Saturday, February 23, 2008

Cheap phone contract for Motorola

Mobile phones could soon be sold for less than $30 (£16) in developing countries after Motorola won a contract to produce low-cost handsets.

The US firm is expected to manufacture six million low-cost phones for sale in 17 countries including India, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Yemen and Kenya.The cheapest mobile phones using the GSM industry standard now cost between $30 and $40 in emerging markets.Operators said high taxes still made phones unaffordable in some countries.

Economic stimulus

Motorola will supply the phones to operators in the countries concerned, with shipments starting early next year.At wholesale prices, the phones will cost less than $30.Retail prices will vary from market to market, depending on taxes and other factors, but are expected to be below $30 in many cases. Motorola has already produced about six million low-cost phones through an industry initiative to make mobiles accessible to more people in emerging markets.The project is designed to capitalise on rising demand for mobile phones in India, the world's fastest growing mobile market, and other countries in Asia and Africa.Motorola said low-cost phones were essential to economic development.In emerging markets, consumers and operators want mobiles that meet specific performance requirements while exceeding expectations for quality, reliability and design," said Ron Garriques, president of Motorola Mobile Devices.Additionally, they want all of this at a value price."The phones will incorporate powerful batteries to ensure they can be used for longer without charging - vital in many communities without access to a reliable power supply.

Price barrier

Operators believe the high cost of handsets is the single largest barrier to connecting millions of people in developing countries.The initiative is a major step towards reducing the start-up price," said Erik Aas, chief executive of Bangladeshi firm GrameenPhone.It will fuel significant economic growth, as well as major social changes, when so many people can communicate directly from their home or on the move."Motorola is vying with Finnish firm Nokia to dominate the low-cost phone market.

The industry has warned that "punitive taxes" threaten to slow down the growth of mobile communications in developing markets.According to the GSM Association (GSMA) - which represents manufacturers and network operators - taxes in countries such as Turkey add about 45% to retail prices.We believe reducing taxes will help businesses and individuals in developing countries to reach out and connect with each other and the developed world," said Rob Conway, GSMA's chief executive.

Sourc : http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Posted by martin at 15:52:55 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Pay as You Go Mobile Phones- You Will Love Them

Once considered a luxury, mobile phones have become a necessary part of our day to day life. Just imagine a life without a mobile phone! Difficult? Yes, that's the charisma of mobile phones. Today's mobile phones are used not only as mere communication gadgets; they can be used as cameras, music players, game stations, web browsers as well. With the emergence of numerous mobile companies the entire world of mobile telephony has got a new make-over. Latest handsets with superb multimedia features have flooded the market and people are just going for them. Right from candybar design to clamshell ones, from slider to swivels-all types of mobile phones are available in the market.

As different types of mobile handsets have been constantly launched in the market, the numbers of mobile phone deals are also increasing. Some of the most popular mobile phone deals are the contract mobile phone deal, 12 months free line rental, sim free mobiles and pay as you go mobile phone deal. If you are not interested in any kind of contract mobile phone deal, then, the pay as you go mobile phone deal is just perfect for you. Pay as you go mobile phone deal is a prepaid mobile plan. When you buy a pay as you go mobile phone, you get pre-loaded credit ensuring your talktime. When you need extra credit, you can refill it anywhere anytime. The best thing with pay as you go mobile phone deal is that you can have a complete check on your mobile habits. As there is no contract in pay as you go mobile phone deal, you'll never get a surprise phone bill towards the end of the month.

Pay as you go mobile phones are very easily available. There are several online mobile phone shops which offer attractive rates on pay as you go mobile phones. Search online to get the best pay as you go mobile deal.

Source : http://ezinearticles.com/

Posted by martin at 13:52:37 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Monday, February 11, 2008

Nokia N82 mobile phone review Can this better the N95?

Nokia's flagsip mobile phone is the N95 8GB, but that still hasn't stopped the Finish company from launching the N82 a pseudo N95 with a focus on the digital camera elements rather than an overall multimedia device. But is it just a candy bar version of the N95? We get phoning to find out.

Described as "the latest multimedia computer optimized for photography, navigation and internet connectivity" the Nokia N82 is a candy bar handset that comes in a plastic and metal finish. Dimensions are 112 x 50.2 x 17.3mm while it weighs 114g slightly lighter than the N95. Tech specs include A-GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, Xenon flash, Carl Zeiss optics and internet connectivity alongside HSDPA and Bluetooth connectivity. The design, which is large and fat is also confusing to use with too many menu shortcut buttons cluttering the keypad. Do you really need two dedicated menu buttons for example? In fact there are 12 shortcut keys beyond the 12 numeric keys, all of which are fiddly and, like Sony Ericsson's W880, prickly to use.

If that wasn't enough buttons for you, then there are a further four buttons on the top side for the camera function and that's not including the on/off switch or the lens cover slider for the camera. Compared to the iPhone's four buttons, the tally of 29 is impressive. Get past the buttons and the, in our mind, ugly design, and you've got the Symbian S60 software interface as found on most of the Nokia N series handsets. With two menu buttons you have two ways of looking at the applications in addition to the home page and you can either opt for a rotating page system (which works like Apple's Coverflow interface) or for the more traditional amongst us via icons in a grid formation.

Applications of note here are the A-GPS and preinstalled Nokia Maps that allow you to find your way around and users can buy additional features, such as city guides and longer subscription to the navigation. The A-GPS works extremely well in locking on to a GPS signal when you are indoors and compared to the first N95, finding where you are is a lot quicker. Additionally maps have now been stored on the device from the start meaning you don't have to download as you go, again speeding up finding directions and you can get voice guidance so you don't have to look at the small screen to know where to turn next however this is an optional paid for extra.


Posted by martin at 15:28:28 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |