest agreement is part of Nokia's strategy to offer a product that combines written and oral telephone services with document and photo sharing, audio and video applications, Internet navigation and on-line music.


Flare Report

Pakistan:

IT

a choice for outsourced software development

Presently, there are 1082 active IT companies in Pakistan. Out of these, 150 companies are ISO/CMMi certified, which ranks Pakistan amongst states having the highest percentage of ISO/CMMi certified companies

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akistan is emerging as one of the major players in the global IT industry as a result of policy initiatives taken by the government to position the country as an offshore location of choice for IT services. In terms of suitability for offshore outsourcing, Pakistan now ranks among 20 top countries of the world, recognised by the global community as 'Market Leaders and Challengers' and placed in the first category countries. Last year, Pakistan ranked in the third category amongst "Potential Players," occupying 30th position among the top 50 IT potential countries of the world. In a recent analytical report, the world's leading information technology research and advisory company, Gartner, has judged Pakistan to be a "competitive location in terms of cost, with salaries and infrastructure costing less than most offshore destinations." Based on a total of 10 criteria, viz. language, government support, labour pool, infrastructure, education system, cost, political and economic environment, cultural compatibility, global and legal maturity, data and intellectual property security and privacy, Gartner rated Pakistan 'very good' in cost, good in language and fair in all other areas, except assigning a poor rating in political and economic environment. But, the authorities maintain that the political risk of the country is often over-rated – bellying the experience on the ground. However, brand perceptions abroad negatively impact the cost of manpower, the single largest cost in IT, which is about 30 per cent cheaper than neighbouring India. The government has spent over $ 67 million in promoting the country's software industry. "The Ministry of Information Technology has developed a comprehensive national IT policy, designed to make the government a facilitator in the encouragement of the private sector. To drive development, the government-owned PSEB (Pakistan Software Export Board) plans to construct new IT parks in major cities and approximately 750,000 square feet of space in PSEB-designated parks has already been leased to IT companies. The government is doing a good job of initiating activities in positioning Pakistan as an offshore location, however, it needs to take concrete steps to implement its plans and improve its brand image as an offshore destination." With English as a widely spoken language in urban areas, Pakistan can also be leveraged for Arabic language support to Middle Eastern countries. Observing that IT revenue grew 59 per cent in 2006; Gartner report says that the country's annual growth is expected to reach 69 per cent between 2009 and 2010. As far as the World Bank is concerned, it "ranked Pakistan 76th out of 178 countries for ease of doing business." Like some other countries in the region, Paki-

stan also constructs IT Parks, provides legislative support, industry financing and telecom bandwidth, however, it takes on many other activities, like marketing, company capability programme through international certifications, company specific and company requirements specific training programmes, strategy and research, which are done by the private sector in many other countries. PSEB, a Government agency mandated to promote IT industry (including software, services, hardware and call centres, locally and globally), regularly sponsors its member IT companies to participate in international Trade Shows and Exhibitions to help companies to showcase their capabilities and develop lucrative business contacts. With an IT industry worth over US$ 2.8 billion, including annual exports exceeding US$ 1.4 billion, the government is now eyeing to increase the size of the country's IT sector to over US$ 11 billion by 2011. One of the main

The government has spent over $ 67 million in promoting the country's software industry. The Ministry of Information Technology has developed a comprehensive national IT policy, designed to make the government a facilitator in the encouragement of the private sector factors contributing to the IT sector's rapid growth is the government's policy of allowing foreign investors 100 per cent ownership of equity and 100 per cent profits as well as tax exemption for IT companies until 2016. The government also allows tax exemptions on export income from computer software and related services. Moreover, the regulatory regime for IT companies is one of the most efficient outside the developed world. With four nationwide fibre backbones, three international cables, and fast expanding wireless broadband connectivity, serving over 30 million people, broadband connectivity is another strong point contributing to Pakistan IT industry's fast track development. Presently, there are 1082 active IT companies in Pakistan. Out of these, 150 companies are ISO/CMMi certified, which ranks Pakistan amongst states having the highest percentage of ISO/CMMi certified companies. The country

has 110,000 IT professionals, while its public R&D infrastructure employs over 15,000 IT professionals in the economy. Currently, there are some 20,000 IT graduates being produced annually, however, by 2011; it targets to have over 252,279 IT graduates in the economy. These competitive advantages are contributing to Pakistan's emergence as a location of choice for outsourced software development and IT enabled services, such as call centres and Medical Transcription. Several multinational companies have located development and support centres in Pakistan, while others outsource work to local companies. Owing to high quality coupled with lower attrition rates, local IT companies have been able to acquire business from leading corporations of the world, including GE, Citi Crop, Bank of America and Google, while IBM, Bearingpoint and NCR have established their own development centres in the country. TRG, an IT-enabled services company, has acquired companies with revenue of over 175 million dollars in USA. Touchstone-BPO has certified USA mortgage loan officers that handle customers directly from the USA. Post-Amazers have animated major Hollywood movies. Two Pakistani IT companies are public on NASDAQ and have acquired financing from the Silicon Valley. The other major aspect of IT industry is intellectual property creation. Over 100 universities, over 500 government R&D institutions and thousands of expatriates, who have returned home, are undertaking world-class innovation. About 10 local product companies are world leaders in their product niche. Amongst these, Ultimus is a highly ranked business process management product company with 1600 customers worldwide, including Microsoft and the White House. NetSol's car leasing product has one of the fastest growing customer base that includes leading European and Asian car manufacturers. System's Mortgage Lien processing product has 12 per cent of the USA market. In IT technology, a number of IT companies have built software that leads the world in areas like car leasing, enterprise application integration, mortgage lien processing, stock market order management, mobile convergence, or data and web content management for some of the leading corporations of the world. In short, IT companies earn bulk of their revenues from exports, almost 60 per cent to the USA. Several IT companies have also succeeded in making inroads in the fast growing IT market of the Middle East and earn million of dollars in the export of software, hardware and services. Besides having a positive impact on the IT export related earnings, software export activities by Pakistani companies are also enhancing the country's image abroad. n 75

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good place to see the true frontline in Microsoft's battle with Google is deep in the bowels of the British Library in London. In a room under the library's red brick building near St Pancras railway station, a Microsoft-funded team is working 14 hours a day to scan shelf upon shelf of books. Launched a year ago, the project will scan 25 million carefully preserved pages of the British Library's 19th-century archive, around 100,000 books, over the next two years. Together with collections from other libraries including Yale and Cornell University, the pages are destined for Live Search Books, Microsoft's answer to Google Book Search. It's a field where Microsoft is playing catchup with Google, whose mass digitisation project already has around one million books online, 10,000 publishers and almost 30 major world libraries on board. If the inventor of the PC operating system's recent bid for Yahoo is an effort to glean more online advertising, this painstaking copying points to a deeper flaw behind the weakness in advertising: search. "When we are able to do a better job of answering people's questions we are going to build loyalty and then ultimately increase the size of our user community," said Cliff Guren, Microsoft Director of Publisher Evangelism, a title the company hopes will attract libraries and publishers to its scheme. "By doing this we increase our query share which helps us increase our advertising rates and that's how our business makes money," he said. Query share is the percentage of individual consumer web search requests attracted by services like Google and Microsoft. Internet audience measurement firm comScore estimates only 4 per cent of Internet searches worldwide use Microsoft's engine, against 77 per cent through Google's. Yahoo, the second-largest web search provider, has a 16 per cent share. But Microsoft's problem is not just that Google is bigger. As search technology advances, the real headache for the company whose software currently drives most of the world's computers is that Google has its eye

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Microsoft and Google are both building libraries and the way you get the books off the shelves at these digital libraries is through their search engine. Their search engine is an electronic librarian

error. Even though the list of libraries and publishers on both sides in the Google-Microsoft digitisation race is growing fast, the challenge goes far beyond the world's books. Jason Hanley, who manages Google's Book Search partnerships in the UK, said there was no competition for exclusivity between his company and Microsoft. Neither company will say how much they are investing, but Microsoft's Guren said it was "a very substantial financial commitment". The projects are strategic, said Danny Sullivan, Editor-in-Chief of SearchEngineLand.com. Sullivan said Google sets the tone by spending large sums of money to develop new businesses without rushing to make money back. Books are one example. It undertakes many "pie-in-the-sky" projects betting some will become big money-spinners once they

The battle shouldn't be over getting the books, the battle should be over who is building the best librarian on a more sophisticated prize. Google's mission is "to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful" and to do that it is hoovering up not only books, but any data it can grab. An example is how anyone using a Google email account is invited never to delete anything: that's data Google can use. Its initiative in mass digitisation stems from a vision of Internet search as a tool to hunt not only the words we type in, but also the things we might have meant to type in, said Colin Gillis, an Internet analyst. Like many concepts in the Internet industry, this idea can go with an arcane title: the Semantic Web. It's a concept already partly realised on some websites, for instance when search engines recognise a common typing

are popular, allowing Google to sell advertising alongside them. "Microsoft and Google are both building libraries and the way you get the books off the shelves at these digital libraries is through their search engine. Their search engine is an electronic librarian," Sullivan said. "The battle shouldn't be over getting the books, the battle should be over who is building the best librarian." Latecomer Microsoft says it is taking a selective approach. "Google's general mission has been to organise the world's information. With that they bring in the flotsam and the jetsam, the good with the bad because they're casting their net far and wide," Microsoft's Cliff Guren added.


Flare Report

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Microsoft bids

6 . 4 4 $billion to buy

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icrosoft Corp offered to buy Yahoo Inc for $44.6 billion, in a bold bid to transform two ailing Internet businesses into a worthy competitor for market leader Google Inc. In what would be the biggest Internet deal since the ill- fated Time WarnerAOL merger, Microsoft sent a letter to Yahoo's board offer $31 per share in cash and stock. The price is a 62 percent premium over Yahoo's on 31 January close, but only about a quarter of what the Internet Company was worth at the height of the dotcom bubble in 2000. Yahoo would give Microsoft dominance in Web banner ads used by corporate brand advertisers. It also attracts more than 500 million people monthly to sites devoted to news, finance and sports, and Yahoo Mail is the No. 1 consumer e-mail service. But critics say the two companies have too many overlapping businesses -- from instant messaging to email and advertising, as well as news, travel and finance sites -- and both are weak in the Web search market, where Google dominates. "They have to do it because they've tried everything they can do to fix MSN. Yahoo is the most visited site in the world, so it goes without saying that, given the current valuation, this is the perfect time for them to buy it," said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. But he added: "Google is running away with the search market and that's obviously the best part of the market. The likelihood that Google gets caught is slim to none." Yahoo said on Feb 1st its board will evaluate the unsolicited offer. Its shares shot up about 48 percent to $28.33. Microsoft shares, which have a market capitalization of about $300 billion, fell 6.6 percent to close at $30.45. The shares of Google, which has a market value of about $160 billion, fell 8.58 percent to close at $515.90. Transformative or Culture Clash Speculation about a Microsoft-Yahoo deal has swirled through the markets for more than a year, as investors looked for a joint stand against powerful Google, which has a 77 per-

cent share of the global Web search market. Yahoo is second with 16 percent and Microsoft is third with 3.7 percent, according to comScore data. Skeptics say Microsoft and Yahoo have very different corporate cultures and worry about a clash such as the one that marred AOL's $182 billion purchase of Time Warner in 2001, which is seen as the worst merger in recent history. Time Warner Inc is now valued at only $57 billion. The perception is that Yahoo, an iconic Silicon Valley company with a free-flowing, funloving attitude, may not fit in with the buttonup, competitive Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker. "Culture is the big thing where people have

Yahoo is the most visited site in the world as well, so it goes without saying that, given the current valuation, this is the perfect time for them to buy it some concerns," said Jupiter Research analyst Bobby Tulsiani. "If they have anything in common, they are both tired of losing to Google, so they can agree on that probably." Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the deal would transform its money-losing Internet division, which it sees as critical to growth, into a profitable pillar of its business. "We have been losing money. Our plan here would be to not lose money in the future," he said on a conference call. Ballmer said Microsoft has had on-and-off talks with Yahoo for 18 months, but was told by management a year ago that the timing was not right -- in an apparent reference to Yahoo's then Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Semel.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates . Rich Valuation Under the proposal, Yahoo shareholders can choose to get $31 cash, or 0.9509 of a share of Microsoft common stock. The deal in aggregate must consist of one-half cash and onehalf Microsoft common stock, the software maker said. Microsoft's current stock price values Yahoo at around $30, or a rich 57 times forecast 2009 earnings. In comparison, Google is trading at around 20 times forecast 2009 profit. Some analysts said Microsoft was overpaying for a company that warned earlier this week it faced "head winds" in 2008, forecasting revenue below Wall Street expectations. "To me, the premium seems exorbitant, for what is a dwindling business. I personally don't see how the synergies of MicrosoftYahoo is going to take on Google," said Tim Smalls, head of U.S. stock trading at brokerage firm Execution LLC. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry said Yahoo is not worth more than $20 per share as its only worthwhile properties are Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Answers and Yahoo Finance. But others said the price is low enough for rival bidders to emerge, noting Yahoo traded at $34.08 in late October. "There could be a little more money on the table," said Laura Martin, an analyst at Soleil-Media Metrics. "The company is in play. Yahoo will not be able to stay independent. Other bidders will emerge before this is over." Analysts cited Comcast Corp, Viacom Inc and General Electric Co among possible bidders, although they also said few companies had the balance sheet to compete with Microsoft or were as natural a fit for Yahoo. As Yahoo shares are trading close to Microsoft's valuation, it indicates few investors expect a sweeter offer. Antitrust Concerns Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith acknowledged other bidders could emerge, but said any attempt by arch-rival Google to acquire Yahoo would face insurmountable antitrust hurdles. Antitrust experts said regulators would likely take a close look at a MicrosoftYahoo deal, but as the two are dwarfed by Google, the deal will ultimately likely be approved. Microsoft said the online advertising market is expected to reach nearly $80 billion by 2010 from over $40 billion in 2007. It paid $6 billion last year to buy online advertising services firm aQuantive as a bulwark against Google's growing position. The software company forecast at least $1 billion in annual cost savings for the merged entity, from synergies in areas such as combining engineering talent. n 77

