Latest Updates about Mobile and Computer : 2013

Saturday, 28 December 2013

Nokia 106 feature phone launched at Rs 1,399

Nokia 106, the Finnish company's low cost feature phone, is now available in India via its official online store for Rs 1,399.

NEW DELHI: Nokia 106, the Finnish company's low cost feature phone, is now available in India via its official online store for Rs 1,399. The phone is available in black, red and white colour options. The handset was first announced in August for the Chinese market.

The all-new Nokia 106 sports a 1.8-inch display with a resolution of 128x160p and pixel density of 114ppi. One of the USPs of the phone is its dust and splash-proof keymat. Nokia claims that 'the characters on the keys would not fade, no matter how long they're used.'

The single-sim phone (supports only micro-sim) doesn't come with a rear camera and supports only 2G networks. It packs in an 800mAh battery that claims to deliver talk time of 9.9 hours and standby time of 35 days.

The Nokia 106 is capable of storing up to 500 contacts and 5 phonebooks. It comes with 32-polyphonic ringtones. The phone also supports FM Radio and measures 112.9 x 47.5 x 14.9mm and weighs 74.2gram.

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Tuesday, 5 November 2013

iPhone craze grips India, retailers await stocks

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: The rush for the latest iPhones, which were launched in India on November 1, has seen the costlier iPhone 5Smodel sold out across the country and retailers asking Apple for emergency replenishments, which are expected in the next two days, some of them said. To be sure, not too many phones may have been supplied by the company, with the trade estimating the number of 5S devices at 6,000 units.

Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel, along with major retail chains, have sought additional stocks, but the Diwali weekend has delayed re-stocking efforts. Top multi-brand cellphone and electronic retail chains such as The MobileStore, PlanetM, UniverCell and Future Group say their iPhone 5S stocks are over but that they still have iPhone 5C phones.

PlanetM Retail chief executive Sanjay Karwa said those who want the iPhone 5S aren't willing to settle for the iPhone 5C. Manish Chaubey, 32, an executive at a multinational based in Gurgaon, was one of those disappointed. "I went to buy the 16GB iPhone 5S. I have made several enquiries at retail stores as well as Airtel and Reliance outlets and am really frustrated as they say stocks are sold out and they aren't sure when they will get fresh stocks," he said.

According to trade estimates, about 30,000 units were launched in India. Of these, some 6,000 were iPhone 5S models. Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile phone operator, and RCom, the third largest, began selling the smartphones through bundled offers on November 1 and 2, respectively. Retail chains began selling the device on November 1.

"Reliance Communications was supplied around 2,700 units and it was sold off in one and a half days," a company official familiar with the matter told ET on Monday. He said that the company has been in touch with Apple and is hopeful of getting fresh stocks of both models sometime this week.

A Bharti Airtel spokesman said the company had sought additional stocks, and is awaiting Apple's response. "Things are a bit delayed given this is a Diwali weekend," the person said. An industry insider said Bharti Airtel had got about 700 units, all of which had been sold out. Bharti Airtel didn't confirm the figure.

On Saturday evening, retailers asked Apple to get its distributors, Redington and Ingram Micro, to send them any remaining iPhone 5S stocks. These reached stores on Sunday evening and were sold out by noon on Monday.

While the telecom companies echoed the view of retailers that the iPhone 5S has seen much higher demand than the iPhone 5C, they have exhausted stocks of both models and their variants, thanks to the deals available. The phone is available for the first time under the kind of contracts available overseas.

Under RCom's bundled offer, buyers can get the base models of both the 5C and 5S for zero upfront payment. They need to make monthly payments of Rs 2,599 and Rs 2,999, respectively, which includes unlimited voice calls and data usage.

Bharti Airtel, on the other hand, offered the iPhone 5S and 5C to Indian customers with monthly rental plans that it said would effectively reduce the cost by Rs 12,000 over a year.

