4G In India By 2012?

There are many arguments floating on the web about India being the technology dump-yard for the western countries. The technologies that are outdated are often launched as new in Indian and sub-continents. Whether this is true or not for all technological advancements, but in mobile communications it is definitely true. However, it looks like 4G (Fourth Generation Mobile Services) will arrive sooner than expected in India. The prime reason for quicker launch of 4G is said to be its economical nature which is very important in highly price-sensitive markets like India.

We earlier mentioned that Reliance group led by Mukesh Ambani may make a foray into mobile communications market in India and will be the first one to launch full fledged 4G service in India. Industry insiders have mentioned that existing services can be upgraded to 4G using currently available infrastructure and it will offer cost benefits to the subscribers. The 4G testing might be rolled out later this year or early next year as the technology has already arrived in India.

We, however, have our own doubts about the 4G launch in India. The 3G is still not properly launched and it has its own issues with connectivity, speeds and uninformed customer care representatives. The broadband penetration is very south of what it would have been.

However, there is no harm in being optimistic about 4G services launch. Sooner or later, 4G will come to India. We only hope it should arrive before world starts thinking about 5G. Your take on this, please?

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Reliance 4G Tablet For Rs. 5000! RIL & DataWind To Bring World’s Cheapest 4G Aakash Tablet In India

Alright! It looks like Indians are rolling up their sleeves to beat China in producing the cheapest tablets ever! The latest news on B-S says that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and DataWind – the company behind Aakash – World’s Current Cheapest Tablet (Just Rs. 3k, baby!) are teaming up to bring world’s cheapest 4G tablet to Indians. The estimated price of this new 4G tablet would be between Rs. 4000 – Rs. 5000 (~$100). If the companies are successful in launching the tablet at ‘that’ price, it would be a quarter of the price of tablets being offered by global electronics giants. We’ve a solid reason to believe that Indians would see 4G in India because Reliance is alreadygetting ready to launch 4G services in India by 2012 by the second quarter.

Reliance & DataWind Rolling Up 4G Sleeves. Tablet Coming Soon!

Canadian DataWind was instrumental in development of the Aakash Tablet which got world’s attention for being the world’s cheapest tablet. The company develops wireless web access products. Mr. Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of DataWind confirmed to the B-S that they are in primary talks with RIL to develop a 4G tablet at a very economical price. He further said that it is possible to fit TD-LTE chipset in the tablet while keeping the costs low. Reliance Industries have denied any comments on this development. There are several speculations on the Internet that Reliance is already prepared to disturb the markets by trying to become the first network operator in India to roll out 4G services and very cheap wireless access devices to connect to 4G networks. Tuli further informed that they’re working with a manufacturing partner located in Hyderabad to develop the devices.

This story is both important and interesting as hell! First of all; if Reliance is successful in launching cheap 4G services in India – it IS definitely disturbing the markets. However it’s important for the company to make sure that they implement the technology correctly. 3G is yet to be fully functional (call drops, poor signal, poor range, hugely varying connection speeds and frequent disconnections, <add to the list) and 4G takes a step ahead. At the same time, having a partner like DataWind that promises tad cheap 4G tablets is actually a very big boost for RIL. We’ve noticed that there’s a huge interest among buyers for the Aakash tablet, despite its quality. With 4G in place – we are sure these tablets will sell like a hot cake.

We’re keeping an eye on this developing story. We know you are excited. Tell us your opinion through comments below.

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Vodafone VStore – The Mobile Application Store Introduced In India

Vodafone India as of late has introduced  its new Vodafone Mobile Application Store, named VStore. Powered mobile app provider Appia (earlier known as the PocketGear), this store extends thousands of free and premium applications to its customers. This runs on applications all over 2G and 3G. It also boasts of games specially modified for Android, Java, Symbian and BlackBerry devices, assuring a one-stop shopping experience for the operator’s 145 million subscribers.

Apart from the local content provided by the likes of Hungama, India Games, Nazara and Spice, the store even has Vodafone-branded apps like Portfolio Tracker, Vodafone TV and Chhota Comics to offer. Even accessing this store is easy. This VStore can be activated only with a GPRS enabled device. All the customer has got to do is text <VStore> or <Apps> to 111 from their GPRS enable handsets and click the url that they receive in reply. Or the customer may even log in the Vodafone Live homepage.

With so many applications running on their mobiles, the customers can go through the desired information quickly and easily. They may even entertain themselves when and where required with just a click on their phones. If the VStore promises to be a great mobile app store, well, we may just be looking at the next best thing set to hook us all up with our handsets.

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India’s Google4Doodle Contest Won By 7 Year Old From Noida

The Google4Doodle contest received a tremendous response, and a 7-year old Varsha Gupta from Noida has emerged the winner. This competition attracted more that 1,55,000 entries from all over the nation, which were then screened out to 44 semi-finalists, and then the winner was named.

The award-winning doodle!

“India’s gift to the world”- this was the theme of this year’s contest, and Varsha’s entry was titled “Indian Musical Instruments”, and the doodle will be displayed on the Google home-page on the eve of Childrens’ Day, i.e., 14th of November. Varsha won herself a certificate, and also a technology starter kit that boasts of a laptop, one-year internet connection plus a Rs. 2lakh technology grant for the school she studies in. You can see all the finalists’ doodles here: www.google.co.in/doodle4google.

This is what little Varsha had to say about her award-winning doodle–

“India is a land of different cultures. In India, music plays a very important role. India has given many musical instruments to the world. Goddess Saraswati plays Veena, God Shiv plays Damaru. According to our mythological stories musical instruments used to be played on all the occasions. Even during war musical instruments were played. Lord Krishna’s flute is known in the whole world for its magical music. In modern days Mr. Zakir Hussain is world famous as Tabla Maestro and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma is known as a great Santoor player all over the world”.

Apart from the national winner, three group winners were also awarded. They were selected via online voting scheme, where Indians voted for the doodles they considered worthy. The finalists in this category are :

Group I - Shibajyoti Choudhury from Jamshedpur was awarded the group prize for his doodle called “Developing excellent India and World”

Group II - Abhinav R. from Coimbatore was awarded the group prize for his doodle called “India’s contribution to the world – Tradition”

Group III - Nishi Bordia from Indore was awarded the group prize for her doodle called “India’s gift to the world – India itself”.

All these group winners were given a Technology-starter kit. We wish many more such contests keep happening in India which would tap the creativity of such little minds and keep the spirit of healthy, creative competition going. We congratulate all the winners of the contest and also wish luck to each and every participant taking part in this contest. Keep up the good work guys!

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