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Flare Report

he vital outsourcing industry was grappling with major communications disruption on Jan 31, after damage to undersea cables thousands of kilometres away in the Mediterranean which affected many countries. "Information-technology companies, software companies and call centres that provide online services to the UK or the US East Coast are the worst affected," said Rajesh Chharia, president of the Internet Service Providers' Association of India. "Some of them are re-routing through the Pacific as a backup, but the voice quality and speed of traffic will be highly degraded," he said, adding this solution left operators with half their normal bandwidth. Egyptian officials said that an undersea fiber optic communications cable had been cut, while in Kuwait the government said "weather conditions and maritime traffic" had damaged two cables, affecting most of the region. It was unclear when the connections between Europe and the Middle East, and South Asia would be repaired, although the worst estimates predicted disruption for up to 15 days. India's 11-billion-dollar outsourcing industry is made up of 1,250 companies that deliver services ranging from answering customer queries to processing credit card and mortgage applications and analysing equity markets for global clients. The industry operates from 30 cities in India and employs 700,000 people, serving clients mainly in the US and Europe that sought to cut costs by farming out work to the country. "Linkage to the world is our lifeline," said Raman Roy, chairman and managing director of call-centre company Quatrro, which has resorted to using backup lines via satellite. "Our centres are not impacted because we have automatic alternative routing in place, but smaller centres would be adversely affected," Roy said, estimating that 20 percent of the industry had been cut off. The disruption illustrates the importance of outsourcing companies having back-up systems for emergencies, whether they be electricity outages or breakdowns in captive power generation systems or Internet blackouts, Roy said. Satyam Computer Services, India's fourthlargest software maker, experienced a deterioration in voice quality during conference calls with clients in the US because of the "unin-

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Employees at a call centre provide service support to customers in the northeastern Indian city of Siliguri.

UAE telecom firm du said that its Internet and telephone services were largely back to normal after four submarine cables it relies on were cut over the past two weeks. "Our Internet access is almost back to normal ... and data services are 100 percent restored," Mahesh Jaishankar, executive director for business development and marketing, said. du, one of two telecommunications firms in the Gulf Arab state, had to use a terrestrial cable across Saudi Arabia to connect to a submerged cable in the Red Sea after a looped cable in the Gulf waters was cut in two points, off Dubai and off Iran's Bandar Abbas, du officials said in a briefing. The cable is run by Indian-owned FLAG Telecom. The other two cables, off Alexandria in Egypt, were cut on January 23, affecting the speed of services as traffic for du and many other service providers in the region. The combination of the faults led to disruptions in the firm's Internet services and international telephone calls. The International Cable Protection Committee, an association of 86 submarine cable operators dedicated to safeguarding undersea cables, has declined to speculate on the cause of the breaches, saying investigations were underway. The two cables in the Gulf were expected to be repaired within 10 days and those in the Mediterranean would take about 14 days, according to estimates by the firms that manage the grids.


The International Cable Protection Committee, an association of 86 submarine cable operators dedicated to safeguarding undersea cables, has declined to speculate on the cause of the breaches, saying investigations were underway formed outage," said Srinivasu C.P., the company's head of networking systems. Satyam switched to backup systems, but the speed of Internet traffic had slowed, he said. Zenta, which does analytical work related to investment, financing and servicing of real-estate assets, had rerouted through the Pacific by the time the US opened for business, said Devesh Bahl, head of analytical services. The disruption had served as a test of the company's backup systems and "disaster recovery" plans, he said. Genpact, India's biggest call-centre firm, said it was working with "various service providers on alternative routes, connections and capacity until normalcy is restored." Neighbouring Bangladesh was also hit by fallout from the cable cut. "The voice and data traffic bound for Europe and America is not working. It slowed down the Internet services in the country," said an official from the stateowned Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board. "Most of the ISPs and call centers have been partially affected," he said. Another Bangladesh provider, BDCom, said it was running at a quarter of its usual capacity. Sri Lanka also faced a drastic drop in service quality, according to Sri Lanka Telecom, the country's largest Internet service provider.

Pictorial

Davos, Switzerland, Bono (C), co-founder of (RED), Bill Gates (L), founder and Chairman of Microsoft and Michael Dell (R) founder and Chairman of Dell introduce a series of Dell (PRODUCT) RED personal computers powered by Windows Vista Ultimate (PRODUCT) RED.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Intel Corporation Justin Rattner gestures during a press conference in Bangalore. US microchip maker Intel is developing a technology to enable the remote monitoring of a person's health through signals sent from a hand-held device.

Dell's founder and Chairman of the Board, Michael Dell (L), Dell's President of Global Operations Michael R. Cannon (R), Dell's General Director in Poland Jacek Murawski (2nd L) and Lodz's Mayor Jerzy Kropiwnicki (2nd R) cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony of Dell Computer Corporation's plant in Lodz, central Poland.

Toshiba presents a new model G450 on show at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

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Apple CEO Steve Jobs holds up the new MacBook Air portable computer after giving the keynote address at Apple MacWorld Conference in San Francisco.

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Japan's mobile communication giant KDDI introduces the new "Cyber-shot mobile phone" produced by Sony Ericsson at a press preview in Tokyo. The new Cyber-shot handset named from Sony's digital camera, is equipped with a 5.1 mega-pixel CMOS image sensor and a 4.5 -13.5mm zoom lens on its stylish body.

Japanese publisher Starts Publishing employee Sato Hgiwara displays a book of the latest award winning mobile phone novel and the portal site of the mobile phone.

A model poses as she unveils a collection of platinum jewellery in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.

A couple walks past a sign promoting a Samsung Electronics mobile phone in Seoul. Samsung Electronics, the biggest maker of memory chips used in computers, cameras and music players, posted a smaller-than-expected 7 percent dip in quarterly profit, as strong sales of its TV and display screens eclipsed falling chip prices.

