Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Telecom:
CEO completes his tenure at Telenor Pakistan 10
Talent hunt for professionalism Ericsson's aim: Hemstad 14
UAN for royal class only: PTA increases charges by 100 times 16
Mobilink’s role vital in Pak telecom industry 18
45 per cent increase on SMS packages of big gains await you, dear! 20
2008 opening witnesses decline in FDIs
Internet, data services Mobilink WiMAX: yet a long way to eclipse Wateen
24
25
announced and later it Cell phones work wonders with the youth 26
was withdrawn Headphones Just for fun or unavoidable necessity? 34
Wateen brings ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ to silver screen 38
Mobilink offers Yahoo & Google talk 42
PTCL moves one step ahead, Cell phone companies put the consumers in the doldrums 46
Cover Story:
PTCL Moves one step ahead, two backward 48
IT:
Google’s handclasp with Yahoo irks Microsoft 28
Goodbye, the Microsoft giant! 30
HP’s new launch a charisma in printing 69
Changing world of Internet domains 73
Warid’s BlackBerry launch achieving | 12 ISP-based customer targeting will violate site trademarks
Laptops – easy to use, hard to buy!
75
81
another milestone Intel’s inspiring projects to work wonders 88
Google Gmail: Labs Another tree with uncountable boughs! 91
Technology
Moonitin: Hats off to space age 72
Events:
Warid’s BlackBerry launch achieving another milestone 12
CommunicAsia 2008 and the sky is not the limit! 36
Warid & Alfalah set for ‘height of delight’ K2 taste 44
Warid arranges get-together for its employees 70
Informative:
Coming Mobile 52
Current Mobile 54
Mobile Review 60
Talent hunt for professionalism Warid arranges get-together
Ericsson's aim: Hemstad for its employees Briefs:
14 70 National
International
95
98
Editor’s Note
Why to keep
consumers
in quandary?
Thomas Hobbes was right when he wrote in Leviathan that man's
condition is a 'state of war' with everyone and against every other person.
This factor becomes even more plausible with the growth of market
economy because every company in the run needs to stand out even
sacrificing the most valuable and cherished once considered the moral
Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Editor-in-Chief
and ethical values. The more they earn from consumers, the more they
Javaid Saleem Chattha Editor
put them on the altar one way or the other not in terms of high-priced Fatima Batool Coordination Editor
packages or other coercive tactics but by forgetting where they are taking Usman Yaqoob
Marketing Manager (Lahore)
the common man by putting him in quandary over the robust and ever- M. Farooq Malik
Marketing Executive (Lahore)
pinching ads of their packages. And this is true with regard to cellular Rashid Hussain Mughal
Marketing Executive (Karachi)
companies. One may find glutting market with ads offering call rates Neelam Khan
Marketing Executive (Islamabad)
lower than the others'. Is that really true? No doubt, ad industry flourishes
M. Naeem Mughal
giving positive economic growth signs but the dark facades could not be Senior Designer
Zafar Khan Afridi
Designer
brushed aside. The much-hyped claims of lower rates do exist as they are
Khawar Shahzad
presented. The situation is all the way rounding. An ad says 40 paisas for Research Wing
Azhar Javed
the first minute will be charged, while the pulse rate is 30 seconds; then Production Manager
Muhammad Saeed
how can additional charges per minute be communicated? Actually the Chief Photographer
Mobile: 0321 - 8404389
first 30 seconds are charged, if the call is hanged on for 20 seconds that
Separation by:
will cost 50 + 40 = 90 paisa + taxes if one FnF number is selected from any Fotoscan Process
cellular network, whereas the advertisement clearly states: “Koi bhi Lahore Office:
Ph: +92-42-5750732
number, koi bhi network, sirf 50 paisay per 30 seconds”. At least one Fax: +92-42-5750804
Islamabad Office:
million customers will be affected negatively by this. The FnF number Phone: + 92-51-2890054
Fax: + 92-51-2891339
modification: no information on print ad, but their website says, addition/ Karachi Office:
Phone: + 92-21-4602620
modification of FnF will charge Rs 15 + tax. In the given situation, who is
Registration No:
going to come to rescue the consumers? The PTA should realise the PCPB/105
(Volume 4 Issue: 11)
responsibility and come forward to remove all these discrepancies so Price Rs 300
people at large may feel secure and with ease, knowing well that they are URL: www.flare.com.pk
Email: flare.mag@gmail.com
not being fooled with hidden or untold charges.
Publisher: Zubair Ahmed Kasuri, published
from 105-B, Gulberg-II, Lahore & printed it
from Akkaz Printers, Shama Plaza, Lahore.
8
New traffic police? Same old chaos!!! PTCL, lend me your ears, please!
Dear Editor: While coming from Jail Road to Ferozepur Road, I caught
I saw an article on PTCL's Internet service and the billing issue in the
sight of a banner with a warning on the use of mobile phones while driving.
last issue of your magazine. Well, let me remind you that PTCL is basical-
It said "the mobile phone use is illegal, and those caught red-handed would
ly not an Internet but a landline provider. I wonder at PTCL's decision to
be fined instantly and arrested if necessary." I was lately alarmed to see extend its services in a scenario when its present consumers are hardly
traffic wardens chasing cars and issuing tickets to violators on Jail Road satisfied with its performance. I have been living in Malir since my child-
and The Mall, and other 'red alert' areas. I happened to visit Sandha and hood and I can remember the discontinuity of landlines in monsoon and
was shocked to see negligence by the traffic police. I saw nearly every also the always-hard-to-find lineman throughout year. It was a time when
other person on a motorbike or in a car, enjoying talking by a cellphone or there were no or few mobile service providers. However, the situation
sending SMS. There was no warden to take notice of what was happening, improved over the years due to an increase in the service providers.
and there was not even a single banner that referred to the law. With our PTCL tried to improve but it seems as if its effort is just a paper work.
well-equipped, good-looking newly inducted traffic police, I was (just like The linemen who were once on job are now either on contracts or have left
any other person) expecting some revolution in our traffic system. I would due to their contract positions. A large number of such personnel are on
not say that there is no improvement, but what should I (or anybody else) strikes against PTCL's decisions and no one pays any head to the cus-
do with those changes which are only confined to a specific 'red alert' area tomers' complaints and problems.
in Lahore or in Islamabad. It appears as if our traffic police are merely pos- We, the residents of Modal Colony, are infected by either discontinuity
ing on roads for their seniors. or disturbance in our connections for weeks, but we continue to be billed -
Strict enforcement campaigns alongside publicity are necessary to rather over-billed sometimes. We have informed the service centre about
achieve longer-term compliance and I hope that our traffic police will try to our problems many a time but to no avail. On contact, we are told that the
spare equal time and thinking to its responsibility in all areas, especially official concerned unavailable to redress the grievance.
backward areas where law-enforcement is much more necessary due to It goes without saying that companies develop on the sole pillar of sup-
comparatively low literacy rate-Muhammad Khurram, DHA Lahore. port by their employees and I believe that PTCL is quite unmindful of this
very fact. All we need to do is to point out and remove the faults and try to
change the system for a better PTCL-customer relationship-Samina Malik,
Conspiracy stirred by govt in budget Karachi.
