CONTENTS Leading Telecom News Magazine

CONTENTS July 15 - August 15, 2008

Interview:
Market players' mature role vital for telecom
industry success
22

Mr Imran Gillani, Country Manager for Sales

and Distribution, Wisecomm

Telecom:
CEO completes his tenure at Telenor Pakistan 10
Talent hunt for professionalism Ericsson's aim: Hemstad 14
UAN for royal class only: PTA increases charges by 100 times 16
Mobilink’s role vital in Pak telecom industry 18
45 per cent increase on SMS packages of big gains await you, dear! 20
2008 opening witnesses decline in FDIs
Internet, data services Mobilink WiMAX: yet a long way to eclipse Wateen
24
25
announced and later it Cell phones work wonders with the youth 26
was withdrawn Headphones Just for fun or unavoidable necessity? 34
Wateen brings ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ to silver screen 38
Mobilink offers Yahoo & Google talk 42
PTCL moves one step ahead, Cell phone companies put the consumers in the doldrums 46

two backward Cover Story: 48

ZRG represents Pakistan at Dubai exhibit
Alcatel-Lucent, SpeedCast Ltd join hands
77
83
Fall in mobile users’ growth rate due to restrictions 87
Mobile use may lead to deadly crash 91

Cover Story:
PTCL Moves one step ahead, two backward 48

IT:
Google’s handclasp with Yahoo irks Microsoft 28
Goodbye, the Microsoft giant! 30
HP’s new launch a charisma in printing 69
Changing world of Internet domains 73
Warid’s BlackBerry launch achieving | 12 ISP-based customer targeting will violate site trademarks
Laptops – easy to use, hard to buy!
75
81
another milestone Intel’s inspiring projects to work wonders 88
Google Gmail: Labs Another tree with uncountable boughs! 91

Technology
Moonitin: Hats off to space age 72

Events:
Warid’s BlackBerry launch achieving another milestone 12
CommunicAsia 2008 and the sky is not the limit! 36
Warid & Alfalah set for ‘height of delight’ K2 taste 44
Warid arranges get-together for its employees 70

Informative:
Coming Mobile 52
Current Mobile 54
Mobile Review 60
Talent hunt for professionalism Warid arranges get-together
Ericsson's aim: Hemstad for its employees Briefs:
14 70 National
International
95
98

Market players' mature role vital

Mobilink’s role vital
6 in Pak telecom industry
for telecom industry success
Mr Imran Gillani, Country Manager
SMS packages of big gains for Sales and Distribution, Wisecomm
18 await you, dear! 20
22
 Leading Telecom News Magazine

Editor’s Note

Why to keep
consumers
in quandary?
Thomas Hobbes was right when he wrote in Leviathan that man's
condition is a 'state of war' with everyone and against every other person.
This factor becomes even more plausible with the growth of market
economy because every company in the run needs to stand out even
sacrificing the most valuable and cherished once considered the moral
Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Editor-in-Chief
and ethical values. The more they earn from consumers, the more they
Javaid Saleem Chattha Editor
put them on the altar one way or the other not in terms of high-priced Fatima Batool Coordination Editor

packages or other coercive tactics but by forgetting where they are taking Usman Yaqoob
Marketing Manager (Lahore)
the common man by putting him in quandary over the robust and ever- M. Farooq Malik
Marketing Executive (Lahore)
pinching ads of their packages. And this is true with regard to cellular Rashid Hussain Mughal
Marketing Executive (Karachi)
companies. One may find glutting market with ads offering call rates Neelam Khan
Marketing Executive (Islamabad)
lower than the others'. Is that really true? No doubt, ad industry flourishes
M. Naeem Mughal
giving positive economic growth signs but the dark facades could not be Senior Designer
Zafar Khan Afridi
Designer
brushed aside. The much-hyped claims of lower rates do exist as they are
Khawar Shahzad
presented. The situation is all the way rounding. An ad says 40 paisas for Research Wing
Azhar Javed
the first minute will be charged, while the pulse rate is 30 seconds; then Production Manager
Muhammad Saeed
how can additional charges per minute be communicated? Actually the Chief Photographer
Mobile: 0321 - 8404389
first 30 seconds are charged, if the call is hanged on for 20 seconds that
Separation by:
will cost 50 + 40 = 90 paisa + taxes if one FnF number is selected from any Fotoscan Process

cellular network, whereas the advertisement clearly states: “Koi bhi Lahore Office:
Ph: +92-42-5750732
number, koi bhi network, sirf 50 paisay per 30 seconds”. At least one Fax: +92-42-5750804
Islamabad Office:
million customers will be affected negatively by this. The FnF number Phone: + 92-51-2890054
Fax: + 92-51-2891339
modification: no information on print ad, but their website says, addition/ Karachi Office:
Phone: + 92-21-4602620
modification of FnF will charge Rs 15 + tax. In the given situation, who is
Registration No:
going to come to rescue the consumers? The PTA should realise the PCPB/105
(Volume 4 Issue: 11)
responsibility and come forward to remove all these discrepancies so Price Rs 300

people at large may feel secure and with ease, knowing well that they are
not being fooled with hidden or untold charges.
8
URL: www.flare.com.pk
Email: flare.mag@gmail.com
Publisher: Zubair Ahmed Kasuri, published
from 105-B, Gulberg-II, Lahore & printed it
from Akkaz Printers, Shama Plaza, Lahore.
New traffic police? Same old chaos!!!
Dear Editor: While coming from Jail Road to Ferozepur Road, I caught
sight of a banner with a warning on the use of mobile phones while driving.
It said "the mobile phone use is illegal, and those caught red-handed would
be fined instantly and arrested if necessary." I was lately alarmed to see
traffic wardens chasing cars and issuing tickets to violators on Jail Road
and The Mall, and other 'red alert' areas. I happened to visit Sandha and
was shocked to see negligence by the traffic police. I saw nearly every
other person on a motorbike or in a car, enjoying talking by a cellphone or
sending SMS. There was no warden to take notice of what was happening,
and there was not even a single banner that referred to the law. With our
well-equipped, good-looking newly inducted traffic police, I was (just like
any other person) expecting some revolution in our traffic system. I would
not say that there is no improvement, but what should I (or anybody else)
do with those changes which are only confined to a specific 'red alert' area
in Lahore or in Islamabad. It appears as if our traffic police are merely pos-
ing on roads for their seniors.
Strict enforcement campaigns alongside publicity are necessary to
achieve longer-term compliance and I hope that our traffic police will try to
spare equal time and thinking to its responsibility in all areas, especially
backward areas where law-enforcement is much more necessary due to
comparatively low literacy rate-Muhammad Khurram, DHA Lahore.
Conspiracy stirred by govt in budget
aggravated Blocked SIMs? You must be kidding!
Pakistan is far behind other countries in everything except the telecom
sector, which has revolutionised in the past few years due to increasing
competition. It was expected that the growth will continue with the same
pace but the current scenario is quite otherwise. With the imposition of 21
per cent Federal Excise Duty (FED) on telecom services, not providers but
the public will also pay an additional amount of billions to the government.
I happened to visit Hall Road to buy a mobile for my son. I was shocked
to see an increase in the prices of the existing mobile stock. After the
announcement of Customs Duty of Rs 500 on a handset, mobile phone
dealers are fleecing customers by charging extra money on the existing
sets. I bargained with a dealer but he insisted on the marker price. I visited
several other shops but all of them were consistent in rates. I wonder when
time of relief will come to alleviate the public woes.
Neither the government nor the private sector loses a chance to ruin the
already overburdened public. If taxes are inevitable, the government should
at least make sure that their taxes are imposed on not existing but the
upcoming stock. A mobile is both a cheap communictaion and an entertain-
ment tool. And I request the authorities concerned to keep its availability
stable-Syed Suleman Haider, Raj Garh, Lahore.
G-10 trader deprives of PTCL DSL
facility
PTCL has totally failed to provide DSL facility in time. PTCL did not pro-
vide DSL facility even a fairly long time i.e., in months. The PTCL users in
Islamabad have already expressed their grievances over the non-supply of
DSL connection facility to its customers. I think that this was done due to
the delaying tactics of the company.
I, owner of Composer Center in G-10, have submitted applications to
PTCL for DSL connection on April 10 but no attention has been paid to the
problem and I am still complining about it after a pretty long time. I think this
is unfair on the path of the company what I would say callousness.
When contacted the PTCL on July 2, I got a cold response from PTCL
regarding this issue.
However, the PTCL senior officers and the concerned ministry officials
also decline to comment on the matter which seems to have gone down the
drain.-Maryam Khawar, Islamabad.
Send us your letters at flare.mag@gmail.com or at our postal address. Flare reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and space.
PTCL, lend me your ears, please!
I saw an article on PTCL's Internet service and the billing issue in the
last issue of your magazine. Well, let me remind you that PTCL is basical-
ly not an Internet but a landline provider. I wonder at PTCL's decision to
extend its services in a scenario when its present consumers are hardly
satisfied with its performance. I have been living in Malir since my child-
hood and I can remember the discontinuity of landlines in monsoon and
also the always-hard-to-find lineman throughout year. It was a time when
there were no or few mobile service providers. However, the situation
improved over the years due to an increase in the service providers.
PTCL tried to improve but it seems as if its effort is just a paper work.
The linemen who were once on job are now either on contracts or have left
due to their contract positions. A large number of such personnel are on
strikes against PTCL's decisions and no one pays any head to the cus-
tomers' complaints and problems.
We, the residents of Modal Colony, are infected by either discontinuity
or disturbance in our connections for weeks, but we continue to be billed -
rather over-billed sometimes. We have informed the service centre about
our problems many a time but to no avail. On contact, we are told that the
official concerned unavailable to redress the grievance.
It goes without saying that companies develop on the sole pillar of sup-
port by their employees and I believe that PTCL is quite unmindful of this
very fact. All we need to do is to point out and remove the faults and try to
change the system for a better PTCL-customer relationship-Samina Malik,
Karachi.
Nowadays, my son and daughter-in-law are in New York. Before leav-
ing, they handed over their mobile phones to me. I immediately switched
off my daughter-in-law's cell phone but kept on using my son's SIM after a
week or so to record his important messages etc. After the announcement
that unregistered SIMs will be blocked, I decided to get both the SIMs reg-
istered because they were bought from a non-franchise dealer. However,
due to certain reasons I could not get them registered and, interestingly,
my daughter-in-law's SIM which was off for more than six months was
blocked whereas my son's unregistered SIM is still active and I can use it
because there is enough credit in it.
We hear government's titter-bitter about popular issues which, sadly,
result in nothingness. The communication medium behind planned suicide
bombings in various cities was discovered to be mobile phones. Since
then unauthorised SIMs has been an issue. The government is pressuring
cellular companies to block unverified connections where service
providers seem so reluctant in this respect. Recently, it was announced
that almost all cellular companies have cooperated with the government
and a large number of SIMs are already blocked while the remaining ones
will be blocked soon after. Well, I just want to pose a question to those at
the helms of affairs on the 'so-called blocked' SIMs, whose data is yet
pending. Whether they are unregistered or unused is a question yet to be
answered? There is simply no use of blocking thousands of SIMs which
have already become trash. Please do not make laws that you cannot
enforce.-Dr Mahmood-ul-Hassan, Sheikhupura.
Still no connection by PTCL?
I would like to convey my concern about the PTCL performance in
Islamabad. On one side Pakistan Telecommunications Company (PTCL)
has reported a 24.7% drop in net profit during the 2006-2007 financial
years as call tariffs have been lowered in an increasingly competitive tele-
coms sector. PTCL recently announced a net profit of $258 million. Last
year's figure was nearly $343 million. PTCL exercises a virtual monopoly
over Pakistan's land lines and provides mobile and internet services
across the country.PTCL pays Etisalat 3.5% of its revenue in return for
sharing technical expertise.
On the other hand, despite of deregulation and time and again claims
by the PTCL, I can't get a connection in Bahara Kahu a nearest town to
Islamabad which show how efficient is the company.-Ibrahim Qureshi
Bhara Kahu, Islamabad
9
 Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom

Under Tore's leadership and an investment

of more than $1.8 billion, today Telenor
Pakistan is the largest European direct
Investment in the country. It has created
nearly 2500 direct and more than 25,000
indirect employment opportunities along
with 100,000-plus retail outlets and 200-
plus franchises across Pakistan and Azad
Jammu & Kashmir

EO Telenor Pakistan Tore Johnsen will acquiring more than 17 million subscriptions in PSHRM Preferred Graduate Employer

C move on following his appointment as

CEO DTAC, Telenor ASA's Thailand
affiliate. A new CEO of Telenor
Pakistan will be announced before 1st
September 2008.
Tore Johnsen's new assignment follows four
years of association with Telenor Pakistan as
just three years of operations.
About Telenor Pakistan
ASA is an international provider of high quality
telecommunications, data and media communi-
cation services. It ranks as world's 7th largest
Award for Most Preferred Telecommunications
Company for
'Most Innovative Mobile Operator' and 'Mobile
Operator with the Most Consumer Pull' at the
6th SAARC Communication
2007.

Industry
Conference 2007.
Telenor Global
CEO where he laid the foundations of the coun- Brand Award for the
try's first greenfield mobile communications year 2007 from
company. among the 12 mobile
Built from scratch under Tore's leadership companies in the
and an investment of more than $1.8 billion, Telenor Group
today Telenor Pakistan is the largest European portfolio.
direct Investment in the country. It has created Won in three of
nearly 2500 direct and more than 25,000 indi- five nominated
rect employment opportunities along with categories at the All
100,000-plus retail outlets and 200-plus fran- Pakistan Dawn
chises across Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Aurora Advertising
Kashmir. Awards.
National Forum for
With Tore Johnsen as CEO, the Environment &
company has won a Health (NFEH)
Annual Environment
number of awards for its mobile operator with a total of 150 million sub- Excellence Award 2008.
scribers in its mobile operations. Telenor Background
extensive investments, Pakistan is 100 per cent owned by Telenor ASA Tore was born in Stjordal, Norway. He complet-
transparent payment of taxes, and adds on to its operations in Asia together ed a Master of Science degree from Norwegian
with Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh. University of Science and Technology in 1972.
marketing its corporate respon- Awards for Telenor Pakistan He was appointed in Management in 1984
siblity initiatives With Tore Johnsen as CEO, the company has when he headed all terrestrial broadcasting
won a number of awards for its extensive activities in Norway. He joined the mobile com-
In a short span of just over three years, investments, transparent payment of taxes, munications activities in Telenor in 1988 where
Telenor Pakistan has become the country's sec- marketing prowess, and work culture, and he had different managerial positions within
ond largest mobile communications company. recognition for its corporate responsibility initia- Technical, Product and Marketing areas.
Telenor Pakistan is also the fastest growing net- tives. Telenor Pakistan has won the following In 1994, he completed International
work in the country with the largest and the awards: Business Management from Norwegian School
most advanced EDGE-enabled data network. It FPCCI Telecom Excellence award for of Economics & Business Administration. He
is the second highest revenue-generating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in June 2006 has been given international assignments in
mobile player with the highest ARPU in the mar- for contributing one of the largest FDI in recent Europe -- Italy, Hungary, Czech Republic and
ket. years. Slovakia. Europe was followed by Asia where
Telenor Pakistan grew its subscriber base by High Tax Payer Award 2004-05 in January Tore settled in Singapore for potential acquisi-
a stellar 200 per cent in FY06. It has been con- 2006 from Federal Board of Revenue for paying tions of new companies like DiGi in Malaysia
sistently EBITDA positive for several quarters, highest customs duties in 2005. and DTAC in Thailand.





10
 Report: Malik Farooq Photograph by: M. Saeed F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event

Warid Telecom post-paid customers in Pakistan will now enjoy productivity benefits, to
stay connected to people, and information on the go. Bashir A. Tahir, CEO, Abu Dhabi
Group, has highly praised his Group's employees for their remarkable contribution as well
as their business partners

CEO Abu Dhabi Group Mr. Bashir A. Tahir along with Warid administration and other members during launching ceremony of Warid BlackBerry in Lahore.

mitac Mobile Solution (EMS) and Warid com Marwan Zawaydeh said: "Warid Telecom ment of this prominent group, which hopefully

E Telecom have announced the launch of

BlackBerry solution in Pakistan. The
BlackBerry solution brings together
Smartphones, software and services to
allow easy wireless access to email, phone, cal-
endar, web, multimedia and other business and
lifestyle applications.
Warid Telecom post-paid customers in
Pakistan will now be able to enjoy the productiv-
ity benefits of using BlackBerry Smartphones to
stay connected to people and information on the
go.
12 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Warid tele-
has the largest post-paid customer-base and
GPRS/EDGE network in Pakistan and is
focused on providing the latest in innovation.
Introducing the BlackBerry solution to our portfo-
lio of solutions is a key milestone for us and we
are proud to offer this to our loyal customers."
The Warid Telecom CEO also gave meritori-
ous certificates to distinguished working people
for their contribution to the company in any form
and capacity.
Bashir A. Tahir, CEO, Abu Dhabi Group, has
highly praised his Group's employees for their
remarkable contribution made to the develop-
would add to the already good reputation, and
as a mark of pride in view of the customers'
entire satisfaction.
"We are very pleased to be part of Warid's
launch of the Blackberry solution and bringing
this technology to their customers," said Babar
Khan, CEO of Emitac Mobile Solution (EMS),
adding: "We intend to continue supporting Warid
in delivering and to stay at the forefront of wire-
less technology."
At the launch, Warid Telecom will offer the
BlackBerry 8820, BlackBerry Pearl 8120 and
BlackBerry Curve 8310 Smartphones.
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
BlackBerry 8820 Smartphone: The
BlackBerry 8820 Smartphone combines
powerful email, messaging, web access and
premium phone features along with an
advanced media player, expandable memory
slot and built-in-Wi-Fi and GPS.
BlackBerry Pearl 8120 Smartphones: The
BlackBerry Pearl 8120 is the size of 107mm x
50mm x 14mm and weighs 91 grams. In addi-
tion to supporting phone, email, messaging,
organiser, web browser and other mobile appli-
cations, the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 includes a
digital camera, MP3 and video player, and an
expandable memory slot. It also includes built-
CEO Abu Dhabi Group Mr. Bashir A. Tahir
addressing the ceremony.
CEO Warid Mr. Marwan Zawaydeh presenting certificate
to Pervez A. Shahid, board member Warid.
in Wi-Fi for faster connectivity to the web and
other mobile data applications.
BlackBerry Curve 8310 Smartphone: The
BlackBerry Curve 8310 is a powerful and intu-
itive Smartphone that features a full QWERTY
keyboard, yet is light and compact in size, The
Pervez A. Shahid, board member Warid, with CEO Warid Mr. Marwan Zawaydeh and other senior officials of Warid.
Smartphone includes a camera and rich multi-
media capabilities as well as built-in GPS that
support location-based applications and
services such as mapping and navigation.
Warid Telecom is offering Blackberry
Enterprise Server for corporate customers and
Event
"Warid Telecom has the largest
post-paid customer-base and
GPRS/EDGE network in Pakistan
and is focused on providing the lat-
est in innovation. Introducing the
BlackBerry solution to our portfolio
of solutions is a key milestone for us
and we are proud to offer this to our
loyal customers," says Warid
Telecom CEO Marwan Zawaydeh CEO Warid Marwan Zawaydeh addressing
the launching ceremony.
the BlackBerry Enterprise Server software
tightly integrates with IBM Lotus Domino,
Microsoft Exchange and Novell Group Wise
and uses advanced encryption and IT policy
controls to enable secure, push-based wireless
access to email and other corporate data.
BlackBerry Internet Service is designed for
smaller businesses and individuals. It allows
customers to access up to supported corporate
and personal email accounts (including most
popular ISP email accounts such as, Yahoo!
Mail and Goggle mail) from a single device.
Emitac Mobile Solutions (EMS) is a Dubai-
CEO Warid giving certificate to Mr. Asif Malik
Director Trafco Tracking.
based solutions and services provider and
Research In Motion (RIM) strategic channel
partner focused on the delivery, implementation
and support of BlackBerry solutions. EMS pro- technology investment.
vides mobile operators with sales, marketing, EMS is the region's first Mobile Virtual
distribution, solution implementation and tech- Solutions Provider (MVSP) whose services are
nical support services for the BlackBerry wire- delivered through partnerships the company
less platform from RIM. has with mobile operators in the Gulf, North
Africa and Eastern Europe.
The BlackBerry and RIM families of related
CEO Warid giving certificate to Mian Safder, Director
Marketing Fast Cables
marks, images and symbols are the exclusive
properties and trademarks of Research In
For organisations using the BlackBerry wire- Motion Limited. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark
less platform EMS provides the ability to rapid- of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other brands, product
ly create, deploy and manage robust client- names, company names, trademarks and serv-
server wireless applications that reduce an ice marks are properties of their respective
organisation's total cost of ownership and sig- owners.





nificantly increases the value of their mobile
13
 Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom

here is a vast scope for foreign direct

T investment in the telecom sector, which

is being actively promoted by the gov-
ernment, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf
Raza Gilani told a delegation headed by
Bjorn Hemstad, Chairman, Ericsson, Central
Europe, Middle East and Africa, who called on
him at the Prime Minister's House in Islamabad.
The prime minister said the new government
had taken several initiatives to leverage the full
potential of the telecom sector and to improve
tele-density in Pakistan. He said that the govern-
ment is also considering fresh incentives to
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani speaks to Mr Bjorn Hemstad at the Prime Minister's House in Islamabad.
attract more investment in the telecom sector.
"Pakistan would appreciate Ericsson's help and Mr Bjorn Hemstad informed the prime minis-
"Pakistan has a long-standing mutual- assistance in promoting health and education in ter that Ericsson had initiated its graduate train-
ly beneficial relationship with Ericsson the country." ing programme in collaboration with Pakistan's
and we want the company to help Mr Gilani said the government was also con- leading engineering universities aimed at select-
sidering introducing the 3G system to achieve ing the top-performing students of these univer-
Pakistan boost quality telecom human broadband in Pakistan. sities to groom them as telecom professionals.
resource and develop R & D in The PM said the new government visualised He informed the prime minister that the compa-
Pakistan as a hub of skilled human resource in ny had also launched Ericsson Expertise Centre
Pakistan." the region and intended to improve the invest- and the Field Service Unit for producing and
"Pakistan has a long-standing mutually ben- ment-friendly climate in the country. He said the grooming quality telecom human resource.
eficial relationship with Ericsson and we want government was providing a level-playing field Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister for KANA &
the company to help Pakistan groom quality to both local as well as foreign investors in every Minister In-charge for Information Technology
telecom human resource and develop R & D in sector of the economy to ensure better provision and Member Telecom, also attended the meet-
Pakistan," the prime minister said, adding: of quality services to Pakistani consumers. ing.

"We don't want to impose

authority in any way and
just want to restrict to
minimal intervention"
he telecom industry in Pakistan is grow- by January next

T ing fast and paying a lot in terms of rev-

enue. However as a natural conse-
quence of the tremendous growth oper-
ators, regulators and policymakers face
challenges. Yet the government is committed to
resolving their problems with determination, said
Federal Information Technology and
year with fixed line,
mobile broadband
and USF policies
combined together
following a industry
consultation with
telecom operators,
Telecommunications Minister Qamar Zaman vendors, regulator
Kaira in Islamabad. and other stake-
"The government will do everything it could holders in the
to support and facilitate the telecom sector. We process.
don't want to impose authority in any way and Qamar Kaira
just want to restrict to minimal intervention," the told the participants
minister told a gathering as chief guest at the that the govern-
Telecom Summit 2008, which was organised by ment was working
South Asia Middle East North Africa (SAMENA), on an inclusive
which is a 25-country network of operators, reg- telecom policy Federal Minister for Information Technology Qamar Zaman Kaira addresses at Telecom Summit 2008.
ulatory bodies and telecom players with an inter- which would be Pakistan. "We are gradually moving towards 3-
national presence. made public in January next year. "The former G networks and with constant advancements
Continuing Kaira said the government was regime was pursuing three telecom policies but happening all around us at every passing day,
committed to promotion of the telecom sector in the new government means real business and there is an obvious need for discussion, dia-
Pakistan through better environment in the sec- would take all measures to promote the telecom logue, experience-sharing and strong profes-
tor and bridging the digital divide through ICT sector. The government would ensure protection sional tackling of issues."
accessibility and scholarship programmes for to consumer rights. "Stringent measures will be Thomas W. Wilson, founder of SAMENA
youth of rural and remote areas of Pakistan. taken against telecom companies providing sub- Telecom Council, Dr Muhammad Yasin (PTA),
The minister said that the ministry had under- standard or poor value-added services," the Adil Rauf (Nortel), Tim Ward (Sonus) and Aamir
taken review of the telecom policy. He said the minister warned. Sardar (Nokia Siemens) also participated in the
forthcoming telecom policy would be a single He also briefed the participants on the discussion on 3G, Wimax and the future tech-
14 consolidated and uniform policy, ready hopefully prospects of the 3-G technology adoption in nologies.