Airtel is offering a 50% discount on monthly rental plans beginning at Rs 300 and going up to Rs 1,000. For those who don't want to opt for such plans, the iPhone 5C costs Rs 41,900 (16GB) and Rs 53,500 (32GB), while iPhone 5S is priced between Rs 53,500 and Rs 71,500, depending on the internal memory.

PlanetM's Karwa said Apple has promised to rush fresh supplies of the 5S to India.
Credits:-www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

BlackBerry may abandon smartphone business

TORONTO: Those few BlackBerry lovers left could be in for some bad news.

The device that was so addictive that it was dubbed the "CrackBerry" might not have much of a future: Its new chairman and interim chief executive says he wants to emphasize software and services - not devices. That could mean the company might ultimately get out of the business of selling smartphones.

The possible change in strategy comes as Fairfax Financial, BlackBerry's largest shareholder with a 10% stake, said Monday it won't buy the struggling smartphone company and take it private. It said that instead Fairfax and other investors will inject $1 billion as part of a revised investment proposal.

CEO Thorsten Heins is stepping down and John Chen was appointed chairman of BlackBerry's board of directors and interim CEO. Chen, the former CEO of software data company Sybase, said that BlackBerry employees need to start thinking differently about the company and accept that "we're really not in phones but we're in phones for software, for services.''

Chen said he wants to find a CEO with a strong software and services background.

He noted that BlackBerry Messenger, BlackBerry's popular messaging application, has been downloaded by more 20 million users since it became available on Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms last month. BlackBerry Messenger, or BBM, works like text messaging but doesn't incur extra fees.

"I'd like to find somebody to help me monetize that," Chen said.

Colin Gillis, an industry analyst at BGC Financial, questioned whether that's possible.

"It's like Apple saying we're going to stop making phones and we're going to become an iMessage company," Gillis said.

Gillis said BlackBerry might indeed stop selling phones but noted BlackBerry is already obsolete. He doesn't think current BlackBerry users have to worry though.

"They are not just going to shut the lights off," Gillis said.

The decline of the BlackBerry has come shockingly fast. In 1999, BlackBerry became a game-changing breakthrough in personal connectedness. It changed the culture by allowing on-the-go business people to access wireless email. President Barack Obama couldn't bear to part with his BlackBerry. Oprah Winfrey declared it one of her "favorite things.''

Then came a new generation of competing smartphones, and suddenly the BlackBerry looked ancient. Apple debuted the iPhone in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls. In the years since, BlackBerry been hammered by competition from the iPhone as well as Android-based rivals.

This year's much-delayed launch of the BlackBerry 10 system and the fancier devices that use it was supposed to rejuvenate the brand and lure customers. It did not work. Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry recently announced 4,500 layoffs, or 40% of its global workforce, and reported a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion.

"Sadly I think they are already out of the business after the BlackBerry 10 flop," said Mike Walkley, an analyst with Canaccord Genuity.

Walkley said he believes BlackBerry will focus on its mobile device management business, which allows IT departments to manage different devices connected to their corporate networks.
Credits:-www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Apple's earnings fall despite rising iPhone sales

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple's quarterly earnings are still sagging even as sales of its iPhones are rising, a vexing phenomenon feeding investor worries about whether stiffer competition in the mobile device market will continue to undercut the company's prosperity.

The fiscal fourth-quarter results announced Monday closed the books on a sobering year that saw Apple's market value plunge by about 25 per cent, or about $160 billion. Apple Inc. remains the world's most valuable company, despite the downturn.

The company's earnings have been shrinking along with its share of the smartphone and tablet computer market that Apple reshaped with the 2007 release of the first iPhone and the 2010 introduction of the iPad. Apple hasn't come up with another breakthrough product in a new category since then, raising questions about the company's ability to innovate following the death of co-founder and chief visionary Steve Jobs two years ago.

Apple's earnings have now fallen from the previous year in three consecutive quarters after a decade of steady growth.

