Thesynergyonline Economic Bureau

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 03 :
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday released a pre-consultation paper on "Allocation of Spectrum in 2G band in 22 Service Areas by auction" for comments of the stakeholders by February 15 , 2012.

The Supreme Court of India in its Judgment on February 2, 2012 in the writ petitions no 423/2010 and 10/2010, has directed TRAI to make fresh recommendations for grant of licence and allocation of spectrum in 2G band in 22 Service Areas by auction, as was done for allocation of spectrum in 3G band.

On the issue of grant of licences, TRAI in its recommendation on "Spectrum Management and Licensing Framework" dated 11th May 2010 had already recommended that all future licences should be unified licences and that spectrum be delinked from the licence.

On the issue of "Allocation of spectrum in 2G band in 22 service areas by auction", stakeholders have been invited to send their comments/suggestions on the issues involved.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 06 : FUJIFILM India , the wholly- owned subsidiary of Fujifilm Holding Corporation, Japan, unveils the new FinePix S2950. This camera has powerful zoom and outstanding quality in High Definition (HD). The compact body digital camera-FinePix S2950 has been aesthetically made keeping the young generation in mind.

The Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) automatically switches display from the LCD to the highly responsive electronic viewfinder as you put your eyes on EVF.

Dual Image stabilization is the combination of high sensitivity and CCD shift image stabilization that works to eliminate blurred photos by freezing action and minimizing blurs at maximum zoom range.

S2950 is equipped with SR AUTO, an auto 6 scene-recognition function with fully loaded detection functions that detect faces, blinks and smiles that help you to take pictures with perfection.

FinePix S2950 has 14 megapixel resolution that won’t miss the finest details of your subject. Images are captured sharp, clear and in vivid colors, even when printed at large sizes.

It is a sensitive camera with maximum sensitivity of ISO6400 resulting in photos appear natural and more true to life even with limited available light.

Mr K Tanaka, MD, Fujifilm India, said, “Fujifilm camera is technically sound that features latest Japanese technology. This camera is a special treat for photography enthusiasts.”

According to Mr. A. Rajkumar, Country General Manager (DSC), Fujifilm India, “FinePix S2950 is the latest camera launched by Fujifilm. The camera has latest technology of today’s time and fits perfectly for Indian market.”

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 27: HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile devices, has  unveiled the new HTC Sensation XE in India. The first in the new line of HTC’s smartphones to feature Beats Audio technology that delivers studio quality audio, taking HTC’s flagship handset to a new level of high fidelity audio.

The HTC Sensation XE offers consumers the ultimate multimedia experience, setting a new standard for audio quality in the mobile market. I

n addition, the HTC Sensation XE boosts performance and battery life even further with the addition of a blazing fast1.5GHz dual core processor and an extended battery that enables you to listen, watch, speak and browse for even longer.

“Audio is a crucial part of any consumer’s mobile experience and we are constantly pushing the audio boundaries to achieve not only improved voice but music, movies and gaming experience,” said Faisal Siddiqui, Country Manager, HTC India. “The HTC Sensation XE offers a truly incredible experience that demonstrates our commitment to place consumers at the center of their mobile worlds.”

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

 NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 15 :
WORLDWIDE sales of mobile devices totaled 440.5 million units in the third quarter of 2011, up 5.6 percent from the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc. Non-smartphone devices performed well, driven by demand in emerging markets for low-cost devices from white-box manufacturers, and for dual-subscriber identity module (SIM) devices.

Analysts at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, being held here through November 23, today discussed the rapidly changing face of corporate mobility.

Sales into the channel reached 460 million units. Gartner analysts said this increase was because of inventory build-up in the channel partly because of the shipping of new devices late in the quarter but mostly to prepare the channel for the holiday season. Gartner expects most of the build-up to be sold by the first quarter of 2012.

"Our forecast for the end of the year remains broadly in line at a worldwide level as regions such as Asia/Pacific and the Middle East and Africa make up for weaker performance in the Western European market," said Annette Zimmermann, principal analyst at Gartner based in Munich.

Smartphone sales to end users reached 115 million units in the third quarter of 2011, up 42 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Sequentially, smartphone sales slowed to 7 percent growth from the second quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2011. Smartphone sales accounted for 26 percent of all mobile phone sales, growing only marginally from 25 percent in the previous quarter.

"Strong smartphone growth in China and Russia helped increase overall volumes in the quarter, but demand for smartphones stalled in advanced markets such as Western Europe and the U.S. as many users waited for new flagship devices featuring new versions of the key operating systems," said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Slowdowns also occurred in Latin America and the Middle East and Africa."

"Some consumers held off upgrading in the third quarter because they were waiting for promotions on other new high-end models that were launched in the run-up to the fourth quarter holiday season," Ms. Cozza said. "Other consumers were waiting for a rumored new iPhone and associated price cuts on older iPhone models; this affected U.S. sales particularly."

Despite a drop in market share, Nokia continued to be the worldwide leader in mobile device sales as it accounted for 23.9 percent of global sales (see Table 1). The second quarter of 2011 was the low point for Nokia, and the third quarter brought signs of improvement. Dual-SIM phones in particular, and feature phones generally, maintained Nokia's momentum in emerging markets. Heavy marketing from both Nokia and Microsoft to push the new Lumia devices should bring more improvement in the fourth quarter of 2011. However, a true turnaround won't take place until the second half of 2012.

