SamsungNawrasCommunications provider Nawras, has joined hands with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., to offer users the latest Samsung Galaxy Note. The deal priced at US$ 779 also includes 500MB of free mobile broadband internet data to be used over the first three months as well as a free Nawras Ajel postpaid SIM card.

The Samsung Galaxy Note, launched as a hybrid between the tablet computer and a mobile phone, features the world’s first and largest 5.3” HD Super AMOLED display. Further, an advanced pen-input technology, called the S Pen, combines with Galaxy Note’s full touch screen to introduce a unique customer experience.

The device features a 1.4GHz dual-core processor that ensures the performance of Galaxy Note is incredibly fast and it provides a smooth customer interface with seamless usability. Additionally, the Galaxy Note features an advanced 8MP rear camera with LED flash and 2MP front camera.

As per a company release, Nawras customers can continue to enjoy a value-packed, monthly mobile broadband plan with 500MB of data for US$ 8. Also, in the event that a consumer uses the included data before the end of the plan, an additional 150MB of data can be added to bridge the gap until the next plan starts, for US$ 2.5.

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

Telecommunications firm, Nokia Siemens Networks, has reportedly announced 17,000 job cuts across the world in an attempt to narrow the gap with market leader Ericsson.

According to reports, the Finland based company has said that the reduction, equivalent to about 22 percent of its workforce, will be completed by the end of 2013, when Nokia Siemens aims to cut $1.3 billion in annual operating expenses and production costs. Further, Nokia Siemens will focus on mobile broadband and services and plans to divest or manage for value units that aren’t central to its focus.

As per sources, the company plans to simplify its organization, consolidate sites and functions, and strip out more jobs from the integration of Motorola Solutions Inc. units acquired this year. Further, Jozefa Terloo, spokeswoman, Nokia Siemens has said that they haven’t yet decided how many jobs will be cut per country. She reportedly added that negotiations with worker representatives will start immediately.

 

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

America Movil, a leading wireless service provider in Latin America has reportedly tied up with American operator AT&T to offer IP services to large corporate organisations within Latin America as well as in Asia and the Middle East.

According to reports, the agreement between the two operators will allow AT&T to access America Movil’s networks across 15 countries in the region, whereas America Movil will be able to use AT&T’s network infrastructure to provide large corporate IP services in the US along with the rest of the world.

Sources claim that the two operators plan to offer multinational companies working in Latin America with a Virtual Private Network (VPN) as its primary offering.  Further, Roman Pacewicz, senior vice president (marketing and global strategy), AT&T Business Solutions has said that as part of AT&T’s commitment to deliver consistent and seamless global services for their enterprise customers, they continue to evolve their strategy to establish alliances in key regions in the world which will in turn enable multinational companies to compete better globally.

 

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

Spanish telecom operator Telefonica has reportedly entered into a strategic partnership with China Unicom, wherein both operators will use each other’s networks to expand their coverage. According to reports, the deal will provide Telefonica access to China Unicom’s network in the regions of Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia, France and Sweden.

In return, China Unicom can reportedly increase its presence through Telefonica’s network in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, USA, Puerto Rico, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria Denmark, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

Reports suggest that Telefonica believes this agreement will help both operators expand their capabilities to provide telecom services to various customers in different geographic areas.

 

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone India Ltd., leading telecom operators in India, have reportedly been approached by federal officers on allegations of irregularities in the 2001 and 2002 spectrum allocation.

According to reports, said Dharini Mishra, spokeswoman at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that officers from the bureau entered the carriers’ offices in Mumbai and NCR, after registering a case against them. She added that the probe seeks information about possible malpractice in spectrum allocation during 2001-02 when Pramod Mahajan was the telecom minister under the National Democratic Alliance government led by Bhartiya Janta Party, the main opposition in the current government.

As per sources, the residences of Shyamal Ghosh, the telecom secretary during 2001-02, and J.R. Gupta, then director at Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL), were also searched by the CBI. However, sources claim that both network operators have reportedly said that they have secured the spectrum bands as per the government policy.

 

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

Orange, a key brand of France Telecom, is reportedly planning to launch three phones which will give users direct access to social networking site, Facebook, in Europe and Africa, inclusive of free Facebook data in the package. According to reports, the new phones will have a Facebook button, and will be focused primarily on Romania and Poland in Europe along with Tunisia and Egypt in North Africa.

As per sources, Patrick Remy, Vice President (Devices), Orange has said that Orange Romania will sell the 3G version of the Facebook phone, an Android device made by TCL Communication in Shenzhen, China, for approximately US$ 135.  He added that the package will include 60 minutes of voice, a bit of data and unlimited access to Facebook.

Remy also said that the phone has 3G at up to 7.2 megabits a second download, and the non-Facebook data limit will be 60 megabytes a month before extra charges start. Further, the other two models, also made by TCL, are 2G only and will mainly be aimed at emerging markets.

Remy has also reportedly said that 10-15 percent of the terminals in use on Orange networks have the Orange brand and the company hopes to push that to 20 percent in 2012.