The Cupertino, California, earned $7.5 billion, or $8.26 per share, during the three months ending September 28. That compared to income of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per share, last year.

The latest quarterly earnings topped the average estimate of $7.92 per share among analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue rose 4 per cent to $37.5 billion _ about $600 million above analyst predictions.

Investors were evidently hoping for a better showing and, perhaps, a more optimistic forecast for the current quarter, which covers the crucial holiday shopping season. Management predicted Apple's revenue will range from $55 billion to $58 billion in the quarter ending in late December. Analysts had projected revenue of $55.6 billion. Apple also indicated that its profit margins would be in the same range as the past quarter.

Apple's stock dipped by $2.16 cents to $527.72 in extended trading after the numbers came out.

Activist investor Carl Icahn, who holds a 0.5 percent stake in Apple, is pressuring the company to spend $150 billion buying back its own stock in an effort to boost the price. His idea would more than double the $60 billion that Apple's board has budgeted for buying back stock during the next three years.

Apple apparently doesn't have any immediate plans to placate Icahn. CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a Monday conference call that the board won't announce any potential changes to its current programme for buying back stock until early next year.

The latest quarter included early sales of the latest iPhones released last month.

The models consist of a 5S, a high-end version featuring a faster chip and a fingerprint reader, and the 5C, a slightly cheaper version that comes in a variety of brightly colored plastic cases. Apple didn't specify how many of each of the new models sold during the final week of the quarter.

The company sold 33.8 million iPhones in the past quarter, a 26 per cent increase from the same time last year. But the prices for those iPhones averaged $577, a 7 percent decrease from an average price of $618 a year ago.

Apple's iPad sales edged slightly upward, with 14.1 million of the devices sold versus 14 million a year ago. The average price for an iPad slipped 14 per cent to $439, a shift reflecting the growing popularity of a smaller version featuring an 8-inch display screen.

An update to the iPad Mini with a higher definition display screen and a higher price is scheduled to go on sale at a still-to-be determined date next month. At the same time, Apple is cutting the price of the original iPad Mini by $30 to $299. A thinner and lighter version of the full-sized iPad, called Air, will go on sale Friday.
Credits:www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Gmail, Yahoo may be banned in government offices by year-end

NEW DELHI: Wary of cybersnooping, the government could ban e-mail services such asGmail and Yahoo for official communications by December this year in a move to safeguard its critical and sensitive data.

The government is expected to route all its official communication through the official website NIC's email service.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) is drafting a policy on e-mail usage for government offices and departments and the policy is almost ready. The department is now taking views from other ministries on it.

"E-mail policy of the government of India, as this policy will be called, is almost ready and we are taking views from other ministries on this. Our effort will be to operationalise it by mid or end-December," DEITY Secretary J Satyanarayana told reporters on the sidelines of a CII summit.

According to official sources, the policy seeks to protect the large amount of critical government data.

It also aims to make it mandatory for government offices to communicate only on the nic.in platform rather than commercial email services like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail etc.

The policy is expected to cover about 5-6 lakh Central and State government employees for using the email service provided by National Informatics Centre (NIC).

On investments required for the policy, Satyanarayana said: "We immediately require about Rs 4-5 crore to ramp up the NIC infrastructure. But, the total investment needed for the full operationability of the e-mail policy could be around Rs 50-100 crore."

This will also include integrating the e-mails with cloud so that official data can be saved on a cloud platform, which can then be easily shared with the concerned government ministries and departments, he added.

The development comes close on heels of concerns being raised by a section in the government, especially intelligence agencies, over use of email services, provided by foreign firms (mostly US-based), which have their servers located in overseas locations, making it difficult to track if sensitive government data is being snooped upon.

The move also assumes significance in light of the fallout of the Snowden saga, which contended the US intelligence agencies used a secret data-mining programme to monitor worldwide internet data to spy on various countries, including India.