Samsung became the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer worldwide as sales to end users tripled year over year to reach 24 million; sell in was high as the channel built inventory. Samsung was the No. 1 smartphone manufacturer for the first time, ahead of Nokia in Western Europe and Asia. Gartner attributes this to the strong performance of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones, which now cover a broad range of prices, and a weaker competitive market. Analysts expect more competition in the fourth quarter of 2011, not least because sales of the iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS will capture share from Android manufacturers.

Apple shipped 17 million iPhones, an annual increase of 21 percent, but down nearly 3 million units from the second quarter of 2011 because of Apple's new device announcement in October. Gartner believes Apple will bounce back in the fourth quarter because of its strongest ever preorders for the iPhone 4S in the first weekend after its announcement. Markets such as Brazil, Mexico, Russia and China are becoming more important to Apple, representing 16 percent of overall sales and showing that the iPhone has a place in emerging markets, especially now that the 3GS and 4 have received price cuts.

The Android OS accounted for 52.5 percent of smartphone sales to end users in the third quarter of 2011 (see Table 2), more than doubling its market share from the third quarter of 2010.

"Android benefited from more mass-market offerings, a weaker competitive environment and the lack of exciting new products on alternative operating systems such as Windows Phone 7 and RIM," Ms. Cozza said. "Apple's iOS market share suffered from delayed purchases as consumers waited for the new iPhone. Continued pressure is impacting RIM's performance, and its smartphone share reached its lowest point so far in the U.S. market, where it dropped to 10 percent."

CONSUMERISATION TO DRIVE 4 MOBILE MANAGEMENT STYLES

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 11 :
CONSUMERISATION is now the primary driver of the mobile universe, and CIOs must be ready to embrace a range of more-flexible approaches to their mobile strategy, according to Gartner, Inc. At least four new mobile management styles will emerge as leaders because different groups of staff will demand different approaches.

"The landscape of devices and user needs is changing, "said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. "CIOs are facing mass-mobility, and it is expected to grow rapidly."

Gartner predicts sales of smartphones to end users will reach 461.5 million in 2011 and rise to 645 million in 2012. In 2011, sales of smartphones will overtake shipments of PCs (364 million). Combined sales of smartphones and tablets will be 44 percent bigger than the PC market in 2011. More of these devices will find their way into enterprises as employees entering the organization will expect to be allowed to use them.

Consumerization, app stores and mobile ecosystems are causing a proliferation of new applications and services in the enterprise. Employees increasingly seek to take full advantage of better browsers and innovative applications from app stores. Gartner estimates that 18 billion apps will be downloaded in 2011, up 114.5 percent from 2010 and will rise to 31 billion in 2012.

This array of mobile devices and applications leads to changes in society. Employees are behaving more like consumers, demanding a wider choice of devices, exploiting consumer devices and applications from app stores, and adopting new strategies such as 'bring your own' (BYO) IT, where employees use personally-owned tablets and smartphones for work. As a result, the distinctions between a person's role as an employee and as a consumer are more blurred than ever.

"CIOs need to explore new ways to provide, fund, and manage mobile devices to allow employees more choice and support BYO programs," said Nick Jones, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.

Thesynergyonline Economic Bureau

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 21 :
MOBILE phones would be repositioned as an instrument of empowerment. This would combine communication with proof of identity, fully secure financial and other transaction capability and multi-lingual services, said Mr Kapil Sibal, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology at the Economic Editor's Conference here on Thursday.

He also said that demands for ICTE products and services would be leveraged to foster innovation and encourage R&D through academic institutions and industry.

He also emphasized that it is envisioned to transform India into a global hub for electronics system design and manufacturing (ESDM).

"ICTE has been contributing to the economic growth of the country by increasing efficiency, competitiveness and technological edge across sectors. ICTE is also the enabling force for inclusive growth and development by increasing economic opportunities across nations, regions and groups," he added.

The developments in the ICTE sector and allied sectors pose both challenges and opportunities, Mr Sibal pointed out .

Mobile phone has become more than a communication device. Today more than 850 million mobile subscribers are capable of using their phone for online banking, utility bill payments, pension payments, ticket booking etc. The possibilities here are enormous. It can be developed as a powerful tool of empowerment in near future, he added.

Services are becoming increasingly linked through mobile, internet and other digital modes of delivery. With Aadhar and NeGP applications, mobile will be used for e-authentication and availing a large number of government services without visiting government offices. This will not only improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery but will also help to reduce corruption in public life, he said.

In the IT industry, the advent of cloud technology has thrown up another wider range of possibilities for India. The Indian IT industry can come up with new products and services with cloud technologies, incorporating their own IPs and patents. The stage is set for a quantum jump now, he observed.

Key social ministries like education, health and rural development have ambitious digitization, content creation and e-service delivery programs, Mr Sibal added.

"India is ready for a leapfrog. It is the time to connect the dots and to give a proper direction to the ICTE sector. It is also time to look at some missing pieces. One missing link is electronics manufacturing.

By 2020, the demand, supply gap in this sector will be $300 billion. Underdeveloped Electronics Manufacturing sector may upset our plans of technology led India in the 21st century.

Only a holistic view can help is overcome enormous challenges and help emulate the successes of IT and Telecom in electronics. It is in this context that a combination of three interdependent and synergistic policies for Telecom, IT and electronics manufacturing have been formulated and released, he added.

The primary objective of NTP 2011 is maximizing public good by making available affordable, reliable and secure telecommunication and broadband services across the entire country. The main thrust of the policy is on the multiplier effect and transformational impact of such services in furthering the national development agenda while enhancing the equity and inclusiveness, he said.

