Thursday, December 20, 2007

Mobile Insurence Do's N Dont's

What is always lost, but never found? Not an umbrella, anymore. It's your mobile.

It's estimated that 15 mobiles are stolen every one minute in Mumbai. Pickpockets have also become 'mobile' with their mobile-snitching techniques. It's time that you insure your favourite talking gizmo.

Small phones, big covers

A mobile's insurance cover saves against a variety of risks like fire, theft, riots, strikes and terrorist activity. But, many have a more comprehensive coverage bringing within sweep malicious damage, accident and fortuitous circumstances.

Are mobile owners only protected from risks? The United India Insurance Company says that owners or users can be saved from loss or damage risks. But most insurance policies do not give this protection. If you loan your mobile or a friend hires it for a while, the damage, loss or theft incurred during the process cannot be claimed.

Call drops

What is not covered under your mobile insurance scheme?

If there is damage due to war and nuclear peril, the insurance company is not responsible. If there is a holocaust, the assumption is that everyone will run for cover. Obviously, not for insurance cover.

Detention or confiscation by customs or any government authority means mobile insurance is also held back.

Left your mobile in an unattended vehicle? The insurance policy steers clear, of paying claim. However, you can be easily compensated for your mobile if you prove that the mobile instrument was stolen from a fully enclosed car, which was securely locked!


A woman, who had mobile snatched by a motor-cyclist, as she was about to cross road got compensation, but one medical shop owner who placed mobile on counter for a moment, turned towards the shelf and found it missing was denied claim.

The reason was he had left it unattended, was negligent and no force was used to steal the cell phone. Carelessness and theft is not one and the same thing.

The list of exclusions is long. Some are man-made, some attributed to nature and some machine-made.

For example, if you overload the mobile, experiment with it involving abnormal conditions or cause loss or damage during cleaning, repair or maintenance the insurance company's responsibility ends.

Where atmospheric or climatic conditions, vermin or fall into water or fall from a water-borne craft damages the mobile, the claim is disallowed. If the mobile suffers damage due to mechanical and electrical breakdowns or has inherent defect, suffers from wear and tear or gradually deteriorates, no claim is entertained.

Some strange ring tones

Hello! If you have taken a general cover, and feel safe from thieves then a shock awaits you. Have you extended protection to misuse of instrument?

If not, then compensation may not be given. Guard against different worded meanings. Terrorist activity and misuse go hand in hand, everybody knows. But, if you just thought terrorists were taken care of, it may be asked whether "misuse" cover has also been paid for.

If the mobile is robbed from premises or property, force should have been used. But, where travelling by public transport a handset must have been forcibly snatched or physically stolen or taken with threatened force. Otherwise, the claim is defeated.

Once a woman was refused mobile insurance because there was no copy of FIR of police complaint. Only a non-cognizable report was lodged that somebody took it away, the insurance company said. The lady took the insurance company to the courts. The court ruled in favour of the consumer, rewarding her Rs 8,700 claim amount and compensation as well.

The premiums people pay

National Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, New India Assurance Company and United India Insurance Company cover mobile phone insurance. They fix compensation equivalent to cost of replacement by new mobile of same specifications and capacity, including all taxes and duties.

If a mobile is worth Rs 7,500, the premium is Rs 150 now. The rate is Rs 20 per value of Rs 1,000 of sum assured. An excess of Rs 2,500 is charged for each and every claim processed.

Where mobile companies provide insurance, there are different schemes. BSNL offers insurance cover on Nokia and Alcatel mobiles for Rs 20 per month. BPL, Reliance and even Nokia had mobile insurance schemes, but all were withdrawn.


Some private mobile companies may give free insurance cover but the fine prints says that battery, charger, external aerials, handset are not included, leaving one to wonder what is really covered under such schemes.

These tunes are not good enough

One handy tip for mobile insurance is to take a policy for one year. As mobile rates are falling at a faster rate, premiums also keep becoming lesser and lesser. Nokia 2100, which cost Rs 7,000 initially, now comes for less than Rs 5,000 now.