Send us your letters at flare.mag@gmail.com or at our postal address. Flare reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and space. 9
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom
EO Telenor Pakistan Tore Johnsen will acquiring more than 17 million subscriptions in PSHRM Preferred Graduate Employer
Industry
Conference 2007.
Telenor Global
CEO where he laid the foundations of the coun- Brand Award for the
try's first greenfield mobile communications year 2007 from
company. among the 12 mobile
Built from scratch under Tore's leadership companies in the
and an investment of more than $1.8 billion, Telenor Group
today Telenor Pakistan is the largest European portfolio.
direct Investment in the country. It has created Won in three of
nearly 2500 direct and more than 25,000 indi- five nominated
rect employment opportunities along with categories at the All
100,000-plus retail outlets and 200-plus fran- Pakistan Dawn
chises across Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Aurora Advertising
Kashmir. Awards.
National Forum for
With Tore Johnsen as CEO, the Environment &
company has won a Health (NFEH)
Annual Environment
number of awards for its mobile operator with a total of 150 million sub- Excellence Award 2008.
scribers in its mobile operations. Telenor Background
extensive investments, Pakistan is 100 per cent owned by Telenor ASA Tore was born in Stjordal, Norway. He complet-
transparent payment of taxes, and adds on to its operations in Asia together ed a Master of Science degree from Norwegian
with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. University of Science and Technology in 1972.
marketing its corporate respon- Awards for Telenor Pakistan He was appointed in Management in 1984
siblity initiatives With Tore Johnsen as CEO, the company has when he headed all terrestrial broadcasting
won a number of awards for its extensive activities in Norway. He joined the mobile com-
In a short span of just over three years, investments, transparent payment of taxes, munications activities in Telenor in 1988 where
Telenor Pakistan has become the country's sec- marketing prowess, and work culture, and he had different managerial positions within
ond largest mobile communications company. recognition for its corporate responsibility initia- Technical, Product and Marketing areas.
Telenor Pakistan is also the fastest growing net- tives. Telenor Pakistan has won the following In 1994, he completed International
work in the country with the largest and the awards: Business Management from Norwegian School
most advanced EDGE-enabled data network. It FPCCI Telecom Excellence award for of Economics & Business Administration. He
is the second highest revenue-generating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in June 2006 has been given international assignments in
mobile player with the highest ARPU in the mar- for contributing one of the largest FDI in recent Europe -- Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic and
ket. years. Slovakia. Europe was followed by Asia where
Telenor Pakistan grew its subscriber base by High Tax Payer Award 2004-05 in January Tore settled in Singapore for potential acquisi-
a stellar 200 per cent in FY06. It has been con- 2006 from Federal Board of Revenue for paying tions of new companies like DiGi in Malaysia
sistently EBITDA positive for several quarters, highest customs duties in 2005. and DTAC in Thailand.
10
Report: Malik Farooq Photograph by: M. Saeed F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event
Warid Telecom post-paid customers in Pakistan will now enjoy productivity benefits, to
stay connected to people, and information on the go. Bashir A. Tahir, CEO, Abu Dhabi
Group, has highly praised his Group's employees for their remarkable contribution as well
as their business partners
CEO Abu Dhabi Group Mr. Bashir A. Tahir along with Warid administration and other members during launching ceremony of Warid BlackBerry in Lahore.
mitac Mobile Solution (EMS) and Warid com Marwan Zawaydeh said: "Warid Telecom ment of this prominent group, which hopefully
CEO Warid Mr. Marwan Zawaydeh presenting certificate based solutions and services provider and
to Pervez A. Shahid, board member Warid.
Research In Motion (RIM) strategic channel
in Wi-Fi for faster connectivity to the web and partner focused on the delivery, implementation
other mobile data applications. and support of BlackBerry solutions. EMS pro- technology investment.
BlackBerry Curve 8310 Smartphone: The vides mobile operators with sales, marketing, EMS is the region's first Mobile Virtual
BlackBerry Curve 8310 is a powerful and intu- distribution, solution implementation and tech- Solutions Provider (MVSP) whose services are
itive Smartphone that features a full QWERTY nical support services for the BlackBerry wire- delivered through partnerships the company
keyboard, yet is light and compact in size, The less platform from RIM. has with mobile operators in the Gulf, North
Africa and Eastern Europe.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related
Enterprise Server for corporate customers and nificantly increases the value of their mobile
13
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom
17
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom
obile companies in many regions Pakistan. The sector is also currently con- been created through this industry. According
s in other sectors, there is a frightening totally different ball-game. It consists of four appropriate time to allow technology for the
nce Wordsworth was saved from the sleeping and snorting. Then I saw those youth While passing by one of the gallant youth, some
28
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event
34
High-quality headphones can have an
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event
"Mobile advertising is the future but the key, is how to make it a reali-
ty without degrading the user experience"
ommunicAsia 2008 is the region's pre- available. "It becomes cheaper and cheaper
T the series of movie shows of popular Telenor Pakistan intends to bring more such
children's film 'Taare Zameen Par' for shows for the children of SOS Villages in other
orphans of SOS Children's Villages in cities of Pakistan.''
four major cities of Pakistan. The activi- The movie 'Taare Zameen Par' (TZP)
ty was a part of Telenor Pakistan's flagship com- revolves around a child, Eeshant (Darsheel)
munity-support initiative, DUA, in collaboration who suffers from dyslexia. The movie focuses learning which will long be remembered. On
with SOS Children's Villages in Pakistan. They on hidden talents of children and highlights behalf of my fellow-children I thank Telenor
included shows in Cinepax Rawalpindi, DHA importance of the general behaviour of the par- Pakistan for arranging such a wonderful show
Cinema Lahore, and Nishat Cinema Karachi. ents, teachers and society towards them. for us."
One movie show was exclusively organized on Speaking about the movie Komal Altaf, SOS Telenor Pakistan donated Rs 6.5 crore to
the premises of the SOS Children's Village, Children's Village in Lahore said: "It is the duty President's Earthquake Relief Fund and
Multan. A total of 720 children enjoyed the film of parents and teachers to try to understand the International Red Cross for their relief efforts
along with their teachers and mothers. problems of children. Being humiliated by teach- immediately after the earthquake. Since then
Telenor ASA is an international provider of high- ers is tantamount to subjecting them (children) Telenor has been committed to the cause of
quality telecommunications, data and media to lose confidence." earthquake-affected children through its work
communication services. It ranks as the world's A child, Sameeda, SOS Children's village in with SOS.
7th largest mobile operator with a total of 150 Rawalpindi, said: "It was a day full of fun and
38
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom
he world has changed altogether. After searched for ZonG dial tunes by:
T
Get your dial tune with a single click
Utunes, now ZonG brings to you Dial Artist's name;
Tunes. You can select your tune by just Tune's name;
a single click. For example, if you are Song's genre;
calling your friend and you hear a song Or simply type the keyword and get your Dial
(on his number) that you want to make your Tune.
own, then simply press * button to set this partic- You can also record your Dial Tune if you
ular tune for your number. From then onwards, want. Just dial 230 and select option 3 to "record
whenever someone calls you, he or she will your own dial tune" record whatever you want
enjoy the same tune. for your caller's amusement.
You can subscribe by dialling 230 or Send You can also select your Dial Tune via SMS,
"REG" to 230. You can also select different if you know the code. Send an SMS to 230 with
tunes for different callers. the code and you will have the tune. The sub-
You can also select and manage your dial scription to Dial Tune service is free.
tunes from ZonG's official website that offers Daily fee Rs 1.21 which is Rs 36.3 per month
almost 5,000 dial tunes. Register your number including taxes;
on this website and log-in to save your preferred Download charges (from Internet) Rs 5 + tax;
dial tunes to use in future. Data can be IVR charges (from handset) Rs 5 + tax.
CIVIL
MECHANICAL
SITE DESIGN
TELECOM
SHELETRS
TOWERS
GENERATORS
HR OUTSOURCING
MANAGEMENT SERVICES
3G COMTECH(PVT)LTD.
TURNKEY SOLUTIONS PROVIDER
429-430 UMER BLOCK ALLAMA IQBAL TOWN
PH: +92-42-5296429,5296529,5296212
FAX: +92-42-5296329
E-MAIL:khurram.mushtaq@comtech.net.pk
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event
arid Telecom takes the lead in pro- climbers said that K2 would never
entrepreneur in the con- On the occasion, Mike Farris said: "We are
struction industry and a happy to be taking on the biggest challenge for
great climbing enthusiast. mountain climbers in Pakistan known for its sce-
He has reached the peak nic mountain ranges and bighearted hospitality."
of the Everest North Marwan Zawaydeh, the Chief Executive
Ridge at 8848m. Eric Officer (CEO), Warid Telecom, said: "Mountain
Meyer, an anaesthesiolo- climbing to reach a peak like K2 consists of a
gist by profession and combined team effort to achieve a difficult com-
also the team doctor, is mon goal. As a leading telecom operator in
from the United States. Pakistan we consider it our duty to portray the
He has done a lot of best image of the country. We hope to highlight
research on the medical Warid Telecom as an enlightened and responsi-
aspects of mountain ble corporation and Pakistan as a great country
climbing and has also with lots to offer."
peaked Mt Everest. Shahzad Rauf, Chief Strategy and
Fredrik String from Operations Officer, Warid Telecom, said: "Warid
Sweden is a professional Telecom stresses need for pushing limits. We
adventurer, lecturer, pho- feel an appropriate parallel in our goals to
tographer and a climbing achieve great feats in the Pakistani GSM indus-
enthusiast. He will be try as the Altitude Experience team does in
making a documentary of achieving the K2 climb. We hope to continue
the trip and has also sponsoring great milestones that are associated
peaked the Mt Everest with greatness and Pakistan."
North Ridge at 8848m. S. M. Talib Rizvi, Group Head Priority
Paul Walters, an entre- Banking and Wealth Management, Bank Alfalah,
preneur and climbing said: "We are proud to be part of a sponsorship
enthusiast from Australia that tests the limits. It is a positive reflection and
has also peaked the Mt great honour for Pakistan and also for our bank.
Everest. Finally, Chris We aim to continue supporting such efforts that
Warner from Australia has are aimed at the image-building for our coun-
peaked at Cho Oyu at try."
8100m.
45
Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom
Mobilink - Jazz One (1 Rs = 1 Min) So now the war has begun for lowest per
attacked by U-Fone & ZONG min call charges. The telonor is not behind this
Recently a few weeks back there came a race as they also bring forward their own call
Mobilink Ad promoting themselves with sim- rates claiming to lower than that of the others.
plest call rates of 1 Rs = 1 Min, in this ad they Telonor's ad gives the evidence.
attacked that per minute rates offered by other All these ads bring into limelight Rs 1 for 1
operators are difficult to calculate. minute call but the hidden charges are present-
Here are Jazz One details: ed in an unclear manner. It shows how deceit-
http://www.mobilinkgsm.com/jazz/jazz_one. ful these ads are. ZonG stresses on 8 Annay ,
php the concept of Annays has long gone in the thin
air and quite unknown to the new
But it was not that simple as 0.40 paisas are generation.
46 charged on the first minute of each call which
Cover Story Zubair Ahmed Kasuri F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
48
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Cover Story
TCL announced an unprecedented customers and in consultation with PTA, under-cut other operators and where it enjoys
P
pany said.
45 per cent increase in domestic
leased lines for Internet and data
services to be effective from July 1,
2008, as spokesperson of the com-
DD(Tariff)064/2005/PLC issued
by PTCL Headquarters on 25
Internet industry of the country has not wit-
According to a Tariff Circular No. nessed any growth during the last five years
shows lack of decision making, lack of confi- June 2008, the new rates effec-
dence and mismanagement on the part of the tive from July 01, 2008 for 2
high ups within the company which boasts of Mbits circuit would be Rs
being the largest in the country. 7,871/km/year as compared to
The actual situation regarding the increase the existing charges of Rs
and decrease in the PTCL tariff is that it can- 1,750/km/year, which shows 4.5
not be announced by the PTCL arbitrarily times increase.
rather a prior approval from the PTA is Similarly, rates for higher
required in this regard. The above 45 per cent capacity circuits of 34 Mbits
increase was done without having PTA have been increased from Rs
approval and same is the situation with the 21,000/km/year to Rs
rationalization prices of domestic leased cir- 140,607/km/year showing 700
cuits announced by the company. per cent increase. PTCL, being
The PTCL spokesman further relied upon the largest fixed line operator,
that the price rationalisation decision was controls almost 100 per cent of
made to ensure world-class service quality to the optical fiber circuits within
our valued customers. The cost of service cities and ISPs and broadband
operators are major customers
of these links. The broadband
industry of the country would be
worst hit with this increase as
PTCL's circular sent shock
waves among ISPs. Ironically,
PTCL circular reads "PTCL
management is pleased to
announce the reduction in the
domestic leased lines." But a Image of circular issued by PTCL to increase tariff.
comparison with previous tariff
circular of January 10, 2007 indi-
cated no reduction but huge
increase in almost every slab.
The changes in the tariffs of
the PTCL in quick successions
show that the top management
is hell bent upon playing havoc
with the company. It is feared by
the many who are in the close
WALID IRSHAID quarters of the PTCL that all
President & CEO of PTCL these developments are being
provisioning in the recent days has increased made with the connivance of the
manifolds owing to significant increase in HR, PTA. Above all, the confidence
power, property and right of way costs, neces- of the end users of the PTCL
sary for the smooth running of the business. facilities has shattered. They
However, keeping in view similar pres- have become rather more critical
sures faced by our valued ISP and DNOP of these forward and backward
moves of the PTCL.
These abrupt changes in The
Providers
Internet Services
Association of
this policy by the PTCL Pakistan (ISPK) is critical of the
PTCL's moves and expressed
cause many to raise their their concern that the PTCL
moved one step ahead and two
eye brows as it also shows steps back which created confu-
lack of decision making, sion and the things got messy
affecting their routine working
lack of confidence and and business.
Earlier, at the PTCL decision
mismanagement on the to increase the tariff, the
spokesman of Internet Service
part of the high ups within Providers Association of Image of previous tariff of PTCL
circuits rates" said Naeem Haq, CEO of specifically aimed at all broadband operators
Nexlinx. "This would literally mean strangula- out of business and we demand immediate The decision and changes in the
tion of all the ISPs and shifting of all broad- action by the telecom regulator, PTA, to stop tariffs of the PTCL in quick suc-
band users to PTCL's network, thus strength- strong arm tactics of PTCL" said Mr. Siraj of
ening monopoly and leaving no choice for the ISPAK. cessions show that the top man-
customer", said Mr. Haq. When contacted by Flare, Member
Telecom of Ministry of IT (MOIT), Mr Noor-ud
agement is hell bent upon play-
Din Baqai, said that the move would be a sui- ing havoc with the company. It is
cide for PTCL under current market condi-
tions and the Ministry, being principal share- feared by many who are in the
holder of PTCL, would definitely probe into close quarters of the PTCL that
Keeping in view pressures all these developments are
faced by valued ISP and being made with the connivance
of the PTA
DNOP customers and in
It is learnt that ISPAK has contacted the
consultation with PTA, PTCL PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority)
in view of the PTCL move to raise the tariff of
has withdrawn its decision the domestic leased lines for Internet and
data services. In a letter the ISPAK took an
for price rationalization and exception to the move and called upon the
authority to come up with a clear stance to
will serve the ISP and DNOP curb the hegemonic designs of the PTCL. The
ISPAK representatives were of the view that
QAMAR ZAMAN KAIRA customers at the earlier PTCL wanted to strangulate the Internet serv-
Federal Minister for Information Technology ice providers as they could not stand out in
rates such circumstances.
Mr. Sikandar Naqi, Senior Executive Vice They expressed the hope that PTA would
President of PTCL, when contacted by Flare, the matter. If PTCL's move goes unnoticed by act promptly to rescue them. Now, according
offered no comments as he was not aware of the PTA and MOIT, five million Internet and to them, it is up to the PTA what stand it would
this move. He, however, said if a circular had broadband users of the country would suffer a take in this regard.
been issued, PTCL management must have lot with 100 per cent increase in the end user
knowledge about it. This action of PTCL is Internet rates.
Nokia E71
Size
Dimensions 114 x 57 x 10 mm, 66 cc, Weight 127g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches, Full QWERTY
keyboard, Five-way scroll key
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, Monophonic, MP3, True Tones, Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call records
Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot microSD, up to 8GB, hotswap, 110 MB
internal memory, 128 MB SDRAM Memory, ARM 11 369 MHz processor
Data
GPRS Class 32, 100 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps 3G
SDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email,
Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games, Java down-
loadable, order now, Colors White Steel, Grey Steel, Camera 3.15 MP,
2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA 22fps), flash; secondary videocall
camera, Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS function, Java MIDP 2.0,
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Office applications, FM radio, Push to talk,
Voice command/dial, PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing
Battery
Stand-by Up to 410h, Talk time Up to 10h 30 min
Design: 8.1 A woman poses with the SoftBank Mobile Corp's robot-shaped mobile phone "Phone
Features: 8.2 Braver 815T PB" at the International Tokyo Toy Show in Tokyo.
Performance: 8.2
52
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Coming Mobiles Informative
Design: 7.7
Features: 7.6
A customer sends a text message from her phone in a mobile phone shop in Jakarta. Performance: 7.8
Indonesia's anti-trust agency (KPPU) has fined five firms a total of about $8.3 million for
fixing tariffs on mobile phone text messages, the head of the investigating team said.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.3
Performance: 8.3
53
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Informative Current Mobiles
Size Dimension
Dimensions 103 x 46 x 16.7 mm, Weight 82g 104 x 44 16.3 mm, Weight 78 g
Display Battery
Type STN, 65K colors, Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.6 inch- Talk Time: Up to 9 h, Standby Time: Up to 450 h
es, Wallpapers Memory
Ringtones Phonebook: 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, 2
Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization MB embedded memory Connectivity GPRS: Class 10
Download, order now, Vibration Yes (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, USB Display Size 128 x
Memory 128 pixels, 1.52 inches
Phonebook 300 entries, Call records 20 received, Display
dialed and missed calls, Card slot No, 2 MB internal Colour CSTN, 65K colors
memory Operating Frequency / Band GSM 900 / GSM 1800
Data Browser WAP 1.2
GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps, Infrared port Entertainment Games Yes, Java MIDP 2.0, Voice
Yes memo, Built-In Handsfree, world time, Mobile tracker
Features Ring Tones Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP 1.2.1 Messaging SMS, MMS, EMS
Games 3 embedded, Colors Metallic Black, Light
Champagne, Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, T9, Slide Samsung Guru100 is a stylish bar-shaped hand-
show, Full screen viewer, Stopwatch, Built-in hands- set that offers unrestricted Talk time of 9 long hours.
