Telecom:

8- SIMs & SINs Grow Together

10- PTA Out to Thwart Cellphone Swindlers Activities
12- Mobilink Facilitates 'The Citizens Foundation'
14- Ericsson’s Enriched Messaging Architecture
18- Mobile Phone Users Hit 63.1 Million Mark
20- Expansion or Turmoil
80- Bluetooth's Amazing Makeover

Cover Story:
46- WiMAX: Revolution Begins

46 WiMAX: Revolution Begins

IT:
24- RAID for IT Based Television
75- Bringing Bollywood to Video Games
78- Intel Claims Breakthrough in High-Speed Computing

Informative:
50- Coming Mobiles
52- Current Mobiles
58- Mobile Reviews
64- In Pictures
73- Enemy Engaged 2 8 SIMs & SINs Grow Together
76- Hot Laptops

Branding:
19- Launch of the Month
22- Building Brands
Facilitates
12 'The Citizens Foundation'
Tourism:
26- Zaver Pearl Continental Gwadar

Briefs:
28- World in Focus
82- National 19 Launch of the Month
86- International

Press Release:
90- Latest ZRG Achievements

62
Nokia
7900
Prism
4
80 Bluetooth's Amazing Makeover
 Mobile Phone Manufacturing Plant

I
n a developing country like Pakistan, where greater amount of heads
have played their role in taking the Telecom sector to record heights
along with the tremendous amount of investment made by foreign
and national cellular companies, now this is the time to think beyond
the numbers of cellular consumers and the revenues generated by the
cellular companies.
Cellular companies are penetrating new market areas, mostly the rural,
with their full strengths. Market analysis expose that around 40 million more
mobile phone users can be added in coming few years.
Despite of regulation policy, 65 million current users, 6 operating cellular
companies, billions of foreign direct investment and many other favorable
motives, Pakistan is still unable to attract any mobile phone manufacturer to
set up its plant here for the local market.
Pakistan has got world's lowest tariffs available - making the cellular com-
munication affordable for every one, yet the high prices of mobile phone
devices remains a dilemma for Pakistani consumer. After sale services
require months if not weeks, leaving the owner in despair.
Manufacturing in Pakistan can shave costs by 3-4 percent - an attractive
edge for handset makers whose margins are being eroded by fierce competi-
tion and heavy advertising costs. Low cost manpower and local market
potential makes the most suitable condition for a manufacturer in Pakistan.
Unavailability of locally manufactured mobile phones and high cost of
imported phones is creating a situation of great demand of grey market and
pirated phones with low quality standards and durability.
Nokia produces over 4 million GSM and CDMA phones and Samsung get-
ting well over million mobile devices from its plant in India. Others include
Motorola and LG who are also playing key role in the production of cell
phones.
Mobile phone plants can not only cut down the mobile needs of our mar-
ket, but they can play very critical role for the economic betterment of
Pakistan. These plants can earn employment of thousands of technicians
and heavy exports.
In a recent statement by Chairman PTA, Maj. Gen. (R) Shezada Alam, he
has urged for manufacturing facility in Pakistan, but feels like there is more
needed in this regard to achieve the desired results. 

Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Editor-in-Chief Published by Good News PR Network

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6

Telephone Complaints
PTCL's enquiry No 17 and complaint registration No 18 in Karachi
exchange are not maintaining the required standard of service. Contrary
to the service standard claimed by PTCL many system faults still exist
without improvement even after its privatization and the services are
unreliable, undependable and unsatisfactory.
In general, the 17 service system is disabled and not equipped with
updated information; as a result the customer enquiries are responded
with either misinformation or lack of knowledge.
Telephone faults reported in repetition through PTCL No 18 are not
rectified for months and the written complaints are not given any attention
and subscribers have to run here and there experiencing physical and
mental agony without any gain.
When the calls in systematic waiting sequence are transferred to
PTCL staff identified by operator number (1, 2, 3, 4 and so on) they are
heard already talking to someone else around them rather than respond-
ing to callers.
Talk Freely No 106 is found always busy and most of the operators
attending to calls are not aware of No 16. At times, the operators attend-
ing calls talk in most rude, discourteous and proud tone and handle cus-
tomers in most unprofessional, ignorant and negligent way.
The automated system at No 17 is not equipped with option to transfer
the call to Duty Officer or AE/DE in case the attending operator fails to
satisfy customer or misbehaves. In such cases, all operators neither pro-
vide nor advise telephone contact of their seniors to discourage com-
plaints against them, which shows operators' monopoly, indiscipline, neg-
ligence and mismanagement.
PTCL high-ups are requested to please cross check and update infor-
mation not only in PTCL system but also provide training of customer
services to its operators at 17 and 18 exchanges, improve their attitude
and maintain discipline.
MUHAMMAD TAIMUR HASAN, KARACHI
The Pirated Books
Many of us who are found of books do not like to buy pirated books
but are forced to buy them because of the exorbitant prices of the original
books.
When I was a student in the UK, I was getting a scholarship of 500
pounds and spending 25 or 30 pounds on a book was not considered
very expensive.
These days I ask my relatives in England and USA to buy books for
me and send them to me when some one comes to Pakistan as I think
this is a cheaper option that buying the same book in Pakistan.
One way to combat piracy is to ensure that publishers have affordable
prices for books for local market so that all booklovers do not have to buy
pirated books.
DR IRFAN M ROY, Karachi
Students'plea
WE, the students of final year (BSCS) in the Computer Science
Department, would like to bring to your notice the practice that the stu-
dents of final year have the right to choose their own supervisors for their
final project, and the teachers are willing to help them in this regard.
But this time, the head of the department has appointed himself as the
supervisor along with a single teacher and who consider themselves
responsible for all the students. No consideration has been made regard-
ing what the students require.
This decision is not in any manner beneficial for the students in terms
of their final projects and as a result the future of the students is at stake.
We request the Chancellor of the Karachi University to please look
into this matter and come up with a solution that is in favor of the stu-
dents.
FINAL YEAR STUDENTS
Computer science department
Karachi University, Karachi
Send us your letters at flare.mag@gmail.com or at our postal addresses. Flare reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and space.
Khuda Keh Liye
Khuda Key Liye by Shoaib Mansoor is a great film. The movie is a
good effort towards presenting a timely depiction of controversial
issues. It should serve as an example for others in our film industry to
make films with other objects than glamour. After a long time, this film
offers an opportunity for families to go to the cinema together.
However, the film sometimes falls short of viewers' expectations, as in
the character played by Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah. Shah is a
great actor, but he was the wrong choice for the role he played in
Khuda Key Liye.
Overall, the film is a welcome change because it deals with real life
issues. One hopes that more directors will emulate it and revive our
nearly dead cinema.
M SHAHAAB LODHI, Rawalpindi
Seeking Admission
For the last two years I have been trying to enroll in the Master of
Library and Information Sciences (MLIS) programme at Allama Iqbal
Open University (AIOU). I believe I am quite eligible for this pro-
gramme but have not yet secured admission.
I assured the university that I would attend workshops anywhere in
Pakistan which is compulsory for MLIS students. I am serving in a well
known private university in Karachi as a librarian in lower grade and
wish to improve my qualifications. As AIOU is an open university and
offer their programmes to all candidates in the country, I do not under-
stand why the MLIS programme is not being extended to candidates
all over the country and is only reserved for Islamabad.
I request the authorities to kindly consider my case.
HUMERA JAMSHED, Karachi
Tobacco Hazards
Recently Philip Morris announced the closing of one of its two US
cigarette producing plants. The report stated: "The Richmond plant
also will switch from making cigarettes destined for both US and inter-
national markets to a strictly domestic market."
However, Bangladesh, Beijing, and Budapest most likely will get a
different and more deadly cigarette than Beverly Hills that will not be
produced and tested in the United States. Big and Brutal Tobacco in
the US continues to stay a step ahead of the health of humanity.
MIKE SAWYER, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
All for Making a Cut
Privatization means depriving Pakistan of its properties and assets
which are in fact the major source of our economic strength. So far we
have privatized over a hundred industrial units and business enterpris-
es and received billions in return.
May I ask, where has the money gone because we see no improve-
ment in the country's economy? The contention that privatization
brings in foreign investment seems dubious to me. Why not invite the
foreigners to install new units and run them rather than selling the
already established ones?
As far as the efficiency and profitability of these units is concerned,
there is hardly a criterion. Many units running in profit have been priva-
tized. I remember Kot Adhu Power Plant getting privatized many years
ago while it was making a profit of over Rs.7 billion per year. It was
sold out because the people in power wanted to make a cut from the
deal.
RAFI NASIM, Lahore Cantt
Funds for Education
Everyday one comes across large billboards advertising the huge
allocation of funds for education in the province. But if you get to visit
the village schools, you will find a lot of them still in dilapidated condi-
tion, usually roofless with no electricity, sparse or no furniture and run-
away staff.
The government should have proper surveys and a mechanism for
follow up and monitoring before such large sums of money is spent.
DR.ZULFIQR HAIDER, Lahore
7
 Telecom Zubair Ahmed Kasuri

The role of mobile phone is declared vital in all criminal activities rang-
ing from terrorism, dacoities, kidnapping for ransom, blackmailing and
offensive telemarketing. Amount of unregistered SIMs has created law-
breaking heaven and an atmosphere where incidents of mobile mis-
deeds have reached at alarming heights

I
ncreasing terrorist attacks in Pakistan is
shaking thoughtful minds of officials and
law enforcement agencies. The role of
mobile phone has been declared vital in
all criminal activities. Amount of unregis-
tered SIMs has created law-breaking heaven
and an atmosphere where rising incidents of
terrorism, dacoities , kidnapping for ransom,
blackmailing, offensive telemarketing and other
mobile misdeeds are taking place in different
parts of the country.
8 Recently the subcommittee of the Senate's
Standing Committee on Interior expressed its
concern over the numbers of unregistered
SIMs floating in the market.
Procedure adopted by the mobile phone
franchisees and distributors for the issuance of
Subscribers' Identification Modules (SIMs) and
the system adopted by them to ensure that
SIMs are not issued to the subscribers on the
basis of bogus and fake identity cards is in top
news these days.
Senior officials of the Ministry of Interior, the
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
and Nadra have gathered their sources and
are jointly stepping forward for streamlining the
process of issuing SIMs. Senate's Standing
Committee was briefed that the process has
been initiated to verify the connections and that
cellular phone companies have been directed
to verify the subscribers' data from Nadra.
However Nadra disclosed that only 20.106
million out of 63 million connections have
reached Nadra for verification; Nadra said that
2.849 connections were found unregistered.
It has been observed that franchisees nor-

Only 20.106 million out of 63 million con-
nections have reached Nadra for
verification; out of which 2.849 million
connections were found unregistered
mally register 5000 connections on 1000 identi-
ty cards. Front and back side of identity cards
are replaced in such a pattern that all 1000
front sides of cards are replaced with alternate
back sides. The process is known as "PUNNI"
amongst the distributors and franchisees.
In order to stop cellular misdeeds including
tele-marketing, the registration process of all
mobile connection must be ensured.
Annoying telemarketing calls, especially in
the middle of business meetings, hospital
emergencies and overseas trips that refuse to
spare even kids, are becoming a big concern,
violating the privacy and piece of mind of cellu-
lar subscribers.
With 63 million subscribers currently and
growing rapidly every month, telephony in
Pakistan is witnessing an unimaginable boom
but carries one terrible downside 'Unsolicited
calls'. Banks are the biggest offenders. Car
loans, home loans, personal loans, even loans
to pay off other loans, and an unending list of
unsolicited calls subscirbers receive daily.
More terribly, the tele-sales persons have
complete personal and private information
about subscribers, including name, business
and personal contact details, the bank where
you have maintained your account, your com-
pany name and even balance of your
The process is known as "PUNNI", which involves
account and the transactions you have
made recently.
Obviously such information is very
important for a money lending salesman,
who can use it for any good or bad pur- registering 5000 connections on 1000 identity
pose other than just selling his/her prod-
uct.
There are various approaches used
cards. Front and back side of identity cards are
in many countries to restrict painful tele-
marketing calls. A quick look at those
methods used to control tele-marketing
paired in such a pattern that makes the number of
calls uncovers that registration of each
mobile phone connection is foremost.
However in Pakistan the practice is not
exercised.
"Once your cellular number is exposed to
tele-marketers, you will find that there are more
calls you get each day, furthermore. A notable
increase in the ratio of marketing calls will be
seen once you have posted a positive
response to any package. This gives a clear
feeling that these telemarketing companies
share their data with-in their departments or
even with other telemarketing companies likely
to be based on barter system" said Ali Hassan,
Senior Professor at a local university.
Banks also arrange data from other sources
as well; hotels, restaurants, online communi-
ties, directories and yellow pages are the big
sources.
A survey conducted by Flare revealed that
data obtained from bank accounts generates
fifty percent of response however these stats
showed a fall to only ten percent response
when the data was collected from any other
source.
Survey further revealed that 35 percent of
calls receive positive response when the prod-
uct is long term loan; short term loans normally
get 30 percent response.
Tendency of response for credit card is
seen very minimal that is only or below than
five percent.
The story does not end up with
just voice calls but the bundle pack-
age includes text messages floating
on to your mobile phones.
Despite of the fact that these calls
may not be that money-spinning
activity for tele-marketers, decreasing
tariff plans are fanning the fire with
more affordable calls and text mes-
sage rates, hence the number of tele-
sales calls is increasing with each
passing day.
Telemarketing calls involves priva-
cy invasion and identity theft.
Identity theft occurs when someone uses
another person's personal information to take
on that person's identity. This personal informa-
tion can even be of your cell number or email
address. Thus sharing this information and
using it for any marketing/commercial purpose
comes in the segment of Identity Theft. This
Identity theft is considered as chargeable illegal
offense in many countries but not in Pakistan
unfortunately.
Developed countries have introduced rules
and regulations to cap unsolicited calls. Voiding
identity theft is yet impossible even in United
NIC 5 times higher
States but the practice adopted there to elimi-
nate the chances of unwanted calls is by main-
taining a database named as 'Do Not Call
Registry', where any one can register his/her
wired/wireless number to get included into
national do-not-call list for five years.
Managed by Federal Trade Commission
and enforced by Federal Communications
Commission, 'Do Not Call Registry' is a regula-
tion, by which calling a person whose number
is listed in the registry is unlawful.
Under the law, if consumer receivers any
telemarketing call, despite his/her number in
'Do Not Call Registry', he/she can register
complaint against the marketing company, who
will have to pay US 11,000 dollars (approx Rs.
665,280) for one instance of violation.
It merits mentioning here that 'Do Not Call
Registry' system does not allow you to register
business voice number or fax numbers.
Started on June 27th, 2003, 'Do not Call
Registry' witnessed more than 27 million tele-
phone numbers registered during the first
month. At its peak, the system handled 4 mil-
lion registrations in one day.
System developed by AT&T was found suc-
cessful when it took only 2 years to register
Telecom
100 million telephone numbers into the system.
Altogether, there are 240 million telephone
numbers in the U.S., so the registry holds 43%
of the total.
Such regulations are introduced in many
countries other than United Sates; latest in
India where Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (TRAI) issued regulations to set up a
National Do-Not-Call Registry (NDNCR) by
end-August 2007. Regulator said it will come
into force on September 5 2007. The registry
will have a list of numbers to which telemarket-
ing calls shouldn't be made or text messages
sent. If telemarketers call anyone on the list,
they would face penalties up to Rs. 500 per
instance.
Fifteen days after the establishment of the
NDNCR, telephone and mobile phone compa-
nies will have to set up do-not-call (DNC) lists.
Anyone not wanting to receive telemarketing
calls will have to instruct their respective tele-
com companies to include their number in the
list.
Analysts consider this approach not much
practical in countries like Pakistan because of
countless flaws in the enforcement of law. In a
situation where the market is unsaturated and
there is plenty of room for tele-marketers to
earn, it would be difficult for the regulator to
make such a law exercisable in Pakistan. To
achieve maximum results from such a system
regulator, after blocking the telephone number,
has to make sure that tele-marketing company
should not be issued other communication line.
Another methodology to restrict unwanted
calls is to block all calls other than your contact
list saved at your operator end. This will make
sure the maximum of your privacy however,
you are at a risk of not getting calls if some
one from your friends or family calls from a
new number particularly in emergency.  9
 Telecom Iftikhar Butt
Every invention or device is vulnerable to new risks, challenges, fraud,
swindling and of course thefts. This is happening around the globe from
cell phone gadgets to nuclear technology. But these criminal activities only
stimulate the caretaking endeavors of authorities' responsibility for
safeguarding the interests of the owners/customers
T
his is a space age and an era of
latest technologies boom in the
world of telecom. Yesterday's
dream to "Reach Whenever and
Wherever" has become a reality
now. The globe has undergone tremendous
communicational metamorphosis resulting
these little cellular gadgets to reach anywhere
on planet earth in seconds. Pakistan is not lag-
ging behind in this race. There is phenomenal
growth of state-of-the art cellphone devices,
which is playing a vital role in the socio-eco-
nomic life of the masses providing assorted
programmes. In fact the desire to have a gadg-
et has assumed the form of techno mania.
This technology, once a status symbol, is per-
vading all segments of society without any
exception.
The telecom sector of Pakistan has been
on a roll of huge development and growth.
This is the result of efficient regulation and
visionary policy making on part of Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA). PTA has
never rested on its laurels, since its inception a
decade back in 1996. It should be rightly proud
of its accomplishments as by adhering to the
On average, over 300 complaints are being
registered daily by PTA and CPLC. Out of total
96,000 stolen/snatched cellphones which were
blocked by PTA, Karachi leads the stats with
around 51,000 phones from the city
mandate to regulate and promote telecom
services, it has taken quantum jumps. More
vistas are being opened to promising invest-
ments at home and from abroad. In fact PTA is
always looking for fresh challenges every
moment to ensure progress and development
of country's economy, and of course a rapid
growth in the telecom segment. The credit
goes to its dedicated and indefatigable teams,
which played a catalytic role not only in the
growth of an economy but also in the entire
social, cultural, educational and in general all
aspects of human life.
Every invention or device is vulnerable to
new risks, challenges, high-jacking, fraud,
swindling and of course thefts which result in
robbing the owner/user of his/her peace of
mind, privacy and the purse. And it is happen-
ing around the globe from cell phone gadgets
to nuclear technology. The thieves and
swindlers have devised their own scientific
techniques and technologies to defy security
barriers and silence alarms. But these criminal
10 activities only stimulate the caretaking endeav-
ors of authorities' responsibility for safeguard-
ing the interests of the owners/customers.
PTA has been successfully tackling with
problems concerning cellphones thefts etc, has
girded up its loins to save the mobile phone
users from a novel menace-swindlers. These
swindlers are using the cellphones to make
hoax calls and unsolicited text messages,
alluring the users to buy prepaid scratch cards
and convey back the concealed numbers to
the caller to win attractive cash prizes. The vic-
tim is lured into the snare and loses the
amount plus the 'prize', as there is no such
prize.
Meanwhile, the PTA has geared up its
efforts to foil the malicious designs of the
swindlers and advised the cellphone users to
immediately contact their cellular operators to
verify the information. According to PTA, some
instances have also been reported wherein
mobile phone users were deprived of the pre-
paid balance when they were asked to answer
a particular SMS which contained a secret
message transferring the prepaid balance from
customer's account to the swindler's account in
case of a desired reply.
The PTA has set up a complaint cell with
phone number 051-9225329-31 ext.155 and
e-mail address complaint@pta.gov.pk. The
PTA is determined to take appropriate action
against those involved in these criminal activi-
ties.
Similarly, hundreds of cellphones are stolen
or snatched everyday from all over the country.
The PTA is not a law enforcement agent but
perhaps it is going beyond mandatory commit-
ment to the mobile operators and users to miti-
gate latter's sufferings caused by loss of not
just the gadget but secrecy and privacy too.
The authority has devised an anti-theft solution
mustering cooperation, coordination and col-
laboration of mobile operators, City Police
Liaison Committee (CPLC), Federal and
Provincial police departments. The solution
called Blocking of snatched handsets through
International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI)
system renders the mobile set inoperative.
Within about 9 months, these desperados
onslaught has been significantly checked prov-
ing the experiment formula very effective.
Since the initiation of IMEI system, about
96,000 handsets have been blocked.
According to the Chairman PTA, Maj. Gen. (R)
Shahzada Alam Malik, the Authority has
devised a Standard Operating Procedure
(SOP). The SOP was delivered to mobile oper-
ators and others concerned providing easy
method to report mobile phone thefts. A vital
factor-awareness and education of users has
already been undertaken in the form of elec-
tronic and print media campaign-which is a
good head start. This is bound to hold the
criminals at bay.
Every mobile set owns its specific number-
IMEI number, which, if blocked, turns the
gadget into a piece of scrap. The global mobile
system (GSM) network uses the IMEI number,
identifies valid devices which helps stop the
instrument in reaching the network. The mobile
companies have their respective Equipment
Identity Register (EIR). They block the handset
using IMEI number in case of a reported theft.
The consumer reporting the theft has to pro-
vide the IMEI number along with the SIM
(phone) number.
PTA makes it obligatory on the user to pro-
vide his/her IMEI number, SIM number and
national identity card number prior to the regis-
tration of the complaint. A subscriber may
check the status of any mobile handset by put-
ting in the IMEI number on Authority's website
www.pta.gov.pk Its database has been estab-
lished by PTA. PTA pushes up the complaint to
mobile phone operators who immediately
blocks the working of handset using their IMEI
number which can be accessed by dialing
*#06# from the mobile handset.
The Authority, extending further coopera-
tion, has dedicated a countrywide toll free
number 0800-25625 besides an e-mail
address imei@pta.gov.pk for booking the com-
plaint. Complaints are also entertained at
CPLC Karachi at PH: 021-5682222, Fax: 021-
5683336 and at their website www.cplc.org.pk
The IMEI system is yielding encouraging
results as the fall in incidence of mobile sets
snatching is noticeable. On average, over 300
complaints are being registered daily by PTA
and CPLC. Out of total 96,000 stolen/snatched
cellphones which were blocked by PTA,
Karachi leads the stats with around 51,000
phones from the city.
So far, PTA efforts are testament of the fact
that it is pursuing a consumer-oriented
approach since its inception. The concerted
efforts of the regulator have resulted in
enhanced telecom services across the country.
It has also protected interests of the telecom
users by taking effective measures. 
This article is being printed on a request
from PR Department PTA
 Telecom Flare Report
Mobilink believes in playing an active role in supporting the com-
munity and social development in Pakistan. Mobilink's welfare has
eyed 'The Citizens Foundation' to assist them provide high quality
education by funding two schools in Lahore and Karachi
"
Children should epitomize all that is
good, pure and hopeful about our
world. The sad reality is that for mil-
lions, today's world is a harsh,
uncompromising and frightening
place….Children in need cross all cultural,
racial, religious and international divides but
there are no barriers to helping fellow human
beings. Humankind is one and we need each
other to survive" (Archbishop Desmond Mpilo
Tutu)
For any developing society to be successful
and flourish a major part depends on the
involvement of its local members and its
organizations. In most developing countries,
various Non-Governmental Organizations
(NGO's) are working actively in a variety of
sectors, such as sanitation, education, health,
and human rights etc. During the last few
decades NGO involvement in the development
sector has been phenomenal and has borne
positive results.
Pakistan ranks amongst the lowest coun-
tries according to the human development
index of UNDP. With an estimated 162 million
people, it is the 7th most populous country in
the world. Annual population growth rate is
Mobilink has provided funds to TCF
for the construction and operations
of two schools, a primary school in
Lahore (Nathoki) and secondary
school in Karachi (Gulshan-e-
Maimar), which will be operational
by August 2007; Mobilink will also
fund the running cost of these
schools on an annual basis
2.0% and with this growth rate Pakistan's pop-
ulation is expected to cross the 295 million
mark by the year 2050. With an increasing
population every year, only half will have
access to any formal education - the remaining
will never see the inside of a school. Out of
162 million Pakistanis, 83 million adults of age
15 years and above (51%) are illiterate. 38%
of all male adults of age 15 years and above
are illiterate whereas for females the percent-
age is as high as 65%. The state of govern-
ment schools is very poor; 15% of them are
12 without a proper building, 52% without a
boundary wall, 40% without water, 71% without
electricity and there is frequent absenteeism of
teachers. Government Expenditure on
Education is only 1.8% of GDP.
TCF (The Citizens Foundation) is one such
organization which is diligently working on
developing the education structure and creat-
ing opportunities for children all over Pakistan.
TCF schools are located in rural areas and
urban slums where sending a child to school
means losing a bread-earner. To make educa-
tion affordable to such families, 'pay-as-you-
can afford' system has been setup, where,
scholarships up to 95% are awarded on the
basis of need which is assessed on the
grounds of the overall household income of
each family, its circumstances and education
related expenses.
TCF has Created more than 3,600 jobs; of
which more than 2,400 are teachers and prin-
cipals, 311 school units in 42 locations across
Pakistan and about 40,000 enrolled students.
This percentage comprises of 50% female stu-
dents.
TCF has very dedicated groups of support-
ers in Pakistan, USA, Canada, UK, UAE and
Bahrain who have established TCF's presence also had a presence at the "TCF Ilmathon", a
in their respective countries as well. walk organised to rid Pakistan of illiteracy and
One of their ardent supporters in Pakistan ignorance. The walk takes place every year in
is Mobilink. The company supports TCF in an DHA and finishes with a 'Mauj Mela' held at the
honorary capacity to create awareness about Marina Club. Mobilink will also support a mar-
TCF and coordinate fund-raising effort to raise keting campaign for TCF as well as an SMS
donations for various TCF programs. The com- donation campaign.
pany is devoted to the cause of providing qual- TCF is also working on rehabilitation and
ity education to the less-privileged masses of reconstruction in the earthquake affected
Pakistan and is working closely with the TCF region (TCF Relief Fund) and aims to build up
to help take education opportunities for chil- schools wherever possible in these areas. Out
dren to newer locations. of the total number of 172 houses, Mobilink
Mobilink has provided funds to TCF for the has helped TCF in Rehabilitation and recon-
construction and operations of two schools, a struction of 50 houses including supporting
primary school in Lahore (Nathoki) and sec- infrastructure, and water supply in Chamman
ondary school in Karachi (Gulshan-e-Maimar). Kotli Nawab Khan village in AJK.
The funds will support to TCF in the construc- Mobilink CSR team monitors the projects
tion, operations and provision of funded by the company. A recently received
furniture/equipment for these schools. Mobilink progress report of, construction of houses in
will also fund the running cost of these schools Chamman Kotli village shows, 58 houses
on an annual basis. It is planned that the reaching the roof stage while 60 houses are at
schools will be operational by August 2007. various levels of plinth construction and 21 are
A large-scale education program, with a at site preparation and excavation.
growing network of schools, requires support A future goal of TCF is to establish 1,000
in various capacities and large resources of school units educating 360,000 children and
funds. TCF's Education Program is funded Mobilink plans to maintain a long-term commit-
entirely with donations and Mobilink has joined ment with the NGO and will be even more visi-
them in their cause to fight illiteracy. Mobilink ble as a corporate partner in the future. 
 Telecom Åke Gustafsson and Anders Lenman
To achieve simple, efficient interworking between messaging services, Ericsson has introduced a new
architecture with a common interworking function (IWF) that features a dispatcher and a common
message store. Ericsson communalized other aspects of messaging servers. The resultant design is a
horizontalization of traditional, vertical messaging solutions which gives rise to lower total cost of
ownership (TCO) and fewer, better-quality components, and yields a simple, scalable, and robust
messaging architecture that maintains all states in the shared message store file system
S
tudies and market trends show that
messaging solutions must be easier
to use if they are to facilitate commu-
nication and increase traffic. Today,
for example, to use SMS, MMS, e-
mail, instant messaging (IM), voice mail, and
so on, end users must be aware of the under-
lying technology and their intended recipients'
capabilities.
Ericsson's enriched messaging architecture
addresses this matter by allowing end users to
exchange messages with anybody, at any
time, and from any place without having to
give the associated technologies a thought.
The new architecture provides mechanisms
that accommodate interworking between mes-
saging services. Some key functions in this
context are addressing, routing, and message
header mapping.
Traditional interworking is typically achieved
by means of an interworking function compo-
nent between two separate messaging servic-
es. An IWF component contains protocol han-
dlers (PH) for each service, and logic for han-
dling message header mappings. Each mes-
saging service typically routes messages inde-
pendently.
Ericsson's enriched messaging solution
introduces a new architecture with a common
IWF function that features a dispatcher and a
common message store. These two key com-
ponents provide a generic IWF function and
common message routing logic.
The dispatcher, which is both the brain and
the heart of the enriched messaging core,
ensures that messages are routed properly
(brain). It also safeguards messages by means
of scheduled retry events that make certain
they do not get stuck in the system (heart-
beat).
The message store, which is a common
storage function for all messages, regardless
of messaging service used, is structured into
mailboxes - one mailbox per user.
Enriched Messaging Core Architecture
In essence, the enriched messaging core is
a store-and-forward engine that consists of a
dispatcher, the common message store, and
messaging servers. Messaging server, such as
MMS, SMS, IM, voice mail, and e-mail servers
handle protocol of external interfaces.
The three entities, dispatcher, common
message store, and messaging servers, inter-
act with every message that passes through
the enriched messaging solution. Figure illus-
trates this interaction. Box A describes the flow
of messages in the enriched messaging core
architecture.
To preserve flexibility and optimize inter-
working, messages are stored both in native
and MIME formats. Any messaging server may
thus easily pick up a message for delivery.
Message Store
Message store is a standard network-
14 filesystem-mounted (NFS) file server that hosts
one mailbox folder per user. The folder con-
tains all of a given user's messages regardless
of messaging service used. Every mailbox
folder has a set of subordinate folders, for
instance, an Inbox and an Outbox.
Border Gateways
Border gateways are a set of proxies that
translate access-dependent protocols into
instructions that can be read by messaging
servers. The voice gateway, for instance,
translates circuit-switched (CS) voice into
voice over IP (VoIP).
Enablers
Enablers are resources that perform com-
mon functions with service-independent busi-
ness logic used by, say, the messaging
servers, to fulfill their business logic. The
Media Adaptation enabler, for example, is a
Interworking between messaging servers
resource that can transcode any given mes-
sage content from one format to another. It can
also change image size and resolution, the
audio coding of a sound clip, and so on…
Common Functions
Common functions are a set of functions
that support a horizontal service network of
user provisioning, charging, single sign-on
(SSO), and network node operation and main-
tenance (O&M).
VASP Gateway
The VASP gateway gives value-added
service providers (VASP) a single point of
access for interacting with operators' service
layer components. It exposes services to appli-
cations in order to simplify the integration of
these applications. VASPs may then provide
message content - short video clips, birthday
greetings, and so on.
Deploying enriched messaging
components
The architecture is designed
for stateless business logic, yield-
ing a simple, scalable and robust
messaging architecture (n+1
redundancy) that maintains all
states in the shared message
store file system.
To achieve near-linear scalabil-
ity and robustness, the messaging
servers and dispatcher are prefer-
ably co-located. This way, the dis-
patcher is local and can invoke
outgoing messaging servers with-
out the need for cross-host/blade
communication. This configuration
also reduces the need for copying data (the
message) over the internal network. Instead,
the design relies on local caches on the blade
or host. Each blade or host thus becomes its
own entity and can be managed independently
(start/stop/restart).
Enriched messaging architecture as a tool
for integration
The open, enriched messaging architecture
is a powerful toolbox for integrating legacy
solutions. One can easily integrate legacy sys-
tems via their network-to-network
interface (NNI). These systems
may either send all messages to
the enriched messaging solutions
for routing analysis and interwork-
ing, or solely those messages that
need to be interworked, as deter-
mined by the legacy system.
Ericsson provides a prepackaged
messaging integration solution
that converges vertical legacy
solutions and IMS. The enriched
messaging gateway, for instance,
contains lightweight messaging
servers that provide a suite of
interfaces for integrating multiven-
dor legacy messaging solutions.
These lightweight messaging
servers basically only support an NNI with
associated business logic, hence the name
messaging gateway.
Conclusion
Ericsson's enriched messaging architecture
gives operators and end users full interworking
between legacy messaging solutions. In addi-
tion, it makes the network smarter, so end
users can concentrate on the message instead
of on underlying technology. Remember, a
message is a message, regardless of the tech-
nology used. 
This article is contributed by PR Department
Ericsson Networks
 Banking Flare Report
A
nd then we blame our local
Banks for not providing service.
Let me tell you something; I
applied for an AMEX Charge
Card some years ago. The card
was then being issued by Union Bank that had
recently been taken over by Shaukat Tareen
and party and AMEX cards was one of the buy
outs that they made to take the Bank to new
heights. I remember using the card in US while
I was traveling and the service was seamless;
no issue in carrying a co brand card.
The system put in place was very nice and
despite the poor hope shown by people in the
co-brand card, the Bank was able to decently
live up to the expectation of its customers both
new as well as old ones. The Bank believed in
providing service of quality and to ensure that
it set up a whole department of service quality
whose only job was to ensure that each and
every service in the Bank is being provided at
a level that should create a WOW experience
for every customer at one stage or the other.
The Bank was then taken over by Standard
Chartered Bank that has been shouting of pro-
viding customized services to its customers. It
believes in providing quality service but there
is no one to ensure that; the logic is that every
one should provide a quality service so that
every thing is of quality. But that requires incul-
cation of the concept at all levels that Standard
Chartered has not been able to do so. Despite
the fact that a reasonable time has been
passed since the final merger of Union Bank
and Standard Chartered Bank, the new entity
has not been able to provide same level serv-
ices to all the customers.
The Bank still treats the customers as
Union Bank customers and Standard
Chartered Bank (SCB) customers, the staff still
is being treated as Union Bank staff and
Standard Chartered staff and the funny part is
that separate HR policies apply to the Union
Bank staff and SCB staff. Some of the staff got
promoted early this year and because they
16 were Union Bank staff they were given the
next
grades as
per Union standards and the even more fun-
nier part was that for the cars of their entitle-
ment they were given money as per old grid;
one staff member whose entitle was a Honda
Civic VTi Oriel PT got the price of a 1600 cc
Honda Civic (i.e. Rs 1,282,500) because as
per Union Bank his entitlement was a 1600 cc
Honda as mentioned above and since Honda
had stopped producing that model he was
given the money to pool in the extra dough
and buy the new Civic or what ever he wants.
On top of all this the car that the staff will
buy by pooling in extra money will be regis-
tered in the Bank's name and the Bank is then
going to claim depreciation on the whole
amount without passing any benefit to the
staff. That is one example of quality service to
internal customers so you can well imagine
what the external customers are going
through.
I mentioned about the AMEX card that I got
from Union Bank. I returned the same to the
Bank over three years back when the bank
also issued me an AMEX credit card. Talking
about the quality of service, I recently received
bills for annual fees of the basic as well as
supplementary charge cards that I had
returned as I mentioned.
When I called at the call centre to ask what
this is, they told me that I don't need to worry
because the system shows them as returned
cards. Upon my explaining the situation and
inquiring about the bills that I had received, I
was told that I should not worry because this
was due to some system error that will be
taken care of. And you know how it was taken
care of; the next month I got the bills again
with immediate payment request and I am sure
all of you would know what that means. That is
some quality that SCB has added to Union.
Another similar stupendous behavior is now
being shown in ABN AMRO Prime Bank merg-
er. The recent announcement of the manage-
ment structure for the combined entity shows
that ABN AMRO has completely shown that
they are going to rummage the Prime Bank
staff. No matter how junior, but wherever ABN
could fit its existing staff, ABN has done that.
Prime staff has only been given a chance to
work where ABN has virtually or actually NO
expertise.
Some of the people have either been
retained on contract or have been given much
lower positions than their caliber and experi-
ence and junior people are much senior to
them. And then they console by saying that
these management layers do not matter; it is
the job that matters. If that was true why at the
first place were all these structures created.
The fact of the matter is that ABN has not
been a performer in the international market
also and no matter what the management says
and claims about the bank and the manage-
ment's capabilities, the truth is that the share-
holders have taken a decision of divesting from
this non-profitable business.
The local bank has also not been doing
well. Though the books showed profit, but their
assets are bleeding and the collection has
been poor; the team was unable to deliver.
After all what do you expect out of a risk head
who has been out of country most of the time
during the year to attend trainings and courses
because he was a business manager who was
made the risk head who now needed to learn
how to manage it.
The best part is that every body at ABN
AMRO is a head of something or the other.
There are so many heads that it makes you
wonder if we really have a body any where.
Every one at ABN is also stunned by the
fact that they have grown to over 80 branches
and they have so much to do now. Prime staff
is acting relatively calm because they have
grown from about 70 so they have only faced
an addition of about 12 branches. ABN plans
to cut away from Peshawar, Quetta, Mardan
and the like areas due to security reasons.
God knows what they are up to. 
 Telecom Azhar Javed
Mobile Phone Users Hit
63.1 Million Mark
T
elenor users up by 200%, Warid
users up by 118%, Ufone users up
by 87%, Mobilink users up 54%. In
the country, the number of mobile
users has exceeded by 63.1 mil-
lion with an addition of 28.6 million during the
fiscal year 2006-07. According to the Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) statistics,
during the previous fiscal year, the most
increase was seen in Telenor users, who went
10.7 million with 200 per cent addition. Other
cellular companies include Warid Telecom with
10.6 million users up by 118 per cent, Ufone
with 14 million users up by 87 per cent, while
Mobilink users count was calculated at 26.4
million up 54 per cent increase.
Meantime, the number of users of Insta and
Paktel services went down to 1.024 million and
333000 respectively.
Keeping in view, the tough competition
among the mobile phone service providers in
the telecom sector, operators of Paktel,
Instaphone, Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor and
Warid have started introducing attractive pack-
ages to all mobile users, which is clearly evi-
dent from their aggressive advertisements.
According to an estimate investment in tele-
com sector has reached up to US$3 billion. In
telecom sector alone government revenues
has increased from Rs. 3.7 billion to Rs. 15.6
billion during the last fiscal year 2005-2006.
As a result of the development in Telecom
sector, a large number of youth got employ-
18
ment. In 2005-06 alone,
114,734 people got good
jobs in the telecom sector.
During this one year,
there was direct foreign
investment of $1 billion in
the telecom sector. By the
end of this year, the num-
ber of telephone users
would increase to
40,000,000. By now mobile
phone is more or less
available in every house.
Wireless local loop and
broadband are becoming
popular. The rate of long
distance calls has come
down by 38%, while the
rate of international calls has come down 67%. been provided by the government. However, it
The international calls from mobile phones has put much responsibility on the regulator to
have become 83% cheaper.Its as cheap as keep check on the sector to avoid the burst of
Rs.2 to call to USA per minutes (that is 3-4 bubble in telecom sector like estate business
cents per minutes). in the country.
The mobile phone use is very common If this scenario prevailed in the telecom
nowadays, be it a rehriwalah, a laborer, stu- sector, it is hoped, the mobile subscriber will
dent, lawyer, journalist or executive in a multi- cross 66 million by end 2007. The growing
national company, cell phone is contemplated competition has forced the cell phone compa-
as an essential part of core necessities of life. nies to lower tariff and other charges. All the
One can imagine that currently and in near operators will have to come up with new pack-
future, opportunities from investment point of ages to retain their customers in this era of
view in the telecom sector are huge. It is fore- MNP and withstand the competition in the sec-
casted that the sector would grow further at tor effectively. 
accelerated pace with right impetus that has
 Launch of the Month

Indian film actors John Abraham (L) and Shah Rukh Khan smile at the launch of "Pepsi My
Can" in Mumbai. The US-based soft drink giant Pepsi has targetted the 'My Can' as a "cool,
on-the-go" style statement for India's youth. The US-based soft drink giants PepsiCo and
Coca-cola account for 99 percent of India's soft drink market.

Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre displays a necklace and ring of

Omega Fine Jewelry at its launch in Bangalore, India. The jewelry
collection comes from the Swiss watch makers Omega.

Oriflem India, Managing Director, Fedrik Widell, left, holds a mirror as Bollywood actress and
model Malaika Arora Khan puts lipstick from Oriflame's 'Power Shine' range during its unveil-
ing in Calcutta, India. Khan is the Brand Ambassador of Oriflem products.

A resident inspects a brand new Mercedes Benz sedan in the car's

display centre in Arbil, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad.

General Manager Sony Ericson Mobile Communication India Sudhi Mathur (R) poses
with a model during a launch ceremony for new cellular telephone handsets in New
Delhi. Sony Eriscon have launched eight new high-technology handsets onto the
Indian market with a starting price of Indian Rupees 14,000 (US$ 348), consolidating
their presence in the music,imaging and smartphone catagories.
Models display necklaces and rings of Omega Fine Jewelry at its
launch during a fashion show in Bangalore, India. The jewelry collec-
tion comes from the Swiss watch makers Omega.
19
 Telecom Ahmed Saeed

Investments, takeovers, mergers, network

rollouts, price war, attractive advertisements
and many more are the keywords of the news
we see daily in papers. Yet the most important
element of telecom sector is yet to be discussed
in our forums; that is customer satisfaction

T
here is an extensive influx of inter-
national telecom giants persistently
trying to ensure their footprints in a
market that is saturated with users
with basic buying prowess. Over
the last 3 years, Pakistan has witnessed nation
wide launch activities of Telenor and Warid
Telecom. Both these telecom giants have been
successful in taking away the share of existing
cellular companies and reducing the price of
phone calls all over the world. Yet, the under-
mining question of all these acquisitions and
moves is to focus on customer satisfaction and
the ratings that the customer concludes from
these changing times and events.
New entries are now on the radar as well.
Qatar telecom has recently purchased shared
in WorldCall Corporation and SingTel has
moved forward in buying certain elements of
Warid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. China Mobile has
purchased Paktel. With all these movements
and activities, new towers are being estab-
lished, networks are being optimized and serv-
ices enhanced. Words like coverage capacity,
implementation, and signal strengths are
becoming the key successors in the lexicon of
the leaders. Yet the primal and most conducive
element - customer understanding - still
remains secluded from the daily activity of the
policies and strategies of theses telecom
giants.
Time is a pertinent factor that drives cus-
tomer satisfaction. In a world where informa-
tion is the harbinger of financial freedom, intel-
lectual enlightenment and emotional apogee,
the pace at which information is shared and
delivered is truly the benchmark. Even with the
fast past movement of telecom infrastructure,
the importance of concluding launch services
has been an uphill task for almost all of the
vendors that now have presence in this part of
the world. Time is really the pertinent differen-
tiator in the market. Customers tend to move
with new trends and packages. "Time to mar-
ket is an ingredient that even successful com-
panies do not administer," states Tom Peters
and Robert Waterman in their highly acclaimed
book 'In search of excellence.' The authors fur-
ther conclude in their book that time is the cat-
alyst that changes the entire market scenario.
Sprint was no better than AT&T, but the simple
fact that Sprint was able to get out of
the mud and introduce voice services faster
than MCI and AT&T allowed for Sprint to delve
into
a market segment that still are not open to
changing providers. It takes a hefty load off of
sales and numbers in the long run if compa-
nies can produce average or above average
packages within timelines. There is no excep-
tion to the rule. Japan on the other hand
ensures quality with each delivery within time.
Second element that churns customer sat-
isfaction is the ideology of expansion and opti-
mization at the expense of the current cus-
New towers are being established, networks are being
optimized and services enhanced; words like coverage
capacity, implementation, and signal strengths are
becoming the key successors in the lexicon of the
leaders. Yet the primal and most conducive
element - customer understanding - still remains
secluded from the daily activity of the policies and
strategies of telecom service provider
tomer market. A recent study done by Brian
Lande, an analyst for ICMI (international cus-
tomer management institute) states "Whilst the
transformation programme had reduced costs
and refocused the organization, customers
railed against the closures and enforced migra-
tion to direct channels. The real clincher,
though, was when executives started to field
customer complaints directly at social and
other gatherings. Something had to be done!"
This study was catering to the optimization of
the IT component of the banking sectors.
Third but not the least is the overall decline
of understanding customer satisfaction through
the eyes of the customer. While the eastern
part of the world still meditates about ensuring
business acumen and retaining customers, the
western part is working closely regarding the
segmentation engineering approach which is
catching on over the past few years. Randy
Collica, a specialist in the CRM modules and
comprehensive analysis of data and launch
activities, working partner of SAS communica-
tions states that all top corporations requires to
reinvigorate their strengths and dimensions to
cater to the masses. Each mass element is
required to be handled separately and unique-
ly.
These bench markets allude to the fact that
the telecom infrastructure in Pakistan has cer-
tainly not bought into the practices that is cur-
rently being executed upon in other parts of
the world. With all this expansion and growth,
the true element of the show is still not clear
about their options and commitment from the
IT revolution. Bandwidth is scarce and many
places within the country face signal outages.
Roaming is still an option in remote areas and
far flung areas.
The expectations that the overall IT boom is
providing to the consumers seem to be fuga-
cious and not meeting the long term vision.
Companies need to be extremely assiduous to
the long term effects of these changes irre-
spective of their intent and forecast.
Customers should not face a disparity in voice
quality, downtime, and airtime due to expan-
sions that revolve around eradicating the
issues and not expanding them. 
Writer of this article works for a
multinational telecom company

An Apple customer tries out the Apple MacBook laptop at an Apple store in Palo Alto, Picture shows Japanese an electronics giant Hitachi auto teller machine (ATM) using a
Calif. AT&T Inc. wiped some of the glow off Apple Inc.'s iPhone, releasing numbers that biometric security system to read venous patterns of users' fingers in Tokyo. Taking the
showed fewer people than expected signed up for service in the first two days of the idea of a cashless society to a new level, Hitachia said it will try out a way to let cus-
20 multimedia cell phone's release. tomers pay simply by scanning their finger.
 Branding Forum
It is all about setting up brands; through advertis-
ing campaigns. The mobile phone services
advertisements are seen in the media, on billboards
and everywhere else imaginable. The competition
for building a brand name is driving this trend of
intense advertising campaigns. On an internet open
forum this discussion took place about Mobilink's
'Jazz'. Let's have a look, what advertising gurus
think over the brand and how do they predict its
developments to take place in the time to come
BILAL MUGHAL
<lokhandwaala@...>
Do you guys feel its high time for Jazz to
introduce the English side of the brand along-
side the cultural/current - maybe a different
logo style, theme, a bit of change in brand
identity colors and with a slightly different sales
pitch?
Thanks
Bilal
"Bushra Haider"
<bushra.haider@...>
I think Indigo is catering to that English side'.
The color is chic; the type face of the logo
gives the brand a compliment for its style and
positioning.
"Ahsan Shamim"
<ahsan@...>
Very brief; My gut feel says that launch of
English channels from DAWN, Jang group and
others and proliferation of English program-
ming will induce brands like Jazz, Talkshawk
and etc to show their English side. Up till now,
English speaking audience was deemed anal-
ogous to that of A+ class in our segmentation
dictionaries. I like to think that the trend will
change.
Postpaid market has been largely disturbed by
Warid via its free SIM offerings, but I don't
think it has only potential to further grow that
aggressively. The real effort in this segment
will be to induce ARPU, while prepaid should
segment itself for various markets, including
the English viewers as well as the rural.
Regards,
Ahsan
"kashif_nasir79"
22 <kashif_nasir79@...>
I agree in perspective of the US audience.
Most of the companies have realized the
importance of segmentation in advertising to
blacks, Hispanions and Chinese. Same trend
should be followed in countries with such lan-
guage or SEC based segments.
Best,
Kashif.
Haris Shek
<irshek@...>
No please don't. Jazz is on a high. You never
disturb the brand when it's on a high! Besides
it's like a commodity. It's like daal chawal in a
kiryana store. We haven't changed the name
of daal. It still is daal, and it sells. :) Jazz is
masses. Let's not disturb them and admit
they're too good.
SH3K
Zulfiqar Chaudhary
<chaudhary_z@...>
Hi,
Right now Jazz is enjoying a big market
share which is "Desi" not English, yes if they
change the logo and the way of communica-
tion for the "Desi" market then why not, but I
don't think so that Mobilink will ignore this Desi
segment by giving jazz an English look,
although jazz sounds English.
Regards,
Zulfiqar
BILAL MUGHAL
<lokhandwaala@...>
I heard some weeks back that Mobilink is
planning to jump into sponsoring the Pakistani
cinema? I mean whatever man! It's kind of not
in the decorum of a telecom company at this
point in time to attach its label with a Pakistani
movie even if they're calling you in the name of
God for sponsorships. Still some time to enter
that era - I'm sure you don't want Mobilink aka
Orascom Telecom's name rhyming with some-
thing inappropriate putting harm on the image
of both. Using movie stars in the commercials
is a different base all together. Yes, being a
communications partner (minus advertising -
just a line when the movie begins) is a viable
option instead of putting your name up on the
whole thing.
Telenor sponsors local cable channels,
which is probably the best way to penetrate
into the b/c/semi-metros but it's not in the busi-
ness ethics of a company like Telenor to spon-
sor something running pirated version of
movies. This encourages piracy and it would
go best for Telenor to pull out all such sponsor-
ships.
Thanks,
Bilal
"balochwarrior"
<balochwarrior@...>
I cannot see what the issue here is. I agree
with Bushra and to an extent Kashif also. First
of all, I think telecom is a very good example
of effective segmentation in Pakistan. Take any
telco Brand, since Telenor and Mobilink are in
question, Djuice and Octane (Youth
Oriented, English, Funky), Jazz Budget and
TalkShawk (More filmy, musical and Awami),
Telenor Azadi and Jazz Easy (The more uni-
versal Awami, Urdu based communication for
masses), Personna and Indigo (More English
catering to more affluent and educated market)
and then of course the corporate brands.
I think it would be utterly stupid for Jazz to
suddenly go English unless it changes its tar-
get market which would also be a very sense-
less move as it has a few million loyal cus-
tomers and growing by the day from the claims
they make.
I also doubt Dawn News and Geo English
would have any impact on Telco brand com-

municating in English. I think these channels
would be utilized more by the likes of corpo-
rate and persona and indigo. Please don't for-
get, the television channels are just a medium
to communicate not the deciding factor on
how to re-brand.
And now finally to the movies, I would
thank Mobilink or frankly any company who
works towards getting me good English
movies. I don't care if it's a telco, I don't care if
it's a car manufacturer, frankly I don't even
care if it's a washing powder. When compa-
nies do CSR, it doesn't mean they have to
work on something sad and morbid only nor
does it mean that it has to be something
directly related to their area. This is why it's
called corporate social responsibility and not
brand diversification or anything else. I don't
think Mobilink has sponsored Khuda key liye
though I haven't seen any advertising but per-
haps I missed out on it.
I have also heard that local cable advertis-
ing is illegal. I suppose I agree with Bilal.
Thank you
Asif
BILAL MUGHAL
<lokhandwaala@...>
My mistake - There's an error statement in
my note below. I was out of touch from the
local press/media, just got caught up. Mobilink
is working on the revival of the Pakistani cine-
ma not as wrongly stated by me that it is plan-
ning to sponsor the existing set of Pakistani
movies. In other words I thought soon we're
going to see Mr. K2, Gama BA or Daddy of all
Grand Daddies sponsored by Mobilink. The
revival part looks pretty neat - and this will
definitely get them with a good consumer
backhaul. At least some of the Pakistani
movie stars would learn to communicate, not
that my communication skills are exceptional
but these public figures would be able to talk
to the press in a more proper approach.
Thanks and Sorry to Mobilink folks :)
Bilal
"balochwarrior"
<balochwarrior@...>
WOW Bro, you seem to either have some-
thing against Orascom or Paki
Film Industry. I don't think it has anything
to do with marketing.
Best of luck with the crusade!
BILAL MUGHAL
<lokhandwaala@...>
Relax Max! - You need to read the email
again. I actually complimented their move. :)
BILAL MUGHAL
<lokhandwaala@...>
If you know so much about telecom mar-
keting how could you miss the latest trend
running in the telecom industry called the
"stop-gap branding"? Segment each and
every possible target consumer. Again, you
responded to this haphazardly just reading the
tail and leaving the rest...the discussion that
we're having over here involves segmenting
Jazz for the English audience apart(leaving at
it is) for the Urdu ones.
One day a stranger walked by. "Spare
some change?" mumbled the beggar, "I have
nothing to give you," said the stranger. Then
he asked: "What's that you're sitting on?"
"Nothing," replied the beggar. "Just an old
box. I've been sitting on it for as long as I can
remember. "Ever look inside?" asked the
stranger. "No," said the beggar. "What's the
point, there's nothing in there." "Have a look
inside," insisted the stranger. The beggar,
reluctantly, managed to pry open the lid. With
astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw
that the box was filled with gold.
I am that stranger who has nothing to give
you and who is telling you to look inside.
Excerpts from the book "Power of Now - A
Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment."
What you commented and how you com-
mented on not segmenting the market for
English audience is the biggest hurdle at this
point in time the marketers face around the
world. In short you're that hurdle :)
Thanks,
Bilal
BILAL MUGHAL <lokhandwaala@...>
Mobilink Indigo
Bushra, the reason for Indigo's popularity
in the postpaid circle is because of the contin-
uous push it gets from the Mobilink's corpo-
rate advertisement end - otherwise apart from
the first Indigo-story commercial, all succeed-
ing ones give you an archived look - the same
thing going over and over again. In addition to
this I think it would be better to have the
BlackBerry campaign running on the side - so
people know the seriousness of the brand
itself instead of the complete cut-off from the
Indigo business user. If you just talk about
sales then Indigo will sell even if you limit it to
BTL but when you are going through the line
then your communication should look wrinkle-
free.
You never disturb the
brand when it’s on a high!
It’s like daal chawal in a
kiryana store. We haven’t
changed the name of daal.
It still is daal, and it sells
To sum it up:
-BlackBerry should go on air.
-The situation inside the Indigo story needs to
change.
-Need to bring in the "Zap" factor in commer-
cials.
-Eliminate the disconnect for the business
user.
Jazz Advance.
You guys nailed it. For a second there I
thought I'm watching a commercial from an
Indian operator. Very lively/different and full of
humor TVC and selection of the actor - spot
on, you get a smile by just looking at him!
Definitely more of this stuff required - crispy
commercials challenging creativity.
Thanks
Bilal
Farah Chinoy
<farah_chinoy@...>
Hi,
Branding
I have seen Mobilink ad on CN after
Telenor with a good frequency. It seems that
both the clients are neck to neck now. I think
CN is growing day by day.
good work .
Farah
Zunair Shah
<zunair_media@...>
Thanks Farah,
The main reason for the above subject is
Good Programming flavor and Good sponsor-
ship proposals, and people loves to watch
CN, We have Top Cartoons here on CN and
some of our originals are listed below:
 The Powerpuff Girls
 Dexter's Laboratory
 Johnny Bravo
 Ed, Edd n' Eddy
 Courage the Cowardly Dog
 Miky, Lu & Og
 Cow & Chicken
 Sheep in the Big City
 Time Squad
 I am Weasel
 Samurai Jack
 Whatever Happened to Robot Jones
 Grim Adventurers of Billy & Mandy
 Megas XLR
 Codename: Kids Next Door
 Foster's Home for the Imaginary Friends
CN is also watched by people in their early
teenage - who are potential customers for
Telenor, Mobilink and others even those who
are about to reach their teenager will have
Telenor & Mobilink as the top brand.
Farah Chinoy
<farah_chinoy@...>
What I think is they are focusing their
future market; if I am wrong please correct
me. Plus i have seen few changes in pro-
gramming also.
"balochwarrior"
<balochwarrior@...>
I would have to thank pester power for
that. Cartoon Network is on TV for most part
because kids are glued to it. I suppose just
like parents don't have a choice but to watch
cartoon network, similarly advertisers have no
choice but to advertise there.
"Yasir Riaz"
<yasir.riaz@...>
Loads of money; cheaper CPRP on
moms/females, Telcos are on everything else
so why leave CN.
No offense to Cartoon Network team, they
have done very good selling and justified it to
the client.
If they were targeting Kids then the mes-
sage should have been customized for them
and more of brand building instead of current-
ly airing campaign.
Coming soon on CN …. Banks &
Automobiles!
Regards
Yasir
Yasir Riaz
<yasir.riaz@...> wrote:
Yes you are right Yasir,
Banks are also coming to Cartoon Network
very soon + some new brands. 
23
 IT Shahid Zahid

Typically, RAID systems work by

storing a little bit of extra informa-
tion called parity bits along with the
regular data. If a disk fails, these
parity bits allow the array of disks to
rebuild data. This article focuses on
key features and considerations for
RAIDs used in the IT based
Television Broadcast, Television pro-
duction and Post-production

B
y now, most broadcasters have
heard the term RAID. RAID stands
for Redundant Array of
Inexpensive Disks. Typically, RAID
systems work by storing a little bit
of extra information called parity bits along with
the regular data. If a disk fails, these parity bits
allow the array to rebuild data. There are sev-
eral features that are important in generic
RAID applications. The following are a list of
features and considerations that are especially
important for broadcasters who are contem-
plating using RAID in their facilities for video
and audio content.
Hot-swappable Drives
Many RAID arrays are designed so that
drives can be replaced while the unit is still in
service. If the objective of having a RAID solu-
tion is to avoid downtime, then this feature can
be a key.
Hot-swappable drives have special connec-
tors that are designed to break and make con-
nections in a specific order so that components
are not destroyed as the drive is removed or
installed. Many people think that hot swap-
pable also means that the drive will automati-
cally rebuild: however, this is not necessarily
the case.
Rebuild in Background
This feature allows the data on a drive to
be reconstructed from the data on other good
drives in the array. As noted above, RAID
arrays can recreate missing data on the fly so
the application never notices a drive has failed.
RAID arrays also can put this capability to
work to recreate the data and write it to a new
drive once it is installed in the array. Of course,
you would expect this functionality to be avail-
able. But be careful: You may or may not be
able to rebuild the data on the new drive with-
out having to shut down the array. This is used
to be an exotic feature, but it is becoming
much more common. If this functionality is
important to you, be sure to ask for it.
Online Spare
When a drive fails, the extra drive can be
put online - in some cases, automatically. This
can be a valuable option for critical RAID
arrays. Remember, however, that the drive will
still have to be rebuilt, because there is no way
to know in advance which drive will fail, it is
impossible to have the extra drive ready to go
24 at a moment's notice.
SNMP and Other Remote Monitoring
This is one of the important topics when it
comes to RAID arrays, and it is one which
would encourage you to think about carefully. If
one of the characteristics of a RAID array is to
keep on working even when a drive fails, how
will you know the failure of drive? If you lose a
drive in a RAID array and then lose another
drive in the same array before the first drive is
replaced and rebuilt, will the RAID array keep
working?
The answer to the first question is that you
can not notice the failure of drive unless you
are not monitoring the RAID's status. The
answer to the second question is that the
RAID will not work if second drive fails. It is
extremely important that you monitor the
health of the RAID array on regular basis. In
some cases, RAID monitoring is built into the
application. If a drive quits, the application lets
the operator know. But many times, especially
when using generic (non-broadcast) applica-
tions, there is no notification to the user that a
drive has failed. With that said, every RAID
array have ever seen has provisions for moni-
toring drive status, and almost all of them have
remote monitoring provisions.
Be sure to incorporate monitoring of RAID
arrays into your overall maintenance system. If
you fail to do this, you are wasting the value of
RAID. Eventually, two drives will fail.
Dual Power Supplies and Redundant
Cooling
Dual power supplies and redundant cooling
are quite common in RAID arrays. If you have
an important service that you want to protect
with a RAID array, be sure your array has
these features.
The array should continue to work with a
failed cooling fan. Most RAID arrays that incor-
porate fan speeds and temperature alarms into
their remote monitoring facilities. Because
drives can fail when they get too hot, it can be
important to have remote monitoring on cool-
ing systems.
Redundant Controllers
If you are looking to eliminate downtime,
then you should look at the entire system, not
just at the disks. RAIDs were developed to
provide redundancy for rotating storage media,
and they perform this task well (especially
when vigilantly monitored).
However, electrical components do fail, and
a RAID array connected to a single controller
will not protect you from a controller failure.
The disk controller is the electrical interface
between the computer and the storage unit. In
many higher-end systems, you can purchase a
second controller as an option.
If one of the controllers quits, the other
takes over. Occasionally, you will see this
described in literature as dual redundant con-
trollers, but this seems a little redundant.
Rebuild Time
It is important to know how long it takes
your system to rebuild after a drive replace-
ment. The more time it takes to rebuild and
place a new drive online, the longer you're
exposed. If during the rebuild time you lose
another drive, the entire RAID system will fail.
While the chances of experiencing two drive
failures within a few hours of each other are
remote, it is important to know that during the
rebuild time, your system is vulnerable.
Testing
The best way to know for sure that your
RAID system supports the features you expect
is to test it. Assuming your system supports
hot swapping and rebuilding in background, try
the following:
1. Pull out a drive while the system is in
operation (hopefully during commissioning
tests, and not when it is actually on-air!). Does
the system keep running normally? Do you
see any indication that the drive has failed
either in the application running on the RAID or
on your monitoring system?
2. Plug the drive back in. Do you see any
indication that the drive has been installed
either in the application running on the array or
on your monitoring system? Does the drive
begin rebuilding by itself, or do you have to do
something to initiate a rebuild? How long does
it take before the drive is online again and
ready to use?
RAID systems are great examples of how
broadcasters can leverage Information
Technology (IT) to create more reliable plat-
forms for their applications. But it is important
to understand the features available and how
they work to be sure that you get the expected
performance from your array. 
The writer is a TV Broadcast & Satellite
Communication Engineer with a National
Broadcaster of Pakistan, ATV
 Tourism Tahir Khan
C
hairman Hashoo Group,
Sadruddin Hashwani's role in the
development of Gwadar - the
future city of Pakistan, is unparal-
leled. Most advanced 5-Star
Zaver Pearl Continental Hotel, Golden Palm, a
mega real estate project, desalination plant
and electricity generation plant are to his cred-
it. The desalination plant would ensure hygien-
ic drinking water for the local population once
the Golden Palms project that is being devel-
oped over an area of 1,000 acres, is complet-
Zaver Pearl Continental Gwadar, inaugurated on 16
November, 2006 by the President of Pakistan, General
Pervez Musharraf, has 120 fully furnished rooms
including 56 twin rooms, 60 king rooms, and 04 suites
ed. As a part of its Corporate Social
Responsibility, the group is in process of
establishing primary to secondary schools for
the locals and a hospital on modern lines.
Zaver Pearl Continental Gwadar, inaugurat-
ed on 16 November, 2006 by the President of
Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, has 120
fully furnished rooms including 56 twin rooms,
60 king rooms, and 04 suites. Besides restau-
rants serving traditional, continental and exotic
food and beverages, it also offers spacious
26 meeting rooms equipped with state of the art
facilities and expansive banquet halls.
A comfortable, intimate lobby with seating
areas greets families and other vacationers
coming into the hotel. Clean and comfortable
modern bedrooms are equipped with hi-speed
internet, big plasma TV screens, having an
ambiance of relaxation, privacy and casual ele-
gance. The hotel is surrounded by incredible
aquatic life, exposed to the naked eye viewing
from the cozy rooms, meeting rooms, banquet
halls or from one's private balcony. One can
experience the thrill of exploring the Arabian
Sea and all its wonders and also discover what
life is like season by season when one is sur-
rounded by the sea.
Gwadar Port is very near to the hotel.
Ferries bring people and supplies to the shore,
fishermen prepare their nets for fishing, variety
of boats are either sailing or moored, all is in
sight. If one is looking for a beach getaway, a
quiet time or a wide variety of activities,
ZPCHG is the abode which facilitates its val-
ued guests, a breezy atmosphere and plenty of
recreational fun such as boat rides, beech vol-
leyball, picnicking, shell hunting, orienteering,
camping, fishing, dune rides etc.
The land allocated for Golden Palms has
the best dune riding area, high as well as flat-
ter dunes riding which includes numerous trails
and beach access. Owing to zero crime rates,
some of the reputed enterprises, on regular
basis organize big concerts and events at the
ZPCHG, and thereafter take their clients to
experience the said merriments. It is a place
which really raises one's heart rate, lets one's
worries float away, and revitalizes one's mind,
body and soul. There is something for every-
one at Zaver Pearl Continental Gwadar. 
Tahir Khan
Director Public Relations & Marketing
PC Hotel Rawalpindi
 World in Focus

LG's Summer Line Show Unveiled

Michael Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics North America
Headquarters, discusses the company's strong emphasis on design and
innovation at LG's summer line show, an annual mid-year update in New
York City. LG Electronics is experiencing explosive growth in its key prod-
uct categories, from mobile phones and plasma HDTVs to digital appli-
ances and computer products.
"At LG, 'Life's Good' is more than a marketing theme. It captures the
essence of what LG is all about - our products and technologies and
their impact on peoples' lives," Ahn said, as an introduction to his
remarks highlighting progress in three key areas: revenues, brand and
market penetration.
Ahn discussed the success of the 'LG: Life's Good' campaign and its
premium brand positioning: "With this effort, LG's brand awareness, par-
ticularly in mobile phones and premium home appliances, is continuing
its healthy upward trend."
In consumer electronics, he explained that LG already has estab-
lished a strong market position in flat-panel digital TVs. In fact, since the
fourth quarter last year until June, LG maintained the Number 2 market
share position in plasma, while continuing to expand its share of the LCD
TV market. "And we are capitalizing on our global leadership in HDTV technology to address the world's largest HDTV market, the United States,"
Ahn added.
At LG's summer line show, the company showcased its broad product portfolio, including its digital displays, digital audio/video products, home
appliances and mobile phones. 

Siemens to Produce new Generation Trains for

Russia
The German company, Siemens has started manufacturing high-
speed electric trains Velaro RUS for exploitation in Russia. The techno-
logical benefit of Velaro platform is that it allows placing all towing equip-
ment in the under-car space.
The National Russian Railway Company President Vladimir Yakunin
(L) poses for a photo beside a high-speed Velaro train at the Siemens
plant in the western German town of Krefeld where the official ceremony
marking the beginning of the first train production was held.
In May 2006 Russian Railways and Siemens had made a contract on
supplying 8 trains that will be fully manufactured in Germany. The total
cost of the deal is US 576 million dollars. A high-speed train Velaro Rus
can accelerate up to 330 km/h. Each 250-metre long electrical train will
consist of 10 carriages for transportation of 600 passengers.
The trains` construction has been developed taking into account the
technical and climatic conditions of exploitation in Russia. Production of the first train is to finish in December 2007. Russian Railways is planning
to use the German trains on such routes as Moscow-St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg-Helsinki, and later on some other routes too. 

SanDisk Intros Racing-

Sponsored Memory Cards
SanDisk founder and chief executive Eli Harari is flanked by models as he sits on a
Ducati motorcycle for the first time during a press conference at his company's head-
quarters in Milpitas, California. SanDisk has partnered with Italian motorcycle racing
team Ducati to offer a line of high-speed memory cards and USB flash drives.
The Ducati Extreme CompactFlash and SD Plus cards will offer the fastest data
transfer rates currently on offer from SanDisk. Product packing will feature emblems
from Ducati, an Italian motorcycle racing company. The CF line will be available in
4GB and 8GB capacities with data transfer speeds of 25MBps while the SD Plus card
will ship in 4GB capacities, achieving a 20MBps transfer rate. SD Plus cards snap
open to reveal a USB pin for connecting to standard USB ports.
According to SanDisk, the new CF card is 5MB/s faster than its new Extreme IV
card, previously the company's fastest. The cards will ship in August through photo
specialty, "high-end niche" dealers and high-end department stores alongside Ducati
network shots and online. The 4GB CF card will retail for a suggested $164, the 8GB
CF card will retail for $314. The 4GB SD plus card will retail for $129.
SanDisk will also ship a 4GB Ducati Edition USB flash drive, styled like a Ducati
motorcycle, with a 20MBps transfer speed. It will ship in August for a suggested $129.
SanDisk's founder says Apple's iPhone is increasing worldwide interest in sophisticated portable electronics and driving up demand for flash mem-
ory cards for the devices.
Harari expects prices of flash memory to continue to drop, making mobile devices more affordable. The decline of prices will be more modest
than the 60 percent plunges in each of the past two years, according to Harari.
Harari estimates the current form of flash data storage will last for a maximum of four more generations, about eight years, before needing to
be replaced with new technology, making it vital to invest in innovation. SanDisk is credited with inventing flash storage and bills the Ducati-themed
28 devices as the fastest it makes. 
 World in Focus

Reliance to Invest US$ 3.96 Billion in 2007-08

India's Reliance Communications plans to spend US 3.96 billion dollars on network expan-
sion in 2007/08, and will spin off its business process outsourcing unit, its chairman said. India
is the world's fastest growing mobile services market, with more than 6 million subscribers
added each month, lured by tariffs as low as one US cent a minute and the extension of net-
works to rural areas.
"If version 1.0 of the Indian telecom story was all about affordability, version 2.0 will be
about reach," Anil Ambani, who took control of the firm in 2005 after a bitter split with elder
brother Mukesh, told shareholders at its annual meeting. "It is expected that the usage of
telephony will continue to grow at the present rate of 6 to 7 million additions per month over the
next several years to reach the 500 million connections mark by year 2010."
Reliance Communications, India's second-largest mobile services firm after Bharti Airtel,
said in April it was planning to spend over 100 billion rupees in the current fiscal year on
expanding its infrastructure. Earlier on Reliance Communications Ltd. sold 5 percent of its 270
billion rupee telecom tower business, and could sell more through an IPO or further place-
ments.
Reliance Communications would spend 80 billion rupees in the fiscal year ending March
2008 to add another 23,000 telecom towers to its existing network of around 14,000 towers,
Ambani said. Telecoms operators, including reliance, are looking to share infrastructure such as
mobile towers to keep costs down and boost profits amid intense price competition and a surge
in low-income subscribers.
Reliance Communications provides voice and data communication services on the CDMA
platform across all of 23 circles or zones that make up India's telecoms market. It also offers
GSM-based mobile services in seven of the circles. 

Giant Leap for Space Fashion: Skintight Spacesuit

It's sleek. It's chic. It's very, very, tight. BioSuit: a prototype spacesuit recently completed by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology has been introduced. When the white high-tech design is finalized in a few years, it will be the first new look for astronauts in more
than four decades, replacing the lumpy, awkward 300-pound outfit.
"The current spacesuit dates back to Apollo," said Robert Cassanova, director of
the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, which partially funded the work. "It's a gas-
pressurized bag that provides the atmospheric pressure humans need to survive, but
they're heavy and bulky." The Michelin-man-like outfit is also exhausting - about 70
percent of the energy astronauts expend is spent wearing the suit. On the other hand,
the BioSuit, made of nylon, Spandex, and a shape memory polymer, looks like a full-
body ACE bandage. And feels like one, too.
"It's definitely very tight," said Dava Newman, a professor of aeronautics and engi-
neering systems at MIT who has been working on the suit for seven years. "But it's
amazing how adaptable we are - I can wear it for three or four hours and I'm fine." The
suit is of growing importance under President Bush's plans to send humans back to the
moon, and eventually to Mars. Current outfits -- though suitable for short spacewalks
outside the International Space Station, where gravity is almost nonexistent - are far
too awkward for the surface of the moon or Mars where astronauts will need greater
mobility, Newman said. So far, the prototype of the suit is complete, but two challenges
must be resolved before it can be used: Wrinkles that occur along the joints, particularly the elbows and knees, need to be eliminated to allow the
pressure of the suit to remain constant.
That pressure is the second concern. Because humans are used to living with a certain amount of pressure from the atmosphere, the suit has
to provide that as well. The current bulky suit allows for 25 kilopascals (a unit of pressure), but Newman wants her suit to reach 30 kPa, about one-
third of the pressure exerted by Earth's atmosphere. Sometimes it gets there, but not consistently. But she's got some time to work out the kinks.
When the NASA institute first proposed the suit, officials said they wanted something that could be ready in a decade. That was seven years ago
and around $500,000 in funding. 

Ericsson Profit Climbs but

Misses Forecast
Ericsson, the world's biggest mobile network maker, reported softer-than-expected second-
quarter earnings but said the company continued to outperform the market. Chief Executive
Officer of Ericsson Carl-Henric Svanberg, presented the company's second quarter earnings.
Ericsson said second-quarter pretax profit rose to US $1.40 billion from US 1.25 billion dol-
lars a year earlier. Sales totaled US 7.17 billion dollars in the second quarter, just missing a US
7.19 billion dollars forecast. The company said cash flow from operations rose to US 0.63 billion
dollars from 0.03 billion a year earlier. Cash flow has been a worry for investors as it has been
declining for several quarters.
Ericsson repeated its forecast that growth in the GSM/WCDMA market -- 2G and 3G technol-
ogy -- would be in the mid-single digits in 2007.
"We continue to outpace the market," Ericsson Chief Executive Carl-Henric Svanberg said in
the earnings statement. Ericsson has benefited from surging demand for mobile technology, with
big contracts in emerging markets such as India making an increasingly large contribution to
company coffers.
Recently, Ericsson won it's largest-ever contract - a US 2 billion dollar deal to help India's top
mobile operator expand. Sales in Asia-Pacific climbed 32 percent from a year earlier but rev-
enue in Europe during the quarter was flat and it was down 18 percent in
North America.  29
 World in Focus

Kenwood Announces Joint Venture with JVC

Japan's electronics giants (L-R) Kenwood chairman Haruo Kawahara,
Victor Company of Japan (JVC) president Kunihiko Sato and Matsushita
Electric Industrial president Fumio Otsubo join their hands as they
announce that JVC, part of the Matsushita empire, agreed on a capital
tie-up with Kenwood
This tie up came after months of rumors that JVC and Kenwood
would merge; there are certain reports that this tie-up may eventually
lead to a merger.
Consumer electronics maker Victor Co of Japan Ltd and car naviga-
tion and audio product maker Kenwood Corp agreed to integrate their
car electronics R&D units, prior to a planned integration. Kenwood
announced that they and JVC will be teaming up to bring products to
market in the car and home electronics arena to pool development and
save costs.
The deal would have JVC issuing $290 million in new shares to
Kenwood and top Kenwood shareholder, Sparx Group. Kenwood would
then pay $167 million for 17% of JVC with Sparx buying an additional
$125 million in JVC shares for a 12.8% stake in JVC.
Matsushita's stake in the company will fall to 36.8 percent from 52.4
percent, and JVC's status will change from subsidiary to affiliate.
JVC, which developed VHS-format videocassette recorders, was once a strong player in consumer electronics but its earnings have declined
because of mounting competition in the audiovisual market from lower-cost producers.
It is the only subsidiary that loses money at booming Matsushita, which makes Panasonic brand products.
Founded in 1927, JVC was originally a subsidiary of the U.S. record company Victor, but cut those ties during World War II. It continues to use
Victor's symbol of the dog Nipper listening to his master's voice over a gramophone in Japan, but is not allowed to do so overseas. 

Charlie Chaplin's Camera Up for Auction

A movie camera used by Charlie Chaplin in the making of classic films such as ‘The Gold Rush’ and
The Kid is expected to fetch up to US$183,000 when it goes under the hammer. The screen legend pur-
chased the Bell and Howell camera in 1918 for his newly-established Chaplin Studios at Hollywood, and
used it to make many of his silent movies over the next eight years.
The machine is going on sale at Christie's in South Kensington, London, with a copy of the original
purchase order. It is estimated to fetch between US$141,000 and US$183,000 when it goes on sale as
part of an auction of motion picture cameras. Chaplin, who was born into extreme poverty in Walworth,
south London, in 1889, left the UK for America in 1912 and began working in films a year later.
The camera was bought on February 23, 1918, just a month after the star and his brother set up
Chaplin Studios to allow themselves greater creative control over their film-making. Christie's said they
believed the camera was used to shoot classics such as ‘A Dog's Life’ and ‘Shoulder Arms’. The auction-
eers said it was possible that the Bell and Howell camera was also used for Chaplin's "silent" productions
of the 1930s such as the acclaimed ‘City Lights and Modern Times’. 

Toyota Unveils Plug-in Hybrid

Toyota Motor Corp. has unveiled a "plug-in" hybrid car based on its popular Prius model, claiming it
would test the fuel-saving vehicle on public roads - a first for the industry. But the world's biggest
automaker said
the car, called the Toyota Plug-in HV, was not fit for com-
mercialization since it uses low-energy nickel-metal hydride
batteries instead of lithium-ion batteries believed to be a
better fit for rechargeable plug-in cars.
Unlike earlier gasoline-electric hybrids, which run on a
parallel system twinning battery power and a combustion
engine, plug-in cars are designed to enable short trips pow-
ered entirely by the electric motor, using a battery that can
be charged through an electric socket at home. Many envi-
ronmental advocates see them as the best available tech-
nology to reduce gasoline consumption and global-warming
greenhouse gas emissions, but engineers say battery tech-
nology is still insufficient to store enough energy for long-
distance travel.
"It's difficult to say when plug-in hybrids could be com-
mercialized, since it would depend largely on advances in
battery technology," said Executive Vice President
Masatami Takimoto, in charge of Toyota's powertrain tech-
nology, told a news conference. The Toyota Plug-in HV,
which is due to be tested also in the United States and
Europe, has a cruising range of just 13 km (8 miles) on one
charge, even with its trunkful of batteries.
Detroit's General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are also working on plug-in hybrids, with cooperation from battery makers such as
Germany's Continental AG and Korea's LG Chem. GM in January showed a concept version of the plug-in Chevrolet Volt that would be powered
30 by a lithium-ion battery. It has set 2010 as a target for production. 
 World in Focus

China hits 162 million Internet users

Chinese students playing online computer games at an internet cafe dur-
ing their summer holidays. China looks set to overtake the US as the world's
biggest user of the Internet as Chinese Internet users hit 162 million at the
end of June, growing at the fastest rate since 2004. The latest numbers show
China's Internet "entered a new stage of rapid growth” the China Internet
Network Information Center (CNNIC) said in a report.
The number of Chinese Internet users increased 31.7 percent since June
2006, said CNNIC, which oversees the .cn top-level domain and tracks
Internet usage in China. Thanks in part to a change in CNNIC's definition of
an Internet user, that was the fastest growth seen in China since mid-2004,
when the number of Internet users grew 34.5 percent to reach 79.5 million.
Numbers released by CNNIC in the middle of 2005 and 2006 showed
annual growth of 18.2 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively. In its latest
report, CNNIC changed the definition of an Internet user from someone who
spends at least one hour online each week to someone who accessed the
Internet at least once during the previous six months. The previous definition had been in use for 10 years.
Most Chinese Internet users -- 122.4 million people -- get online using wired broadband, CNNIC said. Wireless Internet access is also widely
used, with 55.6 million people using this method, including 44.3 million people who access the Internet from mobile phones, CNNIC said, noting
that some users access the Internet with more than one type of connection.
The latest numbers bring China's Internet penetration rate to 12.3 percent, slightly below the global penetration rate of 17.6 percent, CNNIC
said. The number of Internet users in China is expected to grow to 200 million by the end of this year, second only to the 211 million Americans
and if the rate of growth continues then China should have the world's largest online population by the end of 2008. 

Lenovo to Increase Global Presence with New

Manufacturing Plants
Global PC maker Lenovo has announced that it would invest 31 million
U.S. dollars to set up two new manufacturing plants in India and Mexico, in
order to meet the growing demand in those regions. Vice President Global
Manufacturing Lenovo Jeff Gallinat revealed information in New Delhi, of a
new manufacturing plant in Baddi, a city in India's northern state of Himachal
Pradesh.
Lenovo expects the plant to be operational in the third fiscal quarter of
2007, with an approximate annual production capacity of 2 million PCs. The
plant will manufacture both Think and Lenovo-branded PCs. Meanwhile, the
new plant in Mexico will be set up in Monterrey, a city in the north of Mexico,
and is anticipated to carry out production by mid-2008, with a planned annu-
al manufacturing capacity of 5 million PCs.
Baddi manufacturing facility is Lenovo's second plant in India. "India is an integral part of Lenovo's global manufacturing strategy. With our
second plant in India, we expect to improve our supply chain efficiently and better serve our growing base of customers in this region," said Jeff
Gallinat, vice president of Lenovo's global manufacturing.
In December 2006, Lenovo opened an innovation center in Mumbai, India's financial center, to accelerate innovation and create solutions for
challenges faced in the markets. More recently, in July 2007, Lenovo also announced its worldwide marketing hub in Bangalore. The hub facili-
tates adoption of best practices from across the globe, standardizes brand communication, enables a faster and more cost-effective response
management system, and delivers consistent application of common metrics across markets. This ‘distributed centralization’ marketing model will
allow Lenovo to produce higher-quality work, use the best talent available no matter where they reside and accelerate its market responsiveness.
According to Lenovo, the Monterrey plant will supply PCs to customers throughout the Americas and represents Lenovo's largest manufactur-
ing investment to date outside of China. The Baddi plant, measuring 130,000 square feet (12,077 square meters) will employ approximately 350
people. It will support regional customer requirements including product assembly, distribution services and reverse logistics. It will also offer addi-
tional value-added services such as product configuration including custom imaging, asset tagging, and bundled and “over packed” orders. 

Animation takes off in Hong Kong

Animators work at their computer terminals at a computer animation company
Imagi in Hong Kong. While Hong Kong's signature gangster and kung fu flicks are
losing ground to Chinese historical epics, the computer-animated cartoon TMNT
made in the city has earned an estimated US 93 million dollars worldwide since its
March release. Hong Kong company Centro Digital Pictures also has been chosen to
make Disney's first-ever non-Hollywood Chinese movie, "The Magic Gourd," which
mixes animation and live action. Animators here boast that they offer a unique sensi-
bility that combines Hong Kong's action cinema legacy and a deep awareness of both
Asian and Western cartoon traditions in an English-speaking environment.
Industry experts say, however, that Hong Kong animators are merely taking out-
sourcing jobs from Hollywood by offering cheaper pricing while not generating cre-
ative ideas on their own - a point that people here concede is true, at least for now. At
Imagi, which designed the turtle fighters in TMNT, Co-Chief Executive Douglas Glen
is gung-ho about the prospects of a company that once made artificial Christmas
trees and furniture and switched over to animation completely in 2002. The former Mattel executive said computer artists in this Chinese-ruled for-
mer British colony blend the best of the East and the West. During a visit to Imagi's Hong Kong offices, animators worked on computer drawings
in cubicles cluttered with figurines including Mr Potato Head and the popular Japanese character Doraemon. Neighbouring shelves were lined
with Japanese comic books.
But while Hong Kong's computer graphics industry dates back some two decades, it's still growing. A survey of 57 "digital entertainment com-
panies" in 2004 - the most recent study of its kind - found that most employed fewer than 10 people and about a third had annual revenues of
under $A73,700. "Hollywood's interest in Hong Kong animation is mostly financial,"  31
 World in Focus

EU Charges Intel with Monopoly Abuse

EU regulators have charged Intel Corp. with monopoly abuse for blocking
rival computer chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s access to customers.
Intel immediately said its conduct had been lawful and said it welcomed the
chance to finally respond to allegations made by its main competitor. The
European Commission claimed that Intel gave "substantial rebates" to comput-
er makers for buying most of their x86 computer processing units, or CPUs,
from Intel; that it made payments to manufacturers to get them to delay or can-
cel product lines using AMD chips; and that it sold its own chips below cost on
average to strategic server customers on bids against AMD products to try to
muscle into that business.
It said each of these alone broke EU law by shutting out AMD from the mar-
ket. Together they amounted to a strategy that damaged the rules of fair play in
an effort to keep AMD from eroding Intel's market leadership, it said. Intel has a
chance to defend itself before the EU's executive arm takes a final decision that
could order the company to stop abusive behavior or charge it fines that can
run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is the world's biggest chipmaker. The company's general counsel, Bruce Sewell, said Intel was confident
that the microprocessor market was functioning normally and that Intel's behavior had been lawful, pro-competitive and beneficial to customers.
Intel has 10 weeks to reply to the preliminary charges and can seek an oral hearing to put its side. The EU's executive arm has been investigat-
ing Intel's business behavior since 2001, looking into complaints from AMD and computer manufacturers that it used its power as a market leader
to shut out rivals for chips that run on Microsoft software. The case has run hot and cold over the last six years. EU regulators had to shut down
one line of inquiry when Taiwan's Via Technologies withdrew its complaint about computer circuits or chipsets in 2002. At the time, they also said
they did not have enough evidence to pursue an AMD complaint on microprocessors. AMD filed another complaint in 2004 that EU officials said
they had no choice but to investigate or risk AMD taking court action for negligence.
In 2005, EU regulators raided Intel offices in Britain, German, Spain and Italy two weeks after AMD filed another set of lawsuits in Japan and
the United States. The EU investigation widened last year to include AMD's allegations that Intel had pressured Europe's largest consumer elec-
tronics retailer Media Markt not to offer computers that carried AMD chips. Microprocessors from Intel dominate the global market in desktop com-
puters that run Microsoft's Windows operating system. 

Japan Tunes in to Birth of Giant Manta ray

A giant manta ray, measuring more than 1.8m (6ft) wide, has become the
first of its kind to be born in captivity, scientists have claimed. The baby, a
female, was born in a huge fish tank at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium,
Japan. Footage of the birth shows the youngster unfolding like a carpet from her
mother before spreading her fins and swimming around.
News of the new manta has generated huge interest in Japan and its birth,
which was recorded by the aquarium, was broadcast nationwide by TV channel
NHK. Officials say the birth will provide an invaluable opportunity for
researchers to study the little-known species. Aquarium spokesman, Minoru
Toda, said: "My heart was heavy at first because I thought it had been still-born,
but we were so relieved when she finally started swimming around. Now we
have to make sure the baby grows in good health."
Giant manta rays, the world's largest species of ray, can grow up to 7.6m
(25ft) in diameter and feed on plankton and small fish throughout the world's
tropical oceans. Scientists believe they have evolved from other bottom-feeding
species and have adapted to become filter feeders in the open ocean, allowing
them to grow much bigger.
The mantas are most commonly black on their backs and white underneath. Their distinctive diamond shape and pectoral fins allow them to
glide through the water. Keepers at the aquarium have admitted they will now have to rely on intuition to care for the new baby, as knowledge
surrounding its development is so limited. The mother manta, which was brought to the aquarium in 1998 after being caught in fishing net about
1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo, was pregnant for 374 days. She was successfully mated with a male manta at the aquarium on June 8 2006. 

Japan Tunes in to Birth of Giant Manta ray

Alibaba.com is going to enlist its shares in Hong Kong Stock, Goldman
Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley will be the lead underwriters of
Alibaba.com's IPO who declined to say when the listing would occur or how
much money it would raise. A person familiar with the plan said earlier this year
the offering could raise about $800 million and was slated for the third quarter.
Alibaba.com is the biggest source of revenue for Hangzhou-based Alibaba
Group, in which Yahoo Inc. holds a 40% stake. Alibaba.com uses the Internet to
help match manufacturers in China and elsewhere with potential buyers of their
products. Alibaba.com spokeswoman Christina Splinder said Alibaba Group
Chief Executive and Chairman Jack Ma told employees during a meeting over
the weekend that the first steps toward the unit's IPO had begun. She didn't
elaborate.
Alibaba Group said earlier this month Maggie Wu will take up the newly cre-
ated post of chief financial officer at Alibaba.com at the end of this month.
Alibaba Group said 39-year-old Wu was formerly a partner with KPMG and was
involved in the audits and initial public offerings of companies such as China
Telecom Corp. and China Merchants Bank Co. Wu graduated from Capital
University of Economics and Business in Beijing in 1990. The person said in June that Alibaba Group had chosen to list Alibaba.com in Hong
Kong because the city is a global trading and financial center.
Alibaba.com's choice of Hong Kong for its listing is in contrast to many Internet firms' choosing to float on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where the
investor base is more familiar with technology companies and valuations are relatively higher. But Alibaba is well known to the Hong Kong mar-
32 ket and is still likely to attract strong demand without having to pay the higher costs of a U.S. listing. 
 World in Focus

New Liquid Cooling System for Desktop PCs

Hitachi will provide its newly developed Liquid-Cooling System for the
latest model of AMD Opteron-based workstations by HP. With the increasing
performance of computers and increasing capacity of memory chips or other
components, heat dissipation today is becoming more of an issue. Hitachi
developed the Liquid-Cooling System to significantly reduce heat and noise
typically generated in high-performance workstation applications. The new
system, which is superior to traditional air-cooling with improved perform-
ance and reduced noise, will be used in the high-end HP xw9400
Workstation.
Since the company released the world first liquid-cooled notebook PC,
Hitachi's Liquid-Cooling has been used for Desktop PC and server products.
Hitachi also is known for its state-of-the-art technology in cooling mainframe
computers, which are used for today's PCs and workstations.
Hitachi's Liquid-Cooling System provides an acoustic improvement for
idle and CPU max load states, as well as a lower pitch tone that blends
easily into background noise. This is made possible by the removal of the
CPU heat sink fans and by implementing a higher air flow (low speed) chas-
sis fan for liquid-cooling, utilizing high heat transfer capacity of the liquid.
The new system also provides reliable and safe countermeasures with
high control of liquid permeation, degradation, and corrosion, which are Hitachi's core competence. In addition, Hitachi's leading-edge technology
in key components such as micro-pumps, has contributed in large part to the product development.
With increasing performance of CPU, graphic chips and other components in the high-end PC or workstations, the demand for liquid-cooling
systems is expected to increase. The company expects to see high demand for liquid-cooling in various applications where high-performance and
quietness is required.
Hitachi aims to grow the business as a market leader in liquid-cooling systems for PC, workstation and server applications and intends to cre-
ate a new market in consumer products and industrial fields. 

Robot Hubo:
Albert Einstein goes all Robotic
At first glance, the bulky white figure looks like a prancing astronaut - until it turns round and
its features reveal it to be a Korean scientist's concept of a 21st century Albert Einstein. Then the
robot "speaks" and proves that, as Albert would himself doubtless have pointed out, matters such
as gravity and resemblance are all relative. "Hi. My name is Albert Hubo. I come from South
Korea and I am very happy to be in Valencia," says the creature, after having demonstrated some
rather bizarre hip-hop moves.
Albert's head bears the Einstein's instantly-recognizable facial features and his characteristic
shock of white hair. But Jun has taught the robot a few tricks that the iconic scientist never man-
aged.
He can walk, talk, smile and even have a go at the gentle movements of Tai Chi, thanks to the
advanced technology packed into 66 motors, most of which are situated in his head. According to
Jun, in a few years busy householders might find a use for an Albert in the home undertaking the
daily chores that humans would rather live without.
"They will be able to help human beings in daily tasks," says Jun. Albert, who stands one
metre 37 centimetres (4 foot 5 inches) tall is "based on a Windows XP platform that allows us to
make him as intelligent as we want", he adds. The concept has aroused interest from the military
and law enforcement agencies as well as athletes, architects and real estate professionals, says
the company. 

Space-age Safety Helmet

Loaded with Gadgetsall obotic
If you think that a lot of the newest technology from Japan is focused on
safety then you'd be right, which is why the country is at the cutting edge of
robotics , earthquake monitoring and rapid-response equipment . In the lat-
ter category comes a high-tech helmet from Tanizawa.
The U-Met Utility Helmet is packed with technology that records events,
keeps wearers in touch with base and even creates its own power. Available
in two different configurations according to intended use, the U-Met includes
a solar panel, a 3G phone, head-mounted lights and a video camera, IC
tags, a GPS sensor and vibrating panels that operate as alerts in noisy
areas.
Among the scenarios Tanizawa describes for the U-Met are fire-fighters
being able to relay video and location data precisely from an incident, secu-
rity guards recording and tracking assailants, rescue services efficiently
coordinating efforts and teams keeping in touch when working in dangerous
environments.
Although the current prototype weighs almost 1kg, Tanizawa hopes to
halve that before long. There's no word on pricing yet, but if they can fit in a
drinks dispenser and a laser-guided paintball gun then we'll take two. 
34
 World in Focus

US eyes $ 200 mn Program to

Encourage Tourists
The US travel industry and its allies are pressing Congress for a marketing program of as much
as 200 million dollars to help restore America's "brand image" with international visitors. With over-
seas visits still below levels from the 2001 terror attacks and America's image battered, the travel
industry is pinning its hopes on a new promotional effort led by the federal government.
Industry leaders are lobbying for legislation to create a government-led corporation for travel
promotion. This would be funded by voluntary business contributions and a 10-dollar fee imposed
on visitors from countries qualifying for visa "waivers." "Other countries are spending hundreds of
millions of dollars, the US is spending zero for visitor promotion," said Geoff Freeman, executive
director of the Discover America Partnership, a coalition led by the travel industry with other busi-
ness partners. "The idea is to create a nationally coordinated brand for the country," he said.
According to Britain's Office of National Statistics, visits by Britons to North America decreased
one percent to 4.5 million in the 12 months to May 2007, even as travel to other parts of the world
rose by nine percent. US government figures cited by the coalition show a 17 percent decline in the
number of visitors from outside North America between 2000 and 2005.
Industry leaders say the US needs to counter the perception of being unwelcoming to foreign-
ers, despite tighter security imposed after the September 11 attacks. This effort could be helped by
a marketing and informational campaign, accompanied by improvements in staffing and training for
US customs personnel.
"The US, as opposed to every other industrialized country, doesn't invite people to come to the
US," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and a member of the coalition. The key measure, travel industry leaders say,
would be the 10-dollar fee that may be assessed on international travelers under the visa waiver program. This would be in addition to a fee
planned by the Department of Homeland Security for screening of visitors, to be paid through a website before arrival in the US. 

China Will Increase Safety of Toys For Export

China will introduce new rules to improve the safety of its toys, as the
country's massive industry faces international condemnation over its exports.
The world's biggest maker of toys, China's toy industry has recently come
under the same type of international scrutiny as many of the nation's other
export sectors for its low safety standards.
China will test the safety of every new product because of the recalled
toys, and will conduct random tests in factories. China will test the safety
risks of every new product before it is released into production, said Wang
Xina, the head of the department for inspection, at the Chinese agency for
quality control.
The agency will also implement random inspections of factories, and test-
ing samples, he said. "Toys are always our largest concern, because chil-
dren use them", said Wang. Totally removing all dangerous products intend-
ed for export will represent a big challenge, because a huge amount of prod-
ucts is in question. Last year, China exported 17.8 billion dollars worth of
toys.
In the report of the Chinese agency for quality control, it says that more
than 20 percent of the toys intended for the local market are not of acceptable quality, or potentially dangerous.
According to EU data, Chinese toys have overtaken household appliances as a type of product, for which they will most probably raise warn-
ings about the safety of the products. 24 percent of those warnings by the European Union were aimed at Chinese toys, mainly for containing
small parts which children can swallow, sharp edges and traces of dangerous chemicals. 

Germany - World's Leading

Solar Power Generator
The sky is reflected in a 40,000 square meter roof-based solar system, the world's biggest,
in the southern German town of Buerstadt. It rains year round in Germany and clouds cover
the skies for about two-thirds of all daylight hours yet the country has still managed to become
the world's leading solar power generator.
Even though millions of Germans flee their damp, dark homeland for holidays in the
Mediterranean sun, 55 percent of the world's photovoltaic (PV) power is generated on solar
panels set up between the Baltic Sea and the Black Forest. So far just 3 percent of Germany's
electricity comes from the sun, but the government wants to raise the share of renewable to
27 percent of all energy by 2020 from 13 percent.
It is a thriving industry with booming exports that has created tens of thousands of jobs in
recent years, posting growth rates that surpassed the optimistic forecasts made by the fathers
of a pioneering 2000 renewable energy law.
This law, known by the acronym EEG, has helped this cloudy, rainy country on the northern
rim of central Europe become a solar giant. The EEG was the single most important vehicle to
boost the solar energy market. The law, which offers cash incentives to people introducing
renewable energy sources, was designed to help fight climate change and reduce dependen-
cy on fossil fuels. "There has also been an enormous interest for solar power from the public
in general," told ," Frank Asbeck, chairman of SolarWorld AG, told, who in 1988 started his
Bonn-based company making and marketing PV products. It's 1,350 staff have doubled in number in the last two years. "Germans have a fond-
ness for inventing and developing technologies - especially when it might lead to big export rates. Helping fight climate change is a bonus," said
Asbeck, who plans to nearly double the staff again within two years.  35
 World in Focus

BBC Launches Free Internet TV Service

Billed as the biggest change in the way viewers watch television in 40 years, the
BBC launched an online service that allows people to download many programs from
the last week. BBC Director General Mark Thompson says the arrival of the "on-
demand" iPlayer is as important as the first color broadcasts in the 1960s.
Viewers can choose from 400 hours of programs, between 60 and 70 percent of
the total TV output, including hit shows such as "EastEnders, "Doctor Who" and
"Planet Earth." It faces competition from similar services provided by Channel 4 and
ITV and from increasingly popular video-sharing sites such as YouTube.
The growth of the Internet, mobiles and hard-drive recorders that save hours of pro-
grams, has destroyed the notion of fixed TV schedules delivered through a TV in the
corner of the room. Broadcasters are under pressure to hold on to viewers by letting
them watch programs when and where they want.
"Our vision is for BBC iPlayer to become a universal service available not just over
the Internet, but also on cable and other TV platforms, and eventually on mobiles and
smart handheld devices," said the BBC's Ashley Highfield, director of future media and
technology. The service, at www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer, is free, but people will not be
allowed to save permanent copies to their computer. It could take 30 minutes to down-
load an hour-long show. It is only available to people living in Britain with computers
that run the Microsoft XP operating system. Programs will be automatically deleted after viewing or after 30 days. Copyright protection software
will prevent the copying of shows. 

Windows Vista Sales Hit 60 Million

Microsoft moved to counter criticism about the uptake of
Windows Vista by announcing it now has shipped 60 million
copies of the operating system. "By our math, we eclipsed the
entire install base of Apple in the first five weeks of shipment,"
Kevin Turner, Microsoft's COO, said at the company's annual
financial analysts meeting.
Turner said there are 42 million PCs covered by volume-
licensing annuity agreements for Vista. He said strong renewals
for enterprise agreements are driving the uptake. "Customers are
purchasing the rights to Vista because they are planning deploy-
ments," he said. He said Continental Airlines plans to roll out
10,000 seats of Vista by year-end, and Banco Bradesco in Brazil
has rolled out 70,000 seats this year. Microsoft itself has rolled
out 100,000 seats.
He said deployments were being driven by corporate rollouts,
governments and midmarket customers. Microsoft said its
Windows install base will reach another milestone in the next 12
months. "The install base of Windows computers this coming 12
months will reach one billion," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's
CEO. "If you stop and think about that for a second, by end of
our fiscal year '08 there will be more PCs running Windows in
the world than there are automobiles, which to me is kind of a
mind-numbing concept." 

Hacking Is a Booming Business

It's a good time to be a malicious hacker. That's because even though it's
not a time of revolutionary new techniques in hacking for profit, business is
booming for the established methods. Despite increased investment in infor-
mation security defenses, the good guys continue to lag badly behind.
According to a report by Sophos more than 250,000 websites were hosting
malicious code and more than 8,000 were being added to that total every day.

A sample of the deluge:

Hackers compromised Google AdWords so that links on certain sponsored
ads were redirected to the attackers' website first, where an attempt was
made to install a keylogging bot.
Zero-day exploits in Windows were discovered, including a critical flaw in
animated cursor files that would allow an attacker to commandeer a PC.
Incidents of iFrame malware - code that lives in an invisible-to-the-eye frame
on a website and delivers bots onto the PCs of people visiting the site--have
increased.
Credential-stealing bots like Gozi and Torpig continued to troll for personal
banking information on infected computers. A hacker won US$10,000 break-
ing into a Mac through the Safari browser, which was followed by Apple
releasing a patch for 25 vulnerabilities.
A researcher announced she is planning to demo ways to install rootkits and perform encryption attacks on Microsoft's new Windows Vista
product at this summer's Black Hat conference.
A 17-year-old was charged with hacking into AOL, using a phishing scheme against AOL employees and using unauthorized instant messag-
ing accounts, with the intent to transfer confidential data. The only response for many information security professionals is to stay on top of the
latest developments and prioritize response according to need. But that's getting harder to do with the sheer volume of information on new
36 attacks. 
 World in Focus

Logitech Unveils Comfort Wave Keyboard

Logitech has unveiled its new Comfort Wave keyboard for Mac
and PC. It'll be available for $49.99 for a corded version, $89.99
for a cordless version bundled with a mouse. The Comfort Wave
utilizes a "wave key-frame design," a U-shaped constant curve and
a cushioned, contoured palm rest. Logitech explained that the
design helps guide handles and cradles fingers in a more natural
and comfortable typing experience.
The keyboard also features hot keys that work with both the
Mac and Windows PCs (using included Logitech software), to acti-
vate software such as Web browsers, Apple's Front Row software,
photo applications and music software.
The Cordless Desktop Wave is bundled with a cordless,
ambidextrous laser mouse with soft rubber grip, designed to match
the Comfort Wave's design. Both mouse and keyboard sport low
power indicator lights.The Cordless Desktop Wave is anticipated
for release first, in late August. The corded Wave Keyboard will
ship in October. 

Nokia Opens India Design Studio

Nokia on has opened a global design studio in India to stay ahead of rivals
such as Motorola in the world's fastest-growing wireless market. The studio
will be located in Bangalore, known as India's Silicon Valley, and will be the
first of a series of "satellite" design centers being established by Nokia, which
plans to open the next in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The world's second-most pop-
ulous nation is adding six million mobile-phone users every month, and the
location of the studio testifies to the impact that India is having on the develop-
ment of handsets, Nokia officials said.
"Design is not just about the look and feel of the handset but equally impor-
tant is what it can do for people and how it fits into their lives," said Hannu
Nieminen, head of innovations at Nokia Design. "Designers must be exposed
to how people live and work in different places around the world," Nieminen
told a news conference.
India's mobile revolution is mainly confined to cities, but the real prize for
phone companies is the vast rural market where nearly 70 percent of the pop-
ulation lives, analysts say. Nokia designers will work with students at the
Bangalore-based Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology to conceive
new handsets for India and global markets in the Internet era. The studio will explore design trends and themes including research into color and
material trends in India, mobile use of the Internet and its implications for design, including new features and uses for mobiles.
"The first experience of the Internet for many future users will be on the mobile phone," said Nieminen. "India will play a crucial role in design-
ing handsets for them". The Indian studio involves a "considerable investment," said Bangalore-based Jan Blom, senior designer manager at
Nokia Design. India, along with China and the United States, is among the three biggest markets for Nokia. The first mobile-phone call made in
India in 1995 was on a Nokia phone on a
Nokia network. The Finnish company introduced the first Hindi-language mobile menu in 2000, following it up with the first camera phone in
2002, and Hindi short messaging system in 2004. Nokia, with a 6,000-strong workforce in India, is competing with global handset makers includ-
ing Motorola of the US and Ericsson of Sweden in an expanding market that has 157 million cellular subscribers. 

Biggest and Most Complex Spacecraft

The vehicle - the biggest, most complex spacecraft ever built in Europe
- will launch in January with up to 7.5 tons of supplies for the space station.
The ship has been under test for three years at the European Space
Agency's technical centre in the Netherlands.
Named as Jules Verne or Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) to give it its
generic name - had been split into three parts and put in containers for the
journey to its launch site at Europe's Spaceport in Kourou. The craft
reached Kourou spaceport as part of a 400-ton, 50-case shipment that
incorporated all the associated parts, apparatus and tools needed to
reassemble it and check it prior to launch.
The Jules Verne is the first of at least five ATVs that will fly to the
International Space Station (ISS) over the coming years. Developed at a
cost of US 2 billion dollars, the ship incorporates sophisticated automated
rendezvous and docking systems. Once launched on an Ariane 5 rocket,
the craft can find its own way to the ISS, to deliver air, water, fuel, scientific
equipment, food, clothing and even personal items to the platform.
It will also re-boost the station, which has a tendency to drift back to
Earth over time.
The ATV was placed in an acoustic chamber and blasted with sound to
ensure it could withstand the noise and vibration of launch; and in a giant vacuum chamber to see that components would function properly in the
extreme conditions of the space environment. The Jules Verne was also checked to make sure it met rigorous electromagnetic interference stan-
dards; its electronic systems cannot be allowed to interfere with those of its rocket launcher or the space station.
In Kourou, an 18-week launch preparation campaign has begun. The ATV will be put back together, fuelled and loaded with its dry and wet
cargoes. Finally, it will be placed atop its Ariane 5-ES launcher.  37
 World in Focus

Singapore Airlines Sells Seats for First A380

Flight on eBay
Singapore Airlines Ltd. plans to auction off seats for the
first commercial A380 flight on eBay Inc.'s Singaporean auc-
tion site, with all proceeds from the auction going to charity.
The A380, built by Airbus S.A.S., is the world's largest com-
mercial jet liner and can seat up to 555 passengers, although
the aircraft ordered by Singapore Airlines are designed to
seat fewer than 480 passengers. Singapore Airlines is the
first airline to put the new jet into service, with the inaugural
flight set to take off in October from Singapore to Sydney.
Anticipating high demand from aircraft enthusiasts for a
seat on the inaugural A380 flight, Singapore Airlines decided
to auction off tickets on eBay's Singapore Web site.
Proceeds from the auction will be split into thirds, with one-
third going to Singapore's Community Chest; one-third split
between the Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, and The
Children's Hospital at Westmead; and one-third donated to
Midecins Sans Frontihres.
"Bids will be invited for seats on this history-making flight,
and winning bidders will know that every dollar they pay will go to worthwhile charities," the airline said in a statement. Exxon Mobile Aviation will
donate fuel for the flight, it said.
Singapore Airlines did not say when the auction for A380 tickets will start, but is accepting registrations from people interested in bidding for
the tickets. The lowest price for a single round-trip ticket from Singapore to Sydney costs US 597 dollars. However, that price is only valid until
Sept. 30. 

British Airways to Pay US$ 550 Million Fine

British Airways was fined nearly 550 million dollars by British and US authorities after the
airline admitted colluding with rival Virgin Atlantic over fuel surcharges on long-haul flights.
Britain's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said its fine of 245.9 million dollars was the highest yet
imposed for an infringement of competition law.
Virgin, which first reported the BA approach to the OFT, has been given immunity and is
not expected to be fined, the competition watchdog said. The US Department of Justice (DoJ)
said BA has agreed to pay an additional 300-million-dollar fine for what it described as an "ille-
gal cartel" that forced up the extra fuel charge on Atlantic flights from 10 dollars in 2004 to
almost 110 dollars by 2006, when the cartel was first investigated.
The DoJ said the British airline had also colluded on fuel surcharges for passenger and
cargo flights with Korean Air, which has separately agreed to pay 300 million dollars for its role
in the price fixing scandal.
"When British Airways, Korean Air and its co-conspirators got together and agreed to raise
prices for passengers and air cargo fares, American consumers and businesses ended up
picking up the tab for illegal conduct," said US acting Associate Attorney General William W
Mercer. BA earlier this year said it had set aside 350 million pounds to cover fines and the
costs of legal action.
Virgin Atlantic said in a statement Wednesday: "We informed regulators as soon as our
legal team was made aware of the nature of contacts that had occurred between some individ-
uals at British Airways and Virgin Atlantic."
"We take complying with competition laws extremely seriously and regret that contacts
were made between the two companies," Virgin Atlantic added. The fine ends a civil case, but
a criminal investigation is still continuing, and the OFT said no conclusions could be drawn
about whether charges against individuals would be brought. 

Virgin Group to Get Stakes in Fly Asian Express

Virgin Group is close to acquiring a stake in a budget long-haul airline that plans to fly between Asia and the UK. Fly Asian Express will launch
later this year and it is understood that the Virgin Group is in advanced talks to buy a 20% shareholding in the business. The Kuala Lumpur-
based business is the brainchild of Tony Fernandes, the co-founder and chief executive of AirAsia, one of the most successful low-budget carriers
in Asia. In an interview earlier this year, Mr. Fernandes has said that he was in talks with private equity firms about selling a stake in his latest
venture: "We have enough capital to last us but if there is cash available we should take it."
Sources close to the talks confirmed that a deal was close. If the deal goes ahead, Virgin will have established position at both ends of a
polarizing airline market. The success of all-business class airlines has
led to Virgin Atlantic and British Airways announcing plans for first class-
only services. In turn, budget airline executives including Mr. Fernandes
have predicted that the industry will split into two camps: 5-star airlines
and 3-star airlines, with no-frills carriers making aggressive moves into
the long-haul market.
Fly Asian Express expects to launch its first UK flight - from Kuala
Lumpur to London Stansted - around next Easter. Return flights will cost
between Rs. 15,900 and Rs. 24,500. Food and in-flight entertainment will
cost extra and the airline plans to offer a number of flat-bed seats at the
front of the aircraft at a considerably higher cost.
With about 380 seats per plane, the venture is expected to break
even when the plane is 56% full. It is backed by an initial investment of
$30m from Mr. Fernandes and fellow AirAsia investors. 
38

Romanians - The Best Programmers
Romanian programmers
are among the most
sought-after as companies
turn to the country for
strong computing and lan-
guage skills coupled with
cheap labor
In the mobile phone version of the
'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'
video game, the torches hanging along the
dark walls of Hogwarts glow in an eerily
realistic fashion. General Manager of
Romania's mobile phone branch of
Electronic Arts Inc, the world's biggest
video game publisher, says that this tech-
nology called 'dynamic lighting' is particular-
ly invented for this game.
Romanian programmers are among the
most sought-after in the world as large
international IT companies turn to the coun-
try to take advantage of strong computing
and language skills coupled with cheap
labor.
Its computer literacy is not without its
dark side - the country has an unenviable
reputation as a hotbed for computer fraud
and a large community of hackers.
But legitimate IT is one of Romania's fastest growing export sectors
with turnover of about US 1.38 billion dollars.
Roughly 90 percent of some 1,000 IT companies in Romania are
foreign-owned and the government hopes exports will reach 1 billion
euros in the next couple of years.
In February, Bill Gates opened a Microsoft Corp. technical support
centre in Bucharest. The investment followed, among others, the
launch of a development centre by Amazon.com Inc in the university
town of Iasi in 2005.
That is the online retailer's only software development hub in
Europe besides one in Scotland's Edinburgh. Other centers are located
in India, the United States and South Africa.
Prospects for large cash inflows from the European Union after
Romania joined the bloc this January, cut-rate taxes and low wages
add to Romania's appeal.
Rivals Race to Map the World
Google also could be a rival. The Internet search leader is deep into research, development and even acquisitions related to its mapping servic-
es, which include Google Earth as well as Google Maps.
A pair of acquisitions for a combined $216 million in the past nine months underscore that effort: Traffic.com, which produces live traffic
reports for cities around the country, and Map Network, producer of special maps for travel destinations, major hotels and events like the Super
Bowl.
It's not clear if that will be enough to stave off Tele Atlas and any nascent competitors. The company is pushing aggressively into information
for pedestrians and is eyeing mobile phones as a huge developing market. "The next wave of location-enabled devices will be cell phones, and
there we're penetrating less than 1 percent," said CEO Green. "That opens up all kinds of opportunities if you know where you are." 
World in Focus
In Eastern Europe, Romania is appreci-
ated as having the biggest growth potential
together with Turkey and Russia.
Oracle, a Software maker, which has a
support and software development centre
in Romania, has doubled its local staff to
1,000 over the last year since opening a
tower office in central Bucharest. It plans to
hire an additional 500 employees.
Romania's low wages of around $600 a
month compare with $1,050 in Poland and
$950 in the Czech Republic. Both countries
also attract hefty investment in the IT sec-
tor.
However, some see a risk the sector is
overheating. Double-digit wage growth and
a shortage of skilled labor is dampening
the enthusiasm of some investors and
Romania is struggling with emigration as
workers leave for better pay.
Industry observers say this state of
affairs has prompted companies to focus
on building support or software develop-
ment centers, which need cheaper and
lower skilled labor, rather than hiring high-
end programmers.
Romania remains good for outsourcing
but not for first-class software authors, the
brains are already with companies that
have good salaries and it is costly to buy
them. A good senior programmer can earn
2,000 euros gross a month. Plus a 30 percent raise to buy him, and
you have a salary of a good programmer in Germany.
FBI data show Romania may be the biggest single source of online
auction fraud in the world, a multi-million dollar industry that scams
people using Web sites like eBay.
"It's highly organized. They create fake accounts to trick people into
thinking they are insured," said Gary Dickson, FBI representative in
Romania.
It is forecasted that if Romanians were stopped, the amount of
online fraud would drop significantly. Experts say some 70 percent of
software used in Romania is pirated, and salesmen still visit office
buildings in central Bucharest to sell pirated CDs and DVDs.
Some hackers hope their skills will help secure employment,
although breaking into other people's networks for fame or as part of a
job CV has its dangers. 
A pioneer of the digital map business, Navteq produces the maps
and software found in automobile navigation systems, portable naviga-
tion devices made by Garmin and other companies, and Internet map
sites like AOL's Mapquest, Google Maps and Yahoo Maps. Thanks to
global positioning systems and recent technology advancements,
Navteq is fine-tuning ways to let consumers use a phone or other
handheld device to track everything - from where to jog in another city
to learning where the nearest 24-hour gas stations are. Its Dutch rival
Tele Atlas has its own projects under way.
"There's a lot of competition going on," said an analyst for Gartner.
"Both companies are trying to show that their data is better." The map-
ping duel heated up last week with the announcement that Tele Atlas
agreed to a $2.6 billion acquisition by TomTom, the world's largest
maker of personal navigation devices.
While that should make the combined European company a more
formidable foe, Navteq's stock also soared. Analysts said TomTom's
competitors such as Garmin may now go to the Chicago company for
their maps rather than buy from a rival.
But the biggest threat facing the two competitors in the future may
be user-generated map content - a mapping equivalent of YouTube.
39
 World in Focus

Samsung's Chip Production Halted Due to

Power Outage
Samsung Electronics Co., the world's second-largest chipmaker,
resumed production earlier than expected at lines that remained down
for one day because of a power outage. The company, which had
expected a shutdown of as long as two days and up to US 54 million dol-
lars in lost sales, cut projected losses to US 39 Million dollar.
The disruption at the facilities, which make NAND flash used to store
songs and videos in Apple Inc.'s iPod music players and iPhones, may
extend a shortage of the chips through at least the first half of August,'
potentially boosting prices. The outage at Samsung, the world's biggest
NAND flash maker, will also benefit other producers such as Toshiba
Corp.
``ISuppli Corp. previously predicted that the shortage would evapo-
rate near the start of August,'' the El Segundo, California- based
researcher said in a note dated yesterday. ``The Samsung outage will
have a direct benefit for those other major NAND suppliers.''
Last year, Samsung had a 45 percent share of global NAND sales, followed by Toshiba Corp. with 26 percent and Hynix Semiconductor Inc.'s
18 percent.
The outage at the facilities, in the K2 production area in Giheung, south of Seoul, was caused by a blown fuse in a power substation,
Samsung had said. Prices of 8-gigabit NAND chips rose 6.3 percent to a record $19.02 only in one day, extending this year's rally to 67 percent,
according to Taipei, Taiwan-based Dramexchange.com, Asia's biggest spot market for the chips. The stock was unchanged at 590,000 won at the
close in Seoul, before Samsung released a statement on the outage. 

Airtel Ties Up With Google For Web-Based Services

(L-R) Google India's Head of Products Vinay Goel, Bharti Airtel's
President of Broadband & Telephone Services (B&TS) Atul Bindal,
Google India's Managing Director Shailesh Rao and Bharti Airtel's
Director of IT & Innovation Jai Menon pose with placards at a news con-
ference in New Delhi.
Bharti Airtel Broadband & Telephone Services (B&TS) and Google
entered into a strategic alliance to work together in bringing web-based
services to Airtel's broadband internet customers. As part of the agree-
ment, Airtel will offer its broadband customers a world-class portal includ-
ing Google Search for web-based queries, Google Gmail with 2 GB stor-
age, Google Talk instant messaging/ chatting service, Google Docs and
Spreadsheets so users can share and collaborate in real-time, and other
services like Desktop & Internet Security Services (consisting of Anti-
virus, Anti-spyware, Firewall & Parental Control); Web SMS, On-demand
gaming service and music download service, etc.
Airtel Broadband customers will be able to access all these services with a single sign-on completely free of cost. The portal will make it easy
for customers to access their email, search the web, share ideas, connect with friends and publish content. More offerings like e-commerce appli-
cations will be added to the portal over a period time.
"In India, it is rich and differentiated services and content riding on an innovative internet experience that will drive the adoption of broadband.
Airtel is delighted to partner with Google, a company that has led the creation of innovative internet experiences, to bring its innovative products
to our broadband consumers," said Atul Bindal, President, Airtel Broadband & Telephone Services.
Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India said, "Google is committed to enriching the online experience of users in India. The alliance
will provide an ideal platform for Airtel users to enjoy the best possible online experience with customized access to Google's evolving suite of
innovative products." It will become very easy for customers to access their email, search the web, connect with friends and publish content.
Airtel plans to add more offerings like e-commerce applications to the portal over a period time. 

Sharp Plans Major LCD Plant

Sharp Corp. is to build an LCD (liquid crystal display) manufacturing plant in Japan that is
likely to be the most advanced of its kind when it begins production. The new plant in Osaka will
be a "10th generation" plant. That means it will be able to accept sheets of mother glass - from
which several panels can be made - of 285 centimeters x 305 centimeters. The area of each
sheet is 60 percent larger than the 8th generation sheets used at Sharp's current cutting-edge
Kameyama factory in Japan.
LCD panel makers are racing to use ever larger sheets of glass because production efficiency
increases with each jump in size. That means screens can be made more cheaply, which in
today's cut-throat market can be a critical advantage. Sharp says it will be able to produce six
LCD panels in the 60-inch class, eight panels in the 50-inch class, or 15 panels in the 40-inch
class on each 10th generation sheet running through the Sakai plant. Initial capacity will be
36,000 mother glass sheets per month, increasing to 72,000 sheets over an undisclosed period
of time.
Construction of the plant will begin in November and operations will begin by March 2010,
Sharp said. The factory will cost about US$3.2 billion. Alongside the LCD plant, Sharp will also
make a new factory for solar cells. Sharp is a leading solar cell producer and the new Sakai
plant will have an output equal to around 1,000M watts (megawatts) per year. The plant, which is
expected to be the largest solar cell factory in the world, will start operations at about the same
time as the LCD factory, the company said.In addition to its own two factories, Sharp will invite
40 suppliers to build factories on adjacent plots of land. 
 Telecom

Punjab Chief Minister Ch. Pervaiz Elahi attending the inauguration ceremony of M3 Industrial City. US Cultural Attaché T.J. Grubisha giving away the certificates among the students
during a farewell ceremony to 58 high school students which selected from all
over Pakistan for the Youth Exchange and Study programme 2007-08 and will be
spending one academic year in US schools.

Despite the provision of computers to the staff for speedy work, the GPO, Rahim
Newly American Ambassador in Pakistan, N.W. Perterson visits computer lab after inaugurat-
Yar Khan, staff still adopt the traditional way of work with paper and pen.
ing Parliamentary Information Technology Resource Centre (PITRC) at MPA hostel in Lahore

A shopkeeper displays a huge size of National Flags to attract the customers for the Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL) employees taking shelter under a cloth to
upcoming 60th Independence Day celebrations will be marked on 14th of August. save themselves from scorching heat during their work at Meezan Chowk in Quetta.

Computerized complaint centre at Liaqatabad town Karachi to help citizens in registering

complaints regarding local administration. Policy and strategies will be made by review- People pass near telephone cables laying on dug up road near Jahangir Park in Saddar
42 area needs the attention of concerned authorities, in Karachi
ing complaints on monthly and yearly basis
 National

Reforms Create Enormous Growth in Telecom

Sector: PM
Deregulation and reforms in the telecom sector accompanied by
high disposable income has created enormous growth in this field,
said Prime Minister Mr. Shaukat Aziz. The Prime Minister was talking
to the Chief Executive Officer of PTCL, Walid Irshaid who called on
him at PM House. The Prime Minister said as a result of reforms, the
foreign investment had rapidly increased, with a total number of
mobile phones crossing 60 million, teledensity increasing by 40 per-
cent and tariffs reduced dramatically for local and foreign calls thus
benefiting the people.
The Prime Minister said thousands of new jobs had been created
in the telecom sector and more would be created in future as this sec-
tor expands and grows. Walid Irshaid updated the PM on growth plans
for PTCL on fixed lines and cellular business. He said the company
would continue to expand and serve the market with new services and
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz talking to the President Chief Executive Officer of PTCL
products. He said Pakistan telecom sector was attractive, growing and
Walid Irshaid who called on him at Prime Minister House.
the de-regulatory policy framework was world-class. 

Wateen Signs Fibre Optic Accord with CMPak

Wateen Telecom is Pakistan's first and largest private sector complete communication and media solutions company. The company has ush-
ered the country into a digital revolution with its ability to seamlessly connect every individual, home, office and business throughout the country.
Details of the agreement exposed that Wateen Telecom will provide fiber optic cable services to CMPak under which the cellular company will
be able to shift its load of long distance calls to the long haul fiber optic network of Wateen Telecom, which covers the length and breadth of
Pakistan.
The deal allows CMPak to utilize a single pair of dark fibre on Wateen's fibre optic network, on an indefeasible right of use (IRU) basis, for the
purposes of offering its cellular mobile services all over the country.
The agreement between the two giants of the Pakistan telecom industry heralds the beginning of a new telecom revolution to offer the people
of the country better services. While commenting on the deal, CEO Wateen Telecom, Tariq Malik said that this agreement strengthens Wateen
Telecom's commitment to become the preferred telecom carrier in Pakistan. He unveiled that this US 50 million dollar agreement will revolution-
ize the telecom sector of Pakistan by providing quality and economical calls to end user. 

43
 National

Pakistan Railways Introduces E-ticketing

The introduction of the e-ticketing system by the Pakistan Railways from July 20 is a
welcome development though its benefit may be limited given that many of passengers
are not expected to have easy access to the Internet. This innovative scheme of e-ticket
or e-reservation is of much convenience to the passengers who will now be able to book
railway seats online, make payments through the credit card, take a print of the reserva-
tion slip and undertake the journey without carrying the regular railway ticket.
It will also lead to decongestion of the passenger reservation counters at railway sta-
tions and booking agencies. Also, passengers, who have access to computers and are in
possession of credit cards, will no longer have to wait in long queues to obtain their
reserved tickets from the computerized reservation counters. The Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz launched the E-ticketing in Pakistan Railways by pressing a computer key.
The Prime Minister, on the occasion, said the digitalization of Pakistan Railways will
help facilitate the passengers, who are the real asset of Railways, as it was a service-ori-
ented organization. He said the government was committed to improve and upgrade the
railway system in the country as it was not only an effective source of journey but was a Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz inaugurating e-ticketing and credit card
mean to bring the different people, cultures, provinces and areas closer. facility at Pakistan Railways
He said in order to modernize the country's railways the government besides importing
new railway engines and coaches was also working on fast pace to double the railway track from Karachi to Rawalpindi. The Prime Minister said
old signal system was also being replaced with the new digital signal system along the railway track across the country. He appreciated the efforts
of Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad for improving the railway system in country and said he has given a new dimension to old railway sys-
tem. He stressed for outsourcing of various services in railways through public-private partnership and corporatization and said it would benefit the
employees as well as the passengers.
The Prime Minister also mentioned the broad gauge in Pakistan Railways as a challenge and there should be standard gauge to be at par with
the world and for improving efficiency. Minister for Railways Shaikh Rashid Ahmad speaking on the occasion said 24 new passenger trains have
been introduced during the last one year and old trains were being renovated.
The number of railway passengers has been increased to 85 million per annum and it would further go upto 90 million this year, he added. The
Railways Minister mentioned various initiatives being taken to upgrade the country's railway system, aimed at facilitating the passengers across the
country. Director IT, Rizwan Ahmed briefed the participants about the new E-ticketing system and said the facility was being introduced at 32 sta-
tions, while another 15 will be added by December next. Health Minister Muhammad Nasir Khan and Secretary Railways, Shakil Durrani were also
present on the occasion. 

PM urges Pakistani Investors to Set Up Venture

Capital Fund for IT Industry
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz urged Pakistani investors to establish a venture
capital fund for the Pakistan IT industry to promote an innovative and knowledge
based economy in the country. Presiding over a high level meeting on the estab-
lishment of the fund, the Prime Minister said that the establishment of the fund will
lead to creation of jobs, growth of the IT sector, training and awareness among the
stakeholders.
The Prime Minister said the fund should be managed by professional managers
and the government would play the role of an enabler and facilitator for the creation
of innovation by the Private sector. Shaukat Aziz said that Pakistani IT institutions
and universities are producing world class IT experts and there is a need to capital-
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz chairing a high level meeting regarding the ize this potential. He said the large pool of IT professionals with the capacity to pro-
establishment of venture capital fund for IT Industry
vide the IT solutions should encourage both the local and foreign companies to ben-
efit from this resource. Earlier Managing Director Pakistan Software Export Board Yousaf Hussain informed the meeting that the IT industry of
Pakistan exceeded US $ 2.2. Billion during the financial year 2005-06 with over 1000 world class leading IT companies. He said currently Pakistan
has 50% annual export growth and Pakistan is growing as offshore outsourcing centre in South Asia.
Asad Jamal, Chairman E-Planet Ventures said his company is planning to start its operation in Pakistan during the current year. E-Planet is the
pioneer in global venture capital and is considered as a model since 1999, he added. Umair Khan of the Entrepreneurs Fund-III (TEFs) also made
a presentation on IT sector in Pakistan and said that there is a huge scope in this field and Pakistan can capitalize the opportunity to cater for the
requirements of the whole region especially GCC countries.
The meeting was attended by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr. Salman Shah, Minister of State for IT and Telecommunication Ishaq
Khan Khakwani, bankers, businessmen and senior officials. 

PTA's Workshop on "Distance Learning Practices

for Asia Pacific Region"
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) hosted a five-day Task
Force Meeting on "Distance Learning Practices for Asia Pacific Region"
from July 23-27. The meeting was arranged at the International Telecom
Union (ITU) Centre of Excellence (CoE) Node established at PTA in June,
2007. Participants from Korea, Iran, Malaysia and Switzerland attended Chairman PTA, Maj. Gen. (R) Shahzada Alam speaking on the opening ceremony of Task Force
Meeting on “Distance Licensing Practices”
the meeting. The workshop covered current practices on e-learning,
online courses structure and tools for information, communication and management.
Speaking on the occasion of opening ceremony, Chairman PTA, Maj. Gen. (Retd) Shahzada Alam Malik said that PTA would continue to sup-
port ITU in its efforts to empower the member countries to build up their Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). He appreciated the initia-
tive taken by ITU for arranging this program.
He said that this workshop has been arranged to impart training on methodology to design and conduct online courses. He said that after this
44 training, the participants of the workshop will be able to arrange online training courses themselves from the respective nodes. 
 Cover Story Mudassar Jehangir

Internet Broadband in Pakistan experienced the slowest

growth, thanks to PTCL which contributed the most. PTCL
has been manipulating the broadband players since they
planned to strengthen themselves. Gone are the days, pen-
dulum has been shifted towards private operators. The only
thing to do now is advance ahead on a road that leads to
technological dominance
46

A
pparently long night of monopolis-
tic behavior in the broadband sec-
tor is soon going to be over. The
light of technological advancement
will welcome all the players equal-
ly to perform aggressively. PTCL has been
stopped recently by PTA to discontinue its
practice of atrocities towards local internet and
broadband service providers. It happened
when the victimized operators had complained
against PTCL for its unfair attitude in the sec-
tor.
Among various charges the focus point was
PTCL's non professional and unethical prac-
tices to humiliate and hinder the private broad-
band operators so they could not provide the
high speed internet services to their customers
at competitive prices, hence, increasing the
market share of PTCL's broadband customers.
The dilemma is that PTCL, even after doing
these evil deeds, could not perform well. Due
to internal corruption and absence of customer
services, it had to shut down PAKNET (PTCL's
subsidiary for internet and broadband) opera-
tions and suffered heavy losses all born by
Tayyab Shafi
Chief Business Officer,
Wateen Telecom
government of Pakistan and its public.
In response to the complaints from the
ISPAK, association for internet service
providers in Pakistan, PTA conducted an
The dilemma is that
PTCL, even after doing
these evil deeds, could
not perform well. Due
to internal corruption
and absence of cus-
tomer services, it had
to shut down PAKNET
(PTCL's subsidiary for
internet and broad-
band) operations and
suffered heavy losses
all born by govern-
ment of Pakistan and
its public
inquiry by listening to both the sides. Finally on
August 3, 2007, PTA gave decision through
order No. 15-70/07(CA)/PTA. 13 point judg-
ment has been welcomed by the service
providers and other telecom players.
PTCL has been refrained from deceiving
other private service providers by stop publiciz-
ing its lowest package to public. The entity has
been directed to create a healthy atmosphere
among players by offering them justified and
competitive bandwidth rates so the later could
offer their customers affordable packages.
Broadband services started in Pakistan in
2002. Due to very slow growth, lack of aware-
ness among people and few service providers,
PTA in 2004 allowed ISPs to provide these
services besides regular dialup connections.
Government set a target of 200,000 broadband
users within the first two years and another
300,000 users by the year 2009. But due to
heavy interference from PTCL and weak policy
making, Pakistan could create only 65,000
broadband users up till 2007 country wide
against the targeted figure. It only showed a
15% growth rate against the 40% in India.
Aamer Manzoor Dr.
Director Marketing
World Online
Besides other key elements responsible for
the slow growth of broadband, another impor-
tant factor is non availability of wired connec-
tions. It limited the technology to the urban
areas only. In order to compete the other coun-
tries in this particular area Pakistan has joined
the race of high speed internet through Wi-
MAX, the largest ever network of Motorola's
802.16e-based MOTOwi4 WiMAX is going to
be launched by Wateen Telecom, sister con-
cern of Warid Telecom, in a month time. The
company will offer broadband data services
covering residential and corporate voice,
Internet access, corporate IP virtual private net-
work (VPN) and public hotspots at a very com-
petitive prices both for corporate and regular
consumers.
Chief Business Officer, Mr. Tayyab Shafi
told Flare that "we are going to offer the largest
802.16e WiMAX network in the world, it will
launched in 22 cities of Pakistan. This is an
important milestone in realizing our vision of
"Broadband Pakistan" and eliminating the digi-
tal divide by providing coverage to areas that
are currently underserved.
He further commented that "we are coming
with pure WiMAX technology which is 802.16E.
Technically we are much more advanced than
any of our competitor. The service will be a
turning point for the communication industry in
Pakistan. To a question he said, "DSL has not
even fulfilled the 20% requirement of Pakistan
due to its slow and costly availability of copper
wire. Since we are coming for both, corporate
Cover Story
and general user, our price will be competing
with any of the DSL provider in the market. We
can provide a connection from 512 KB to 2MB
at every corner." About the competition from
other player he commented, "We had started
work 12 months back and with the backbone of
fiber optic we are technically very ahead of oth-
ers. Though its Motorola's first largest opera-
tion in the world, so we had some challenges,
but fortunately, they have been according to
our expectations. The engineering staff has
really performed well in Pakistan. Initially we
are expecting 1 million customers, corporate
and general, within one year time."
"WiMAX is likely to play a key role in
Pakistan by providing Internet access to many
people and businesses. The communication
infrastructure in many places in Pakistan is
poor. WiMAX, being a cost effective technolo-
gy, connects villages and buildings to local and
broad content. This can translate into economic
growth and improvement in the quality of life
and education opportunities," said Mr. Shafi.
The technology has already been launched
in Pakistan in 2006. ZTE has tried a pre launch
trial in Islamabad for
Wimax. The company
intended to cover the
entire city as the
broadband users were
limited due to non
availability of high
speed wired internet
services. Due to cer-
tain reasons, ZTE
could not continue
with operations.
Dancom is another
player who is offering
WiMAX services in
Lahore, Karachi and
Islambad. After it has
been acquired by
Orascom, the compa-
Shahid Alvi ny intends to launch
Director these services in
Braintel other cities like
Peshawar,
Faisalabad, Sialkot etc. Mr. Atif Rauf, Incharge
of Corporate Sales-North told Flare that, "we
are currently having around 400 customers of
Wi-MAX in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
Our plan is to focus on corporate customer
instead of regular consumer". To a question
about the competition with coming giant,
Wateen Telecom, he said, "that Wi-MAX servic-
es are dependant on the quality of hardware
used and in the potential urban areas, cus-
tomer is very much conscious about the quali-
ty. We are using Redline, which is known for its
good hardware products for Wi-MAX services,
whereas Wateen is using Motorola's MOTOWi4
which is Motorola's first ever operation of this
kind".
More companies are planning to start the
WiMAX services as well; PTCL, Orascom (after
Dancom's acquisition) are the major players. In
order to show big aggression Orascom has
acquired World Online (WOL) as well. Well
before starting its operations, it has already
created big customer base from the current
subscribers of Dancom and WOL. One good
thing that Orascom has done is that it is not
disturbing the management of both the compa-
nies. The group has purchased the vehicles
along with drivers as well.
"Initially it will be a little slow and only affect
the corporate market. But with the passage of
time it will start giving tough competition on
general consumer's end as well. Wireless tech-
nology has its own benefits; access to every-
where regardless of boundaries is the largest 47
 Cover Story
basis today. This is achieved via superior line- cost of ownership. The CPE and overall cost of
of-sight propagation capabilities of these sys- DSL is extremely affordable, and therefore ripe
tems. However, the applications and content, for mass consumption. However, availability
which are relevant for the communities, must and applications are not sufficient today for
also be available on such networks to be effec- mass deployment. Today, we see that DSL is
tive in helping rural population. Furthermore, available in pockets, and hence the true growth
the local distri-
bution within
the village will
be addressed
by a cost effec-
tive technology
today and may
migrate to
WiMAX with
the reduction in
the cost of
technology
ownership.
WiMAX is
an excellent fit,
as one does
not need to
Key components of Motorola’s WiMAX solutions for install cables,
Wateen Telecom’s customer premises equipment and thus instal-
(CPE) lation becomes
among many. We are fortunate enough to com- hassle free. It
pete the other regional countries in the race of can be an
technology adoption" told by Mr. Aamer excellent tech-
Manzoor, Director Marketing World Online. nology to con-
Since the services will be available to regu- nect remote vil-
lar consumers at competitive prices, therefore, lages and sites,
it is likely to see the rates and packages and also for
offered by any of the WiMAX operator well wireless access
within the reach of normal user. Currently the within the vil-
rates offered by various operators are around lage. It can
Rs. 1,100 to Rs. 1,500 per month for a 128 K prove to be a
DSL and Rs. 1,500 to Rs. 2,000 per month for real competitor
a 256 K DSL. One can easily believe that to DSL and
WiMAX could slash the cost of bringing broad- cable, but this
band to remote areas, and potentially open the is based on
doors to new broadband competition, leading applications,
to lower prices and faster consumer adoption. costs and
The main requirement for the rural areas availability.
today is to break the digital divide. Today, the
Technologically, WiMAX systems have the advantage of
capability of providing connectivity from exist- DSL and
ing Points of Presence on a village-by-village cable is the

Pakistan has a huge appetite

for broadband services it has
not been explored fully. It
requires WiMAX as fast as it
can be rolled out; but the suc-
cessful deployment of these
services will depend on the
practicality of the technology,
its cost-effectiveness and
above all the customer servic-
es. Customer's satisfaction is
important. Game will change
now; big pockets will survive
but this will dependant on
48 good customer services
 Cover Story
already opera- DSL connections but it will be mainly used in
tive in the places where these services are not available.
country. In There are close to 300 million broadband sub-
Lahore it has scriptions worldwide, the vast majority of the
not created any world's population does not have access to
damage to us. broadband. Only a handful of countries have
Technically we exceeded 60% broadband penetration. Even in
are providing highly developed telecom regions like Europe
higher services and the USA, typically less than half of all
to corporate households have broadband, and most of
clients. Our these are in urban areas - rural areas have
fiber network been left behind.
can provide 1 Worldwide interoperability for Microwave
Gigabit data Access (WiMAX) has a higher potential in
transfer facility countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh
where as the for fixed wireless service deployment in rural
limit of WiMAX areas, in contrast to many other countries
is only 25 where the infrastructure exists for Internet
Megabit. access in less populated areas.
Currently we The challenges are two fold. As a new tech-
are enjoying nology - design and verification of WiMAX
around 16000 products pose a challenge to design engineers.
customers on The other challenge is in the economic imple-
our fiber in mentation. This will be driven by cost reduction
Lahore. We through higher level of integration at the device
also have level, and through mass production of these
around 9000 RFICs.
Wireless cus- Pakistan has a huge appetite for broadband
tomers in the services it has not been explored fully. It
city and sur- requires WiMAX as fast as it can be rolled out;
roundings. We but the successful deployment of these servic-
These are the selected pages from PTA’s decision over the complaint of internet service also have es will depend on the practicality of the tech-
providers against PTCL; complete determination is available on flare.com.pk
acquired STM4 nology, its cost-effectiveness and above all the
potential has been, at best, stunted. The disad- and will soon customer services. Customer's satisfaction is
vantage is DSL and cable does not have reach be able to provide bandwidth to other operators important. Game will change now; big pockets
in to rural Pakistan. Dr. Shahid Alvi, Director as well." will survive but this will dependant on good
Braintel comments on the situation, "WiMAX is WiMAX may replace the current Cable and customer services. 