Telecom Flare Report
Soon after commemorating World Telecommunication Day with pledge to extend
affordable telecom facilities to all citizen of Pakistan, PTA has increased charges
for various categories of UANs from Rs5,000 to Rs500,000 per year
nflation-struck consumers receive another
I blow when PTA announced an unprece-
dented 100 times increase in the annual
charges of Universal Access Numbers
(UANs). Soon after commemorating World
Telecommunication Day on 17th May with
pledge to extend affordable telecom facilities to
all citizen of Pakistan, the national telecom reg-
ulator has quietly posted a new UAN Allocation
and Auction Procedure on May 22, 2008 on its
website, according to which, the charges for
various categories of UANs have been
increased from Rs5,000 to Rs500,000 per year.
UAN, a nine digit number starting with 111 is
a value added service that allows a subscriber
with several phone lines in any number of loca-
tions to be reached with a unique directory that
is easy to remember. PTCL, the incumbent
operator, had originally started UAN service in
1996 and this role was taken over by Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) after
Telecom De-regulation in 2002.
The UAN facility is being used across the
country by thousands of businesses including
airlines, banks, hotels, media companies, real
estate companies, telecom operators, etc and
provides ease of remembrance of commonly
dialed phone numbers to the consumers. PTA
has made six categories of UANs, from A to F
UAN, a nine digit number start-
ing with 111 is a value added
service that allows a subscriber
with several phone lines in any
number of locations to be
reached with a unique directory
that is easy to remember. The
UAN facility is being used
across the country by thousands
of businesses including airlines,
banks, hotels, media compa-
nies, real estate companies,
telecom operators, etc and pro-
vides ease of remembrance of
commonly dialed phone num-
bers to the consumers
and the notification said that Group-D, E & F
shall be allocated after going through the pre-
scribed Numbering Auction Procedure whereas
numbers from Group-A, B and C shall be allo-
16 cated UAN from the pool of numbers available
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
in database on first come first serve basis. The
notification is silent on classification of cate-
gories, A to F, but industry analysts believe
that D, E and F series would be the one which
are currently in most common use by various
customers and their yearly charges have been
increased to Rs160,000, 320,000 and 500,000
respectively from current charges of Rs5,000.
Hoping that many of the existing users of
UANs would not be able to pay the new
charges, PTA would be able to withdraw a
large pool of numbers and place for public
auction.
"The decision of PTA is shocking and con-
demnable" said a local businessman not wish-
ing to be named. Terming PTA as money
extorting mafia, he said "through a planned
conspiracy, PTA first wants to withdraw UANs
from customers making them 100 times more
expensive and then allocate the same num-
bers to its blue eyed in the garb of public auc-
tion". The Ministry of IT has been silent on this
move of PTA and offered no comments when
contacted - Courtesy The News.





PSEB, PTA mull guidelines
for call centres
Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) in
collaboration with Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is making
targeted efforts to make effective guidelines
for call centres operating in Pakistan so they
could continue uninterrupt-
edly.
PSEB Managing
Director Talib Baloch
opined that call centres
were making a "remark-
able contribution" to the
country's annual IT
exports, showing a regular
upward trend. "These call centres are extend-
ing quality services round the clock to nation-
al as well as international companies," he
maintained. He said so far only 516 call cen-
tres have registered with PSEB, whereas the
government encourages only legitimate call
centres.
Regarding a media report about PTA's
order to close 40,000 call centres in Pakistan,
Baloch made it clear that PTA had asked the
operators to provide voice services to only
legitimate stakeholders so they could flourish.
Further, PSEB is a government agency man-
dated to promote Pakistan's IT Industry,
including software, IT enabled services, hard-
ware and call centres locally and globally.

 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Flare Report Telecom

Along with SMS, the GPRS Internet facility is attracting cus-

tomers' attention due to unlimited GPRS and hourly-based
Internet package
ata transfer through cellular phones only cheap to send but, also

D has witnessed a remarkable increase

in recent years. Short Message
Service (SMS) has gone through
maximum increment of 30 per cent
through these years. The service providers
gave Urdu SMS options earlier but they did not
win much acclaim by users because it was
easy to read and understand;
the increasing trend of advertis-
ing through SMS by leading
companies and institutions of
Pakistan; election campaigns
promoted through SMS nation-
wide; many service providers
hard to use. offer SMS services to keep
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority's users informed about the latest
(PTA) recent quarterly report states that national and international
Pakistanis exchanged 68.51 million text mes- events and news.
After imposition of emer-
Pakistan Telecommunication gency, people start using SMS
to exchange ideas and to keep
Authority's (PTA) recent quarterly abreast of the current situation.
report states that Pakistanis Along with SMS, the GPRS
Internet facility is also attracting
exchanged 68.51 million text sages per day during January-March 2008. customers' attention due to unlimited GPRS
messages per day during With only 85 million users nationwide. It is cer- and hourly-based Internet packages. People
tainly an impressive record. can remain online without using a computer
January-March 2008. With only There are some social and financial rea- throughout their daily routine. If prices are
85 million users nationwide, it is sons behind this increment: economical pack- affordable, more increment is likely in data
ages of SMS almost offered by all cellular services with 3G mobiles.





certainly an impressive record service providers of Pakistan; SMS are not

17
 Flare Report
Telecom
obile companies in many regions
M of the world have not enjoyed the
subscriber growth witnessed
today in Pakistan, where it can be
described as no less than phe-
nomenal, propelling the telecom sector to the
stature of a powerhouse, in a short span of
time. This exponential growth is largely due to
the aggressive management and marketing
strategies adopted by the country's market
leader Mobilink.
With mobile penetration at 52 per cent
there is still great potential to be capitalized
upon in this market. It must however be noted
that the overall environment has changed sig-
nificantly in the last 5 years; where aggressive
competition within the industry has translated
into benefits for the overall consumer and
economy of Pakistan.
Telecom companies in Pakistan have effec-
tively used a mix of strategic marketing and
technological advancement to spur their
growth and become one of the fastest growing
Telecom markets in the region. Up till 2001
basic services were being provided to a small
elite customer base by few telecom players,
however, after subsequent deregulation and
investor friendly policies of the government,
we are now witnessing a highly competitive
market, spearheaded by Mobilink, where tele-
com services are accessible to all.
Coupled with the positive financial contribu-
tions that the industry is making toward the
economy as a whole, no doubt we have come
a long way in connecting the people of
Pakistan. With over 80 million people connect-
ed up till today, and tele-density at 52 per cent
we stand well above other regional telecom
players. It is especially noteworthy that a total
of Rs 235,613 Million in revenue was generat-
ed by the telecom industry in 2007 which has
18 had a major impact on the economy of
The large-scale growth
owes greatly to the
aggressive management
and marketing strategies
Pakistan. The sector is also currently con-
tributing 2% out of 7 per cent GDP to the
Government of Pakistan and in 2006-2007,
more than US$ 1,824 million were invested in
Pakistan into the telecom industry through
FDI, making it a major driver of economic
growth. This remains the sole sector within the
economy to have received such a substantial
investment, making it 35 per cent of the over-
all FDI in the country. Since its inception,
Mobilink has injected more than $2.5 billion
and continues to invest further in up gradation
of technology and infrastructure.
The positive financial contribu-
tions that the industry is making
toward the economy as a whole,
no doubt we have come a long
way in connecting the people of
Pakistan. With over 80 million
people connected up till today,
and tele-density at 52 per cent
we stand well above other
regional telecom players
Not only has the telecom industry become
a significant player for the economic growth of
Pakistan, but also its social/societal well being.
Setting aside this sector's significant contribu-
tion towards government coffers through
taxes, and the provision of a necessary service
which connects the four corners of Pakistan, it
must be noted that thousands of jobs have
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
been created through this industry. According
to figures quoted in PTA's 2007 Industry
Analysis Report, so far more that 212,000 jobs
have been created nationwide, due directly to
mobile operators, with many more as a result
of indirect and induced employment, for e.g.
support service providers, hand set retailers,
tower engineers, laborers etc.
An evolving, yet important area that must
be addressed by corporations is Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR). Corporations are
increasingly recognizing the need to give back
to the community within which they operate. It
is encouraging to note that the
Telecommunications sector of Pakistan is
spear heading this initiative as most of the
telecom operators in Pakistan are liaising with
a cross-section of NGOs and other well-known
social and charitable organizations, such as
The Citizen Foundation, The Kidney Center,
Edhi Trust and The SOS Villages to name a
few, to launch short & long terms plans to give
back to the community and nation at large. The
recently set up Mobilink Foundation is a direct
result of an organization's sincere efforts in
addressing social issues and opportunities.
On the national level, lagging fronts like the
media, sports and entertainment industry of
Pakistan have also received a great boost due
to the support of the various telecom compa-
nies, yet again Mobilink playing a pivotal role
in pioneering in recognizing people for their
contribution to Pakistan. Additionally, initiatives
like the Mobilink PCO project has contributed
towards mobilizing the rural sectors towards
gainful employment. It is a great comfort to
know that this industry is setting an example
which transcends the sphere of simply doing
business to generate revenue and is actively
taking initiatives to protect the environment,
culture and future of the country it operates
in.





 Fatima Batool
Telecom
he increasing trend of short message
T service (SMS) has encouraged cellular
players of Pakistan to offer economical
SMS packages to subscribers. These
SMS packages were triggered by Warid
Telecom with Zoom in 2006. This offer had two
variants: Zoom and Zoom unlimited. It gave
users a liberty of sending unlimited SMS to any
network in Pakistan for nominal Rs 5 (excluding
tax) per day. It was the most attractive package
at the time of its launch but was removed after
few months.
Now almost all cellular companies claim that
they offer unlimited SMS for a fix amount of
money. However, users' experience reports oth-
erwise due to hidden charges or taxes. Let's
review part and parcel of existing packages in
Pakistan.

Jazz SMS Fever
Mobilink offers its SMS bundle 'Jazz SMS
Fever', which claims unlimited number of SMS
in one month. Details and prices of 'Jazz SMS
Fever' are as follows:
Activation: All Mobilink Jazz members can
subscribe to this package by simply sending an
'SMS FEVER' to 222. This SMS costs Rs 2.30
as hidden information charges.
After a while, you will receive a reply: Catch
the 'Jazz SMS Fever' by replying with "1" for
100 weekly SMS at Rs 15, "2" for 500 fortnight-
ly SMS at Rs 50 and "3" for unlimited monthly
SMS at Rs 100!
Make sure you have enough balance
required for a package before subscription. You
will get another text message "To activate 'Jazz
SMS Fever' please call 123 and enter
123456789012334."
Finally you are done. Now you can start
using your SMS from the bundle.
Beware:
 All rates are exclusive of taxes;
 Unlimited messages are limited. These
are actually 10,000 messages and you have to
subscribe again after sending 10,000 mes-
sages. You can subscribe at most three times in
a month from your SIM;
 Messages are FREE for only on-net SMS
that is Mobilink to Mobilink;
 If you exceed either given number of SMS
20 quota or deadline, your bundle will be automat-
Now almost all cellular companies claim that they offer
unlimited SMS for a fix amount of money. However,
users' experiences report otherwise
ically expired and you will be charged normal
pricings afterwards;
" Subscribing to package involves exces-
sive mental exercise and many applicants will
waste credit due to their inability to subscribe.

Ufone SMS Bundle Offer
Ufone is the first in successfully offering bun-
dles of Limited SMS valid for any network.
Ufone offers four different SMS packages.
Activation: Send an SMS "Sub" to respective
code of the required subscription plan
For example, for unlimited package 4 send
"SUB" to 604.
Beware:
 For knowing about different packages, send
"INFO" to 600 and you will receive a precise
informing reply from service centre about all
packages but without their respective validation
time. Those who subscribe for the very first time
are usually misled about the number of package
and their respective deadlines. However, just
after subscription you will get a reminder that
you can use your messages before this date.
 All rates are exclusive of any taxes.
 You can send of-net SMS to any network in
Pakistan.
" Unlimited messages are again not limit-
ed. Ufone offers 5,000 SMS quota for Package
4, which is given as unlimited.

ZONG unlimited SMS
ZonG has recently come up with a powerful
and attractive SMS
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
bundle package, which is Rs 3 per day/free
unlimited SMS to any network in Pakistan.
To subscribe SMS "SUB" to 700 and to
unsubscribe SMS "unsubscribe" to 700.
Beware
 Terms and conditions are applied.
 Rs 3 subscription excludes taxes.

Telenor SMS Bundle
Djuice offers a straight forward offer of unlimit-
ed SMS. Rs 70 | unlimited SMS
Activation: Just dial 555 for activation.
Beware
 This package is valid for 15 days only.
 Tax is not included.
 Terms and conditions are applied.
Telenor also offers Telenor Aik Paisa SMS. For
balance sharing write "SHARE" <space> mobile
number (of family or friend) <space> amount
and send to 140. For other messages, type
mobile number <space> message and send to
140. If the recipient replies to Telenor notifica-
tion with "Y" then Rs 1.00 (exclusive tax) will be
charged to him or her. You will be charged only
Rs 0.01 (inclusive tax). This offer is for both
post-paid and pre-paid customers and is valid to
only three messages a day.

Warid SMS Craze
Warid offers a different and fair bundle. For just
Rs 150, you can send up to 2,000 SMS or MMS
to any network in Pakistan in 30 days. Along
with it, Warid SMS Craze subscribers get 10 MB
of mobile internet for a monthly subscription of
Rs150 inclusive of all taxes.
How to subscribe?
Call 100 and select SMS Craze. It is compara-
tively so simple that you can hardly believe that
your SMS package is activated.
Beware
 You will be charged Rs 11.5 for this package
activation.
 Send up to 2,000 SMS or MMS to any num-
ber in Pakistan in one month.
 You will be charged Rs 150 and that
includes all taxes.
 Like all other cellular SMS bundles, SMS
Craze is available for only prepaid
users. Post paid users better switch to
pre-pay.
 You have to subscribe just once.
Afterwards if you have sufficient balance,
automatic deduction will keep you subscribed.
Well, after reviewing all offers we can conclude
that fair-play is rarely witnessed. The craze of
sending SMS has increased manifold in recent
years. Recently, PTCL has come up with Kehdo
SMS but after the inclusion of more charges on
cell phone services further growth in the tele-
com sector is doubtful. 
 Flare Lahore Panel
Interview
The industry is undergoing an evolutionary
process. It is near to the maturity level. Any
mistake committed by any player can reverse the
whole situation. The players can be divided into
three main categories: stand alone LDI operators,
WLL with LDI operators and GSM LDI operators.
Mr IMRAN GILLANI Country Manager for Sales
and Distribution, Wisecomm, Speaks to FLARE
panel in an exclusive interview
s in other sectors, there is a frightening
A competition in the information technolo-
gy (IT) field as well and selling a prod-
uct, especially in the telecom sector, is
no easy job. It is definitely an altogeth-
er different thing when viewed from an unbiased
and professional angle. Indeed the more you put
in to grow, the more money you make. The
FLARE team approached Mr Imran Gillani, the
Country Manager for Sales and Distribution,
Wisecomm, to know his expert opinion and
thoughts in this context. Following are excerpts
from an exclusive interview to the FLARE
panel:
FLARE: Would you like to enlighten us on your pro-
fessional career?
Imran Gillani: Yes, sure. I have been serving the
telecom industry for the last 10 years. My previ-
ous assignments were with WorldCall Telecom
as their Group Product Manager for WLL & LDI.
Before this assignment, I was self-employed and
used to run my own internet company in Lahore.
During that period, I analysed the complete evo-
lution in the IT sector right from its infancy to the
recession period confronted by Pakistan.
Looking back, I'll say that there is no alterna-
tive to gain experience but I would still say that
basically experience that teaches you a lot.
Here, I would like to share an interesting fact.
During the recession period, when I was about
to close my IT business I always shifted the
blame onto the shoulders of the government for
not being supportive but now when I look at the
past, I see multiple reasons of the downturn in
economy in the IT sector as it tends to affect it.
FLARE: How do you manage to sell calling cards in
a scenario where GSM operators are offering
aggressive rates?
22 Imran Gillani: Well, selling a telecom product is a
totally different ball-game. It consists of four
major components: the packaging of a product,
communication of a product, the distribution of a
product and lastly the after-sale-support. Unlike
FMCG where the sales department even does
not know the ingredients of the product, they
cannot design a media strategy and are respon-
sible only for the product. The telecom selling
skill needs perfect knowledge and a skilled
background. We have to remain vigilant always
about options available with our consumers and
we try to be competitive all the time in this rapid-
ly-changing industry. It helps us in building the
consumer confidence in our product, thus result-
ing in the brand loyalty.
FLARE: Have you got any complaint against PTCL
as a company?
Imran Gillani: Among all other beneficiaries the
only victim of properly planned de-regulation is
always the incumbent. In my opinion, PTCL had
taken a very long time in understanding the
after-effects of de-regulation. I always clarify a
misconception among my friends, as regards
PTCL, that does not treat an LDI operator as
your competitor but considers him as your distri-
bution wing who works hard to earn revenue for
you. The more you put in to grow, the more
money you make. At this stage, PTCL needs to
understand that the telecom business is all
about collecting minutes and PTCL must identi-
fy the actual competitor who snatched the min-
utes from them.
To PTCL, that enemy meaning rival is none
other than the GSM industry. The role of LDI is a
transit for the last-mile operators and anyone
related to this business can fairly assess the sig-
nificant share of termination and origination
being transferred to GSM from PTCL. The day
PTCL will consider us as its distribution partner
in a true spirit we will have no complaints about
it anymore.
FLARE: Can you apprise us of the duration of de-
regulation?
Imran Gillani: Every changed environment con-
sists of a logical background and de-regulation
is actually the result of an incredible growth in
this age of technological advancement. In this
global village, no-one can forestall the strong
and powerful impact on new technologies. It is
the responsibility of the regulator to identify an
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
appropriate time to allow technology for the
interest of the consumer. Moreover, the stake-
holders are equally responsible as far as their
positive role in this context is concerned. I per-
sonally feel that the market-players with their
past experiences are mature enough to pave the
way for the success.
FLARE: What are your views on the future of LDI,
in Pakistan?
Imran Gillani: The industry is undergoing an evo-
lutionary process. It is near to the maturity level.
Any mistake committed by any player can
reverse the whole situation. The players can be
divided into three main categories: stand alone
LDI operators, LL with LDI operators and GSM
LDI operators. All these three categories have
different business models. The need of the hour
is to understand each other's point of view and
to share the strengths and weaknesses of indi-
vidual models among all the stakeholders. If this
is done by professionals, I see the future much
brighter than it looks today.
FLARE: How would you assess and evaluate the
government's policy with regard to the telecom
sector?
Imran Gillani: As far as the government's policies
regarding the growth in the telecom sector are
concerned, it is immaculate; but as for the ben-
efit to the nation it is still questionable. Much
more of the foreign investment is exported back
in the name of management fee by the multina-
tional groups. Over and above a huge import of
mobile phones is yet another worst example.
Moreover, levying additional tax in this budget is
not a rational and justifiable approach. However,
I must say that a fairly large number of people
have been employed in this sector.
FLARE: Are you satisfied with the quality on call-
ing cards?
Imran Gillani: Yes, if I talk about consumers and
then the general perception, the voice quality on
the fixed line is matchless, and in Pakistan call-
ing cards are mainly operative on the fixed line
so I do not see any problems in this area of
activity. One of the ultimate reasons liable to
affect the voice quality is the selection of a carri-
er. So we can proudly claim that we have the
best voice quality. Our policy is to work with the
best-reputed and renowned carriers in the
world.





 Flare Report
Telecom
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
(PTA) has finally released its Quarterly Report
on Pakistan's Telecom Industry (for the first
quarter) 2008. The report seeks to focus on
and highlight telecom sector's economic facts
and figures.
Local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
Following the trend of other industries in
Pakistan, the telecom sector has shown a con-
siderable decline in local and/or foreign direct
investment (FDI). Only a major investment was
made by Oman Telecom it brokered a deal with
WorldCall to buy its 65 per cent shares, valuing
US$200 million.
Along with a nominal portion of investment
compared to previous periods was contributed
by cellular companies, which are pushing
ahead with their network. The cellular compa-
nies spent a total of US$433 million in the first
quarter of the current year. However, the recent
investment announcements made by Warid
and ZonG are going to reshuffle this graph in
the next one year.
A total of US$156.6 million were brought
into Pakistan under the FDI account; which
showed a decline rate of 47 per cent when
compared to the previous quarter. This decline
was due to the geo-political situation and insta-
bility in Pakistan, which resulted in an overall
decline of FDI by 17 per cent. Another reason
is low FDI due to the fact that the local financial
market has enabled cellular companies to gen-
erate revenue locally.
Other than cellular companies, companies
including LDIs, LLs, WLLs have repeatedly
showcased low investments.
24
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
PTA's Quarterly Report 2008 focuses on the telecom
sector's economic facts and figures
GST/CED Revenues their share climbing up in the next couple of
We know that the telecom sector has been months.
contributing to the national exchequer greatly The SIM Activation Tax is directly depend-
through GST, CED, SIM Activation Tax, ent on the number of new subscribers. It may
Withholding Tax, Regulatory Fee, contribution be recalled that the government charges PKR
for USF and other duties. 500 per SIM as in the case of Activation Tax. A
total Activation Tax of PKR 4551.5 million was
collected in the first quarter of 2008 almost
PKR 700 million, yet less than that of the previ-
ous quarter.
This share was PKR 8.9 billion in 2001-02,
which gained momentum after the emergence
of Ufone, Telenor and Warid Telecom, taking
the share to go up to PKR 36.3 billion in 2006-
07.
The rate war among telecom companies
has brought down prices to the lowest possible PTA has included cellular companies' rev-
limit. As a result, the CED and GST contribution enue statistics, which clearly alludes to the per-
has poised. Despite the addition of over 25 mil- formance of cellular companies in terms of rev-
lion customers in the cellular base in 2007-08, enues.
net increase in CED/GST was something Telecom imports
noticeable. The telecom imports remained at US$964
A total of PKR 10.89 billion was given away million in the first three quarters of 2007-08.
to the government by telecom companies/sub- The imports of telecom equipment saw a
scribers under these taxes, which is almost the decline of US$42 million when compared to the
same as the three previous quarters in the first previous quarter. On the contrary, handset
quarter of 2008. imports rose up from US$80.3 million in the
The CED, GST, SIM Activation Tax, revenue previous quarter to US$09.9 million in 2008.
for all cellular companies are shown in the
graphs given below:
Mobilink leads here for GST/CED contribu-
tion with PKR 3576.6 million, Telenor stands
second with PKR 2438.5 million. A noticeable
point about Ufone is that they contribute almost
half of Telenor's share i.e. PKR 1275.2 million.
Ufone occupies the third position, slightly
ahead of Warid Telecom, which gave away
Note: All stats, graphs and other details are
taken from PTA's Quarterly Report for Q1,
2008.





PKR 1118.2 million. The new entrant, ZonG,
falls at 5th with PKR 508 million. We may see
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
The 'Mobilink Infinity' is now a full-fledged operational business with-
in Mobilink. The 'Mobilink Infinity' will provide high-speed and reli-
able Internet connectivity along with access to a landline through VoIP
obilink has launched a new serv-
M ice called WiMAX in Pakistan and
thus become number 2 after the
country's most popular telecom
company, Wateen Telecom, which
last year introduced the WiMAX service in
Pakistan. The name of the package is
'Mobilink Infinity'. It has initially opened the
broadband service from a big city like Karachi
before it goes ahead, as one of its other revo-
lutionising plans, from July 1 from the current
year.
This is a big day in the history of Mobilink -
a step regarded as providing cutting edge
broadband services to our customers,
enabling the next cycle of growth and opportu-
nities for Mobilink. In a country with 165 million
people, around 12 million already enjoy
access to the Internet and just 128,000 have
access to the broadband. "Our aim is to make
this an affordable and accessible service for
people as we have done with GSM," said an
official document of Mobilink.
The 'Mobilink Infinity' is now a full-fledged
operational business within Mobilink. The
'Mobilink Infinity' will provide high-speed and
reliable Internet connectivity along with access
to a landline through VoIP. This is a soft launch
and limited to Karachi. "We are giving a very
special pre-launch discount to these cus-
tomers." (See customer invitation and pre-
launch offer letters).
To begin with, according to two official doc-
uments, WiMAX services would start in
Karachi as a soft launch until they are suc-
cessfully tested and taken to other regions of
Pakistan.
Let's look into the tariff before going into
further details…! Free installation is for cus-
Free installation is for cus-
tomers subscribing before
September 30, 2008; free
calls for all 'Mobilink Infinity'
and 'Mobilink GSM' users (for
a limited period of time).
Prices look stunning; they
are far better than any other
broadband service provider
in Pakistan
tomers subscribing before September 30,
2008; free calls for all 'Mobilink Infinity' and
'Mobilink GSM' users (for a limited period of
time). Prices look stunning; they are far better
than any other broadband serv-
ice provider in Pakistan.
'Mobilink Infinity' has broken
the PKR 2,000 barrier for 1 Mbps
link that was being offered by
LinkDotNet, PTCL and other
ISPs and taken it down to just
PKR 1,199. Not only this, the
package comes with VoIP privi-
leges and that too with free calls
from WiMax (infinity) to WiMax
(infinity) and on any 'Mobilink
GSM' subscribers (defiantly a
limited time offer) but this a treat.
For promotional period, this
first-time payment is lessened to
PKR 8,000. Home users may not
like to pay this huge amount.
Otherwise, things seemed so
well.
Apart from pricing, services,
response time, customer sup-
port, reliability and network
uptime are other features that would come
under consideration in the long run. We know
Flare Report Telecom
that WiMAX is an evolving technology; hence,
like any voice/data network, we should expect
issues earlier on, but once streamlined, the
'Mobilink Infinity' is going to give tough time to
not only Wateen but other broadband service
providers too.
To be sure, the future is of WiMAX. The
minimum package of PTCL DSL is Rs 1,000
plus taxes. If a customer, who wants to have a
really good speed and he hardly uses 1GB,
might be wasting approximately Rs 700
monthly on that package. Wateen's packages
start from Rs 250 for 1GB. On the other hand,
you have to pay fixed line rent of Rs 210 plus
taxes for PTCL, also if you want only DSL at
home. DSL speed, through conventional lines,
gets very slow on the user-end, whereas the
WiMAX speed cannot get as slow due to direct
link to the user-end equipment and the service
tower.
Mobilink is going to give a tough time to
Wateen just like they did with LinkDotNet.
Wateen Telecom's launch is Pakistan's first
and the world's largest WiMAX deployment.
The team are confident of the market's growth
and of long-term benefits as far as these serv-
ices and solutions may yield to Pakistan.
The Mobilink WiMAX network offered high-
speed Internet to its customers. WiMax is the
latest global technology to deliver broadband
services to the end user. With Alcatel-Lucent,
Huawei and Motorola among its list of
renowned network vendors, Mobilink's WiMax
infrastructure is in good shape. Based on the
latest IEEE 802.16e-2005 standards, the
Mobilink's WiMAX network is deployed in the
3.5GHz spectrum.
WiMax is bound to bring a broadband revo-
lution in the country with subscriber growth in
multiple folds. This would not only bring
Pakistan at par with technologically advanced
nations, but will also stimulate data use in the
country. Data services are expected to flourish
and the demand in new arenas of data han-
dling will be generated.