 

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

Steve Jobs –known to all as a charismatic pioneer, an inventor and a businessman. However, few knew the person behind Apple’s most innovative products. In his biography, titled ‘Steve Jobs’, author Walter Isaacson tells the world some unknown facts about the legendary genius.

Jobs was particular about the little details in life, not just while designing the iPhones and the iPads, but also for his personal health. He refused to use deodorant claiming that his vegan diet would naturally clear up any body odour that may arise. It was this stubborn attitude that eventually hurt him as he refused to undergo any operation to treat his then curable tumour, saying that he did not want his body affected by surgery. Further, at the time when doctors suggested he have more protein in his diet, he would fast or eat a minimum quantity of fruits.

A romantic at heart, Jobs was not the best at showing his affection. Isaacson talks about an instance when Jobs was dating folk singer Joan Baez and kept telling her about a Ralph Lauren dress she would look great in. However, the evening that he actually took her to the store for the dress, he landed up buying a few shirts for himself and suggested that she buy the dress herself.

Jobs attention to detail was well known, however, some believed he was obsessive compulsive. He was known to drive employees crazy if a few frames were removed from an ad or over the thickness of line in a calculator widget. He had as many as 100 black turtlenecks in his wardrobe from the same designer, and sported the same look at all public events. Isaacson reveals that when Steve Jobs was undergoing liver transplant, he demanded that the doctors bring him five different models of the oxygen mask to test.

Jobs had his own philosophy about managing employees. He believed that yelling and badmouthing the employees, often seven days a week and sometimes even late into the night, helped extract the best performance from the staff. While some employees believed he could have achieved the desired results by being a bit nicer, others claimed that this inspired them to do some of the best work of their careers. The book also mentions several instanced of Jobs tearing up. He would often start crying if he didn’t get his way with the product design or corporate organization. He would also tear up when he was happy and when he encountered what he considered to be the purity of spirit.

An inventor, Jobs was always looking to create and design newer things. Even when he was unwell, he would work on designing a sea-vessel, which is said to be very minimalist but at the same time very tastefully done. Given up for adoption to the Jobs family by his birth parents, Steve Jobs never responded to his birth father’s (Abdulfattah Jandali) request for a proper meeting.

Even with some of these facts being known to the world, Steve Jobs still continues to remain a mystery. His inventions revolutionized the way a user would operate a computer or a mobile phone.  A legend and a genius, Steve Jobs is not a name that will be forgotten for a long time.

 

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

Sweden based provider of telecommunications equipment Ericsson, will soon be opening a new global network operations center (GNOC) in China. The new center adds to the three existing global network operations centers located in Romania, India and Mexico. Ericsson’s Global Service Center (GSC) in India currently employs more than 5,000 service professionals and houses the world’s largest GNOC.

Magnus Mandersson, Head of Business Unit Global Services, Ericsson, reportedly says that through this center they hope to secure their customers’ ultimate goal of improved consumer experience and efficient operation.  Ericsson’s Chinese service center will provide a wide range of services such as customer support, network design and optimization, systems integration, network rollout and special event support, among others. The center is initially expected to employ 300 staff and grow to 500 within 3-6 months.

 

Filed under:Mobile Operators,Mobile services  Tagged with:
 

25th May 2011 was the deadline set by the European Parliament and the EU’s Council of Ministers for the member states of the European Commission for full implementation of the new EU telecoms rules as part of their national law. Twenty of the EU member states have been sent information requests as to why they have not yet reverted with regard to the stipulated implementation of the telecoms rules.

Under the EU infringement procedures, the information requests are equivalent to letters of formal notice.

Under the ambit of the new EU telecoms rules, phones, mobile services and internet are taken into account with regard to rights of the consumers and businesses. The highlights of these rights comprise of customers being empowered to switch telecoms operators in just one day without changing their phone number, more transparency regarding the services customers are offered, in addition to securing their personal data online.

So far only seven Member States namely Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Malta, Sweden and the UK have confirmed the Commission of full implementation of the rules; a majority of the EU member states having notified the Commission of implementation to certain extents while the legislative processes are continuing.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain constitute the twenty other Member States that are yet to respond to the letters of formal notice within two months, failing which or even not being convincing, the Commission stands to issue the concerned Member States, a formal request to implement the legislation. The second request will be the form of a ‘reasoned opinion’ under EU infringement procedures. Eventually, the matter will be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with:
 

Vodafone announces new call and internet usage rates while roaming. The new offerings lets consumers pay at local rates outside of the local zone.

At the cost of $1.39, customers will now be able to take advantage of a 10 minute call while roaming as well as use 30 MB of data per day for $4.17. Vodafone is looking to bring to customers an enhanced experience at competitive rates.

Vodafone’s latest offerings are applicable in Vodafone networks across Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and United Kingdom, in addition to roaming in Austria on Mobilkom, Belgium on Belgacom, France on SFR and Switzerland on Swisscom.

According to Daniel Grech, Business Marketing Manager at Vodafone Malta, Vodafone’s initiatives with regard to roaming are part of the bigger effort to provide customers the most competitive roaming rates as well as roaming service.

Filed under:Mobile  Tagged with: