Saturday, May 31, 2008
Apple iPhone: Google's answer is unveiled
The first mobile phone to use highly anticipated software developed by Google has been unveiled.
ARM, the British chipmaker, demonstrated the unbranded
prototype at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The phone, tipped to rival Apple's iPhone, runs on Android, a mobile phone operating system launched by Google last November.
It features an internet browser, map software, multimedia applications, text messaging, calendar functions and email as well as a phone.
The operating system is backed by an alliance of more than 30 mobile phone operators, handset makers, software firms and component manufacturers.
ARM's prototype uses Google as its web browser home page, uses Google Mail as its email application, and Google Maps for navigation.
Companies hope that by developing phones that are easy to use as well as beautiful to look at, they will be able to hold off the challenge from Apple, which has sold more than four million iPhone handsets since it launched last July.
Despite the Android project being at a relatively early stage, the first Android-based mobile phones are expected to go on sale later this year.
Strategy Analytics, a research firm, has estimated that Android will be installed on two per cent of smartphones by December.
It is estimated the mobile advertising market could be worth more than £5.5 billion by 2011.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Nokia announces updated version of Nokia Maps
Nokia today announced that its highly anticipated update for Nokia Maps has left beta stage and is now ready for consumers to download.
Downloaded over 240,000 times since announced in February, Nokia Maps 2.0 has improved its optional Car Navigation, enhanced its pedestrian navigation, added multimedia city guides, now offers satellite images, and is sporting a redesigned user interface. Nokia's mapping and navigation solutions give people navigation features, local content and world maps directly on their mobile device, in a way that only connected devices can.
A partial list of the updated features in Nokia Maps 2.0 includes:
DRIVE:
* Improved optional Car Navigation equals PND-level car navigation experience with faster routing.
* Easy-to-use, updated User Interface features including a new navigation carousel with pre-defined navigation views i.e. navigation, arrow, bird-eye.
* Top-of-the-line navigation features: signposts, multi-stop route planner
WALK:
* Optional pedestrian navigation efficiently walks you from A to B with visual guidance. It helps you to locate yourself by giving information about the surrounding buildings, streets and parks and, if the device supports it, notifies the direction you are walking.
* Nokia Maps 2.0 includes public transportation information (station entrances) data in 17 cities with localized icons for stops.
* Advanced multi-sensor positioning using A-GPS, and pedestrian orientation using the compass feature (Nokia 6210 Navigator needed for built-in compass usage)
DISCOVER:
* Satellite images with hybrid rendering overlays for selected cities worldwide provide real aerial views on your mobile.
* Signature "one-box search" allows you to search through places, addresses, restaurants, nightlife, outdoor, accommodation.
* New premium multi-media city guides including features photos, video, audio streams.
Nokia Maps 2.0 uses vector maps provided by Navteq and TeleAtlas, Nokia Maps now has maps covering over 200 countries, with over 70 of them navigable. Maps can be downloaded over the air directly to selected devices or by using the Nokia Map Loader on a PC. A new beta version of the Nokia Map Loader is available on the Nokia Betalabs web site.
Nokia Maps 2.0 and the current commercial version of the Nokia Maps Loader is freely available for selected devices.
Source: Infibeam.com
Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition Top Innovators
The GSM Association (GSMA) today announced the Top Innovators for the Americas leg of the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition, along with additional, high-calibre industry speakers at the Mobile Innovation Marketplace - Americas, which is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, 3 - 4 June, 2008.
The Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition was created by the GSMA as part of the Mobile Innovation Market, which encourages breakthrough technology, applications and services in the mobile industry by bringing together smaller companies developing innovative mobile products, industry investors from leading venture capital firms, and senior figures from mobile operators and leading global brands.