25
 M N Raza
Telecom
nce Wordsworth was saved from the
O financial crunch, he left the city dun-
geon and made an abode in the lap of
natural beauty that always haunted
him when he used to be in the walled
captivity. He came to the Lake District to give
vent to his utmost and powerful sentiments in
the form of poetry. He used to say that poetry is
a spontaneous outflow of powerful feelings. But
the people of the modern age are not lucky
enough to get themselves rid of the worries and
cares of life which has become fast with full of
sufferings and cares. Financial constraints have
made it even more miserable. But the youth has
their peculiar style to get through this life of mis-
eries and sufferings.
They enjoy themselves with variety of the
activities. The modern era is a period of techno-
logical boom. Every new dawn comes up with
something new as the people have ceased to
be surprised. The advancement and introduc-
tion of mobile phone is one of the wonders
which is constantly filling the hearts with new
amazements. Although mobile phone utility has
brought many comforts in people's lives but it
also brings some sufferings which are not to be
mentioned here. At present some hilarious and
funny aspects are to be brought into the lime-
light attached to the cell phones particularly
relating to the youth. It was learnt from our older
generation that early rising benefits a lot.
After a long pause of shame and
astonishment, I moved forward
with long breaths in the morning
which appeared to be caressing
air my cheeks and giving me
delight unknown to me previous-
ly. I then again cast my attention
to the young people but again I
got astounded because all of
them were putting their one
hand on their ear
We have never been able to follow this valu-
able advice to get benefit from the early rising
and going out for a morning jaunt. After years of
resolution to go out for a walk, one day I got an
opportunity to get up early due to some diges-
tion or other problem. When I reached the
ground, I was stunned rather shocked to find
many young people who were roaming on the
green grass in a leisurely manner. I felt
ashamed and cursed myself for lacking the
courage for such a pleasure which those youth
were enjoying.
Then I cast an eye upon my previous life and
a sense of loss gripped my heart. I felt that I
26 have lost so many mornings lying on the bed
sleeping and snorting. Then I saw those youth
and I found myself just a pigmy while comparing
myself with them. I began to curse myself for
they were active and efficient but I lost my youth
in slackness and irresolution. I also concluded
that they would be healthy, active and energetic
while ours laziness was a proverb among the
relatives and friends. O' what a pity I felt for
myself!
After a long pause of shame and astonish-
ment, I moved forward with long breaths in the
morning which appeared to be caressing my
cheeks and giving me delight unknown to me
previously. I then again cast my attention to the
young people but again I got astounded
because all of them were putting their one hand
on their ear. For a while I thought it might be
due to some problem but all of them could not
face the same problem at the same time. I
moved a little farther and found that each one
had a mobile attached to their respective ear.
Then I began to understand the real situation.
All my curses turned into appreciation for all of
them were suffering from the disease which
always ails the youth though there are excep-
tions like me who could not fall in this delightful
disease owing to some untold deficiencies.
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
While passing by one of the gallant youth, some
of his sweet words poured into my ears and my
assessment proved true that they were the vic-
tims of love and chatting in the early hours to
avoid any untoward which always comes in the
way to love-making. I returned home thinking
how the youth were forced to get up early in the
morning.
This reminded me a joke. Once
in an American town, a drunken
fellow came out of the bar. He
was having a gin bottle in his
pocket of the overcoat. While
stumbling across the road, a
speedy car hit him and he went
away rolling on the ground.
While getting up he felt some
sticky liquid on his side upon the
chest. He prayed, 'O, God, it
must be my blood
Once, I was driving on a busy city road when
I saw a bike rider, a young fellow going ahead
got stumbled and his bike swayed side to side.
I put break, he stopped a while, took out his
mobile and began to chat. With one hand he
continued his ride. On the next round about a
heavy truck took an abrupt turn, the bike rider
too moved left and got off the road to save him-
self while the mobile was still stuck to his ear.
He could not keep control, fumbled and fell
down rolling off the road. After a while, he stood
up and the mobile was still glued to his ear.
This reminded me a joke. Once in an
American town, a drunken fellow came out of
the bar. He was having a gin bottle in his pock-
et of the overcoat. While stumbling across the
road, a speedy car hit him and he went away
rolling on the ground. While getting up he felt
some sticky liquid on his side upon the chest.
He prayed, 'O, God, it must be my blood.
On another occasion, I entered a public toi-
let in government office where the toilets were
in a row. As I entered a wash room, I heard a
loud hallow from the neighbouring wash room
which made me stand spellbound and I thought
how overwhelmingly mobile phones had pre-
vailed upon our lives. I hurried out to have a
look at the person calling shots even in the
wash room. After a while, a young fellow in blue
jeans with long curly hair stepped out of the
wash room still conversing on the mobile
phone.
You must have had many ridiculous sights
arising out of the use of the cell phones. I have
share some with you. If you have some alike
you may share with me on the Flare email.




 Flare Report
IT
oogle, with more than 60 per cent of
G the Web search market, and Yahoo,
with more than 16.6 per cent
announced a deal that would allow
Yahoo to place Google ads on its site
and collect the revenue. Some marketing exec-
utives have expressed concern the deal
between the two biggest sellers over of search
advertising as it may affect the pricing of the
ads.
Yahoo says it plans to use extra money to
invest in its own search engine. Google, mean-
while, hopes to keep Yahoo out of the arms of
Microsoft its main adversary. Microsoft CEO
Steve Ballmer has stated that the company
does not want to inherit the regulatory problems
and potential lawsuits that would come with
buying a Google-supported Yahoo.
David Kenny, the chief executive of Digitas,
said: "We are happy with that agreement. It has
been mis-communicated. Actually they had
agreed to work out on an open platform. "We
think that is okay because it means it is like all
open markets, when you buy equity, you can
buy it anywhere and the more open and trans-
parent it is, the more accurate the pricing is he
maintained."
It was later announced that on-again, off-
28
The world's greatest professional
mind has resigned from Microsoft at
a time when it is badly striving for its
top position
again merger talks
between Yahoo and
Microsoft Corp had
failed. Microsoft offered
to acquire Yahoo in
February for$ 44.6 bil-
lion. When Yahoo held
out for more than the
software giant was will-
ing to pay, Microsoft
withdrew an increased
bid of $47.5 billion in
early May and proposed
buying Yahoo's search
business for$ 9 billion a
month later. Instead,
Yahoo cut a deal with
Google in mid-June to run some of Google's
search ads on its Web properties, and says it
expects to generate an additional $250 million
to $450 million in cash flow.
Microsoft is trying to block this deal. Antitrust
experts disagree with Microsoft's argument that
Google's search ad pact with Yahoo will make
Google too big and too powerful. "I see them
exercising political jargon here he said.
There are the three main attributes that are
jeopardised by the potential Google/Yahoo deal.
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Profitability: If Google makes more money
and Yahoo makes more money, where it is
going to come from. The funds will come from
advertisers. Regardless of how much you pay
today on one engine versus the next, the
increased revenue ultimately comes from the
advertiser.
Tracking/Measurement: Search marketers
love data and the specificity with which they can
optimise their ads. The potential partnership
removes a level of granularity marketers have
become accustomed to leveraging. The Google
search user differs vastly from the Yahoo search
user. Thus, the same keyword may perform dif-
ferently on Google than it does on Yahoo.
Targeting: Based on the performance met-
rics tracked, variables are optimised. This may
mean utilising different ad copy, landing pages
and bidding strategies on Yahoo than on
Google. Google has stated that advertisers will
be able to see which ads served on Yahoo
through the HTTP referrer.
With or without Yahoo, Microsoft is continu-
ing efforts to chip away at Google's dominance.
The company last month introduced a "cash-
back" programme to pay users money whenev-
er they buy products like the Wii or digital cam-
eras on Microsoft's Live Search engine.





 Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event

"There won't be a day in my life when I

won't be thinking about Microsoft, the
great things that we're doing and wanting
to help," said Gates, who wiped away
tears as the group of employees rose to
give him a standing ovation

n July 1, 2008 Bill Gates officially

O retired from his daily duties as the soft-

ware giant Microsoft. He has left to
begin a second life as a full-time phi-
lanthropist and to explore his dizzying
range of intellectual interests. The one concrete
commitment Gates has made to Ballmer, other
than continuing to chair the board meetings, is
that he will keep working with the search and
advertising team and spend two-and-a-half
hours on it each week.
Despite these challenges, beyond the han-
dover between Gates and Ballmer, the company
is seeing a restructuring of the workforce, with
Chief Media Officer Joanne Bradford and Vice
President of Windows core technology Rob
Short resigning from their positions this year.
Further losses will see Jeff Rakes, Business
Divisions' Chief retiring next September.
Gates founded Microsoft to develop software
for the Altair 8800, a precursor to personal com-
puter (PC). The company rose to dominate the
home computer market with its MS-DOS operat-
ing system in the mid-1980s. Microsoft sur-
passed Lotus Development Corporation to
become the largest software maker in 1987 and
Gates became the world's youngest self-made
billionaire at 31. He took the company and
unveiled its first operating system and word-pro-
cessing programme. Today, Windows runs 95
per cent of the world's personal computers.
Throughout its history Microsoft has criticised
for its monopoly status and anti-competitive
business practices.
The world's third richest man, the co-founder
of Microsoft, has always been something of a
utopian. In his mind, even the world's knottiest
problems can be solved if you apply enough IQ.
And that explains the third dimension of Bill
Gates' new life giving that "world-class curios-
ity" some room to run. His reading and learning
have always been systematic. It's his nature.
Ballmer is confident he can
steer the company without
Gates. "I'm not going to need
him for anything. That's the
principle," Ballmer told the
Wall Street Journal. "Use him,
yes, need him, no."
His father and sisters recall how young Bill
would refuse to leave his room to come to the
dinner table because he was much busy "think-
ing". But for many years, as he built Microsoft,
his field of vision was of necessity rather narrow.
There are plenty of reasons for this inauspicious
30 resignation timing for 52-year-old Gates.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and company' CEO Steve Ballmer take a reporter's question during a news conference at company
headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
This spring Microsoft led by Ballmer failed to
consummate a big deal with Yahoo, which it
now seems to have pushed into the arms of
archrival Google. Last year's rollout of the latest
version of Windows, called Vista, was a public
relations and consumer marketing disaster.
Bill Gates will have three offices: one at
Microsoft in Redmond, second about 15 miles
away at the Gates Foundation in downtown
Seattle, and third almost exactly at an equal dis-
tance between the other two (and much closer
to home).
Gates' official title, which he shares with his
wife and father, is co-chair but his real role will
be as the organization's chief strategic thinker.
And Gates is teaming with ideas, especially
about scientific things. Unlike most benefactors,
he does not merely want to eradicate malaria
and AIDS; he wants to understand the nuances
of immunology. He wants to learn about what
happens on a molecular scale when a plant's
genes are altered to improve hardiness. He
insists on knowing the precise legal reasons
women in developing countries are robbed of
their estates when they become widows.
His departure raises some obvious and very
large questions about the future of Microsoft:
Does the company have what it takes to thrive
without its iconic founder at the helm?
The challenges that Microsoft faces are liter-
ally enormous. At its scale, growth means con-
fronting the law of large numbers. Ballmer notes
with exasperation that in order to increase earn-
ings by 15 per cent for 2009, the company will
have to create $4 billion in new pre-tax operat-
ing income. At that size, can Microsoft still pos-
sibly be a growth company? The famously com-
petitive Gates may be leaving, but Ballmer
insists Microsoft will be no less aggressive with-
out him.
The biggest reason that Microsoft can pull off
that kind of performance is that its venerable
Windows operating system monopoly remains
wildly profitable. Despite the problems with
Vista, Windows sales grew 11.3 per cent in 2008
fiscal year, to $16.7 billion, according to
Goldman Sachs. About 75 per cent of that is
operating profit.
In the next 18 months, Microsoft will launch
three separate Windows products, more or less
in tandem. Aside from the flagship Windows 7,
which will succeed Vista for PCs, the company
will launch a new version of Windows Mobile as
well as a new version of the services known as
Windows Live.
Microsoft is also selling web services to busi-
ness. Any company that wants to purchase
5,000 seats or more for a Microsoft Exchange
email system can use something called
Exchange Online, completely hosted by
Microsoft on servers it dedicates to that compa-
ny. Coca-Cola Enterprises has 70,000 employ-
ees using such a system. Microsoft is also now
beta-testing a do-it-yourself version of
Exchange Online in which companies, as small
as five people, will be able to create a corporate
e-mail system just by going to a website and
submitting a credit card number. Microsoft will
host and maintain the service.





 Flare Report
Telecom
eadphones are a pair of small loud-
H speakers, or less commonly a single
speaker, to hold them close to the
user's ears and a means of connecting
to a stereophonic, monophonic or bin-
aural audio frequency signal source such as an
audio amplifier, radio or a CD player. In the con-
text of telecommunication, the term headset is
used to describe a combination of headphone
and microphone used for two-way communica-
tion i.e. with a telephone or a computer.
As an appreciable step ahead in the direction
of revolutionizing the world of telecom,
Walkmans and Discmans of neo-global world
paved way for MP3s, CD/DVD players, iPODs,
headsets and other accessories of the global vil-
lage.
Ear-pads have played a significant role not
only to entertain but also to educate. The trend
of audio and video education has increased
manifold in the world, especially in the United
States, Europe, Australia, Canada, Britain and
even in Pakistan. Now there is no need to sink
your head into big books to deliver a lecture,
Canal phones are generally
believed to be safer than open
air headphones for use in a
noisy environment. The reason
is that much of the external
noise, which is usually heard
while using earphones or
headphones is blocked out by
canal phones, therefore,
allowing the user to listen at
lower volume levels without
having to turn up to the listen-
ing device to compete with a
background noise
because there are storehouses of knowledge in
shape of books and lectures available on com-
pact disks (CD) to make education more acces-
sible and paperless. And headphones play a
vital role in facilitating individuals in many ways:

Headphones provide people privacy to amuse
themselves without disturbing others;

They are smaller, affordable and better in
quality than loudspeakers; Moreover, there is no
need to arrange or treat a room before bringing
headphones in there;
34

High-quality headphones can have an
extremely flat low-frequency response
down to 20 Hz within 3dB;

Headphones are also useful for video-
games that use 3D positional audio pro-
cessing algorithms as they allow players to
better judge the position of an off-screen
sound source (such as the footsteps of an
opponent);

Headsets can have ergonomic benefits over
the traditional telephone handset because they
allow call centre agents and other users to main-
tain better posture instead of tilting their head
sideways to cradle a handset.
However, ear-buds have also some disad-
vantages which must not be overlooked.
Using headphones at a sufficiently high vol-
ume level can cause temporary or permanent
hearing impairment or deafness due to an effect
called 'masking'. Experts say that the growing
popularity of portable music players and other
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
A complete isolation from the out-
side noise can be a hazard in itself
because a user could miss the
sound of a car horn and walk into
traffic with damaging conse-
quences. Losing situational
awareness can also lead to some
robbery incident or an attempted
robbery, particularly in an area
where bumping into another per-
son would just be ignored e.g. sub-
way stations
items which are attached directly onto ears have
contributed a lot to the problem of a hearing loss
among younger people.
Other risks arise from reduced awareness of
external sounds. Some jurisdictions regulate the
use of headphones, while driving vehicles usual-
ly limit the use of earphones to
a single ear. A complete isola-
tion from the outside noise can
be a hazard in itself because a
user could miss the sound of a
car horn and just walk into traf-
fic with life risk. Losing situa-
tional awareness can also lead
to some robbery incident or an
attempted robbery, particularly
in an area where bumping into
another person would just be
ignored e.g. subway stations.
Today, according to spe-
cialists, many people wear
headphones not just to enjoy
music but also to block vehicu-
lar noise like that of buses,
trains or just in streets. All that
can contribute to some kind of
a hearing loss.
More than 70 per cent of young Aussies
show early signs of hearing loss and loud music
played through stereo-phones. An Australian
hearing survey found that tinnitus, or ringing in
the ears, was more common among 18 to 34
years olds than among the elderly, even though
it was seen as one of the first signs of hearing
loss. According to the National Institute on
Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
(NIDOCD) 30 million Americans suffer some
degree of hearing loss due to loud music. One-
third can attribute their hearing loss to noise
exposure. A noise-induced hearing loss is the
second most self-reported occupational illness
or injury.
The headphone volume has to compete with
the background noise, especially in excessively
loud places such as subway stations, airplanes,
and large crowds. This leads to the disappear-
ance of the normal pain associated with higher
levels of volume. Extended periods of the exces-
sively loud volume may be damaging. However,
a hearing expert found that fewer than 5 per cent
of users select volume levels and listen fre-
quently enough to risk hearing loss.





 Flare Report
Event
"Mobile advertising is the future but the key, is how to make it a reali-
ty without degrading the user experience"
ommunicAsia 2008 is the region's pre-
C mier infocomm technology event held
annually in Singapore. CommunicAsia
2008 opens on June 17 and continues
till June 20. The infocomm companies
from around the world assemble to display their
latest products and technology at the Singapore
Expo between Hall 2B and 6.
Minister for Information, Communication and
Arts Dr Lee Boon Yang told the crowd at the
Infocomm Media Business Exchange (IMBX)
that the "spectacular results" in Singapore's info-
comm industry had seen revenues jump nearly
14 per cent to SG$51.7 billion last year.
On the occasion, he also announced a series
of initiatives of a SGD20 million dollars invest-
ment in security applications to ensure confiden-
tiality of personal transactions done online with
the National Authentication Framework. Security
tokens similar to bank authentication ones will
be issued, or generated, to provide a second
layer of security for all Singapore residents.
Internet capable handsets occupy discus-
sants throughout CommunicAsia Conference.
Lower costs are attracting more and more users
to access the Internet via their mobiles and
offering opportunities to advertisers and
Data from research house
IDC showed Nokia as the
leader in the mobile phone
industry with almost 40 per
cent of the market in the first
quarter, having sold more than
115 million handsets during
the period. Samsung, ranked
second, sold 46.3 million
mobile phones and had market
share of 15.9 per cent in the
March quarter, while Motorola
placed third with a market
share of 9.4 per cent on sales
of 27.4 million units, the IDC
data showed
industry players. Flat rates for data are becom-
ing increasingly common and mobile devices for
accessing the Internet content are more widely
36
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
available. "It becomes cheaper and cheaper
to just get one megabyte of data that enables,
probably, some change in the user behaviour,"
Andre Levisse of McKinsey and Company
remarked during a panel discussion at the con-
ference.
Richard Tan, business director of Telkomsel
Indonesia, agreed that the data plan prices were
dropping. "I think connectivity is now more
affordable," Tan opined. "Personal computers
are too expensive for users in many markets,"
says Niren Hiro, Vice President for Business
Development with Admob, a mobile advertising
marketplace. "So I think, generally, there are
going to be a lot of first-time users who go to
their phone for content."
Yahoo launched in Singapore and India
oneSearch with voice, allowing English speak-
ers to search by speaking into BlackBerry
mobile devices. David Ko, Vice President of
Yahoo! Connected Life, Asia Pacific, thinks that A promoter shows the latest mobile phone at the
more work needs to be done on developing an CommunicAsia 2008 exhibition in Singapore. The
"open platform" that would allow publishers to world's leading mobile phone-makers, Nokia and
write content for different operating systems and Samsung, fighting back against popular email-enabled
different browsers. Yahoo! has focused on mak- BlackBerry smar tphones and their iPhone rivals.
ing mobile Internet searches easier through its
oneSearch service.
While the industry tries to offer more enter-
tainment options and easier access, there is a
great potential for mobile advertising growth, the
panellists said. "Mobile advertising is the future,"
Montanaro said. But the key, said Ko, is "how to
make it a reality without degrading the user
experience."
"I know that there has been disappointment
in the past over digital content," says Mauro
Montanaro, Chief Executive Officer of Jamba, a
global provider of mobile entertainment includ-
ing music, videos and games. "The key problem
today is that most of the users do not know
about services. Our challenge is marketing."
Finnish telecom giant Nokia has launched
two new email-capable handsets for business
users and vowed to defend its position as the
world's leading mobile phone-maker. Nokia E71
and E66 are pre-loaded with Microsoft's popular
A model poses in front of a company booth, promoting
email programmes and will cater to business the latest IT innovative solution with 3D convergence at
professionals who want easy and instant access the CommunicAsia 2008.
to their messages. "With the 'E' series we want
to serve people who are passionate about their have grown our share
work," explains Chris Carr, Nokia's Vice with the broadest portfo-
President for Regional Sales. The two phones lio of devices in the
would be available in July and support email industry. Nokia remains
accounts from key Internet service providers an undisputed leader
such as Yahoo and Goole's Gmail. and it is a leadership
There are an estimated 1.5 billion email mantle we will not
users globally and this number is set to go up to relinquish," Carr
4 billion mobile users by the end of 2009. "We affirmed. "You know,
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Visitors check out Samsung's smar t phones on display at the
CommunicAsia 2008 exhibition in Singapore.
Models with latest LG mobiles on LG stall at CommunicAsia.
Advance collection of music players remains an attraction for
music lovers.
"We have grown our share
with the broadest portfolio of
devices in the industry...
Nokia remains the undisputed
leader and it is a leadership
mantle we will not relinquish,"
Carr affirms
today, there is an enormous amount of people. I
think 1.5 billion people are connected with email
devices or with email accounts," says Carr.
The business mobile sector is currently dom-
inated by Canada's Research in Motion (RIM),
maker of the BlackBerry smart phone combining
a mobile phone and personal digital assistant
(PDA). The BlackBerry allows users to browse
the Internet, use email and make calls. It has
already proved a big hit with business execu-
tives worldwide. Nathan Burley, an analyst with
the Ovum telecommunications consultancy,
says that Nokia E71 has narrowed the gap
between the Finnish giant and RIM's BlackBerry,
which has enjoyed a phenomenal success
Sony Ericsson: Visitors to
www.sonyericsson.com/worldview can look thru
the lens of mobile phone photographers all over
the world by a new flash-photo gallery which
offers par ticipants an option to include a
mini-biography and a photo description of
themselves.
Samsung Omni launched at CommunicAsia 2008.
because of its email feature. Burley called the
E71 "quite an impressive device" given its fea-
tures, adding, "They have probably caught up
with RIM."
Apple is also taking aim at the corporate mar-
ket with the launch of its touch-screen-activated
3G iPhone, which will come with faster Internet
access and more features for business users
than its initial iPhone. The BlackBerry which
combines a mobile phone and personal digital
assistant allows users to browse Internet, use e-
mail and make calls.
Samsung's Omnia: South Korea's Samsung
this week unveiled its Omnia device, a smart
phone that comes with a touch-sensitive screen,
email functions, a five mega-pixel camera and
GPS navigation function. It also has access to
Microsoft office programmes such as
PowerPoint, Excel and Word. "When you look at
the timing and the features that Samsung is talk-
ing about, it is positioned directly against the
iPhone," says Aloysius Choong, a research
manager with industry research group IDC.
Omnia capitalises on the buzz for smart
Event
phones created by the iPhone and will offer an
alternative choice for consumers. Josh Delgado,
Samsung's Director for Telecommunications in
Australia, describes Omnia as "more than just a
phone." It is pitched at consumers who "are not
satisfied with all-in-one touch devices" available
in the market, he said, adding Omnia does not
aim at Apple's iPhone. "There is a lot of hype
around iPhone but there are carriers, customers
who do not have iPhones," he said.
Sony Ericsson: In its bid to expand the cus-
tomer base, Sony Ericsson, the Swedish-
Japanese phone-maker, has introduced a V-like
handset which allows users to play games while
using the phone as a motion sensor. The mobile
has F305 which acts as a motion sensor, while
playing pre-loaded games including bowling and
bass fishing. Howard Lewis, Vice President and
Head of the Product Business Unit, said: "This is
our first foray into motion gaming. We see gam-
ing as a way to interact with our young cus-
tomers... it is a new area of the market that Sony
Ericsson is entering into." Sony Ericsson also
unveiled a mobile phone with a high resolution
of 8.1 mega-pixel built-in camera which the com-
pany's executives say is the first for a wireless
handset.
Nokia as the leader: Data from the research
house IDC showed Nokia as the leader in the
mobile phone industry with almost 40 per cent of
the market in the first quarter, having sold more
than 115 million handsets during the period.
Samsung, ranked second, sold 46.3 million
mobile phones and with a market share of 15.9
per cent in the March quarter, while Motorola
ranked third with a market share of 9.4 per cent
on sales of 27.4 million units, the IDC data
showed. Fourth-ranked LG Electronics had a
market share of 8.4 per cent followed by Sony
Ericsson at 7.6 per cent.
Television viewed on mobile phone handsets
could be a huge revenue generator for the tele-
com sector, but significant hurdles stand in the
way. Issues such as handset costs, handset
capability and delivering the content wanted by
mobile users have yet to be worked out. "There
is potential but also a lot of questions," said
Claudio Checchia, a research manager with
research firm IDC. "So you will see a lot of
experiments."
The cost of TV-capable handsets was an
example of the hurdles the service faced. A sub-
sidiary of US wireless titan Qualcomm,
MediaFLO Technologies, began television
broadcasts to Verizon mobile telephones about
one year ago. It regards the mobile television as
the new "prime time" for industry. "When hand-
set subscribers were polled about, what are the
most important features on their phones, they
rank voice as one and being able to watch video
on their devices as second," said Qualcomm
MediaFLO's Mazen Chmaytelli on the sidelines
of CommunicAsia. With half of the world's popu-
lation owning cellular devices, content providers
are realising they have 'many eyeballs' in their
target base, said Chmaytelli.
Colin Miles, Executive Vice President for
iPOP Networks, a mobile media services com-
pany, said the type of contents offered to mobile
users is important and yet another challenge
faced by mobile TV. "It is always going to be the
content... the question is how it is going to be
consumed?".