Take a mobile insurance policy, when you go in for a household, jewellery or burglary cover, because there is scope for negotiation on all.

An office, which gets mobiles of employees insured, is given preference. Volume discount is also handed out, if 25 mobiles are covered.

It is estimated that there are 138 million people using mobiles in India. If you want to hear shrills and trills of the cell phone, not cacophony over insurance claims, know the fine print.

A mobile left on a car's bonnet, roof or in boot is not considered worthy of claim consideration. Guard your handset against such misdemeanours.

One bright suggestion made by a mobile-insurance-affected consumer is that the mobile should be attached to a tag and slung around the neck.

The insurance company also does not pay in case your mobile mysteriously disappears. Keep watching the handset, so that it doesn't, one day, vanish into thin air.

Star Announces Mobile Platform — Plus

Star Mobile Entertainment has announced the launch of its new mobile platform, Plus, to offer a variety of services on all GPRS-enabled mobile phones. Plus will offer television show clips from the Star TV network, TV guide, information services such as city-wise directories, search and Yellow Pages, mobile banking, mobile shopping, sports and movies, on the go. The mobile platform is slated for a commercial release in February.

Television entertainment content will be offered in the form of 'mobisodes' which are re-edited mobile phone versions of TV shows from Star Plus, Star One, and Star Gold, along with content on sports, movies and music. The information services Plus are offered by HDFC bank, MakeMyTrip.com and TravelGuru.com, Infomedia Group and Universal Music.

In addition, consumers will be offered previews of ringtones, wallpapers and games before downloading them. They may also want to be part of the Plus Community will soon allow its members to participate in mobile blogging and other user generated content on Plus. The Plus community currently offers 'Midnight Chat' on Channel [V] and shopping services.

Viren Popli, senior vice president of Star Mobile Entertainment said, "Plus empowers mobile consumers to do more with their mobile phones. The GPRS mobile phone user can now access a wide choice of video content and services such as yellow pages, buyer guides, banking, travel and shopping, among other things. Plus has an easy to navigate menu that takes you where you want to go, quickly and easily. Plus truly brings to life, the anything-anywhere-anytime capability of mobiles." Popli said the objective of Plus is to drive mobile usage in areas other than voice and text.

The application will be free to download on any GPRS enabled mobile phone while users will be required to pay a monthly free for unlimited access to Plus services. However, users will be charged separately for data downloads, such as wallpapers, ringtones etc. Popli said that though they haven't tied up with any mobile operator yet, they are aiming to charge their customers approximately Rs. 2 a day, which is Rs 60 a month as subscription fee. He did not divulge any detail about prices of downloads.

However, Popli mentioned that Plus will offer more options to its customers, after it ties up with multiple mobile operators. He said Plus will also look to offer TV content from other channels in future. Moreover, he said they are already working on the Hindi version of Plus and will introduce other Indian regional languages soon.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Frequent mobile phone use can trigger mouth cancer

London: The use of mobile phones for long periods may trigger mouth cancer, shows a study by researchers in Israel.

Previous studies had generated conflicting results. While some researchers had said they found a link between cancer and excess mobile phone use, a few scientists had rejected the claim.

In the new study, scientists looked at the lifestyles of 402 people with benign mouth tumours and 56 with malignant ones. They were compared to a control group of 1,266 people.

The study found that five years of frequent use increased the chances of developing a tumour in the mouth by around 50 percent compared with people who had never used one, reported the online edition of the Daily Mail.

Those who used mobiles the most were more likely than normal to develop parotid gland tumours, the scientists said.

Nokia Secret Codes
With Nokia codes or Nokia secret codes you can access hidden features and gain information about your Nokia phone. Many of the Nokia codes are only normally used by Nokia engineers.

Nokia Code function:
--*3370# This Nokia code activates Enhanced Full Rate Codec (EFR) - Your Nokia cell phone uses the best sound quality but talk time is reduced my approx. 5%

*#4720# Activate Half Rate Codec - Your phone uses a lower quality sound but you should gain approx 30% more Talk Time

*#4720# With this Nokia code you can deactivate the Half Rate Codec

*#0000# Displays your phones software version, 1st Line : Software Version, 2nd Line : Software Release Date, 3rd Line : Compression Type

*#9999# Phones software version if *#0000# does not work

*#06# For checking the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI Number)

*#147# This lets you know who called you last (Only vodofone)

*#1471# Last call (Only vodofone)

*#21# This phone code allows you to check the number that "All Calls" are diverted to

*#2640# Displays phone security code in use

*#30# Lets you see the private number

*#43# Allows you to check the "Call Waiting" status of your cell phone.

*#61# Allows you to check the number that "On No Reply" calls are diverted to

*#62# Allows you to check the number that "Divert If Unreachable (no service)" calls
are diverted to

*#67# Allows you to check the number that "On Busy Calls" are diverted to

*#67705646# Phone code that removes operator logo on 3310 & 3330

*#73# Reset phone timers and game scores

*#746025625# Displays the SIM Clock status, if your phone supports this power saving feature "SIM Clock Stop Allowed", it means you will get the best standby time possible

*#7760# Manufactures code

*#7780# Restore factory settings

*#8110# Software version for the nokia 8110

*#92702689# Displays - 1.Serial Number, 2.Date Made, 3.Purchase Date, 4.Date of last
repair (0000 for no repairs), 5.Transfer User Data. To exit this mode you need to
switch your phone off then on again

*#94870345123456789# Deactivate the PWM-Mem

**21*number# Turn on "All Calls" diverting to the phone number entered

**61*number# Turn on "No Reply" diverting to the phone number entered

**67*number# Turn on "On Busy" diverting to the phone number entered

12345 This is the default security code press and hold # Lets you switch between lines.--

Monday, December 17, 2007

Visto Mobile email
Visto, the first mobile email solution available for the Nokia E90, offers easy-to-use mobile email for a wide variety of handsets.

By working closely with all leading mobile phone manufacturers, Visto aims to simplify the mobile experience through EasySetup, which is a simple automated process that installs and sets up mobile email almost instantaneously.

Users will only need to launch an on-screen 'Smart Icon' in order to enjoy mobile access to all their email, calendar or contacts. The service is available for several handsets including Nokia's S60 mobile phones, the MOTORIZR z80, Moto Q q9 and other Windows Mobile based phones such as the HTC s710.

"Through close collaboration with both mobile service operators and leading handset providers, Visto is leading the market with an easy-to-use experience that enables end-user customers to gain the benefits of mobile email on the converged device of their choice," said Doug Brackbill, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Visto.

"By listening to our customers and our unmatched years of experience and innovation, Visto is uniquely positioned to deliver the technology and user experience critical to the marketplace for widespread adoption."

The mobile email service is available through most leading mobile service providers on over 120 popular mobile devices. The leading global provider of easy-to-use mobile email has announced the full availability of the VistoMobile email services on the new devices launched at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, thus extending its reach to the new generation of devices that represent the cutting edge of mobile phone design and functionality. The company is opening up the mobile email market for today's professionals that are always on the move and small businesses.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

3G Mobile Phone for Kids
- From NTT DoCoMo and Fujitsu

While in India the government doesnt allow children under 16 to use mobile phones at all, Japan kids are gifted with handsets specially created for them, as NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile operator in the country, will launch the new FOMA F801i. After the successful SA800i model, also designed for children, now NTT DoCoMo brings another child-friendly phone, packed with safety and convenience features and available starting December 20.

FOMA F801i is manufactured by Fujitsu and offers a high level of security as well as a facile usability. It is ergonomically designed to be used by small hands and its body is waterproof, withstanding accidental contacts with water. The phone comes with an amulet-style remote controller, a 100-decibel safety alarm, a high-intensity, easily visible LED, and GPS functions that allow parents to know exactly where their kids are. Furthermore, the handset provides a pack of child-orientated applications, including a safety training quiz, a dictionary and a map.
All the handsets released in the FOMA series by NTT DoCoMo are 3G-enabled, meaning the F801i is also a 3G device. The phone measures 105 x 48 x 17.8 millimeters and weighs 120 grams. It can provide up to 185 minutes of talk-time and up to 570 hours of stand-by. The display is a 2.7 inch QVGA one, perfect for the not so perfect 1.3 Megapixel camera. There are four colors available: white, black, light blue and orange, and we have to admit that the orange model looks cool. For a kid. A little girl, more exactly.
There's no word about pricing yet, nor about a possible release in other countries, although European an American kids would like to have this sort of handset too.


Nokia Eco Mobile Phone Concept








The first company that seems to be really interested in the environment - Nokia - conceived a new Eco Sensor Concept mobile phone. Last week the Finnish handset manufacturer presented its new 'green' vision in the form of the Nokia 3110 Evolve version, a mobile device with bio-covers made from more than 50% renewable material. This time Nokia Research Center supported by designers found a new way to reduce our environmental footprint.

The futuristic concept will help you stay connected with friends, as well as with your health and local environment. There's also the option to share all this information with other users, thus increasing the global environmental awareness.
At this stage I believe that technical specifications of the device are not that important, as long as it will be viable and will help with the environment, but I'm sure that Nokia will make it suitable.
Anyway, the concept consists of two parts, a wearable sensor unit that can sense and analyze your environment, health and local weather conditions, and a dedicated mobile phone. The sensor unit should be worn on a wrist or neck strap made from solar cells that will also provide power to the sensors. The mobile phone will be in constant contact with NFC (near field communication) and RFID (radio frequency identification) technologies, which will relay information from the sensors to the phone or to other devices that support RFID technology.
The material used in the design will be renewable and/or reclaimed, and the technologies used inside the phone, as well as the sensor unit will be of a low power consumption class. Moreover, the user will be able to choose which sensors he would like to have inside the sensing device, which means that it will be fully customizable according to the user's needs and desires.

The mobile phone will benefit from a wide range of services, especially built upon the environmental data collected from such a device. These services can range from personal health monitoring and improvement to large-scale collective efforts to promote sustainable lifestyle choices.

Black Berry Loves Googles Calender
Synchronization is the biggest thing that the Google Calendar has to offer, so it was just a matter of time until Google decided to open it to the whole of the world. Up until today, the unlucky people were the ones that owned a BlackBerry and used its calendar; now, the Google Sync
application lets them synchronize the two calendars into a perfect timetable. To dream after, I say, despite never really owning a BlackBerry.
"Using your BlackBerry smart phone's native calendar, you can now access your Google calendar even when you don't have network coverage and be alerted for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration. Your Google Calendar stays synchronized whether you access it from your computer or your phone. You can add or edit entries right on your BlackBerry smart phone or on your Google Calendar on the web", the dev team mentioned.
Managing every party and invitation to a dinner is growing to be rather troublesome, at least for me, I have an agenda that I write in (old school style, pen and paper), I have my phone’s calendar full of alarms and I have my Google Calendar filled with entries every day. I must be a very busy person, but I never manage to attend every meeting because I can’t get everything all that organized. This is the part where the Google Sync application would come in all so handy, were I to own a BlackBerry.
You can access the application at http://m.google.com/sync if you visit the page directly from your BlackBerry’s browser, so get at it as soon as possible lest you want to continue with the dark ages of juggling between three schedules, like I do. Perhaps I’ll get myself such a device just for this, I’m still thinking it over. But it sounds really appealing. "This week, Google launched a mobile package of applications for Blackberry and an unified interface for iPhone. Google really tries to build solid mobile offerings, but only Google Maps is available for the most important mobile platforms