The Mobile Innovation Marketplace - Americas is a unique platform for top innovators competing for the Mobile Innovation Global Award Champion title. During the event, 15 emerging growth companies from around the world will compete in five categories, reviewed by senior executives from mobile operators and venture capital organisations. The Top 15 Innovators for the Americas leg of the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition are:
Most Innovative Wireless Device-centric Technology
- CooTek, China
- Red Bend Software, USA
- WiSpry, USA
Most Innovative Carrier Infrastructure or Platform
- Ubidyne, Germany
- Roundbox, USA
- AdaptiveMobile Security, Ireland
Most Innovative Mobile Application in a Vertical Market
- GestureTek, USA
- Tagattitude, France
- Anam Mobile, Ireland
Most innovative Consumer Application or Service
- Linguatec, Germany
- Sharpcast, USA
- Cha Cha Search, USA
Most Innovative 'True Mobile Start-Up'
- Nextivity, USA
- Modu, Israel
- MMCast, UK
"We are thrilled with the number of high-quality entries we've received for the first leg of our Global Award Competition being held at our inaugural Americas event," said Bill Gajda, Chief Commercial Officer of the GSMA. "The Mobile Innovation Marketplace - Americas will provide an invaluable opportunity for innovators to pitch new mobile technology, product, service and business propositions to senior executives within the mobile operator and venture capitalist communities."
One winner will be named from each category and awarded the title of 'GSMA Global Semi-Finalist'. From these five cutting-edge ideas, the 'Mobile Innovation Global Finalists' will arise and win a trip to Barcelona to compete against the other Finalists for the prestigious title of the "2009 GSMA Mobile Innovation Global Award Champion", to be named during the Mobile World Congress next February.
In addition to the headline speakers attending the Americas event, including Ralph de la Vega, President & CEO, AT&T Mobility; Bob Berner, EVP & CTO, Rogers Wireless, Canada; Ted Matsumoto, CSO, SoftBank Mobile Corp., Japan; and Michael Nash, EVP Digital Strategy & Business Development, Warner Music Group, other senior industry speakers and panellists include:
- Pam Zuercher, Head of Global Product Innovation, Visa
- Marc Mathieu, SVP, Core Global Brands, Coca Cola
- Chris Curtain, VP, Global New Media & Technologies, Walt Disney
- Mitch Lazar, VP, Business Development, Yahoo!
- Brooke Partridge, President & CEO, Vital Wave Consulting
- Jean-Philippe Maheu, Chief Digital Officer, Ogilvy North America
- Reza Jafari, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Eaton Telecom
- Steve Sellers, CEO, SourceTrace Systems
- Tony Holcombe, President & CEO, Syniverse Technologies
- Brian Cayce, Investment Director, Gray Matters Capital
Source: Infibeam.com
Myxer gives iPhone users new access to free mobile content
Myxer, the leader in ad-supported mobile content, today launched support for the iPhone through their website users can now join the over 9 million current Myxer customers in accessing the biggest selection of free (ad-supported) mobile content in the industry, including MP3 clips and ringtones.
Myxer's service is quick and easy to use: iPhone users simply go to the Myxer catalog, select the ringtones they like most, then download them to their desktop. Next, they drag the ringtones into their iTunes ringtone folder for access on their iPhone.
"The iPhone is part of today's new mobile economy and like Myxer, it's helping to change the landscape of today's mobile environment," said Myk Willis, CEO, Myxer. "We're delighted to invite iPhone users to expand their mobile content choices through open access to Myxer's catalog and broad array of mobile content delivery services."
The addition of iPhone further rounds out Myxer's already robust offerings -- with service across every major wireless carrier and in support of literally thousands of different mobile phones. For additional information on using your iPhone to download mobile content from Myxer.
Myxer is the largest and fastest growing site for free ad-supported mobile content -- with over 9 million mobile users, more than 18 million mobile downloads a month, and a catalog of over 375,000 ringtones,wallpapers, videos and games.
Source: Infibeam.com
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
AOL India offers free SMS to mobiles from Desktop
AOL India has announced that they are now letting the users of their instant messaging application to send free sms to any mobile user in the country.
The service is currently supported by the popular mobile service providers in India including Airtel, Vodafone, Spice, Aircel and MTNL.
