Bsnl+OnMobile offering VAS

BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has tied-up with OnMobile - a leading provider of telecom Value Added Services (VAS), to launch a slew of Marathi, Hindi and English-based value added services on the voice platform, for its Maharashtra CellOne and Landline subscribers. Kuldeep Goyal, CGM, BSNL, Maharashtra, said, "This is the first time in Maharashtra, that landline users can also take advantage of value added services like ring tones, prayers, cricket commentary, songs, news and more, in addition to mobile users. We will be working with OnMobile to continually increase and improve the services available for our subscribers."
Using a single number 12555 to dial any mobile or landline user of BSNL can access and interact with the new service, by speaking in his or her natural language be it English, Hindi or any other regional language. Users will be charged Rs 1.20 per minute for landline, and Rs 5 per min for mobile. Goyal said, "Additionally, the multimodal call back number of the service 12555XX allows users to reach the desired service without going through main menu navigation. This feature will help in increased uptake of the service, as regular users will be able to reach the desired application directly." Arvind Rao, CEO, OnMobile, said, "We at OnMobile are committed to improving the usage experience of all telecom subscribers in their natural language, with our innovative voice enabled services platform. The services offered to BSNL subscribers are already being tried and tested by multiple operators across the country, and today BSNL Maharashtra adds to our customer base of more than 25 million users across the country." As of now, value added services including Ring tone downloads, dial-a-song, cricket scores, jokes, prayers, contests, movie zone, and star specials are available to BSNL customers.

Nokias Life Blog 2.0

At the ongoing CeBit Trade Show at Frankfurt in Germany, Nokia introduced the Nokia Lifeblog 2.0 - which the company says is a unique collection and storage solution for personal multimedia content, designed exclusively for Nokia's Nseries multimedia computers. With the new Nokia Lifeblog 2.0, users can create a rich personal multimedia diary with photos, video clips, messages and text notes all stored in one place. With content organized in a systematic manner, it is easy to browse, search, view and share the content both on the user's mobile device as well as on a compatible PC.
The latest version of Nokia's Lifeblog builds on the qualities of its pre-decessors by adding audio notes, calendar entries and location information to the diary. The user's Nokia Nseries device can be set to immediately link his/her photos to information about his/her location, calendar entries, etc. With the push of a button, all content including photos and video clips can be conveniently transferred to a compatible PC, making for permanent storage and also freeing up memory space on the user's Nokia NSeries device. Nokia says it is essential to install Nokia Lifeblog on the user's Nokia Nseries multimedia computer, in order to enjoy the complete Nokia Lifeblog experience. Mikko Pilkama, director, Nokia Nseries, said, "With imaging becoming an integral part of mobile devices, the way people approach photography is changing. You are able to capture events and create memories in a spontaneous way as your device is always with you. Because of this we have developed a version of Nokia Lifeblog that works exclusively with our Nokia Nseries range. This new version of Nokia Lifeblog provides users with a simple solution to store, manage and share the personal multimedia content they've created. It's like having a photo album and a multimedia diary that builds itself." Available for compatible PCs, the new Nokia Lifeblog PC software can be downloaded for free from www.nokia.com/lifeblog. The new mobile software which is compatible with all Nokia Nseries devices, is expected to be available for free download beginning end April 2006.

Apple to start new Tech support Center

Apple Computer Inc. is setting up a technical support center in Bangalore, India, according to a report Thursday in a local Indian newspaper.
Apple will hire 1,500 staff at the technical center by the end of this year, according to The Times of India newspaper. The center will have 3,000 staff at the end of next year, the report said.
Representatives from Apple's Indian operations were not immediately available for comment.
A number of multinational technology companies, including computer maker Dell Inc. have set up technical support centers in India, to support their global operations.

Windows Live Search is Launched

Microsoft Corp has announced the availability of its Windows Live Search Beta, which promises to help people find information on the Web which matters most to them. Microsoft has also released an updated version of Live.com and a Windows Live Toolbar beta - both complementing Windows Live Search. Windows Live Search incorporates rich viewing and organizational tools, extensive search categories such as image and local search, and services which will help users customize results.
Windows Live Search promises to provide better control over search by incorporating new features such as search preview, scoping tools, search slider bar to increase level of information on the results page, and smart scrolling to enable people view search results without having to move from page to page. Windows Live Search also offers specific search categories including the new image search, news search, RSS feeds, email search, local search, and searching of MSN Shopping and MSN Spaces. Windows Live Search is geared to deliver a singular search experience across all upcoming Windows Live services such as Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail. As part of the Windows Live Search experience, Microsoft has launched the Windows Live Search Macros beta which enables users to save and share specific queries plus search scopes, and to customize their search results. The other service launched by the company - Windows Live Toolbar, allows people to search from any Web page using Windows Live Search; and to easily save, organize and share the information they find online. The beta offers advanced protection against phishing and pop-up blocking, so that people can browse more safely while they search. The Windows Live Toolbar incorporates features such as Onfolio technology, RSS detection, automatic aggregation to the user's personalized Live.com home page, effortless customization, and tabbed browsing for quicker Web surfing. The latest version of Live.com released by Microsoft sports a new design plus features that help users quickly customize their home page, preview content, create multiple pages based on their interests, and add their favorite content from various information sources and RSS feeds. Microsoft will for the first time make Windows Live Search available on Live.com. Live.com will feature advanced search services; and new gadgets including image search, a clock, Windows Live Favorites, stock quotes, MSN video and MSN Infopane. Microsoft plans to constantly update Live.com with new services, based on customer feedback. Christopher Payne, corporate vice president - Windows Live Search, Microsoft, said, "We're unveiling a range of innovations that deliver an outstanding level of power and simplicity to search. Combined with the rich browsing and integrated searching services delivered by Windows Live Toolbar and Live.com, the new search service offers customers the next generation of unified services today." Microsoft's new services will be available in the US, and in select international markets wherein feature availability will vary.

A notice to telephone operators from trai

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued showcause notices on network congestion to cellular operators including Bharti Tele-Ventures, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Telecom, BPL Mobile, and Spice Communication. TRAI stated that in the quarter ended December 2005, the networks of these operators had registered an increase in the number of point of interconnections (PoIs) having congestion more than the 0.5 percent benchmark.
Hutchison-Essar, Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, and Idea Cellular were not sent notices since according to TRAI, their networks did not show a similar increase in congestion vis- -vis the TRAI benchmark. Post studying the performance of various cellular mobile service providers in the quarter ended December 2005, TRAI found that though there had been some improvement in meeting prescribed standards as regards service quality, the performance of most operators had deteriorated in respect of PoI congestion. The regulator expressed the view that looking at the state of affairs, it was obvious that either service providers had not taken necessary steps to reduce the time period for provision of interconnection as laid-down in the interconnection agreement; or they had not approached the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to resolve the dispute - if any, regarding effecting a reduced time period for augmentation of interconnection. On November 29, 2005, TRAI had issued a directive to all cellular operators asking them to ensure that by December 31, 2005, all service parameters including levels of PoI congestion, would be brought within TRAI benchmarks. Before that, a study through July to September 2005 had shown that PoI congestion was more than prescribed benchmarks in almost 364 locations; the figure rose to 398 by end December.

Epson Introducing a new all in one

Epson has announced the launch of its Stylus CX3700 all-in-one printer which allows users to print, scan and copy photos directly, and promises to provide excellent print quality at an affordable price.

The Stylus CX3700 uses Epson's new Durabrite Ultra Ink - optimised for low-cost printing, to provide users with BorderFree printouts up to A4 size. The CX3700 includes Epson's intelligent Inkdividual cartridge system, which allows users to replace only that ink which has been used-up. The built-in Black Ink Save Mode facilitates intelligent mixing of colours, whenever black ink runs low thereby ensuring colour consistency and continued printing.

The combination of Epson's new Ultra Glossy Photo Paper and the ability of the Stylus CX3700 to print at 5760 optimised dpi, ensures photo quality prints.

Epson's Stylus CX3700 features a simple control panel allowing fast operation of the printer in stand-alone mode; 600dpi CIS scanner which cuts down warm-up time substantially; Epson's Creativity Suite designed to automate tedious printing tasks; Epson Easy Photo Print offering users a three-stage interface for choosing, positioning and printing images; scan to email/fax function; Colour Restore function to re-vitalize old photos; and Epson's Micro Piezo print head technology which lets ink droplet sizes to be varied down to a minimum of 4 picolitre thus optimizing performance.

