The Call Manager service allows customers to respond to incoming calls with pre-recorded voice messages; and also features SMS based chatting and voice mail on mobile.

Reliance Mobile has introduced the call manager service on its GSM network on supporting handsets. Offered through a server-less client protocol, the Call Manager service allows customers to respond to incoming calls with pre-recorded voice messages. The Call Manager also features SMS based chatting and voice mail on mobile. It allows one to respond to answer phone calls without any need to talk or type, using an intuitive user interface.

The Voice Message feature enables caller to leave a message once a call is left unanswered. The recorded messages are deposited in the mobile phone’s Inbox folder, and can be played, forwarded, replied to or removed. The Voice Message feature can be activated either manually by selecting it from the ringing menu. It allows users to customise its greeting message or the duration after which the voicemail automatically answers a call through the application’s settings.

Sometimes, when dialling a number, the call may ring without an answer. In such cases where the called party might not notice the call, or may not be able to answer at the moment, the application provides options like Call another number. This will offer you to dial the other available numbers of the same contact. This way, if someone is not available at work, you can try reaching them at home with a click. It also enables the caller to start chatting. The Chatting option allows user to start an instant messaging UI-like chat session and communicate using text messaging.

Reliance Mobile is offering the Call Manager service through a subscription module. It will not charge the user for downloading the application. Moreover, post the installation of the service, the customers can avail a free seven-day offer. The subscription for the service will be activated post the expiry of this free-trial period.

Reliance Mobile will charge Rs 15 per month as subscription fee for this service.

Source: EFY Times

Case-control studies have reported inconsistent findings regarding the association between mobile phone use and tumour risk. To elucidate the findings, some Korean and American researchers investigated these associations using a meta-analysis. The study found that there is “possible evidence linking mobile phone use to an increased risk of tumours.”

The researchers examined 465 articles published in major journals and focussed on 23 studies, which involved 37,916 participants. However, an analysis of 23 case-control studies found no connection between mobile phone use and head and neck tumours.

But, when eight of the most scientific studies were re-analysed, mobile phone users were shown to have a 10 to 30 per cent increase risk of tumours compared with people who rarely or never used the phones. The risk was highest amongst those who had used mobile phones for 10 years or more.

“A significant positive association (harmful effect) was observed in a random-effects meta-analysis of eight studies using blinding, whereas a significant negative association (protective effect) was observed in a fixed-effects meta-analysis of 15 studies not using blinding,” according to the report published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“Mobile phone use of 10 years or longer was associated with a risk of tumours in 13 studies reporting this association,” the report pointed out.

Source: EFY Times

Samsung Mobile, in partnership with Reliance Mobile GSM, has announced an attractive consumer offer on its recently launched smart phone – Samsung Omnia Pro 7320. The exciting consumer offer allows users to download free data of 5GB per month for a period of six months (a total of 30GB) from Reliance Mobile GSM service on Samsung Omnia Pro handset. The offer can be availed by both pre-paid and post-paid customers.

The bundling of Samsung Omnia Pro B7320 with Reliance Mobile GSM service is a blessing for consumers as free download of 5GB a month provides for unlimited browsing and download. The post-paid users of Reliance GSM can download content and application worth Rs 1,000 from their WAP site – R World. The free plan is worth Rs 3,000.

Samsung Omnia Pro B7320 has a compact design and quite an ergonomic QWERTY keypad. It functions on a Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, thus allowing users to easily access MS Office documents like PowerPoint, Excel and Word. It offers the option to send and receive email and manage their appointments in Outlook while on the go.

Samsung Omnia Pro is embedded with corporate push email support with which users can stay in touch with their mails and have email solutions like Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and IBM Lotus Notes Domino, which keeps users connected with their respective businesses at all times. In addition to this, social networking applications like Facebook as well as instant messaging support for MSN, Google Talk and Yahoo! Chat maybe downloaded on this mobile phone. Samsung Omnia Pro B3720 is priced at Rs 16,500.