Hierarchy of Wimax 802.16e Solution

49
 Cover Story

50
 Informative

Samsung S720i Samsung P260

Size Size
Dimensions 96.5 x 46 x 17.7 mm, Weight 83 g Dimensions 101 x 50 x 17 mm, Weight 119 g
Display Display
Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels) Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Memory Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 20 MB embedded memory Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 25 MB embedded memory
Data Data
GPRS Yes, EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
USB Yes, v2.0 EDGE Yes, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UMA
Features Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video(CIF), Doja 1.5 Features
MP3/AAC/ACC+ player, T9, Picture editing, Organizer, Built-in hands- Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF)
free Voice memo Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/ACC/ACC+ player, T9
Organizer, Voice memo
Samsung S720i presents a more modern look, although fewer Battery
specs, it has a camera of 1.3 megapixel, but it is also capable of CIF Standard battery, Li-Ion 960 mAh, Stand-by
recording. The slider packs GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth and USB con- Up to 220h, Talk time Up to 3h
nectivity. This handset too comes with a microSD card slot with 20MB
of internal memory also available. The P260 has WiFi and is UMA enabled. Weighs 119 grams and
is 101×50×17 mm. Decked out with a 2 megapixel camera and 262k
color 320×240 resolution display

Samsung P520
Size
Dimensions 88 x 54 x 8.9 mm, Weight 102 g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 50 MB embedded memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Yes
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UMA, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with
A2DP
USB Yes
Features
Camera 3 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, video(QCIF), Java MIDP
2.0
MP3/ACC/ACC+ player, FM radio, Document viewer (.pdf,
.doc, .ppt, .xls)
TV out, Organizer, Voice memo
Battery
Stand-by Up to 220h, Talk time Up to 3h

The design of Samsung P520 is somewhat similar to

the card phones - with dimensions of 88×54x8.9 mm. Only
P520 does away with the keypad and comes equipped with
2.6? 262K color 240 x320 pixels touch screen. Other specs Japanese electrmocs giant Toshiba employee displays the company's Portege smart
include GSM/EDGE connectivity, 3 Megapixel camera, 50
MB of internal memory and microSD memory card slot, phone (R) and prototype model of an external direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) battery at
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. the Wireless Japan exhibition in Tokyo.

Samsung L600
Samsung L760
Size
Dimensions 97.5 x 44 x 16.5 mm, Weight 84 g Size
Display Dimensions 100 x 47 x 15 mm, Weight 93g
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels Display
Ringtones Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Ringtones
Memory Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 15 MB embedded memory Memory
Data Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 40 MB embedded memory
GPRS Yes, EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP Data
USB Yes, v2.0 GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Features EDGE Class 11, 236.8 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF) Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/eACC/WMA player Features
FM radio with RDS, Document viewer (.pdf, .doc, .ppt, .xls) Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF, MPEG4 H.263), flash
T9, Picture editing, Organizer, Built-in handsfree Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/eACC/WMA player, Blog function
Voice memo FM radio with RDS, T9, Picture editing, Organizer, Built-in handsfree
Battery Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 500 mAh, Stand-by Up to 220h Stand-by Up to 370h, Talk time Up to 3 h30 min
Talk time Up to 3 h30 min
Clever parts of the Samsung L760 are in software; designed as
This device actually looks kind of cute. Very basic 262k color a bloggers phone, it comes with an RSS reader and tools to upload
176×200 resolution display with a 2 megapixel camera and expand- content directly to providers such as YouTube and Buzznet. It's the
able with microSD, I expect this to be a hit among the teenage girl first "L" series handset we've seen, so we don't know for sure if this
crowd. At only 97.5×44×16.5 mm and weighing jus 84 grams, it is designation will be used for "blogging phones" in the future.
very petite.

50
 Informative

Samsung S730i
Size
Dimensions 100 x 50 x 14.8 mm, Weight 83g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3
Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 40 MB embedded memory
Data
GPRS Yes, EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QVGA), flash, Doja 2.5
MP3/AAC/ACC+ player, T9, Picture editing
Organizer, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo,
Battery
Stand-by Up to 200h, Talk time Up to 6h
Samsung S730i comes with 80 MB internal memory card and if
you want to increase your memory then you have a microSD card in
this phone. You get all the required features in this phone. This stereo
Bluetooth enabled phone can be your best partner while talking.
Samsung G600
Size
Dimensions 102 x 47.8 x 14.9 mm, Weight 105g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3
Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 55 MB embedded memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE
Class 10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Camera 5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser, video, flash
Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+/WMA player, Stereo FM radio
T9, Organizer, TV out, Voice memo, Bluetooth printing, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 3 h30 min
Samsung wants you to ditch your digital camera and just use their
phones for all your picture-taking needs. At least that's what the upcoming
G600 leads one to believe, what with it having a 5-megapixel camera
crammed inside. The G600 is in a slick package, similar to the other Ultra
Edition sliders. Other than the beefed-up phone, it'll have 3G connectivity,
USB, Bluetooth 2.0, 2.3-inch TFT QVGA display and a microSD memory
card slot.

Samsung Z630
Size
Dimensions 101 x 52 x 12.5 mm, Weight 95g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory
28 MB embedded memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Yes, 3G HSDPA, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB Yes, v1.1
Features
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QVGA), flash; secondary QVGA
videocall camera
Video telephony & streaming, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-
AAC+/WMA player
T9, Document viewer (.pdf, .doc, .ppt, .xls), Organizer, Voice memo
Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 200h, Talk time Up to 3 h30 min

The phone combines several features such as a 2.1? 240×320 pixel

display, 2 megapixel camera with a secondary camera for video calls,
A campaign girl of mobile phone giant Sony Ericsson dislays the colorful interchangeable 27Mb of internal memory with microSD expansion, stereo Bluetooth and a
jackets for the company's mobile phone during the Wireless Japan exhibition in Tokyo. multimedia player. This slider phone is quite lightweight for a 3G class.

Sony Ericsson K850 Nokia 7900 Prism

Size
Dimensions 102 x 48 x 17 mm, Weight 118 g Size
Display Dimensions 112 x 45 x 11.3 mm, 55 cc, Weight 101g
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches Display
Ringtones Type OLED, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches
Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3 Ringtones
Memory Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2)/microSD , 512 MB card included Memory
40 MB internal memory 1GB internal memory
Data Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE GPRS Class 32, 107 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE
Yes, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps (K850i only), Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Class 32, 296 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0
Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 USB Yes, microUSB
Features Features
Camera, 5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA@30fps), xenon Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF), flash
flash and 3LED video light; auto lens cover, secondary videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0, UPnP technology, MP3/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player
Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Motion sen- FM radio, T9, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree
sor (with UI auto-rotate), TrackID music recognition Voice memo, Living wallpaper
T9, Image viewer, Picture editor/blogging, Organiser, Built-in handsfree, Battery
Voice memo/dial Stand-by Up to 240h, Talk time Up to 3h
Battery
Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 9h Measuring a mere 14mm thick, the 7900 will be equipped
Sony Ericsson K850 comes with a mind-blowing 5 megapixel autofo- with Bluetooth and 3G connectivity, a 2 megapixel camera with
cus camera with a real xenon flash, a dedicated shutter button, and the flash, an integrated FM radio, email support, integrated audio
ability to record video in QVGA resolution at 30 fps. Users would be and video players, 1GB of internal memory, and a very capable
pleased to know this handset not only takes pretty pictures (still won't beat display that shows up to 16 million colors in 320 x 240 resolution,
a dedicated digital camera though) but is a capable communications tool all packed into a little body!
with quad-band GSM/EDGE/HSDPA support, MP3 playback, 40MB of inter-
nal memory, and support for both M2 and microSD cards.

51
 Informative

Nokia 1112
Rs. 2,350
Size
Dimensions 104 x 44 x 17 mm, Weight 80g LG KG110
Display
Type Monochrome graphic, 4-way scroll key
Rs. 2,250
Ringtones Size
Type Polyphonic (20 channels), with MP3 Dimensions 102.8 x 44 x 16.5 mm, Weight 70g
grade tones Display
Memory Type CSTN, 65K colors
4 MB shared memory Ringtones
Features Type Polyphonic (40 channels)
T9, Built-in handsfree, Picture messaging Memory
Speaking alarm and clock, Reminders, Phonebook 500 entries
Demo mode for phone, Exchangeable covers Data
Battery GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Stand-by Up to 380h, Talk time Up to 5h Features
Java MIDP 1.2.1, T9, Calculator, Scheduler
Placing special emphasis on ease-of- Unit converter
use, the Nokia 1112 has a user interface that
makes use of graphical icons and large font LG KG 110 is a stylish and a handy entry level
sizes to make user navigation simple for first- phone. The device is equipped with all basic funda-
time mobile phone users. Timekeeping is mentals with GPRS as an addition. This phone can a
made convenient with the Speaking Clock and fit your pocked well with a mere 70 grams of weight.
Alarm, which announces the time in a range
of local languages. Design: 7.5
Features: 7.2
Design: 7.6 Performance: 7.3
Features: 7.4
Performance: 7.5

Javier Jova, the father of Angelica Cajamarca uses a mobile phone at Zaventem airport, as he
came to protest against the deportation of his eleven-years-old daughter Angelica Cajamarca
and her mother Ana from Ecuador.

Samsung C160
Rs. 3,900

Size
Sony Ericsson J220 Dimensions 106.5 x 43.5 x 15.4 mm, Weight 70g
Display
Rs. 2,350 Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 1.5 inches
Ringtones
Size
Type Polyphonic (16 channels)
Dimensions 102 x 44 x 18 mm, Weight 82g
Memory
Display
600 KB shared memory
Type STN, 65K colors
Data
Ringtones
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Type Polyphonic (32 channels)
Features
Memory
FM radio, T9, Organiser, To Do list, Calendar
500 kb user memory
Currency converter, Voice memo, Built-in hands-
Data
free
GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps
Battery
Features
Stand-by Up to 180h, Talk time Up to 2h30 min
T9, Calculator, Exchangeable cover
Image viewer, Calendar, Stopwatch
Built-in handsfree
The SGH-C160 is an introductory market-
Battery
level color GSM mobile phone incorporating FM
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 6h
radio in a basic but undeniably stylish bar design -
perfect for news and music lovers. E-mail and
220i is a mobile phone designed for opti-
Web access also enhance usability while not
mal ease-of-use and with a feature set which
affecting ease-of-use. Entry-level, but aiming high
will appeal to most mobile phone users. Calling
and wide for the best value basic handset!
is easy, messaging is easy and when your
J220i rings, clear-ringing polyphonic ringtones
Design: 7.7
sing out. Enjoy sending pictures and sounds in
Features: 7.5
SMS text messages or MMS multimedia mes-
Performance: 7.6
sages.

Design: 7.6
Features: 7.5
Performance: 7.6

52

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Informative

Nokia 6151 Rs. 9,550

Size
Dimensions 108x47 x 19 mm, 88cc, Weight 98g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size
128 x 160 pixels, 29 x 35 mm, 5-way navigation
key, Downloadable wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, AAC
Stereo speakers
Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), hotswap
30 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, 43.2 kbps, EDGE Class 10, 236.8
kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 TREND T 300
with A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0,
Pop-Port
Rs. 9,999
Features
Size
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 960 pixels, video(QCIF)
240 * 320 QVGA 2.4' LCD, 98g weight
Push to talk, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/M4A
Display
stereo player, 3GPP/MPEG4 video player
3.2 Mega Pixels camera, Auto Focus (AF)
FM stereo radio, Visual Radio, T9, Calendar
Ring tones
Calculator, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo
Type polyphonic 64 Polyphonic chord ring
Voice command
tones, MP3 music playback, built in various
Battery
equalizers, support various playback mode
Stand-by Up to 340h, Talk time Up to 4 h30 min
MP4 support
MIDI and MP3 music support
The Nokia 6151 introduces the benefits of
Memory
3G to consumers - such as streaming multime-
T-Flash card, 256 MB T-Flash Card Free
dia audio and video content, or downloading of
87 MB user free internal memory
their favorite music or video. The classically
Data
designed, compact handset offers a compre-
Java, FM radio with recording option
hensive range of features, combining Nokia's
Bluetooth, WAP 2.0, T.V Out, Loudspeaker
easy to use Series 40 user interface with mod-
USB Support
ern day essentials like a 1.3-megapixel camera,
Features
Bluetooth connectivity and music player with
SMS, picture editor, hands free, PC Syn,
microSD memory card support.
Email, TV output lines
Battery
Design: 7.7
Talk time 2-3 hours, Standby time 90-130
Features: 7.5
hours
Performance: 7.6

Vice President and Head, CDMA Division Samsung Telecommunications India

Pvt. Ltd., Hyunbai Kim, left, and President-Enterprise Solution, Tata Teleservices
Ltd., Vinayak Deshpande hold a Samsung Duo phone at its India launch in
Mumbai, India.

Sony Ericsson W200i

Samsung E250
Rs. 7,750
Size
Dimensions 99 x 50 x 13.9 mm, Weight 80g
Display
Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 10 MB shared
memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Yes, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB Yes
Features
Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video(QCIF)
Java MIDP 2.0, Stereo FM radio,
MP3/AAC/AAC+ player, T9, Organizer
Built-in handsfree, Voice memo,
Battery
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 5h
Premium design meets VGA Camera in the fea-
ture-rich SGH-E250, a stylish slider with all the
moves. Multimedia options run the gamut from
VGA Camera to camcorder capabilities, MP3
player with A2DP Bluetooth, and trouble-free
Email and Web access. Boost 10MB end user
memory with invaluable Micro SD external
memory and experience speedier downloads
with EDGE software.
Rs. 6,500
Size
Dimensions 101 x 44 x 18 mm, Weight 85g
Display
Type UBC, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels,
1.8 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, AAC
Memory
Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2)
27 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes
Features
Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video
Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS, Walkman
Media Player 1.0, T9, Image viewer, Picture
editor, Organiser, Voice memo, Built-in hands-
free
Battery
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 7h
With stamina for up to 18 hours of music
listening, the W200a can store up to 37 full
length tracks. For sharing music with friends, a
128 MB Memory Stick Micro (M2) card lets
users do this in an instant. With memory cards
up to 1 GB available, each card will hold up to
255 full-length tracks. Users can even use the
radio as an alarm clock, using the in-built
speakerphone rather than the stereo head-
phones.
Design: 7.5
Features: 7.6
Performance: 7.5

Design: 8.0
Features: 7.7
Performance: 7.8
53

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Informative

Sony Ericsson K200

Rs. 4,800
Size
Dimensions 103 x 46 x 16.7 mm, Weight 82g LG KG200 Rs. 5,600
Display
Type STN, 65K colors, Size 1.6 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (32 channels) Size
Memory Dimensions 100 x 46 x 15 mm, Weight 89g
2 MB internal memory Display
Data Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels
GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps, Infrared port Ringtones
Yes Type Polyphonic (64 channels)
Features Memory
Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video(QCIF), T9 Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 60 MB shared memory
Slide show, Full screen viewer, Stopwatch, Timer Data
Built-in handsfree GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps
Battery USB Yes
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 8h Features
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video
The Sony Ericsson K200 is all about having a Java MIDP 2.0, MP3 player, FM radio, T9, Organiser
camera on your phone just when you need it. The Voice memo
VGA camera and photo album are immediately Battery
accessible with just one click on the dedicated but- Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 3h
ton. Given that the Sony Ericsson K200 has a
slideshow view and will store up to 40 images, it's The other phone is the LG KG200 includes 1.3-
easy for users to view their pictures in full screen and megapixel camera and a 65K colour screen. This bar
share them with friends. phone consist of features such as 56 MB in-built memo-
ry, plug and play, external memory card slot, USB
Design: 7.6 charging, MP3 player, FM radio and recording, video
Features: 7.5 recording and playback, video caller ID, call recording,
Performance: 7.5 speaker and ring tones and in-flight mode.

Design: 7.9
Features: 7.8
Performance: 7.9

Nokia 6070 Rs. 5,650

NEXT Buddy x-103 Size

Dimensions 105.4 x 44.3 x 18.6 mm, Weight 88g
Rs. 2,650 Display
Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 28 x 35 mm
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (24 channels), MP3, MIDI
FM- Radio Memory
3.2 MB of user memory
Data
Color Display GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, 43.2 kbps, EDGE Class 6, 177.6 kbps
Built-in MP3 & MP4 Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, Pop-Port
Features
Polyphonic Ring Tones Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, video, Java MIDP 2.0
FM stereo radio, Push to talk, Video player, Voice memo,
T-9 Dictionary Voice command, T9, Calendar, Calculator
Built-in handsfree
Battery
Language English & Arabic
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 3h

Standby Bettery Time =60 to 70 Hrs.
Charging Time = 1.30 hrs. to 2 Hrs.
Call Time = 150 to 180 MTS
The classically styled Nokia 6070 represents Nokia's
most accessible camera phone, a solid range of functions
for easy messaging, including SMS, MMS, Nokia Xpress
audio messaging, email and instant messaging. For addi-
tional entertainment, the phone comes with a stereo FM
radio and supports true tones, MP3 and polyphonic MIDI
ringing tones.

Design: 7.8
Features: 7.6
Performance: 7.7

54

Above prices are subject to change as per market


Nokia 6288
Rs. 17,200
Size
Dimensions 100 x 46 x 21 mm, Weight 115 g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 35 x 45
mm, 4-way navy key, Downloadable screensavers,
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Memory
Card slot miniSD, 512 MB card included, hotswap, buy
memory, 6 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD
Yes, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0,
Pop-Port
Features
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, VGA video, flash;
secondary video call VGA camera, Push to Talk
Java MIDP 2.0, Stereo FM radio (visual radio)
MP3/AAC/M4A/eAAC+ player, T9, Organiser
SyncML, Voice dial/memo, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 4h 30 min
Nokia 6288 is a compact slide phone device, bun-
dled with a 512 MB memory card making it ideal for
watching favorite video clips on its bright QVGA,
262,144 color display. Outfitted with a 2-megapixel and
a VGA camera, the Nokia 6288 makes it easy to share
videos and participate in two-way video calls. Nokia
6288 is for people who want features of the N-series
but don't wish to pay the price and can do with the sac-
rifice of some of them in turn for a price cut.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.2
Samsung U600
Rs. 18,200
Size
Dimensions 103.5 x 49.3 x 10.9 mm, Weight 81g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 34 x 44 mm
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Memory
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), 60 MB embedded
memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE
Class 10, 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Camera 3.2 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video,
flash, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/eACC/WMA player
FM radio, T9, Yahoo search, Organizer, Business card
recognition, Document viewer (Word, Excel,
PowerPoint, PDF)
Voice memo, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Standard battery, Li-Ion 690 mAh, Stand-by Up to 250h
Talk time Up to 3h30 min
Member of the Samsung Ultra Edition II range,
The Samsung U600 is a slim & stylish slider opening
mobile phone; phone is equipped with a powerful cam-
era which allows the user to take still photos & video
recordings at any time. The user can use the high reso-
lution 3.2 megapixel camera feature to capture their
memories as a photograph or as a video recording.
The camera feature comes with an auto focus feature
& all the useful camera features that are present on a
stand alone digital camera but this camera is built into
a stylish & desirable mobile handset. The large high
resolution screen works as a view finder for the camera
& video feature which provides up to 262,000 colours
on a 2.2 inch LCD colour screen.
Design: 8.4
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.1
Above prices are subject to change as per market
Informative
Sony Ericsson K810
Rs. 19,000
Size
Dimensions 106 x 48 x 17 mm, Weight 115g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 2 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3
Memory
Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 128 MB card
included, 64 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes,
v2.0
Features
Camera 3.2 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus,
video(QCIF), xenon flash; secondary videocall
camera, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, TrackID music recogni-
tion, T9, Image viewer, Picture editor, Picture
blogging, Organiser, Built-in handsfree
Voice memo/dial
Battery
Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 10h
The K810 Cyber-shot phone is a sleek,
high-performance device boasting a 3.2
megapixel camera including auto focus and
Xenon flash. Innovative applications such as
photo fix help to further improve the quality of
your pictures, even after you have taken them.
When in camera mode, the Xenon flash with red
eye reduction will help to achieve great picture
results in low-light conditions. Equally, the new
illuminated Camera Icons will allow the user to
select advanced camera settings (such as pic-
ture size & self timer) by simply clicking on one
of the hardkeys; so no need to navigate into the
full camera menu and risk missing that special
shot.
Design: 7.8
Features: 7.9
Performance: 7.8
Nokia N80 Rs. 22,700
Size
Dimensions 95 x 50 x 26 mm, 97cc, Weight 134g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 35 x 41 mm
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True
Tones, MP3
Memory
Card slot miniSD (up to 2GB), hot swap, 128 MB
card included, 40 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE
Class 11, 236.8 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN
Wi-Fi 802.11g, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2, Infrared port
Yes, USB Yes, v2.0, Pop-Port
Features
OS S60 3rd edition (Symbian OS , Series 60 UI)
Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, video(CIF),
flash; secondary VGA videocall camera
UPnP technology, Push to talk , Java MIDP 2.0
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Stereo FM Radio
T9, Voice dial/memo, PIM including calendar,
to-do list, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 192h, Talk time Up to 3h
The Nokia N80 lets users to network all
their compatible home media with its user-
friendly, advanced UPnP (Universal Plug
and Play) technology allowing the N80 to be
used as a remote control enabling secure
and simple access to compatible PCs,
audio systems and TVs. Users can view
images and video from the N80 or their
compatible PC on a television while simul-
taneously listening to stored music
through their audio system. The 3.15
megapixel camera features a capture key
for fast, stable camera activation, a full-
screen landscape capture, dedicated
close-up mode switch as well as a CIF
video camera with inbuilt video stabi-
lization.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.2
Performance: 8.2
55
 Informative
Samsung X830
Rs. 17,400
Size
Dimensions 84 x 30 x 20 mm, Weight 72g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 128 x 220 pixels, 1.46
inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3,
Customization
Download, order now, Vibration Yes, 3D sound
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Call records, 30 dialed,
30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot No
1 GB embedded memory, 4 MB for Java apps
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD No, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP
Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors
Black, Pure White, Orange, Pink, Camera
1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video(CIF)
MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+/WMA player, Video player
Flight mode, Organizer, Calculator, Unit converter
Timer, Voice memo,
Battery
Standard battery, Li-Po 800 mAh, Stand-by Up to
120 h, Talk time Up to 3h
The Samsung X830 is a highly fashionable
mini music phone which comes with a swing open-
ing mechanism. The handset has a stylish & sleek
design with built in powerful multimedia features.
The X830 is a music lovers dream with its easy to
access music feature & controls. The user can
download music in MP3, AAC, AAC+, AAC+e &
WMA format & enjoy 3D stereo music on their
portable music playing mobile phone. The user can
use the music library to organize their downloaded
music in order by album name, song title or artist
name. The user can search through their playlists &
playback all their favorite songs with ease.
Design: 8.3
Features: 8.0
Performance: 8.0
Sony Ericsson W950
Rs. 21,200
Size
Dimensions 106 x 54 x 15 mm, Weight 112g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size
39 x 53 mm, Handwriting recognition
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, AAC
Memory
4 GB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE W958c only, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes,
v2.0
Features
OS Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0, Java MIDP 2.0
RDS FM radio, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, T9
Image viewer, Picture editor, Organiser,
Voice memo, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 340h, Talk time Up to 7h30 min
The W950 is an ultra-slim, ultra-stylish
device with 4GB of onboard storage complete
with touch screen for simple navigation through
music genres, play-lists, individual songs or music
albums. More than a music phone, broadband-
fast email and Web browsing plus a suite of high
performance entertainment applications add to its
capabilities, making it one of the most highly
specified phones in the Sony Ericsson portfolio
Design: 7.9
Features: 8.0
Performance: 8.0
56
Nokia N95
Rs. 45,500
Size
Dimensions 99x53x21mm, 90 cc, Weight 120g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 40 x 53 mm
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic,
True Tones, MP3
Memory
Card slot microSD (up to 2GB), hot swap, 128
MB card included, 160 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps; DTM
Class 11, 177 kbps, 3G HSDPA, WLAN
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP technology
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port
Yes, USB Yes, v2.0 miniUSB
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Camera
5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics,
autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash; secondary
CIF videocall camera, Built-in GPS navigation
Installed Maps application covering over 100
countries, Dual slide design, Java MIDP 2.0
MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player
3.5 mm audio output jack, TV out, Stereo FM
Radio, Organiser, Office document viewer
T9, Push to talk, Voice dial/memo, Built-in
handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 220h, Talk time Up to 6h30 min
The Nokia N95 is an all-in-one multimedia
device with an innovative 2-way slide concept,
integrated GPS functionality, a 5-megapixel
camera and support for high-speed mobile net-
works. With its integrated GPS, the Maps appli-
cation includes maps for more than 100 coun-
tries, enabling users to explore the world, find
specific routes or locate services such as
restaurants and hotels and covering more than
15 million points of interest. With the Carl Zeiss
optics on the 5-megapixel camera, consumers
can capture print quality photos and DVD-like
quality video clips. Photos and video clips can
be enjoyed on a compatible television thanks to
the device's TV out feature and support for
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology.
Design: 8.0
Features: 8.4
Performance: 8.4
Sony Ericsson W880
Rs. 21,200
Size
Dimensions 103 x 46.5 x 9.5 mm, Weight 71g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 1.8 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3
Memory
Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 1 GB card
included, 16 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
HSCSD Yes, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes,
v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QCIF);
secondary VGA videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0
Walkman player 2.0, TrackID music recognition
T9, Image viewer, Picture editor, Picture blogging
Organiser, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo/dial
Battery
Stand-by Up to 425h, Talk time Up to 6h 30 min
At just 9.4 mm thin, the W880i is the
slimmest Sony Ericsson phone yet and combines
the full Walkman phone experience with a device
that fits easily into a pocket. The 1 GB Memory
Stick Micro (M2) provided in-box gives users room
to store up to 900 full length tracks, whilst the
host of innovative music applications (such as
Walkman Player 2.0 and Disc2Phone) make it
easy to get music onto their phone and search
through play lists. With Bluetooth Audio
Streaming, music can be enjoyed wirelessly on a
Stereo Bluetooth Headset. And a 2.0-megapixel
camera is integrated along with support for picture
blogging.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.0
Performance: 8.0
Above prices are subject to change as per market
 Informative

Nokia E65
Rs. 26,700
Samsung P300
Size
Dimensions 105x49x15.5 mm, 74cc, Weight 115g
Rs. 20,200
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels Size
Five-way scroll key Dimensions 86 x 54 x 8.9 mm, Weight
Ringtones 85g
Type Polyphonic, MP3 Display
Memory Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 220 x 176
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), hotswap, pixels
50 MB shared memory Ringtones
Data Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
GPRS Class 32, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, Memory
296 / 177.6 kbits, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 80 MB shared memory, 4 MB for Java
802.11b/g, VoIP over WLAN, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 apps
Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, Pop-Port 200 short messages
Features Data
OS Symbian OS 9.1, Series 60 UI, Camera GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 -
2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(CIF), 48 kbps
Java MIDP 2.0, Push to talk, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP, USB
player, Office applications, T9, Voice Yes
command/memo Features
PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels,
Integrated handsfree video, flash
Battery Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+ player,
Stand-by Up to 265h, Talk time Up to 6h Organiser
Voice memo, SyncML, Built-in hands-
The Nokia E65 has been designed for easy free
access to the most frequently used applications Battery
from the One Touch keys on the front cover. Stand-by Up to 160h, Talk time Up to
Users can make conference calls, access their 3h
contacts database, mute and unmute calls, and
access an application of choice through 'My Own' At only 9 mm, it is as thin as a
key with just one push of a button. Furthermore, credit card, making it the ideal compan-
the E65 can be integrated with leading corporate ion. Keep track of your work wherever
telephony systems - with Nokia Intellisync Call you are in the world, without sacrificing
Connect for Cisco, Nokia Intellisync Call Connect mobility or independence. With the
for Alcatel and Avaya one-X Mobile Edition for Samsung P300's handy functions, you
Nokia solutions. The E65 also supports the most can experience the true freedom of
used corporate and consumer email solutions. mobile communication. Make tri-band
calls worldwide or use the hands-free
Design: 8.3 button to talk without having to hold the
Features: 8.2 phone. And the integrated MP3 player
Performance: 8.2 means you always have your favourite
music to hand.

Design: 7.8
Features: 7.8
Performance: 7.8

Sony Ericsson M600

Rs. 23,200

i-mate JAMin
Rs. 31,500
Size
Dimensions 108.8x58x18.4 mm, Weight 150g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 65K colors, Size
42 x 57 mm, Handwriting recognition
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels)
Memory
Card slot SD/MMC, 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM
Texas Instruments OMAP850 200 MHz processor
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi
802.11b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, Infrared port
Yes, USB Yes, miniUSB
Features
OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 PocketPC
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(CIF)
Pocket Office(Word, Excel, Outlook), Java
Voice memo, MP3/AAC player, Video/audio album
Built-in handsfree
JAMin runs Windows Mobile 5.0 Phone
Edition, and thus comes bundled with handy
office productivity applications including
Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It's also
got an extensive array of messaging capabilities,
including push e-mail. Internally, JAMin, uses a
200MHz processor. Memory-wise, the 128MB
flash memory and 64MB RAM boasted by the
JAMin. The JAMin's connectivity options are also
extensive, and include quad-band GSM
(850/900/1800/1900), Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11b/g
Wi-Fi and Infrared. Additionally it holds a camera
on the back too
Size
Dimensions 107 x 57 x 15 mm, Weight 112 g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 39 x 53 mm
QWERTY keyboard, Handwriting recognition (English
and Chinese)
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, AAC
Memory
Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 64 MB card includ-
ed, 80 MB shared memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD
Yes, 43.2 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0
with A2DP, Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
OS Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0, Java MIDP 2.0
Video playback, Media Player (MP3, AAC), Sync ML
Office applications, Organiser, Photo album, Voice
memo
Battery
Stand-by Up to 340h, Talk time Up to 7h
The Sony Ericsson M600i is a fully-specified email
tool and mobile phone rolled into an extremely stylish,
slim device featuring a touch screen and handwriting
recognition. As the second Symbian OS 9.1 and UIQ
3.0 enabled phone in the Sony Ericsson portfolio, the
M600i offers users great customization opportunities
and the ability to buy personal productivity and other
applications from the Sony Ericsson Application Shop.
New push email applications, remote synchronization
and expandable memory give owners a UMTS phone
and email connectivity in a device that easily fits in their
pocket.

Design: 8.1 Design: 8.3

Features: 8.1 Features: 8.2
Performance: 8.0 Performance: 8.2

57
 Informative

Samsung G600
Samsung Mobile has announced a sleek new camera phone, the Samsung
G600. Housed in a fashionable black two-toned slider shell and equipped with
a 5 mega-pixel camera, the Samsung G600 is a fusion of design, photography
and the ultimate in phone functionality.
No matter where it's being used, for phone or camera, the Samsung G600
guarantees to make its users look and feel great.
Additional benefits, such as creative shot modes, microSD external memory
and the Image Editor will make the Samsung G600 a digital must have. For a
better viewing experience, the Samsung G600 incorporates a 2.2" LCD with 16
million colors, a 5 mega pixel multi function imaging system and full Bluetooth
v.2 connectivity. This will enable people to view larger pictures and graphics
and helps users read text or Web pages in full. What's more, these features are
bundled into a tiny 102 mm by 47.8 mm by 14.9 mm frame.
The Samsung G600 is also equipped with a host of multimedia features
designed for those on the go. Music lovers will enjoy the embedded MP3 play-
er, which can be customized to individual tastes and preferences. With
improved internet browsing, users will benefit from NetFront Browser v.3.4,
which provides PC-like browser capabilities on your mobile.
In conjunction with the Samsung G600 launch, Samsung has partnered with
an online digital development retailer, to help users capture their fashion con-
scious moments. The partnership offers each customer 50 prints, a photo mem-
ory book and a collage poster, so people can capture and share their fashion
moments. No word yet over the availability and pricing of this gadget. 

LG Shine (KE970) Titanium Black

The LG Shine is a pretty familiar device to all of us, but this time the
Shine has gone much darker with a Titanium Black color scheme.
At present, LG have announced this scheme for the KE970 (GSM) ver-
sion of the Shine, and not the almost identical KU970 (3G) version.
Whether or not this dark colored Shine is actually appealing remains to
be seen - it's not always easy to judge how a handset really looks from
press photography. It's certainly a striking looking handset, and as the LG
Shine is pitched firmly in the fashion phone marker then it should turn a few
heads.
Just in case you're not already familiar with the technical specifications
on the LG Shine KE970, it comes with a 240 x 320 pixel display in 262,000
colors, a 2 megapixel camera camera with a Schneider-Kreuznach lens,
auto-focus and a multi-shot capability. Memory expansion is through a
microSD slot, stereo Bluetooth and the LG Shine also has the usual combi-
nation of MP3 player, email client, web browser and everything else you'd
expect. It's a bit heavier than most similarly sized GSM phones at 119
grams, mostly due to the metal parts in the construction.
Although the original KE970 is a great looking handset, there have been
criticisms about signal strength, battery life and that the handset scratches
easily. This latter problem is common to a lot of fashion phones - the solu-
tion is to take better care of it!. 