free The handset is armed with mobile tracker feature that
Battery helps users track their phone in case they happen to
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 8h lose it .This compact entry level handset enriches con-
sumer's mobile experience through its MP3 ringtones
The Sony Ericsson K200i integrates a VGA cam- feature.
era and photo album, immediately accessible with just
one click on the dedicated button. Given that the K200i Design: 7.6
has a slideshow view and will store up to 40 images, Features: 7.4
it's easy for users to view their pictures in full screen Performance: 7.4
and share them with friends. Navigating the phone is
easy, as the menu can be set to a series of simple, sin-
gle icons.
Design: 6.8
Features: 6.7
Performance: 6.8
54
Design: 7.5
Features: 6.8
Performance: 6.8
55
56
Design: 8.2
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.1
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.0
formance: 8.0
57
Rs. 46,400
Rs. 36,500
Nokia N95 8GB Sony Ericsson W960i
Size Size
Dimensions 99 x 53 x 21 mm, 96 cc, Weight 128g Dimensions 109 x 55 x 16 mm, Weight 119g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.6
Ringtones inches, Handwriting recognition, Wallpapers, screensavers
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Tones, MP3 Ringtones
Customization Download, Vibration Yes Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, AAC, Customization
Memory Composer, download, order now, Vibration Yes
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call Memory
records, Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot No, Accelerometer sen- Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
sor for auto-rotate, 8 GB internal memory, 128 MB SDRAM mem- Call records, Practically unlimited, Card slot No, 8 GB shared
ory, Dual ARM 11 332 MHz CPU, 3D Graphics HW Accelerator memory for storage, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB flash memory (96
Data MB reserved for OS + 160 MB user memory)
GPRS Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, Data
296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps, 3G HSDPA, WLAN Wi-Fi GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No
802.11 b/g, UPnP technology, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, EDGE No, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b, Bluetooth
Infrared port Yes USB Yes, v2.0 miniUSB Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0,
Features Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, OS Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS,
Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, G a m e s Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML,
Downloadable, order now, Colors Black, Camera 5 MP, 2592 x HTML(Opera 8.0), RSS reader, Games Yes + downloadable,
1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash; order now, Colors Vinyl Black, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536
secondary CIF videocall camera, Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA 15fps), flash; secondary VGA
function Installed Maps application covering over 100 countries, videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS ,
Dual slide design, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA Walkman Touch player, TrackID music recognition, T9, Image
player, 3.5 mm audio output jack, TV out, Stereo FM Radio, viewer, Picture/document editor, Organiser, Voice memo,
Organizer, Office document viewer, T9, Push to talk, Voice Built-in handsfree
dial/memo, Built-in handsfree Battery
Battery Stand-by Up to 370h, Talk time Up to 9h
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 6h Sony Ericsson uses a very straightforward approach--
Cyber-shot for camera-phones and Walkman for music-
The Nokia N95 (8GB) features 8GB of internal memory and phones. In a way, that is great because it helps consumers to
has a spacious 2.8-inch display and 3G support. The smartphone narrow down their choices. In reality, that's not always the
also includes Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, and case.
robust multimedia capabilities. For example, someone who is buying a camera-phone
may not use only the camera features. He probably might want
Design: 8.3 to listen to music, too. That's where the line begins to blur and
Features: 8.4 the average consumer's options start to expand. The newer
Performance: 8.4 range of Cyber-shots is now fitted with a more elaborate music
player and the Walkmans with a better camera module.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.2
Performance: 8.3
58
60
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Informative
Porsche P'9521
Pratham Telecom has launched the
P'9521 Porsche phone in India. The new
phone features a sophisticated design
and is developed with high-quality natu-
ral materials such as aluminum. The
outer surface of the phone is made of a
solid aluminum block.
The salient feature of the P'9521
phone would be its double hinge made
from aluminum, which enables the
screen to be rotated through 180°. Hence
users can use the camera as a digital camera also.
Moreover, the phone incorporates a finger print reader ensuring secure
access to personal data of users. Making operation easier, individual finger-
prints can be assigned to particular numbers or phone functions. Even the stan-
dard PIN code can be replaced by a fingerprint.
A 3.2-megapixel resolution camera with auto-focus and integrated flash and
digital zoom are the other key features. Its AM-OLED technology ensures high
quality colors, exceptional brilliance and a perfect view. It also has MP3 player,
three speakers for ring tones and voice playback in stereo quality sound and
EDGE technology for internet connection.
The P'9521 Porsche phone is expected to be available at the price of Rs.
76,999.
A model displays the Porsche P'9521 mobile phone at its India launch
in Mumbai, India
Nokia E66
It is the latest in Nokia's business oriented E-
Series devices. It's solidly built and the form fac-
tor is slim and professionally attractive. The
organizer and email features, which are probably
the most important for business users, have been
improved over previous E-Series devices and pro-
vide you with powerful business tools. For a little
bit of fun the E66 has a very capable 3.2 megapix-
el auto-focus camera, the excellent Nokia music
software and a powerful web browser on board.
And if you need to get around you'll appreciate the
built in GPS functionality and updated Nokia Maps
2.0. With all this going for it the E66 seems to be
a dream phone, as long as you get past the price,
but unfortunately poor battery life means that you
won't be able to enjoy all these features for very
long.
Available in the third quarter of 2008 at the
price of $500.
Pros: Solid, classy design. Great keys. Live,
while-you-type searching for contacts. Great Web
browser.
Cons: Many features cost extra, like naviga-
tion and Quickoffice. Networking seemed slow in
our tests. Could have more multimedia features,
like the Nseries.
Samsung L870
This attractive aluminum clad slider phone brings a touch a Samsung Soul
styling to Symbian S60 smartphones.
The Samsung L870 is a 3.5G device with a 3 megapixel camera and a 2.4"
240 x 320 pixel display. The SGH-L870 runs Symbian 9.3 with the S60 3.2 inter-
face, similar to most contemporary S60 smartphones. In addition to the usual
S60 multimedia features, the L870 comes with an FM radio. There's also a vari-
ety of push email support, an office document viewer, personal information man-
agement applications and we understand that the SGH-L870 comes with a
mobile version of the Apple Safari web browser. Samsung say that the L870
offers "DVD quality" video capture, but does not go into technical details.
It's a good looking HSDPA slider phone, but you might expect that the L870
was going to get some tough competition from Nokia. But, oddly enough, the
only HSDPA slider phone from Nokia is the N95 and N95 8GB. The Samsung
L870 pitches somewhere below the N95 on price, so surprisingly it seems to
have found a market niche.
There are still some features that we don't know about - for example, we can-
not say if the L870 has autofocus and a flash for the main camera. We don't
know how much the L870 weighs, or what the battery life is. But what we can
tell is that the L870 promises to be a pretty good S60 handset, and it is one of
the few devices worth looking at if you want S60 on a platform other than a
Nokia.
The Samsung L870 should be available in certain regions from August 2008
onwards.
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Informative
BlackBerry 8800
For a long time, BlackBerry devices were seen primarily as business tools, but the
consumer-friendly BlackBerry Pearl shed that image. Now the BlackBerry 8800 com-
bines a sleek look and a bevy of multimedia features reminiscent of the Pearl's with
a full QWERTY keyboard. The 8800 retains RIM's business focus, however, by leav-
ing off extras such as the camera found on the Pearl.
RIM claims that the 8800, which is available from AT&T/Cingular for $350 with a
two-year contract, is the thinnest full-QWERTY BlackBerry. At first glance it looks
more like Samsung's BlackJack than like a BlackBerry. It forgoes the typical broadly
curved shape of most BlackBerry devices for leaner, straighter lines and a squared-
off look. It measures 4.5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by just under 0.6 inch thick,
making it slightly larger than the BlackJack.
The result is a good-looking phone that feels solid in your hand. With the 8800's
slimmer design, however, comes a more crowded keyboard: The keys are much clos-
er together than they were on previous models; each has a raised edge to make dis-
tinguishing them easy; and we found it easier to type on them than on most other
phones' keyboards. Like the Pearl, the 8800 lacks a jogwheel on its right spine for
navigation; instead, it comes with a trackball situated directly beneath the screen.
Though the trackball is easy to use and allows multidirectional scrolling, I prefer a jog-
wheel for navigation.
63
Informative Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Nokia 1508
Nokia has announced its new 1508 and 1508i (a variant) for lower end
markets. Nokia 1508 is said to be a compact mobile machine that can eas-
ily fit into your hand and best of all it's easy on your budget.
Nokia says that 1508/1508i is going to be a lightweight, slim in candy
bar design. Phone will feature easy key pad dialing, integrated stereo FM
radio and high-speed data connectivity to the internet via cable. With text
messaging, a built in speakerphone, up to three minutes of voice recording
time and enough memory to store 500 phonebook contacts and 400 mes-
sages, the Nokia 1508/1508i makes an ideal partner for staying in touch at
play or at work.
Nokia has reported that 1508/1508i is estimated to start shipping in the
third quarter of 2008 in select CDMA markets, and latter on in GSM mar-
kets.
No words told yet by the manafacturer about the pricings.
64
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Informative
LG KC550
LG officially announced the presence of its KC550, which is a 5-
megapixel slider that will come at an affordable price. Its Schneider-
Kreuznach autofocus lens are protected by a sliding cover and so is
the flash, which unfortunately is LED instead of Xenon (as with the
Viewty). However, the feature set is not modest, with ISO 800 and
(digital) image stabilization.
KC550 is also touted for its "fast processor" which helps for pre-
viewing the large 5-megapixel photos fast and even to play "DVD"
videos with resolution up to 720x480 and 30 frames per second.
Although, DivX is not supported (unlike the Viewty), we hope LG has
packed it with XviD codec in order to allow it to play really high-quali-
ty clips.
Similar to the LG Secret, the KC550 has integrated sensor, which
allows it to take advantage of the six preloaded "motion sensitive"
games, controlled by moving the phone itself. Other features include
microSD slot, Stereo Bluetooth and QVGA display, packed into 0.56"
(14.3mm) slim body.
It is a mid-level phone, dedicated to its camera and video playback.
Unfortunately, it is a tri-band GSM without 3G, targeting the European
market.
65
Informative Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
66
Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Flare Report
IT
If you need to destroy your crucial data of intense sensitive nature, then forget 'Format C' or
that silly disk erasing software; done physical destruction now
ith stories coming up on news motion with well-choreographed music which is splash down onto the concrete floor.
high-profile attack on Chinese comput- response team's job won't be easy. The preva- have been hit. In previous years, politically moti-
ith the fresh announcement by HP ers great photo quality prints on a variety of smooth gradations and outstanding colour accu-
n the eve of the third anniversary of its already saturated ground with so gigantic com- CCO, Mr. Thomas Yeo also spoke on the
71
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Technology Flare Report
Islamabad: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani giving the receipt to a lady during his
visit at the NADRA Mobile Van during the inauguration ceremony to provide free of cost
computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) at Prime Minister House.
Director Marketing, Trend Mobiles, Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi, National Sales Manager
Asif Ghani and Brand Manager Shahid Ashfaq photographed with dealers before leaving
for an excursion trip to Thailand.
The ISPs' actions in altering the code are similar to giving people
a house-brand soda when they ask for a Coke
harter Communications has temporari- activity on publishers' sites. That data is then last week by Free Press and Public Knowledge
GI Funds Limited, a part of the IGI Financial industry in Pakistan has shown remarkable
nels such as vocals, guitar, base and so on. Implementing a new digital music format would require an unprece-
Users playing the track can then raise or lower dented level of cooperation among the labels, digital retailers and
the volume on different channels like a producer
on a mixing board to the point of isolating a sin- manufacturers. It is possible to attempt a staged rollout, where only
gle item. a computer could access the full features of the new format while
According to The Korea Times, its inventors
say that the new format will replace MP3 as the portable devices slowly catch up, but that setup would be far less
standard for all digital music but certain music interesting to the music fan
industry realities stand in the way of their goal.