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Google CEO & Chairman Speaks at NASA 50th Anniversary Event The chairman and chief executive officer of Google, Eric Schmidt, gives a lecture on the benefits of technology, innovation and space exploration during a series honoring NASA's 50th anniversary at the Newseum in Washington, DC. Schmidt discussed the benefits of technology, innovation and space exploration as part of a luncheon beginning at the Newseum.

An Iranian research rocket is launched in this image taken from Iranian TV at an unknown launch site in Iran. Iran launched a research rocket and unveiled its first major space center that will be used to launch research satellites. The report said the rocket, which is capable of carrying a satellite, was the first launched by Iran "into space," but analysts have expressed doubts about similar technological achievements announced by the country in the past. Iran launched its first domestically built rocket last February, which soared to the edge of space but did not reach orbit level.

Chairman of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG), Anil Ambani addresses the media at a press conference to announce the success of the Reliance Power Initial Public Offering (IPO) which 18 January closed for subscription in Mumbai. India's biggest share offer by Reliance Power was oversubscribed 73 times creating financial history as investors scrambled to apply for a slice of the nearly three-billion USD flotation.

China may relax Internet curbs during the Olympics

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China is debating whether to relax control of the Internet during the Olympics, allowing access to banned websites such as the BBC, a spokeswoman for the organising committee said. Plans to tear down the so-called Great Firewall of China were being debated and a decision was expected soon, said Wang Hui, head of media relations for the organising committee. "We are studying this now based on suggestions of some journalists and a study of the experiences of other countries, so during the Olympics there may be some changes," she said. "This is one of the ways the Olympics may promote progress in China." China tightly polices cyberspace and Chinese web surfers see a stripped-down version of the Internet minus some news sites such as the BBC and those belonging to human rights groups or any other sites judged subversive by the country's communist rulers. Wang said that changes were expected to be in place in time for the Olympics for the 20,000 foreign journalists planning to cover the Games. "I believe you will be able to (access banned sites such as the BBC) but I can't give you a promise yet. The relevant government departments are still working on it," she said. It was unclear whether Chinese citizens would benefit from the plan to reduce Internet oversight but wider reporting freedoms introduced for foreign journalists here last year have not been extended to domestic reporters. Travel and interview restrictions were lifted on foreign journalists working in China in line with the country's undertaking to provide free access to the country for the media before and during the Games.

Chief Operating Officer of Titan Watches Harish Bhat holds an Octane watch at its launch in Bangalore, India. The collection of Octane watches are available in 35 variants priced between INR 5,000 and 7,500 (USD $127 and 190).

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General Motors Corp., a 2008 GMC Denali XT Concept is shown. GM, betting that pickup drivers have been itching to jump on the hybrid bandwagon, will introduce a new hybrid full-size pickup and the concept hybrid truck at the Chicago Auto Show.

In this image provided by NASA shows the 70 meter antenna at the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex, located outside Canberra, Australia, is one of three complexes which comprise NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). For the first time ever, NASA will beam a song - The Beatles "Across the Universe" -directly into deep space at 4 p.m. Pacific Time. The transmission is being aimed at the North Star, Polaris, which is located 431 light years away from Earth. The song will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second.

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The MacBook Air is displayed at the Apple Store in New York. Apple Inc. introduced the three-quarters of an inch thick aluminum-clad laptop, seeking to bring a new computer to market with the same cachet as its iPod and iPhone devices.

Pulickel Ajayan of Rice University holds up the darkest material in the world. Ajayan, who led the research team at Rice University in Houston and working in collaboration with a team at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, said they have made the darkest material on Earth. The substance is so black it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light. Made from tiny tubes of carbon standing on end, this material is almost 30 times darker than a carbon substance used by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology as the current benchmark of blackness. And the material is close to the long-sought ideal black, which could absorb all colours of light and reflect none.

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The entrance of Swedish-Japanese mobile handset maker Sony Ericsson's factory in Ribeauville, eastern France. Trade unions are due to meet local Sony management after its announcement of 290 cut out of 600 jobs in this site.

Japan's All Nippon Airways Co. planes are parked on the tarmac of Tokyo's Haneda international airport. Japan's No. 2 airline, All Nippon Airways Co. said. Its profit rose 33.9 percent in the three months ending December, largely on the robust international services and the sale of hotel assets.

The BYD F6DM is introduced at the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit.

Computer screens are seen as an employee of Montsegur Finance, a portfolio management company authorised by the Financial Markets Authority, works at her desk in Paris.

A few of the items on display by Savi Technology at the RFID convention at the Coronado Springs Resort and Convention Center in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. A fixed reader, top, collects location and status from the devices know as tags, lower left and right, that contain radio-frequency identification and transmit signals to the reader.

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Wateen Orders 198,000 Motorola CPE Motorola has announced a contract with Wateen Telecom-Pakistan for the supply of 198,000 end-user WiMAX CPE devices for both indoor and outdoor use Complementing Wateen Telecom's nationwide WiMAX network which is built using Motorola's 802.16e WiMAX and IMS solutions, the CPE units will provide subscribers in Pakistan with wireless access to data and VoIP services in one of the world's most rapidlygrowing telecoms markets. The CPEs will provide consumers, small businesses and Pakistan's largest enterprises access to wireless services, from basic telephony and fast internet access to high-end data services such as virtual private networks (VPN) for banks and other organizations. "The availability of our WiMAX network is a major milestone for Wateen Telecom and for the telecommunications potential of developing economies. Our network puts Wateen at the global forefront of the WiMAX telecoms industry. Motorola's capabilities to effectively deliver WiMAX 802.16e solutions and CPEs ahead of the industry and our

early adoption of this technology has given us the opportunity to be the first to offer WiMAX 802.16e-based broadband voice and data services in Pakistan," said Tariq Malik, CEO, Wateen Telecom. With Pakistan's impressive growing economy and rising user demand for data access, Wateen Telecom-Pakistan anticipates a rapid demand for residential connections for its Motorolabased WiMAX broadband services during its first year of operation. "This initial CPE order, which enables subscriber access to the network for services from basic wireless telephony through to secure data connectivity for the country's largest corporations, is part of the expansive WiMAX eco-system further demonstrating to other markets the reality and viability of WiMAX and Motorola's ability to deliver," said Ali Amer, vice president sales, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility.


Marwan Appointed CEO Warid Telecom Chairman Abu Dhabi Group and Warid Telecom Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak AlNahayan and Board of Directors have appointed Marwan Zawaydeh as Chief Executive Officer of Warid Telecom Pakistan. Marwan Zawaydeh has been associated with Warid Telecom International since June 2004 as Group Chief Technical Officer and Board Executive Committee Member. Mr. Zawaydeh is an electronics engineer with more than 28 years experience in telecommunications including Fixed Network, GSM and 3G Mobile Networks, Internet ecommerce and Community Antenna Television. He is recognized for actively promoting world-class cutting edge technologies in the global communication industry. During his tenure with Etisalat, Zawaydeh played an important role in corporate studies and decision making related to strategic planning business policies organisational development and international investment.