Former technical contractor for National Security Agency and Central Intelligence AgencyEdward Snowden had leaked what was allegedly details of a top-secret American mass surveillance programme, which led to countries analysing the safety of their official internet-supported communication networks.
Credits:-www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Sunday, 27 October 2013

PC first aid kit on a pen drive that can help you a lot

Just like every home has a First Aid Kit formedical emergencies, it pays to have something similar for your PC. All you need is a pen drive that's loaded with essential, troubleshooting software. The tools listed in this piece are free, and run straight out of a USB stick, so you don't even need to install them. And yes, it also means you can carry this 'First Aid Kit' along whenever you want to help friends with their computer problems...

ClamWin
The portable version of ClamWin antivirus can be used to scan your PC for viruses. This is extremely useful because malware can sometimes disable the antivirus software installed on your PC. With ClamWin on your flash drive, you will be able to identify and remove infections.

To keep your PC spic-andspan, you will also need to routinely scan it for spyware and adware. These are pesky programs that get installed along with free software, or if you might have clicked on an unknown web link in an e-mail. To take care of these malicious programs, also keep SpyBot - Search & Destroy on the flash drive. Just make sure you have the updated versions of ClamWin and SpyBot on your USB stick at all times.

CCleaner
If your PC seems sluggish while performing basic tasks like opening a document, or during web browsing sessions, it's probably because of the temporary files created by the software you use. To purge your system of this junk, try CCleaner. Extract the contents of CCleaner's '.zip' file to a folder of the same name on your pen drive. Now, launch the software by double-clicking the '.exe' file and start spring cleaning your machine.

Recuva
Recuva comes with a simple, wizard-driven interface that makes it easy to retrieve files that you might have permanently deleted from your PC. A 'deep scan' lists deleted files in a friendly searchable format, along with the option to preview them if they are images. That said, there is no guarantee that you will always be able to retrieve deleted data. Also, if the files you're trying to recover are extremely critical, it is best to handover this job to professional companies that do this for a fee.

Revo Uninstaller
Uninstalled software sometimes leave residue in the form of files and Registry entries. These are not easy to find and end up hogging precious space. Revo Uninstaller saves you the trouble of manually clearing these files by thoroughly uninstalling a program. It can also be used to remove those stubborn toolbars that refuse to go away. An alternative to Revo Uninstaller is PC Decrapifier - a portable tool that does just as its name suggests.

AutoRuns for Windows
If your PC takes time to boot to the desktop, then it is probably because of the number of programs that are configured to launch during the Windows start-up process. With AutoRuns, you can cut down on these programs. It analyses your machine and shows you the services and programs that are scheduled to run during the boot process. Carefully deselect the ones that are not required at launch and you will improve start-up times. You can also use WinPatrolToGo to the same effect.

How to prep your USB flash drive
*To create your PC First Aid Kit you will need a pen drive with at least 2GB capacity. If possible, invest in one that supports USB 3.0 - this will guarantee faster read-write speeds on newer PCs that support the standard.

*Format your drive: Double-click My Computer and right-click the external drive icon that appears under Devices with Removable Storage.

*Click on Format and select FAT32 from the drop-down list as the file system of choice.

*Check the Quick Format box and click Start to initiate the process.

*Your USB flash drive is now ready to be filled with portable apps. It is recommended that you regularly replace the software on the flash drive with latest revisions. For example, an up-to-date antivirus will be more capable of detecting new threats.
Credits:-www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Telcos training executives to deal with abusive calls & e-mails

Almost every other morning Amit Prasad starts his work day at the receiving end of a volley of abuse. "Why have you activated hello tunes without my consent," an irate caller takes off.

"You cheat, return my money, connect me to your senior you ****." It's mostly at that point — when the swear words begin — that the 22-year-old call centre executive who works for a telecom company in Gurgaon hangs up. Prasad is no stranger to the customer care business. He's worked in two similar roles in 2012. The reason for quitting both is that he couldn't cope with abusive calls.