The mobile user is also able to respond to the messages which are delivered back to the web user on the desktop.
PG Ponnapa, VP and General Manager, AOL Interactive Media India spoke about the new developments: "mobile market in India has outpaced the Internet market in terms of growth rate. We feel that our suite of services will help bridge the divide between the growing mobile market and the Internet market in India."
AOL AIM is not that popular in the Indian market but is one of the most heavily used messaging platforms online.
Source: techwhack.com
Mobiles linked to hyperactivity in kids
A study linking mobile phone use in pregnancy to behavioural problems in children has been dismissed as inconclusive by the industry in Australia.
World-first research from Denmark and the US has concluded that women who use mobile phones when pregnant are more likely to give birth to children with behavioural problems.
According to the study, they just need to use it two or three times a day to raise the risk of their baby developing hyperactivity and emotional and conduct issues by the age of five.
The researchers behind the study of 13,000 children say their results were unexpected and the link was difficult to explain.
But if they hold true, they have major health implications, the team said.
The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, which represents mobile phone companies, however, said the results should be interpreted with caution.
Chief executive Chris Althaus said mobile phone emission levels were very low.
"Scientific evidence does not indicate the need for special precautions for either adults or children in the use of mobile phones," Mr Althaus said.
"Even the study's authors have noted the results were unexpected and exposure to a foetus from a mobile phone is likely to be extremely low."
The study by UCLA in California and Aarhus University in Denmark was published this week in the journal Epidemiology.
It showed that mothers who used mobile phones were 54 per cent more likely to have children with behavioural problems, according to a report in the UK's Independent newspaper.
They were between 25 and 35 per cent more at risk of emotional problems, hyperactivity and difficulties relating to their peers, and 50 per cent more prone to conduct problems.
The researchers said their results were surprising and could not be explained by other links, like smoking during pregnancy, inheritable psychiatric disorders or social economic status.
However, they said it was possible mothers who used their phones more frequently might tend to pay less attention to their children, leading to behavioural problems.
Source: smh.com.au
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Apple inks more non-exclusive iPhone deals
Apple Inc. has struck more non-exclusive deals with mobile service carriers to sell its iPhone, a pair of companies said today, adding to the shift that began last week when Apple signed up two firms to market its smart phone in Italy.
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Apple Inc. has struck more non-exclusive deals with mobile service carriers to sell its iPhone, a pair of companies said today, adding to the shift that began last week when Apple signed up two firms to market its smart phone in Italy.
On Monday, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. announced in a joint statement that they had reached agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in Australia and India, respectively. Last week, U.K.-based Vodafone said it had signed with Apple to sell the iPhone in both of those countries.
SingTel's subsidiary Optus, which has an estimated seven million subscribers, will handle the iPhone in Australia; Bharti Airtel currently has about 64 million mobile customers in India.
Last Tuesday, Vodafone and Telecom Italia -- Italy's telecommunication company -- both said that they had signed deals with Apple to sell the iPhone in Italy, the first time that the U.S. company had made non-exclusive arrangements. Until then, Apple had partnered with a single mobile service provider in each market. In the U.S., for example, the only authorized network is AT&T, while in France, Germany and the U.K. it's Orange, T-Mobile and O2, respectively.
Also Monday, SingTel said it would sell the iPhone in Singapore, while Globe Telecom Inc., the second-largest mobile carrier in the Philippines, will sell the smart phone in that island nation.
As with the Vodafone- Telecom Italia announcements of last week, Monday's joint statement by SingTel, Bharti Airtel and Globe Telecom did not disclose financial terms of the agreements with Apple. SingTel is a major investor in both Bharti Airtel and Globe Telecom.
Earlier exclusive arrangements with carriers have given Apple a portion of the subscriber fees paid by iPhone owners.
As for a launch date in Australia, India, the Philippines and Singapore, the three firms only said that it would occur "later this year."