S M Ram Prasad, business manager - consumer products, Epson India, said, "In today s busy lifestyle, cost-effectiveness and durability are the key to consumers who require a long-lasting solution that meets their needs. The Epson Stylus CX3700 provides the best-value printing and copying option for home and SOHO users, so that they can now achieve long-lasting quality printouts easily and cost-effectively."

Epson Stylus CX3700 is available at all Epson authorized dealers at an MRP of Rs 6,220.

Cisco= SIP+IP

Cisco Systems has announced plans to adopt a key Internet Protocol telephony standard, which will allow for the addition of new network service features and will let companies like Microsoft integrate their communications products with Cisco gear.

Cisco Systems said it will add support for SIP (session initiation protocol), to its IP PBX software.

SIP helps establish contact between IP phones, and enables addition of special features such as presence awareness, video or mobility capabilities, onto a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network. SIP also allows companies using VoIP to considerably lower the cost of deploying such a network.

The latest version of Cisco's product - CallManager 5.0, will include SIP capabilities for Cisco IP phones, multimedia communications software, and presence-awareness software.

So far Cisco has been the only major supplier not to support SIP in its IP PBX software. Barry O'Sullivan, vice president - IP communications, Cisco, said that the company move is in line with the fact that IP telephony is no longer restricted to toll bypass, and that people need to be able to communicate and collaborate through the means that best suits them.

Although CallManager 5.0 is geared to work with any SIP-based phone, Cisco intends to support a softphone or PC-based phone client for Research In Motion's BlackBerry handheld and Nokia's new dual-mode phones.

In another announcement, Cisco said, it plans to bring together the worlds of voice, data, video and mobile communications in the form of a new architecture dubbed the Cisco Unified Communications system.

A key part of this architecture - the Cisco Unified Personal Communicator would combine different communications media. Unlike its pre-decessors, the new Communicator will be made available in two versions; one based on Microsoft Communicator, and the other based on Linux.

Cisco announced it is working with Microsoft Corp to integrate Microsoft's Office Communicator 2005 and Office Live Communications, with Cisco's Unified Communications System.

In effect, users will be able to launch a VoIP conversation directly from their Microsoft Outlook client. The interoperable package is expected to ship in August 2006.

Samsungs New 8 GB Phone

Samsung has announced plans to launch its SGH-i310, a 8GB Windows Mobile-based cell phone, in the second half of 2006.

Samsung's fourth model to incorporate a hard-disk drive, the SGH-i310 is a candy-bar form factor handset which looks similar to the i300 HDD phone launched by Samsung last year. Like the i300, the i310 also includes a music player, dual speakers, an amplifier and a Bluetooth stereo link. The music player supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WAV and Ogg music file formats.

With dimensions of 112 x 48 x 20 mm and weighing around 120 gms, the SGH-i310 features a 2 megapixels digital camera, Bluetooth printing and video output connector. The phone is compatible with GSM, GPRS and EDGE technologies, and runs the Windows Mobile 5.0 for smartphone operating systems.

Samsung's 1.5GB HDD phone, SPH-V5400 launched in September 2004 was the first-ever to have an embedded hard-disk drive. The SPH-V7900 and SGH-i300, each incorporating a 3GB hard-disk drive soon followed suit.

The latest phone will reportedly be unveiled later this week at the Cebit Show beginning Thursday at Hanover, and is expected to hit European markets in the second half of 2006. The pricing has not yet been announced.

Oracle Starting New search Engine

Oracle has staked out ground in the rapidly changing enterprise search industry with the introduction of Oracle Secure Enterprise Search 10g, a standalone engine that can search databases, file systems, enterprise content management systems, portals, e-mail systems and enterprise applications for internal corporate use.

Oracle enters as the corporate search market is realigning and expanding. Two of the major providers of corporate search technology have merged, with Autonomy's acquisition of Verity last year. Then there is Google's entrance into the space. IBM has also thrown its hat into the ring with the introduction of its own standalone engine, OmniFind.