37
 Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom

The internationally acclaimed movie is

based on a true story about a Pakistani
Hindu father and son who were imprisoned
in India after wandering across the border
from their village in Pakistan
ith the successful launch and entertainment being one of the fastest growing, Jabbar, the film casts Nandita Das, Rashid

W receiving critical acclaim at the

Tribeca Film Festival in New York,
'Ramchand Pakistani' is all set for
its big screen launch across the
country. The movie is jointly produced by Project
One (Pvt) Ltd, J.J. Media (Pvt) Ltd, and Namak
Films.
After a successful launch of Warid, Wateen is
the Abu Dhabi Group's latest communication
investment in Pakistan. Wateen is set up to
become the leading "Carrier's Carrier" providing
services based on quality, reliability and afford-
ability in the communication and media sector.
According to Tariq Malik, CEO for Wateen, "with
global industries and the Pakistani media scene
is undoubtedly one of our most important
resources and deserves strong appreciation.
Wateen is honoured in supporting such an
exceptional production that has put Pakistan into
the limelight. The critical acclaim received at the
Tribeca Film Festival is a significant milestone
for our entertainment industry and is a significant
contributor towards promotion of our artists to
the rest of the world."
Dubbed as a "Must Watch" film by the
Tribeca audience, the movie is expected to be
an exceptional success in Pakistan. Directed by
Mehreen Jabbar and produced by Javed
Farooqui, Noman Ejaz, Maria Wasti, Zhalay
Sarhadi and Farooq Pario, also introducing child
actors Syed Fazal Hussain and Navaid Jabbar
in title roles.
Mehreen Jabbar is accredited with producing
some of the best known award-winning TV seri-
als to be aired on Pakistani media, and
'Ramchand Pakistani' is her first undertaking
into the cinema film industry. With such an
extensive cast and strong storyline, the movie
will draw considerable viewers and is expected
to be one of the most notable movies of the
year.

It is the duty of parents and teachers to try to understand chil-

dren's problems. Being humiliated by teachers is tantamount to
subjecting them (children) to lose confidence
elenor Pakistan successfully completes
million subscribers in its mobile operations.
Manager Corporate Communications, Telenor
Pakistan, Affan Haider in Rawalpindi said: "We,
at Telenor Pakistan, feel that every child is gifted
with a talent that must be identified and nour-
ished. It is a part of our social responsibility to
help society realize that every child is important.
The intention behind supporting the movie was
for the adults and children to adopt this message
and be encouraged by it." He further said that

T the series of movie shows of popular
children's film 'Taare Zameen Par' for
orphans of SOS Children's Villages in
four major cities of Pakistan. The activi-
ty was a part of Telenor Pakistan's flagship com-
munity-support initiative, DUA, in collaboration
with SOS Children's Villages in Pakistan. They
included shows in Cinepax Rawalpindi, DHA
Cinema Lahore, and Nishat Cinema Karachi.
One movie show was exclusively organized on
the premises of the SOS Children's Village,
Multan. A total of 720 children enjoyed the film
along with their teachers and mothers.
Telenor ASA is an international provider of high-
quality telecommunications, data and media
communication services. It ranks as the world's
7th largest mobile operator with a total of 150
38
Telenor Pakistan intends to bring more such
shows for the children of SOS Villages in other
cities of Pakistan.''
The movie 'Taare Zameen Par' (TZP)
revolves around a child, Eeshant (Darsheel)
who suffers from dyslexia. The movie focuses
on hidden talents of children and highlights
importance of the general behaviour of the par-
ents, teachers and society towards them.
Speaking about the movie Komal Altaf, SOS
Children's Village in Lahore said: "It is the duty
of parents and teachers to try to understand the
problems of children. Being humiliated by teach-
ers is tantamount to subjecting them (children)
to lose confidence."
A child, Sameeda, SOS Children's village in
Rawalpindi, said: "It was a day full of fun and
learning which will long be remembered. On
behalf of my fellow-children I thank Telenor
Pakistan for arranging such a wonderful show
for us."
Telenor Pakistan donated Rs 6.5 crore to
President's Earthquake Relief Fund and
International Red Cross for their relief efforts
immediately after the earthquake. Since then
Telenor has been committed to the cause of
earthquake-affected children through its work
with SOS.





 Flare Report
Telecom
A catchy offer for chat lovers
obilink has come up with its in-
M house application named Chat On
that offers Google Talk and Yahoo
Chat services on your mobile
phone. Mobilink initially offered
Yahoo messenger, known as Yahoo Mobile, in
its SMS-based service, where Chat On users
have GPRS for data communication.
First of all you have to download the Chat On
application on your phone which requires
GPRS. Make sure that your GPRS is active
and running smoothly. In case your GPRS is
not active, follow the following steps:

To activate GPRS on your handset call 111
or SMS GPRS to 7342;

Once GPRS is activated SMS Chat to 826;

Receive a SMS to download the application;

Click the link to download and enjoy Chat.
Once downloaded you can start using the Chat
On service by log in to your Google Talk,
Yahoo or Special Mobilink Messenger and stay
he world has changed altogether. After
T
Get your dial tune with a single click
Utunes, now ZonG brings to you Dial
Tunes. You can select your tune by just
a single click. For example, if you are
calling your friend and you hear a song
(on his number) that you want to make your
own, then simply press * button to set this partic-
ular tune for your number. From then onwards,
whenever someone calls you, he or she will
enjoy the same tune.
You can subscribe by dialling 230 or Send
"REG" to 230. You can also select different
tunes for different callers.
You can also select and manage your dial
tunes from ZonG's official website that offers
almost 5,000 dial tunes. Register your number
on this website and log-in to save your preferred
dial tunes to use in future. Data can be
Now every minute for Rs 1
fone gives you now Uwon: you can talk
U to any Ufone number
for just Rs 1 whether
it is your first minute
or the last. Ufoners can talk
for Rs 1.60/min to any net-
work other than Ufone.

For activation, dial 444
from your Ufone;

There are no charges for
converting your package to
42 Uwon;
tuned with your friends, family and col-
leagues.
How to use Chat On?

When you click on the application, it
will sign in automatically;

On the main screen, click on Chat On;

Within Chat On click options and then add
buddies. This will open another window so that
you can add your friends by typing their
Mobilink Supports Nokia and
Sony Ericsson handsets
Mobilink Number (0300-1234567).
Once you have logged in to Chat On you can
access Google Talk and Yahoo.
How to use Google Talk?

After you have logged on to Chat On, click
on the Google Talk icon;

A sign-in screen will open in which you can
insert your email ID, password and status;

All charges exclude the tax;

Ucircle is not available with this offer.
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

Now click on
How to use Yahoo Messenger?
'sign-in' to sign in to
the service and chat
with your friends.

After you have logged on to Chat On, click
the Yahoo Messenger icon;

A sign-in screen will open in which you can
insert your email ID, password and status;

Click 'sign-in' to log on to the service and
start a chat with your friends.
Remember: Mobilink Supports Nokia and Sony
Ericsson handsets.
Last but not the least charges:

You can download the application free of
cost;

Standard GPRS for Rs 15 per MB will apply.
However, those who have unlimited data plans
can enjoy this service without worrying about
the meter.





searched for ZonG dial tunes by:

Artist's name;

Tune's name;

Song's genre;

Or simply type the keyword and get your Dial
Tune.
You can also record your Dial Tune if you
want. Just dial 230 and select option 3 to "record
your own dial tune" record whatever you want
for your caller's amusement.
You can also select your Dial Tune via SMS,
if you know the code. Send an SMS to 230 with
the code and you will have the tune. The sub-
scription to Dial Tune service is free.

Daily fee Rs 1.21 which is Rs 36.3 per month
including taxes;

Download charges (from Internet) Rs 5 + tax;

IVR charges (from handset) Rs 5 + tax.






 SITE ACQUISTION

CIVIL
MECHANICAL

SITE DESIGN
TELECOM

SHELETRS
TOWERS

GENERATORS

HR OUTSOURCING

MANAGEMENT SERVICES

3G COMTECH(PVT)LTD.
TURNKEY SOLUTIONS PROVIDER
429-430 UMER BLOCK ALLAMA IQBAL TOWN
PH: +92-42-5296429,5296529,5296212
FAX: +92-42-5296329
E-MAIL:khurram.mushtaq@comtech.net.pk
 Flare Report
Event
arid Telecom takes the lead in pro-
W moting missions that highlight
tourism, sports and the softer side
of Pakistan. Warid and Bank
Alfalah's latest joint sponsorship of
the Altitude Experience Team to climb K2 is the
latest addition to the group's corporate social
responsibility portfolio.
A blog is made on Warid's official website
(www.waridtel.com) that is linked to the Altitude
Experience Team. Mountain climbers and others
can follow the route and experiences of the
Altitude Experience Team throughout their reach
to the summit. The Altitude Experience Team will
be in total contact to provide regular updates
through this blog.
K2, the world's second highest peak, is locat-
ed in the Karakoram segment of the Himalayan
range in Pakistan. The mountain has a history of
ambitious high altitude climbers who wished to
conquer the feat. Today, there are very few
climbers who can actually claim that they have
been to the top of one of the most magnificent
peaks on planet Earth.
Mountain climbing to reach a peak like K2 consists of a
combined team effort to achieve a difficult common goal.
As a leading telecom operator in Pakistan we consider it
our duty to project the best image of the country. We
hope to highlight Warid Telecom as an enlightened and
responsible company and Pakistan as a great country
with a lots of things to offer
The mountain was first studied by a
European survey team in 1856. Thomas
Montgomerie was the member of the team who
designated it 'K2' for being the second peak of
the Karakoram Range. The other peaks were
originally named K1, K3, K4 and K5, but were
eventually renamed. During the years 1892 to
1939, the K2 climb was attempted at least 10
times during which every expedition failed and
even some lives were lost. After being labelled
the "Savage Mountain" for being the world's
most dangerous climb, some of the faild
44
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
The Altitude Experience Team
consists of a diverse combination
of international high-altitude
climbers, Mike Farris and Chris
Klinke, who maintain that K2 is
a little smaller but a lot harder
climbers said that K2 would never
be scaled.
It wasn't until 31st July 1954
that the first expedition was suc-
cessful. The expedition was led
by Italian Ardito Desio where only
two of the climbers made it to the
top through the Abruzzi Spur
route. Although there are a few
different routes to the top, they
are all difficult and each has been
achieved. Till November 2007,
only 280 have completed the feat,
whereas 2,600 individuals have
climbed Mt Everest (the world's
tallest peak).
The latest climbers to try this
feat are made up of a team called
the Altitude Experience team. The
team consists of a diverse combi-
nation of eight international high-
altitude climbers. The Altitude
Experience team is led by two
Americans, Mike Farris and Chris
Klinke, and they both maintain
that K2 is a little smaller but a lot
harder.
Mike Farris is a great climbing
enthusiast who has even written
some books on the topic. He has
gone to a maximum height of
8035 meters at the Gasherbrum I
summit. Chris Klinke also left a
successful career at American Express to follow Chirring Dorje of Nepal is a professional
his passion for mountaineering. He has reached climber with nine feats of Mt Everest, three of
the highest peak Mt Everest at 8848m. which were alone. Tim Horvath of the USA is an
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event

entrepreneur in the con- On the occasion, Mike Farris said: "We are
struction industry and a happy to be taking on the biggest challenge for
great climbing enthusiast. mountain climbers in Pakistan known for its sce-
He has reached the peak nic mountain ranges and bighearted hospitality."
of the Everest North Marwan Zawaydeh, the Chief Executive
Ridge at 8848m. Eric Officer (CEO), Warid Telecom, said: "Mountain
Meyer, an anaesthesiolo- climbing to reach a peak like K2 consists of a
gist by profession and combined team effort to achieve a difficult com-
also the team doctor, is mon goal. As a leading telecom operator in
from the United States. Pakistan we consider it our duty to portray the
He has done a lot of best image of the country. We hope to highlight
research on the medical Warid Telecom as an enlightened and responsi-
aspects of mountain ble corporation and Pakistan as a great country
climbing and has also with lots to offer."
peaked Mt Everest. Shahzad Rauf, Chief Strategy and
Fredrik String from Operations Officer, Warid Telecom, said: "Warid
Sweden is a professional Telecom stresses need for pushing limits. We
adventurer, lecturer, pho- feel an appropriate parallel in our goals to
tographer and a climbing achieve great feats in the Pakistani GSM indus-
enthusiast. He will be try as the Altitude Experience team does in
making a documentary of achieving the K2 climb. We hope to continue
the trip and has also sponsoring great milestones that are associated
peaked the Mt Everest with greatness and Pakistan."
North Ridge at 8848m. S. M. Talib Rizvi, Group Head Priority
Paul Walters, an entre- Banking and Wealth Management, Bank Alfalah,
preneur and climbing said: "We are proud to be part of a sponsorship
enthusiast from Australia that tests the limits. It is a positive reflection and
has also peaked the Mt great honour for Pakistan and also for our bank.
Everest. Finally, Chris We aim to continue supporting such efforts that
Warner from Australia has are aimed at the image-building for our coun-
peaked at Cho Oyu at try."





8100m.

45
 Flare Report F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Telecom

The telecom sector has gone beyond the limit in the

tug of war through the respective ads of the mobile
phone companies in electronic and print media
he mobile phone companies operating they never mentioned.

T in Pakistan have been doing nothing

but creating a lot of chaos and confu-
sion for the poor consumers by putting
much-hyped advertisements on the
print and electronic media claiming one compa-
ny offers the best and the lowest call rates than
that of the others.
But the small is there mentioning the 0.40
additional on 1st min call rates but Ufone &
Zong marketing team did catch it and now both
have simultaneously attacked Mobilink.
First of all Ufone came with an ad with
exactly 1 Rs / min call charges with couple of
taunts as well for Mobilink but the Rs 1 = 1 min
The sorry state of the affair comes to fore is only ufone to ufone. They named it U-Won
that these companies ridicule the other compa- means U Won from Mobilink.
ny in their ad though not directly but between
the lines the ad makes fun of the other compa- Here is the ad :
ny's ad. This war of words gives no good to any
one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Ea6GD
The mobile phone companies should focus Xncc
on the better service and take care of the con- and their detailed packages :
sumers and come up with the clear-cut and
straight forward approach which would benefit http://www.ufone.com/prepay_uwon.asp

The mobile phone companies

should focus on the better serv-
ice and take care of the con-
sumers and come up with the
clear-cut and straight forward
approach which would benefit
the consumers and that the
mangers of the telecom entities
should have a saner approach
and avoid mud slinging cam-
paign
the consumers and that the mangers of the
telecom entities should have a saner approach
and avoid mud slinging campaign. Then came Zong with another teasing add
Here lies the comparison of the ads and with couple of more taunts for both Mobilink &
packages and reality lies in the fact that call Ufone. They came up with Rs 1 = 1 Min is for
rates of all the companies are the almost same all networks and that also anytime. Here is the
with a little difference or more so in certain ad:
cases the difference exists only in the presen-
tation of the ad. http://www.zong.com.pk/8_aanay.html

Mobilink - Jazz One (1 Rs = 1 Min) So now the war has begun for lowest per
attacked by U-Fone & ZONG min call charges. The telonor is not behind this
Recently a few weeks back there came a race as they also bring forward their own call
Mobilink Ad promoting themselves with sim- rates claiming to lower than that of the others.
plest call rates of 1 Rs = 1 Min, in this ad they Telonor's ad gives the evidence.
attacked that per minute rates offered by other All these ads bring into limelight Rs 1 for 1
operators are difficult to calculate. minute call but the hidden charges are present-
Here are Jazz One details: ed in an unclear manner. It shows how deceit-
http://www.mobilinkgsm.com/jazz/jazz_one. ful these ads are. ZonG stresses on 8 Annay ,
php the concept of Annays has long gone in the thin
air and quite unknown to the new
But it was not that simple as 0.40 paisas are generation.





46 charged on the first minute of each call which
 Cover Story Zubair Ahmed Kasuri F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

48
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Cover Story

TCL announced an unprecedented customers and in consultation with PTA, under-cut other operators and where it enjoys

P
pany said.
45 per cent increase in domestic
leased lines for Internet and data
services to be effective from July 1,
2008, as spokesperson of the com-

These abrupt changes in prices by the PTCL

cause many to raise their eye brows as it also
PTCL being a socially responsible organisa- monopoly, it increases the rates to drive the
tion has withdrawn its decision for price competitors out of the business", said Mr
rationalization and will serve the ISP and Siraj.
DNOP customers at the earlier rates.

DD(Tariff)064/2005/PLC issued
by PTCL Headquarters on 25
Internet industry of the country has not wit-
According to a Tariff Circular No. nessed any growth during the last five years

shows lack of decision making, lack of confi- June 2008, the new rates effec-
dence and mismanagement on the part of the tive from July 01, 2008 for 2
high ups within the company which boasts of Mbits circuit would be Rs
being the largest in the country. 7,871/km/year as compared to
The actual situation regarding the increase the existing charges of Rs
and decrease in the PTCL tariff is that it can- 1,750/km/year, which shows 4.5
not be announced by the PTCL arbitrarily times increase.
rather a prior approval from the PTA is Similarly, rates for higher
required in this regard. The above 45 per cent capacity circuits of 34 Mbits
increase was done without having PTA have been increased from Rs
approval and same is the situation with the 21,000/km/year to Rs
rationalization prices of domestic leased cir- 140,607/km/year showing 700
cuits announced by the company. per cent increase. PTCL, being
The PTCL spokesman further relied upon the largest fixed line operator,
that the price rationalisation decision was controls almost 100 per cent of
made to ensure world-class service quality to the optical fiber circuits within
our valued customers. The cost of service cities and ISPs and broadband
operators are major customers
of these links. The broadband
industry of the country would be
worst hit with this increase as
PTCL's circular sent shock
waves among ISPs. Ironically,
PTCL circular reads "PTCL
management is pleased to
announce the reduction in the
domestic leased lines." But a Image of circular issued by PTCL to increase tariff.
comparison with previous tariff
circular of January 10, 2007 indi-
cated no reduction but huge
increase in almost every slab.
The changes in the tariffs of
the PTCL in quick successions
show that the top management
is hell bent upon playing havoc
with the company. It is feared by
the many who are in the close
WALID IRSHAID quarters of the PTCL that all
President & CEO of PTCL these developments are being
provisioning in the recent days has increased made with the connivance of the
manifolds owing to significant increase in HR, PTA. Above all, the confidence
power, property and right of way costs, neces- of the end users of the PTCL
sary for the smooth running of the business. facilities has shattered. They
However, keeping in view similar pres- have become rather more critical
sures faced by our valued ISP and DNOP of these forward and backward
moves of the PTCL.
These abrupt changes in The
Providers
Internet Services
Association of
this policy by the PTCL Pakistan (ISPK) is critical of the
PTCL's moves and expressed
cause many to raise their their concern that the PTCL
moved one step ahead and two
eye brows as it also shows steps back which created confu-
lack of decision making, sion and the things got messy
affecting their routine working
lack of confidence and and business.
Earlier, at the PTCL decision
mismanagement on the to increase the tariff, the
spokesman of Internet Service
part of the high ups within Providers Association of Image of previous tariff of PTCL

Pakistan (ISPAK) criticized it by terming it as despite a lot of publicity by the Ministry of IT

the company which boasts highly anti-competitive and anti-customer. and planned funding the broadband initiatives
of being the largest in the "PTCL is all-out to kill competition might and by the Universal Service Fund (USF).
main," said Wahaj us Siraj, Convener ISPAK Historically, PTCL voice leased line charges
country while talking to Flare. "Where PTCL faces were higher than data circuits but the new
competition, it decreases end user rates to data circuits rates have surpassed the voice
49
 Cover Story F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

circuits rates" said Naeem Haq, CEO of
Nexlinx. "This would literally mean strangula-
tion of all the ISPs and shifting of all broad-
band users to PTCL's network, thus strength-
ening monopoly and leaving no choice for the
customer", said Mr. Haq.
QAMAR ZAMAN KAIRA
Federal Minister for Information Technology
Mr. Sikandar Naqi, Senior Executive Vice
President of PTCL, when contacted by Flare,
offered no comments as he was not aware of
this move. He, however, said if a circular had
been issued, PTCL management must have
knowledge about it. This action of PTCL is
specifically aimed at all broadband operators
out of business and we demand immediate
action by the telecom regulator, PTA, to stop
strong arm tactics of PTCL" said Mr. Siraj of
ISPAK.
When contacted by Flare, Member
Telecom of Ministry of IT (MOIT), Mr Noor-ud
Din Baqai, said that the move would be a sui-
cide for PTCL under current market condi-
tions and the Ministry, being principal share-
holder of PTCL, would definitely probe into
Keeping in view pressures
faced by valued ISP and
DNOP customers and in
consultation with PTA, PTCL
has withdrawn its decision
for price rationalization and
will serve the ISP and DNOP
customers at the earlier
rates
the matter. If PTCL's move goes unnoticed by
the PTA and MOIT, five million Internet and
broadband users of the country would suffer a
lot with 100 per cent increase in the end user
Internet rates.
The decision and changes in the
tariffs of the PTCL in quick suc-
cessions show that the top man-
agement is hell bent upon play-
ing havoc with the company. It is
feared by many who are in the
close quarters of the PTCL that
all these developments are
being made with the connivance
of the PTA
It is learnt that ISPAK has contacted the
PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority)
in view of the PTCL move to raise the tariff of
the domestic leased lines for Internet and
data services. In a letter the ISPAK took an
exception to the move and called upon the
authority to come up with a clear stance to
curb the hegemonic designs of the PTCL. The
ISPAK representatives were of the view that
PTCL wanted to strangulate the Internet serv-
ice providers as they could not stand out in
such circumstances.
They expressed the hope that PTA would
act promptly to rescue them. Now, according
to them, it is up to the PTA what stand it would
take in this regard.

akistan Telecommunication Company This move may provide just a

P Limited (PTCL) has revised its local

call timing 2 to 3 minutes which
means the local call tariff on the PTCL
landline phones of Rs 2 for two min-
utes has been changed to Rs 2 for three min-
utes. This tariff becames effective from July 1,
2008.
The PR says that this improved package
comes along with promotion that started on
June 1, 2008 through which the PTCL sub-
scribers are already enjoying free local calls at
night.
50
timely relief to the PTCL customers,
but they would hardly appreciate this
trend after they are able to grab lots
of benefits from cellular companies.
If PTCL goes through some
phase, where it is going to acquire
and retain its landline customers?
The answer, most probably, will be
'yes' they are! Well, there is no
doubt that all landline operators,
globally, are facing tough competi-
tion from the mobile and WWL com-
panies. In country scenario
is not different, especially
with the emergence of
WiMAX broadband service
The PTCL management would also be
providers coming into play.
eying their dropping revenue and the increas-
After PTCL was acquired by
ing operating expenses. In a situation like that,
Etisalat, the company failed to leave
we should be prepared to see a couple of hefty
a positive impression due to repeti-
moves from the landline giant. Possible moves
tive attacks on consumers. Yet a
can be free landline calls on smooth but,
change has been witnessed in the
increased monthly rental.
company's mood for the last couple
In any case, they will have to carry positive
of months as far as consumers are
business plans in future to relieve the cus-
concerned. This change reflects
tomer saving their revenue (without hoodwink-
thinking in a manner that the compa-
ing the customers) simultaneously as
ny is now trying to display a positive
well.





aptitude towards the customers.
 No Line Rent
Competitive Rates
Crystal Clear Voice
Free VAS
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Informative Coming Mobiles