59
 Informative

Samsung P520
The upcoming Samsung P520 touch-screen mobile
phone claims to become Samsung's iPhone killer. We
yet don't know how the P520's UI will look like, but
there's a serious doubt that Samsung will come up with
something more or equally impressive.
Looking a little like an iPhone that has been through
a hot-wash, Samsung’s P520 cellphone might be the
ideal non-Apple alternative for those with smaller hands
or pockets. Just 88 x 54 x 8.9mm and weighing a mere
102g, it’s a triband GSM handset with, frustratingly,
EDGE rather than 3G. That 262k colour, QVGA touch-
screen - measuring around 2.6-inches - makes up for it a
little, though there’s no word on whether it’s a traditional
display or fancy capacitive one like the LG and iPhone.
Other fancies include a 3-megapixel camera, 50MB
of internal memory with a microSD slot to augment it,
Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi with UMA, a document viewer and a
flip-case that looks similar to the company’s earlier
designs which had extended batteries built in. The
P520 under its own steam can manage up to 180 min-
utes talk time or 220 hours standby.
There’s been some talk about whether this could be a
potential Google Phone, and while it’s tempting to
believe that the search company would partner with
someone producing a handset similar in design to the
celebrated iPhone but with all the joy of Google’s online
applications, the lack of 3G seems like the biggest indi-
cator that it’s not. 

Samsung G800
Only a few days after Samsung announced the release of their
G600 phone model, we receive news of an even newer model ready
for release. Samsung G800 will not hit the markets pretty soon,
although many people will be expecting it.
The main feature that this handset holds special as to arouse the
interest of a large number of customers is the 5 megapixel camera.
Many people thrill over the possibility of having an evolved camera
and highly capable mobile phone in one device. Samsung has brought
several devices with huge performances when it comes to taking cap-
tures.
The mobile phone supports a 5.8-17.4 mm focus length along with
the 5 megapixel resolution, which makes it one of the most evolved
devices at this time with support for such capabilities. Unfortunately,
Samsung has offered no official specifications for this handset,
although that is expected to happen quite soon.
Images show the Samsung G800 camera phone as a stylish,
evolved device, with a large screen. This feature will prove to be high-
ly useful especially for viewing images and videos at a considerably
high quality. Such a phone should also include high performances
when it comes to 3G, HSDPA or at least Bluetooth and USB connec-
tivity, matching the evolved camera functions.
There are still things that Samsung should reveal about this device.
It is still unclear whether it is a slider phone or one without a keypad.
In this case, it will also include the touchscreen technology, as it has
proved to be highly appealing in recently developed mobile phones. 

60
 Informative

Nokia 6288
Nokia 6288 is a high end phone, having quite advanced features, such
as, enhanced voice dialing, an integrated hands-free speaker, email and
Nokia Xpress audio messaging. The 6288 is a slider-phone having 3G
capabilities along with EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution)
support. The Nokia phone supports a larger than usual 2.2? QVGA (Quarter
Video Graphics Array) bright screen, with a resolution of 320 × 240, 4.5 MB
of internal storage memory, Blue Tooth 2.0, IrDA, Camera with 2 Mega Pixel
resolution and appropriate flash light. It also features a video camera, FM
radio and PTT (Push to talk).
The slide mechanism of the phone is quite smooth, and the slide moves
up and down with very little effort. The alpha-numeric keyboard appears to
be well-built and has soft touch key buttons. Nokia 6288 comes with a
stereo player, which is compatible with MP3, MP4, AAC and eAAC+ for-
mats, With a 512 Mbyte memory card, for storage of lots of music tracks.
In switch-on condition, the screen of the Nokia 6288 is never turns off in
the sense that you can always see the date and time directly under the sun,
even when the backlight is off. It has a TFT display with 320 x 240 pixels
and 262,144 colors.
The video player in Nokia 6288 is capable of playing back 3GP and MP4
video, up-to the QVGA resolution that it has without dropping any frame.
Nokia 6288 is considered to be a good all-round mobile phone, with
crisp audio quality having enough volume adjustment. The 2 MP camera
produces good pictures. The music player has an excellent audio quality
and adding a audio adapter with a high quality head-phone, gives you the
best out of the player, where the ear phones, which come along with 6288,
does not have much improvement in the audio effect. 

Nokia 2626
Nokia 2626 is a phone designed for the style-conscious users. Nokia
2626 is a colorful phone, keeping up with the users in the emerging mar-
kets. It is available in quite ambitious colors of Fiery Red and Spatial Blue,
and to go with the trend, it has a FM Radio for music on the go. The phone
is constructed out of three different plastic materials, with the inset made of
tinted glass, having mirror coating on the front.
Two loudspeakers are situated at the top and right hand sides of the
phone, and the charger input jack and the 2.50mm audio jack, are situated
at the bottom of the phone. Nokia 2626 has a 27×27 mm STN-matrix dis-
play, with a resolution of 128×128 pixels, having 65K colors, while the pic-
ture quality is good.
Nokia 2626 has a similar keypad as that of Nokia 2610, being made in
ledges which make it comfortable to handle. The numeric buttons are a bit
larger than the others, which prevents wrong dialing of numbers.
Nokia 2626 measures 104×43x18 mm, and weighs 91 g. The phone
uses quite a powerful Li-Ion battery at 970 mAh, and has a specified 300
hours of standby and 3 hours of call mode time. The battery can sustain up
to 2 hours of game play.
The phone has a 300-entry phone book, and allows accessing the SIM
card memory, along with the use of the internal phone memory. The user
can also use the SIM card memory simultaneously. The phone offers the
feature of SMS and MMS in the conventional way.
Nokia 2626 has an internal memory of 2 MB, and as for smart features it
has a clock and built-in games. It has GPRS capability enabling high speed
data transfer. 

61
 The Sony Ericsson K810 is the replacement of the K800 3-megapixel shooter,
building on its platform. The new phone is slimmer by a few millimeters, and
greatly reduces the camera bulge on the back, so the phone now can easily slip
into your pocket. The camera-cover is redesigned and it is now smaller and cov-
ers almost only the lens itself, but opens with less efforts and a lot more smoothly.
Keep in mind that even that dimensions are reduced, the camera module is the
same and quality of images will not suffer.
The K810 has more mature look than its predecessor, and it is more elegant.
The numeric keys are round, made of metal and reflecting the light.
An improvement when working with the camera is the addition of shortcut keys
- the left column has blue characters indicating what the function of each key is. In
picture taking mode, the short-cuts can adjust the focus, picture size, timer and
flash. The keys are not-programmable, so their function cannot be chanted.
In video capture mode, the short-cuts backlit is off, but the #4 and #7 keys still
function as allow image stabilization and focus adjustment. The two keys above
the display also have that blue backlight and act as camera shortcuts.
Sony Ericsson K810 is the first Cyber-shot phone to have PhotoFix functionali-
ty, which when was under development was called BestPic. The option allows to
automatic brightness and contrast adjustment on images, which is standard func-
tionally or most image editing software packages.
Overall, the new K810 is a good next step for the Sony Ericsson and their
Cyber-Shot line. 

Sony Ericsson W200i is a music device that can store up to 37 full length tracks. This
latest addition to Sony Ericsson's musical family has stamina for up to 18 hours of music
playback. There's no exact equivalent to the W200i in the non-Walkman range, in terms
of hardware specification it's somewhere between the K310 and K510 devices. It has a
128x160 pixel display and a VGA resolution camera.
Of course, as a Walkman phone the Sony Ericsson W200 comes with Sony's
Disc2Phone software and a range of media playback enhancements. Because of the
W200's somewhat limited feature set, the phone's weight is only 85 grams
To make it easy to get to music, the W200 features a dedicated Walkman key that
goes straight to the Walkman player menu. For sharing music with friends, a 128 MB
Memory Stick Micro (M2) card lets users do this in an instant. With memory cards up to 1
GB available, each card will hold up to 255 full-length tracks.
To catch up with the news or listen to live music, the FM Radio allows consumers to
pre-set up to 20 stations. Listen-in via the color-matched Stereo Headset HPM-64; the
first to feature Bass Reflex, an innovation that preserves audio quality when the bass is
turned up. Users can even use the radio as an alarm clock, using the in-built speaker-
phone rather than the stereo headphones.
As well as being a music player, the W200 is a fully featured multimedia device. It fea-
tures a VGA camera with 4x digital zoom and integrated photo album so consumers can
capture and store spontaneous snapshots, or share them with friends and family. It is
also fully equipped for video messaging, offers a full HTML web browser and delivers
business-friendly tools such as push email and PC synchronization. 
 Informative

Nokia 7900 Prism

Nokia 7900 Prism is a 3G fashion phone with a radical design that some
people will love. The 7900 uses a lot of metal in its construction, including an
aluminum back cover and laser etched detailing.
The Nokia 7900 Prism is a dual-band UMTS/quad-band GSM phone, giv-
ing it useful worldwide capabilities when it comes to wireless communications.
On the back is a 2 megapixel camera with flash, and inside is an impressive
1GB of memory, although this is not expandable.
The screen on the Nokia 7900 is a little different from most, as it uses
240x320 pixel OLED display rather than the traditional TFT LCD. OLED gives
much lower power consumption (which is always useful) but in the past this
type of display has been criticized for its short lifespan, particularly with blue
colours which typically last for only around 5000 hours (200 days) of continu-
ous use.
There are plenty of lighting effects with the Nokia 7900 Prism - the display
changes colors according to the time of day, battery life and signal strength.
The 7900 also has an illuminated keypad that coordinates with the display.
Whether or not people will stare at the phone muttering "it's-so-beautiful"
remains to be seen.
The Nokia 7900 Prism is quite a slim 3G phone at 11.3mm thick, it's slight-
ly taller than average at 112 mm too. The 7900 weighs 101 grams and has up
to 3 hours talktime with a maximum of 10 days standby time. The Nokia 7900
has Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE plus of course a multimedia player, web browser
and email client.
Nokia say that the 7900 Prism is slated to be available sometime during
Q3 2007. 

Nokia 6070
Nokia 6070 is a mid-ranged device with basic camera
phone capabilities and stereo FM radio at an affordable
price point. The easy-to-use and reliable handset offers
excellent usability with its large color display and clear key-
pad layout, combined with the intuitive and well-known
Nokia Series 40 user interface.
The Nokia 6070 presents a solid range of functions for
easy messaging, including SMS, MMS, Nokia Xpress audio
messaging, email and instant messaging. Voice communi-
cation features include push to talk, voice recorder and an
integrated handsfree speaker, complemented by an
infrared interface. XHTML browser enables easy browsing
for news and uploading images and videos for sharing
using fast EDGE data communication. For additional enter-
tainment, the phone comes with a stereo FM radio and
supports true tones, MP3 and polyphonic MIDI ringing
tones.
The classically styled Nokia 6070 represents Nokia's
most accessible camera phone. Nokia 6070 underlines
Nokia's continuous commitment to offer consumers a vari-
ety of innovative products to choose from, based on their
individual needs and lifestyle. 

62
 Informative

Motorola W156 / Motorola W160

The Motorola W156 (left) and W160 (right) are two identical looking
monochrome phones with 128x128 pixel displays and an illuminated
keypad. The W160 comes with an FM radio, where the W156 does not.
There's a standard jack plug connector on both, although it's hard to
see what the W156 would use it for as you can bet it doesn't have MP3
playback! There's a USB connector too.
The display does look rather like the digital paper unit found on the
FONE F3, but we can't say exactly what it is.
One characteristic of these very low end Motorola phones, tend to
be light weight and very long battery life. If Motorola stick to their past
form, then the W156 and W160 will probably make very dependable
low-end handsets. 

Motorola W175 /
Motorola W180
Add a color screen to the W156 and W160 and you
get the W175 (left) and the W180 (right). The W180 is
the variant with the FM radio, and both handsets have
the same illuminated keypad
Technical characteristics of these devices are not
reveled yet, but one can expect them to weight around
80 grams and have 5-7 hours talk time.
Neither of these handsets has a digital camera, and
we can't expect them to have Bluetooth either. 

Motorola W206 /
Motorola W213
A return to the styling that Motorola was using a cou-
ple of years ago, the W206 (left) and W213 (right) are
both quite low end handsets. Again, the W213 has an
FM radio; the W206 doesn't appear to have one.
Surprisingly, neither handset has a digital camera.
It's a little hard to see what differentiates the
W175/W180 from the W206/W213 as they both have
similar features.
Despite the basic features, in our view the W213
looks to be a very attractive and well-proportioned
handset. With the built-in FM radio it should be a wel-
come Christmas present for many consumers. 

63
 Informative

Apple Shares Fall on iPhone Numbers

AT&T the iPhone's exclusive carrier, wiped some of the glow off Apple Inc.'s iPhone, when it
officially released numbers that showed fewer people than expected signed up for service in the
first two days of the multimedia cell phone's release.
AT&T reported that it activated 146,000 iPhones on June 29 and 30, 2007, a number that dis-
appointed investors following some analyst forecasts that Apple would sell 500,000 or more
iPhones in its first weekend.
Analysts cautioned against reading too much into AT&T's activation numbers, saying the actu-
al number of iPhones sold may be much higher but was not reflected in the figure because many
users had activation problems and couldn't sign up for a few days.
Also weighing on Apple's stock, demand for the iPhone has experienced a "significant
decline" after 15 days of its release, a slowdown driven in part by dissatisfaction with the slow
data transfer speeds on AT&T's network..
Analysts expect from Apple and AT&T to boost their marketing push for the iPhone and the
companies could introduce a new model in November - earlier than expected, that operates on a
faster network. The two models now available cost $499 and $599.
Apple is expected to release more information on the iPhone's sales in its third-quarter earn-
ings report very soon. The company has been tightlipped about its near-term sales forecasts,
saying only that it hopes to sell 10 million worldwide by 2008.
Analysts are expecting Apple to continue its strong profit growth. According to a survey, Apple
is expected to earn 72 cents a share on $5.29 billion in revenue for the third quarter. 

Email Your Refrigerator

You are at work and forgot to remind your children to buy milk; no
worries as now you can e-mail your fridge, which will communicate this
email with your kid! Taiwanese high-tech firm Winbond Electronics Corp.
has developed prototypes of devices with software maker Microsoft Corp
that transmit data from a computer to a portable screen, such as one on
a refrigerator magnet.
The devices incorporate a technology called SideShow, a feature in
Windows Vista, which was released earlier this year. They can connect
to a computer up to 100 meters (yards) away with a Bluetooth wireless
connection, even if the PC is turned off. The gadgets allow you to write
notes, check and send e-mail, view pictures and read news, stock
reports and more. Among the devices Winbond is introducing the
Scribbler, a palm-sized, one-inch thick magnet with a touch-pad monitor.
If the computer is switched on and connected to the Internet, people
can use the devices to transmit and receive information through the
Web. The quality of the online connection depends on a separate Internet services provider. Using a stylus pen commonly used for pocket comput-
ers, a person could scrawl on The Scribbler notes to leave their children or send e-mails from work that they can read on the device and also reply
back from the same device as well.
There are no plans to develop similar technology for Macintosh or other Windows operating systems. Other gadgets that incorporate the
SideShow technology includes a remote control that works with Windows Media Center, which allows you to record and watch multimedia content
on the computer. Another is The Chatter, a hand-held device used mainly to send text messages to and from a PC.
The gadgets are powered by a battery that can be charged with a USB connection to a computer and lasts up to several days. They and can
store up to hundreds of megabytes. 

Sony India launches Colorful VAIO CR Collection

of Notebooks
Sony India has launched a new range of ultra-hip and colorful note-
books, creating a new and modern VAIO collection called the CR series.
Unveiling these chic and trendy laptops was Mr. Masaru Tamagawa,
Managing Director, Sony India and MTV VJ Nikhil Chinnapa who were
present at the launch in Delhi. The all new VAIO CR series of laptops
have a great youthfully fashionable design. These notebooks feature a
lustrous coating, framed with a smooth rounded silver, luminous trim-
ming.
The new and stylish Sony VAIO CR range of notebooks comes in five
awesome colors:
 Blazing Red- This model has a black interior and according to Sony,
has been designed for those who want people to look twice. If you ask
me, the combination of red and black looks extremely stylish.
 Indigo Blue- This notebook has a very trendy color and comes right in
time to match this season's favorite runway color.
 Pure White- This model offers a modern take on the classic look.
 Beauty Pink- This notebook features mixed shaded of pink, making it look really cute and is bound to be a hit with the girls.
 Aroma Black- This one has a sophisticated look.
The Sony VAIO CR series of notebooks have a 14.1-inch, 1280×800 ClearBright LCD Lite screen, making them perfect for viewing movies and
pictures. This notebook also features a high resolution web cam. Then there's the all new AV mode button that enables one to reach directly to
stored music. One can even play DVDs with the single click of a button. The Sony VAIO CR notebooks come loaded with a suite of multimedia
tools that enables the easy backup of data, photos, videos, and music. Some of the software includes DVgatePlus and Click to DVD for creating
customized DVDs. The Aroma Black model (VGN-CR14GH/B) comes for a price of Rs.64,990, while another black model (VGN-CR12GH/B) costs
64 Rs.54,990. The Sony Vaio CR notebooks in Beauty Pink, Indigo Blue, Pure White and Blazing Red also carry a price tag of Rs.54,990. 
 Informative

Iris Recognition to Protect you

Phone from Unwanted Access
The Japanese company Oki Electric has announced that they are developing the new tech-
nology for mobile phones. The iris recognition application will be the first one to use the exist-
ing camera on the phone in order to recognize the owner.
As you see the phones for that applications need to be smartphones or PDAs and the
application will give you the highest level of protection known these days, well, except for not
giving it to anyone. When the phone is blocked they will not be able to do anything with it: calls,
access the web, no, forget about those. These actions need to be authorized by you and your
iris.
Iris Recognition Software version 1.0 is going to need at least 1 or 2 MP camera in order to
function properly. How does it work with a usual phone camera? They use some kind of propri-
etary algorithm that was specially designed to work with standard cell phone cameras. This
program will also have support on Symbian and Windows Mobile and the majority of smart-
phones are using these systems to run. So feel safe with this application on your phone.
However, there is no word on when this wonderful application will come out and how much is it
going to cost. 

Panasonic Unveils Camera with 18x Optical Zoom

Panasonic expanded its LUMIX family of digital still cameras with
the introduction of the LUMIX DMC-FZ18, an 8.1 Megapixel compact
camera with an impressive 18x optical zoom. In addition to a premium
28mm wide-angle LEICA DC lens, the DMC-FX18 joins the LUMIX
DMC-FX33 and DMC-FX55 as the first Panasonic digital cameras to
offer the revolutionary Intelligent Auto Mode, which include Face
Detection, Intelligent Scene Selector and Continuous Auto-focus func-
tions, allowing users to easily capture clear, professional-quality images
in any situation or setting.
When this powerful camera, with an optical zoom up to 18x, is put
into Intelligent Auto Mode, the multi-faceted functions engage automati-
cally, so there is no need to adjust settings every time conditions
change.
"The Intelligent Auto Mode in the DMC-FZ18 does all the work for
you, making photo-taking trouble-free", noted Alex Fried, National
Marketing Manager, Imaging, Panasonic Consumer Electronics
Company. "When taking into account the camera's 18x optical zoom,
which is among the industry's longest zooms, and then adding 8.1
Megapixels, a 28mm wide-angle lens, MEGA Optical Image
Stabilization, and Intelligent Auto Mode, the DMC-FZ18 delivers profes-
sional-level photo quality, in a powerful camera packed with advanced features that is still easy to use." Similar to the entire 2007 line of LUMIX
digital still cameras, the camera sports advanced countermeasures against blurring - the Intelligent Image Stabilization system, which combines
MEGA Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S.) to compensate for hand-shake and Intelligent ISO Control to detect and adjust for motion blur caused by
subject movement.
The LUMIX DMC-FZ18 also is equipped with a 2.5-inch large, high resolution LCD with 207,000 pixels, a 0.44-inch Electric Viewfinder with
188,000 pixels, f/2.8 brightness and is powered by the high-quality, high-performance, Venus Engine III, which boasts shooting at ISO 1600 in nor-
mal recording mode. The DMC-FZ18 has been redesigned to make the camera more stylish and easier to use. The auto focus, auto exposure
lock, and Macro buttons are now independent, to allow quick and direct operation, a metal-finished mode dial adds design strength and an
enhanced rubber grip makes the camera easier to hold. The redesigned body also incorporates the joystick made popular by the DMC-FZ8 model,
which enables a host of settings, such as manual focusing and exposure, to be done quickly and easily. 

Sony Ericsson Unveils a Range of High-End Phones

Indian VJ Tee Jay Sidhu, right, photographer Dabu Ratnani,
second right, General Manager Sony Ericsson Mobile
Communication India Limited Sudhir Mathur, second left, and
Indian Model Joey Matthews display new models of Sony
Ericsson handsets at its launch in New Delhi, India. Sony
Ericsson launched eight new high technology handsets in India,
consolidating its presence in the Music category with upto 8GB
space, imaging category with 5 mega pixel camera and with vari-
ous smart phone categories.
"With the launch of high-end phones in Cyber-shot series,
Walkman series and emotive series, we are aiming to register a
strong presence in all these categories and the doubling sales tar-
get on year on year basis," Sony Ericsson Mobile
Communications India General Manager Sudhir Mathur told media
persons here after rolling out high-end new offerings. In the walk-
man phone category, the company unveiled three models. It has
also introduced a Cyber-shot phone. 

65
 Informative

Samsung to Launch Giorgio Armani Branded

Mobile Phone
Samsung Electronics Co. said, it may cooperate with luxury name brands such as
Italian fashion house Armani in its mobile phone business. The Samsung/Armani phone
will come with exclusive content and a unique user interface.
"We are currently reviewing the possibility with various firms including Armani,'' Lee
Soo Jeong, a spokeswoman for Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung, said."We will
make an official announcement once it is finalized.'' "The company is going to make a
new category called 'IT luxury products' jointly with Armani. The Armani phone will be
launched in Europe in October and we plan to expand the brand to other businesses as well," spokesperson said.
This could include the rumored plans to launch a range of televisions in conjunction with Armani. Samsung has previously designed phones
under other brands including the good looking but impracticable Serene by Bang & Olufsen pictured below. If all goes well, can we expect to see
handsets from Nokia/Gucci, or Sony Ericsson/Louis Vitton, in the near future?. 

Nokia Acquires Twango to Offer Media Sharing

Nokia has announced the acquisition of Twango, a media sharing provider for
organizing and sharing photos, videos and other personal media. By acquiring
Twango, Nokia will be able to offer people an easy way to share multimedia content
through their desktop and mobile devices. Twango, a privately-owned company
founded by former Microsoft veterans, is headquartered in Redmond. Twango's plat-
form makes organizing, sharing, and republishing media such as photos, videos and
audio clips easy. Unlike many other social media services, Twango supports multiple
media types and offers options for people to manage, share, and repurpose their
personal media content. Twango offers a destination experience on desktop com-
puters and mobile devices, as well as a platform that allows developers to create
companion applications, connect with mobile devices, and integrate with other Web
services.
Equipped with cameras and mobile broadband connections, Nokia devices have
changed the way people create content, blog and participate in online communities.
In 2006, Nokia sold over 140 million connected cameras, and its devices are rapidly
becoming the world's primary source of images and videos. Nokia offers people new media sharing experiences, such as combining GPS-based
location information with photos and videos. 

Sony Ericsson P3i Rumors

Rumors, rumors and rumors…everything starts with it right? This time the rumors involve handset-
maker Sony Ericsson. We can see pictures of the rumored Smartphone that Sony Ericsson is said to be
“developing” and it already even has a name! But if you look at the Sony Ericsson P3i you can’t help but
be impressed because of its really unique design. The most visible pat of the Sony Ericsson P3i is its
huge touchscreen display. This display takes up the whole front part, so you’ll wonder where on earth is
the keypad? Well, the keypad slides out from it.
The SureType-style keyboard is said to be its winning feature. Where lots of handset makers favor
the new QWERTY keypad, Sony Ericsson chooses to reroute. But based from the pictures of this
rumored P3i Smartphone there’s no button for accepting and ending calls. But it would be too early to
say exactly about the features and availability of this big phone. 

Motorola Plans Mobile Phone with Display

Projector
Motorola is planning to design tiny display projectors in its mobile
phones and has signed a deal with US-based Microvision to develop
the miniature laser-based display systems. The attraction to Motorola
is that miniature projectors could enable a larger viewing screen for
mobile handsets, by projecting content displayed on the device
screen onto a wall, object or even a curved surface.
“Working together with Microvision, we are pursuing ways that pro-
jection technology can redefine how mobile consumers view and
interact with the media they take with them," said Rob Shaddock,
CTO, Motorola Mobile Devices business. The firms are working
together to integrate Microvision's PicoP projector inside a functioning
mobile handset as a demonstration system. The prototype handset will use the a 854x480 color pixel wide angle scanner, which was first demon-
strated by Microvision in May 2007 at the Society of Information Display annual conference.
66
 Informative

Fujifilm Revamps its Compact Digicam Line

Fujifilm announced their S8000fd bridge camera, the latest addition
to the 18x optical zoom club. With an 8.3MP sensor and CCD-shift
Image Stabilization Technology, the camera looks set to rival the latest
equivalents from Panasonic and Olympus, and like previous models in
the company's range, a Real Photo Processor features alongside a
maximum ISO of 6400.
The lens stretches from 27-486mm with other key features includ-
ing a 15fps burst shooting rate (at a 2MP resolution) and a face-detec-
tion technology, capable of identifying up to 10 faces per image.
Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd, styled like a digital SLR model, boasts
such a complete suite of features that film buffs might be swayed to
keep their rolls in the fridge — if only for a little while. The S8000fd
dodges the usual groans about a fixed lens, traditionally weak on digi-
tal cameras, because of its powerful 18x optical zoom, wide-angle
lens.
The FinePix S8000fd puts its 8-megapixel sensor to good use: You
can take a high-resolution shot at full power, or sacrifice some resolu-
tion to enable various features, such as the ability to take 15 snaps in
a single second at 2 MP. Family shutterbugs will also enjoy the
S8000fd's ability to track 10 different faces at once, automatically
adjusting so each will be as crisp as possible. And face recognition allows for the age-old picture plague — red-eye — to stay a thing of the past.
With so much packed behind the lens, you'd expect the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd to have a hefty price tag, but it's expected to debut at the
consumer-friendly price of $400 when it comes out in September.
Four further cameras have also been announced within Fujifilm's range. The F50d model (approx. $299.95) features a 12MP sensor and CCD-
shift image stabilisation, alongside a 2.7in LCD screen and the latest version of its face-detection technology, v.2.0.
The Z10fd (approx. $199.95) meanwhile, has been targeted at the youth market with its sleek, curvaceous styling and features such as
infrared transmission to compatible devices and easy posting of images onto Internet blogs.
The F480 (approximately $179.95) model boasts a wideangle lens, 8.2MP sensor and a 2.7in LCD screen, while the A920 ($199.95) model
builds on the success of its entry-level range by incorporating a 9MP sensor and 4x optical zoom together with 15 scene modes and a dual-media
slot, supporting xD, SD and SDHC cards. 

Foot Controlled Mouse

Dubbed the Foot Controlled Mouse, this device comes with a slipper-like device for you to move the pointer about, while the other foot is used
to manipulate the programmable buttons which include double click, left click, right click, and a scroll function. This would certainly work great for
those who have lost the use of their arms. Completely foot-operated, thus it eliminates the wasteful
"travel time" it takes to move the hand and eye from the keyboard and monitor, to the mouse and
back. Computer users are realizing up to 30 percent increase in efficiency!
Avoid carpal tunnel syndrome associated with desktop mice. The Foot Controlled Mouse virtually
eliminates stress on the delicate hand-wrist area by moving mouse control to the feet.
 Allows use of standard desktop mouse at the same time.
 One pedal controls cursor movement, the other is for mouse clicks.
 Compatible with Windows, OS/2, and Mac.
 Heavy duty, injection molded plastic shell.
 360-degree, pressure sensitive mechanism.
 Pedal dimensions: 10.0 inches long, 1.5 inches high, 4.0 inches wide. 

New Electric Car from Reva

Indian car company, Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) has
announced the launch of their latest product named REVAi. This is the
advanced version of their regular Reva car and is going to be sold
both in India and international markets. The company said in a state-
ment that this new model came with a host of technological advance-
ments and features to benefit the customer and the environment.
The Deputy Chairman of Reva Electric Car Company (RECC)
Chetan Main said in a statement: “The new model can drive at 80 km
per hour as compared to 65 km per hour by its earlier models, with
acceleration from 0-40 km in seven seconds as against 10 seconds
earlier. The capacity of its torque has been increased by 40 percent for
quicker acceleration, climbing and negotiating slopes.”
It has been priced at Rs.349,000 (ex-showroom) in the Bangalore
market and would be able to support two adults in the front seats and
two kids in the back.
Maini further said: “The unique feature of this electric vehicle is the
AC drive train for higher speed, range and acceleration. With trip
odometer and automatic computer controlled indicator for power con-
sumption and regeneration and electronic control panels, the car will
have more battery life to cover about 200 km without recharging as against 80-100 km by its earlier models.”
The company had invested 20 million dollars since December which would be spread over the next a year and half towards its expansion pro-
gramme, which included marketing, infrastructure and upscaling of current facilities. Nearly 70 percent of the sales were exports with 30 percent
alone constituting domestic sales. The company had sold 600 vehicles in all last year and had chalked out target sales of 3000 vehicles for next
year.
The company also planned to introduce one new model every year with new features and technological advancements, announcing the
expansion of its operations in new European markets of Norway and Spain; he said the existing model is also available in Spain, Cyprus, Malta
and Greece.  67
 Informative

Sony unveils a design study model for the company's

A show girl holds a Canon camera at the opening of the
Taipei Computer Application Show in Taipei. More than 200
computer and peripherals companies from Taiwan and else-
where in the world were there to display their latest line of
products at the five-day exhibition.
notebook computer, covered by various leathers and
other fabrics, at a Sony design exhibition in Tokyo. The
fashionable personal computers, for a selection of
A model displays the world's smallest high-definition digital lifestyles, were produced as design prototype models.
video camcorder "HDC-SD7" produced by Japanese elec-
tronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial in Tokyo. The cam-
corder has three 560,000-pixel CCD to record high-definition
images on a stamp-sized SD memory card.

An employee of Japanese camera giant Fujifilm displays the new digital cameras,
"FinePix F50fd" (bottom) and "FinePix Z100fd" (top), during a press preview in Japanese model Moe Oshikiri shows off a Sony Ericsson mobile SO704i covered
Tokyo. FinePix F50fd, equipped with a 12.0 MegaPixel Super CCD on its image with a jewelled panel, worth three million yen 24,500 US$. The mobile maker will
sensor, a 8-24mm/F2.8-5.6 optical zoom lens (35-105mm in 35mm film camera) present the "Jewelry Twinkle Panel" designed by Oshikiri to one person by a
and new dual image stabilization, will be put it on the market on August. Fine lottery.
PixZ100fd, equipped with a 8.0 MegaPixel CCD on its image sensor and a 5.9-
29.5mm/F3.8-4.8 optical zoom lens (16-180mm).

A model displays the world's first Blu-Ray disk (BD)/harddisk drive (HDD) camcorder A boy films tropical fish in Tokyo's Ginza fashion district. Some 1,500 colorful tropi-
"BD cam Wooo", produced by Hitachi, equipped with a 5.3 mega-pixel CMOS image cal fish, brought in from Japan's southern island of Okinawa, are displayed at a
censor with a 30GB HDD and the world's first 8cm-diameter BD recorder which has a large fish tank at Tokyo's Sony building for summer vacationers through.
7.5GB capacity and can record one-hour of high-definition video images (1,920 x
1,080-pixel) in Tokyo. Hitachi will put it on the local market from August 30 and will
export abroad from October.
69
 Informative

W
hen it comes to the mobile phone market, the
range of handsets is quite mind boggling and we
also have to choose the technology we want and
in case you cant make up your mind in Tech plus
today, we take a look at a phone that allows you
to combine the best of GSM and CDMA.
However the GSM technology has monopolized in Pakistan over
other communication approached, but a debate that has raged ever
since cellphones proliferated, should you go for GSM or CDMA,
both the services are available in Pakistan at extremely competitive
rates, and both the services have their advantages.
GSM gives you a wider range of handsets and you can change
service providers while still retaining your set, on the other hand,
CDMA offers slightly faster data downloads and you'll find that calls
drop less often.

However, now instead of having separate GSM or CDMA, you

can have both GSM and CDMA connection in one phone simultane-
ously. Spice Mobile of India has introduced these dual package
phone named as the D88 and D80.
If we go into features and design of the D88, its thin, its sleek, the into one
keypad infact does look a little familiar, but it's special feature is that device is
you can use both GSM as well as CDMA, that too at the same time. unique. So
You can set your prefer- let wireless
ence of network, so that at boundaries
times GSM becomes your restrict you
primary network, and if you no longer.
choose so, CDMA. So you Similar
can effortlessly move phone can
through different networks be expected
that use totally different in Pakistan
technologies seamlessly. too but may
Apart from that, the be not in
phone has a 1.3 megapixel near future.
General Manager Sony Ericson Mobile Communication India Sudhi Mathur (R) poses
camera, a music and video with a model during a launch ceremony for new cellular telephone handsets in New Delh
Sony Eriscon have launched eight new high-technology handsets onto the Indian market
player, and expandable with a starting price of Indian Rupees 14,000
memory, apart from integral
Blueooth. Phone is priced
at about 9,900 rupees in
India.
With increasing competi-
tion amongst the cellular
operators, the trend of
keeping more than one SIM
is very common in Pakistan
now. There are manufactur-
ers which are coming up
with Dual SIM phones how-
Ian Chapman Banks, left, and US actress Kristin Davis, right, show ever this step of integrating
the new mobile phone named RAZR2. Motorola hosted a gala
two different technologies
event which was attended by celebrities and media guests to 71
enjoy an entirely new mobile experience as it unveiled RAZR2
Gateway To The Communication World

Publisher: Strategy First
Publisher 2: G2 Games
Developer: Gameyus Interactive
Release Dates:05/25/2007
Category: Simulation
P
C games nowadays are having a
hard time appealing to the masses.
Casual gamers are leaning towards
playing World of Warcraft and are
often play their favorite Sims title to
death. Meanwhile, hardcore niche games are
struggling to gain a lot of attention on the PC
side of things. Enemy Engaged 2, a helicopter
simulator, falls in line with the latter of the two.
Let's begin with the basics; Enemy
Engaged 2 is a hardcore sim - gamers looking
for something else should move on. If players
love the more technical side of controlling a
helicopter, then Enemy Engaged 2 will be a
sweet spot for them. Oddly enough, the game
starts off with a painful installation that tested
my patience. The next time I started up the
game, it asked for me to do it all over again -
something I didn't want to do in the first place.
The gameplay for EE2 is old-fashioned but
easy to pick up and play. It plays at a snails
pace and I can never imagine helicopter pilots
dreaming of their lives being this dull. Though,
I do bet that helicopter pilots wish for the
career EE2 presented - long and full of mis-
sions. The campaign plays out in real-time with
each mission having an expiration time before
the AI accepts the mission on their own and
completes it. Players are encouraged to rush
through and finish the missions - at the
expense of potentially completing all the objec-
tives.
Regarding the campaign, the mission inter-
face isn't user-friendly. It took me a few tries
before I realized what I was doing due it being
clunky. I ended up screwing up in the first few
missions due to the lack of an intuitive guide to
Informative
aide me through the game. As for the storyline, The multiplayer maps aren't any smaller
the gamer is thrown into hypothetical wars than the single-player maps. It may be impres-
such as a second Korean War, the liberation of sive that the maps are big but there's nothing
China, and a few others. really to them. One thing that is impressive, at
The entertainment value of the combat is least in my eyes, is that the bridges are
minimal. Control over the helicopters is simple destructible. There's nothing better than shoot-
but with constant glitches, such as clipping and ing down bridges with missiles with a helicop-
frame rate problems that I ran into, the game ter. But with the larger maps, one-on-one
wasn't as smooth as it could have been. It's matches are even less entertaining.
unacceptable for a game to ship with this With all things being considered, there is a
many bugs that I encountered. But alas, the good game in Enemy Engaged 2 deep down
developers put a lot of emphasis on the cam- inside the belly of the beast. It is Windows
paign. The campaign continues along with or Vista compatible, so it has one thing going for
without the player when they are selecting it. On the other hand, the two joysticks I have
their missions. This may be enough to draw were not recognized by the game. Enemy
simulation fans into purchasing EE2 - the feel- Engaged is a below average game that should
ing of a living and breathing war. cater to only the smallest percentage of simu-
The graphics are terrible and at some lation fans. 
points they resemble
the first generation
of PlayStation 1
titles. The land-
scapes are ridged
and offer no visual
experience of flying
a real helicopter. The
presentation is ugly
and menus are bor-
ing to shuffle
through. Ground tex-
tures are blurry and
the scenery leaves a
lot to be desired.
Outside of the heli-
copters themselves,
the graphics are
overall poor. 73
 IT
and competitions. Winners will get
D
espite being one of the increas-
ingly growing gaming industry and
also a large number of young
Indians using internet, gaming in
India has not gained an equal rise
in business. However, with the association of
Indian film industry, Bollywood, the current
scenario displays change within a couple of
year.
The Indo-American start-up is concocting
games based on Bollywood movies. In a twist,
however, the games won't come out after the
movies, or eve n at the same time. They'll be
released about two weeks before. Gamers will
then gather for LAN parties and competitions.
Winners will get invites to the premiere, meet
the stars and receive merchandise.
Because the games will primarily be sold in India,
they have to be cheap, which means an ultra-low
development cost. The titles will sell for around $1
to $2, close to the price of pirated software.
Rather than sales, the company will try to mostly
garner revenue from advertising
and cross-promotion
If you lose, don't worry; there will be one to
four new games a month to keep up with the
rapid-fire release schedule of India's movie
industry.
Although PC gaming has exploded in
China, Korea and other parts of the world, it's
still a relatively small phenomenon in India.
Partly, that can be attributed to a comparatively
small number of PCs. There are roughly about
25 million to 27 million computers in India, ver-
sus more than 1 billion citizens. (In 2005, the
Flare Report
The Indo-American
start-up is concocting
games based on Bollywood
movies. In a twist, however,
the games won't come out
after the movies, or even at the
same time. They'll be released
about two weeks before. Gamers
will then gather for LAN parties
invites to the premiere, meet the
stars and receive merchandise
number was closer to 14 million.) Cell phone
gaming is better established and cell phones
have a far higher penetration.
But another problem has been content.
Many of the multiplayer games available in
Asia are based loosely on pseudo-historical
dramas that don't resonate with Indian audi-
ences. The game-playing demographic (males
between 15 and 30) in the subcontinent also
isn't that interested in local folk tales. Indian
game publishers such as Indiagames have
come out with games for Indian audiences, but
mostly concentrate on selling established inter-
national titles.
Young men do watch movies, though, and
big movie stars are major celebrities. In the
games, players will adopt characters from the
films as avatars, grab virtual weapons and go
to town. The company will concentrate on
shoot them up games initially. Bollywood3D,
which is based in Fremont, Calif., and Mumbai,
India, won't be making games for dance spec-
taculars just yet.
The nuances of the Indian market forced
the company to adopt a somewhat novel busi-
ness model. First, because the games will pri-
marily be sold in India, they have to be cheap,
which means an ultra-low development cost.
IT
Forget the $10 million-plus budget of some
U.S. publishers. These games will cost
$100,000 or less and take a team two months
or so to crank out.
Most of the games will be generated out of
a game development engine created by
Daniel. The titles will sell for around $1 to $2,
close to the price of pirated software. Rather
than sales, the company will try to mostly gar-
ner revenue from advertising and cross-promo-
tion.
"Advergames" like this, if priced right, can
sell. Burger King came out with some relatively
inexpensive games for Xbox games. The
games were a key factor in a rise in net
income in the fourth quarter of last year.
The average lifetime of a Bollywood film -
about the same as the life span of an avocado
in a supermarket - also dictated that the
games come out before the movie. Were they
to come out afterward, there's more of a
chance consumers wouldn't remember the
film. By coming out in advance, the game can
ideally give the movie a bit of buzz.
The promotional aspect also helps deter
piracy. Gamers will figure out ways to copy the
discs, but only owners of legitimate copies can
participate in the contests. Churning out games
so quickly creates the risk that they will start to
seem repetitive, but the low price should, ide-
ally, also keep consumers from complaining
too much about that.
The company hopes to create a Second
Life-type social-networking site and also
branch out into the Indian immigrant communi-
ty.
The first Bollywood3D game will come out
in December. It is tied to a futuristic crime film
intermingled with a love story. Deals have
already been struck with various studios.
Meanwhile, Bollywood3D is opening Silicon
Valley offices so it can work closely with chip
companies like Nvidia. 
75
 Informative

HP Compaq nx6110
Rs. 46,000/-

Like most mainstream business laptops, the HP Compaq

nx6110 is far from flashy, though its all-black case lends it
an air of sophistication. Likewise, its components don't
inspire awe, but round Rs. 50,000 nx6110 performs well
enough for basic productivity work and it delivers almost
four hours of battery life.
Inexpensive; long battery life; good keyboard, touch pad,
and mouse buttons; well-labeled ports and slots; better-
than-average speakers. Lacks multimedia controls; it's nei-
ther fast nor fancy. If you're looking for a low-priced laptop
to create documents and keep up with e-mail at the office or
on the occasional business trip, the HP Compaq
nx6110 will meet your needs.
Laptop's case measures 12.9 inches wide and 10.5
inches deep, its 1.2-inch thickness gives it a slender,
the nx6110, at 6 pounds, is light. The broad touch pad
has a line down its right side to guide your finger for
scrolling, and the mouse buttons have a handy lip that
catches your fingers.
HP Compaq nx6110's big 15-inch display comes
with 1,024x768 XGA native resolution. Sound from the internal speakers comes through the grill spanning the front edge.
On the left edge lie four-pin FireWire, VGA, and two stacked USB 2.0 ports. The left edge also features Ethernet and modem jacks as well as
one Type I/II/III PC Card slot. On the right edge sit headphone and microphone jacks and the built-in DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive.
nx6110 in standard setting has a 1.6GHz Pentium M processor, 512MB of memory, an Intel 915GM graphics engine that swipes up to 128MB of
VRAM from main memory, and a 40GB hard drive spinning at an average 5,400rpm. 

Asus W5fe
Rs. 135,000/-

The first laptop to take advantage of Windows Vista's

much-hyped SideShow feature, the Asus W5fe lets you
read e-mail, play music, and access photos and other con-
tent via a secondary 2.8-inch, full-color display integrated
into the outer lid of the laptop. The idea is a good one:
SideShow offers a quick window to your data, without
requiring you to boot up your laptop--or even open it.
At 12 x 8.6 x 1.3 inches, the W5fe's case is average
sized for a laptop with a 12.1-inch display; at four
pounds, it's portable enough for regular travel. The key-
board is a bit spongy and cramped, but the keys are
roomy enough for reasonably comfortable typing.
The W5fe's primary 12.1-inch widescreen display,
featuring a standard 1280 x 800 native resolution, deliv-
ers bright, crisp images and enjoyable DVD video quality.
The SideShow concept shows promise. The secondary dis-
play, with a 320 x 240 resolution, is more than adequate for checking your
calendar, reading e-mail (Windows Mail only, a new feature that comes with Vista),
checking stock prices, and playing music files from Windows Media Player 11.
The two stereo speakers, placed directly below the display, deliver the thin audio. For an ultra-
portable, the W5fe comes equipped with a solid assortment of multimedia features as well as a standard batch of
ports and connections. On top of a dual-layer DVD burner, which can read and burn all of the major DVD and CD formats,
the W5fe has three well-distributed USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, S-Video and VGA outputs for connecting to an external display,
one ExpressCard slot, and a 4-in-1 media card reader (as well as an expansion module that supports another four media card types).
The W5fe's built-in networking features include Ethernet and modem jacks, 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR. Also on board is a wire-
less on/off switch. 
76
 Informative

Lenovo ThinkPad T61

Rs. 120,000

The ThinkPad T61 is a premium product with a durable build; it is geared towards business
users. For somebody that travels a lot or relies on their notebook to earn a livelihood, the build
and reliability factor is probably more important than having the latest and greatest compo-
nents inside.
The T61 body is a rugged plastic that does not flex. Inside the stiff and thick plas-
tic casing is a magnesium roll cage in both the lid and main chassis.
The keyboard is spill proof and has two drain holes to make sure if you
do happen to spill your morning Starbucks coffee, the liquid is carried
away from sensitive components and out through the bottom of
the notebook
The thick metal hinges that attach the screen are very rigid and
ensure the screen does not wobble. The hard drive is protected within
the magnesium roll cage and shock mounted. Even if your T61 is dropped
the included Active Protection System (APS) software will work with the on
board accelerometer to detect a fall situation and end hard drive activity to pre-
vent data loss.
The new widescreen format screen for the 14.1" T-series is either good, bad or
somewhere in between depending on your personal preference. What the T61 screen
lacks is brightness, which has always been the case with ThinkPad notebooks.
The T61 speakers are located on the sides of the keyboard, taking advantage of the extra real
estate width due to the wide format while headphone jack on the front side of the laptop to make it
easier to quickly plug in your headphones and get superior audio.
The ThinkPad T61 uses the Intel Centrino Duo (Santa Rosa) platform. You get a faster processor front
side bus (800MHz), more processor cache (4MB) and an improved integrated graphics solution in the form of the Intel X3100. The included 2GB of
memory and 100GB 7200RPM hard drive will help you to to light a bit of a fire under Windows Vista. 

Sony VAIO SZ2

Rs. 125,000

The VP features a carbon fibre top casing, yet there is

much discussion as to how much carbon fibre is actually
present in the laptop! The palm rest and keypad area have
a brushed aluminum finish which makes a great change
from the plastic of many other machines and gives great
aesthetic appeal. There are a total of 5 switches located
above the keyboard; two shortcut switches, a wireless on/off switch, power button and the graphics
switch.
The 1280 x 800 resolution works excellently on the 13.3" screen. It features Sony's X-Black technolo-
gy, which gives the typical glossy effect to the screen.
The Core Duo seems to live up to the task very well with the same 1GB of RAM. The dual graphics
are a fantastic feature and allow you to switch between the integrated Intel GMA 950 chipset, or the dedi-
cated nVidia GeForce 7400 with 128mb dedicated memory. Use the Intel while running office applications
to conserve battery life, or the nVidia for more extreme use.
The fingerprint reader is located between the two touchpad buttons which can be used for logging
onto Windows, launching applications (assign an app. to each finger) or entering passwords into web
windows. It does the job very well and recognizes my fingers first go around 95% of the time.
Expresscard 34 and a PCMCIA slots both feature on the laptop, yet the Expresscard is filled with
Sony's included card reader which seems to cope with all the main formats such as SD and MMC. A
built-in Sony memory stick duo reader takes care of their own format. 

77
 IT Flare Report
Intel Claims Breakthrough in High-Speed
Computing
D
ata-carrying light can transmit ter-
abits of data per second on a sin-
gle chip, making it possible to
download full-length movies in
seconds. There is, it turns out, a
significant difference between sending data at
the speed of light and processing that informa-
tion at the same speed once it gets there.
The telecom industry has struggled with this
dilemma in its fiber optic networks for years
now. With data streaming at 186,282.397 miles
per sec., service providers have to slam on the
breaks in order to run the data it through the
electronic switches and routers that direct the
appropriate signals to their destinations.
Similarly, processing data on computer
chips using photonic technology is something
of an epic race in the PC industry and it looks
like Intel is in the lead. The chipmaker
achieved a breakthrough in data-carrying light
that holds the promise of being able to transmit
terabits of data per second on a single chip, by
using lasers to increase the bandwidth of inter-
connects between the components of a micro-
processor. Researchers at Intel's Photonics
Technology Lab have built a silicon optical
modulator that can encode data on an optical
beam at 40 billion bits per second speed.
Intel said it has achieved a breakthrough in
data-carrying light that holds the promise of
being able to transmit terabits of data per sec-
ond on a single chip, making it possible to
develop computers capable of downloading
full-length movies in seconds and quickly per-
forming other data-intensive tasks.
The latest achievement is in the area of sili-
con photonics, which is the use of lasers to
increase the bandwidth of interconnects
between components of a microprocessor.
Intel researchers are working on the use of
Top Most Common Passwords
W
e all use passwords every
day; they have become very
common today. Checking out
mail, transferring money,
using ATM machines, shop-
ping online, all those actions involve introduc-
ing a password. So if you use a password it is
supposed to be a long difficult one in order not
to get your account stolen. We are always told
of stories about breaking easy passwords and
stealing money.
Very many people have read and heard
these stories, but let us see what password we
use the most.
8. 'monkey' (0.133%)
Why monkey? I don’t understand it too.
Maybe people think that no one would think of
this password if they wanted to brake into your
account. Usual there is a 6 minimum letter
passwords and monkey is a 6 letter word,
besides it is memorable so maybe this is what
played its role.
7. 'charlie' (0.139%)
We have got one more name in our top list.
Maybe such famous persons like Charlie
Chaplin, Charlie Sheen or the Charlie from the
78 Chocolate Factory persuaded people to
choose that password. Or maybe people just
light to transmit data on silicon, which is the
material used to make processors.
Silicon is used in building chips because
the material is inexpensive and perfect for
high-volume manufacturing. Unfortunately, it
presents a challenge to scientists trying to use
data-carrying lasers, which are typically used
on more exotic materials.
“What researchers at Intel's Photonics
Technology Lab have done is build a key com-
ponent needed for a silicon-based photonic
integrated circuit,” Ansheng Liu, principal engi-
neer with Intel's corporate technology group,
said in a blog. That component is a silicon opti-
cal modulator that can encode data on an opti-
cal beam at 40 billion bits per second.
While Intel scientists have built optical mod-
ulators before, it's the first time one has been
developed that can encode data at speeds that
match the fastest devices deployed today
using other materials. The results of Intel's
use its Slang Meaning which means cocaine
and that's not a very good thing.
6. ''qwerty (0.141%)
QWERTY is the word that is the easiest to
type. Our keyboard set is called like that and
this is what comes first to mind for those who
use a 10 finger fast typing technique. It made
1 person out of 700 pick this word as their
password or maybe not.
5. '123456' (0.176%)
Another easy combination that is even easi-
er for the users '123456' it meet the require-
ments of minimum 6 letter password and this
password contains numbers in it which is
another requirement on some web sites. Just
count to six and you get a password.
4. 'letmein' (0.176%)
A good desire when you want to check out
your account or see if you received any money
there. It is a modern equivalent of 'open
sesame' which is longer and takes one second
more to type. It is something like 'trustno1'
password from X-Files series.
3. 'liverpool' (0.182%)
Liverpool is one of the most popular soccer
teams in the world and here is the result: one
person out of 550 picks this word as their
research were first introduced in July 2007 to a
small group of scientists at the Integrated
Photonics and Nanophotonics Research and
Applications conference in Salt Lake City.
In 2004, Intel published in a journal the first
silicon modulator to reach gigahertz speeds,
which were 50 times faster than previous
attempts. In January of this year, the chipmak-
er demonstrated a modulator with data trans-
mission rates of 30Gbits per second.
Intel is not saying when photonic integrated
circuits incorporating the new technology will
be used in products to provide affordable opti-
cal interconnects within computers and other
devices. Nevertheless, the use of the technolo-
gy, along with Intel's previously developed sili-
con laser, will one day make it possible to inte-
grate multiple devices on a single chip that can
transmit terabits of data per second, "truly
enabling tera-scale computing". 
password. So many people trust their team
and their password.
2. 'password' (0.378%)
Here we come; we have got to the 2nd
place with password 'password'. Well, when it
says "Type Password" you start typing a pass-
word. And 1 person in 250 is doing that.
1. '123' (0.3784%)
It has not gone too far from 'password' but
it is even easier to count to 3 then to count to
6. Apparently not that many websites require
users to have a minimum 6 letter passwords.
And it brings us to 4 people out of 1,000 that
type the simplest combination possible '123'. It
is a good thing they don’t type something like
'111' or '222' etc.
If you add up all those percentages you will
get that 1.8 % of people worldwide use one of
the passwords from the top 8 list. As a matter
of fact 6.5 % of people use passwords from
the top 100 list. We are glad that the remaining
91.7 % has nothing in common when they pick
a password. It is up to you to decide whether
to use a longer and stronger password or to
use a more memorable one. 
 Joke
The gentleman replied, "Oh, I eyes and said to his co-pilot,
havn't told my family yet. I just "Such big-shots back there. Shit, I could throw
sit around all of them out of the
and listen to the conversations. window and make 56 million people very
I've changed my will three happy."
times!" ---------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------- Teacher:
Dream
TEACHER: Ellen, give me a sentence starting
A woman awoke excitedly on with "I".
Valentine's Day and announced ELLEN: I is...
enthusiastically to her husband, TEACHER:No, Ellen. Always say, "I am."
"I just dreamed that you gave ELLEN: All right... "I am the ninth letter of the
Teacher me a pearl necklace for alphabet."
Valentine's day! What do you think it means?" ---------------------------------------------------------------
"If there are any idiots in the room, will they With certainty in his voice, the man said, "You'll Traffic light camera
please stand up?" said the know tonight."
sarcastic teacher. That evening the man came home with a small A man was driving down the road. He passed
After a long silence, one freshman rose to his package and handed it to his wife. With anx- a traffic camera and saw it flash. Astounded
feet."Now then mister, why do you consider ious anticipation the woman quickly opened that he had been caught speeding when he
yourself an idiot?" enquired the teacher with a the package to find a book entitled - " The was doing the speed limit, he turned around
sneer. meaning of Dreams". and, going even slower, he passed by the
"Well, actually I don't," said the student, "but I --------------------------------------------------------------- camera. Again, he saw it flash. He couldn't
hate to see you standing Making Happy believe it! So he turned and, going a snail's
up there all by yourself." pace, he passed the camera. AGAIN, he saw
--------------------------------------------------------------- President Bush, First Lady Laura and Dick the camera flash. He guessed it must have a
Hearing Problem Cheney were flying on Air Force fault, and home he went. Four weeks later he
One. George looked at Laura, chuckled and received 3 traffic fines in the mail, all for not
An elderly gentleman had serious hearing said, "You know, I could throw a $1,000 bill out wearing a seatbelt.
problems for a number of years. of the window right now and make somebody ---------------------------------------------------------------
He went to the doctor and the doctor was able very happy." Girl: Teacher, can I become mother?
to have him fitted for a set Laura shrugged her shoulders and replied, "I Teacher: No Baby, you are too little to become
of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to could throw ten $100 bills out a mother!
hear 100%. of the window and make ten people very Boy pointing to girl: see… hadn't I told you that
The elderly gentleman went back in a month to happy." nothing will happen.
the doctor and the doctor Cheney added, "That being the case, I could
said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must throw one hundred $10 bills out of the window
be really pleased that you and make a hundred people very happy."
can hear again." Hearing their exchange, the pilot rolled his

79
 Telecom Flare Report
T
here are a billion Bluetooth-
enabled devices in the world - cell
phones, headsets, cameras, key-
boards, printers. Another 13 million
of them are being sold every week.
But that's primary change compared with the
growth that analysts expect to see once a new
version of the short-range wireless technology
makes its way into products later this year.
Here's why: Pairing up Bluetooth devices is
a laborious process that requires as many as
15 steps. So far, the pairing aspect has been a
barrier to entry compared with headsets that
you plug into the phone. Now it will be much
easier for first-time users.
The most significant challenge that
Bluetooth has faced is making the technology
more usable, especially when it comes to set-
ting up connections. There is no doubt that
there are more viable business models for the
technology. They just need to be better sup-
ported at the most difficult point.
That should happen later this year, when
the first Bluetooth upgrade in three years,
Bluetooth 2.1, starts shipping.
Devices will be paired in as few as three
clicks. Encrypted data transfer means no need
for passwords. And lower power consumption
means that Bluetooth 2.1 devices will have as
much as five times the battery life of their
predecessors.
80
A new version of wireless
technology will soon allow
consumers to beam data from
devices and use their cell
phone to make purchases
All of which means that mass-market
Bluetooth use is expected to expand far
beyond the cyborg-style phone headset.
Users will be able to easily beam photos
from cameras to printers or digital picture
frames. Wireless keyboards, mice, and
videogame controllers will get a boost too.
Bluetooth 2.1 will be integrated with near field
communication, or NFC, a standard for mobile
payments, so consumers will have more
opportunities to pay with their phones.
Companies like Jabra, Motorola, and
Plantronics are developing Bluetooth 2.1 gadg-
The new Bluetooth lets cell
phones make payments via
special readers at cash handsets.
In 2008, Bluetooth 2.1 will itself be replaced
registers by Bluetooth 3.0, code-named Seattle. That
ets that should be out in time for the December version is expected to integrate ultra-wideband
2007. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group -- technology, meaning Bluetooth that can handle
a consortium backed by Intel, Microsoft, and the transfer of much larger amounts of data:
Nokia - says the number of Bluetooth devices Seattle should be a whopping 228 times faster
in the world should double to 2 billion by 2010. than its predecessor.
The best of ultramobile PCs Bluetooth's supporters expect that upgrade
Sales of Bluetooth headsets alone, now at to have a major impact in the entertainment
$8 billion worldwide, are expected to hit $14 and consumer electronics industries, since it
billion within three years - aided by an increas- will enable users to transfer video between
ing number of bans on driving while talking on TVs and cell phones. 
 National

40 Million SMSs, 10 Million Mobilink in Gujranwala

Calls in a Single Day Mobilink has opened its new state-of-the-art Customer Care
Centre in Gujranwala. Mobilink Customer Services Vice
Restoration of the Chief Justice President Mustafa Paracha, inaugurating the centre, said,
brought windfall to the mobile phone "Mobilink aims at taking a further step for its customers' needs
companies, as approximately 40 million by delivering more than what is expected. We feel pride in facili-
short text messages (SMS) and 10 mil- tating the people of Gujranwala who are an integral part of our
lion calls changed hands to celebrate the country and a fast-growing commercial hub."
historic decision of the Supreme Court The service centre will serve thousands of customers with
on July 20th, 2007. According to estimat- offering service, sales, and finance services and for further
ed figures, provided by the officials of queries. The centre is designed to cater to the present and future
different mobile phone companies, the needs of people in and around the city.
subscribers of Mobilink made about 13.2 The centre extends its services through eight fully functional
million SMS worth around Rs 5.6 million front-end counters operated by highly qualified and well-trained
and four million calls, costing around Rs staff. An integrated queue-management system is installed for
16 millions. Ufone users also enjoyed this day with provisionally estimated smooth functioning of daily chores. 
12.4 million SMS, costing nearly Rs 5.8 million and three millions calls worth
Rs 6.4 millions.
Besides, the users of Warid and Telenor mobile phone operators sent
nearly 13.4 millions SMS, costing Rs 6.3 millions and three million calls of
Online Security
about Rs 7.1 millions. Mobile companies faced similar situation last year after
the Nishtar Park bomb blast incident when the service of the country's mobile
phone operators was badly damaged as people started using their cell
System Launched
phones massively.  For the first time in
Pakistan, Data Security
System Solutions (DSSS)
has been launched for the
enterprises and financial
institutions. "We are set to
deliver most reliable and
effective solutions in
Pakistan, Africa and the
Middle East", said Sales
Director of Foresight
Technologies Javed Wadood in a seminar on "Online security for
the enterprise and financial institutions".
He said that the solutions reduced information technology (IT)
operational cost, improved efficiency and security, thereby
empowering valued customers with total control over their IT
investments for prudent utilization of their IT assets.
He highlighted the data security and identity management
and also informed the participants about some of the initiatives
taken by the Foresight Technologies in introducing new genera-
tion technology to help businesses take advantages of e-com-
merce and IT automation.
School children learning computer in the special summer classes organized by Taiser "The solution features internet banking security, enterprise
Town of Lyari Expressway Resettlement Projects.
remote access and 2-factors authentication", said Wadood. A
large number of high corporate personalities, representing the
Pak- India Fiber Link Delayed reputed financial institutions, attended the seminar.
"The global trend suggest how the corporate and financial

Over Revenue Sharing institutions are more conscious about data security and need
such solutions", said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Data
Disagreement between Pakistan and Security System Solutions Tao Teik Guar. 
India over the price and revenue sharing
on the planned direct fiber link through
the Wagah border has delayed the first- Suo motu Action against
ever direct cyber contact between the
two countries. The two countries had
almost completed infrastructure develop-
Open Sale of Cellphone
ment, but it's testing and commissioning
could take time due to continuing talks
on its commercial benefits.
Connections
"It's not a big issue, but it has to be resolved first before it gets opera- Chief Justice of
tional," a paper quoted source, as saying. "There are more bottlenecks on Pakistan Justice
the Indian side compared with Pakistan, as India believes the project would Iftikhar Muhammad
benefit Pakistan more," he added. Chaudhry has directed
He said the Pakistani side had completed all due process for laying a fiber to issue notices to
optic cable network in April 2006. "Similarly, work on the Indian side is also Chairman, Pakistan
ready to take off, but due to some discussions going on between the two Telecommunication
sides, it may take time to become operational," added the source. Authority (PTA) and
The source said the designed feasibility of the project suggested compa- Attorney General for
nies involved on both sides would get a share of the revenue under a com- Pakistan and call
mercial agreement, in which the government of each country was not expect- report from Chairman,
ed to interfere. PTA and fix the case
The link with India has, however, attracted praise from experts and opera- in the court.
tors, who say the project would increase reliability and performance of The suo motu action was initiated on a written complaint
Pakistan's telecom infrastructure. "Link with India would provide both the lodged by an Advocate, complaining that connections of different
countries with access and opportunity to interconnect traffic originating to and mobile phone companies are being sold at every nook and corner
from India and Pakistan," said Haroon Rasheed, a telecom consultant associ- of the city to the customers without any identity card, verification
82 ated with the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  and identification. 
 National

PTA to start setting up HP Appoints 1st Country

400 Telecentres in August
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will start setting
up 400 telecentres in rural areas. The Authority has undertaken
scrutiny of applications, negotiations with operators and cost fac-
tors process and is set to provide all necessary equipment.
In the first phase, the Authority is establishing 400 telecentres
across the country with the support of telecom operators to pro-
vide the latest telecommunication and Internet facilities in rural
and far-off areas.
The PTA is also in process of imparting training to individuals
selected under a scheme for establishment of telecentres.
All the necessary equipment worth Rs 50,000 for a single
telecentre like payphone, fax machine, printer and a computer
would be provided free of cost to selected individuals for the
establishment of telecentres.
PTA's telecentres would be provided to those individuals who
are unemployed with at least intermediate qualification. The
females of the rural areas fulfilling the criteria would also be eligi-
ble to apply for allotment of centers.
Individuals from only those villages/union councils were con-
sidered for the facility where total population is between 4,000
and 10,000 with non-availability of public telephone or net-cafe
facility in the radius of five kilometers.
Besides basic necessary training, PTA in collaboration with
Allama Iqbal Open University will provide all the relevant informa-
tion including CDs and a manual to ensure day-to-day running
and trouble shooting of various equipments.
Higher official from PTA had stressed that Telecom operators
are extending their support to PTA for setting up these "telecen-
tres" including PTCL (100), Mobilink (100), Ufone (50),
Instaphone (15), Intel (10), Worldcall (Payphones in all Rabta
Markaz).
He said PTA would also sponsor 125 such centers that would
bring the total number to 400. He said a telecentres' owner could
earn approximately Rs 5,000 per month, adding that National
Bank had included the plan in its President Employment Scheme
whereas negotiations with other financial institutions for issuing
soft loans were under process. 
Manager for Pakistan
HP has announced the appointment of
Mr. Rizwan Alam as the first Country
Manager for HP Pakistan, with immediate
effect. Previously, HP managed its Pakistan
operations as part of Asia Emerging
Countries (AEC), a group that also included
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei,
Cambodia, East Timor, Laos, Maldives,
Nepal and Sri Lanka.
HP Pakistan will now operate as a coun-
try office and report directly into HP Southeast Asia. As country manager,
Rizwan, is responsible for overseeing HP Pakistan's operations and leads the
Technology Solutions Group (TSG) business in the country.
"This change is driven mainly by the strong growth potential in Pakistan
and it is a reflections of our increased commitment to move from being just a
service subsidiary in Pakistan, which was set up last August, to a country
office primarily involved in Pre-sales, post-sales services and business devel-
opment," said Tan Lee Chew, Vice President and Managing Director, HP
south-east Asia.
"Rizwan is not new to our Pakistan operations, having been managing the
TSG business there since 2002. He is a natural choice as our first Pakistan
country manager, as he has been instrumental in building our presence and
setting the stage for our expansion in the country."
With 10 year's experience with HP in various roles, Rizwan has extensive
knowledge of the enterprise business and strong relationships with channel
partners. Rizwan holds a post graduate degree in Business Administration as
well as a Bachelor's degree in Commerce from the University of Karachi in
Pakistan. 

