Cellebrum brings out cutting-edge products

By Sanjay Khurana

In: Tribune News Service, Chandigarh, 30th June’09

The recession notwithstanding, Parwanoo-based Cellebrum Technologies Ltd, an arm of the $500 million Spice group with interests in telecom solutions, office automation, IT and value-added services (VAS), is expanding its telecom VAS by developing innovative products like teaching English in Punjab, crop care awareness, power bills update and bill payments via mobile phones.

The company has targeted to serve 50 million customers in the VAS space in the area of mobile communications, entertainment, infotainment and commerce.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Cellebrum Technologies COO Vinish Kathuria said, “The global slowdown has not impacted growth of value-added services in the telecom space, as the number of cellphone users in the country has soared to 400 million as on May, 2009. We enjoy a 15-20% market share in VAS and our target is to focus on the mobile entertainment domain.” He added the country’s Rs 7,000 crore VAS Industry is growing by 20% annually.

Kathuria stated the company currently has 20 million subscribers and plans to raise this figure to 50 million in the next 18-24 months and 100 million over the next 4-5 years.

He said the firm was in talks with power utilities in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and UP to provide updates on electricity bills through SMS to mobile users. He added it is also active in the education sector. “We’re partnering with companies that have expertise in the e-learning space,” he said, adding Cellebrum had also launched ‘test and teach’ services for students preparing for GRE and GMAT.

Kathuria stated in the mobile Internet domain the firm is working with both national and international content providers as well as social networking companies to provide a ‘smart phone’ like experience on an average mobile.

He said Cellebrum has developed a new application called Mitr, a technology platform that allows same mobile application to multiple phones and on multiple operating systems. For this, he added, the company was working on innovative applications that would work on 3G and WiMAX platforms.

The company’s product range includes mobile radio, social networking platform, content Uploader, mobile advertising, background music, select caller list, voice mail system, international call back, and missed call alerts, among others. Kathuria said the company, in partnership with Bharat BPO and Indian Railways, had also launched a service by which cellular users can get information about the Railways’ schedule by sending an SMS ‘rail’ to 139.

Link:

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090701/biz.htm#4

RCOM Brings BBC News Radio in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu & Bangla

By Preethi J

Reliance Communications (RCOM) has added BBC World to its VAS bouquet. Subscribers can tune into international news by dialing 51235378. Called 24×7 BBC World Service Live Radio, it is powered by Worldwide Records India; the owner of the shortcode 57080.

Target: Rural India

“Radio is a very popular medium in rural India. Through this service we wanted to offer same experience to our customers in their preferred language. Introduction on of this service is part of our strategy to provide innovative services in local languages,” Krishna Du rbha, Head - Business & Marketing, Value Added Services, RCOM has said. BBC radio will be broadcast in four languages besides English, at different timings. News from BBC Hindi will be played at 6.30am, 8.00am, 7.30pm and 10.30 pm. BBC Urdu will be on at 7.00am, 8.30 pm and 11.00pm while BBC Tamil will play at 09.15am and BBC Bangla at 5.00 am, 6.00 am and 6.00pm. BBC Radio is available in 33 languages. The service can be accessed via RWorld. Mobile Radio currently being offered by operators - one of Cellebrum’s key products - has so far focused on music. UTV also recently launched Audio Cinema. This, however, is one of the few instances of news in an audio form being made available on mobile.

Link:

http://www.medianama.com/2009/06/223-rcom-brings-bbc-news-radio-in-hindi-tamil-urdu-bangla/

Source:

RCOM Brings BBC News Radio in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu & Bangla

By Preethi J

Reliance Communications (RCOM) has added BBC World to its VAS bouquet. Subscribers can tune into international news by dialing 51235378. Called 24×7 BBC World Service Live Radio, it is powered by Worldwide Records India; the owner of the shortcode 57080.

Target: Rural India

“Radio is a very popular medium in rural India. Through this service we wanted to offer same experience to our customers in their preferred language. Introduction of this service is part of our strategy to provide innovative services in local languages,” Krishna Durbha, Head - Business & Marketing, Value Added Services, RCOM has said. BBC radio will be broadcast in four languages besides English, at different timings. News from BBC Hindi will be played at 6.30am, 8.00am, 7.30pm and 10.30 pm. BBC Urdu will be on at 7.00am, 8.30 pm and 11.00pm while BBC Tamil will play at 09.15am and BBC Bangla at 5.00 am, 6.00 am and 6.00pm. BBC Radio is available in 33 languages. The service can be accessed via RWorld. Mobile Radio currently being offered by operators - one of Cellebrum’s key products - has so far focused on music. UTV also recently launched Audio Cinema. This, however, is one of the few instances of news in an audio form being made available on mobile.

Link:
http://www.medianama.com/2009/06/223-rcom-brings-bbc-news-radio-in-hindi-tamil-urdu-bangla/

Source:

Spice Mobiles rolls out the new D-1111 phone

Posted on: June 30^th, 2009 | Filed under: Other Brand

Spice Mobiles has added a new phone to its array of innovative devices. The handset is called D-1111 and claims to be the first Dual Mode (GSM+CDMA) mobile operating on the Windows platform in India. The device is best suited for people who keep juggling between their private and professional lives, as this phone will manage both efficiently.

Loaded with numerous work related and amusing features, this phone comprises of VAS applications. It alleviates the pressure of the user to carry different phones for different tasks by offering various services. Operating on Windows Mobile 6.0, it offers incredible productivity. It boasts of a 2 megapixel camera with stereo Bluetooth and an expandable memory of up to 2GB. The touch panel makes the phone easy to check mails and send texts.

At the launch, Mr. Kunal Ahooja, CEO, Spice Mobiles commented, “Spice Mobiles has always endeavoured to drive innovation in the mobile handset industry and set new benchmarks through user-friendly and smart product offerings. With the launch of Spice D-1111, we have introduced world-class dual-SIM (GSM+CDMA) Windows Mobile in India. This unique gadget caters to working professionals who work hard and believe in having fun.”

Users can be thoroughly entertained with chat accounts in a single window through Nimbuzz, Yahoo, GTalk etc. It comprises of MITR, which is a single interface application that provides a complete WAP browsing experience. Furthermore, assisting in getting any kind of information, the application Sulekha is an answer to all queries. Cricbuzz.com for live cricket updates, Naukari.com for job related searches and JeevanSaathi.com for matrimony are other additional services offered. Additionally, numerous cool and happening applications can be downloaded on the MITR platform.

The handset also enables users to view emails while traveling without the need to activate GPS or any other software through email2SMS service. Through the handset, users will get a 1 month free subscription of this service. Other exclusive features include Reuters and Opera Mini that come with the phone itself.

A sales pack with free 512MB memory card, a leather pouch and a screen guard are the additional accessories that come along with the phone. The new D-1111 is offered for a price of Rs. 18,499.

Link:
http://www.mobiletor.com/2009/06/30/spice-mobiles-rolls-out-the-new-d-1111-phone/