Apple has previously said it would start selling the iPhone in Asia during 2008, but has not specified when or in which countries. So far, service providers in several Asian and Pacific region countries -- including Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore -- have announced that they would sell the iPhone this year.
In other iPhone news, Apple's U.S. and U.K. online stores, and retail stores in the U.S., have exhausted their supplies. Several sales representatives at stores near Boston, and in New York City, Portland, Ore., and San Francisco, said that the iPhone outage is "companywide."
As of mid-day Monday, the U.S. and U.K. online stores still displayed a "Currently Unavailable" notice on their sites.
Source: Idg.no
BlackBerry maker launches mobile VC fund
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is working with three other companies to launch a $150 million venture capital fund that will invest in companies developing new applications and services for mobile devices.
Electronic publisher Thomson Reuters and venture capital firms JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners have joined RIM to establish the fund. RIM said the fund won't be restricted to investing in BlackBerry-specific applications. It will also invest in start-ups as well as relatively mature software developers.
Specifically, investments will focus on services and applications such as mobile payments, advertising, retailing, and banking. It also will support companies developing applications for social networking, navigation and mapping, media and entertainment, lifestyle and personal productivity applications, and enterprise applications.
The fund will be co-managed by Canadian firm JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners.
The venture fund is part of RIM's bigger strategy. For one, the company wants to move more computer users from desktops to handheld devices. Earlier this month, it announced a partnership with enterprise software firm SAP to integrate all of the company's corporate software onto BlackBerrys.
The fund will also help the second prong in RIM's overall strategy, which is to expand its user base to the mass market. The company makes the bulk of its revenue from corporate customers, but over the past 18 months it has also targeted consumers with new devices and partnerships with companies like Facebook. The new venture fund should help spur more innovation among developers.
"The mobile world has evolved well beyond phone calls and simple messaging to become an empowering and liberating platform that connects people to everything that matters most to them," Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive officer at RIM, said in a statement. "And the BlackBerry Partners Fund is being formed to help fuel innovation and activity in the mobile ecosystem."
Thomson Reuters is one of the world's largest electronic news publishers, providing information to lawyers, doctors, and financial professionals. Many of its customers are already BlackBerry users. The company sees mobile devices and applications as a critical piece of its own strategy.
"Thomson Reuters is committed to supporting the development of next-generation mobile applications that will provide our professional and business customers with anywhere, anytime capabilities," Devin Wenig, CEO of the Markets Division of Thomson Reuters, said in a statement. "The ability to make business-critical decisions with intelligent information available on mobile devices will give our customers a clear competitive advantage."
Source: News.com
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Mobile phones that could save your life
When fierce storms hit California in early January, submerging streets and felling power lines, Steve Livingston was prepared. Armed with a text message alert from the San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services, he dodged the flood and made it home safely.
A few months earlier, when a surprise earthquake shook the region, Livingston, chief marketing officer of Sunnyvale, California-based mobile transaction firm mBlox was in Los Angeles on a business trip. Alerted by a text message from the same service, he rushed to call his family back in Hillsborough, near San Mateo. "The pervasiveness of text messaging makes it one of the best ways to communicate to masses of people," he says.
Cell phones have long functioned as the frontlines of emergency calling. As technology evolves and phones morph into ubiquitous, highly personal gadgets, they're becoming genuine safety devices, crammed with features designed to protect us from accidents and injury. Between flashlights, heart monitors, global positioning data and text message warnings, it's no exaggeration to say that cell phones can save lives.
Mobile alerts fit our increasingly wireless lifestyles. Americans send more than 48 billion messages each month, according to industry group CTIA-The Wireless Association. A consumer survey by software firm ACCESS and researcher Amplitude Research found that nearly 90% of cellphone users believe mobiles are important for communicating during an emergency or a crisis.
Even the government is signing on. The Federal Communications Commission is developing a national mobile alert system for 2010. The messages, which will be distributed through the country's four largest carriers, Verizon, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile) will include "presidential" or national emergency alerts, weather and local emergency alerts and child abductions. In a statement, FCC commissioner Michael J. Copps praised the ability of mobile alerts to reach people who aren't near a TV set or radio or lack electricity.