JAZZ Announces Malamaal Winner Mobilink has announced the name of the winner of 'JAZZ Malamaal Lucky Draw' held in Peshawar where Amraiz Khan, Jazz pre-paid customer from District Nowshera won Rs 10 million. Mobilink recently launched "JAZZ Malamaal" throughout Pakistan for its very large users base the popularity of JAZZ being unprecedented in the history of the telecommunication sector. All pre-paid consumers were eligible to win thousands of prizes simply by recharging a balance of Rs 100 either through scratch card or easy load. The third and final draw of JAZZ Malamaal was won by Amraiz Khan. This lucky draw Mobilink announced the winner of the 'JAZZ Malamaal' making also included 4 Tanveer Ahmed from Lahore the second 'Millionair' of the ongoing countrywide campaign picture shows Tariq Durrni, additional prizes Regional Commercial Director, Mobilink giving a cheque to the of 1 lakh each, winner. won by Maqbool Ahmed of Hyderabad, Mazhar Iqbal of Okara, Chaudhry Babar Mushtaq of Islamabad and Hameed-ur-Rehman of Mardan.


CEO of Warid Telecom, Marwan Zawaydeh and representative of Universal Service Fund, Pervez Iftikhar sign documents during a signing ceremony at a local hotel, Caretaker Minister for Information Technology, Dr Abdullah Riyaar is also present on the occasion.

To improve the infrastructure in the rural areas and to boost the socio-economic benefits of the people Warid and USF signed a contract with the Universal Service Fund. The contract aimed to provide the telecom related services to underserved areas of the country. It is really appreciating to start the telecom services in such areas and the people of these areas will be in connection with the world. 87

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Cellphones Banned in Educational Institutes On the directives of Punjab Education Department, the Rawalpindi education department has banned use of mobile phones in all educational institutes. The notification in this respect has been issued. The ban would remain in force till indefinite period of time. According to the notification, no student and official staff would be allowed to use cellphones in the premises of educational institutes. The principals and headmasters have been directed to ensure the ban.


Deputy Director NUST Sports, Ms. Robina Ansar giving winning the trophy to Superior Science College Lahore team after beating the Karachi University in final of HEC Intervarsity Badminton (Men) Championship 2007-08 organized by University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) played at Liaquat Gymnasium.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro awarding the certificates and medals among the successful participants during the closing ceremony of the Outreach Scholarship Programme 2007 jointly organized by Ministry of Information Technology and National ICT R&D Fund held at Prime Minister Secretariat.

Urban Sole Unveils its Summer Collection Urban sole unveiled its new fabulous Summer collection 2008 at a local five star hotel I Lahore and invited its customers and general public to feel the new summer look of sandals/slippers and premium class fashion shoes . Mr. Kashif Zorain, Marketing Manager said that this was the result of committed effort on NPD and we wanted our customers to enjoy the value of their money with best quality leather and international designs. We out source the best quality leather for urban sole footwear and marketed the brand at very compatible price that can be compare with any other International brand. Urban sole is a brand owned by Shafi (Pvt) Ltd and was launched in 1996, since then it has become renowned not only in Pakistan but it also has its customers in Middle-East and Russia with 10 COCO outlets and more than 50 relationship accounts.


Mr. Kashif Zorain, marketing manager, Urban sole, and Muhammad Jamil, zonal sales manager urban sole present at the summer collection ceremony.

Ministry of IT Opposes Multi-Metering of Internet Calls

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Ministry of IT has vehemently opposed PTCL's move to implement multiple charging of Internet calls. In PTA's hearing to decide on PTCL's application to introduce a 10 minute pulse on all Internet calls, the representative of MOIT, Awais Jan, informed that Government's policy to exempt Internet calls from multi-metering was approved by the Federal Cabinet in 2003 and is binding on all telecom operators including PTCL. Earlier, PTCL pleased to PTA for permission to introduce one local call after every ten minutes on Internet calls as it has been providing a subsidy on these calls in public interest for last many years. But after the privatization and drastic reduction in Internet bandwidth and hourly rates, PTCL wanted to withdraw the subsidy. Challenging PTCL's plea, Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan (ISPAK) argued that PTCL was already offering local calls at 7 paisas per minute and long distance calls at 4 paisas per minute under 'Local Call' and 'Pakistan Packages' hence PTCL's claim of subsidy provision on Internet calls was absurd.

ISPAK stated that middle and low income Internet users rely on dialup calls to access Internet for educational and research purposes and they should not be deprived of this facility. Representing Internet users of the country, Mr. Salman Ansari, a telecom professional, informed PTA that continuity of IT Policy was embedded in the privatization agreements of Government of Pakistan with Etiselat over PTCL's sale and depriving people of Pakistan form a low cost knowledge base resource would be a repressive step. Internet users of the country have been upset upon the PTCL's move to introduce multi-metering of local calls fearing that cost of Internet access would increase many folds due to the proposed charging mechanism. ISPAK hailed the stance of MOIT for Internet promotion and pleaded to PTA for dismissal of PTCL's application in public interest. PTA has reserved the judgment on the issue.


National

Microsoft Launches Office Ready PC Campaign in Pakistan Microsoft Corporation has launched Office Ready PC campaign in all the major cities by holding events with the resellers in Pakistan. Speaking at the event held in Karachi, Andrew Waititu, Middle East Africa Multi Country Lead Information Worker at Microsoft reiterated the commitment of Microsoft in developing this Office Ready PC. Ghias Khan, CEO Inbox, said "By providing an Office Ready PC, Microsoft will reduce the installation costs for Original Equipment

Manufacturers like Inbox and increase the sales potential of supporting products including Office." Shahzad Khan, OEM Lead, Microsoft Pakistan said that now end customers can ask system builders to provide them with Office ready PC, so that they have an opportunity to utilise free trial of latest version of Microsoft Office 2007.


PTCL Rectifies Underground Cables The PTCL underground cables, which was cut maliciously on Jan 2 in Islamabad, and resulted in disruption of around 2200 telephone numbers, has been rectified, says a press release of the PTCL Business Zone (North). According to the details, two 1200 pair and one 600 pair cables were maliciously cut by unknown persons from a PTCL manhole in F-6/1, Nazimuddin Road, near Zoom Petroleum due to which some

2200 telephone numbers of the area were affected. The PTCL concerned staff were immediately rushed to the site of malicious cut and worked relentlessly and restored communication in minimum possible time and all the affected telephones were rectified. The PTCL authorities have regretted for the inconvenience caused to its valued customers in this regard.