"The key objectives of NTP 2011 is to achieve full mobile number portability, One nation-free roaming, 100 percent rural tele-density by 2020, 600 million broadband connections by 2020, on demand broadband of at-least 100 MBPS, One license across services and service areas, Right to Broadband and to reposition mobile phone as an instrument of empowerment , he added.

The National Policy on IT 2011 aims to strengthen and enhance India's position as the global IT hub and to use IT as an engine for rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth in the national economy. This policy aims to make India a knowledge and service society with a secured cyber space.

"The key objectives of National Policy on Information Technology is to achieve by the year 2020, revenue from IT industry of $300 million, to create a pool of 10 million additional skilled manpower, mandatory and affordable e-government services to common man, regulatory framework for secured cyber space.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 15 :
AS part of the inititative for tripling mobile manufacturing capacity in India Samsung Electronics is investing US$ 70 million in the Noida manufacturing facility.

Announcing the company's stepped up investments in the manfuactuing moible manfuactirng facility Mr J S Shin, president and CEO , Samsung South West Asia said ," India is one of the top 3 mobile markets for Samsung globally.This facility in Noida is Samsung's 6th manufacturing unit outside Korea and employs over 4000 people.

This facility in Noida is also capable of handling TVs , Refrigerators , ACs and Washing Machines in addition to mobile phones.

The company also has a manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur , Chennai where Nokia also has a pretty big factory.

"Given the strong potential of this market, we are working on consistently strengthening our presence in India through a very innovative mobile portfolio as well as enhanced manufacturing and R&D operations," he added.

The company spends 7 to 8 percentof its turnover on R & D operations.

The Samsung mobile manufacturing unit at Noida is company's sixth overseas manufacturing unit in the world. The company is manufacturing multimedia, dual sim and touchcreen models at the Noida facility.

The company has installed highly advanced and hi speed SMD machines at the mobile unit . Beyond the installation of new , advanced , high speed production lines for increasing the manufacturing capacity, the company has also recruited another 1500 employees at the mobile manufacturing unit.

With the manufacturing capacity increase at the Mobile Plant, the company's Noida manufacturing complex now provides employment to 4000 employees, Mr Shin added.

"I think it is a fitting tribute to the manufacturing prowess of our Indian employees that we are looking at making our Indian manufacturing centers as global manufacturing hubs for the region."stated Mr Shin.

The company is operating two R&D Centers at Noida and Bangalore to support its business operations in India.

The company's handset portfolio in India includes multimedia phones comprising of the Hero and Metro series, dual sim handsets , touchscreen mobiles and Smartphones including the 'bada' based Wave series and the Android based Galaxy series of handsets . Samsung also offers a portfolio of two tablets, the Galaxy tab (P1000) and the recently introduced GALAXY Tab 750 .

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI,AUGUST 15 :
WORLDWIDE sales of mobile devices to end users totaled 428.7 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a 16.5 percent increase from the second quarter of 2010, according to Gartner, Inc.

The channel built up stock at the end of the first quarter of 2011 in preparation of possible component shortages following the Japanese earthquake.

As a result, sell-in demand slowed in the second quarter of 2011 to 421.1 million units, a 4.4 percent decrease from the previous quarter.

Sales of smartphones were up 74 percent year-on-year and accounted for 25 percent of overall sales in the second quarter of 2011, up from 17 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

“Smartphone sales continued to rise at the expense of feature phones,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Consumers in mature markets are choosing entry-level and midrange Android smartphones over feature phones, partly due to carriers’ and manufacturers’ promotions." However, replacement sales in Western Europe showed signs of fatigue as smartphone sales declined quarter-on-quarter.

In smartphones, Nokia’s sales into the channel in the second quarter of 2011 were low. This was partly due to a very competitive market that deflated demand for Symbian, but also to inventory management issues in Europe and China in particular.

The channel bought less and worked hard to reduce stock levels, partly by cutting prices on older products. These factors reduced Nokia's average selling price for smartphones, compared to the first quarter of 2011.

“The sales efforts of the channel, combined with Nokia’s greater concentration in retail and distributors’ sales, saw Nokia destock more than 9 million units overall and 5 million smartphones, helping it hold on to its position as the leading smartphone manufacturer by volume,” said Ms. Cozza. “However, we will not see a repeat of this performance in the third quarter of 2011, as Nokia’s channel is pretty lean.”

Samsung achieved strong growth in sales of mobile devices. For example, the Galaxy S II sold well, and this model went on to chalk up 5 million sales by the end of July. A strong performance in the smartphone market helped Samsung increase its market share, to become the third-largest smartphone vendor. However, its overall share dropped year-on-year, and grew only marginally quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to Samsung’s weaker presence in more price-sensitive market segments.

Apple continued to exceed expectations, even though the iPhone 4 will soon be replaced by a new model. Part of its growth came from the 42 new carriers and 15 new countries that it entered in the second quarter of 2011, which brought its total coverage to 100 countries. This expansion caused its inventory to grow a little by the end of the second quarter of 2011, when sales to end users stood at 19.6 million units. In mainland China, Apple is the seventh-largest mobile phone vendor and the third-largest smartphone vendor.

Research In Motion’s (RIM’s) share of the smartphone market declined to 12 percent in the second quarter of 2011, from 19 percent a year ago. Also, the company lost its No. 5 position in the worldwide ranking of mobile device vendors to ZTE. Demand for RIM’s devices in the second quarter was impaired by an ageing portfolio and delays in shipping products. In the coming quarters RIM will have to deal with increased competition to its messaging offering and manage a platform migration from BlackBerry 7 to QNX.

Google and Apple are the obvious winners in the smartphone ecosystem. The combined share of iOS and Android in the smartphone operating system (OS) market doubled to nearly 62 percent in the second quarter of 2011, up from just over 31 percent in the corresponding period of 2010 (see Table 2). Gartner analysts observed that these two OSs have the usability that consumers enjoy, the apps that consumers feel they need, and increasingly a portfolio of services delivered by the platform owner as well.

“We expect manufacturers and distributors to remain cautious about raising their stock levels in the second half of 2011, following the recent uncertainty on the world financial markets,” said Annette Zimmermann, principal research analyst at Gartner. Gartner expects sales of mobile devices to grow around 12 percent in 2011.

Thesynergyonline  Communications Bureau

“AirTyme is committed to creating the best user experience through the innovative features we bring to the market,” said Mr. Gaurav Narang, Director of Operations, AirTyme Communications . “We are proud to unveil the TORRID and have priced it competitively to ensure that this feature-rich phone is accessible to larger audiences.”

The fashionable design and excellent quality of the phone combined with its easy-to-use screen icons and keyboard make it a fun device for keeping in touch with friends and family.
Loaded with many premium mobile device features, the TORRID comes with a stereo Bluetooth option for a music experience without wires. Other profiles for Bluetooth include A2DP and DUN which allows users to tether the phone as a modem for their computer without cables.

With its speaker quality, the phone can record 3GP video and play music and video in MP3, 3GP and MP4 formats. TORRID’s multimedia features also include a 1.3 megapixel camera, which allow users to capture life’s many moments in 1280 x 960 pixels.

 TORRID’s support for high speed 3G networks (where coverage is available)  ensures reliable and hassle-free internet surfing as pages load within seconds.This pocket friendly phone also offers social media options like Snaptu and, Nimbuzz. It also supports Google Maps.

Priced at Rs 4999 TORRID is available in three striking colors - Green, Orange and Grey - to complement each user’s individual style.  The company offer pan India After Sales Service  in over 400 centers.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau 

Priced at Rs 5999 (MRP) the AirTyme PV300 FLAUNT lets users seamlessly connect to wireless 3G networks that deliver information faster than ever. It includes an intuitive phone interface and Bluetooth connectivity.

Users can exchange instant messages through Yahoo, Gtalk, MSN and AOL, browse the Internet with the Opera Mini-Browser, and send multimedia messages. FLAUNT is available in two colour options - stunning purple and stylish black - and includes a plush velvet phone case.

FLAUNT has a large, high resolution screen and roomy QWERTY keypad for fast and accurate text entry. The most eye-catching design innovation is the 360° swiveling flip, which provides screen protection and ease-of-use while making a bold, hi-tech fashion statement.

A high quality 3.0 megapixel camera with flash lets users capture moments anywhere and everywhere. A 1GB micro SD card is included, expandable up to 32 GB, which gives users plenty of storage for their photos and other multimedia. The bright colour display adds to the stylish appeal of the phone, and the included media player with video playback adds to its lifestyle functions.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

According to the regional preferences, the content has been customized into four different movie packs – North, South, East and West. Each pack is a combination of movies from different languages in the region. For example, the North pack includes Hindi, Punjabi and Bhojpuri movies (blockbuster hits like Singh is King, Rock On, Pardes, Taal, Wakeup Sid, Bhool Bhulaiya etc.)

G’FIVE G20, the new gaming wonder from the brand, comes preloaded with 1000 video games from the most popular family of 16-bit games like Mario, Contra, Tetris, Goonies, Battle City etc.

To further enhance customer’s gaming experience, the handset comes bundled with a gaming console which is akin to the remote control of other gaming devices.

Mr Arshit Pathak, Managing Director, Kingtech Electronics India , a group Company of G’FIVE International, said, “Industry innovations are largely restricted to high end or smart phone category and not much has been done for the mass category which is over 60 percent of the market. We, as a mass market brand are committed enhance consumer experience in this category. G’Five has consistently offered innovative compelling products at most competitive price. In the last 6 months we have launched several innovative models like the projector phone.” 

The G’FIVE Movie King E680 is a dual-SIM dual standby handset which comes with a 5.5 cm (2.2”) QVGA display and multimedia features like dual camera, built-in Yamaha amplifier for surround-sound effect, FM radio player, music player, video player, a 3.5 mm universal audio jack besides short range wireless connectivity.

The G’FIVE Movie King E620 has all of this coupled with analog TV feature as well. While the G’FIVE Movie King E650 is a stylish flip phone with touch screen, and a bigger 6 cm (2.4”) QVGA display.

The G’FIVE G20 gaming phone is also a dual-SIM dual standby phone loaded with multiple features. It has a gaming simulator with 1000 games, 6 cm (2.4”) QVGA display, dual memory card slot, analog TV, built-in Yamaha amplifier, universal 3.5 mm audio jack, music player and audio player besides short range wireless connectivity.

“ Our business philosophy is to make technology affordable to the common people. We not only are offering compelling products at a most competitive price but we have also set up widest after sales service network in the country. We have over 500 fully operational after sales service centers across the country and we do offer a warranty of 500 days against the industry standard of 365 days,” adds Mr. Pathak.

Some other innovations introduced by the brand for the very first time in the market include marathon battery for really long talk time and standby time (up to 2200 mAh), steel body, super-slim design etc. Select models from the brand are loaded with top-of-the-line features like IPTV, push mail, triple SIM (GSM + GSM + CDMA), dual LED torch, expandable memory up to 16 GB, voice changer, motion sensor / song changer, flip form factor with QWERTY keypad, navigation wheel, butterfly lights etc.