First India-Pakistan
e-Sports Event
Indiagames has decided
to take a step ahead in unit-
ing the nations through
sports and have sent word
that they will be hosting the Children attending a computer class during the summer camp organized by Children’s Library
first ever Indo-Pak e-sports Complex, getting educational Recreational and sports Facilities for Children between ages 4-14.
event in India.
After the WCG India
finals, the national "Counter
India, Pakistan Allow Bank
Strike" champions of India
and Pakistan will go head to
head. The team from Pakistan has already been decided. Havok,
Branches Across Border
India and Pakistan agreed to open bank branches
consisting of five members will be visiting India. They have met
in each other's territory after talks aimed at boosting
an Indian team before, at the ESWC 2007 in Paris, where they
trade ties between the South Asian neighbors.
took on A+E. Havok has won a lot of awards in their native
Banking ties between the two countries will start in
Pakistan.. The event is being supported by NASSCOM and CII.
six months, Pakistan's Commerce Secretary Syed Asif
"The youth of today are getting more involved in this new phe-
Shah told reporters in the Indian capital New Delhi.
nomenon of e-Sports. We believe sports often succeed over poli-
Two banks from either side will be allowed to open a
tics and diplomacy in improving relations between countries and
branch each, he said.
there is no reason why we should not go beyond Cricket and
A joint committee will also work on how to start
Hockey into the e-Sports arena. We are very excited and see this
truck services across the heavily fortified border.
as an important milestone in the history of Indo-Pak cultural ties.
Pakistan has also proposed cooperation on capital
Events like this will help the growth of computer gaming, internet
markets with India, which will respond to the plan by Sept. 30, both sides said
and broadband in both the countries," said Vishal Gondal, Chief
in a joint statement.
Executive Officer of Indiagames.
The countries plan to start truck services through the Attari-Wagah land
Ahmed Mamoor Amimi, CEO, Playdium.Net, Strategic Partner
route. Goods are now brought to the border and carried across by porters to
of World Cyber Games, Pakistan says, "I would like to see
trucks waiting on the other side.
Pakistan and India competition on this e-sports arena and I am
Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown at ``an impressive
sure it will create more space for love and harmony between both
rate'' in the past two years. Pakistan's exports to India increased to $323.19
countries. I would also like to invite the Indian team next year for
million in the year ended March 31 from $94.97 million two years earlier.
our WCG2008 National Final event, in Pakistan."
India's exports grew to $1 billion from $521.05 million.
The Indo-Pak Counter Strike match will take place on
India and Pakistan are trying to achieve annual trade of $10 billion by
September 10, 2007.  83
2010, India's Commerce Secretary G.K. Pillai said. 
 National

PTA Starts Inspection of Mobile Phone Repairing Plant

Franchises to Ensure to be Setup in Pakistan
Authorized sales of SIMs With tremendous growth of telecom sector and increasing demand of
Mobile Phones in Pakistan and, world's largest cell phone manufacture has
announced to set up a mobile phone repairing factory in Pakistan.
Pakistan
Reliable sources told 'Flare' that the factory would be set up in provincial
Telecommunication Authority
capital city of Lahore. The factory would be
(PTA) has started checking
fully equipped to repair the handsets into
the unauthorized sales of new
their original setting thus getting the opti-
SIMs across the country to
mum performances from these sets.
ensure that new mobile con-
The mobile phone repairing factory will
nections are issued after
open up new job opportunities for hundreds
proper documentation.
of technical and skilled people. On contact-
A statement issued by the
ing a senior official of the manufacturing
authority said that various
company, told 'Flare' that the factory installa-
teams of PTA zonal offices at
tion work is being accomplished and the
Lahore, Karachi, Quetta,
factory would be set ready very soon. He
Peshawar and Multan would
told that the factory is already operational and initially about 200 mobile sets
carry out surprise visits and
are being repaired each day; however the capacity will increase with the
inspections in their respective
completion of factory.
areas.
Sources have revealed that no mobile phone is sent to any foreign coun-
The PTA would start seal-
try for repairing purposes and now the technical defects of the phones will be
ing those franchises which
rectified in record time. Along with job opportunities for local skilled engi-
were not complying with PTA
neers, technical assistance from foreign will also be attained to achieve the
instructions on issuance of
global standards for mobile phone repairing. 
new cell-phone SIMs and concerned company will be asked to
cancel its franchise. After these inspections, companies will also
be asked to take remedial measures and ensure the implementa-
tion of PTA directives. Telenor Pakistan Helps
It may be added that PTA has taken a number of steps to
deal with this issue and has directed cellular mobile companies
to ensure that new SIMs are sold only through its franchises or
Establish Medical Helpline in
their authorised sale points. PTA has also launched a campaign
in newspapers to make mobile phone franchises aware on this Skardu
issue. Now people of Skardu and neighboring areas can call up a professional
Similarly, mobile companies are running ADs in the press health service for their immediate medical needs. As part of its Corporate
wherein they have advised their users to get their connections Responsibility programme, Telenor Pakistan has provided free handsets and
transferred in their names if they have not done yet. Companies connections to the Baltistan Health &
are also sending SMSs to their subscribers in this regard. Education Foundation (BH&EF) to enable its
PTA has directed the mobile companies to get their data medical staff to make their services easily
streamlined at their end by August 31. Companies will provide available to the people of the area.
complete data of their subscribers' base to Nadra for verification Commenting on the initiative, Executive
purposes.  Vice President Irfan Wahab Khan said,
"Telenor Pakistan is the first mainstream
mobile operator to open its network in the
area. It gives us an opportunity to put our
telecommunications expertise at the service
of the people here. Due to the "tyranny of
distance," people living in remote mountain
villages often cannot afford to go to Skardu
to avail health facilities, lest alone consult a medical doctor, as none is avail-
able in their villages. This service should help."
Giving details of the service, Chairman Baltistan Health & Education
Foundation Dr Hans Frey said, "Now the people of Skardu and surrounding
areas can call for emergency first aid and transport, midwife assistance, and
medical information. In turn, medical staff can easily contact community
health-centers, hospitals and clinics for further advice or referrals."
"Different Telenor Pakistan numbers have already been dedicated for dif-
ferent services with more to come:
0344- 95 111 00 for the 'Baltistan Medical Helpline'
Electricity cable is being laid alongside the road in front of Mazar-e-Quaid 0344- 95 111 09 for 'Ambulance Services',
"The aim for the future is to take tele-health further and explore how hos-
pitals and clinics can be linked via mobile camera phones connected to
Teradata Keen to Increase mobile networks. Instead of traveling long distances, people should easily be
able to contact from remote health centers to seek diagnosis and advice with
the help of multimedia content (sound, images, video)," Frey explained. 
Investment
"Teradata is keen to increase its volume of investment in Pakistan owing to the tremendous potential
growth in the IT sector", said the Vice President-of Teradata for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hermann
Wimmer during a recent visit to Pakistan Teradata is the global leader in enterprise data warehousing and a
division of NCR Corporation. According to a press release issued on Thursday "the company will provide
employment opportunity to more IT specialists in Pakistan and groom them as consultants to represent
Pakistan in the international market"
Mr. Wimmer who manages more than 70 countries in the region also added that he could oversee
immense investment opportunities in Pakistan. "Teradata Pakistan has more than 250 IT specialists working in
its consulting to be increased up to 300 by the month of December", said Khuram Rahat, the Country Manager, Teradata Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Afghanistan. 
84
 National

Malik Urges Mobile Software Export Target

Manufacturing Unit Fixed at $165 Million
The Pakistan Telecommunication The government has fixed 165
Authority (PTA) Chairman, Gen. (R) million-dollar target for software
Shahzada Alam Malik has urged local export for the 2007-08 fiscal year,
businessmen to set up mobile phone which is 52 million dollars higher in
manufacturing units since the country value as compared to the last year's
was spending a huge foreign exchange target of 108 million dollars.
on import of mobile sets. Country's software export had wit-
He observed that the number of nessed a smart growth during the
mobile subscriber had considerably 2006-7 financial year, successfully
increased to 65 million and two million achieving the target set by the gov-
were being added every month as 45 PTA Chairman, Maj. Gen. (R) Shahzada Alam ernment.
Malik, addressing members of LCCI Lahore
percent of the population is reportedly Keeping in view the excellent
recorded as mobile users. growth of the local market's share in
While referring about the line phones, Malik said that the conventional the global trade, the government has
telecom system was now stagnant. "More lines were being provided to facili- given the fresh task to the software exporters to achieve 165 mil-
tate with triple play facilities comprising Internet, telephone and television in lion-dollar target by the end of current fiscal year. Exporters
the towns like Lahore and Islamabad." believe that the newly assigned export target would not be a diffi-
Furthermore, the chairman highlighted the business-friendly policies that cult task to achieve because the potential foreign investors are
had attracted a foreign direct investment of up to US $1.9 billion in the fiscal diverted to the Asian region to get their projects completed at
years 2006 and 2007. He focused on the future of mobile phone sector and comparatively much cheaper rates as compared to the devel-
termed it as the vital segment of country's economic growth and development oped countries, which were considered information technology
as the number of cell sites in Pakistan has touched the level of 11,800 in (IT) giants.
June 2007 from 360 in 2003. "The software export target of 165 million dollars would not
The LCCI President, Shahid Hassan Sheikh, urged the PTA to ensure the be difficult for us as a number of international business houses,
provision of DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) service to industrial zones. which have their headquarters in the West, are in negotiations
However he maintained, the PTCL was earning a profit of Rs 20.77 billion with their Pakistani counterparts," said President of Pakistan
in the year 2006 as it was charging high line rent, therefore, should be cur- Software Houses Association Ashraf Kapadia. "The potential for-
tailed with immediate effect. He lamented the PTCL for charging a surcharge eign buyers are coming to Asian markets, particularly to
of 10 percent on late payment whereas banks were charging a 15 percent Pakistani ones and this fact is also evident from the achieved
interest on loans for whole year. The PTA should improve services offered by export target of software and relevant products, which is com-
the ISP in a sense of better Internet connectivity, concluded.  mendable," he remarked.
The country's IT industry has emerged as the fastest growing
sector this fiscal, mainly supported by phenomenal jump in the

Five Districts to Get operations of call centres during the last two years. More than
140 such centres are currently operational mainly in Lahore,
Karachi and Islamabad, offering employment to around 5,000
Computerized LIMS Initially people. Defined as a unit, the call centres have adequate tele-
com facilities, trained manpower and access to database provid-
Punjab Information Technology Minister, Abdul Aleem Khan has said that ing precise information to customers. 
Licenses Issuance Management System (LIMS) to be computerized initially in
Lahore, Multan, Sheikhupura, Sialkot and Layyah, at the cost of Rs 295 mil-
lion. A local news agency quoted an IT Department official saying that while Mobilink Introduces Jazz
addressing a meeting Khan said that, as per Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz
Elahi's his Vision 2020 programme, all departments should be computerized
immediately.
Advance
He also informed the meeting that different projects of Home Department Mobilink launched a new fea-
being processed by IT Department and Punjab High way Patrol posts are ture Jazz Advance for all its Jazz
being connected through latest technology. "Heavy amount of Rs 447 million subscribers. The new feature
has been allocated for this purpose. I hope that after undertaking these proj- allows the customers to access
ects crime rate would further decrease and law and order situation improve, instant credit anytime, anywhere.
subsequently," said the minister.  The company pioneers in bring-
ing the latest technology features,

Telenor Pakistan Continues its which benefit millions of its sub-

Successful Financial Run
Telenor Pakistan added a solid 1.6 million subscriptions during the second
quarter (April-May-June) 2007, contributing 32% of the Group's net additions
worldwide. Telenor Group's President & CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas has called
Telenor Pakistan's quarter-to-quarter successful performance: "impressive."
The latest financial figures were presented by Telenor Group's President &
CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and CFO Trond Westlie. CEO Telenor Pakistan
Tore Johnsen, while talking about the excellent second quarter figures, said:
"The figures prove that we continue to do things in a way that our customers
expect of us. In future, too, we are committed to providing quality products
and services that offer the best value and are easy to use. Our other major
areas of focus are to keep at building a customer-intimate organization and
constantly outperform other networks in terms of reach and reliability."
Earlier, commenting on the Telenor Group's overall impressive growth,
Baksaas said: "We are delivering another good quarter. The trends from the
first quarter have continued, with high underlying revenue growth and stable
EBITDA margin”. Telenor's consolidated mobile operations added more than
five million subscriptions worldwide during the second quarter. Telenor's pro
forma revenues increased by 19 per cent compared to the second quarter of
2006, reaching NOK 26.2 billion. The underlying pro forma revenue growth
was 13 per cent. Pro forma EBITDA was NOK 9.1 billion. 
scribers. Jazz Advance allows
customers to request for credit
from their prepaid accounts once
the balance reaches a minimum
threshold. The recharge amount
can be transferred into the user's
account by simply dialing 123 and
then selecting 6 from your JAZZ connection. On each Jazz
Advance request, the customer will get instant balance, which is
later deducted from the next recharge.
Akbar Khan, Director Brands said, "Jazz customers are our
greatest strength and we would like to facilitate as much as pos-
sible. This facility will give the Jazz subscribers freedom, flexibili-
ty and also provides a safety net when there is an emergency
and allows the user to talk freely without worrying about sufficient
balance." He also said, "I think this facility will help thousands of
people as it is very convenient."
The new JAZZ Advance service gives communication free-
dom to the users while providing them with a buffer and saves
them the hassle of repeated recharging especially when they are
in a busy schedule or on the run. The service allows you the sat-
isfaction and comfort to keep on talking.
Rs. 5 is allowed on Jazz advance request at a balance below
Rs. 3.50.  85
 International

Oracle Launches R&D Network Google Net Profit Falls

Oracle has announced that it had formed a
single research and development (R&D) network Short of Estimates
by linking its 18 development and solution cen- Web search leader
ters in Asia Pacific and Japan to build, test, and Google Inc reported a 28
showcase leading-edge technology innovations percent rise in profits that
across the region. fell short of consensus
A company statement said that to date, expectations, as a recent
Oracle has six Oracle Asia Research and jump in operating expenses
Development Centers (OARDC) in Beijing offset market share gains
(China), Gurgaon (India), Seoul (Korea), against rivals.
Shenzhen (China), Singapore, and Toyko Shares tumbled 5.5 per-
(Japan), and 12 solution centers placed strategi- cent in extended trade after
cally across the Asia Pacific region. It said that Google said net income
those centers focused on developing cutting- rose to $925 million, or $2.93 a diluted share, compared with the
edge solutions for the local markets in addition year-ago quarter's $721.1 million, or $2.33 per share. Excluding
to contributing to global product development. one-time items and stock option expenses, Google posted a
"This new collaboration will significantly enhance our Asia Pacific innova- profit of $1.12 billion or $3.56 per share, which was 3 cents per
tion development process and ultimately benefit our customers and partners share short of targets.
in this region," said Kevin Walsh, chief technology officer, Oracle Asia Pacific However, second quarter net income dropped from the $1 bil-
and Japan. lion reported in the first quarter of 2007. Gross revenue rose 58
The statement said Oracle's solution centers operated as centers of percent to $3.87 billion - matching consensus forecast. Revenue
expertise, centers of excellence, competency centers or partner solution cen- included $1.15 billion in payments to affiliated Web sites who run
ters and were strategically placed across the region to represent local require- Google Web search advertising, so-called traffic acquisition
ments and showcase innovative solutions from the OARDCs to the markets costs.
they were based in. Other expenses, including the costs of operating its computer
The focus of the solutions centers varies in terms of industry and market data centers, credit card processing costs and the cost of acquir-
focus, with many dedicated to country-specific projects of national importance. ing programming, jumped to $412 million from $345 million in the
The Asia Pacific and Japan R&D network is also linked into the global first quarter of 2007. These costs represented 11 percent of rev-
Oracle Development Centers world-wide. Oracle recently reported an invest- enue from 9 percent earlier this year. 
ment of 2.2 billion dollars on global research and development during its full
fiscal year 2007, a 17 percent increase from the previous year in fiscal 2006.

Technologies Making Difficult for

China to Block Negative News
The Internet, mobile phones and
other new technologies are making it
harder for China's communist rulers to
block negative news, a top government
official said in comments published in
papers. "It has been repeatedly proved
that information blocking is like walking
into a dead end," the state-run Daily In this photo released by China's official Xinhua news agency, a man takes pho-
newspaper quoted Wang Guoqing, a tos of a flooded street with his cellphone in Bishan County of southwest China's
Chongqing Municipality file photo.
vice minister with the cabinet's informa-
tion office, as saying.
"Wang revealed that some local government spokespeople used to believe
that 90 percent of bad news could be muffled while only 10 percent would be
unluckily exposed by the media," the Daily said. Motorola and Mena
Wang said the central government's commitment to transparency, as well
as new information technologies such as the Internet and mobile phones were
making it more difficult for local officials to hide bad news.
Telecom Sign Contract
However, Reporters Without Borders describes the Chinese government
as an "enemy of the Internet." In its annual report in February, the global Mena Telecom on Wednesday
media watchdog said that China, using "armies" of cyber-police, was spear- signed a contract with Motorola Inc to
heading an increasingly sophisticated movement by repressive regimes plan, deploy and manage a nation-
around the world to restrict the Internet.  wide 802.16e-based mobile WiMAX
and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)
network in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The 802.16e WiMAX standard
delivers significant advantages over
the fixed 802.16d standard that is
being used by some operators, includ-
ing advanced antenna technology to improve capacity and range
performance.
This agreement will enable Mena Telecom to leverage
Motorola's leadership in mobile WiMAX and deliver wireless
broadband connectivity as well as advanced voice and nomadic
broadband data services to both business and residential cus-
tomers across the Bahrain.
With Motorola's WiMAX solution, Mena Telecom's infrastruc-
ture will be compatible with technology to be embedded in
numerous future devices, including laptops. The end-to-end net-
work, operating in the 3.5GHz frequency band, will comprise
WiMAX infrastructure, IMS core, Customer Premises Equipment
(CPE), voice and data applications, and operational and busi-
A woman checks her mobile phone on a Beijing subway line. China's economy expanded at a ness support systems. 
86 roaring 11.9 percent in the second quarter, official data showed, prompting warnings that the gov-
ernment will clamp down hard to stop serious overheating.

Malaysia Delays WiMAX
Rollout to 2008
Malaysia expects to roll out WiMAX, a high-speed wireless
telecoms service, by the middle of next year, delaying from an
earlier target of end-2007. The government also wants the coun-
try's four WiMAX licence holders to share their infrastructure, he
told reporters at a product launch. "The operators should own the
infrastructure through a consortium," Communications Minister
Lim Keng Yaik said.
In March, the government awarded the much-coveted WiMAX
licenses to YTL E-Solutions's unit Bizsurf, Green Packet Bhd's
unit MIB Comm, telecoms service provider Redtone International
and infrastructure maker Asiaspace Dotcom.
Industry regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia
Commission had expected the winners to start rolling out the
service by the end of 2007. Malaysia is scrambling to boost
Internet transfer speeds and catch up with its more technology-
savvy Asian neighbors. 
Etisalat Launches New
SMS News Services
Etisalat has launched SMS breaking news services from Asia
through its Weyak service. This service from Weyak will bring
breaking news from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Nepal and the Philippines directly to customers' mobiles.
Khalifa Al Shamsi, Vice President - Marketing (Consumer &
SMB), Etisalat, said: 'Etisalat has always prided itself on its
understanding of the
requirements of the UAE
communities. We regularly
try to come out with servic-
es to meet the needs of
UAE's multicultural society.
Etisalat's portal 'Weyak'
now brings our Asian expatriate customers SMS-based news
services which will keep them abreast of developments in their
home countries on a continuous basis.'
Weyak offers the following eight subscription-based breaking
news services: India News, Kerala News (in English &
Malayalam), Pakistan News, Philippines News (in Tagalog),
Bangladesh News, Sri Lanka News and Nepal News.
Weyak has ensured that the services are of high quality run
by experienced journalists and obtained from trusted sources,
with the emphasis on content accuracy.
Subscribers pay 10 dirhams a month for news SMS subscrip-
tion with updates five to six times a day. 
Softbank to Launch Fibre
Internet Protocol Phone
Service
Japan's Softbank Corp will
launch Internet Protocol (IP)
phone service using a fibre-
optic network in August 2007,
aiming to lure customers away
from rival Nippon Telegraph
and Telephone Corp (NTT).
Softbank subscribers,
including the 5 million cus-
tomers of its "BB Phone" IP phone service provided over an
asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) network, will be able to
make calls for free after a small monthly charge.
Softbank believes offering IP phone service over both ASDL
and fibre-optic networks will help it better compete with NTT,
which is investing aggressively to quadruple users of its fibre-
optic network to 30 million by 2010.
Softbank will look to compete on price. While subscribers to
its fibre-optic service will be able to speak to each other free of
charge, customers of NTT's service are levied a fee for each
call.
International
Call for lower roaming cost in
SAARC
The Indian government is likely to play a role in
paving the way for a steep reduction in the ultra-
high global roaming rates within the SAARC group
of countries, comprising India, Sri Lanka Nepal,
Maldives, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Pakistan. At
present, it costs more to avail international roaming
while traveling within some Saarc countries, when
compared to Europe and the US, as international roaming rates in subconti-
nent are amongst the highest in the world.
According to sources, the communications ministry of India is likely to ask
the Centre to take up this issue with India's neighbors as efforts by telecom
regulator TRAI to facilitate better cooperation between telecom operators in
SAARC countries has failed to make any serious headway. "If TRAI were to
approach us, the government would be able to facilitate the platform for both
regulators across SAARC and well as operators. The Center's roll is vital,
since inter-roaming pacts between countries in SAARC will require security
clearances," a government source told.
When asked on the issue, Chairman Nripendra Misra has just told: "I'm
afraid; TRAI's communiqué to the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) on
exploring ways to bring down international roaming charges within the
SAARC region along the lines of the European Union (EU) model has not
elicited any response even after six months.
TRAI can only make a suggestion in its capacity as regulator. I have no
idea at this stage whether the Indian government will take up the issue with
APT." 
Students from Japan's Waseda University demonstrates an ultra light weight, fuel cell powered
vehicle, which uses a fuel cell and capacitor hybrid batteries, and is two meters in length, reach-
ing speeds of 50kph, at the university's open campus in Tokyo.
Indian Telecom Industry
Revenue Hits US$ 27 billion
India's telecom industry
sales exceeded one trillion
rupees (24.76 billion dollars)
for the first time in the last busi-
ness year on the back of an
increasing subscriber base,
according to a survey.
Sales reached 1.07 trillion
rupees in the year ended March, a 22 percent increase from a year earlier.
Mobile-phone company revenues grew 56 percent to 561.8 billion rupees
while fixed-line sales declined 11 percent. The number of cellular and fixed-
line users rose 46 percent to 206 million in a country that has become one of
the world's fastest growing telecom markets as economic growth acceler-
ates, reaching 9.4 percent last year. With increased connectivity, one in five
Indians now has access to a phone, said the survey. Cellular subscribers
increased almost 73 percent to touch 157 million, making up for a 3.3 per-
cent decline in the number of fixed-line users to less than 50 million.
A steep decline in the cost of owning a cellular handset and a connection
has led to a surge in the use of mobile phones in the nation of 1.1 billion
people. In the last financial year, India added more mobile-phone users per
month than China. An average 5.5 million cellular lines were sold every
month. State-owned Bharat Sanchar remained the top service provider, post-
ing revenue of 401.35 billion rupees in the year to March, followed by Bharti
Airtel, Reliance Communications, Hutch and Videsh Sanchar.  87
 International

Low-cost Laptops Likely

by December
A non-profit group that designs low-cost computers for poor
children may start selling 350 dollars laptops on the commercial
market by December.
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation's chief tech-
nology officer, Mary Lou Jepsen, said the computer could sell ini-
tially for about 350 dollars, or twice its production cost, although
the group is also considering a higher price tag. Its entry to the
commercial market would be a challenge to traditional PC indus-
try companies, including Microsoft Corp, Dell Inc, Hewlett-
Packard Co and Lenovo Group Ltd.
"The PC industry will be watching this very closely," reported
by an analyst. Although the green-and-white XO was designed
for elementary school children in poor countries, analysts say
that some of the features make it attractive to kids in wealthier
countries as well as adults.
The foundation has kept
its costs down by develop-
ing its own technology,
including the display, and
using a relatively inexpen-
sive microprocessor from
Advanced Micro Devices
Inc.
It also uses free Linux
software, saving the cost of paying to use Microsoft's Windows
operating system. Designed to withstand severe weather com-
mon in areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America, it is waterproof
and features a high-resolution display that can be read in direct
sunlight. Its battery can run for 12 hours on one charge. The bat-
tery can also be charged with a hand-crank.
OLPC is in talks with several companies that would handle
consumer sales and technical support for the foundation.
"Our whole goal is to maximize the number of units shipped,"
CTO said. She talked about plans for commercializing the prod-
uct as the foundation said it has formally authorized mass pro-
duction of the device to begin in October, with an original order of
some three million machines. The machines will be manufac-
tured in China by Taiwan's Quanta Computer Inc. 
Satellite Multimedia for
A shopper looks at Japanese electronics maker NEC's personal computers at a Tokyo store. NEC
Corp. said its April-June profit more than tripled, helped by reform efforts in its overseas mobile
phone operations.
Nokia Profits Climb
A robust appetite for new phones in emerging markets boosted second-
quarter sales and profits at Nokia, the world's top cellphone maker, and hoist-
ed its shares to their highest level in more than five years.
Nokia said its underlying second-quarter earnings per share rose 39 per-
cent from a year ago to US 0.44 dollar, compared with expectations of US
0.344 dollar, when adjusted for the per-
formance of its networks venture with
Siemens.
Shares in Nokia soared 9 percent to
US 31 dollars, levels they last saw in
early 2002, pulling European indexes
higher. Shares in Nokia are up 44 per-
cent so far this year.
"We are kind of hitting on all cylin-
ders," Nokia's Chief Financial Officer
Rick Simonson told a conference call.
Operating profit margins at Nokia's
handset units rose to 20.9 percent, their highest level since end-2003 and well
above analysts' average forecast of 16.9 percent.
Nokia sold 100.8 million phones in the quarter, more than its three closest
rivals combined, and estimated its market share at 38 percent, above ana-
lysts' consensus of 37.7 percent, and up from 34 percent a year ago. Strategy

Mobile Phones Analytics said Nokia should reach 40 percent market share during the second
half of the year, helped by its strong lead in emerging markets such as China
and India.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Telecommunications
Average selling price for Nokia cellphones in the second quarter was Rs.
Department says that it is supporting the development of technol-
7500. Nokia said it expected global sales of mobile phones to grow 10 per-
ogy needed for satellite systems to broadcast digital multimedia
cent or more this year from 978 million phones in 2006, compared with its ear-
content and data to mobile telephones and vehicle-borne
lier forecast of at best 10 percent growth. Nokia stock trades at 15.7 times
receivers. The development of mobile video services through
expected 2008 earnings, valuing the firm at around US 123 billion dollars, but
satellites will provide content providers and operators with alter-
below many other technology firms' valuations, as many investors think the
native or complementary
dominant player in the market has more to lose than to gain.
solutions to terrestrial
Nokia Siemens Networks, which started operations in April, reported an
based networks and will
operating loss of US 1.79 billion dollars, including restructuring charges and
bring the benefit of the uni-
inventory write-downs. Excluding the one-off items, Nokia said the loss from
versal coverage and broad-
operations was US 88 million dollars. 
casting that satellites can
provide.
High-power satellites in
geostationary orbit have
the ability to broadcast to
large coverage areas and
reach huge numbers of users. The proposed system will employ
a mixture of satellites and Earth-based repeaters. Satellites
ensure global coverage and repeaters make it possible to
receive the signals inside buildings.
The system will be able to be integrated into modern mobile
telephone and vehicle-mounted receiver designs at very low
cost, making it ideal for the mass-market.
ESA is supporting European industry and satellite operators
as they open up this important market sector by partially funding
the development and qualification of important components and
subsystems. ESA Telecom's existing satellite infrastructure has
also been made available for feasibility testing.
ESA's technology support for this application area is being
provided under several elements of its Advanced Research in Customers browse through the digital camera floor at the Kimuraya discount chain shop in Tokyo.
Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) programme.  Canon Inc. said that its profit jumped 17 percent in the April to June quarter on hot-selling copiers,
88
printers and digital cameras, as well as a weaker Japanese yen.

Arab Firms Eye Africa bank &
Telecom Stakes
Arab investors are looking to buy stakes in a bank and telecoms company
from Ivory Coast-based Groupe Atlantique to tap business in West Africa and
growing trade links with the Middle East, Atlantique's adviser said.
An Arab bank is close to buying a minority stake in the Ivorian company's
Banque Atlantique unit while two Gulf Arab firms are competing for a stake in
affiliate Atlantique Telecom, Dubai-based investment bank Millennium Finance
Corp said.
Arab interest in investing in Africa has grown over the years, as companies
in Gulf oil producers expand abroad and run into tougher competition in the
Middle East, Asia and Europe.
Telecom companies including Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co
(MTC), Saudi Arabia's Oger Telecom and Abu Dhabi's Emirates
Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) have led the way. MTC bought Celtel, a
mobile phone provider in 13 African countries, for $3.4 billion in 2005.
Millennium is advising Banque Atlantique on the sale, which will probably
take a few months, Keinde said. "They see that the market is under-banked,"
he said, declining to identify the Arab lender. Banque Atlantique, based in the
Ivorian city of Abidjan, has seven branches in West Africa, including Mali,
Niger and Benin, according to its Web site.
Groupe Atlantique is also selling a 20 percent stake in mobile phone
provider Atlantique Telecom, which is controlled by Etisalat, Keinde said. Two
Gulf Arab investors are competing for the stake, he said, declining to identify
the two investors.
Millennium, which is planning to set up a $1 billion fund investing in Africa,
is advising Groupe Atlantique on the sale which may take place by the end of
October, Keinde said. 
Ericsson Wins $2 Billion Order
From Bharti Airtel
Ericsson won a $2 billion order from Bharti Airtel
Ltd., securing India's biggest phone contract. The
contract will run for two years, Ericsson said in a
statement released in New Delhi. Ericsson, which
manages Bharti's networks in 15 of the 23 zones
that make up India's telecommunications market, will
expand Bharti's network based on the Global
System for Mobile Communications, or GSM, plat-
form.
Overseas wireless network makers such as
Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Alcatel-
Lucent are competing for network orders in India,
where phone companies are investing to accommo-
date new users. India, one of the fastest-growing mobile- phone markets in
the world, added 5.39 million GSM users in June.
``This contract is an important part of realizing Bharti's vision of a con-
verged network and of expanding coverage in rural India,'' Mats Granryd,
Managing Director at Ericsson India, said in the statement. 
Indonesia Lowers Foreign
Ownership for
Cellular Operators
Indonesia has lowered a limit on foreign owner-
ship of cellular operators from 95 percent to 65
percent, as part of new restrictions aimed at pro-
tecting national security. Meanwhile, trade minister
Mari Pangestu said that the restrictions see the
number of closed sectors rise to 25 from 11 previ-
ously, while 69 sectors would now be more open to
foreign investors.
Pangestu had told a press briefing that under
the new rules, foreign ownership in insurance com-
panies would also be cut from 99 to 80 percent and the pharmaceutical com-
pany limit would drop from 100 to 75 percent.
Fixed line telephone companies have a foreign ownership limit set at 49
percent. Indonesia's fixed line business however is currently monopolized by
state-owned Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom). Minister for the economy,
Budiono, said in the statement that the new rules did not apply retroactively.
They apply to newly established companies, or to those which are still seeking
a license to operate from the government. 
International
Astronauts Flew While
Dangerously Drunk
Astronauts were allowed to fly although their colleagues and
flight surgeons warned they were so drunk that they posed a
flight-safety risk
The panel reported "heavy use of alcohol" within the stan-
dard 12-hour "bottle to throttle" abstinence rule applied to NASA
flight-crew members. In anticipation of the report's formal
release, one US lawmaker was primed to seek answers from the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The internal NASA panel was set up to review astronaut
health after astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested and charged
with trying to kidnap a woman who was dating another astro-
naut. The panel found that drunken astronauts were allowed to
fly on at least two occasions. 
A private guard watches as a visitor has his identification checked on a comput-
erized scanner at the entrance of the media center for the Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting at the Philippine International
Convention Center in Manila.
Indonesia Targets MNP
in 2008
Indonesia aims to introduce
mobile phone number portabili-
ty next year, in order to stimu-
late competition by allowing
customers to reselect carriers
without changing numbers.
The country's mobile phone
sector has enjoyed strong
growth in recent years, although with among the highest tariffs in
the world, analysts say the pace is not as fast as it should be.
The new policy, already in place in countries such as Britain,
Japan and South Korea, should encourage operators to provide
a more competitive tariff and better service to lure users from
their rivals. "We hope all of the programmes will be set up for
next year," a government official told reporters.
The number of mobile phone users in Indonesia is expected
to top 100 million by 2010, but with competition heating up in the
sector, operators may start seeing their margins squeezed. 
Over 3 Billion Songs Sold
Online at Apple's iTunes
Store
Apple announced on July 31 that it has sold more than three
billion songs at its iTunes online store exclusively paired with its
popular iPod MP3 players. According to statistics from market
tracking firm NPD Group, iTunes is the third largest music shop
in the United States, ahead of real-world Target stores and pio-
neering Internet retailer Amazon.
"We'd like to thank all of our customers who have contributed
to this incredible milestone," said iTunes vice president Eddy
Cue.  89
 Press Releases

LATEST ZRG ACHIEVEMENTS

Delivering Success to Contact Centers

Z
RG International is an IT &
Telecom solutions and system inte-
gration company that specializes in
the area of Telephony, CTI and
Contact Centers. ZRG has helped
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and revenues by improving business commu-
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functions. ZRG solutions are deployed in
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and are being used by millions of users who
use self-service applications and the contact
center agent services.
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center solutions and have achieved great pro-
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have continued to do so during the past few munication includ-
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ZRG provides a full range of innovative SMS, Email and
customer interaction and contact management Web chat. The use
solutions that are flexible, cost-effective, easily of the open stan-
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ed with any CRM, any ACD switch and any approach enables
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ZRG solutions aim to increase the efficien-
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proven and flexible communication platform

Mobilink PCO accessible in New

Revolutionary Package

M
obilink recently announced new reduced rates for its
PCO with an aim to facilitate a broader market. The
new promotional offer is designed with additional
Airtime and Reduced upfront cost of the Mobilink PCO.
This project of Mobilink brings them one-step ahead in
providing additional income opportunities in the rural and urban areas of
Pakistan. Since the launch of this PCO project, the service is already
providing sustenance to over 30,000 families whose source of income
depends on the Mobilink PCO.
Bilal Munir Sheikh, Vice President Marketing, Mobilink stated, "We
are extremely happy that the new offer of lower prices for the Mobilink
PCO will meet our primary objective that is to sustain livelihoods and
alleviate poverty in the country. Moreover, we are proud to have person-
al endorsement of the President of Pakistan on this project".
The new price for Mobilink PCO is only Rs. 4,500 which is a 20%
reduced price from the last offer and also includes Rs. 2,000 worth of
free airtime. Mobilink PCO is a shop in a box solution which comes with
numerous benefits. The PCO kit has a wireless payphone system and
includes items for shop branding.
The customers can instantly start their business activity after acquir-
ing this PCO package, which is also available through the President of
Pakistan ROZGAR Scheme. The offer includes a Rs. 2000 scratch
card, banners, Tariff sheet and call log. The increase in free scratch
card amount from Rs. 600 to Rs. 2,000 is an additional support to the
entrepreneur helping him or her recover the investment quicker. It is
estimated that the potential revenue generated from the use of Rs.
2000 is more than Rs. 5000. 

IT at its Rise

T
he Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) held an interna-
tional level CEO Forum in Karachi, with an aim to showcase
the rapid strides made by the Pakistani IT sector over the
last few years and also to increase foreign financing
through effective interaction with foreign companies. Title of
the Forum was "Corporate Success in the Knowledge Economy". CEO
Forum provided a rich opportunity to thought leaders of the Knowledge
Economy - captains of industry, financiers and authors - to apprise them
of what the significant progress Pakistani companies have achieved in
the IT sector.
Earlier on in Islamabad, PSEB Managing Director Yusuf Hussain
briefed the media persons about the future targets, performance and
achievements of the PSEB. About the rising image of Pakistan in the Managing Director Pakistan Software Export Board Yousuf Hussain
outer world, Yusuf Hussain disclosed that A.T. Kearney, a Chicago-
based research and strategic management consulting company, in its the total size of the IT industry at $ 10 billion in 2010.
latest annual survey report for the first time has ranked Pakistan He revealed that over 1000 companies are registered with the
amongst the top 50 countries for its offshore services market potential PSEB, out of which 100 are ISO certified and there are, at this point
in the field of information technology. 90,000 IT professionals employed in Pakistan.
The PSEB Managing Director also informed the media that the He also said that the PSEB has urged the local investors to estab-
Board is launching the PSEB IT Job Board Portal for the Pakistani lish a venture capital fund for the local IT industry to promote an innova-
industry and said that talent acquisition is the first step in the talent tive and knowledge-based economy in the country.
management. In this connection, he said, the PSEB and Brightspyre The fund should be managed by professional managers and the
have joined hands to help the IT industry by upgrading their talent government would play the role of an enable and facilitator for the cre-
acquisition to international standards besides providing help to the for- ation of innovation by the private sector, he explained.
eign investors in acquire talent pool from Pakistan. The PSEB has been facilitating the IT industry through its pro-
Regarding the future targets of IT exports, Yusuf Hussain informed grammes in Human Capital, Office Space, Marketing, Company
the media that with the Pakistan's present over $ 2.2 billion revenue in Capability Development, Telecom Bandwidth, Industry Finance, Public
90 2005-06 and US dollars one billion IT exports, the PSEB is eyeing for Policy, Strategy & Research, and Facilitation.