The move follows the FCC's attempt to establish a public safety communications network on radio spectrum auctioned earlier this year. Such a network would enable police and emergency workers across the country to seamlessly communicate on wireless devices. The FCC has said it hopes to establish such a network within the next few years.
In the meantime, companies and organizations are crafting their own mobile safety networks. Several phone makers, including Samsung and Asus, offer SOS functions that -- with the push of a button -- ping pre-set numbers with text messages that warn the sender is in danger. In late April, community action group Crime Stoppers launched a programme that allows people to submit crime tips to police via text message. The application is designed to appeal to text-loving teens and folks who spot something suspicious, such as drug dealing, gang activity and hate crimes while on the go, says Crime Stoppers USA President Elaine Cloyd.
Troy Daniels, deputy chief of police in Champaign, Illionis, says his local Crime Stoppers received two text tips on the day the service launched -- one for a murder and one on a drug dealer. (Encryption keeps tipsters' cell numbers private.) The technology, which is supplied by Anderson Software and mBlox, is currently active in 32 cities in the U.S. and 16 in Canada. Crime Stoppers is seeking grants and corporate sponsorships to expand it nationwide.
Mobile alerts -- messages moving the other direction--are another way cellphones can save lives. Manhattan-based Send Word Now delivers millions of mobile alerts a year for corporate, academic and public sector clients including Wal-Mart, Boston University and the US Postal Service. New York City is testing a Send Word Now programme that combines emergency notifications with everyday warnings, such as traffic. Text alerts have been growing in popularity for the past two years, says chief executive officer Tony Schmitz. Reliability and speed are factors. Even when phone lines and cellular networks are clogged with traffic, text messages tend to get delivered, within minutes.
Of course, mobile devices carry their own risks, including distractions and loss of privacy, particularly with GPS. But advocates say that mobile safety functions are getting smarter and more specific. Send Word Now can program messages to be distributed automatically as soon as its software detects an event or disaster, speeding up the process and removing human error. Some firms are attaching documents to text messages -- perhaps a floor plan for evacuation or a list of emergency procedures for employees to follow. Others are asking recipients to respond to alerts, pressing 1 if they're OK, for instance, or to join a conference call after reading the message. Wireless home security systems can send alerts to cellphones, warning of intruders. Callback software can be programmed to automatically dial a phone in set time increments. If the user doesn't answer, the system alerts authorities.
Phones can help in emergencies, even if you're injured or incapacitated. In the US, government-mandated "E911" services log the locations of cellphones that dial for help. If necessary, these systems can backtrack and trace callers. First responders such as firemen, paramedics and ER nurses automatically check cellphones for emergency contacts. Designating someone in your phone's address book as "ICE" -- "In Case of Emergency" -- is an easy way to ensure that the right person gets called in critical situations.
Some firms are going further, viewing phones as the 21st-century equivalent of medical ID bracelets. Marina Del Ray, California-based developer MyRapidMD Corp is one. Its Emergency Service Profile software application is designed to be installed on cellphones and relay basic information about its owner to first responders. Users submit data including blood type, medications, allergies, emergency contacts and a photo for identification purposes. The information resides on their phones where it can be quickly and easily accessed, even in areas without cellular reception. If the phone is broken, emergency workers can call a 1-800 number and access the data remotely.
"It's not meant to be a full medical history--just key data for those first 15 minutes, when people most need that information," notes MyRapidMD President Mark White.
Also in the works: phones that track vital signs and alert doctors if results move out of a prescribed range and phones that double as portable defibrillators. Nokia researchers are experimenting with technology that could measure air pollution or other environmental hazards and emit mobile alerts. Two professors at Purdue University have developed a way to embed radiation detectors in cellphones to track bombs and nuclear weapons.
Wireless technology could protect people, as well -- no handset necessary. Phil Asmundson, national managing partner of Technology, Media & Telecommunications for Deloitte, believes wireless safety applications will soon transform our cars into much safer vehicles. In the event of a crash, a car could automatically dial emergency services and transmit its location (via GPS). It could also be programmed to convey how many people are injured and the speed and impact of the collision.
Although technical limits -- including liability and expense -- are slowing some wireless programs, Asmundson predicts they are destined to become standard features. For people in need, they could be critical, he points out: "While EMS is on the way, they'll know everything that's wrong, from likely broken bones to internal bleeding."
Source: Sify
T-Mobile Finally Introduces 3G Service
T-Mobile lights up New York as rumors swirl about its parent company's interest in Sprint Nextel.
Well behind the curve and with few handsets to support it, T-Mobile rolled out its 3G wireless network May 5 in New York. T-Mobile said it plans to expand the service to 20 to 25 U.S. markets by the end of 2008 in addition to introducing new phones to take advantage of the high-speed network.
While rivals AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel have already introduced third-generation wireless services, T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, has been slowed by efforts to clear the airwaves for spectrum T-Mobile bought in 2006 for $4.2 billion. The rollout comes as rumors swirl that Deutsche Telekom may be interesting in purchasing struggling carrier Sprint.
But the Wall Street Journal reported late May 5 that while Sprint Nextel is considering spinning off its Nextel unit, the likely buyer could be Morgan O'Brien, a co-founder of Nextel, who wants the spectrum to create a national wireless network for public safety.
T-Mobile's new network will use HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), a type of 3G already in use by AT&T. T-Mobile said its technology will initially boost Web speeds for customers by about four times. The nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier currently has only four phones—the Nokia 6263, Nokia 3555, Samsung T639, and Samsung T819—that will run on the new network.
The phones are designed to automatically connect to the best available network, be it 3G or GSM/GPRS/EDGE (Enhanced Data for Global Evolution). After the company introduces HSDPA phones later in 2008, T-Mobile said, the speeds will double to approximately 600K bps.
"The launch of our 3G network comes at a time when 3G phones and services are more affordable, capable and appealing to our consumer marketplace than ever before," Cole Brodman, chief development officer at T-Mobile USA, said in a statement. "We benefit not only from the economic scale of 3G, but also from the extensive commercial experience of 3G in our European markets."
Since purchasing the spectrum at the 2006 Advanced Wireless Services auction by the Federal Communications Commission, T-Mobile has struggled to clear the spectrum, which was occupied by the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice.
T-Mobile USA has 28.7 million subscribers.
Source: eweek.com
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Mobile banking set to grow
Mobile banking has emerged the most promising front end technology for broadening the access of finance in the country. By Probir Roy
Probir RoyTwo important yet quite unrelated events in the evolution of mobile payments in India occurred in 2008.
Firstly, the new credit policy of the RBI came along with guidelines for facilitating mobile payments. Secondly, Dr Raghu Raghuraman's CSFR report states that ''Mobile banking is the most promising front end technology'' for broadening the access of finance in the country.
These two taken together are defining moments in the (a) recognition of mobile now as an accepted channel for banking & commerce, and (b) clearing the way for its rapid and mass deployment across the country by the Financial sector.
Technology related regulation can never keep pace with the fast pace nature of tech innovations and progress, nor fully define it. Regulation here has to have a light touch, so as not to throttle innovation, yet which serves public interest.
The use of mobile for financial and non financial transactions has had a chequered past. Several initiatives over the last ten years (overseas) have come and gone, and as we speak several more initiatives into the future related to NFC, contactless are emerging. The difference between now and then is mobiles have come along way. They find themselves in the hands of a third of humanity, and have pipped the internet in penetration!
Several initiatives in Sub Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Far East have been popular and working well for the last few years. So its time has come, and the RBI guidelines are recognition of homegrown initiatives over the last year or so which have pioneered the new paradigm.