The G’FIVE Movie King models have been priced as : E680 –Rs.2600 , E620- Rs.2700 , E650- Rs.3000 and Gaming Phone : G20- Rs.2900

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

GURGAON/NOIDA/BANGALORE, JULY 20 : SAPIENTNITRO , part of Sapient® has signed an agreement to purchase mobile agency CLANMO, based in Germany.

The acquisition strengthens SapientNitro's existing capabilities to provide clients with outstanding end-to-end mobile expertise and further enhances its unique offering for multi-channel marketing and multi-channel commerce in the European and, particularly, the German market.  Together, they will help SapientNitro's global clients gain competitive advantage amidst the communication and transaction disruption caused by mobile, and to mobilize their businesses by redefining how they engage with customers.

"We've seen great demand for immersive mobile-based experiences in Europe," said Dr. Christian Oversohl, managing director, SapientNitro Europe.  "Mobile is quickly becoming the communication and shopping vehicle of choice for consumers; along with advances in smart phones, tablet computing and touch-screen vending, it is bridging the gap between marketing and sales."

Continued Oversohl: "With the addition of CLANMO, we strengthen our mobile bench in Europe which, alongside our deep capabilities the U.S., will accelerate our ability to help clients meet the changing customer behaviors and expectations triggered by mobile.  CLANMO is renowned for the high quality and breadth and depth of its mobile services, and we're excited to have them aboard."

CLANMO is a full-service mobile agency that focuses on strategy, communications, design, and technological implementation.  Its solutions range from mobile marketing and mobile brand experience, to m-commerce and mobile social media. In the dynamic mobile market segment, CLANMO is a leading mobile agency in Germany, with 50 employees located in Cologne. Through work with clients such as Audi and Lufthansa, CLANMO has a demonstrated ability to partner with clients on both mobile marketing and mobile transaction solutions.

SapientNitro purchased CLANMO from MindMatics AG, which previously operated three divisions: mobile payment (mopay), mobile content (melonmobile), and CLANMO, an end-to-end mobile marketing services agency.  As MindMatics decided to strategically focus on mobile payment solutions, it has sold 100% of its equity stake in CLANMO to SapientNitro, effective July 1, 2011.

"With SapientNitro, we're thrilled to have found a one-of-a-kind partner that's committed to redefining the marketing and technology space, and allows us to strategically broaden our services in the areas of mobile marketing, mobile brand experience, and mCommerce," said Joachim Bader, managing director, CLANMO GmbH. "Aside from the strategic fit, we share a strong cultural identity that surely will facilitate the integration," added Felix Heimbrecht, managing director at CLANMO.

CLANMO will retain its current management team and offices. 

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

Zen M-72 will stir the feature phone segment of mobile terrain in India. Seated in the affordable category, M-72 has managed to blow us all away by its slick outer display in bright red & soothing white colour which makes it eye-catchy. The MP3/MP4 and Bluetooth brings in the entertainment value-all at the most affordable price which no other mobile company in the market provides.

Zen M72 is fully loaded phone with all the latest multimedia features you search for in a handset. Its 1.3 MP camera, video capture and Bluetooth sharing makes M72 most demanding, considering its affordable price range. The phone is also packed with the best quality FM Radio & MP3 player which provides a complete new listening experience through its stereophonic headsets and loudspeakers.

According to Mr. Deepesh Gupta, MD Zen Mobile "The aim is to meet the ever changing needs of our Indian consumers and make mobile communication available to the widest possible audience at most affordable price." Zen M72 delivers just that by offering affordable solutions of communication- for talking, texting, Capturing favorite moments and listening to your favourite tracks, he added.

This dual SIM handset is powered by 1800mAh battery which ensures a long 40 days battery standby time. The 2.4 inches big screen is the only phone in the market with such a large screen at an affordable price. Zen M72 is also equipped with DUAL LED TORCH on the top & with 3.5mm Jack.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, JUNE 26 :
POLYCOM , Inc. , a global leader in unified communications (UC), has been named the recipient of 2011 Microsoft Unified Communications Innovation Partner of the Year Award, for the company's leadership in delivering innovations that provide powerful, enterprise-grade UC and visual collaboration solutions for customers.

The company has received the award for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. It will be officially honoured at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) 2011 next month.

"Polycom is honoured to receive this award as it demonstrates the momentum of our strong relationship with Microsoft as well as the deep collaboration between our two companies to deliver comprehensive and innovative UC solutions that drive compelling business value for customers," said Andrew Miller, Polycom president and CEO. "Polycom and Microsoft share a passion for delivering easy-to-use UC collaboration solutions that improve business processes, productivity, and efficiency in the workplace. Together with our partners, Polycom is focused on delivering on our vision for UC Everywhere™."

Awards were presented in multiple categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 3,000 entrants worldwide. Polycom was recognised for providing outstanding solutions and services in Microsoft Unified Communications Innovation Partner of the Year.

The Unified Communications Innovation Partner of the Year Award honours partners who are building on the extensible Microsoft Unified Communications platform offered by Lync/OCS and Microsoft Exchange, and are delivering innovative solutions that integrate communications within business applications and processes (CEBP).

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, JUNE 24 :
MAHANAGAR  Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) has tied up with atom technologies, a leading provider of m-Commerce solutions, for enabling its customers to make bill payments through mobile or landline phones.

MTNL provides telecom services to over 17 lakh customers across Mumbai. This service offers the convenience to a vast number of customers to make their bill payments instantly through phones using their credit cards.