Chairman PCB Dr. Naseem Ashraf giving winning team bonus to captain Shoaib Malik during prize distribution ceremony held at Niaz Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

Workers lay an underground cable using modern technology without digging the road near National Stadium Karachi.

Cell Phone Use While Driving Banned The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) have put a ban on use of mobile phones during driving, while fastening of seat belt will be mandatory to control the road accidents, SSP (Traffic) Zubair Hashmi said here on Jan 4. It would soon be included in traffic laws and a summery in this regard has been sent to Ministry of Interior for formal notification and after the notification the ITP personnel would impose fine against the violators, he added. He urged the road users to avoid using high beam during night also. He said that a special campaign would be launched by the ITP to educate the drivers regarding fastening of seat belts, stopping use of mobile phones while driving and avoiding use of high beam during night. He directed the ITP staff to educate the road users about road safety. "ITP is striving to take moor steps to reduce the ratio of accidents by utilising the available resources," he added.
One motorist has display a curt message on his car for the people who use mobile phone while driving and pose danger to others on the road.

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LinkdotNet: New Player in Pakistani Broadband Market

The NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani being briefed about the Earthquake Engineering Centre during his visit to NWFP University of Engineering & Technology.

Minister Appreciates SCO work Caretaker Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunications Dr Abdullah Riar appreciated the endeavours of Special Communications Organisation (SCO) in expanding modern telecom facilities to all nook and corners of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Northern Areas. During his visit to the Headquarters in Rawalpindi, he also assured of the government's full support to the Caretaker Federal Minister for Information SCO. The Minister was briefed Technology Dr. Abdullah Riar addressing a press about the steps taken by SCO conference. in the recent past for digitalisation and expansion of its telecom networks facilities, which included landline, GSM and CDMA by inducting and commissioning world class telecom equipment. He was also apprised about interconnect facilities being planned and provided by the SCO to various cellular companies. He was succinct with reference to recently developed IT based billing system, DSL Broadband and dialup Internet services in AJ&K and NAs compatible with any developed countries of the world. He was also briefed regarding recently concluded revolutionary developmental projects like digitalisation of exchanges, optical fibre cable laid in AJ&K and Northern Areas, installation of microwave system in NAs and ongoing developmental projects.


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Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro addressing to the participants during the closing ceremony of the Outreach Scholarship Programme 2007 jointly organized by Ministry of Information Technology and National ICT R&D Fund held at Prime Minister Secretariat Islamabad.

The leading newspapers of Pakistan displayed full-page advertisement of LinkdotNet, another broadband service provider in town. LinkdotNet is a product of Egyptian Telco Orascom Telecom Company. LinkdotNet is working in Egypt since 2000 and has presence in UAE and Saudi Arabia. Orascom, with Mobilink under its belt, acquired two Pakistani ISPs WOL and Dancom and merged them to launch LinkdotNet in Pakistan. Operating from Lahore, LinkdotNet Pakistan offers broadband Internet through DSL and WiMAX technologies for the Home and Corporate users along with the traditional Dialup Internet. LinkdotNet is CMMI Level 3 accredited and ISO 9001:2000 certified. It has a technology solutions wing, Linkdev that is Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Business Process and Integration, Custom Development Solutions, Information Worker Solutions, Microsoft Business Solutions and Advanced Infrastructure Solutions. While Orascom has penetrated Pakistani market through Mobilink, providing broadband services is another ball game. We have already seen Wateen, Warid's sibling, fumbling with early-bird Wimax customers. Also, LinkdotNet has selected an inappropriate launch date. Internet connectivity is at its low in Pakistan due to the under-sea cable snap. LinkdotNet, a FLAG provider, is badly effected in Egypt, its home-base, where people are already not too fond of it. In any case, LinkdotNet is going to bring competition which will be good for the consumers.


Minister Vows to Improve Broadband Users Care taker Federal Minister for IT & Telecom said that the broadband users are 0.7% of the total population of the country. According to an estimate 112,000 are currently use broadband services in the country which is not an encouraging figure and it is a dire need of the hour to improve the broadband facilities to the general public in Pakistan. IT ministry is trying to improve and provide the broadband services. He said that to improve broadband service users it is needed to drop the prices of the equipment like C.P.E and computers and this is under consideration to reduce 15% general sales tax of this equipment.


PTA to start 3-G Mobile Phone Licensing Process Pakistan Telecommunications Authority is set to start 3-G mobile phone licensing process in order to activate the service in the country by 2009. The process will be initiated through auction of the spectrum this year and licenses would be awarded through competitive bidding. Pakistan currently has 77 million mobile phone subscribers, 2.1 million Wireless Local Loop (WLL) and 4.7 million fixed line consumers. With 3-G generation mobile services, the customers will be able to use internet with high speed, make video calls and other value-added data services. Five mobile companies have got the license for AJK (Azad Jammu and Kashmir) and northern areas. For this the authority deposited Rs 1.2 billion with the AJK Council and NAs Secretariat on account of Initial License Fee (ILF) collected from mobile operators. The recent introduction of Wimax services has made Pakistan a leader in the region to initiate wireless broadband services. Currently, Wateen Telecom, Mytel and Linkdotnet are offering Wimax services in the country.


International

Ericsson to Make End-to-End LTE Call on Handheld Devices Ericsson announced it will make the world's first demonstration of an end-to-end phone call enabled by Long-Term Evolution - System Architecture Evolution (LTE/SAE), employing handheld mobile devices, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona The demonstration call will be made using handheld mobile devices developed by Ericsson Mobile Platforms. Ericsson's LTE network equipment supports multi-user data rates of up to 160Mbps per cell. LTE/SAE represents the next step in the evolution of the user experience, improving latency, capacity and throughput. Commercial launch is expected in 2009. LTE supports a superior, mass-market user experience. It enhances such demanding applications as mobile video, blogging, advanced games, rich multimedia telephony and professional services. It also interoperates with existing cellular systems. Robert Puskaric, head of Ericsson's mobile platforms business, says: "This world-first demonstration marks a key milestone in the development of LTE. It proves the stability and integration of our platform with a form factor accurate handheld device, reaching uplink and downlink data speeds of 25Mbit/s already. Samples of first LTE platform

will be available soon." Ulf Ewaldsson, Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, says: "Today's demonstration of a complete end-to-end solution, including a small form factor accurate device operated over flat network architecture, reaffirms Ericsson's technology leadership. It also reflects our commitment to developing LTE as an evolutionary path that will boost operators' service offering, while providing end users with a superior experience." LTE is the next evolution in mobile network standards as defined by the 3GPP (Third-Generation Partnership Project) and supports operations in both the paired spectrum and unpaired spectrum. It enables efficient spectrum utilization for both legacy and future wireless frequency bands. Channel bandwidths of 1.4-20MHz are supported. The wide international support for LTE ensures economies of scale, enabling cost-effective solutions for network operators. This world-first demonstration follows another recent Ericsson first, the demonstration of LTE in both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode on the same base station platform.


HCL Infosystems Chairman and CEO Ajai Chowdhry, center, and Indian models unveil ultra portable laptops called and X and Y series, in New Delhi, India. The laptops named MiLeap X and Y, will cost US$ 358 and 770, respectively.

Chinese customers shop at a Lenovo shop in Beijing, China. Lenovo Group, the world's No. 4 personal computer maker, reported quarterly profit up 198 percent and forecast strong sales this year despite a possible U.S. economic slowdown.

Motorola Eyes Breakup of Company to Gain Telecom 'Leadership' Motorola said it is studying a possible breakup of the company in an effort "to recapture global market leadership" in the mobile phone market, and to enhance shareholder value. The struggling company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, said it is "exploring the structural and strategic realignment of its businesses." This may include the separation of its Mobile Devices division from its other businesses "in order to permit each business to grow and better serve its customers," the company said in a statement. Motorola, once the world's second-largest mobile phone maker, after Nokia Corp. of Finland, has since lost its place to South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Corp. amid fierce global competition and watched earnings slide. The company lost 49 million dollars in 2007, swinging to a deficit after a profit of 3.6 billion dollars in 2006 as its problems worsened in the tough

market for mobile devices. Motorola also makes digital set-tops for televisions, cable modems, and markets technology services to consumers and government. "All of our businesses have exceptional people, products and intellectual property and the ability to achieve category leadership in their markets," said Greg Brown, president and chief executive, who took the job January 1 after Ed Zander stepped down. "We are exploring ways in which our Mobile Devices Business can accelerate its recovery and retain and attract talent while enabling our shareholders to realize the value of this great franchise." The company said it would not discuss details of any plan until its board has approved a deal.
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International

HP Expands Entry-level Server Portfolio HP has announced new economical servers, application solution "blueprints" and enhanced remote management software helping midsize companies reduce operating costs while supporting their growth. The company's entry-level server portfolio now includes four new HP ProLiant server platforms that help midsize customers with limited space, budgets and IT staff. The servers' easy-to-use tools guide users through system configuration for fast installation so customers can focus on what matters most - growing their businesses. HP also has developed new Midmarket Business Solutions that cut the time and effort needed for customers and channel partners to either create or upgrade critical business applications for entry-level ProLiant servers.

"HP is aggressively focused on creating technologies that reduce complexity for midsize customers at every step," said Tony Parkinson, vice president and general manager, Industry Standard Servers, HP Asia Pacific and Japan. "With these new products and solutions tailored to address their needs, midsize customers don't have to be IT experts to keep their businesses up and running," he added. HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers - from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies.


Sanyo to Sell Mobile Phone Unit to Kyocera Struggling Japanese electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co said that it has decided to sell its mobile phone production unit to precision equipment maker Kyocera Corp. The unit, estimated to be worth 50 billion yen (470 million dollars), will be transferred on April 1, Sanyo said in a statement. Taking into account debts, cash and deposits, the total value of the sale is estimated to be around 40 billion yen, the company said, adding that the final amount will be decided later. Sanyo decided "that a transfer of the business to Kyocera would be the ideal solution for both business value and ease of succession," the statement said.

Andrew French shows a picture of an early-stage cloned embryo called a blastocysts in his lab at Stemagen, a small biotech company in La Jolla, California. The company burst into the controversial stem cell field.

Sanyo entered the mobile phone manufacturing business in 1994 and primarily used CDMA technology, a segment with strong competition. Sanyo had granted Kyocera priority negotiating rights under an earlier agreement approved by the boards of the two companies. Sanyo is struggling to return from the red amid fierce price competition. After suffering an annual net loss for the past three years, Sanyo is increasing its focus on rechargeable batteries, which have been a bright spot in its otherwise lackluster recent performance.


A man looks at an Asustek laptop inside an electronics store in Taipei. Two contract manufacturing units of Taiwan's Asustek Computer, the world's top motherboard maker, they expect motherboard orders to drop 10 percent in the first half of this year from last year, amid fears of a U.S. economic slowdown.

Alcatel-Lucent Announces a Joint Venture with Japanese Group

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French-US telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent announced a joint venture with Japanese group NEC to develop ultra-high-speed mobile phone technology. The joint company will work on building phone infrastructure to the LTE (Long Term Evolution) norm that will allow high-speed transfer speeds for mobile phones around the year 2010 that are equivalent to broadband Internet.

This fourth generation technology, capable of data transfer speeds of 1 megabyte a second, is expected to spur development of mobile television, interactive games and email. NEC is very strong in its home market. Alcatel-Lucent is present in the United States and Europe but has not penetrated the dynamic Japanese market.


International

Disney Mobile Confident in Japan Despite US Flop Disney has unveiled its first mobile phones in Japan, saying the US entertainment gaint is "extremely confident" in success here after learning lessons from its flop in the US market. Walt Disney Japan, the local unit of Walt Disney Co., said it would begin a new mobile telephone service, named "Disney Mobile," in March together with Softbank Corp in line with their initial announcement in November. Disney Mobile will first offer three types of mobiles made by Japan's Sharp, whose outer package is covered with silhouette patterns of Mickey Mouse. They also feature a special Walt Disney Company Japan President Paul Candland announces the inauguration of online bottom that will allow subDisney Mobile phone service in cooperation with Softbank Moble during the press conferscribers to jump to Disney websites, ence while Disney's iconic characters can be used on standby screens and to decorate e-mails free of charge.

Disney will become Japan's first so-called mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), or a company that buys capacity from another firm to provide cellphone services. "We are extremely confident" in success, said Duncan Orrell-Jones, Vice President of Walt Disney Internet Group Asia-Pacific. It is entering the tough Japanese market despite the failure of Disney Mobile in the United States, another MVNO which shut down at the end of last year. The flop was mainly due to its business model in the US. Disney, giving up a solo operation, decided to tie up with Softbank, which is a much more powerful model that gives collaboration across everything from handsets to service to distribution.


Google Ramps up email Defense Offerings Google has begun marketing new online tools for protecting email from spam and other problems as it continued to encroach on the terrain of software king Microsoft. Google unveiled email security services built with technology from Postini, a start-up the California Internet titan bought last year for 625 million dollars. The software protects, filters, encrypts and archives email, and is compatible with Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes, and Novell Groupwise. Google said subscription pricing for email security starts at three dollars a year per user to "accommodate the budget of any business." Premium online services that include virus protection and saving messages is priced at 25 dollars annually per user. "As threats rise in volume and complexity, and compliance requirements pile up, IT is struggling to find the resources to keep up," said Google director of product management Scott Petry. "Now, Google can take care of this for you." Google's new email security service comes as Microsoft is courting Yahoo with a 44.6-billion-dollar buyout offer aimed at combining resources to better challenge Google in the flourishing Internet realm. Email security services are the latest additions to the Google Apps platform, which offers Internet-based computer programs including text, spreadsheets, and appointment calendars. The offerings are part of a trend toward software as an on-demand service hosted "in the cloud," or online by an Internet firm, instead of

being installed and maintained on users' computers. US firm Salesforce.com, which specializes in "software as a service," recently topped a million subscribers and its chief executive Marc Benioff predicts annual revenues will pass a billion dollars this fiscal year. Salesforce.com has a "strategic alliance" with Google. Microsoft has built its fortune on packaged software installed on computers, but is shifting increasingly to online on-demand services as well. Microsoft is hoping to bolster its position in the Internet market by buying struggling Yahoo, which has seen its fortunes sag while Google's have soared. Yahoo's board of directors is mulling the 31-dollar-per-share buy-out offer from Microsoft, which is pressing Yahoo for a quick response. Nearly 588 million people visited Google websites in December, while the combined total for Microsoft and Yahoo websites was 665 million visitors, according to industry tracking firm comScore. Microsoft and Yahoo claim 15.7 percent of the worldwide Internet search market, compared with Google's dominant 62.4 percent share. However, Yahoo is the world's most popular web-based e-mail service, used by 257 million people, and if combined with Microsoft's offerings would claim 77 percent of the instant messaging market, comScore reports.


Yahoo May Reject Microsoft Offer Yahoo Inc.'s board plans to reject Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited $44.6 billion offer to acquire the Web giant, a report on internet says. After a series of meetings over the past week, Yahoo's board determined that the $31 per share offer "massively undervalues" Yahoo, it said. It also doesn't account for the risks Yahoo would be taking by entering into an agreement that might be overturned by regulators. The

board plans to send a letter to Microsoft, spelling out its position. The WSJ says the Yahoo board thinks Microsoft is just trying to take advantage of the company's current low to "steal" it. Microsoft's bid was $31 per share but the article goes on to say Yahoo is "unlikely to consider any offer below $40 per share." Maybe they want to try drive up the price?
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International

Microsoft Starts e-governments Programme Microsoft has begun a free programme aimed at turning local governments into "e-governments" by using computer software and the Internet to better serve citizens. The US software giant unveiled "Citizen Service Platform" offerings at a Government Leaders Forum in Berlin. "We see this increasing need for governments to become e-governments," Microsoft vice president of worldwide public sector Ralph Young said. "As the public gets more informed about technology, they have greater expectations from their government. This is aimed at using Microsoft technology in government to more efficiently provide services to citizens." Microsoft will provide governments with "template" programs that let

citizens perform tasks such as accessing public records, getting marriage certificates, and paying taxes or fines online. Microsoft has spent years working with governments and distilled some of what it learned into templates showing governments how to spare people trips to offices and let them handle interactions online. With the templates, Microsoft engineers are "taking the heavy lifting" off the shoulders of local governments worldwide, according to Young. The first set of templates will be available in the United States, according to Microsoft. Templates will be rolled out next in Europe and then phased in throughout the world based on interest from governments.


Internet Users in China Crossed 210m Mark China had 210 million Internet users by the end of 2007 and will soon have more web surfers than any other country on the planet, an official report said. China's online population was only five million less than the US, the government-linked China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) said in a report. " At the beginning of 2008, China will become the country with the largest online population in the world," the CNNIC said in its report. China already has the globe's biggest mobile phone user population, numbering 539.4 million at the end of November, according to government figures. China added 73 million new online users last year, as the Internet seemed to be catching on in the countryside, where development has so far been

held back by low incomes and weak infrastructure. The number of rural Internet users reached 52.6 million by the end of 2007, up a whopping 127.7 percent from a year earlier, the CNNIC said. The fast growing online population has made the Internet a new forum for average Chinese to, among other things, express opinions in a free-wheeling way rarely seen on the strictly government-controlled traditional media. It has stirred up Beijing's fears about potential social unrest, and President Hu Jintao called last year for efforts to "purify" the Internet. The latest example of government crackdowns on Internet use is an announcement that only state-controlled entities would be allowed to operate websites that post audio-visual content.


Comcast Unveils Movie-TV Hub Website Comcast, the largest U.S. cable operator, has launched Fancast.com, a one-stop movietelevision hub where viewers can watch more than 3,000 hours of TV shows, movie trailers and short videos, check show listings, and dive into a comprehensive actor database. The Web site will also point fans to where they can watch any show, be it on television, online, On Demand, DVD or in theaters. The site is the first to gather film and TV offerings scattered all over the Internet on such a large scale, thanks to agreements with content owners such as CBS, Viacom and Hulu.com, which is owned by NBC Universal and News Corp's Fox Network. Data partners include Amazon.com's IMDB, one of the Web's most popular movie information sites. "We want to help consumers find content wherever they go," said Sam Schwartz, executive vice president of Comcast Interactive Media. If it proves popular, Fancast could help drive up Internet traffic for Comcast, which in May forecast generating at least $1 billion in online advertising over the next five to six years as it cultivates new revenue sources.

Comcast said it has licensing deals for more than 50,000 television shows, 80,000 movies and information on 1.2 million actors, directors, and other movers and shakers in the entertainment industry for Fancast. Content from Hollywood studios, broadcast and cable networks including Metro-GoldwynMayer Studios, Sony Pictures Television, USA, Bravo, SciFi and BBC are available on the site, which is updated daily. A feature on the site called "Six Degrees" allows users to explore connections between TV shows, movies, cast and crew. Comcast plans to move some Fancast features to the set-top box so a TV viewer could, for instance, check up-to-date information about an actor in a show they are watching. A proposed feature would allow users to program their digital video recorders later this year. The new site is the most ambitious of Comcast's online content efforts since the creation of its Interactive Media Unit in December 2005. So far, the company's launches have included online video site Ziddio.com and GameInvasion.net, and it bought movie ticket site Fandango last year.


Infosys Fines Chief Executive

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India's Infosys Technologies Ltd has fined its chief executive for not reporting on time a change in his share ownership, the company said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The audit committee of Infosys imposed a fine of 500,000 rupees ($12,658) on S. Gopalakrishnan for "inadvertently failing" to notify the company within one business day following the change in his share-

holding as per its insider trading rules. Gopalakrishnan had inherited 12,800 shares from his mother on December 24, the No 2 Indian software services exporter said. Infosys said it had directed the CEO to pay the penalty to a charity and he had complied.