The offer will be extensively communicated through print and online digital campaigns and retail initiatives like POS/SPC Push shall be undertaken. To further enhance the communication, two stickers will be attached on the Samsung Omnia Pro handset box pack at retail. The customer can call Reliance Mobile customer care or visit any Reliance World or Reliance Mobile Store to activate the free data bundle.

Source: EFY Times

The Wi-Fi Alliance has announced Wi-Fi Direct, a new specification that will enable WiFi devices to discover and connect to one another without a router, a move that could potentially threaten Bluetooth technology.

Wi-Fi Direct will allow WiFi enabled devices such as phones, cameras, printers, computers, keyboards, and headphones to connect on a one-to-one basis or several at a time. Standard data rates and connection ranges (100m) will be supported, so any device could make use of high-speed bandwidth provided by a broadband connection.

Though ad hoc connections are already available within the current WiFi specifications, the new discovery features will make it easy for devices to find each other. The trade association will certify devices for Wi-Fi Direct starting in mid-2010.

Source: Mobile Burn

Nokia is providing technology that allows mobile phones to track the spread of infection in real-time in remote locations with an application called HealthRadar, the company said in a blog post yesterday.

HealthRadar, an application for Symbian devices, improves data collection by automatically distributing information from a number of phones to a central server, where it is then aggregated back to local practitioners.

Daily reports are sent to field physicians by SMS. Users can view maps that show disease intensity in geographic locations. Comparisons of current patterns with historical statistics are also available. The software is an exciting and interesting example of how the use of mobile devices brings the power of computing to the real world and gets results.

Source: Mobile Burn

HTC Corporation has launched the new HTC Touch2 smartphone in India. The HTC Touch2, HTC’s first touch phone embedded with Microsoft’s newly released Mobile 6.5, has been launched on Reliance Communications’ GSM network. The HTC Touch2 comes equipped with the upgraded TouchFlo user interface that includes 11 colour icons and the weather clock on the home screen. The phone also comes with an internal GPS antenna that can support satellite navigation solutions including Google Maps.

The HTC Touch2 Opera Mobile and IE Mobile provide users with an accurate display of desktop style Web pages, allowing to view pages conveniently. The Zoom Bar allows to swipe your finger on your browser page or photo to view contents in an optimum size.

Powered by the new Windows Mobile 6.5, the HTC Touch2 users can download games and applications all from the Windows Marketplace. In addition, Microsoft’s new My Phone service enables you to automatically back up and synch photos, music, contacts and text messages for free from the HTC Touch2 to the Web.

“The HTC Touch2 is a compact Windows Mobile device which delivers a familiar touch experience that our consumers relate to, have experienced in the past, and expect in the future from the house of HTC,” said Ajay Sharma, country head, HTC India. “The Touch2 expands HTC’s portfolio of touch-based phones and will deliver an advanced touch experience to a broader group of people whether it’s making a call, chatting with friends on Facebook or simply responding to an important email, the HTC Touch2 gives you an immense sense of control.”

The HTC Touch2 comes with an exclusive offer for Reliance Mobile customers. As part of this, RCom is bundling six months free data usage of 200MB per month.

Vrajesh Shelat, head, wireless data business, Reliance Communications, said, “Reliance Mobile is the first telecom operator in India to launch the Windows Mobile 6.5 platform with the HTC Touch2 smartphone. Through this cutting-edge device, our customers will be able to enjoy a host of Windows Mobile Applications on our 3G ready network. Our association with HTC and Windows Mobile is a crucial step towards achieving our goal of having a leading market share in the fast-growing smartphone segment.”

The HTC Touch2 will be available at a market price of Rs 24,490 in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and Rs 22,490 for the rest of India at all leading authorised HTC resellers across the country.