The benefit of this facility is that payments are instantaneous and can be made anytime and anywhere –from home, office or while traveling –through any of the MTNL phones. The atom platform provides a secure and automated environment to end customers with complete assurance of protection of their credit card details.

The m-Commerce solutions provider with over 80 percent market share for its IVR solution has  processed more than Rs 2,000 crore worth of transactions on its platform. Its clientele comprise of 400+ best associates throughout the industry and include corporates, government utilities, travel and tourism firms, insurance companies etc.

 Mr. Dewang Neralla, Director,atom technologies, said, “The partnership with MTNL as atom’s platform will enable millions of people to enjoy the convenience of paying their bills in a user-friendly and protected manner. By implementing atom’s mobile payment solutions, MTNL will be able to offer better and hassle free option of bill payment to its customers.”

According to Mr Peeyush Agrawal, Executive Director, MTNL, "atom’s IVR technology will help our customers to have the flexibility of paying their bills at their convenience. We also hope to improve our collections and reduce the default or missed deadlines for bill payments, as customers can now make payments even on the move or from other locations without having to stand in long queues.”

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, JUNE 24 :
FOR  easy filing of returns TaxSpanner.com, on Friday launched its mobile version. This new facility offers taxpayers the freedom to file income tax returns (ITR) through their mobile phones from the first week of July, 2011.

Known for providing secure and easy-to-use solutions for efiling tax returns for individuals and businesses, TaxSpanner has made the process simpler by introducing its website optimized for the mobile medium. Its application to file income tax returns, “eFile by eMail”, will be offered on mobile now.

Also available on the website and on its Facebook page, this application is the simplest and fastest way to eFile returns. With accessibility on mobile, its simplicity can now be used on the move.

When a user visits the TaxSpanner site on a mobile device, s/he will land on the “eFile by eMail” application page of the mobile site. There is no need to register. One just needs to fill up a form with some personal details and upload Form 16 on the same page. Thereafter, the ITR will be filled and generated automatically. Users will have an option to visit the regular website by clicking on a link.

Ankur Sharma, CEO, TaxSpanner said, “At TaxSpanner, our constant endeavor is to develop innovative, user-friendly easy-to-use, and reliable tax filing solutions for individuals and businesses. After introducing the eFile by eMail option, where customers need to just send us an email with a few details, efiling of taxes through mobile is the next obvious step for the company. Our new mobile site will make it easy for the taxpayer to file his ITR using the mobile phone.”

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

SINGAPORE , JUNE 21 :
NOKIA  Chief Executive Stephen Elop unveiled a new smartphone on Tuesday that uses software the firm plans to ditch, a move analysts said would probably condemn the device to obscurity.

Once the undisputed leader in hand phones, Nokia has rapidly lost ground in the smartphone market to Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices, and at the low end of the market to Asian rivals such as China's ZTE and India's Micromax.

At a telecoms conference in Singapore, Elop reiterated that Nokia would launch its first smartphone using Microsoft's Windows platform later this year, even as he unveiled the new all-screen N9 smartphone, which uses a platform called MeeGo.

The model -- Nokia's first and last to use MeeGo -- can be navigated by a single finger swipe and comes in black, cyan and magenta colors in a polycarbonate design.

"It seems pointless to launch a phone like the N9 on a platform that has been cut by management," RBS analyst Didier Scemama in London said in a research note.

Elop said the N9 was part of Nokia's drive to introduce "an exciting experience around the user interface, the industrial design and the developer platform".

"Our primary smartphone strategy is to focus on the Windows phone," said Elop, who moved to Nokia from Microsoft last year.

"I have increased confidence that we will launch our first device based on the Windows platform later this year and we will ship our product in volume in 2012."

"The N9 comes too close to the expected launch of Nokia's Windows Phone device to have any impact on its current smartphone woes," said Ben Wood, head of research at London-based mobile consultancy CCS Insight.

"The strength of rival ecosystems leaves little room for MeeGo powered devices. It's difficult to see the N9 being anything more than a niche device ... the N9 will be a tough sell."

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, JUNE 21 :
WORLDWIDE semiconductor revenue is projected to total $315 billion in 2011, a 5.1 percent increase from 2010 revenue of $299 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. This is down from Gartner's previous projection in the first quarter for 6.2 percent growth this year.

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan raised concerns about the supply of silicon wafers, batteries, crystal oscillators, packaging and other specialized materials. However, supply constraints due to the situation in Japan have not derailed the electronics industry.

"The disaster in Japan clearly had an impact on the semiconductor market, and supply chain behavior, but it is less than initially feared," said Peter Middleton, principal research analyst at Gartner. "In response, in the last two weeks of March, vendors stepped up efforts to secure supply in the face of uncertainty and potential shortfalls — leading to some double ordering which continued into the second quarter. We think vendors were cautious with their second quarter guidance, and we expect the majority will exceed those estimates."

"Although the impact is less than feared, we are anticipating some residual effects in the third quarter of 2011 as friction in the supply chain may impact some production and some surprises may occur," Mr. Middleton said. "However, once third-quarter trends are established and supply chain participants are satisfied that all issues are understood and production is normalized, we expect an effort to draw down inventory, which will weaken the semiconductor market in late 2011 and early 2012."

Gartner forecasts worldwide application-specific standard product (ASSP) revenue to reach $79.7 billion in 2011 and grow to $99.4 billion by the end of 2015. With Apple's application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) investment and a commanding grip on popular mobile devices, the ASIC market will experience solid growth through 2015. The highest overall growth through 2015 is coming from nonoptical sensors, which are primarily driven by automotive applications, but high growth is coming from increased sensor use in applications outside automotive, especially smartphones, tablets and video game hardware.

