Category: Software

MUMBAI: Vertu, luxury mobile phone manufacturers unveiled their new collection of hand crafted handsets ‘Constellation‘ in Mumbai today. To cater to a niche clientele, this range offers seven handsets as part of its collection and targets globe trotters.

Crafted by creative director Frank Nuovo, the inspiration for this collection has be derived from an aircraft and thus, the details on the phone resemble the wing form, propellers and air inlets. The Constellation collection ranges from stainless steel to gold finishes with an array of colourful leather backs and the distinguishing feature of a ceramic keypad that is said to be scratch resistant. Depending on the model the price could differ from two to nine lakhs.

“The fluid surface developments are inspired by classic aircraft – in particular, the classic cross section of the leading edge of wings combined with the high polished metal and small fasteners along many edges. Symbolically, the microphone port design is a subtle tribute to the powerful force that made our first aircraft fly – a classic propeller fan. Vertu Constellation has a sleek and confident low profile. Leather is a dominant material to increase the tactile delight in the hand. I wanted the elegant sophistication and dramatic appeal of Vertu Signature with a slight softening and a small degree of visual simplification of form and line”, said Frank Nuovo.

Showcased by Vertu Global marketing director Chris Harris, the collection is being distributed solely by Matrix Distribution Pvt. Ltd. Currently available in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai, the later half of this year will see outlets in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. It will be available at select high end jewellry and watch outlets like Popley La Classique at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, The Helvetica at Spencer‘s Plaza in Chennai, Rodeo Drive in Bangalore, the Johnson Watch Company and the Regent Watch and Jewellry Co. Maurya Sheraton Hotel in New Delhi.

The collection will be showcased in fashion and lifestyle magazines and the buzz created around this brand should provide incentive enough for high flyers to make their style statement with this new accessory.

When queried about the demand for such a high end phone in the Indian market, Matrix Distributors Pvt Ltd Tusshar Alvani said, “The brand value of Vertu is huge internationally and in India too we have far exceeded our expectations. This is a luxury phone that gives a sense of accomplishment and reward to its owner.”

Taking luxury travel to another dimension ‘Constellation‘ is the third addition to the Vertu stable. Prior to this, Vertu launched its Signature and Ascent collections based on the themes of luxury watches and Formula 1, respectively. The Signature collection used precious metals and the upper end model a platinum solitaire diamond handset was priced at 22 lakhs, while the Ascent F1 race track series gives the aggressive look and feel associated with the sport.

“The design of Vertu Constellation began with the precise understanding of our achievements with both the Vertu Signature and the Vertu Ascent models. The Vertu Constellation design was conceived in order to complement both of these Vertu originals and reinforce the style and design quality of the Vertu Brand,” stated Nuovo.

Vertu Constellation was designed to assist the demanding traveller encompassing a quad-band engine with connection in over 180 countries around the globe; real-time flight tracking that enables Vertu Constellation to provide flight information, in the lounge or en-route to the airport. The real-time currency converter provides correct currency information when required, and the world clock tells the time at home as well as away, in up to three locations simultaneously. To complete the navigation facility Vertu Constellation has world weather facilities that let one know exactly what to expect when you get to your destination.

Vertu Concierge complements the Vertu Constellation and allows one button access to lifestyle services 24 hours a day from virtually anywhere in the world. Vertu Concierge can help from recommending local restaurants and making theatre bookings, or simply sending a gift to someone around the globe.

Available at 300 authorised retailers across 40 countries worldwide, the brand has also made its mark in India with Sabyasachi, Shobha De, Leander Paes and Atul Kasbekar posing as its brand ambassadors. The Ascent F1 model was gifted to SRK by Karan Johar, in addition, other owners of Vertu phones include Katrina Kaif and Jaya Bachchan, while the Beckham couple along with pop diva Madonna also own Vertu phones.

MUMBAI: JumpTV Inc., the global broadcaster of ethnic television over the internet, has signed exclusive internet-broadcast distribution agreements with four Indian television channels specialising in news, current events, politics and entertainment.

Hindi news channel India TV along with Malayalam television channels Kairali TV, People TV and Amrita TV have ‘jumped‘ into the bandwagon now. Each channel will be priced at US$9.95 per month when launched commercially and at a later date will likely make up components of an Indian and/or South Asian bundle.

These new contracts that have been signed subsequent to the company‘s 30 June 2006 quarter end disclosure. JumpTV now has 209 channels under license, informs an official release.