From a technical perspective, replacing MP3 client player but I can't do it on the Web or my was free to any company already licensing the
with a new digital music standard would be device, the value to the consumer of that format original MP3. Still, it remains largely margin-
rather easy. Digital retailers in a matter of is not as exciting as if there were a whole alised.
months could refresh their entire database with ecosystem that could take advantage of the new Yet despite certain difficulties, a new digital
music containing the new format, just as Napster format's capabilities." music format is exactly what the music industry
and Wal-Mart quickly switched from digital rights These issues have combined to thwart new needs to kick-start digital sales. The incumbent
management to non-DRM formats. These retail- music formats in the past. In 2001, Coding MP3 format does not offer digital retailers
ers would need their label partners to provide Technologies created the MP3 PRO format and enough for a differentiated product than what the
them with music encoded in the new format, licensed it through Thompson, which adminis- fans get just ripping their CDs. The only benefit
meaning that all the major labels and the host of ters the original MP3 technology. It featured an to buying an MP3 online is a slightly higher qual-
independents would agree to start using a new advanced compression system that allows ity digital file and that has not yet proved enough
technology to sell their music. Then they would encoded files to take up half the storage space to lure customers away from the CD. When the
need audio manufacturers, in particular Apple, to of a traditional MP3, with improved sound quali- idea of a keyless keyboard is already launched
start making products that support the format ty to boot. But only the Thompson owned RCA in the market, then why not MT9?
and its capabilities. The average life span of made products that used the format and, as 79
get
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lcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and more than 20 TV channels via satellite. across major genres stretching over to news,
lcatel-Lucent has announced that pared for the future. Alcatel-Lucent's experi-
amsung Electronics Company Ltd, a means users can download additional pro- out in style. It features an ultra-slim 12.5 mm
Promotional women from Christie digital systems demonstrate three dimensional vir tual real-
ity system "HoloStage-Mini" during the Industrial Vir tual Reality Expo 2008 in Tokyo.
People tour a solar field of mirrors used direct the sun's rays
for large scale solar thermal power plants at the Rotem
Industrial Complex outside of the town of Dimona, southern
Israel. Designers are using the Israeli solar array to test new
technology for plants they plan to build in California for Pacific
Gas and Electric Company.
A model displays the world's smallest, 7cm cubic, karaoke box for one person manufactured
by Takara Tomy Co., at the Tokyo Toy Show 2008 in Tokyo. This personal karaoke called "Hi-
kara" available in two colors of white and pink, weighs 150 grams without battery.
ecently, cellular companies' data from in July 2007, which increased to 14, 596, 382 in it cannot show much improvement. It has
ntel Corporation unveiled more than 70 future car application with cameras as
Obsolete computer monitors are piled up at a recycling plant in Buenos Aires. An estimat-
ed more than 35,000 tons of electronic and scrap material from more then 1,000,000
computers, 800,000 printers, 500,000 monitors and other devices were generated in the
country during the last two years.
Photo, shows the exterior of Oracle Corp. headquar ters in Redwood City, Calif. The busi-
ness software maker said, that it earned $2.04 billion, or 39 cents per share, in the three
months ending in May, up 27 percent from $1.6 billion or 31 cents per share at the same
time last year.
Most of the
accidents occur
due to negligence
of drivers using
mobile phones,
which worse than
drink-drive
n this technologically advanced age dis- more dangerous than drink-drive. Simulations lowing:
he "demand-and-supply" nowadays want to build basically a model of a 100-million- make its search results more relevant, the com-
Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy's "Flower Rock 2.0" are displayed at the International
Tokyo Toy Show in Tokyo. The product, which changes its LED colours and dances to music
and surrounding sounds, will go on sale in Japan late October for 5,800 yen.
A high school student uses his mobile phone to send SMS mes-
sages during a candle-light rally against "dangerous" U.S. beef
imports in Seoul. Social and political commentators said allega-
tions that an April deal to import more U.S. beef put society at risk
of mad cow disease tore through the Internet and on SMS mes-
sages so fast that they became fact before the government or
mainstream media had a chance to weigh in.
Islamabad: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Nor thern Affairs, Information Technology
and Por ts & Shipping Qamar Zaman Kaira viewing the different stalls setup during
Vocational Training Institute’s Exhibition organized by Kashmir Affairs in collaboration with
PNCA.
Bandai Co's employee Reiko Hirai demonstrates the company's latest electronic piggybank "ike-
menbank" at the International Tokyo Toy Show in Tokyo. "Ikemenbank", or "handsome men bank",
is a hear t-shaped electronic piggy bank with an LCD screen that allows its owner to conduct a
vir tual affair with a car toon character while watching the coins pile up.
Quetta: DIG of Balochistan Police Saud Gohar giving away cer tificates among the police officials
and transpor ters during a function to mark the traffic weak celebrations.
Chief Technical Officer MYSON Training Division Dr Khawar Siddique Khokhar and Sajjad
Mohi-ud-Din pose for a group photo with the par ticipants of a workshop titled “Learn it the
MYSON Way” at PNCA.
Honda's new hybrid version of "Civic sedan" car is displayed during its
launch in New Delhi. Japan's Honda Motor Co said on Wednesday it
would start selling a hybrid version of its Civic sedan in India from the
end of this month as it chases Toyota Motor Corp in the green car
race.
A view of a PTCL Customers Facilitation Camp set up at F-8 Markaz.
94
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k National
Senior Executive Vice President PTCL Sadiq Al-Jadir addressing to the participants during a seminar
in connection with Year of the Customer Care organized by PTCL at Sindh Language Authority
Department.
Ali Kamran of ZonG presents a plaque to Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Chief Executive of the Northern
Areas Legislative Assembly. He said that the PTCL staff had to put in their best and use their capa-
bilities to increase telecom facilities with high quality. He assured the staff
about 900 to over 3,000 today. By the end of 2009, the cell sites were tar- that the management had planned an extensive training plan to elevate the
geted to grow to over 10,000. level of skills bringing field staff to level of excellence so they could imple-
Zafar Usmani, the COO of CMPak Limited said: "We believe ZonG will ment new technologies and services.
have a clear edge over the competition in the Northern Areas as China EVP Customer Care Ahson Rabbani explained various processes, poli-
Mobile had huge experience of network operation in similar high mountain- cies, procedures, solution, network improvement and team building and a
ous areas in China itself. This is an extremely difficult terrain with extremes change of attitude to achieve the customer-friendly atmosphere and meet
of climate and our rich experience will ensure a very high quality of serv- challenges of the emerging telecom competition as a top company in the
ice." country.
