Aug 06
Please dont mind the low volume 
The phone as you can see is really great, the P320 is full value for money, remember this Asus P320 review is genuine and we actually own and use the product reviewed.
Aug 03
In what will directly impact the sales of the Iphone 3G phones, the Indian Government today announced plans to e-auction the 3G spectrum in India. BSNL and MTNL will get the spectrum automatically by paying the highest bid price, private operators will have to bid.
International parties too can bid for a piece of the Indian 3G spectrum slice but with a catch, they will either have to get a license or invest in an existing Indian company to offer 3G services.
The non-availability of 3G services was the biggest drawback as far as the Iphone 3G’s sales in India were concerned. Vodafone and Airtel must be thanking their stars as this announcement is bound to boost both interest and demand for the new Apple Iphone 3Gs in India which is expected to be launched this month.
The 3G or 3rd Generation platform offers download speeds of 14.4 Mbits/second and upload speeds of 5.8 Mbits/sec . These speeds are much more than the present ones offered under 2G. India has a huge range of 3G phones in the market for a long time now, but the services were missing. 3G will allow services like video calling, streaming data and VoIP at a fast and hopefully economical price.
The 3G spectrum offers a much higher bandwidth which ensures faster data transfer as more channels are available and simultaneous transfer of different types of data like Voice, Video and misc. data.
Also announced in MNP or mobile number portability, so people will be able to switch networks without changing their numbers. Idea and Spice users who wish to get the Iphone may choose this route once the MNP is implemented.
Aug 03
Well i used to hate all that Mginger spam i got earlier, but now i am sort of liking the service, their new Mginger messenger allows you to send free SMS to anyone in India, and believe me the messages are sent instantly unlike some other web services which may take hours to send SMSes, so anyway , i am enjoying the free SMS service on Mginger, and hope you do too.
The links are affiliate links because i really recommend this service for the free SMSing :). As far as earning money via SMS ads goes, i have earned a grand total of five rupees from them, but others who were much more proactive in spamming have earned a lot more.
Click here to Join Mginger
Aug 01
Ok so things seem to be heating up as the launch of the Iphone 3G in India nears, Airtel just sent a teaser email which announces the launch of the Iphone 3G on their networks but falls short of giving an exact date on which Apple Iphone 3G will be launched in India. The mail was probably meant to sustain interest in the hyped launch.
The Iphone 3G is seeing an extended wait in India, Vodafone has currently given no news as to the launch date for the Iphone 3G. There are reports that Vodafone’s exact Iphone launch dates are 22-26th August 2008 , these ofcourse are unconfirmed.
Apple has also made an Iphone India seciton on its website, the site lists the Indian operators that will launch the Iphone 3G, Airtel and Vodafone. It also however has no information on the exact Iphone India launch date.
Jul 30
Well, we had made these videos a few months ago telling people how to secure their Wifi connections quite frankly because many people use other people’s internet without their knowledge. We had made the videos to prevent pranks where kids use other people’s networks to save some money.
But the recent blasts in India opened a new picture. Terrorists used the Wifi connection of an American citizen living in Navi Mumbai to send threatening emails and emails taking responsibility for blasts. As an Internet user, its your responsibility to secure your connection and make sure criminals are not using it. The following 2 videos will help you secure your Wifi connection. I will also make another video, showing you how to implement MAC address filtering to further strengthen your Internet security.
These videos are for Linksys WRT54G series, if you have some other router, refer to your user manual to see how this is done or search youtube, someone might have made a video for your model too.
Securing your Wifi connection (WPA security , only people will passphrase will be able to logon to it wirelessly)
Password protect your Router also
This post is issued in public interest
Jul 28
So finally i was fed up with my earlier router which would start rebooting itself sporadically sometimes and wouldn’t calm down for hours. I filed for a change in router and my area’s engineer did it pretty fast.
Its a Telenet router TNDSL 2120 and hopefully wont fail me. It has slightly more features than my previous router, but the same firmware, version is newer. My earlier one was a Broadcom router which served me for 10 months before becoming problematic.
The last level support in my area from Tata Indicom broadband has been pretty good. The nodal officer at the top level is a horror though, if you live in Delhi, there is no use contacting the nodal officer of Tata Indicom broadband, he will never solve your queries and keep blaming it on someone else. Its such a long story that i cant even post it here. TOOOOOO LONG !
I hope the current officer is changed quickly though, people like him don’t deserve to be in such posts.