"This is my third job in less than a year," says Prasad. And it's the worst of the three — the latest obnoxious call is the seventh in a span of a couple of hours. "I can't quit. I have to take it," he adds, requesting not to be clicked for this story by ET Magazine.

Abusive customers ostensibly dissatisfied with service or furious because their complaints are not being attended to are not alien in the telecom service providing sector.

However, industry officials point out there has been a dramatic increase in the number of such calls over the past nine months or so. "Yes, there has been a jump in abusive calls by customers," says Amanjit Kaur, head, CRM shared services, MTS India. MTS is the brand of Sistema Shyam Teleservices.

Indians were among most abusive customers in the world in 2012. While 12% resorted to profanities on the phone, 64% lost their temper with customer service.

A majority of their grievances relate to issues on value-added services (VAS), points out Kaur. At times, customers indulge in profanity in regional languages, she adds. MTS has 10 million subscribers across the nine circles that it operates in, most of whom are prepaid customers. In addition, it has 1.5 lakh high-end data subscribers. While the 10 million voice customers generate 65% of the company's revenue, the 1.5 lakh data customers bring in the rest. Vodafone India, the country's second-largest mobile operator, too has seen an increase in such calls.

"We have seen a trend of an increase in abusive behaviour on the part of customers calling in to the call centres," says a Vodafone spokesperson in an emailed response, adding that "abusivecallers are a negligible part of our calls as we get millions of calls every day." Airtel declined to participate in the story. Another top mobile service provider is also facing flak from aggressive callers. "They [consumers] want a quick-fix solution to all their problems," the spokesperson says, requesting anonymity. "And abusing they think is the solution." The anger is not just confined to phone calls. It trickles down to abusive mails, nasty Facebook posts and vulgar tweets.

Why customers are angry
From allegations of cheating by activating VAS without consent to poor quality of service, including frequent call drops and bad coverage, to inflated bills, the grievances of consumers are far too many. Take the case of Manish Kandwal. The 27-year-old marketing manager's horror story started when he first requested for deactivation of 3G services. "In spite of repeated requests, they [telco] kept on sending me bills, which included 3G charges, for three months," says Kandwal, who works at Shree Balaji Alumnicast in Gurgaon.

"It's only after non-resolution of my problem that I got infuriated," he adds. Kandwal's anger may be justified. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recently directed operators to take double confirmation from consumers before activating VAS and deactivate requests in four hours. "Activation of VAS by service providers has been the cause of many customer complaints and is a major concern for Trai as well," the regulator said in a press release in July.

Trai has been addressing, from time to time, consumer complaints relating to activation of VAS without the explicit consent of the consumer, the release added. Early this year, an audit by Trai through independent agencies found that over two crore subscribers had complained in the past 15 months that VAS had been activated without their consent.

Across India, over 100.20 million subscribers had opted for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) till August 31, 2013 — a figure that clearly shows a high level of dissatisfaction among consumers. "MNP in India has been driven by demand, almost exclusively, from postpaid subscribers," says Jagan Ramaswami, director (consulting), strategy and technical insights, Frost & Sullivan. This is usually the urban, upwardly mobile subscriber base which values factors such as connectivity, billing clarity and customer service, he adds. "The number of MNP requests is an indicator of a sense of dissatisfaction of a demanding customer."

Irritation levels soar as calls drop
However, VAS is not the only issue. Frequent call drops too bug consumers. The reasons for call drops can range from inadequate coverage and quality of signal to network congestion and network failures. But there are customers who feel this is a deliberate attempt by telcos to jack up call numbers. Dilip Hirani, a 28-year-old who works as assistant manager (imports) at a freight shipping company, is one such disgruntled customer.

"Can't they find other ways of making money," he fumes, adding he is hardly able to complete his conversation without the call dropping. Trai has benchmarked the call drop rate at 2%, which most service providers had been meeting till December 2012. Service providers insist that they are meeting the benchmark.

"Idea is well within the defined limits of Trai's quality of standards across all parameters," says an Idea spokesperson. But call drops is not the only irritant that gets Hirani's goat. He also doesn't like being put on hold for ever when he calls in. "Now that is so bugging. Why can't they resolve the problem quickly," he asks, adding he has had countless abusive call sessions with customer care executives on this count.

While consumers think they have valid reasons to be disgusted with the service of telecom providers, the telcos put the blame squarely on the consumers. "These [instances of discontent] could be a customer's perception of wrong activation or charging," says the Vodafone spokesperson. Consumers also get angry in other scenarios such as network and payment-related issues, the spokesperson adds.

It's the slowdown, too
Experts on human behaviour point out that the fuse of customers may have got even shorter at a time when the economy is not exactly galloping. Factors like high inflation and interest rates, increasing job pressures and uncertainty and salary hikes that are not keeping pace with rising prices are eating into the share of the consumer's wallet reserved for such spending. And disputes on this front can inevitably result in blowouts.

"Our society is becoming unhappy and dissatisfied," says Dr Ekta Soni, a clinical psychologist at Apollo Hospitals. While salary hikes are not happening, expenses have skyrocketed. "Every penny pinches, especially when you feel that you have not got full value for your money. It gets manifested in displacement reaction, where you try to vent out you anger on somebody else, especially somebody who can't retaliate," she adds.

"This is an era of immediate gratification and nobody has time or patience to wait." The abusive Indian customer is a realilty. Indians were among the most abusive customers in the world, revealed a Global Customer Service Barometer report by American Express last year. While 12% resorted to profanities on the phone, 64% lost their temper with customer service, compared to the global average of 48%, the report said. "Since you can't scream at your boss or shout at your wife, you find an easy target in customer care executives," says Soni.

"Who likes to be a punching bag," shrugs Yakshi Arora Dang, a customer care executive with Tech Mahindra in Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi. "Callers should understand that they are talking to humans and not machines," says the 20-yearold who has been working on the Vodafone account. "There are no quick fixes. We need time to sort out issues," she adds. Consumers may have perpetuated a crisis, but telecom companies are helping by training their staff on how to handle abusive callers.

Handling abuse
MTS has devised a special module on dealing with abusive customers. It lays emphasis on empathising with the consumers rather than sympathising. "We invest a lot of time, money and effort in training our service teams in soft skills," says MTS' Kaur. But if the empathy isn't enough, the executives are empowered to disconnect the call by using appropriate call closing verbiage, she adds. For Vodafone, which has over 155 million subscribers, there is a standardised procedure to handle abusive customers.

"All call centre executives have been skilled extensively on customer-handling; the skills include listening, empathy, telephone etiquette and objection handling," says the spokesperson. This skilling, he adds, has a special focus on irate customer handling. Idea Cellular too has increased its focus on training and is investing intensively in it. "Idea's strong focus on customer service has resulted in the company being the top gainer of MNP," says the company spokesperson. The telecom operator had the highest net gain of 7.62 million customers — 6% of its total subscriber base — as on August 31.

However, training alone is not going to help the executives. One has to develop the art of listening, feel experts. Mona Agarwal, assistant manager (training) at Tech Mahindra, says a good listener can often pacify an irate caller. "Don't lose patience, that's the most important thing," says the 39-year-old, who heads a team of nine trainers and has been training the Vodafone caller team. "You need to understand what the customer is going through. And then listen him/her out," adds Agarwal. Does she have a piece of advice for consumers? "Please understand that customer care executives too are human beings like you." But then the consumer is king, too, right?
Credits:-www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Latest Updates about Mobile and Computer

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Saturday, 28 December 2013

Nokia 106 feature phone launched at Rs 1,399

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