Posts tagged mobile
Mobile banking and Telecom companies a challenge to the banking industry
Sep 7th
Mobile commerce, mobile payments, cell phone based financial transactions (or whatever you would like to call them) have been discussed and debated all over the world over the past few years. Basic m-commerce applications have been introduced already in several countries, including Pakistan.
It is widely anticipated that telecom operators and vendors pose a serious challenge to the banking industry as they take electronic banking or e-banking mobile.
Speaking of statistics, a total of 1.6 billion bank accounts exist worldwide. Compare this to 4 billion cell phone users. Speaking of Pakistan, the banking industry is host to close to 20 million bank accounts as compared to over 90 million cell phone subscribers. Telecom operators and vendors have good enough statistical evidence to believe they already have a head start! More >
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Loading ...Nokia 5800 touchscreen
Feb 5th
Nokia rattled the market with the launch of its first proper touchscreen phone, the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music. The phone was first shown in the Hollywood blockbuster, “The Dark Knight”. Available in shades of Blue, Black and Red; the phone truly is lovely aesthetically.
I admit I have only seen it with a friend as yet, but I have gone through detailed reviews of the phone (pictorials, video’s and written reviews) and spoken to my friend about his experience with it.
One of the best features of this phone is Nokia’s experiment with SIM loading. Nope. It’s not under the battery anymore. You can conveniently load the SIM in a tab on the side, just like memory cards are loaded.
The phone has a big 3.2 inch screen with a 360 x 640 pixel resolution. So if you’re fingers are big (or small), Nokia has taken care of it. You can be sure you won’t run into trouble with using the touchscreen interface. The icons are bigger, better.
The Music features have been enhanced, you can slide the phone a notch upwards for the music controls, which makes the phone look even prettier. It has a new and improved Media player and it seems as if Nokia has not given up on its plans to dominate the music/media player market.
The phone is perfectly 3G compatible. Yes, we’re still waiting for these services in Pakistan but anyway. It’s a good plus if you’re a frequent traveller abroad. The Nokia 5800 Xpress music supports 3.6Mbps HSDPA (my final year project is on the deployment of HSDPA in Pakistan) with obvious GPRS and EDGE support for backward compatibility and for the fact that countries like Pakistan are still dependent on GPRS/EDGE. Bundled with Bluetooth and WLAN (Wi-Fi) services, the phone is a gem for data usage.
With the Nokia 5800 Xpress music, Nokia has also improvised its camera interface. You hit a button and you’re ready to play ith the view finder. A 3.2 mega pixel camera supported by a Carl Zeiss lense, I could’nt ask for more.
The phone is priced at around USD 600 and is not officially marketed and sold in Pakistan. It is available through what are known as ‘Grey Channels’ at varying prices from Rs. 36,000 to Rs. 41,000 without proper warranty support.
Hope to see it soon in Pakistan. If you are a user of the phone or have seen/used it or have read about is pro’s and cons. Do share.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Mobile Money Order, Mobilink and Pakistan Post
Feb 3rd
Mobile-Commerce is still in its experimental stage in Pakistan. There are hardly a few services to be named in this domain. Mobilink, an ORASCOM Telecom company based in Pakistan, has teamed up with Pakistan Post to launch Pakistan’s first Mobile Money Order service.
Using the service, Mobilink subscribers can send and receive amounts of upto Rs. 10,000/- across the entire country via SMS. But it is not as easy at it seems. You still have to go to authorized Pakistan Post Office branches and fill out a form after which, within 24 hours, this transaction may take place between two Mobilink subscribers.
Nevertheless, I believe such initiatives should be appreciated and encouraged to enhance Mobile commerce in Pakistan. I would also suggest that this service be extended to all other Mobile operators in Pakistan.
Chairman PTA, Dr. Mohammad Yaseen, also appreciated Mobilink’s innovative initiative at the inauguration of Mobilink’s new call center.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Looks like 3G is on the Edge..
Dec 23rd
News was in from the beginning of the year that by the end of 2008 PTA will auction licenses for 3G. With the year coming to the end, we have not seen this happen. But now with a two-day workshop on 3G (UMTS/WCDMA) Network Planning, it looks like PTA has laid the foundation for licensing the 3G spectrum early next year.
The workshop was held in association with Qualcomm Inc, USA and Central Asian CDMA Forum at PTA headquarters, Islamabad from 4-5 December 2008.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Nokia ‘Achieve’ – Taking on the iPhone
Dec 7th
Nokia has unveiled plans (by releasing short videos) for a dual touch screen concept phone which may really give the Apple iPhone some tough competition.
The phone opens some what like the old Nokia communicator but does not have a keypad. Instead, both top and bottom screens are ‘touch’…
This is what Nokia states an example of what the new concept would ‘Achieve’:
Members of an architectural firm work feverishly together to win a competitive new project. Virtual teamwork is made effortless through smart wireless conferencing and remote presentations. Bluetooth audio ensures strong and clear communication. When mobile technology ascends to this level, we will achieve great things together.
Here’s the video released by Nokia:
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Mobile Numbers go from 7 to 8 digits from April 1!
Mar 31st
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has announced the migration of all 7 digit numbers to 8 digits, however, subscribers will still have to dial only the 11 digits.
An actual change in number will only effect CMPAK (PakTel), SCOM (Azad Jammu kashmir & Northern Area’s) which will both have a single digit change. Instaphone users will also be effected and they would have a 2 digit change in number. More >
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