Vodafone recently launched a fully loaded Magic Box handset. The pack is called Fully Loaded Magic Box 527 and is priced at Rs. 3499. As for the handset, it features:

• A VGA camera
• 128×160 65k colour display
• Music player which plays audio format like MP3, AAC, AMR and wav
• Stereo FM radio
• Voice recording
• Bluetooth
• USB charging port
• PC Serial cable
• 1 GB Memory Card (expandable upto 2GB)
• 2 years warranty

This handset comes along with standard Vodafone Magic Box schemes like:

• Prepaid card with lifelong validity
• Free talktime worth Rs 10
• Free callertune for 30 days
• Free Vodafone alerts for 30 days
• Calls to local mobile numbers at 30p/min for 30 days
• Free 200 mins of Nightspeak (from 11 pm to 8 am) to local Vodafone numbers for 30 days

Airtel’s SMS 2.0 application has been accepted widely which enables the users to send colourful messages, view ads, read news on the new interface. Now Airtel in collaboration with Affle have expanded the use of SMS 2.0 app. It offers integrated search which will allow Airtel users to Search in Airtel Live, Internet, Local search, Jobs and Property listings from their SMS screen.

The service is free as Airtel will compensate it from its advertisers. This is a smart move from Airtel as they can know what their users are searching and effectively target specific users for specific ads.

To download the application, Airtel users need to send SMS2 to 543210. There is no charge for downloading and for subsequent content delivery on this platform.

It seems the Blackberry security controversy in India will finally come to an end. Department of Telecommunication (DoT), Intelligence Bureau and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) have claimed to crack the Blackberry encryption codes which helps them to track the data sent from a Blackberry device to a non Blackberry device. The government has successfully tested this on operators like Airtel, Vodafone, BPL Mobile and Reliance barring the newest entrant Tata Indicom.

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Need to book a ticket or get an appointment with Mumbai’s top hairstylist or want to eat authentic Chinese food in Mumbai… What do you do in such cases? Call JustDial... or (now) call BPL Mumbai search. This service, according to BPL can help you get details of almost anything by just dialing *111# from your BPL mobile. 

Charges to call the number are free, but once you have selected the category you are searching for, you will be charged Rs.3 This service is also available on SMS: Just type in the details you need and send it across to 54000 and get the details SMSed on to your phone. 

We say: The service would not be preferred by most as there is an already existing free service available to Mumbai residents. Also charging Rs.3 compared to the its free substitute takes away the chances of this service being used by people.

The Indian Telecom authorities have given foreign telecom companies to auction for 3G spectrum. This means that the companies do not need an Indian partner to get a piece of the attractive 3G cake in India, which was the case sometime back. 

This would heat up the auctioning process and make it more competitive, but the step has some conditions too. In the end, when all the spectrum allocation would be dealt with, the foreign telcos would have to partner with Indian companies to start off their services here. Also, in order to get a license for the allocation, these companies would have to shell out an additional amount of Rs.1650 crore over and above their bid amount.

The Indian market is being considered as one of the Hotspots for Telecom companies and enjoying every bit of it are the Telecom Authorities and also (in the long run) the Consumers.

Tata Teleservices is the latest entrant in the Indian telecom market to offer Blackberry services. Their first Blackberry device is CDMA-based BlackBerry 8830 World Edition which also offers international roaming capability on GSM/GPRS networks. The phone is an ideal Blackberry handset with a nice QWERTY keyboard, GPS and the topping of a dual band network support. The phone will be available with a standard voice plan along with three options of data services – Gold, Platinum and Titanium.

Tata Blackberry

The much hyped and talked about YoYo ad by Virgin Mobile is making rounds amongst the youth. But what does the Ad trying to convey? The Ad basically talks about how, through Virgin, you can make free calls to your pals.

The plan communicated in the Ad is the Vpower Plan. Pay Rs.28 per month and get calls to other Virgin Mobile numbers @ 10paise. It works like a YoYo because the person you call earns the same amount thus making it FREE. There is a condition to the plan which goes like this:

• Calls to a Local Virgin Mobile India number will be charged @ 10p/min only till first 700 VMI minutes or 30 days from the date of recharge (whichever is earlier)
• No talktime or validity
• This recharge is not applicable on a Demo/Employee/ Virgin 2 Virgin Plan or any other non-commercial plans

Airtel, Vodafone and RCom have revealed their latest offering from their Blackberry portfolio. They will soon be selling RIM’s Blackberry flagship phone, Bold at a hefty price tag of Rs. 34,990. This is the best Blackberry phone to come out of RIM’s stable and if you’re not so price conscious then you might be able to pick it up from the end of this month, if you’re an Airtel or Vodafone customer or by end of October if you’re under RCom GSM service.

Despite the controversy which hounded Blackberry services and RIM for quite some time, there is a continuous upward trend in the number of Blackberry users in India. And seeing it as an opportunity, Reliance Communications announced the availability of prepaid Blackberry services which is a first-of-its-kind in India. Prepaid plans for Blackberry start from Rs. 1,099 which goes upto Rs. 1,599 giving the user the benefits of free local SMS, voice and STD calls. Supported phones are:

BlackBerry 8830 World Edition smartphone, which operates on both CDMA & GSM networks
BlackBerry Curve 8330 smartphone on CDMA networks
BlackBerry Curve 8300 smartphone on GSM networks
BlackBerry Pearl 8100 smartphone on GSM networks
BlackBerry Pearl 8130 smartphone on CDMA networks, and
BlackBerry 8703e smartphone on CDMA networks

RCom Blackberry Prepaid

RCom a couple of days back added the Nokia 2505 to its range of handsets. This stylish clamshell comes with a sleek and elegant body and a 65,536 colors display with 128 x 160 pixels resolution. It is equipped with a Quick-press flashlight and FM radio. It also has a two-way handsfree speakerphone.

RCom is offering this bundled offer of connection + CDMA handset for Rs. 3099. Along with this, it is offering free talktime worth Rs 600. The sad part is, this talktime can only be used to make local calls from Reliance Mobile to Reliance Mobile and it is allotted to you in installments of Rs 50 per month for 12 months.

On the whole, this offering is not lucrative enough to tempt buyers to immediately go and grab it; on the contrary if you are looking to buy a Reliance connection then this offer can be given a thought.