Here comes India

Bharti Airtel to launch Sri Lanka operations in December 2008

Opera Mini 4.2 for mobile phones - final version

Opera Software released the final version of its much-anticipated Opera Mini 4.2 for mobile phones. Since the launch of the beta version of Opera Mini 4.2, speed trials have shown that this version gives more than 30% speed improvements for users in the US, due to the addition of a new Opera Mini server park in the United States.

more info here http://java-phones.com/freeware/operamini-v42-final#more-705

M3 Cafe at the HQ

Hilton Colombo the country's premier hospitality giant entered into an innovative partnership with the largest local mobile telecommunication provider Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, to launch the first ever M3 Café in Sri Lanka.

Services available
free use of Wi-Fi (provided on a fair use policy)
broadband internet facility

Open from 8.00am to 8.00pm daily

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel Flagship storeat the Head Office,

W.A.D Ramanayake Mawatha, Colombo 2

The place seems ok. Ofcourse Hilton food is super but bit expensive I would say. Swanky design with what I think to be phone museum in background with colour changing lighting effect. But it is a bit too open to customer center where people can see you gobbling up your food. The drinks are brilliant. But you tend to feel a bit 'exposed'. You can go check it out.

Winners Of 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition

The GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade group for the mobile industry, today announced the winners of the APAC leg of the 2009 Mobile Innovation Global Award Competition. The winners were announced at the GSMA’s Mobile Asia Congress, Asia’s leading mobile communications event, that’s taken place in Macau, China this week.

The Mobile Innovation Marketplace at the Mobile Asia Congress is a unique platform for top innovators competing for the Mobile Innovation Global Award Championship title. During this event 15 emerging growth companies from around the world competed in five categories and their innovative products and services were reviewed by senior executives from mobile operators, industry suppliers and venture capital organisations.

List on http://newsreleases.upstreamasia.com/news/2008/11/20/gsma-announces-winners-of-2009-mobile-innovation-global-award-competition-apac-tourn

Smartphone adoption and mobile search

Smartphones are rapidly gaining popularity, now that mobile phone producers such as Blackberry, HTC and Google/T-Mobile are introducing interesting alternatives to the Apple iPhone on the market.Research firm The Kelsey Group says that currently one fifth of the US population uses a smartphone and half of all consumers considering switching to a smartphone within the next two years.

This increasing smartphone adoption stimulates mobile search activities. Some interesting figures:

get the data on http://blog.mobileweb.be/2008/11/20/smartphone-adoption-stimulates-mobile-search/

Airtel to launch in November?

Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel will launch operations in Sri Lanka in December, a top official announced on Monday.
“We will roll out the services next month as all formalities are done and issues relating to inter-connectivity have been sorted out,” Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman and managing director Rajan Mittal told reporters in New Delhi.

The telecom giant had been facing problems of inter-connection, with local carriers not willing to give inter-connections to the company.
Source: Hindustan Times, Nov 04

img from http://itvoir.com/portal/boxx/modules/resources/Piczoom.asp?type=news&id=2894

Nokia E63 Launched Today!

The new E-series phone. Swanky with Querty pad. Wonder what will be said about this phone in time to come.
Sleek and easy on the hand.

Faxes to your mobile from Mobitel

Get your own fax number and send, receive, store and forward faxes from wherever you are!
How it worksAn SMS alert will notify you with sender's number, date and timeForward your faxes to any email address or fax machine direct from your Mobitel phone.

More info at http://mobitel.lk/mfax/index.html

Stolen Mobiles to Self Destruct in the Future

A UK firm has developed new technology that causes mobile phones to effectively self-destruct in the hands of thieves. BackStopp Mobile from Virtuity allows mobile phone users to communicate with their handsets if they are lost or stolen.

Once their mobile has been electronically traced, the technology then deletes all data from the phone, preventing would-be fraudsters from misusing it. A report is then sent back to the owner giving them information on what was erased from their handset and when, as well as details about the location of the phone. Virtuity claims its technology is particularly useful in today's mobile environment, where consumers often have sensitive data stored on their phone.

Research carried out recently by BT, the University of Glamorgan and Edith Cowan University revealed that at least one in five second-hand mobile phones still contains personal information, including bank account and personal medical details.

source : http://www.uswitch.com/