ZonG is also working towards ensuring the highway coverage, which He asked the employees to make ownership customer care aimed at
will further promote the economic and commercial business between high esteem and convenience to valued customers, who had been loyal to
Pakistan and China. Salman Wassay, the Marketing Director of CMPak the PTCL for decades. He also reiterated his pledge to implement a cus-
Limited, said that ZonG was offering several promotions, services and tomer care project in all functions to make sure that ultimate benefit goes to
packages to cater needs of varied customer base and had already done customers.
96 considerable research into customers' needs.
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
National
Number of Internet users in India There are more than 3,200 men and women in US prisons who have
been condemned to death. Some have been on Death Row for decades,
but only a relatively small percentage -- 53 in 2006, for example -- have
increases been executed.
Previous studies have argued that non-whites are disproportionately
More people in India are becoming online now than earlier with the size
sentenced to death in the United States. But with little research as to
of cyber audiences rising to over 28 million users in 2008, a growth of 27
whether there is any bias in deciding who will actually die, critics say the
per cent over the previous year. Not just India, Internet audiences in Asia-
choice seems arbitrary.
Pacific at home and at work among users of 15 years and above grew by
Stamos Karamouzis and Dee Wood Harper of Texas A&M University in
14 per cent to 319 million visitors in April 2008, outpacing growth of all
Texarkana used a computing tool modelled after the human brain, called
other worldwide regions, ComScore Inc, an Internet marketing research
artificial neural networks (ANN), to search for patterns linked to execu-
firm, said in a report. The strongest growth occurred in India which surged
tions. They created profiles for 2000 death-row inmates -- half of whom
by 27 per cent to more than 28 million Internet users. This was followed
had been put to death -- and entered them into the programme. Each pro-
by China with a 14 per cent growth to more than 102 million,'" the report
file included information on race, sex, age number and type of capital
titled 'The State of Global Internet with a Focus on Asia' said.
offences, prior convictions, marital status, and level of schooling.
Taiwan, Malaysia and New Zealand registered a growth of 12 per cent
The researchers then fed in 300 profiles of other inmates from the
each. Meanwhile, developed nations such as Japan and Singapore
same period, and asked the neural network to predict what had happened
showed modest gains of 3 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, it said.
to them. It correctly predicted the fates of more than 90 percent of this sec-
Other findings stated that although Google and Yahoo! Combined to
ond group.
capture majority of the search share in the Asia-Pacific region, five of the
To find out which of the 18 factors best matched these outcomes,
top 10 search properties are regional engines, including China's
Karamouzis and Harper ran the analysis repeatedly, withholding one fac-
Baidu.com and Korea's Naver.com. Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook.com is
tor each time. Being a woman, it turned out, was the best guarantee
the leading social networking site in the world, but in the Asia-Pacific
against having one's sentence carried out -- women are rarely executed.
region Friendster.com is preferred. Internet users in Hong Kong, South
But the next most telling indicator was the number of years an inmate
Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia spent most time online.
98 had spent in high school.
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
International
Every 2nd Chinese uses mobile The country, however, has witnessed large growth in telecommunica-
tions in the last few years, pushing the number of mobile phone users to
more than 42 millions at the end of May, up from 1.5 million in early 2004.
phone: repor t
Almost one in two Chinese now has a mobile phone, while the num- HP invites media to Berlin
ber of fixed-line subscribers has fallen, the state media has reported. Hewlett-Packard recently invited media to Berlin to check out its new
The number of cellphone subscribers in the nation of 1.3 billion stood innovations as it continues in its quest to make the computer personal
at 592 million, according to the Ministry of Information Industry figures. again befitting a company whose marketing slogan is about "making the
The figure was up nine percent from 547.3 computer Personal Again." It wasn't surprising that things got a little bit
million at the end of 2007, according to previ- touchy-feely at Hewlett-Packard's Connecting Your World product launch
ously released official data. extravaganza in Berlin recently. In an announcement of next-generation
The report said the main factor behind the goodies, HP unveiled a wide array of products featuring stylish designs
growth was a trend for operators to cut fees in and new user experiences.
order to gain market share. Meanwhile, the Among the announcements were HP's new TouchSmart PC, 18 new
fixed-line users fell 6.5 million in the first five notebooks ranging from premium business models to a luxury Voodoo
months of the year to 358 million, it said. offering and a commercial display that can bring more than a whopping
China has been leapfrogging into the age one billion colours into view.
of mobile telephony because of the huge TOUCH THIS: An attendee getting a feel
costs associated with installing fixed lines A woman speaks on her mobile phone. of the TouchSmart PC at the HP Connecting
across a nation the size of the United States. Your World event. The star of the show,
Under a long-anticipated industry restructuring plan announced last however, was undoubtedly the TouchSmart
month, China will create three telecom giants to bring balance back to an IQ500 all-in-one PC.
industry where mobile operators have prospered and fixed-line players "Making the computer 'Personal Again' is
lagged behind. our commitment to customers and the driv-
ing force behind our customer-experience
decisions," said HP personal systems group
Kuwaiti telecom giant to executive vice-president Todd Bradley. And
what better way to make a computer per-
relocate Africa HQs to Kenya sonal again by giving it a natural user inter-
face - your fingertips.
Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co plans to relocate its Africa To be sure, this is HP's third stab at touch computing for PCs - the first
headquarters from Bahrain to Kenya over the next two months, an official attempt was in, believe it or not, 1983 with the HP 150 while the most
said. Zain is the parent company of Celtel International, which operates a recent try was with last year's TouchSmart IQ700.
mobile telephone service in 15 African countries, including Kenya. Back to the present, the TouchSmart comes with proprietary HP soft-
"A decision was made to move the group's office to Africa in a location ware that provides an improved natural interface that is activated by the
that is closer to the business; and they settled on Nairobi," said Michael tap or stroke of a finger.
Okwiri, the Celtel spokesman. Without using a keyboard or mouse, users can play music and create
The company, in which the Kuwaiti government has a 24.6 per cent playlists, and zoom in and out of photos, all with just the touch of a finger.
stake, operates in 22 countries, of which 15 are in Africa and seven in the On the hardware side, the entry-level TouchSmart IQ504 comes with
Middle East. It has 42 million customers and has a capitalisation of 28 bil- a 22in high-definition widescreen display and an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750
lion dollars. (2GHz) processor in a single, integrated design that is only 2.6in thick. 99
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
International