Analysts said they are seeing rapid semiconductor growth in the smartphone and media tablet categories. Through 2013, two-thirds of semiconductor industry revenue growth will come from smartphones and tablets.

"One critical trend is the introduction of new generations of high-performance mobile application processors, which form the heart of both smartphones and media tablets," said Jon Erensen, research director at Gartner. "These high-end processors, combined with higher amounts of DRAM and NAND flash memory, will enable the performance and storage required for advanced new applications, including context-aware computing, augmented reality and computational photography."

"The similarity in architecture between smartphones and media tablets enables handset and tablet OEMs to centralize design around the application processor, which hosts the operating system of choice, and allows the vendor to leverage that design across multiple product categories," Mr. Erensen said.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, JUNE 17 :
WORLDWIDE mobile advertising revenue is forecast to reach $3.3 billion in 2011, more than double the $1.6 billion generated in 2010, according to Gartner, Inc. Worldwide revenue will reach $20.6 billion by 2015, but not all types of mobile advertising will generate the same opportunity. Search and maps will deliver the highest revenue, while video/audio ads will see the fastest growth through 2015.

"Mobile advertising is now recognized as an opportunity for brands, advertisers and publishers to engage consumers in a targeted and contextual manner, improving returns," said Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner. "For that reason, mobile advertising budgets are set to increase tremendously across the various categories and regions, growing from 0.5 percent of the total advertising budget in 2010 to over 4 percent in 2015."

"As the adoption of smartphones and media tablets extends to more consumers, the audience for mobile advertising will increase and become easier to segment and target, driving the growth of mobile advertising spend for brands and advertisers," said Andrew Frank, research vice president at Gartner. "Brand marketers who want to include mobile in their advertising initiatives should not delay their trials, and should have their budgets in place now to take advantage of mass consumer adoption of smartphones and media tablets."

North America and Western Europe are the regions where mobile advertising budgets will grow most, representing 28 percent and 25 percent of the global market by 2015 (see Table 1). However, Asia/Pacific and Japan will remain the leading market throughout the forecast period. Asia/Pacific and Japan is forecast to account for 49.2 percent of mobile advertising in 2011, and 33.6 percent of the global market in 2015..

"Mobile search, which includes paid positioning on maps and various forms of augmented reality, all of which can be informed by location, will spearhead mobile ad spending," Ms. Baghdassarian said. "Mobile display, which includes both standard Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) banner formats and nonstandard rich media and interactive formats, will continue to be closely divided between in-app and mobile Web (in-browser) placements, reflecting consumer usage."

For several years, mobile advertising has been scrutinized, and it is expected to take off, thanks to various players in the market, from communication service providers (CSPs) to ad networks.

"In 2011, we are finally seeing some important drivers fall into place, so that we can expect the market to more than double year-over-year in the coming two years," said Mr. Frank. "This doesn't mean, by any stretch, that the experience delivered by mobile advertising will reach its optimum point in that time frame. We expect that targeting and contextualization, especially in social sites and applications, will carry on improving throughout the forecast period and beyond."

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

TORONTO , JUNE 16 :
QUARTERLY of Research in Motion ( RIM) declined and revenue missed its own limp forecast, forcing the BlackBerry maker to slash its outlook and sending its shares down 15 percent on Thursday.

Facing intense pressure from Apple and Google in the smartphone market, RIM also warned that its latest models would not hit US stores until well into the valuable back-to-school shopping season.

The delay is likely add to the disappointment felt by investors after RIM's botched launch of its PlayBook tablet computer this spring.

"The company is going into the abyss of a transition, and even if they get a new model, it's a new model on the old platform," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis, one of many who has criticized RIM's product development pipeline.

RIM has promised smartphones next year running on its new QNX platform, now featured in the PlayBook, but only after it releases a series of devices with an upgraded version of the current operating system. But even those upgrades to its Bold business workhorse, new Torch and Storm models won't go on sale until late August, RIM said on Thursday.

That delay pushed RIM to forecast shipments of between 11 million and 12.5 million smartphones in the current quarter, sharply lower than the more than 14 million eyed by analysts.

RIM shipped 13.2 million BlackBerrys in the three months to May 28, missing its own estimate.

It shipped 500,000 PlayBook tablets in the six weeks after its April launch, exceeding the average analyst forecast of 366,000. Even so, the number represents a small fraction of Apple's iPad sales.

"RIM is in this situation because its phones aren't competitive and they're not competitive because they've fallen behind on development and product cycle," said Charter Equity analyst Edward Snyder. "Now they need to accelerate the models to market, but at the same time they are cutting staff."

RIM expects earnings in the current quarter of between 75 cents and $1.05, sharply lower than the already pessimistic average view of $1.40. It sees revenue of between $4.2 billion and $4.8 billion.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, JUNE 15 :
HITAH Systems (HITAH) on Wednesday unveiled privacy and security enhanced messaging application, called Peanut, in India.

Peanut is a person to person (P2P) enhanced SMS or text messaging application that can be downloaded directly from HITAH network or through a partner wireless carrier by users of Blackberry, Symbian, Android, or J2ME mobiles. HITAH is a strategic partner of Loment Inc., a growth stage technology company based in Chicago area, the United States.

Malladi Satchidananda Murty, Chairman of HITAH said "Having all of the features in a single, convenient application is a benefit to any mobile user regardless of social or economic status. Peanut can be a useful application for government, national security, law enforcement, legal, financial, and corporate communications."

"HITAH vowed to bring the value of secure communications to all Indians and in many different forms. Our goal is to introduce many more products and services – Walnut for secure email, Hazelnut for banking, payments and mobile commerce, Pistachio for mobile healthcare will transform today's social communications into useful transactions of material and emotional value," Mr.Murty added.

"Loment plans to launch Peanut one region and country every month, build our marketing and distribution network" said Dr. Venkata Majeti, founder and CEO of Loment.

The company plans to launch secure messaging application in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and other neighboring countries. THe company's plans include Senegal and the West Africa region, Middle East and the North Africa (MENA) region, North America, and Europe.

Dr. Majeti disclosed that Loment is entering into a partnership with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) ), a Government of India enterprise with the technical expertise and presence all over the world.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

STOCKHOLM/LONDON,JUNE 14 :
MOBILE network gear maker Ericsson plans to spend $1.15 billion in cash to buy US group Telcordia to help it manage an explosion in data and services and fend off tough competition.

Ericsson Chief Executive Hans Vestberg said he expects 50 billion devices to be connected to the Internet by 2020, bringing a huge challenge for operators and systems providers.

Ericsson said in a statement on Tuesday that the agreement to buy the Piscataway, N.J. company would lead to 2,600 employees being transferred to it. Telcordia is being sold by Providence Equity Partners, LLC and Warburg Pincus.

"We will definitely be a leader in many of the different domains here," Vestberg said , adding that the market where Telcordia was active was very fragmented.

"We see this as one of the areas which has portfolio momentum," he added. Ericsson shares were up 1.7 percent at 88.70 crowns after the news.

The Swedish group said the market for software and systems integration was valued at about $35 billion and was expected to show a compound annual growth rate of between 6 to 8 percent between 2010 and 2013.

"The importance of operations and business support systems will continue to grow as more and more devices are connected, services become mobile and new business models for mobile broadband are introduced," Vestberg said in the statement.

"In this context, Telcordia brings very skilled people and knowledge, a large business in North America and other markets, as well as a good multi-vendor product portfolio."

Ericsson said it expected the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of this year with full effect from the first quarter of next year.

It expected the transaction to be accretive to Ericsson earnings per share within 12 months after closing.

"It should help boost the attractiveness of their services offering and make it more difficult for the likes of Huawei or ZTE to break in. Ericsson is looking increasingly strong in this area," said Richard Windsor, global technology specialist, at investment bank Nomura.

"The big question is whether or not Ericsson has overpaid. They have a history of doing so, for example in the cases of Marconi and Redback," he added.

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

LOS ANGELES , JUNE 07 :
SONY Corp unveiled the pricing of its new PlayStation Vita handheld games device at a Los Angeles event and immediately ran into criticism the gadget was too expensive.

The show featured appearances by sports and rock stars and was a bid by the electronics giant to move on from the computer hacking attacks that forced it to shut down its videogames network for almost a month.

The new device is aimed at competing with the likes of Apple's iPod Touch and the plethora of smartphones and tablets on the market. After the device was first unveiled in January, the show on Monday revealed other details, including the name and basic price.

It will go on sale for $249, or $299 for a 3G mobile version, in time for year-end holidays, the Japanese electronics giant's No.2 executive Kazuo Hirai told reporters.

"That's fine for core gamers who want to play games all the time, but it's too expensive for the mass market," said Dan Ernst, a Hudson Square research analyst.

The prices in Japan will be 24,980 yen and 29,980 yen, while in the euro zone the gadgets will cost 249 euros or 299 euros, roughly level with Nintendo's 3DS, a 3D handheld gaming device launched earlier this year.

The Sony event was held on the eve of the E3 games convention, the industry's annual get-together that draws 45,000 reporters, analysts and industry types to a convention center the size of eight football fields.

"We learned a lot during the recent outage of PlayStation Network," Hirai said. "One of the most important things we learned was about the trust and loyalty of our customers."

Thesynergyonline Communications Bureau

NEW DELHI, MAY 25 :
MVL Mobiles on Tuesday launched of R2  priced at  Rs 1999. MVL Mobiles has gone one step further with a smart call divert facility in the new R2. This feature enables the user to talk on one SIM, while the phone calls to the second SIM get automatically diverted to the first one.

R2, a specially designed phone that addresses the needs and desires of consumers in Rural India is a feature loaded phone with a long battery life, dual SIM capability, expandable memory, VGA camera, high quality audio and video functions, Hindi keypad, a 1.8 inch color display, a powerful torch and much more.

It also packs many user friendly, innovative and intelligent Mobile features like the Sniffer program that allows the user to track the phone in case of theft/ loss and a Blacklist option for barring unwarranted calls among others.

Also the phone is equipped with smart call back option which gives a smart solution by saving roaming call price. If one SIM is in roaming and other SIM one is on home network, and the user gets a call on roaming SIM, this facility initiates a call back from home network SIM.

Also, the option helps when you have one prepaid and one postpaid SIM, an automatic call back is possible from postpaid SIM if there is no prepaid balance.

The short cut keys for functions like FM radio ensure ease-of-use while the sleek design adds an extra novelty value for the rural user. The lightweight R2 comes in blue and green colors and is sold in a multi-utility metal box which further reiterates its value proposition.

The R2 is set to revolutionize and create new standards for the mobile handset market in Rural India by giving the users more features, style and functionality than ever before.

A shopping cart filled with colorful presents