Power out? Pop in a triple-A for an extra hour
The FrvrOn V-G2300 is launching in India with Olive Telecom, a long way from the UK but it caught my attention because of its nifty hybrid power mode. If the standard lithium-ion battery runs out of juice, users can slot in an AAA battery to get an extra hour of service.
Budget handsets have been my radar while I’ve been using a VX1, and I think I’d prefer to have one of these. Additional features that add interest, gimmicks, or even practical usability can really up the value of a phone, but the price here has been kept right down. It has an FM radio as well.
Selling in India for around £25 ($37), the FrvrOn is a basic voice and text phone, with an obvious appeal to those based in rural areas, travelling, or just suffering from erratic power supply. Hybrid power is an idea that’s been around the block before and appeared in the UK, but I’ve never seen it need just a single AAA battery to work.
ScandinAsian
Norwegian operator Telenor have formed a partnership with Indian property megacorp Unitech, launching ‘Uninor’ brand phones. Using the slogan “My time is now” the service targets the teeming youth population. This brings India to 14 mobile operators and foreign telcos are forging local partnerships through heavy investment to seize a share. Current investors include Britain’s Vodafone, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and Russia’s Sistema JSFC. Ownership in Indian telecom companies by foreign partners is government capped at 74 percent. With 14 competitors in the race (so far), I expect natural selection will further cap this number and result in consolidation.
Millions of invalid phones blocked
In a nation still shocked by the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, and the ten coordinated terror attacks of November 2008, the Indian government ordered mobiles with no International Mobile Equipment Identifier (IMEI) blocked on midnight Monday.
Indian intelligence and anti-terror forces say that phones without the code are used in attacks by militant groups. The blocking move follows the Spanish government’s decision to insist that prepay mobiles must be registered against a certified proof of identity.
Phones with no IMEI flood Indian and South-East Asian markets, made locally or imported from China. They have the obvious attraction of being cheaper for many people living in poverty, with no formal documents to prove identity.
Most owners of the blocked phones will feel wrongly penalised, having no awareness the IMEI codes were required.
Like to know more? BBC story here
The FrvrOn V-G2300 is launching in India with Olive Telecom, a long way from the UK but it caught my attention because of its nifty hybrid power mode. If the standard lithium-ion battery runs out of juice, users can slot in an AAA battery to get an extra hour of service.
