Idea Launched 3g .....Tarrifs and Plans

Idea Cellular has finally launched its 3g services in India in 4 circles Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh , Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. They have also announced their 3G tariffs and plans. They have announced sachet plans for light usage and there are usage based, time based plans. There are also separate plans for heavy users who wish to use USB dongles.The various plans are listed below

Sachet Plans

These plans are just for those who want to get a taste of 3G. We don’t understand what one can do with 10MB on 3G though.

MRP	Free Data (MB)	Validity	Overage
8	10	1	10p/10kb
51	50	3	10p/10kb

Usage Based Plans

Here you have plans which offer free data ranging from 100 MB to 5GB.

MRP	Free Data(MB)	Overage
103	100	10p/10kb
200	250	10p/10kb
450	600	10p/10kb
650	1280	10p/10kb
750	2048	10p/10kb
1275	5120	10p/10kb

Time Based Plans

Similar to Airtel , Idea also has Time Based plans which remind us of  the days when one used to pay by the hour to browse at a cyber cafe. The time based plans seem attractive if you suddenly wish to download some data quickly.

MRP	Time (Min)	Validity (In days)	Overage
45	30	1	Rs 3/min
80	60	3	Rs 3/min
150	120	7	Rs 3/min

USB Dongle Tariffs

The company has separate plans for users who would use the 3G connection on their PC or laptop. The tariffs are similar to Usage based plans but is overage is cheaper in Dongle plans at only 5p/10Kb.

MRP	Free Data (GB)	Overage
599	1	5p/10kb
750	2	5p/10kb
1275	5	5p/10kb

Idea is also offering a data rate Cutter at Rs.55 which will reduce overage charges to 1p/10kb which is valid for 30 days. What do you think of these tariffs ? Can Idea beat them all as it claims ?

Rest of the circles will get 3g in collaboraton with vodafone and airtel.

AT&T buys T-Mobile for $39 billion, to form America's largest carrier if the deal gets approved

Now this makes much more sense - unlike the rumor that Sprint will be buying T-Mobile, it turned out that actually the carrier that uses the same GSM technology - AT&T - is buying Big Magenta, for $39 billion in cash and stocks. 

Deutsche Telekom will receive $25 billion in cash, and $14 billion in stocks, some of which it will use to pay off debt and for share buybacks, plus it will get 8% stake in AT&T because of the stock portion. The German telecom acquired T-Mobile (previously VoiceStream), for $24 billion in 2001 - not as bad of a deal as some thought, it turns out.

It was the logical thing to happen ever since Deutsche Telekom put T-Mobile on the market. The buyout will add 34 million subscribers to AT&T's count, and create the largest US carrier with 130 million customers in a year's time, when the deal is expected to clear the red tape. If it gets the antitrust authorities approval, of course. AT&T is holding a press conference tomorrow to talk us into it, so we will tune it at 8am Eastern for the gulp of Kool-Aid, meant for the FCC, since all companies' boards involved have already approved it. If for some reason the deal doesn't go through, AT&T is on the hook to pay T-Mobile child support to the tune of $3 billion for the break-up, according to the agreement.

Well, at least now the 4G LTE plans will get a huge boost, when the 700MHz spectrum of AT&T, and T-Mo's AWS frequencies combine, and that's precisely what AT&T means to do, according to the press release. Combining both carriers' airwaves, it said, will allow the new GSM behemoth to reach 95% (294 million) of Americans with its upcoming LTE network - 46.5 million more than if AT&T was doing it alone. 

From the presser: "AT&T and T-Mobile USA customers will see service improvements - including improved voice quality - as a result of additional spectrum, increased cell tower density and broader network infrastructure. At closing, AT&T will immediately gain cell sites equivalent to what would have taken on average five years to build without the transaction, and double that in some markets.  The combination will increase AT&T’s network density by approximately 30 percent in some of its most populated areas, while avoiding the need to construct additional cell towers."

Here are some slides explaining the synergies, plus AT&T cherry-picking states to show us the brave new world we could live in as soon as next year:

On the flip side, this probably will end T-Mo's tradition of being the bargain carrier. It might also take some phones off the portfolio of the resulting telco, due to overlapping, but, in that respect, manufacturers will do wonders with their newest handsets just to get the attention of America's biggest carrier, so it might all turn out for the better. 

Not to mention the awards T-Mo has gotten on a more than few occasions for excellent customer service and overall satisfaction. Of course, everything is puppies and flowers, according to AT&T, which has inserted some twisted logic into a slide sure meant to appease Uncle Sam's antitrust regulators, but not really backed up by anything of substance, except for the timeline:

Verizon and Sprint are probably less than thrilled by this development. What do you think, will that surprise move stifle competition in the US, or will we benefit from the apparent synergies between the two GSM carriers?

Sony Ericcson Xperia Neo Review......

Introduction

Sony Ericsson is keen to start 2011 in style with strong additions to the XPERIA lineup to please every taste. The Arc is the one true flagship, the Pro is the business messenger and the Play is the gaming smartphone. What’s in there for the Neo then?

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo has the appearance of a Vivaz and an Android heart. Is this what the original Vivaz should have been? A conclusion would be premature at this point but consider the advantages. Android instead of the rough-around-the-edges Symbian, bigger and better display, multi-touch support and greater processing power. We guess we shouldn’t be looking at the past though. The XPERIA Neo is stopping in for a quick preview and we want to make the best of the short time we have with it before it’s released.

   
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo

Having met with the Arc already, it feels right to put things into perspective. There are fine differences between the two smartphones and screen size alone won’t be enough to tip the scales. The Neo will have to show some respect but it’s not a simple flagship - patrol boat hierarchy.

The price tags will ultimately make the biggest difference and – the way things look – the Neo will make a lot of sense as the more affordable phone, which offers relevant features like continuous autofocus and video light.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo will be marketed as a cameraphone. An 8 megapixel camera and HD video capture are a strong mix and we’re more than eager to see them in action.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS 900/2100 MHz, 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 5.76Mbps HSUPA
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone
• Dimensions: 116 x 57 x 13 mm, 126 g
• Display: 3.7" 16M-color TFT capacitive touchscreen, 854 x 480 pixels, Sony Mobile Bravia engine, multi-touch input, scratch-resistant surface
• CPU: Qualcomm MSM8255 1 GHz Snapdragon platform
• OS: Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• Memory: 320MB storage, 380MB RAM, microSD card slot, 8GB card included in the retail box
• Camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, face detection and touch focus; 720p video recording at 30fps with continuous autofocus
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, microHDMI port
• Misc: Sony Ericsson Timescape UI, built-in accelerometer, proximity sensor, digital compass, secondary VGA video-call camera

The XPERIA Neo is an all-round smartphone and a capable cameraphone. If the actual performance lives up to the expectations, Sony Ericsson might just have a another winner on their hands (after the Vivaz).

  

  
Sony Ericsson XPERIA Neo live shots

You’re welcome to follow us as we explore the Neo – we’ve got plenty of action coming up after the break.