Nokia E66 Samsung i900 Omnia

Size Size
Dimensions 107.5 x 49.5 x 13.6 mm, 62.6 cc, Weight 121g Dimensions 112 x 56.9 x 12.5 mm, Weight 127g
Display Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches, Five-way scroll key Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors (65K effective), Size 240 x 400 pixels,
Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate 3.2 inches, Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, Handwriting recognition
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, Monophonic, MP3, True Tones, Customization Download Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Vibration Yes Memory
Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call records
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call records Practically unlimited, Card slot microSD, up to 8GB, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB
Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot microSD, up to 8GB, hotswap 110 MB ROM, 624MHz Marvell PXA312 processor, 8 GB/16 GB internal memory
internal memory, 128 MB SDRAM Memory, ARM 11 369 MHz processor Data
Data GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE
GPRS Class 32, 100 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps, 3G Class 12, 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth Yes,
HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB Features
Features OS Microsoft Window Mobile 6.1 Professional, Messaging SMS, EMS,
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UIm, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS
Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML Games Java download- feeds, Games Yes + Java downloadable, Colors Silver, Camera 5 MP,
able, Colors, White Steel, Grey Steel, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, aut- autofocus, image stabiliser, video, flash; secondary videocall camera, Built-
ofocus, video(VGA 22fps), flash; secondary videocall camera, VoIP Built-in in GPS receiver, Java MIDP 2.0, FM Radio with RDS, MS Office document
GPS receiver, A-GPS function, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, viewer/editor, PDF viewer, MP3/AAC/AAC+/WMA/OGG/AMR player,
Office applications, FM radio, Push to talk, Voice command/dial, Turn-to-mute DivX/XviD/WMV/MP4 player, TV Out, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree
PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing, Built-in handsfree Battery
Battery Stand-by Up to 500h, Talk time Up to 5h 50 min
Stand-by Up to 264h, Talk time Up to 7h 30 m Design: 8.2
Design: 8.0 Features: 8.3
Features: 8.2 Performance: 8.2
Performance: 8.1

Nokia E71
Size
Dimensions 114 x 57 x 10 mm, 66 cc, Weight 127g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 320 x 240 pixels, 2.36 inches, Full QWERTY
keyboard, Five-way scroll key
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, Monophonic, MP3, True Tones, Customization Download
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call records
Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot microSD, up to 8GB, hotswap, 110 MB
internal memory, 128 MB SDRAM Memory, ARM 11 369 MHz processor
Data
GPRS Class 32, 100 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32, 296 kbps 3G
SDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port Yes, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email,
Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games, Java down-
loadable, order now, Colors White Steel, Grey Steel, Camera 3.15 MP,
2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA 22fps), flash; secondary videocall
camera, Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS function, Java MIDP 2.0,
MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Office applications, FM radio, Push to talk,
Voice command/dial, PIM including calendar, to-do list and printing
Battery
Stand-by Up to 410h, Talk time Up to 10h 30 min
Design: 8.1 A woman poses with the SoftBank Mobile Corp's robot-shaped mobile phone "Phone
Features: 8.2 Braver 815T PB" at the International Tokyo Toy Show in Tokyo.
Performance: 8.2

Nokia 7210 Supernova Samsung L700

Size Size
Dimensions 106 x 45 x 10.6 mm, Weight 69.8g Dimensions 109 x 46 x 12.8 mm,
Display Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inches Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 2.1 inches
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization Download Vibration Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Yes Memory
Memory Phonebook 1000 entries, Photo call, Call records 30 dialed, 30 received, 30
Phonebook 2000 entries , Photocall, Call records, 20 dialed, 20 received, missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash) up to 8GB, 30 MB shared mem-
Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 2GB, 30 MB internal memory ory
Data Data
GPRS Class 32, 88 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Class 32, 296 kbits, 3G No, GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Class 10,
WLAN 236.8 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP,
No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 Infrared port
microUSB No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Snake 3D, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games
Bounce II, Sudoku, Sea Sweeper, Colors Bubble Gum Pink, Vivid Blue, Yes + downloadable, Colors Titan Silver, Grayish Brown, Chargoal Gray, Noir
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF@10fps), Java MIDP 2.0, Black, Rose Pink, Lilac Violet, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, flash, video
Stereo FM radio with RDS, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player, MPEG-4 Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/eACC+/WMA player, MPEG4/3gp player, FM radio
player, Built-in handsfree with RDS, T9, Office document viewer, Organizer, Built-in handsfree
Voice command/dial/memo, Macromedia Flash Lite 2.1, Adobe Flash 3.0, Battery
Flickr Upload, Widsets, T9 Standard battery, Li-Ion 960 mAh
Battery
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 2h Design: 7.2
Features: 7.3
Design: 6.3 Performance: 7.2
Features: 5.8
Performance: 5.7

52
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Coming Mobiles Informative

Motorola ZN5 Motorola A1600

Size Size
Dimensions 118 x 50.5 x 12-16 mm, Weight 114g Dimensions 98.9 x 53.5 x 19.6 mm, Weight 128g
Display Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240x320 pixels, 2.4 inches, Touch-sensitive key- Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4
pad inches, Handwriting and speech recognition (Chi & Eng)
Ringtones Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, Customization Download, Vibration Yes Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, Customization
Memory Download, Vibration Yes
Phonebook 2000 entries, Photocall, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 Memory
missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 4 GB, 350 MB internal Phonebook Advanced, Photo call, Call records 30 dialed, 30
memory, Freescale 500 MHz CPU received, 30 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up
Data to 4 GB,
GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Data
Class 12, 3G No, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/i, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No
Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth
Features Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
OS Linux, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser microUSB
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes, Colors Grey, Camera 5 MP, 2560?1920 Features
pixels, autofocus, xenon flash, video (15fps), Java MIDP 2.0, OS Linux, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant
MP3/WMA/eAAC+ player, CrystalTalk Technology, 3.5mm standard audio jack Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes,
FM radio, Organizer, Built-in handsfree, Voice dial, Voice memo Colors Black, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofo-
Battery cus, video, Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS function
Stand-by Up to 580h, Talk time Up to 9h 30 min Java MIDP 2.0, Stereo FM radio, MP3/WAV/WMA/AAC+
Design: 8.2 player, PIM functions, Office document viewer, Business
Features: 8.3 card scanner, Photo editor, Voice dial/memo, Built-in
Performance: 8.2 handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 180h, Talk time Up to 6h
Design: 7.0, Features: 7.0, Performance: 6.8

Sony Ericsson S302

Size
Dimensions 101 x 46 x 12 mm, Weight 79g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, 2 inches, Wallpapers,
screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, AAC, Customization Composer, download,
Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photo call, Call records 30 received, dialed and
missed calls, Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 20 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Yes, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0
with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes +
downloadable, Colors Thunder Grey, Crystal Blue, Camera 2 MP,
1600x1200 pixels, flash, video, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3 player, FM radio
TrackID music recognition, Image viewe, Organiser, Voice memo, Built-in
handsfree, T9
Battery
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 7h

Design: 7.7
Features: 7.6
A customer sends a text message from her phone in a mobile phone shop in Jakarta. Performance: 7.8

Indonesia's anti-trust agency (KPPU) has fined five firms a total of about $8.3 million for
fixing tariffs on mobile phone text messages, the head of the investigating team said.

LG KF240 Sony Ericsson C905

Size Size
Dimensions 94 x 47 x 16 mm, Weight 91g Dimensions 104 x 49 x 18-19.5 mm, Weight 136g
Display Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels, Downloadable wallpapers, Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches, Accelerometer sensor for
Ringtones auto-rotate
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Ringtones
Yes Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory Memory
Phonebook Yes, Call records 40 dialed, 40 received, 40 missed calls, Card Phonebook 1000 x 20 fields, Photo call, Call records, 30 received, dialed and
slot missed calls, Card slot Memory Stick Micro (M2), 2 GB card included, 160 MB inter-
microSD (TransFlash) up to 2GB, 20 MB internal memory, nal memory
Data Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE No, 3G No GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE Class 10, 236.8
WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0 kbps, 3G HSDPA, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared
Features port No, USB Yes
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Games Yes, Colors Features
Black, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/HTML
MP3 player, MPEG-4 player, Organiser, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree, T9 (NetFront), RSS reader, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Night Black, Ice Silver,
Battery Copper Gold, Camera 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser,
Stand-by Up to 200h, Talk time Up to 3h video(QVGA 30fps), xenon flash; secondary videocall camera, Built-in GPS receiv-
er, A-GPS function, Camera images geo-tagging, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with
Design: 6.0 RDS, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, TrackID music recognition, Picture editor/blogging
Features: 5.9 TV out, Organiser, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo/dial
Performance: 5.8 Battery
Stand-by Up to 380h, Talk time Up to 9h

Design: 8.1
Features: 8.3
Performance: 8.3

53
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Informative Current Mobiles

Rs. 3,100 Rs. 4,000

Nokia 1209 LG KP110

Size
Size
Dimensions 103 x 46.4 x 13.4 mm, Weight 65g
Dimensions 102x44.1x17.5 mm, 70.5 cc, Weight 79.9g
Display
Display
Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.5
Type CSTN, 65K colors, Size 96 x 98 pixels, 27.6 x 21.8
inches, wallpapers
mm, 5-way navigation key
Ringtones
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Customization
Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization
Download, order now, Vibration Yes
Download Vibration Yes
Memory
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Call records, 10 dialed, 10 received,
Phonebook Yes, Call records 20 dialed, 20 received, 20
10 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), buy
missed calls, Card slot No
memory, 64MB built-in memory
Features
Data
Messaging SMS (up to 60), Browser No, Games Yes
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, USB Yes
Colors Blue, Languages 80 languages Camera No
Features
Multiple phone books with up to 200 entries, Dust-
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
resistant keypad, Built-in handsfree, Flashlight, Time
Games Yes + downloadable, order now, Colors Black,
tracker, Cost tracker, Calendar, Calculator, Converter
Red, Camera No, Mobile Tracker, Java, FM Radio, MP3
Countdown timer, Stopwatch, T9
player, Built-in handsfree, Alarm, Calendar, Calculator
Battery
Memo, T9
Stand-by Up to 365h, Talk time Up to 7h
Battery
Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 4h
Another new mobile announced from Nokia this
time the Nokia 1209. The phone comes with a pre-paid
The LG KP110 model from LG is a model that fea-
tracker, a cost-tracking application, and the multiple
tures a GSM-only dual-band (900/1800) mobile phone.
phonebook - which allows up to five people to store per-
Announced in April 2008, this model is now available in
sonal contact lists of up to two hundred numbers on a
the market after its release last May 2008. It is an ultra-
single phone.
light phone weighing only 65 grams and measuring
It incorporates Nokia's intuitive user interface, dust
103-mm long, width of 46.4-mm and 13.4-mm thick.
resistance, and offers up to 80 languages.
Attractive wallpapers could be displayed at a resolution
They are aiming for the first time mobile user with the
of 128 x 128 pixels on a CSTN type of 65K colors
phone and available globally
screen.
Design: 5.8
Design: 7.0
Features: 5.7
Features: 6.5
Performance: 5.9
Performance: 6.6

Rs. 3,850 Rs. 2500

Sony Ericsson K200i Samsung Guru 100

Size Dimension
Dimensions 103 x 46 x 16.7 mm, Weight 82g 104 x 44 16.3 mm, Weight 78 g
Display Battery
Type STN, 65K colors, Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.6 inch- Talk Time: Up to 9 h, Standby Time: Up to 450 h
es, Wallpapers Memory
Ringtones Phonebook: 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, 2
Type Polyphonic (32 channels), Customization MB embedded memory Connectivity GPRS: Class 10
Download, order now, Vibration Yes (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, USB Display Size 128 x
Memory 128 pixels, 1.52 inches
Phonebook 300 entries, Call records 20 received, Display
dialed and missed calls, Card slot No, 2 MB internal Colour CSTN, 65K colors
memory Operating Frequency / Band GSM 900 / GSM 1800
Data Browser WAP 1.2
GPRS Class 8 (4+1 slots), 32 - 40 kbps, Infrared port Entertainment Games Yes, Java MIDP 2.0, Voice
Yes memo, Built-In Handsfree, world time, Mobile tracker
Features Ring Tones Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP 1.2.1 Messaging SMS, MMS, EMS
Games 3 embedded, Colors Metallic Black, Light
Champagne, Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, T9, Slide Samsung Guru100 is a stylish bar-shaped hand-
show, Full screen viewer, Stopwatch, Built-in hands- set that offers unrestricted Talk time of 9 long hours.
free The handset is armed with mobile tracker feature that
Battery helps users track their phone in case they happen to
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 8h lose it .This compact entry level handset enriches con-
sumer's mobile experience through its MP3 ringtones
The Sony Ericsson K200i integrates a VGA cam- feature.
era and photo album, immediately accessible with just
one click on the dedicated button. Given that the K200i Design: 7.6
has a slideshow view and will store up to 40 images, Features: 7.4
it's easy for users to view their pictures in full screen Performance: 7.4
and share them with friends. Navigating the phone is
easy, as the menu can be set to a series of simple, sin-
gle icons.

Design: 6.8
Features: 6.7
Performance: 6.8

54

Above prices are subject to change as per market

F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Current Mobiles Informative

Rs. 8,000 Rs. 6,900

Nokia 5000 LG KP220

Size
Dimensions 106 x 46 x 11.1 mm, 54 cc, Weight 74g
Display
Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inch-
es, Downloadable wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (24 channels), MP3, Customization
Download, order now, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 20
dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot No
12 MB user memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps,
HSCSD No, EDGE Class 6 (downlink only), 177.6
kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 Infrared
port No, USB Yes
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera mini 4), Games Yes, order
now, Colors Cyber Green, Neon Blue, Perfect Purple
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video, Java
MIDP 2.0, FM radio, MP3/AAC/WAV/ARM player
Nokia Xpress Audio Messaging, Advanced calculator
Calendar, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 336h, Talk time Up to 4h 45 min
Nokia announced the new Nokia 5000 with a
price point interesting for emerging markets. The
Nokia 5000 features 1.3MP camera, large screen
with QVGA resolution, MP3 player, FM radio, Nokia
Xpress Audio Messaging, Bluetooth, and GPRS con-
nectivity.
Design: 6.0
Features: 5.5
Performance: 5.5
Size
Dimensions 103 x 46 x 12 mm, Weight 72g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 120 x 160 pixels
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3,
Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Photocall, Call records, 10 dialed,
10 received, 10 missed calls, Card slot, microSD
(TransFlash), 60 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps,
HSCSD No, EDGE No, 3G No, WLAN No,
Bluetooth Yes, v1.2, Infrared port No, USB Yes
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, Games Yes, Colors Silver, Camera
1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, video, Music dedicat-
ed key, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/MPEG4 player, FM
radio, T9, Organiser, Calendar, Voice memo, Built-
in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 300h, Talk time Up to 3h
The LG KP220 is a candybar that is easy to
use, something that is very important for the
device of the start section. The LG KP220 offers
nice functions for a start device and actually has
everything the starting mobile caller needs. The
LG KP220 has a nice 1.3 megapixel camera with
which the user can make as much photos as he
wants. The device namely has quite a good
amount of memory, 60 MB. If this is not enough the
user can expand this with MicroSD and TransFlash
memory cards.
Design: 7.5
Features: 7.3
Performance: 7.3

Rs. 7,300 Rs. 5,499

Samsung M620
Size
Dimensions 98 x 46.9 x 16.9 mm, Weight 87g
Display
Type TFT, 65K colors, Size 128 x 160 pixels, 1.9 inches
Dedicated music key
Ringtones Trend T-444 Gudu
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Customization
Download, Vibration Yes
Dual Sim
Memory
Wrong Call Restriction
Phonebook 1000 entries, Call records 30 dialed, 30 received,
FM Radio
30 missed calls, Card slot microSD (TransFlash), up to 2 GB,
Built-in MP3 MP4 Player
18 MB user memory
250 Phone Book Memory
Data

Secret Message Inbox
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, WLAN No

Speaker Phone
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes,

Wall Papers
v2.0

Polyphonic Ring Tones
Features

65K Colour Screen
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML

Multiple Languages
Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Silver, Black, Camera

Time Synchronization
VGA, 640x480 pixels, video, FM Radio/Recorder
MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA player, Video player, Java
MIDP 2.0, T9, Organizer, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo
Battery
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 5h

Design: 7.5
Features: 6.8
Performance: 6.8

55

Above prices are subject to change as per market


Informative Current Mobiles
Rs. 14,900
Motorola ROKR E6
Size
Dimensions 111 x 51.5 x 14.5 mm, Weight 121g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4
inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, AAC, Customization
Download, order now, Vibration Yes, 3.5 mm headset jack
Memory
Phonebook Advanced, Photo call, Call records 50 dialed, 50
received, 50 missed calls, Card slot, CD, up to 2GB, buy mem-
ory, 8 MB user memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes,
v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
OS Linux-based, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant
Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes+
downloadable, order now, Colors Black, Camera 2 MP,
1600x1200 pixels, video(CIF), Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio
Document viewer (MS Word, Excel, PPT, PDF), MPEG4/MP3
player, Business card scanning, Calculator, Organizer, Built-in
handsfree
Battery
Up to 235h, Talk time Up to 7h
The Motorola E6 is the first handset released in Australia
to use Motorola's new Linux- and Java-based operating system,
which has been used in many large Asian countries for some
time. The previous operating system used in Motorola handsets
had been around for many years, and it's fair to say it was hav-
ing trouble keeping up with the latest in mobile technology.
Design: 8.2
Features: 8.0
Performance: 8.0
Rs. 11,700
Nokia 7500 Prism
Size
Dimensions 109 x 44 x 14 mm, 70 cc, Weight 83g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization
Download Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records 20 dialed,
20 received, 20 missed calls, Card slot microSD
(TransFlash), up to 8GB, buy memory, 30 MB internal user
memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games Yes + downloadable, order now, Colors Black,
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video (QCIF), flash, Java
MIDP 2.0, UPnP technology, MP3/AAC/eAAC+/WMA player
FM radio, T9, Calendar, Calculator, Built-in handsfree, Voice
memo
Battery
Stand-by Up to 240h, Talk time Up to 2 h 50 min
Nokia is one of these manufacturers, which let into the
market new models, differing in comparison to the mass per-
ception for a phone. A bright example is Nokia 7500 Prism,
which is a part of the new series of devices of the company
with a different design and shapes. The buttons of the device
are triangular in shape, as the design of the device is subor-
dinated to this shape, which by chance or not reminds us of
a processed diamond.
Design: 6.4
Features: 6.0
Performance: 6.1
56
Above prices are subject to change as per market
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Rs. 14,450
Sony Ericsson K770i
Size
Dimensions 105 x 47 x 14.5 mm, Weight 95g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 1.9 inches
Wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3, Customization
Composer, download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, up to 2500 numbers, Photo call
Call records, 30 received, dialed and missed calls, Card slot
Memory Stick Micro (M2), 256 MB card included, 16 MB
internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD Yes
EDGE No, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0
with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, Browser
WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML(NetFront), RSS feeds, Games Yes
+ downloadable, order now, Colors Truffle Brown, Ultra
Violet, Sandy Beige, Henna Bronze, Soft Black, Camera
3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video, LED flash,
secondary VGA videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0, RDS FM
radio, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, TrackID music recognition
BestPic, T9, Image viewer, Picture editor, Picture blogging
Organiser, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo/dial, Stopwatch
Battery
Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 10h
The K770i is a 3G camera phone which comes with a
3.2 megapixel cyber-shot™ camera feature complete with
highly focused camera options including videoing capabili-
ties. A built in music player & a TrackID™ music recognition
feature provide mobile music entertainment for the user.
This is a stunning 3G handset waiting to be enjoyed.
Design: 8.0
Features: 8.0
Performance: 8.0
Rs. 13,700
Samsung U600
Size
Dimensions 103.5 x 49.3 x 10.9 mm, Weight 81g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 34 x 44 mm
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, Customization
Download, order now, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call records, 30 dialed
30 received, 30 missed calls, Card slot, microSD
(TransFlash), buy memory, 60 MB embedded memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G No, WLAN No, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML
Games Yes + downloadable, order now, Colors Sapphire
Blue, Crystal Blue, Platinum Silver, Copper Gold, Garnet
Red, Neutral White, Soft Black, Camera 3.15 MP,
2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(CIF), flash, Java MIDP
2.0, MP3/AAC/eACC/WMA player, FM radio with RDS, T9
Yahoo search, Organizer, Business card recognition
Document viewer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF), Voice
memo, Built-in handsfree, TV out,
Battery
Stand-by Up to 250h, Talk time Up to 3h 30 min
The Samsung U600 is the latest super-slim phone
from Samsung. In fact, it's currently the world's slimmest
slider at only 10.9mm. Better still, despite being super thin,
it offers features that actually work: a 3.2 megapixel camera
with autofocus, for example, and a great sounding MP3
player with amplifier developed by Bang and Olufsen.
Design: 8.2
Features: 7.9
Performance: 7.9
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Current Mobiles Informative

Rs. 25,000 Rs. 21,400

BlackBerry Pearl 8120
Size
Dimensions 107 x 50 x 14 mm, Weight 91g
Display
Type 65K colors, Size 240 x 260 pixels, QWERTY keyboard
Wallpapers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (32 channels), MP3, Customization Download,
order now, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Call records Yes, Card slot microSD
(TransFlash), buy memory, 64 MB flash memory,
Data
GPRS Yes, HSCSD No, EDGE Yes, 3G No, WLAN Wi-Fi
802.11b/g, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0, Infrared port No, USB Yes
Features
OS BlackBerry OS, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, Instant
Messaging, Browser HTML, Games Yes + downloadable, order
now, Colors, Titanium, Blue, Sunset, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200
pixels, video, flash, Java, Document viewer (Word, Excel,
Powerpoint, PDF), Media player, SureType keyboard software
Organizer, Calculator, Built-in handsfree, To-do list,
Battery
Stand-by Up to 360h, Talk time Up to 4h
This sophisticated BlackBerry Smartphone comes with a
high quality screen & easy to use & easy flowing QWERTY key-
board which is designed in a scooped layout which looks incredi-
bly stylish. The BlackBerry Pearl 8120 is a member of the popular
Pearl Series which provides the user with a business & mobile
communicated devise complete with Smartphone features. The
Blackberry Pearl series includes other Smartphone's including the
BlackBerry Pearl 8100 & the BlackBerry Pearl 8110.
Design: 7.2
Features: 7.1
Performance: 7.1
Sony Ericsson W910i
Size
Dimensions 99 x 50 x 12.5 mm, Weight 86g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 inches
Wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3, AAC, Customization
Composer, download, order now, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Photo call, Call records, 30 received,
dialed and missed calls, Card slot Memory Stick Micro
(M2), 40 MB internal memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No,
EDGE Yes, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps (W910i only), WLAN No
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes,
v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML(NetFront 3.3), RSS
reader
Games Yes + downloadable, order now, Colors Hearty
Red, Noble Black, Havana Bronze, Silky White, Camera 2
MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video(QVGA@15fps); secondary
videocall camera, Motion sensor, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio
with RDS Walkman 3.0 player, TrackID music recognition,
T9, Image viewer, Picture editor, Organiser, Voice memo,
Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 400h, Talk time Up to 9h
Since the Sony Ericsson W910i is a Walkman phone,
naturally, music features matter. The music navigation on
this device would look familiar for those Sony fan boys as
it is the same navigation menu you can see on the PSP
and the PS3. The Sony Ericsson W910i has the SenseMe
feature which sorts tracks according to its tempo and
mood. Since I'm not really a music fan, I didn't find this fea-
ture of much use.

Design: 8.2
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.1

Rs. 18,300 Rs. 28,000

Samsung i450
Size
Dimensions 101 x 52 x 17.8 mm, Weight 114g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4
inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic, MP3, Customization Download,
order now Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook, Practically unlimited entries and fields,
Photocall, Call records, Detailed, max 30 days, Card
slot microSD (TransFlash), buy memory, 40 MB built-in
memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No,
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, WLAN
No, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB
Yes, v2.0,
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, Series 60 v3.1 UI, Messaging SMS,
EMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games
Yes, order now, Colors Dark Blue, Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200
pixels, video, flash; secondary VGA videocall camera, Java
MIDP 2.0, Flash player, FM radio with RDS, 3.5 mm audio jack,
WMV/3GP/H.263/MPEG4 player
WMA/MP3/AAC/AAC+/OGG/ASF player, Organiser, Document
viewer (MS Word, Excel, PPT, PDF), Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 500h, Talk time Up to 5h
The desirable Samsung i450 is a member of the i range which
has been designed by Samsung. The Samsung i range is a
Smartphone range of phones which include the Samsung i300,
Samsung i400, Samsung i600 & the Samsung i620 which all comes
with their own individual look & built in features. The i450 is a music
focused Smartphone which comes with user friendly & high quality
integrated music features.
LG KU990 Viewty
Size
Dimensions 103.5 x 54.4 x 14.8 mm, Weight 112g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 400 pixels, 3
inches, Flash UI, Downloadable wallpapers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3
Memory
Phonebook 500 entries, Photocall, Call records, 40 dialed, 40
received, 40 missed calls, Card slot, microSD (TransFlash), up to
2GB, 100 MB shared memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Yes
3G HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps, Bluetooth Yes, v1.2 with A2DP
Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML,
HTML, Games Yes, Colors Black, Dark Silver, Purple, Pink,
Camera 5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps,
QVGA up to 120fps), strobe flash; secondary VGA videocall cam-
era, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/MPEG4/WMV/AAC/DivX player, FM
radio with RDS
Organiser, Document viewer (DOC, XLS, PDF), Voice memo
Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 430h, Talk time Up to 4h
The LG KU990 Viewty is a touchscreen 3G mobile phone
which comes with a high quality camera & imaging features. It is
a solid design with no fancy opening systems which weighs 112
gram the overall measurements of the handset make it easy for
the user to use and carry whether the handset is in the users
pocket. The height of the Viewty is 103.5mm by 54.4mm wide by
14.8mm deep which is a good size for a 3G touch screen phone.
Design: 8.2
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.1

Design: 8.1
Features: 8.0
formance: 8.0

57

Above prices are subject to change as per market


Informative Current Mobiles
Rs. 46,400
Nokia N95 8GB
Size
Dimensions 99 x 53 x 21 mm, 96 cc, Weight 128g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.8 inches
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Tones, MP3
Customization Download, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall, Call
records, Detailed, max 30 days, Card slot No, Accelerometer sen-
sor for auto-rotate, 8 GB internal memory, 128 MB SDRAM mem-
ory, Dual ARM 11 332 MHz CPU, 3D Graphics HW Accelerator
Data
GPRS Class 32, 107 / 64.2 kbps, HSCSD Yes, EDGE Class 32,
296 kbps; DTM Class 11, 177 kbps, 3G HSDPA, WLAN Wi-Fi
802.11 b/g, UPnP technology, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP,
Infrared port Yes USB Yes, v2.0 miniUSB
Features
OS Symbian OS 9.2, S60 rel. 3.1, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email,
Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, G a m e s
Downloadable, order now, Colors Black, Camera 5 MP, 2592 x
1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, video(VGA 30fps), flash;
secondary CIF videocall camera, Built-in GPS receiver, A-GPS
function Installed Maps application covering over 100 countries,
Dual slide design, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA
player, 3.5 mm audio output jack, TV out, Stereo FM Radio,
Organizer, Office document viewer, T9, Push to talk, Voice
dial/memo, Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 280h, Talk time Up to 6h
The Nokia N95 (8GB) features 8GB of internal memory and
has a spacious 2.8-inch display and 3G support. The smartphone
also includes Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, and
robust multimedia capabilities.
Design: 8.3
Features: 8.4
Performance: 8.4
Rs. 37,000
Motorola RAZR2 V8 Luxury Edition
Dimension 103 x 53 x 11.9 mm, Weight 117g
Battery Talk time Up to 7 h 50 min, Stand-by Up to 330 h
OS Linux
Memory 2 GB internal user memory
Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS
Class 10 (48 kbps), EDGE Class 12
Display Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches (2nd external 2
inches display (240 x 320 pixels) with contextual touch
interaction Display Colour TFT, 256K colors (2nd exter-
nal 256K colors)
Operating Frequency / Band GSM 850 / GSM 900 /
GSM 1800 / GSM 1900 Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML,
HTML (Opera 8.5) Colors gold-plated body with soft
snake-skin-like back Entertainment MP3/AAC/AAC+
player, Games Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels,
video(QCIF) Ring Tones Polyphonic, MP3 Messaging
SMS, EMS, MMS, Instant Messaging
RAZR 2 V8 - The semi-touch screen is an interesting
variation on the usual touch screen style, with tactile
buzzing feedback when one of the three touch buttons on
the external screen are pressed. The pre-production model
had a poor shutter button, which is a bit of a disappoint-
ment since this is usually a well used button, and consider-
ing the effort put into the external screen. (Let's hope that
this'll get fixed for production models.) The reviewers found
that the main keypad was great, with a not-too-rubbery
feel, and the UI is an improvement in all the areas that
count -- snappy, clear, and customizable. The refinements
make the RAZR2 V8 sound like a winner to us: a pity it had
to be such a long time coming.
Design: 8.4
Features: 7.8
Performance: 7.9
58
Above prices are subject to change as per market
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Rs. 36,500
Sony Ericsson W960i
Size
Dimensions 109 x 55 x 16 mm, Weight 119g
Display
Type TFT touchscreen, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.6
inches, Handwriting recognition, Wallpapers, screensavers
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, AAC, Customization
Composer, download, order now, Vibration Yes
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records, Practically unlimited, Card slot No, 8 GB shared
memory for storage, 128 MB RAM, 256 MB flash memory (96
MB reserved for OS + 160 MB user memory)
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No
EDGE No, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11b, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0,
Features
OS Symbian OS v9.1, UIQ 3.0, Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS,
Email, Instant Messaging, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML,
HTML(Opera 8.0), RSS reader, Games Yes + downloadable,
order now, Colors Vinyl Black, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536
pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA 15fps), flash; secondary VGA
videocall camera, Java MIDP 2.0, FM radio with RDS ,
Walkman Touch player, TrackID music recognition, T9, Image
viewer, Picture/document editor, Organiser, Voice memo,
Built-in handsfree
Battery
Stand-by Up to 370h, Talk time Up to 9h
Sony Ericsson uses a very straightforward approach--
Cyber-shot for camera-phones and Walkman for music-
phones. In a way, that is great because it helps consumers to
narrow down their choices. In reality, that's not always the
case.
For example, someone who is buying a camera-phone
may not use only the camera features. He probably might want
to listen to music, too. That's where the line begins to blur and
the average consumer's options start to expand. The newer
range of Cyber-shots is now fitted with a more elaborate music
player and the Walkmans with a better camera module.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.2
Performance: 8.3
Rs. 31,500
Samsung U900 Soul
Released 2008, April
Size
Dimensions 105 x 49.5 x 12.9 mm, Weight 112g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches,
Navigation panel
Ringtones
Type Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photo call, Call records, 30 dialed, 30
received, 30 missed calls, Card slot, microSD (TransFlash), 128
MB shared memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, HSCSD No, EDGE
Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps, WLAN No,
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, Infrared port No, USB Yes, v2.0
Features
Messaging SMS, EMS, MMS, Email, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML,
HTML, RSS feeds, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors Silver
Camera 5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, image stabiliser,
video(QVGA), flash, Java MIDP 2.0, MP3/AAC/eACC+/WMA
player, FM radio with RDS, T9, Picture editing, Organizer, Built-
in handsfree
Samsung Soul transforms as you touch, constantly adapt-
ing to meet your various needs. Capture the faces you want to
remember with face detection AF, see more detail in the dark with
WDR optimizer & take silky smooth pictures with an in-built
image stabilizer.
Design: 8.1
Features: 8.1
Performance: 8.2
 Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Informative

Nokia 7610 Supernova

Nokia 7610 Supernova mobile phone : Recognizing that no one style fits
all, Nokia unveiled a new range of products to let consumers express their per-
sonal styles on a number of levels ranging from stylish designs, to personal-
ization through vibrantly hued exchangeable covers, one of these new devices
is the Nokia 7610 Supernova mobile phone. The Nokia 7610 Supernova is
part of the new Nokia Supernova range, featuring a mix of bold colors and an
of-the-moment design, evoking the allure of the latest statement handbags or
must-have sunglasses. Aimed at style conscious men and women who want
to stay connected, the new range delivers exceptional mobile functionality
alongside a variety of music and internet experiences.
Additional features include a 3.2 megapixel camera with dual LED flash
and 8x digital zoom, instant messaging and TV out for image sharing. With the
Nokia 7610 Supernova, consumers can also enjoy and manage music with a
dedicated music key, FM-radio, an MP3 player and access to Nokia Music
Store through the Nokia Music PC Client. The Nokia WidSets service gives
access to enjoy and share content on favorite websites through the device.
Featuring a slide design and smooth curves, the Nokia 7610 Supernova
offers Xpress-On covers in a choice of a set of 'steel blue' and 'red' covers off-
set by a muted gray front surface, or 'bright lilac' and 'steel blue' contrasted
against a pristine white front surface. The innovative Theme Colorizer feature
lets people identify and capture any color and further tailor a look by applying
captured colors to the phone's key illumination and wallpaper.
The Nokia 7610 Supernova cell phone is available in the third quarter of
2008 with an estimated retail price of 225 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

Nokia 7510 Supernova

Recognizing that no one style fits all, Nokia unveiled a new range of products to let consumers
express their personal styles on a number of levels ranging from stylish designs, to personalization
through vibrantly hued exchangeable covers, one of these new devices is the Nokia 7510 Supernova
mobile phone. The Nokia 7510 Supernova is part of the new Nokia Supernova range, featuring a mix
of bold colors and an of-the-moment design, evoking the allure of the latest statement handbags or
must-have sunglasses. Aimed at style conscious men and women who want to stay connected, the
new range delivers exceptional mobile functionality alongside a variety of music and internet experi-
ences.
The new Nokia Supernova mobile phones give people an option to truly personalize their look by
matching the style of their phone to their ever-changing moods with a choice of exchangeable Xpress-
On covers in striking colors and glamorous surfaces. "As we rely more heavily on mobile phones to
stay connected, they increasingly know everything about us and have become a window into our
worlds," said Jo Harlow, vice president, LIVE category, Nokia. "With the new Nokia 7510 Supernova,
we set out to give people the ability to set themselves apart in the same way that they would with a
traditional statement accessory."
With the Nokia 7510 Supernova, consumers can enjoy and manage music with an FM Radio, an
enhanced MP3 player, access to Nokia Music Store and Nokia Music PC Client. Additional features
include a link to YouTube, access to Nokia Maps 1.2 to navigate with free mapping, routing and local
search, support of A-GPS and the Nokia WidSets service. The Nokia 7510 Supernova is available in
the fourth quarter of 2008 with an estimated retail price of 180 EUR before taxes and subsidies.

60
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Informative

Porsche P'9521
Pratham Telecom has launched the
P'9521 Porsche phone in India. The new
phone features a sophisticated design
and is developed with high-quality natu-
ral materials such as aluminum. The
outer surface of the phone is made of a
solid aluminum block.
The salient feature of the P'9521
phone would be its double hinge made
from aluminum, which enables the
screen to be rotated through 180°. Hence
users can use the camera as a digital camera also.
Moreover, the phone incorporates a finger print reader ensuring secure
access to personal data of users. Making operation easier, individual finger-
prints can be assigned to particular numbers or phone functions. Even the stan-
dard PIN code can be replaced by a fingerprint.
A 3.2-megapixel resolution camera with auto-focus and integrated flash and
digital zoom are the other key features. Its AM-OLED technology ensures high
quality colors, exceptional brilliance and a perfect view. It also has MP3 player,
three speakers for ring tones and voice playback in stereo quality sound and
EDGE technology for internet connection.
The P'9521 Porsche phone is expected to be available at the price of Rs.
76,999.

A model displays the Porsche P'9521 mobile phone at its India launch
in Mumbai, India

Nokia E66
It is the latest in Nokia's business oriented E-
Series devices. It's solidly built and the form fac-
tor is slim and professionally attractive. The
organizer and email features, which are probably
the most important for business users, have been
improved over previous E-Series devices and pro-
vide you with powerful business tools. For a little
bit of fun the E66 has a very capable 3.2 megapix-
el auto-focus camera, the excellent Nokia music
software and a powerful web browser on board.
And if you need to get around you'll appreciate the
built in GPS functionality and updated Nokia Maps
2.0. With all this going for it the E66 seems to be
a dream phone, as long as you get past the price,
but unfortunately poor battery life means that you
won't be able to enjoy all these features for very
long.
Available in the third quarter of 2008 at the
price of $500.
Pros: Solid, classy design. Great keys. Live,
while-you-type searching for contacts. Great Web
browser.
Cons: Many features cost extra, like naviga-
tion and Quickoffice. Networking seemed slow in
our tests. Could have more multimedia features,
like the Nseries.

A model displays a Nokia E66 mobile phone for photographers at

a launch event in Singapore 61
 Informative w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

Sony Ericsson F305

Sony Ericsson is putting gaming at the heart of its latest mobile phone
release. Targeted firmly at a youth audience, the Sony Ericsson F305 with
Motion Gaming lets users control games with the flick of a wrist or the swing of
an arm, and then see the results straightaway on the screen. Using advanced
motion sensor technology, the phone can follow your actions to imitate bowling
or casting a fishing line. With the Sony Ericsson F305 your favourite game is
one-click away. Enjoy the full gaming experience with stereo speakers, which
also come in handy for sharing the latest track on the media player. Add a 2"
screen into this pocket-sized slider phone and the F305 takes playing games on
your mobile to a new level.
The Sony Ericsson F305 is about more than just gaming. Slide the phone
open and find it packed with the latest Sony Ericsson phone features. Never
miss a fun or unexpected moment with the phones 2 megapixel digital camera.
Share your photos or music with friends via Bluetooth or Memory Stick Micro
(M2). It will also be possible to change the look of your phone with Style-up cov-
ers - two covers to choose from in box.

Samsung L870
This attractive aluminum clad slider phone brings a touch a Samsung Soul
styling to Symbian S60 smartphones.
The Samsung L870 is a 3.5G device with a 3 megapixel camera and a 2.4"
240 x 320 pixel display. The SGH-L870 runs Symbian 9.3 with the S60 3.2 inter-
face, similar to most contemporary S60 smartphones. In addition to the usual
S60 multimedia features, the L870 comes with an FM radio. There's also a vari-
ety of push email support, an office document viewer, personal information man-
agement applications and we understand that the SGH-L870 comes with a
mobile version of the Apple Safari web browser. Samsung say that the L870
offers "DVD quality" video capture, but does not go into technical details.
It's a good looking HSDPA slider phone, but you might expect that the L870
was going to get some tough competition from Nokia. But, oddly enough, the
only HSDPA slider phone from Nokia is the N95 and N95 8GB. The Samsung
L870 pitches somewhere below the N95 on price, so surprisingly it seems to
have found a market niche.
There are still some features that we don't know about - for example, we can-
not say if the L870 has autofocus and a flash for the main camera. We don't
know how much the L870 weighs, or what the battery life is. But what we can
tell is that the L870 promises to be a pretty good S60 handset, and it is one of
the few devices worth looking at if you want S60 on a platform other than a
Nokia.
The Samsung L870 should be available in certain regions from August 2008
onwards.

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Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Informative

BlackBerry 8800
For a long time, BlackBerry devices were seen primarily as business tools, but the
consumer-friendly BlackBerry Pearl shed that image. Now the BlackBerry 8800 com-
bines a sleek look and a bevy of multimedia features reminiscent of the Pearl's with
a full QWERTY keyboard. The 8800 retains RIM's business focus, however, by leav-
ing off extras such as the camera found on the Pearl.
RIM claims that the 8800, which is available from AT&T/Cingular for $350 with a
two-year contract, is the thinnest full-QWERTY BlackBerry. At first glance it looks
more like Samsung's BlackJack than like a BlackBerry. It forgoes the typical broadly
curved shape of most BlackBerry devices for leaner, straighter lines and a squared-
off look. It measures 4.5 inches tall by 2.6 inches wide by just under 0.6 inch thick,
making it slightly larger than the BlackJack.
The result is a good-looking phone that feels solid in your hand. With the 8800's
slimmer design, however, comes a more crowded keyboard: The keys are much clos-
er together than they were on previous models; each has a raised edge to make dis-
tinguishing them easy; and we found it easier to type on them than on most other
phones' keyboards. Like the Pearl, the 8800 lacks a jogwheel on its right spine for
navigation; instead, it comes with a trackball situated directly beneath the screen.
Though the trackball is easy to use and allows multidirectional scrolling, I prefer a jog-
wheel for navigation.

Trend T-786i Dual Sim GSM

Trend mobiles were the first in introducing the dual SIM mecha-
nism that allowed a person to hold two different SIMs in one mobile
phone. It has now come up with the simplest and yet the most loaded
of the mobile phones. It is called the, Trend Perfect Dual Sim, T-786i
is available in Bar shape with keypad and touch screen facility.
The features of T-786i are startling. Its basic edge is that a user
can retain different network operators' SIMs in one cell phone and
can
receive calls in both. It is a complete multimedia cell phone with 2
mega pixel camera, which has an audio and video recorders and
players as well. The USB data cable allows the user a unique facility
of 'Plug N Play'.
Attach the cable with your computer and view what you have
recorded. There is no need of any software or driver installation unlike
other cell phones. Trend T-786i having Bluetooth connectivity, GPRS
and MMS. Trend mobiles offers an unmatched Deluxe Package along
with the set which includes a free-of-cost Bluetooth Device, 256 MB
memory card, hands free, USB port, Desktop charger, 2 extra batter-
ies and In-Car charger and a Trendy pouch to carry your cell phone in
style.
The Trend T-786i is a fashion conscious handset, which has a
good and attractive size of LCD and gives solid and quality feel when
in use. Mobile phone holds another edge to other cell phones in the
market. It has the style, it has the attractive look and it has all that
you require in cell phone to begin with.

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 Informative Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

Samsung Soul b (U800)

Performance Beauty Wrapped Up In An Elegant Silhouette - Samsung's new Soul b
(U800) has a flair for delivering more with less. Chic minimalism meets multimedia per-
formance in a 9.9mm slim mobile that connects you to the world with ease and elegance.
The brush metal casing, design touches, customizable GUI and fast connective power
work together to deliver a mobile that is stylish stunning.
BAR BEAUTIFUL:- Style simplicity, premium materials and an aesthetic for what
looks good…. The Soul b (U800) will take your breath away with just one glance. A pleas-
ure to hold, stunning to pursue and incredibly easy to use, Samsung's newest mobile fea-
tures premium brushed stainless steel in a bar that is so seductively slim, you won't want
to take your eyes or hands off it.
GUI WITH A PERSONAL TOUCH: - Why settle for a stock look for your mobile screen
when you can express yourself by customizing your GUI experience? Adaptable, cus-
tomizable ad fun to design, your mobile's GUI can be restyled to suit your personality and
mood. Define yourself; define your mobile.
A PERFECT FIT FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT: - Your mobile companion is more
than just a communication tool. A portfolio of multimedia features are expertly fitted into
this mobile's super slim profiles, making it your source of entertainment on the go.
Whether you're listening to tunes, snapping photos, or even editing videos, the Soul b
(U800) offers mobile entertainment you can easily wrap your hands around.

Nokia 1508
Nokia has announced its new 1508 and 1508i (a variant) for lower end
markets. Nokia 1508 is said to be a compact mobile machine that can eas-
ily fit into your hand and best of all it's easy on your budget.
Nokia says that 1508/1508i is going to be a lightweight, slim in candy
bar design. Phone will feature easy key pad dialing, integrated stereo FM
radio and high-speed data connectivity to the internet via cable. With text
messaging, a built in speakerphone, up to three minutes of voice recording
time and enough memory to store 500 phonebook contacts and 400 mes-
sages, the Nokia 1508/1508i makes an ideal partner for staying in touch at
play or at work.
Nokia has reported that 1508/1508i is estimated to start shipping in the
third quarter of 2008 in select CDMA markets, and latter on in GSM mar-
kets.
No words told yet by the manafacturer about the pricings.

64
Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Informative

LG KC550
LG officially announced the presence of its KC550, which is a 5-
megapixel slider that will come at an affordable price. Its Schneider-
Kreuznach autofocus lens are protected by a sliding cover and so is
the flash, which unfortunately is LED instead of Xenon (as with the
Viewty). However, the feature set is not modest, with ISO 800 and
(digital) image stabilization.
KC550 is also touted for its "fast processor" which helps for pre-
viewing the large 5-megapixel photos fast and even to play "DVD"
videos with resolution up to 720x480 and 30 frames per second.
Although, DivX is not supported (unlike the Viewty), we hope LG has
packed it with XviD codec in order to allow it to play really high-quali-
ty clips.
Similar to the LG Secret, the KC550 has integrated sensor, which
allows it to take advantage of the six preloaded "motion sensitive"
games, controlled by moving the phone itself. Other features include
microSD slot, Stereo Bluetooth and QVGA display, packed into 0.56"
(14.3mm) slim body.
It is a mid-level phone, dedicated to its camera and video playback.
Unfortunately, it is a tri-band GSM without 3G, targeting the European
market.

Sony Ericsson K330

Sony Ericsson announces a new entry-level phone, designed for lasting communi-
cation, the Sony Ericsson K330. With superb talk and standby times, torch functions
and FM Radio the Sony Ericsson K330 does the basics well. Add the camera and
Bluetooth functions to it and you get further features on a straightforward phone. The
new candy-bar phone from Sony Ericsson has been designed with simplicity and value
for money in mind. For those wanting a clear-cut camera phone, the Sony Ericsson
K330 mobile phone with video capture and Bluetooth sharing is the obvious choice.
This Sony-Ericsson mobile phone also offers FM radio listening via speakerphone or
stereo headset.
The Sony Ericsson K330 enables users to capture video and photos, plus share
them easily via Bluetooth with another phone or Bluetooth enabled device. Keep your
memories with you with the Sony Ericsson K330's storage for up to 250 photos or 12
minutes of video footage, making it the perfect pocket photo album.
Since the Sony Ericsson K330 supports Bluetooth it can easily be teamed up with
handy accessories such as the new Sony Ericsson Bluetooth headsets HBH-PV715,
720 and 740. They represent the next generation of Bluetooth accessories - high per-
formance headsets that are stylish, practical and versatile, whatever your needs.

65
 Informative Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k

66
 Free Download | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
If you need to destroy your crucial data of intense sensitive nature, then forget 'Format C' or
that silly disk erasing software; done physical destruction now
ith stories coming up on news
W channels regularly about lost or
stolen data or the ability to recov-
er data from discarded or re-sold
computers and their hard drives,
let us look at some effective but maybe a little
odd methods to remove that sensitive data from
your hard drive for good.
First of all, let us consider the YouTube way,
whereas some of the behaviour in its videos
clearly displayed a somewhat alarming level of
violence and pent-up rage (and are probably
illegal). They used a very fascinating way to
destroy a hard drive from a plasma cutter to
cut the hard drive and even getting it hard-
pressed under the wheels of a powerful, fast
train.
But before following such a technique,
please wear safety goggles if you attempt any
of these options at home which you probably
shouldn't. Seriously, get some technician for
this purpose.
Termite: First, let us give a try to this process
called 'termite'. What is a termite, anyway, you
ask? According to
Wikipedia, it is "a
pyrotechnic composi-
tion of aluminium
powder and a metal
oxide which produces
an aluminothermy
reaction known as a termite reaction."
As you can perceive, it is a stuff that gets
really hot and burns through almost anything
including a metal hard drive. Boom!
Next up is a "pirate bomb," whatever that is.
Looks like some sort of a firecracker.
YouTube abounds with hard-drive explosion
videos. It is a good option because it is a close-
up. It is short and to the point. It shows the after-
math, and it repeats the explosion in slow
high-profile attack on Chinese comput-
A er systems during the Olympics in
August would be a serious blow to
organizers and the government, which
has worked hard to position the Games
as a celebration of the economic and social
strides made by China since embarking on
reforms 30 years ago.
The urgency of tighter network security for
the Olympic Games was highlighted at a recent
conference in the southern city of Shenzhen,
jointly organized by CNCERT, the Internet
Association of China, and China's Working
Committee on Information Security, where Xi
Guohua, a vice minister Information Industry,
called on participants to spare no effort to boost
network security in China ahead of the Games.
Among moves the Chinese government has
taken to tighten network security during the
Olympics, it created a special response team in
Beijing that will monitor systems for signs of
attacks and then respond if one is detected. The
motion with well-choreographed music which is
cool. Smash, smash, smash...!
OK, a simple hammer job. It is not that cre-
ative or unusual, but we had to include it
because of the sheer, dogged determination of
the job. You may rarely have witnessed such
crazy persistence, while hammering the hard
drive.
The Crusher: We didn't even know what that
was actually at first some kind of enclosed
industrial-strength drill press, or something with
a cone-shaped drill
bit. But by following a
link, we learned that
it was apparently a
machine built just for
this purpose. But
brevity counts and it
is different and certainly gets the job done.
Plasma cutter: Yeah, we were wondering what
a plasma cutter was too. It sounded so sci-fi
that but we were not disappointed. A plasma
cutter is a welding
tool that combines a
high-voltage arc with
compressed gas to
create plasma
gas that can reach
temperatures as high
as 16,000 degrees Celsius. Even if you weren't
cutting a hard drive in half, it would still be worth
watching this torch light up.
Melt that platter: While others smash, blow up,
crush or even destroy their hard drives, through
this process you will
know how to turn
your hard drive's disk
platter into molten
metal. There is a cer-
tain Zen in watching a
data-filled platter
response team's job won't be easy. The preva-
lence of malware in China means maintaining
network security during the Olympics will be a
significant challenge.
Fifty-eight percent of bot-controlled comput-
ers - systems that can be controlled remotely to
launch denial-of-service attacks or send spam -
are based in China, according to CNCERT's
2007 estimates, which place the total number of
bot-controlled computers in China at 3.6 million,
out of an estimated total of 6.2 million.
In addition, computers infected with Trojan
software, which can give a hacker back-door
access to a computer, are also a growing prob-
lem. Last year, random checks by CNCERT
identified 995,000 computers in China that had
Trojan software installed, compared with 44,717
computers identified in 2006 - an increase of
2,125%.
Chinese security officials also must contend
with the possibility of reprisals to Chinese
attacks on CNN's website or pro-Tibet sites that
Flare Report
IT
splash down onto the concrete floor.
Train wreck: Remember putting pennies on the
train tracks when you were a kid? Yes, the
same principle! Particularly appealing about this
version of the oft-
done "train destroys
(insert object)" video
is the slow-motion
action, a picture-in-
picture display and
after-shots. We are
certain that the data is unrecoverable after this
kind of abuse.
The torch: An acetylene welding torch is a
common tool among metalworkers, but who
knew using one to bring your hard drive up to a
white-hot flaming
mass could be so
very satisfying? You'll
want to watch this
video to the end as
the participants pick
up the still-smoulder-
ing disk drive and quench it in a 5-gallon buck-
et of water, producing a lovely, sharp hiss.
Shredding: If you want to make sure that no-
a one steals data from your drive, or for that mat-
ter, recognize it as a drive, then shredding is the
best way. Of course,
most of us don't own
industrial shredding
machines so you will
have to pay for this
service.
Munching a hard
drive in an industrial machine has a visceral
effect on a viewer. You can really feel those
drives being ripped into tiny shards.





have been hit. In previous years, politically moti-
vated attacks by Chinese hackers launched
against web site in other countries have pro-
voked responses from other hacker groups.
One such hacker war took place in 2001,
after a collision between a Chinese fighter jet
forced a U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane to
make an emergency landing on China's Hainan
Island, where the crew was detained. During the
hacker war that followed, Chinese and U.S.
hackers attacked and defaced hundreds of web-
sites in both countries.
So far, there has not been a response from
foreign hackers to Chinese attacks against CNN
or pro-Tibet Web sites. But hackers may simply
be biding their time, choosing to attack or deface
Chinese Web sites during the Olympics, a time
when any such incident would generate the
most publicity.