Jul 24
Well you all cant have enough of Iphone related stuff so we gotta bring out another post. While the Iphone India Airtel/Vodafone FAQ is a great place to quench your Iphone 3G thirst, a lot of questions just need to be answered again and again, big names are starting to copy our posts and post structure. When newbies start writing posts, there are bound to be mistakes, a newbie writes that 3G in India is expected later this year ?
The truth is there is no telling when 3G services will be launched in India, 3G allows faster data transfer rates, video calls and other exclusive features. The iphone 3G’s main advantage is pretty useless in India and Vodafone and Airtel know that. They are relying more on Apple fanatic and fanboys to gobble up the Iphone and creating hype around the launch. Vodafone which will be the first to launch the Iphone 3G in India is doing a lousy job of promoting the Iphone, many people are not even aware that the Iphone is going to be launched, and many of those who are dont seem to know that Iphone doesnt run Symbian or Windows mobile.
Also you dont need sources in Vodafone/Airtel to predict availability. Ofcourse the Iphone will be sold out when its launched in India, when will it be launched, anywhere from August 2008 to October 2008. Airtel has a later launch date as it jumped onto the bandwagon later.
Anyway thats it for now, more Iphone 3G India related stuff soon.
Jul 22
For all of those who have tried to find the railway schedules and fares on the Internet, there is no feeling more frustrating than the stupid errors from one of the Railway’s servers that its too busy. These servers all have Indian names BTW like real people. So enter private company, the railways provide them access to their database, in-turn the private player takes load off the railway’s servers, symbiosis !
The above video review tests the functionality of the Rediff website.
Pros:
- Faster than Normal Railways Search
- No Logging in required unlike IRCTC
- Easy to Use
Cons:
- Station suggestion needs improvement
- It would be great if Rediff passes info to the IRCTC website
- Booking should also be allowed directly
Verdict: An incredibly easy to use and functional service, it offers great utility, highly recommended.
Jul 19
Another tale of bad customer service, this time from supposedly the best and most expensive brand in the consumer durables market. But Sony India just lost all the respect i had for them.
Hopefully someone can forward this to a Sony India personnel. Thanks, i as a consumer am appealing to your guys reading this.
So it all started when i purchased a Digital Camera (Cybershot) from an authorised Sony dealer alongwith a Memory Stick. The dealer told me that the memory stick has a 5 year warranty , i asked him to mention this on the bill so that they don’t refuse. A warranty card was inside the Digital Camera package but there was none in/with the memory stick.
Anyway the memory stick turned out to be junk, losing files like crazy. I goto Sony service center in New Delhi and the guys there tell me that i need a warranty card, i tell them the dealer didnt give me a warranty card. So they give me Sony India’s corporate office (Mathura Road) number which i call and ask to speak to customer care , i am redirected to their call center (i think) , i tell the lady my ordeal and she says that there should be no problem and transfers me to a senior at their Mathura Road office. She talks to service center guys who say they need a warranty card, hands the phone to me. Now i am talking to Ms. ________ (name hidden for privacy) , she is the rudest person that can talk to a customer. Literally shouts at me that warranty card is not a paper sticking to the memory stick (WTH !) , i tell her to mind her tone, she replies : my tone is not complicated and then says “now that you say it , your stick will not be serviced without a warranty card” , anyway my blood is boiling at this point of time so i say ok and slam my flip phone.
Anyway 2-3 things, my only fault was trusting the dealer and Sony as a company, please look into the following points:
1. Why is your staff at office not trained to talk politely to customers ?
2. How is it a customer’s fault that the dealer didn’t hand the warranty card ? Its for precisely this reason i asked him to mention the warranty in the bill, i am a genuine customer, with a genuine bill bought a genuine product from your authorized dealer.
3. I have a proof of purchase, i have the product but still Sony India refused to solve my problem.
Update:
I received a reply from their Northern Region customer care head, i have sent my invoice to them, i will keep everyone updated, hopefully Sony India will live up to its great name.
Earlier occasions where bad service was highlighted and was successful in company’s response:
Jul 16
Well we have been getting a lot of questions about the Iphone 3G, so here is a short FAQ for the time being , but first some general Iphone 3G news, the Iphone is out of stock in the USA and its GPS is pretty bad from various reviews we have read. Updated 20th July 2008.
1. Who is going to launch the Iphone first in India ?
90% its going to be the Vodaphone Iphone 3G that will be launched first in India, it will be followed by the Airtel Iphone 3G , other companies like Idea and Spice will not be launching the Iphone 3G on their networks. The Indian Iphone 3G will most probably be locked to Airtel and/or Vodafone, ofcourse it will be unlockable as hackers worldwide are working to unlock the Iphone.
2. What kind of plan will the Indian Iphone have ?
The Indian Iphone as we said will be locked to Airtel and Vodafone, as Apple is supposedly subsidizing the cost of the Indian Iphone 3G, its very much possible that like in the USA, it will come bundled with a data plan, so cost could be as high as Rs.500 per month data charges apart from rent and call charges. Ofcourse final details will be known later. We’ll will update you as soon as Vodafone and/or Airtel announce their Iphone tariff structure.
3. What will the Airtel and Vodafone Indian Iphone 3G cost ?
Not $199 we are afraid, the Airtel Vodafone Indian Iphone will most probably cost around 14000-15000 Indian rupees (INR) at launch, and with the high demand its expected to be sold out in India a few days after the launch. We ofcourse would recommend waiting a little before buying the Iphone in India so prices come down, never smart to buy a product when its being sold at a premium.
4. Will Apple Applications be available to Indians ?
Yes ofcourse, Apple Apps will be available to Indian customers, infact companies like Indiagames are already planning (i read it) to release games for the Iphone 3G.
5. My relative is in the US, should i get them to buy the Iphone 3G and bring it to India , willl it work on Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Spice Telecom, Aircel etc.?
The Iphone 3G currently cant be unlocked to a non AT&T network. And also Apple has learnt its lesson, its offering in-store activation only. You can only buy the phone with a connection and it has a hefty cancellation fee. So really little use in getting these locked bricks attached to AT&T. Wait for some time, as soon as we get some clarity, we will let you know more. This phone will not work with Airtel, Vodafone, Idea etc. without activation.
6. Is Apple Iphone 3G really the ultimate phone to be launched in India ?
No, its not. 3G services really arent available in India. A lot of other phones also have 3G, but again its of absolutely no use.
Iphone has Wifi, most Windows Mobile phones come with Wifi, it has a 2 MP camera, which is pretty low, it has no video recording (huge setback) , the only feature we think is yet to be properly replicated is the Multi-touch feature. HTC Touch and other Windows mobile phones do provide a good touch interface though.
The Iphone has no expandable memory, no stereo bluetooth connection capability (NO A2DP) , its camera has no flash, it has no picture messaging and no cut and paste text support.
7. So what should i do ?
Well incase you don’t need the GPS feature and 3G being unavailable in India, buying an old Apple Iphone and upgrading it to firmware 2.0 might not be such a bad idea. Ofcourse check the fineprints.
8. Can i buy the Iphone 3G already in India ?
No but you may preregister the Iphone at both Airtel’s and Vodafone’s site.
9. Does the Iphone work on all continents ?
Yes, the Iphone is a quad band phone and will work on all continents, including Asia and North America.
10. I already have an Airtel and Vodafone account, will i have to change my number to get the Iphone 3G ?
Most probably no, whenever you sign up for a postpaid account, you are given the option of retaining your old number even if its prepaid. Iphone 3G plans should be no different.
11. Does the Iphone 3G’s GPS service work in India ?
The Iphone 3G’s GPS function is a global function and will definitely work in India, but as of now it will be very useless as Satguide and MapmyIndia, the two topmost routing providers in India dont have an Iphone 3G application yet. To use Google maps, you will need GPRS/Wifi to connect to internet and download maps, Google Maps are decent for Indian cities.
Original Iphone didnt have GPS.
12. Will Airtel/Vodafone Iphone 3G support EDGE ?
Yes it will.
13. How much will the Airtel and Vodafone Iphone 3G cost ?
This is a repeat question, but the fact is around 15000 Indian Rupees (INR) seems like the appropriate cost for the Iphone 3G in India, the price could be higher, but definitely not lower. Apple will try and position it as a niche product so $199 cost is not feasible or appropriate. In US huge plan costs will help subside the phone cost but in India that cant be the case, most people love the freedom of prepaid unlike the USA.
14. Cant i buy the Iphone in America and come back to India ?
Apple and AT&T arent as stupid as you think, the Iphone is sold in USA with an AT&T contract. For the contract, AT&T will probably need your SSN and other identification documents. The phone plan like any other should have a security as well which would be forfeited if you try and rip AT&T or Apple off.
More FAQ will be added later, Please correct us in comments if anything is wrong, also you are welcome to give your views, select comments may be incorporated in the post also.