Source: EFY Times

Fly has introduced six new Dual SIM phones in India, this Diwali season. The new models are DS100, DS150, DS 200, V170, V180 and MC 160. “Our new range is loaded with high-quality features and offers a wide choice to consumers. DS100 is an entry-level phone with a powerful battery and Hindi language support. MC160, meanwhile, is a rocking phone with great sound, touch and motion sensor,” said Prem Kumar, chief executive officer, India operations, Meridian Mobile.

Fly DS 100 has been designed for Indians with attributes like ‘Talk and see’ and ‘Hello India’. The Talk and See feature enables user to talk on the phone and simultaneously use the torch for light, in-built towards the bottom of the phone. The ‘Hello India’ enables one to converse through SMS in local Hindi language. Further, it also offers an MP3 Player with an expandable memory up to 2 GB and GPRS facilities at an affordable price of Rs 1,785.

The DS 150, with 102.5×45x15 mm size, offers 1.77-inch 128×160 65K TFT display screen along with flash card. This phone has exclusive digital camera feature and also includes MP3 Player, and Stereo FM with recording and FM alarm. With 4GB memory, the phone can store up to 500 numbers in the phone book. Additional pecks are 64 polyphonic, MP3 and Midi Ringtones, GPRS, and Dual Band. The DS 150 phone is priced at Rs 2,300.

The new DS 180 is Dual SIM bar phone for the youth with 2MP camera and 2.2-inch 262k colours TFT screen. With Bluetooth facility, the light weight phone has the ability to manage two numbers and its data with extra memory backup, defining itself as a mini mobile diary. The ECP of the handset priced at Rs 3,800.

Fly’s new DS 200 is a multi-function phone with coloured screen and multimedia features. The phone features VGA Camera and MP3 player with Wireless FM. It also offers an expandable memory up to 4 GB. The option available of video playback music can be broaden with Bluetooth having A2DP Profile. With a super power battery backup, DS 200 can be availed at Rs 2,990.

The V 170 is termed as a “corporate multi-utility phone”, designed with high technology attributes of multi-tasking numbers and expanding memory for managing dual numbers of an individual, according to the company. The phone can store more than 1,000 numbers and offers import/export of contacts from one SIM 1 to SIM2 and phone to memory and vice versa. It further expands its memory card to store SMS of more than 600 numbers. The phone also comes with call reject and instant SMS facility. Other characteristic being mobile tracker Audio Player, FM Radio with Wireless FM function and recording are available. The cost of the handset is available on request.

The MC 160 is a bar phone built on Yamaha technology, making navigation easy with touch screen facility and motion sensors. The phone has 3.2 MP camera. The touch screen Dual SIM phone has long battery life with more talk time. This sleek phone is available at Rs 5,500.

Source : EFY Times

India’s mobile handset market touched 100.9 million units in the year ended June 2009, recording a growth of 6.7 per cent from 94.6 million units in the previous year ended June 2008, according to IDC India. In terms of units shipped Nokia had the largest share of 56.8 per cent, followed by Samsung with a 7.7 per cent share while LG stood third with a 5.4 per cent share during the period.

According to Deepak Kumar, associate vice president, research, IDC India, “The number of emerging mobile handset vendors in the India market has grown to reach 26 in Q2 CY2009 and their contribution to overall shipments in terms of units crossed 6.3 per cent for the first time during the 12-month period ended June ‘09. This is as against only 11 emerging vendors representing a share of 1.2 per cent of overall shipments during the previous 12-month period (July ‘07-June ‘08).”

“We see the market getting further crowded, especially in the lower- and mid-market segments. At the same time, an accelerated evolution of the market is at work, as the rising competition forces vendors to offer newer, richer features at attractive price points. In other words, a combo of volume and value is at work,” Deepak added.

A number of new vendors entered the India mobile handsets market in the last 12 to 18 months to carve a niche for themselves by offering feature-rich (dual SIM card, full QWERTY keyboard) and application-rich (IM enabled) mobile handsets at attractive price points. They also introduced entry-level models for the ‘price sensitive’ Indian consumer. This development shows that even in a crowded market there is room for vendors to enter with the right product-feature-price mix, as per IDC.