67
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
ith the fresh announcement by HP
W a breakthrough in printing equip-
ment and media technology cus-
tomers will enjoy unprecedented
colour printing capabilities to pro-
duce documents and marketing material, which
could be made more impressive, eye-catching
and at par with the offset printing quality. The
new printing supplies portfolio includes HP's
newly formulated HP ColorSphere Toner which
will deliver 117pc higher gloss and 39pc wider
colour gamut.
"Value is a key customer concern. That is
why, we have rolled out an unprecedented range
of high-volume Inkjet and LaserJet cartridges
that deliver greater cost savings to our cus-
tomers," said Leon Han Kong, Vice President for
Supplies, HP Imaging and Printing Group, Asia
Pacific & Japan, on HP's new launch.
The new tech expertise allows users to
greatly improve the printing quality of docu-
ments, produce outstanding images and, for the
first time, realistic photos.
Quality Logic revealed that 7pc of the reman-
ufactured toner cartridges are dead on arrival or
simply fail prematurely. In addition, more than a
third of pages from re-manufactured cartridges
are of limited or no use based on a print-quality
scale developed from the customer research.
According to the research, conducted by T?V
S?D PSB, the original HP Inkjet Print Cartridges
produce 2.4 times as many pages (146.7pc
more) than the refilled cartridges compared to
Asia Pacific brands of refilled ink cartridges test-
ed.
Newly Formulated HP ColorSphere Toner:
HP's newly formulated ColorSphere Toner deliv-
he HP has received the 'PC Magazine
T Reader's Choice Award' for printer sat-
isfaction for the 14th consecutive year.
"The HP received its typically outstand-
ing ratings with a significantly better-
than-average score overall and on reliability
with fewer printers than the average needing
repairs," the magazine reports.
Known for its quality and reliability, the HP
is the only information technology company in
Pakistan, which consistently provides excel-
lent services to its customers. HP Pakistan has
a very strong support setup, and it has
launched exchange (EP) points all Over
Pakistan for the first time. Right now the HP
CSS network is working all over Punjab
(Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Faisalabad
and Multan), NWFP (Peshawar) and Sindh
(Karachi, Hyderabad). An HP customer can
get a free replacement warranty from any EP
ers great photo quality prints on a variety of
media with 39pc wider range of colours and
117pc more gloss than previous HP colour ton-
ers. Designed exclusively for the new range of
HP Color LaserJet business printers the new HP
ColorSphere Toner enables customers to pro-
duce high-quality documents in-house.
HP Dual-Drop Volume Technology: The
new printing supplies technology ensures
detailed images and graphics coupled with an
improved half-toning process which enables
Ali Kumbo, HP specialist (IPG Consumers), (2nd from right: sitting) photographed with the
executive team.
outlet in Pakistan by showing the warranty
card. HP's next task is the TITU (Trade in
Trade UP) Programme, which will trade up to
new units with a warranty and discount on old,
Flare Report IT
smooth gradations and outstanding colour accu-
racy for new HP DeskJet. Customers can enjoy
laser-quality black text on a plain paper and an
archival-quality output. Additionally, with new
inks optimised for porous photo media, cus-
tomers can get instant-dry prints with
improved water and smudge resistance
when using the recommended photo media.
New Enhanced Monochrome Toner:
The new monochrome toner from HP is the
latest advancement in toner technology that
enables consistently outstanding print quality
and reliability at print speeds required in
robust business printing environments (up to
62 pages per minute). It also requires 15pc
less power to reach fusing temperature,
resulting in a 10pc to 15pc improvement in
printing system energy consumption per
page.
HP ColourLok Media: To further demon-
strate HP's commitment to innovation, HP
has incorporated HP Everyday Papers with
HP ColorLok technology that creates bolder,
sharper images, faster dry times and
improved reliability across a range of printing
devices. Documents printed on HP Everyday
Papers with ColorLok, using HP inks and
feature blacks that are up to 60pc bolder for
extra sharpness.
As a matter of fact, the announcement
represents HP's commitment to remain at
the forefront of the industry through its unwaver-
ing commitment to technological innovation.
They continue to raise the bar on customer print-
ing experiences by investing in research that
delivers products which please customers.
out of order or out-of-war-
ranty printers.





69
 Report: Usman Yaqoob
Event
Third anniversary celebrated
with zeal and zest
n the eve of the third anniversary of its
O launching in Pakistan Warid Telecom
arranged a function for its employees
at Royal Palm, Lahore. A large number
of employees turned up to the function
CEO Warid Telecom, Mr. Marwan Zawaydeh,
welcomed the employees and expressed his
gratitude to the participants to come in order to
make the function a success.
On the occasion, he underscored various
ups and downs which came in the way to the
smooth functioning of the company since its
inception in Pakistan. He gave the credit to the
Warid employees who teamed up enthusiasti-
cally for making the company a success in
Pakistan.
He said that it was not a small
wonder that the Warid was able
to reserve its berth in the
already saturated ground with so
gigantic competitors in the field.
He underlined that in such cir-
cumstances only the dedicated
team with all its might and zeal
could face the odds to have a
place in the market
He said that it was not a small wonder that
70 the Warid was able to reserve its berth in the
Photograph by: M. Saeed F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
already saturated ground with so gigantic com- CCO, Mr. Thomas Yeo also spoke on the
petitors in the field. He underlined that in such
circumstances only the dedicated team with all
its might and zeal could face the odds to have a
place in the market.
He said that
untiring efforts and
incessant work
occasion. He showed his satisfaction over the
overall performance of the company so far and
expressed hope that the employees would con-
tinue to put in their efforts with the same zeal to
done so far by the
Warid family is
matchless and
unprecedented as
he paid rich tributes
to each and every
member of the
Warid team coun-
trywide.
He expressed
the hope that the
Warid workers
would continue to
work tirelessly and with the same spirit to make make it a company which would allow many to
it the country's largest company as it is a decid- emulate it in many ways.
ed factor that the peak is always vacant and with CIO, Mr. Javed Mushtaq also spoke on the
this devotional team no one could bar the com- occasion and expressed his resolve to do his
pany to rise to the new horizons. best for the benefit of the employees as he
Chief Strategy & Operations Officer, Mr. urged upon the people that they should never
Shahzad Rauf also expressed the same spirit consider them outside the team of Warid compa-
for the employees of Warid and thanked to the ny. He was also hopeful that the company would
Warid team which is always at his help whenev- reach to new heights with such an able, dedicat-
er he needs them. He said that it was a great ed and efficient team.
blessing of Allah almighty that Warid had the Afterwards, music was performed in which
services of the best people available in the mar- prominent singers presented their mastery with
ket. He urged upon the workers to give some- some melodious songs. Officials and employees
thing to the company and the company in return enjoyed a lot and on the occasion some of them
would give a lot to them. performed dance.





F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Event

Employees appear enthusiastic at Warid's third anniversary

71

Technology Flare Report
The consequences of the communication and its additional customiz-
able interpretations can be used for multifarious actions, publishing
and consequent retrieval and manipulation ad nauseam ad infinitum
cience fiction will become non-fiction
S with Moonitin. This technology is
inspired by Jetsons and Star Trek.
Moonitin™ is a communication system
technology, which encompass every-
thing in a mobile phone and incurs equal oppor-
tunities to all humans without linguistic, religious,
social or status discrimination. It has resulted
from research and development work of
Mamoon Tariq Khan's Hyper Infinite Structure™.
In relationship to the parent project, the commu-
nication conduit Moonitin™ is a peripheral
invention.
Mamoon Tariq Khan is an ontologist, episte-
mologist and utilitarian consequentialist. Being
the world's youngest Bachelor of Science and
All communications will take a
maximum of 5 seconds to
accomplish. All communica-
tions will be achieved with
telephone without purchase or
installation of any new hard-
ware, software or service;
without an Internet connection,
without calling and listening or
speaking to a human or a com-
puter; and without typing or
writing any information
an MBA degree holder, he is famous for break-
ing the threshold of human brain, a record simi-
lar to Roger Bannister's breaking of the four-
minute mile. However, his record is important
than Bannister's because it is a time-based brain
efficacy record as opposed rather than a physi-
Superman, Batman, Spiderman…
all in one!
omic book heroes like Spiderman
C and Superman may soon be appear-
ing now on your smaller screen -
mobile phone. Suit-clad business-
men reading comic books are a com-
mon sight on the Japan trains, but they could
soon be pouring over their phones with pub-
lishers increasingly digitalising their comics to
cash in on the country's mobile-savvy con-
sumers.
The launch of Apple Inc's (APPL.O) iPhone
could also spur the growth of the mobile
72 comic market as the device's touch screen
cal efficiency. He is also a Guinness Book record
holder for having memorised abstractions in less
than a second per item. His record is memoris-
ing 52 abstractions in 44.62.
Moonitin™ Communication System is a US
patent pending technology. It is a method, a sys-
tem, and/or a computer programme and/or a
device/phone/computer that allows successful
transmission and reception of meticulous com-
munication from a sending group through land-
line, wireless, mobile, Internet protocol telepho-
ny, or satellite to a receiving group or person
without any restriction of receiving call. Thus the
consequences of the communication and its
additional customisable interpretations can be
used for multifarious actions, publishing and
consequent retrieval and manipulation ad nau-
seam ad infinitum.
Significant features of this technology are:
would make it easier and more appealing to
read comics on handsets. As the number of
mobile phone subscribers approaches 108
million, or 85 per cent of Japan's population,
carriers are moving away from voice services,
beefing up content services and data trans-
mission to increase revenues.
Comics led the size of the mobile publication
market to double in the last business year to
22 billion yen ($204 million), according to
Internet and media research firm Impress
R&D. The size is almost three times bigger
than the e-publication market for PCs.





F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
" Its absolutely free use, including air-
time/data charges;
" Its application on all existing telephone
sets, whether new or old;
" Its activity on all telephone service net-
works worldwide, including landline, mobile and
satellite.
Amongst other facilities, Moonitin will allow
users to interact with IM and social networks
such as Yahoo and MSN Messengers, Google
Talk, Facebook, MySpace, Skype, Twitter etc
shop at Amazon and eBay; order deliveries of
food and other items, pay bills and transfer
funds, send, request and get detailed informa-
tion such as timings, specifications, offers, and
advertisements, broadcast texts, emails, and
faxes, remain connected 60/60/24/7/52 and con-
stantly publish their activities and whereabouts.
All communications will take a maximum of 5
seconds to accomplish. All communications will
be achieved with telephone without purchase or
installation of any new hardware, software or
service without an Internet connection, without
calling and listening or speaking to a human or
computer, and without typing or writing any infor-
mation.
It will require only a licence from Moonitin
before product and service providers can extend
the facility to their customers. In effect, a single
unanswered telephone ring is being substituted
for a click on a final hyperlink after the booting
up of a computer, going online, visiting a web-
site, logging in and carefully selecting the option
desired.
Moonitin leverages the power of the most
sophisticated computers in the world together
with the most complex features of the Internet
for everyone who has a telephone connection.
This radical reduction in requisite time, effort and
costs of nearly all types of routine communica-
tion via Moonitin will result in worldwide savings
of billions of man hours and the associated bil-
lions of dollars per day.





 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
com, org, net…, no way! Just go for xxx, abc, 007
he Internet Corporation for Assigned
T Names and Numbers (ICANN)
approved the change of domain names
at its annual general meeting in Paris,
according to Loic Damilaville, deputy
head of the French domain name body, the
AFNIC. The regulator also voted to allow
domain names to be lodged in languages such
as Arabic or Mandarin Chinese. The overhaul is
expected to radically change the way users
navigate the Internet. It has allowed not only
companies to turn their brands into domain
names but also individuals to carve out their
own corner of the Internet. The move could
also see the launch of xxx.
Currently all web addresses fall under one
of a set number of top-level domain names.
There are 240 country or territory domains, and
some 20 generic ones, from com, net and org
to gov, edu, uk, or aero. Under the new system,
the web's 1.3 billion users would be able from
early 2009 to buy an unlimited number of
generic addresses based on common words,
brands, company names, cities and proper
names, according to ICANN.
Dr Paul Toomey, the chief executive of
ICANN, said proposals would result in the
biggest change to the way the Internet worked
in decades. "The impact of this will be different
in different parts of the world. But it will allow
groups, communities and businesses to estab-
lish their identities online. Like the United
States in the 19th century, we are in the
process of opening up a new real estate, a new
land, where people will go out and claim parts
of that land and use them for various reasons.
It is a massive increase in the geography of the
he Sunnyvale-based Company has
T begun to register new addresses under
the domains of Ymail and Rocketmail
at http://mail.yahoo.com. For the very
first time Yahoo has offered email
accounts under umbrellas other than its own
company name.
Most people prefer an e-mail address that is
easy to remember like the first letter of their
first name in front of their last name or the
reflection of a personal interest like a hobby or
favourite sports team. The popularity of Yahoo
email had narrowed the range of choices, forc-
ing users to perform too many mental gymnas-
tics to come up with an email handle that had
not already been taken.
"We realised the need to expand the uni-
verse of Yahoo mail," said John Kremer, vice
president in charge of Yahoo emails. Yahoo is
hoping the additional options created with
Ymail and Rocketmail will help boost its email
Like the United States in the 19th
century, we are in the process of
opening a new real estate, a new
land where people will go out and
claim parts of that land and use
them for various reasons they
have. It's a massive increase in
the geography of the real estate
of the Internet
real estate of the Internet."
The opening of the new system would pave
way for xxx domain name, after more than half
a decade of wrangling between its backers and
Icann. The latest attempt to launch xxx was
rejected by ICANN last year on the grounds
that the approval would put the agency into a
position of a content regulator. When asked
growth. Although it is given away, email is con-
sidered an important product because it fosters
user loyalty and spurs frequent visits that cre-
ate advertising opportunities. With 266 million
worldwide users in April 2998, Yahoo is the
email market leader according to the latest
Email under Ymail and
Rocketmail designations will
offer all the same features as
the Yahoo domain including an
unlimited amount of storage
capacity
data from research firm COMScore Inc.
Microsoft Corp, which unsuccessfully tried to
buy Yahoo for $ 47.5 billion, is second at 264
million users.
When it entered the email market, Yahoo
Flare Report IT
about the possibility of xxx domain name, Dr
Toomey just said that only the new system
would be "open to anyone".
The move could yet be blocked as the inde-
pendent arbitration panel can reject domains
based on "morality or public order" grounds. To
avoid chaos, Damilaville said the ICANN also
adopted a motion designed to "limit the abusive
registration of new domain names." With the
stock of available web addresses under the
current IPv4 protocol set to run out by 2011,
ICANN has been under pressure to find a solu-
tion to the burgeoning demand. The popular
online trading site 'eBay' is one of the many
companies that want to have its own domain
name. Broad product groups such as bank or
car are also likely the contenders. Cities could
benefit too from this liberalisation, with the
German capital hoping for Berlin or New York
for .nyc.
He said ICANN was still working through
how much application fee to register a domain
name will be. Yet it is likely to be at least sever-
al thousand dollars. "We are doing this on a
cost recovery basis. We have already spent
$10 million on this."
ICANN says any string of letters can be reg-
istered as a domain, but there will be an inde-
pendent arbitration process for people with
grounds for objection. Individuals will be able to
register a domain based in their own name, or
any other string of letters, as long as they show
a "business plan and technical capacity." While
companies will be able to secure domain
names, based on their intellectual property
easily, some domain names could become
subject to contention and a bidding war.





provided just 3 megabytes of free storage per
account but Google changed the competitive
landscape in 2004 when it introduced gmail
with 1 gigabyte of free storage under its Gmail
service. Gmail now offers more than 6 giga-
bytes of free storage.
The email accounts at both Yahoo and
Microsoft have been growing at a slower pace
than Google Inc's Gmail, which has added
more than 30 million users during the last one
year. About 101 million people used the
Internet search leader's Gmail in April,
COMScore said. Email under Ymail and
Rocketmail designations will offer all the same
features as the Yahoo domain including an
unlimited amount of storage capacity.





73
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Flare Corner

Islamabad: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani giving the receipt to a lady during his
visit at the NADRA Mobile Van during the inauguration ceremony to provide free of cost
computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) at Prime Minister House.

A visitor to the booth tries the touch screen on the Samsung

Omnia mobile phone at the CommunicAsia trade show in
Singapore. South Korea's Samsung Electronics, the world's
No. 2 handset maker, it sees the global market growing by 9
percent in 2008, and expects to sell 200 million units during
the year.

Director Marketing, Trend Mobiles, Muhammad Nadeem Qureshi, National Sales Manager
Asif Ghani and Brand Manager Shahid Ashfaq photographed with dealers before leaving
for an excursion trip to Thailand.

A model pours water over Panasonic's new ultra mobile PC,

Toughbook CF-U1, as it is unveiled in Tokyo. The
184x151x57mm compact PC is shown to be water-proof and
durable for a fall from some 1.2 meter high position. Loaded
with Intel Atom processor, the battery lasts about 10 hours.
A Spain fan speaks on a mobile phone before their Euro 2008 quar ter-final soccer match
74 against Italy at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
The ISPs' actions in altering the code are similar to giving people
a house-brand soda when they ask for a Coke
harter Communications has temporari-
C ly planned to share information about
Web sites its customers visit with
behavioural targeting company
NebuAd. Charter is not the only ISP to
sign a deal with NebuAd; many smaller ISPs
are already working with the company and ask-
ing for lawsuits.
The ISP-based targeting platform raises
obvious privacy concerns because ISPs have
access to subscribers' entire Web history, from
every site visited to every search performed.
NebuAd says that users can opt out of the pro-
gramme, and that all the information collected is
anonymous. Advocates have doubts whether
natizens will even see or understand the opt-out
information, where their click-stream data pro-
vides enough information to figure out their
identities.
Apart from the privacy implications, it also
seems that publishers will object the plan. After
all, the whole point of this type of targeting is to
figure out what users are interested in, based
on information gleaned from examining their
The bill would empower US to tap overseas communications
between different countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan
he Democrats have handed the White
T House an Electronic Surveillance Bill
which it has been after for the past
several months with a claim: "Whether
they came down with an attack on
commonsense, or were just finally bludgeoned
into submission in a fight they were not going
to win." Even Barack Obama, an immutable
opponent of the measure, has now agreed
with it.
The House action moves US Intelligence
closer to full and unquestioned the authority to
eavesdrop on conversations in foreign coun-
tries without having to jump through imprac-
tical judicial hoops.
The legislation has come to be known as
the warrant-less wiretap bill, suggesting that
the measure would allow federal agents to lis-
ten phone calls between Americans without
any questions.
The bill would empower US to tap overseas
communications between different countries
such as Pakistan and Afghanistan
activity on publishers' sites. That data is then
going to be used to sell ads that would not in
any way benefit those publishers.
This technology will allow advertisers to find
people who have performed searches on
Google long after when they have left the site. It
will potentially allow marketers to send ads to
readers of the Wall Street Journal when they
are reading blogs. It turns out that the methods
used by ISPs to facilitate this type of targeting
might themselves give rise to lawsuits. A report
Whether they came down with
an attack of commonsense or
were just finally bludgeoned
into submission in a fight,
they were not going to win
Flare Report IT
last week by Free Press and Public Knowledge
accused the company of hijacking users'
browsers and inserting packets into the data
stream that ultimately cause them to load
scripts from NebuAd.
Professor James Gimmelman at New York
Law School said such techniques violated pub-
lishers' rights. He proposed that the alteration of
Web pages potentially violated sites' trademark
rights. Gimmelman argued that the ISPs'
actions in altering the code were similar to giv-
ing people a house-brand soda when they
asked for a Coke. "The harm consists in using
your competitor's trademark (and all the trust
people have in it) to pass off your own goods on
consumers."
When an ISP delivers a page to a user,
there's an implicit statement involved: 'this is the
page you asked for.' When your ISP delivers
you a page with a NebuAd cookie injected, the
statement that this is the page you asked for is
false. It is an interesting theory and one that
Web publishers might well want to test.





It is mentioned that unless or until a person
is a terrorist or happens to be on the line with
a terrorist, his or her calls will not be tapped.
The government snoops will not bother every-
day casual telephonic chats.
President George Bush had insisted on giv-
ing immunity from lawsuits to telecommunica-
tion companies that complied with requests to
turn over phone records in the frantic, desper-
ate hours after 9/11.
Democrats in the House as opposed to
their more level headed colleagues in the
Senate had balked. They held to their posi-
tion which threatened to discourage telecoms
from helping with vital intelligence until the
White House gave them a way-out. The tele-
com would get immunity as long as the gov-
ernment asked them in writing to do the post-
9/11 wiretapping. And there went the last stub-
born obstacle to the bill the 'Forth
Amendment Rights' that had passed long
ago.





75
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k Flare Report Telecom

RG International, a market leader in

Z contact centre technology, participated

in the Middle East International Banking,
Financial Technology Exhibition held at
Dubai International Financial Centre and
organised by Dubai World Trade recently.
The event consisted of an exhibition and a
conference, attended by corporate executives
and technology professionals from financial
industry. A ZRG team displayed innovative solu-
tion suite for financial customer services, sales
and recovery such as IP Contact Centre, CRM,
outbound campaign management, call recording
and evaluation tools, supervision and QA solu-
tions.
The participants, who were delightfully
enlightened by speeches and information, knew
the capabilities of ZRG's OneView solution and
its successful contact centre environment in ZRG continues to take part in all such inter- promote and help build up Pakistan's true image
Pakistan. national exhibitions organised in the future to in the IT industry.

GI Funds Limited, a part of the IGI Financial industry in Pakistan has shown remarkable

I Services Group, in collaboration with

Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (FCCI) organised a seminar
'Investment Opportunities' to introduce
advantages of Mutual Funds to the Faisalabad
business community.
IGI Funds, in continuation with its objective to
create awareness about Mutual Funds, high-
lighted mutual funds as an ideal mode of invest-
ment which offers diversification, liquidity and
professional fund management to its investors
whilst providing a considerable rate of return. IGI
Funds also introduced the IGI Income Fund at
the seminar and announced plans to launch an
'Islamic Income and Growth Fund' and a 'Stock
Fund' in the near future.
In his welcome speech, Muzammil Sultan,
Vice President, FCCI, said: "The Mutual Funds
progress in recent years both in terms of num-
bers of funds and in net assets under manage-
ment." He continued: "Due to sound economic
growth and higher corporate earnings it is
expected that mutual funds would continue to be
an attractive investment avenue for investors."
Talking to journalists, Syed Ali Raza Bukhari,
Head of Institutional Investment, IGI Funds
Limited, remarked: "We aim to be a reliable part-
ner for investors in Pakistan, offering a portfolio
of structured investments to meet their specific
needs. IGI Funds aims at offering a wide range
of investment products to investors to meet their
requirement and risk profiles."

igh Tech Computer standards in technology. "We

H Corp (HTC) set up its

stalls at various
places in Lahore
recently to introduce
its Smart Mobility Model HTC
Touch and HTC TyTN in
Connect 2008. It captured a
highly competitive market to
compete with its major players.
HTC, with its first Microsoft
wireless Pocket PC, is now in a
better position to meet compe-
tition challenge, especially in
terms of advanced processing
and colour palm-size PC relia-
Visitors are being briefed at a stall set up by HTC at Siddiq Trade Centre in Lahore.
bility. It is committed to new
feel consumers are all set to
experience outstanding smart
devices. The consumers will
experience the best," said
Shabeeh Hyder, Manager Sales
and Marketing for HTC Pakistan.
The event was aimed at cre-
ating awareness through publici-
ty. HTC, which organised similar
events in Karachi last month, has
plans to expand its business in
Pakistan. With its consumers in
focus, HTC Smart mobility
devices are likely to reach every
nook and corner of Lahore.