President and chief executive officer of JumpTV International Kaleil Isaza Tuzman stated, “With more than 15 million people of Indian origin living outside of the sub-continent — more than half of whom live in countries with high-broadband penetration such as the UK, the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and the UAE — we believe there is a massive global market for these channels.”

JumpTV‘s Asia-Pacific director Vinod Kumar adds, “We are pleased to add such valuable partners as India TV News, Kairali TV, People TV and Amrita TV to JumpTV‘s growing channel lineup. These channels add a new and diverse level of Indian programming to our strong roster of content which includes Sony Entertainment Television Asia, Punjab Today and Balle Balle, among others.”

Early this June, JumpTV had entered into an exclusive agreement to begin offering Sony Entertainment Television Asia (SET Asia) in North America via internet.

NEW DELHI: Cable TV consumers are in for a pleasant surprise as cable operators will now be put under stringent monitoring relating to quality of service.

India‘s broadcast regulator today issued detailed regulations prescribing standards of quality of service to be observed by the cable operators and multi system operators in CAS notified areas of Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said the regulations would come into effect from 1 October, 2006.

The regulations have been drawn keeping in view the facts that the industry would be subject to prescription of quality of service standards for the first time and, therefore, would need time to adjust on various quality of service aspects.

The issues addressed in the regulations broadly cover the following areas:

(i) Connection, disconnection, transfer and shifting of cable services
(ii) Complaint handling and redressal in respect of cable services
(iii) Billing Procedure and billing related complaints
(iv) Set-top box related issues and complaints
(v) Positioning of channels / taking the channel off air

A snapshot of the major features of these regulations categorized under the above-mentioned broad areas are indicated below:

Application for connection/disconnection/transfer/shifting
* Application for pay channel or request for basic service tier to be responded within five working days.
* Cable Service connection/reconnection to be provided within 2 working days on completion of all formalities by the subscribers.

Complaint handling and redressal
*Multi System Operator/Cable Operator to maintain customer service center/help desk center for 24 hours, 7 days a week including facility for automatic recording of complaints.
*All complaints received in the day to be attended/responded within eight hours.

Billing related issues
* Billing to be done normally on monthly basis and entries to be itemized.
*Subscribers required to ensure prompt payment of bills. Deterrents to discourage delayed payments
*Redressal of complaints on billing within 7 days from the date of notice.

Set Top Box (STB) related issues
* MSO/Cable Operator to repair or replace within 24 hours of receipt of complaint of malfunctioning of set top box and refund of security deposit within seven days of return of set top box.
*Rebate for delay in activation/reactivation of set top box beyond two working days @ Rs 15 per day for the first 5 days and @ Rs 10 per day for the subsequent period

Positioning of channels/Taking the channel off air
*No channel to be taken off the air, except for circumstances beyond the control of the operator, without prior notice of three weeks.

The High Court of Delhi on 20 July 2006 had directed implementation of CAS in the three metros of Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi by 31 December 2006.

One of the areas identified in the implementation of CAS was prescription of quality of service standards by Trai, which has been now done after consultations with the industry stakeholders.

A full text of the regulation along with the explanatory memorandum is available on Trai‘s website, www.trai.gov.in.

MUMBAI: Consumer trends on the web were discussed at Brand-comm‘s web seminar BrandWidth Online 2006.

The seminar was addressed by Titan Industries managing director Bhaskar Bhat, McCann Erickson president Santosh Desai and Brand-comm CEO Ramanujam Sridhar.

The seminar drove home the thought that consumer insight is the greatest tool, after all for marketers who want to keep pace in the changing market scenario.

Some interesting questions to the panelists were on the movement behind the traditional Indian woman rising above her passivity, on consumer insights providing the way-forward for marketers and the role of technology in the consumer decision process. The panelists discussed the ‘More-Mania‘ and the key drivers of consumer behavior in India.

The seminar had 78 participants who logged in from different parts of the country.

MUMBAI: Mobile content developer Nazara Technologies has launched two games based on cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

They have been developed for Qualcomm’s Brew solution. Dhoni Tappebaaz and Dhoni Dhamaka, are designed to bring the excitement of cricket to mobile phones. Nazara Technologies will also launch Mahendra Singh Dhoni wallpapers and screensavers.

In Dhoni Tappebaaz, the user will have to skillfully keep the ball off the ground by striking it with his bat. Users will have the option of downloading different levels of the game and adding unique features. Dhoni Tappebaaz also will have a community-based feature that will enable users to compete with each other and participate in contests.

Dhoni Dhamaka has been designed with Dhoni’s hard-hitting batting style in mind. In this game, players will have to score the maximum number of runs, hitting as many sixes and fours as possible.

Nazara Technologies CEO Nitish Mittersain says, “The Brew solution has given us immense flexibility and empowered us with superior technology to develop multiple-feature games with rich graphics.

“Dhoni Tappebaaz and Dhoni Dhamaka have been developed keeping in mind Dhoni’s mass appeal in India. We are certain that users will find the content compelling and the game play addictive.”

Qualcomm India director of product technologies Vishal Gupta says, “Qualcomm is committed to creating a healthy wireless ecosystem with the Brew solution by offering all members of the mobile marketplace opportunities for growth, while helping them address market-specific needs and allowing them to create targeted solutions and services.

“With Dhoni Tappebaaz and Dhoni Dhamaka, Nazara Technologies has created two BREW games perfectly suited for cricket enthusiasts in India.”

The Brew solution drives the discovery and delivery of data services. Brew subscribers benefit from several offerings, which include: uiOne™ for rich, integrated and dynamic user experiences with fast access to high revenue services on wireless devices; deliveryOne for differentiated and tightly integrated, operator-managed support and delivery of advanced wireless data content and services; and marketOne™ for a quick-to-market, hosted, scalable content delivery service that includes media titles, flexible management and monetization, content provider settlement and business intelligence services. Qualcomm says that it offers this set of Brew offerings to meet the needs of companies delivering mobile products and services around the world.

Nazara Technologies is a mobile content developer targetting global mobile consumer markets. The company works with leading brands such as Archie Comics, Miramax Studios and Sachin Tendulkar among many others and develops rich mobile media content based on these properties. Nazara has also set up India’s largest dedicated 3D mobile game studio that is releasing three new 3D games using the Brew solution every month.

MUMBAI: National Geographic Digital Motion, the stock footage service of National Geographic Digital Media, has chosen Thought Equity as the online distribution partner to complement its existing licensing business. Digital Motion is the digital archive and licensing service for all National Geographic film and video. The partnership unites an international motion image collections with the most technically advanced licensing company in the world.

Thought Equity works in the area of commercial licensing and management of motion imagery,

National Geographic Digital Motion says that it has made significant investments to enhance its existing online licensing operations and prepare the library for access through a variety of distribution channels.

National Geographic Digital Motion VP worldwide sales Jocelyn Shearer says, “We wanted an additional online presence, and have found a licensing partner well-versed in every aspect of motion imagery licensing and management to help us reach our goals. Thought Equity has demonstrated its ability to serve the technological and time-sensitive needs of current and future producers and editors.

“We chose Thought Equity as our exclusive online distribution partner because they offer the best user experience in the industry. They have the scale to put more of our library online faster than any other company and are the clear leader in all areas of technology, including search, real-time content delivery, creative content packaging and marketing in new media”.

Thoughtequity.com says that it has become a preferred destination for international agencies, studios and corporations that produce messages and programming for traditional and new media such as digital displays, podcasts, social networks, mobile phones and other portable devices.

Thought Equity CEO Kevin Schaff said, “Every day we develop new technology to make it easier for professionals in the creative and entertainment industries to access the nearly $1 billion in production value that is available for licensing at thoughtequity.com. The addition of the National Geographic Collection to our library supports our commitment to offer not only exceptional motion imagery with high production value, but also the most topically diverse and internationally relevant imagery. Our base of worldwide customers is expanding rapidly, and the addition of the National Geographic Collection allows them to be more efficient by finding more of what they need from one site.”

With the addition of the National Geographic Collection to thoughtequity.com, entertainment, creative and corporate production companies worldwide will have real-time access to National Geographic‘s motion imagery capturing international culture, science and nature. The collection features footage from National Geographic programmes and films.

These include National Geographic television and film productions, the Explorer series and other exclusive productions for the National Geographic Channel. These productions have won more than 1,000 industry awards, including an Academy Award and 126 Emmy Awards.

MUMBAI: US-based internet networking player Cisco Systems has announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Arroyo Video Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation solutions for on-demand television and related consumer services.

Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $92 million in cash. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions, including applicable regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of Cisco‘s fiscal year 2007, ending 31 October, 2006.

The integration of the Arroyo platform into the Cisco IP-NGN (Next Generation Network) architectural framework will help enable carriers to accelerate the creation and distribution of network delivered entertainment, interactive media and advertising services across the growing portfolio of televisions, personal computers, mobile handsets and emerging media capable devices in our increasingly connected lives, informs an official release.

“The entertainment industry is going through a major shift while consumer desire for personalized on-demand service is on the rise. The industry is quickly evolving from pure video-on demand to anything-on-demand with any content delivered to any end device. Cisco‘s next generation network strategy offers service providers the ability to make this vision a reality,” Cisco senior vice president and general manager Michelangelo A. Volpi. “With the addition of Arroyo‘s innovative software, which offers flexibility in content delivery, service providers will be in a position to serve content how, when and where consumers want it.”

Joining Cisco from Arroyo will be a team of technical industry leaders. This team includes Drew Major, an original founder of Novell and industry icon recognized for his expertise in network operating systems, distributed systems and content delivery networking (CDN). Also joining is Paul Sherer, former chief technology officer at 3Com and key contributor to a broad portfolio of networking patents and technologies. Arroyo was founded in 2002 and has 44 employees based in California and Utah, the release adds.

Upon close of the transaction the Arroyo team and product portfolio will be integrated into the Cisco Cable & Video Initiatives Group, within the Service Provider organization led by Volpi

MUMBAI: Star Entertainment has launched what it claims as the organisation‘s biggest endeavor in the mobile entertainment space Star 7827 Voice. The interactive audio- service is kicking off with an audio-episode of Star Plus‘s new prime-time show Karam Apnaa Apnaa.

The audio episode will launch on 23 August, ahead of the soap‘s premiere, which is scheduled for 29 August.

To explore Star 7827 Voice, mobile subscribers can dial in 127827 from their BSNL mobile phones and say ‘STAR‘ to get a sneak preview of what the new show Karam Apnaa Apnaa, is all about. This service will also be extended to other telecom subscribers in the due course, informs an official release.

This May, Star India had announced a slew of initiatives to enhance & expand its services from television-focused interactivity to entertainment specially created and aggregated for the mobile screen through Star 7827.

Says Star India Interactive senior VP Viren Popli on the new initiative, “Star 7827 is one of the key focus areas of our business and by creating such special content, we have put together an offering that synergizes our programming strength with global learnings of entertainment ‘on the go‘. We will continue to make such efforts and refresh our content to offer compelling entertainment for our mobile & television consumers.”

Adds Star India marketing‘s Satya Raghavan, “Star Plus‘ new prime time show Karam Apnaa Apnaa is one of the biggest launches of the year for us, therefore we wanted to extend the service of Star 7827 Voice, first with this show. Going forward we would integrate this interactive service with other ongoing programs of the channel, as well. This platform is really our endeavor to reach the consumer further, and deliver him content at his convenience and time, so he can catch up with his favorite programs, which will help him to be abreast of all that is happening on television, even when he is on the move.”

Also read:
Star kickstarts triple play mission with 7827 expansion

MUMBAI: Mauj Telecom, the wireless solutions provider, has emerged as a ‘Red Herring Asia 100 Winner’, an award programme that recognises the most promising private technology companies in the region.

Red Herring‘s lists of top private companies are an important part of the renowned magazine‘s tradition of identifying new and innovative technology firms and entrepreneurs. Companies like Google and eBay were spotted in their early days by Red Herring editors as companies that would change the way we live and work, states an official release.

After receiving more than 600 submissions and nominations from across countries in Asia, Red Herring‘s editorial staff rigorously evaluated Mauj Telecom and the other contenders through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution of strategy and dedication to research and development. The Red Herring 100 Asia companies are at the forefront of the technologies that are changing our lives in profound ways, the release adds.

Mauj Telecom CEO Arun Gupta says, “Mauj Telecom in less than three years is established as the Gold Standard in the Mobile Entertainment business in India. We are continually pushing to set new standards in mobile entertainment by delivering a broad range of exclusive and highly compelling content,applications and services on the mobile phone and that is revolutionizing the way people experience entertainment on the move, transforming the mobile into the fourth screen for entertainment after Cinema, TV and PC. Mobile media channel is one of the biggest opportunities of this century and Mauj Telecom is very excited to be at the vanguard of this business.”