The year 2008-09 saw the launch of high-end smartphones (such as Apple’s iPhone 3G, the Blackberry Storm), latest entry-level as well as mid-market models, addressing needs of both the ‘price conscious’ and ‘value conscious’ Indian consumer. The ‘Marine’ handset from Samsung, and the Micromax phone with a 30-day standby time were launched for the adventure enthusiast and the semi-urban and rural buyers, respectively.

According to Naveen Mishra, lead analyst, communications research, IDC India, “With the mobile handsets market in India growing in volumes, device manufacturers have started focussing on niche and emerging segments based on lifestyle profiling of buyers.”

“Overall, this trend points to the growing maturity of the India mobile handsets market. Consumers bought nearly 700,000 high-end phones (in the quarter ended June 2009) also referred to as smart handheld devices,” Naveen added.

Source: EFY Times

Adobe has launched Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone, bringing a simplified version of its flagship software to the iPhone and iPod touch. The new app can crop, flip and rotate photos, or adjust exposure, saturation and tint, with option of converting to black-and-white. Two filters are included: Sketch renders a photo as a drawing, while Soft Focus simulates its namesake lens effect. Exposure and filter adjustments are generally made with swipe commands.

Some one-touch effects are included, such as Vibrant, which saturates colors. Pop presents a multi-image rendering with alternating colors, while Border adds a white frame, and Vignette Blur softens edges while keeping the center sharp. Other effects include Warm Vintage, Rainbow, White Glow and Soft Black and White.

Completed images can be uploaded to Photoshop.com, where up to 2GB of files can be stored for free. The website allows users to further edit, host and share photos.

The app also supports undos and redos, and can save an original copy of a photo at the beginning of the editing process. It requires iPhone 2.0 firmware, and is a free download from the App Store.

Source: ipodnn

Microsoft India has launched new range of handsets from device partners, featuring Windows Mobile 6.5. The company is also debuting two new services to bring added value to consumers — My Phone is an in-built, free service that offers 200MB of online storage to back up all contacts and phone information; and Windows Marketplace for Mobile offers consumers an easy way to find and purchase mobile applications.

Starting at Rs 11,000, the new Windows Phones that are available include Acer Be Touch E100, Acer Be Touch E101, Acer Neo Touch S200, Acer Be Touch E200 and HTC Touch 2. By the end of the year, this will extend to cover over 20 phones featuring Windows Mobile 6.5, including a host of new phones that will be launched by device partners during the next three months, said the company.

“We are delighted to offer the all new Windows Phone, powered by Windows Mobile 6.5 to consumers in India. Windows Phones have been designed to meet the evolving needs of today’s consumer who moves seamlessly between work and play,” said Hemant Sachdev, joint managing director, consumer and online, Microsoft India. “Today consumers want to stay connected and updated on the people and information they care about most, and Windows Phones blend in the best of the Phone, PC and web. A great example of this is the new My Phone service available today, with which users can be assured that their contacts and data is safe even if the device is lost or damaged!”

My Phone is a free service that helps people manage and protect the invaluable information stored on their phone, providing a restore option if the device is lost or damaged. It offers 200 MB of online storage and automatically synchronises a phone’s content to a password-protected Web site. Consumers can also automatically upload photos and video from their Windows phone directly to the My Phone service.

Windows Marketplace for Mobile offers people an easy way to find and purchase Microsoft certified mobile applications for both work and play, while creating new opportunities for developers to reach millions of people using Windows phones worldwide, the company said. People will have access to business applications for work, mobile applications for play and game titles, all of which can be purchased and installed directly on a Windows phone. Windows Phone come with a redesigned Windows Internet Explorer Mobile browser with built in Adobe Flash lite. Further, these phones come with Microsoft Office Mobile.

Microsoft now offers Windows phone Custom Theme Creator which allows consumers to create personalised themes for their Windows phone by choosing the colour and design that suites their style at http://www.windowsphone.com/theme.