Mobile payments are a wireless consumer product or service. In short a benefit - convenience, as is, search, escalators, ATM's, etc. Methods and approaches for mobile commerce will differ across region, country and even service providers. As each stakeholder has its own assessment of what works best and what value proposition appeals to the consumer.
The key takeaways from the guidelines are that appropriate levels of security and safeguard need to be adopted. Which already have been done by all banks which do deploy these services. So, whether it be a SMS, USSD, GPRS, Smartphone, WAP medium – all such delivery mediums are acceptable.
Basic principles of PIN management, customer confidentiality, KYC, ALM, customer registration, risk mitigation, consumer protection, etc are applicable. Just as they would apply to credit cards, ATM cards, ATM's, collection boxes, internet banking, internet e commerce, telephone banking, cheque books, bank web site, etc. Which is not to say that there is a fool proof system for any of these, but they are as 'safe' as long they generate enough 'trust' and convenience to offset perception (and actual) of risk so as to be pervasive in the financial system. After all a wallet with cash is only as safe as you keep it. Neither cash nor wallet can be pilfer (tamper) proof!
Indian banks and payment service providers have been by and large dovetailing their mobile payment initiatives under the umbrella of mobile banking even before the guidelines were out. The banking system has already been in conformity with these suggested guidelines,which now have the sanction of the Reserve Bank.
Banks' own operating experience and other payments systems prevalent have provided the necessary grist for the RBI mill, and as time goes on hopefully these will evolve and become far more enabling for stakeholders. Rather than favor one approach or another or cripple themselves in strangulated regulations.
On the financial inclusion side if we go strictly by Dr Raghuraman's recommendations of creating a 'national electronic financial inclusion system' (NEFIS) then the backbone of such a system would be in its is ability to carry out small value transactions (Rs100) at limited transaction cost (sub Re1). And the only way that can be done on a mass acceptable basis is via SMS, which is the single most pervasive feature in mobile technology revolution, cutting across all SEC's, geographies, handset vendors, MNO;s etc.
The humble SMS along with dynamic authentication does indeed have pride of place in the scheme of things.
Source: Domain-B
MOTOYUVA W270 Handset Makes its Presence in India
Here is yet another phone under the MOTOYUVA series. Motorola has rolled out its latest mobile phone, dubbed MOTOYUVA W270 in the Indian market. This slim flip phone lets consumers dance on their music with the built-in MP3 player along with other music functions such as a dedicated MP3 and FM keys.
The stylish handset also has keys on the top of the flab to play-stop the music, control volume and change FM channels and MP3 songs. The pre-installed FM radio support RDS indicates FM station, artist's name along with the song's name, which is currently being played. It also has the ability to 
synchronize with Windows Media Player version 11 and above.
Motorola's clamshell W270 integrates CrystalTalk technology to minimize ambient noise, a large phone book memory of up to 500 names, a bright 128X128 pixels 65,000 color display for rich user interfaces, and 2GB expandable storage capacity via T-Flash Card.
"We believe MOTOYUVA W270 will redefine mobile music and create a paradigm shift in 'making music listening a style statement'," mentioned Lloyd Mathias, Director Marketing, India & South West Asia, Motorola Mobile Devices. "MOTOYUVA W270 is a music lover’s dream in a stylish, attractively priced clamshell form factor. We are making a very compelling offer to an aspiring Indian music enthusiast to have fun-on-the-go, always!"
At 94g, MOTOYUVA W270 is equipped with Hinglish predictive text software, wallpapers and screensavers, along with pre-loaded games like Sudoku and Tetris and the pre-paid tracker. Furthermore, it also supports GPRS Class 10 for fast internet surfing and downloads, offers currency converter, calculator, calendar with an event reminder.
Supporting USB 1.1, the phone allows charging, flexing and T-Flash as well as transfer MP3 audio files from a PC by just a simple drag-and-drop function.
Currently out in Indian MOTOSTORES, the Motorola MOTOYUVA W270 flip phone retails for Rs. 3,360. It comes packed with a 256MB microSD card, USB cable and stereo headset.
Source: techgadgets.in
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