77
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Will MT9 with all its unique features and
market hurdles be able to replace MP3?
n this most modern and technologically
I advanced world, new developments take
place at a high speed and hit the interna-
tional market. Thus they spread worldwide
within days. The MP3 idea that comes to be
regarded as a replacement in fact is not cen-
turies' old. And it is meant to incite both inquisi-
tive and innovative minds when viewed from dif-
ferent angles.
The Motion Pictures Experts Group (MPEG)
met in Germany to consider making a new digi-
tal audio format called MT9 an international
standard. Developed by South Korean company
Audizen, the MT9 format, commercially known
as Music 2.0, splits an audio file into six chan-
The MT9 format, commercially
known as Music 2.0, splits an
audio file into six channels
such as vocals, guitar, base
and so on. Users playing the
track can then raise or lower
the volume on different chan-
nels like a producer on a mix-
ing board to the point of isolat-
ing a single item
nels such as vocals, guitar, base and so on.
Users playing the track can then raise or lower
the volume on different channels like a producer
on a mixing board to the point of isolating a sin-
gle item.
According to The Korea Times, its inventors
say that the new format will replace MP3 as the
standard for all digital music but certain music
industry realities stand in the way of their goal.
From a technical perspective, replacing MP3
with a new digital music standard would be
rather easy. Digital retailers in a matter of
months could refresh their entire database with
music containing the new format, just as Napster
and Wal-Mart quickly switched from digital rights
management to non-DRM formats. These retail-
ers would need their label partners to provide
them with music encoded in the new format,
meaning that all the major labels and the host of
independents would agree to start using a new
technology to sell their music. Then they would
need audio manufacturers, in particular Apple, to
start making products that support the format
and its capabilities. The average life span of
Flare Report IT
today's MP3 player is about eight to 12 months.
So it would take time to re-seed the market with
new devices.
Implementing a new digital music format
would require an unprecedented level of cooper-
ation among the labels, digital retailers and man-
ufacturers. It is possible to attempt a staged roll-
out, where only a computer could access the full
features of the new format while portable
devices slowly catch up, but that setup would be
far less interesting to the music fan. "The value
proposition to the consumer is linked to the func-
tionality," says Napster COO Christopher Allen,
who oversaw the company's format change to
MP3. "So if I can do something on my PC with a
such, failed to achieve any
traction. Thompson even-
tually discontinued support
to it.
Thompson tried again
in 2005 with MP3
Surround which, as the
name indicates, added a
surround-sound element
to play back on compatible
devices. This one was
much less restrictive,
working with any sur-
round-sound device that
also supports the original
MP3 format. Moreover, it
Implementing a new digital music format would require an unprece-
dented level of cooperation among the labels, digital retailers and
manufacturers. It is possible to attempt a staged rollout, where only
a computer could access the full features of the new format while
portable devices slowly catch up, but that setup would be far less
interesting to the music fan
client player but I can't do it on the Web or my was free to any company already licensing the
device, the value to the consumer of that format original MP3. Still, it remains largely margin-
is not as exciting as if there were a whole alised.
ecosystem that could take advantage of the new Yet despite certain difficulties, a new digital
format's capabilities." music format is exactly what the music industry
These issues have combined to thwart new needs to kick-start digital sales. The incumbent
music formats in the past. In 2001, Coding MP3 format does not offer digital retailers
Technologies created the MP3 PRO format and enough for a differentiated product than what the
licensed it through Thompson, which adminis- fans get just ripping their CDs. The only benefit
ters the original MP3 technology. It featured an to buying an MP3 online is a slightly higher qual-
advanced compression system that allows ity digital file and that has not yet proved enough
encoded files to take up half the storage space to lure customers away from the CD. When the
of a traditional MP3, with improved sound quali- idea of a keyless keyboard is already launched
ty to boot. But only the Thompson owned RCA in the market, then why not MT9?





made products that used the format and, as 79
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Light, compact, portable, chargeable,

power saver but high prices…!
he Information Technology (IT) gadg- with the

T ets are providing services worldwide to

save people from the plethora of prob-
lems. One such gadget is a laptop
which is becoming popular gradually.
Its consumers are not just professionals but
students also.
Laptops are portable unlike ordinary com-
help
Internet
should go
for any
available
c h e a p
processor.
of

putes. They are light and compact. Due to Those who

chargeability, they are the least affected by do a lot of
electricity supply. They are very helpful in tak- work like
ing presentations and documents along. It photo lift-
does not need a landline due to the already ing, video
installed wireless networking. Laptops have supply etc.
lucid screen display (LCD) which not only should go
saves electricity but also eyesight. for more
Previously, laptops were too expensive but than 2GHz.
there availability and accessibility later RAM, ran-
became affected by smuggled and second- dom access
hand versions. Now they are cheap but difficult memory
to purchase because people do not know what comes in
they need aside from confusing prices. A lot of three sizes:
versions with varying prices and features are 2 5 6 k b ,
available and reviews of IT journals can be 512kb and (CD) or digitally versatile disk (DVD) readers is
helpful in looking for the right one.
A regular visit to related websites works It is a link to the Internet usually there in a laptop and it suits them for a
typical use. For backups, a CD writer is suit-
wonders in getting the right thing at the right
time. However, one must keep in one's mind
which does not require able and for creating DVDs DVD writer is
required. Almost all latest laptops have
the following points before buying a laptop:
physical use of wires, dial- 802.11g wireless networking which works in
restaurants, campus, shops, etc.

Processor;

Amount of RAM;
up connections or modems In developing countries where power break-
downs are a routine matter, laptops are more
Size of screen;



Size of the Hard Disc;
and can be connected any- popular. In Pakistan, an increase in laptops'
use is observed in recent years mainly due to




Type of Optical Drive;
Wireless networking.
where in city if the signals WiMAX. It is a link to Internet which does not
require any physical use of wires, dial-up con-

People who do not do extraordinary work

are available
1GB. One must not buy
256kb because it is very
poor, 512kb is sufficient for
normal users. The screen
size in a lower cost laptop is
1024 x 768 and it is suffi-
cient. However, users can
go for 1280 x 1024 and 1600
x 1200 according to their
needs. The usual space in a
Hard Disc is 40GB and it is
more than enough for ordi-
nary official use. Those who
are used to listen to and
download songs and videos
are advised to go for 60GB
or 80GB. The compact disk
nections or modems and can be connected
anywhere in the city, if signals are available.
Wateen Telecom launched its WiMAX/HFC
services for the consumer market in collabora-
tion with Motorola last year and according to
Wateen, it is the largest WiMAX network ever
installed. The service has received an encour-
aging response from its users and is available
in 22 cities of Pakistan.
With an increase in purchase, there is also
an increase in thefts. Laptops are as easy to
steal as mobile phones and a motorcyclist can
easily snatch one's laptop bag. A laptop track-
ing system will be helpful in this regard but
there is no facility to trace a stolen laptop
except a continuous visit to black market. A
stolen laptop is more harmful than a mobile for
the files and (important) data it contains in its
memory.




81
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
lcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and
A NYSE: ALU) and SpeedCast Limited
have planned to jointly market, deploy
and operate a shared, hosted DVB-H
platform for mobile TV operators at
CommunicAsia 2008 and BroadcastAsia 2008.
The objective is to enable a seamless delivery
of a digital video content to operators for trans-
mission to devices supporting the DVB-H
mobile TV standards.
Alcatel-Lucent and SpeedCast Ltd will
leverage their respective technologies, infra-
structure and content delivery solutions to pro-
vide operators in the region with a state-of-the
art DVB-H head-end. This hosted service will
enable mobile TV service providers to deliver
lcatel-Lucent has announced that
A Telenor Global Services (TGS),
Telenor's international business, has
selected Alcatel-Lucent to provide an
IP Next Generation Network (NGN)
for their services worldwide. An all-IP network
will enable TGS to deliver advanced voice,
video, data and IP services effectively in all the
countries it operates.
Telenor Global Services is providing inter-
national interconnect services to Telenor's 140
million mobile subscribers in Asia and Europe.
They are also providing services to other tele-
com operators.
The first phase of TGS's IP transformation
project involves points of presence in Oslo,
Hong Kong and Singapore and will cover the
need for international voice and mobile servic-
es in the Asia region. Gradually, the project will
amsung Electronics Company Ltd, a
S leading mobile phone provider, has
launched Samsung SGH-i900 in
Lahore. It brings together high-perform-
ance business content, top-of-the
range style and a dynamic multi-media experi-
ence to ensure that consumers are promptly
connected both at home and at work.
OMNI, meaning 'everything' in Latin and
'wish' in Arabic, goes beyond the current top-of-
the-line features available in mobile phones. It is
now available in market. The new Samsung
allows users to switch seamlessly between
Microsoft Outlook email and productivity appli-
cations that replicate the look and feel of their
PC with a stroke of a finger. The Windows
Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system
more than 20 TV channels via satellite.
This unique turnkey solution combines ele-
ments required for a successful mobile TV
service including service platform, security and
encryption technology, platform for encoding
into a DVB-H compatible format, satellite deliv-
ery to terrestrial infrastructure and a large num-
ber of TV channels with world-class content
include new countries. Telenor has contracted
Alcatel-Lucent to design and integrate the total
multi-vendor network solution. The project
management, installation and commissioning
are also included in the contract. Telenor will
retain network operations.
"We feel confident that a global IP network,
based on Alcatel-Lucent's future-oriented solu-
tions, will facilitate operations, open up new
advanced services and make us better pre-
means users can download additional pro-
grammes as they would on their PC and cus-
tomize it for their individual needs.
Samsung delivers the ultimate in-digital
entertainment, thanks to a wide 3.2-inch
WQVGA LCD screen for viewing videos and
slide shows in high resolution and advanced
audio capabilities. Samsung also comes with a
five-mega pixel CMOS camera with latest value-
added features including auto-focus (AF), face
and smile detection and auto-panorama shot. It
also offers GPS including navigation and geo-
tagging capabilities so users can get their bear-
ings wherever work or life takes them to.
The Samsung presents Samsung's leader-
ship in design. With maxi-phone capabilities it
boasts a slender, chic form so users can step
Flare Report Telecom
across major genres stretching over to news,
music, sports, lifestyle and entertainment.
This service allows operators to drastically
decrease the capital and operational expendi-
tures associated with mobile TV service and to
leverage the economies of a scale offered by a
centralised platform.
"This hosted mobile TV broadcast will help
lower the risk to service providers associated
with introducing a new service while, at the
same time, giving them an opportunity to offer
the customers quite attractively-priced services
and richer content offerings," said Pierre-Jean
Beylier, the Chief Executive Officer of
SpeedCast Ltd.
pared for the future. Alcatel-Lucent's experi-
ence in transformation projects was important
for our decision," says Per Raaum, Vice
President Networks at Telenor Global
Services.
The solution purchased by Telenor is the
Alcatel-Lucent NGN Class 4/Peering Solution,
which expands Class 4 services to IP Peering,
thereby providing converged transit service for
wholesale carriers. It involves the Alcatel-
Lucent 5020 Media Gateway Controller-12, the
Alcatel-Lucent 7510 Media Gateway, and the
Fortinet Fortigate firewall.
The globally distributed solution includes
the 5020 MGC-12 centrally located in Oslo
and points of presence in Singapore and Hong
Kong that contains the media gateways, fire-
walls and 7710 Service Router. The likely date
of commercial operation is May 2009.





out in style. It features an ultra-slim 12.5 mm
profile and a platinum look finish that fits snugly
in the palm of the user's hands. The elegant
hairline patterns on the back of the phone bring
the perfection in style.
Steve Han, Country Manager of Samsung
Pakistan, said: "I am very excited to introduce
Samsung, a mobile device that truly delivers the
best possible features for today's busy but con-
nected consumer. Samsung demonstrates our
vision for the Samsung mobile business, which
is to provide premium phones for users who
desire functionality, style, usability and entertain-
ment in one innovative device. The mobile range
will help users to become at the forefront of their
work and play and, at the same time, stay con-
nected anytime, anywhere."




83
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Flare Corner

Promotional women from Christie digital systems demonstrate three dimensional vir tual real-
ity system "HoloStage-Mini" during the Industrial Vir tual Reality Expo 2008 in Tokyo.

People tour a solar field of mirrors used direct the sun's rays
for large scale solar thermal power plants at the Rotem
Industrial Complex outside of the town of Dimona, southern
Israel. Designers are using the Israeli solar array to test new
technology for plants they plan to build in California for Pacific
Gas and Electric Company.

A model displays the world's smallest, 7cm cubic, karaoke box for one person manufactured
by Takara Tomy Co., at the Tokyo Toy Show 2008 in Tokyo. This personal karaoke called "Hi-
kara" available in two colors of white and pink, weighs 150 grams without battery.

Wan Azizah, wife of Malaysia former Deputy Prime Minister

An undated screenshot from the video game "Political Machine" released to Reuters. A new Anwar Ibrahim shows picture from her cell phone of male aide
computer game called "Political Machine" casts you as Democrat Barack Obama, Republican who claimed he was sodomized by Anwar during a a press
John McCain, or other politicians trying to win the White House. conference at a hotel in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
85
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
The growth rate of cellular users was 83 percent
back in year 2007, which has been reduced to
merely 3 per cent in the current year
ecently, cellular companies' data from
R 2000 onwards is released by Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA).
Interestingly, the positions of giant
service providers have changed. The
growth rate of cellular users was 83 per cent
back in 2007, which has been reduced to mere-
ly 3 per cent in the current year. The main rea-
son for this reduction in the growth rate is not
that people are not buying SIMs, but the restric-
tions imposed on the purchases. Moreover, a
large number of SIMs are already blocked and
the rest will be blocked soon. With the blocking
of more unauthorised SIMs, it is expected that
the so called growth rate will be affected more
because the decreased rate is more than the
increased rate.
Mobilink's customer indicator is
static due to blocked SIMs and
changing priorities of people. It
is worth-knowing that Mobilink,
being the largest cellular
company, has the largest
number of unregistered SIMs
We can also review the statistics of our cellu-
lar companies one by one. Mobilink started with
114,272 and reached 27,165, 868 in July 2007.
In December 2007, Mobilink users were 30, 612,
630, which increased to only 31,958,597. This
growth rate is considerably low if compared to
Mobilink's growth in 2006-07. Mobilink users
were 17, 205, 555 in 2006, whereas in 2007 it
has 26, 466,451 subscribers. For the last couple
of months, Mobilink's customer indicator is stat-
ic due to blocked SIMs and changing priorities of
people. It is worth-knowing that Mobilink, being
the largest cellular company, has the largest
number of unregistered SIMs.
Telenor, being the second largest service
provider, started its journey back in 2005 with
835, 727 subscribers. It had 11, 272, 023 users
Ismail Qureshi Telecom
in July 2007, which increased to 14, 596, 382 in it cannot show much improvement. It has
December 2008. From then onwards, its users
have grown more than 17, 841,000. In 2006, its
customers were 3, 573, 660, which increased to
10,701,332 in 2007. The growth rate in 2007-08
is lower than 2006-07, but its data is better than
Mobilink.
1,024,512 users in July 2007, which grew to
1,980,587 in December 2007. After its China
branding, ZonG, Paktel recently saw a lot of
growth. Its members grew to 3,662,099 in May
2008, and the number is likely to increase due to
foreign investment.
Initiatives have
been taken recently
to safeguard the
position by cellular
companies: Warid's
B l a c k B e r r y
S o l u t i o n s ;
Mobilink's Yahoo
and Gtalk ZonG
Dial Tunes, Ufone's
Uown, etc almost all
companies are
investing in promot-
ing their services
with collaboration to
international and
Ufone occupies a third place with a very national events.
small margin. Its family members were Warid is sponsoring the K2 expedition by
17,800,424 on May 2008, which is pretty close Altitude Experience, Telenor is interested in Polo
to Telenor. Ufone started its journey in 2001 with Shandur Festival 2008 and 'Tarey Zameen Per'
116, 711 members. However, its growth is not (an Indian film shown by Telenor in Pakistan),
impressive when compared to increasing net- Ufone is covering Asia Cup 2008 and Mobilink is
work of Telenor. Its users were 14,772,911 in giving Strings' latest video
July 2007, which increased to 16,161,936 in just exclusively.
six months but, after that the increment has not Our cellular companies are receiving repeti-
remained very smooth. tive shocks and this unpredictable state is
Warid started its services back in 2005 with expected to prolong due to:
508,655 customers. Due to certain official crisis,
Blocking of unregistered SIMs;
Warid cannot make rapid progress like others.
Increase in Excise Duty on mobile phones;
However, it is now ready to face the market with
Increase in taxes on mobile phones;
its 15,114,678 members till May 2008. In July
"Increase in inflation in Pakistan and new
2007, its users were 11, 079, 242, which rules and regulations of keeping cell phones by
increased to 13,205,677 in December 2007. PTA.
Warid's growth, when compared to the previous Nothing can be said about anything in
years, is much impressive in the recent months Pakistan. We have seen rapid progress in the
and is likely to expand further. recent past, but we have also seen a lot of
Paktel, Pakistan's first cellular service shocks recently. Let's see if our hard-work and
provider company, triggered off with 80,221 cus- some of the really big companies can defend
tomers. It made rapid progress till 2006, but then their positions.  87
 Flare Report
IT
ntel Corporation unveiled more than 70
I futuristic projects and the under-way con-
cepts in its laboratories in different areas
like environment, healthcare, visual com-
puting, wireless mobility and the more
reflecting ones, where the company is investing
out of its annual $6 billion on research. The proj-
ects were displayed at Computer History
Museum in Karachi.
Chief Technology Officer and Senior Fellow
Justin Rattner said the company's priority to
invest in research helped shape Intel's products
and the industry at large. For example, the dawn
of the Intel Atom processor emerged from a
small project inside Intel's laboratories called
'Snocone' that explored the feasibility of design-
ing an ultra-low-power processor based on the
Intel architecture. Several technologies inside
the company's Intel processor technology for
business platforms came from laboratories as
did the 1990s research that helped create
Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection to PC for
music players, keyboards, video cameras and
more.
"Hundreds of researchers inside Intel and
our close work with other technology compa-
nies, scientists, universities and governments
will bring about dramatic changes over the next
five years," Rattner said. "The sampling of proj-
ects on display and the doubling of our R&D
investment over the last 10 years will lead to sci-
entific discoveries, improve healthcare, better
environment, an advance visual computing and
a rich wireless Internet experience from the
device of your choice anywhere in the world," he
added.
Intel together with Neusoft demonstrated a
The changes could see DVDs losing favour in a big way
new service opening up to Internet
A users is that of being able to download
movies the day they become available
on DVD for the UK ITunes website.
This is the first time Apple has offered
film downloads to British users and is expected
to become increasingly popular as the credit
crunch bites and people do not want to keep
paying out for DVDs.
Films will be available to watch on iPods,
iPhones or TV via an Apple set top box and can
be rented or bought. In total, 700 films will be
made available from a library and a deal has
Films will be available to watch on
iPods, iPhones or TV via an Apple
set top box and can be rented or
bought. In totality, 700 films will be
88 made available from a library
future car application with cameras as
eyes and multi-core processor-based
computers as brain, enabling it to accu-
rately identify other vehicles and pedes-
trians getting too close. Upon which it
alerts the driver or takes necessary pre-
cautions to prevent accidents. Such
visual computing technology requires
more computing power and, in return,
poses parallel (multiple and simultane-
ous processor requests) programming
challenges.
The researchers also showcased
technique technologies called 'Platform
Power Management,' which work by
continuously monitoring changes in a
computer's operation and intelligently
reducing power, or totally turning to por-
tions of systems no more in use, such
as radio or USB ports. Early demonstra-
tions on this work have shown power
savings of more than 30 per cent when
a system is idle or lightly active. In the next few
years, the Intel researchers hope, research
would spread advancements and demonstrate
cuts in power consumption of 50 per cent
whether the computer is idle or in heavy use.
The platform power management could benefit
from a full range of Intel products from mobile
Internet devices (MIDs) all the way to high-per-
formance servers. This will significantly improve
environment and energy efficiency of the Intel-
based products.
Personalised technologies, based on people-
centred research that leads to innovations for
better care of the aging and chronically ill, can
help reduce the rising costs of a chronic disease
been secured between Apple and top
Hollywood film studios Warner Bros, Walt
Disney, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures
and 20th century fox to continue supplying
movies over the Internet into the future.
Viewing films this way promises to be
cheaper than buying DVDs with library titles
starting with a purchase price of £6.99 and the
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
and hence the aging population.
It also encourages people to become more
actively engaged in maintaining their health.
Intel has been committed to multi-disciplinary
research, inclusive of the people-centred
research for a decade or so. Its involvement in
the Technology Research for Independent Living
(TRIL) Centre, a ground-breaking research joint-
ly funded by Intel Corporation and the Irish
Government to explore technologies, will enable
people of any age to live independently. One of
TRIL Centre's recent innovations is
BioMOBIUS™, which is a low-cost research
computing platform that can easily be tailored to
quickly build a research tool in a simple
way.





latest releases at £ 0.99. For film rental prices
start at £2.49 and allow customers 30 days to
watch it.
Other firms have made films available via
this service but the library is limited. Apple deal
with major film producers mean that
the service will be revolutionised and
the changes could see DVDs losing
favour in a big way.
The next few months will also see
the BBC broadcasting its flagship
channel on the Internet. This means
you no longer have to be near a TV set
to watch your favourite programmes
as long as you have computer and
broadband access. This brings the TV
channels concerns about how to
enforce a licensing fee which would be
impractical and virtually impossible.
ITV recently announced the same intentions so
it looks like we have a choice between working
and watching Jeremy Kyle!





F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Flare Corner

Obsolete computer monitors are piled up at a recycling plant in Buenos Aires. An estimat-
ed more than 35,000 tons of electronic and scrap material from more then 1,000,000
computers, 800,000 printers, 500,000 monitors and other devices were generated in the
country during the last two years.

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan talks on a mobile phone at the

premiere of Bollywood movie "Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na" (Whether
you know... or not) at a multiplex in Mumbai.

Photo, shows the exterior of Oracle Corp. headquar ters in Redwood City, Calif. The busi-
ness software maker said, that it earned $2.04 billion, or 39 cents per share, in the three
months ending in May, up 27 percent from $1.6 billion or 31 cents per share at the same
time last year.

A woman shows a VIP Mobile phone in Belgrade in this picture

taken. Foreign investors who have braved Serbia's turbulent pol-
A worker passes by television sets showing South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's
itics say they have reaped rewards -- and the fate of a new pro-
address at second hand electronic shop in Seoul, South Korea. Lee apologized to the pub-
Western government will depend heavily on how far it succeeds
lic Thursday for ignoring their concerns in moving to restore U.S. beef impor ts that have
in pushing that message abroad.
paralyzed his government and caused weeks of public protests. 89
 Azhar Javed
Telecom
Most of the
accidents occur
due to negligence
of drivers using
mobile phones,
which worse than
drink-drive
n this technologically advanced age dis-
I tances are shrunk by new developments
made rapidly. Yet another amazing inven-
tion of a digital portable is no more an alien
idea. Although it saves the user a lot of pre-
cious time, it is not available yet. Everyone is in
a rush to go somewhere, or to get something
while carrying his phone, laptop or a music play-
er. Undoubtedly, a digital portable can help
make the lives of the habitants of the global vil-
lage a lot easier. But that is just the one-sided
picture. The use of a mobile phone in cars is a
common sight, especially in developing coun-
tries where people get exhausted after a day's
hectic work facing the day-to-today challenges.
The use of a mobile phone or a portable player
can cause a serious accident. Despite strict laws
barring people from violating them, they still tend
to lawlessness and become law-breakers con-
sciously or unconsciously.
A recent study, conducted at the Transport
Research Laboratory, has provided evidence
that using a mobile phone while driving may be
90
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
more dangerous than drink-drive. Simulations lowing:
are particularly useful for comparing the use of
cell phone while driving. A univ ersity study
measured the response time, following distance
and the driving speed of a control group at the
legal BAC limit of 0.08 per cent with subjects
involving cell phone conversations.
Sending text message has detrimental effect

Increase in number of (lease) vehicles
in provincial capitals;

Rise in mobile and service affordability;

Show-off incited by inferiority complex;

The impact of inflation on people's busy
lives;

The active role of media to keep the
on a number of safety critical driving measures. society posted;
Specifically, negative effects were seen in
Individuality to ensure independence;

Impatience and short-
Means and standard errors tempered attitude.
(in parentheses) for the Alcohol, Base line, and Cell-Phone A four to five times
conditions increase is observed in the
Alcohol Base Line Cell Phone sale of hands-free kits in
Pakistan which prompts
Total Accidents 0 0 3
traffic wardens to start
Brake Onset Time (m/sec) 888 (51) 943 (58) 1022 (61) issuing warning tickets to
drivers using hand-held
Braking Force (% of maximum) 69.6 (3.6) 56.4 (2.5) 55.2 (2.9) mobiles. However, not
Speed (MPH) 52.8 (.08) 54.9 (.08) 53.2 (.07) only hand-held but also
hands-free mobiles must
Following Distance (meters) 26.5 (1.7) 27.3 (1.3) 28.5 (1.6) be banned.
A study shows that on
½ Recovery Time 5.4 (0.3) 5.4 (0.3) 6.2 (0.4)
average reactions of driv-
detecting and responding correctly to road ers were nearly 50 per cent slower than normal
signs, detecting hazards and time spent with driving. The use of hands-free kits can be min-
eyes off the road. Surprisingly, mean speed, imised only but not eliminated altogether.
speed variability, lateral position when receiving Researchers conclude that the use of mobile
text messages and following distance showed phones in any case should be banned because
no difference. it increases risks of driving. Drivers are 9 per
The use of cell phones is banned in most of cent slower in applying brakes, 24 percent more
the countries. The Government of Pakistan has variable in distance they keep from a vehicle
banned the use of mobile phones while driving ahead and 19 per cent slower in resuming their
in pursuance of the Twelfth Schedule, Violations normal speed. The problem does not concern
and Penalties of the Provincial Motor Vehicles law but its enforcement. Everything is new as far
Ordinance, 1965. With all possible measures to as our traffic regulatory system is concerned, but
regulate traffic better results have not yet been our traffic will not change unless or until we
achieved. Reasons for an increase in road acci- change our attitude. 
dents in Pakistan may be summed up in the fol-
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Gmail labs offer a selection of experimental features for users to evaluate
he "demand-and-supply" nowadays
T appears to be an outmoded concept or
motto; lately - and more appropriately,
perhaps it has been replaced by
"demand-and-develop". The product
developers sit no more in the Ivory Towers but
mix up and socialise with people to have first-
hand knowledge of their needs to the maxi-
mum.
Various customer surveys are being con-
ducted to assess the fundamental market
requirements. This approach results in much
faster time-to-market and more diverse ideas
apart from information on the product, appro-
priate and agreeable designs and, above all,
satisfaction of customers.
Google hopes to reap all these benefits with
Gmail Labs, a tab on the Gmail Settings page
that presents a number of experimental Gmail
features for users to try out and weigh in on.
Google made a similar move last October with
Google Enterprise Labs, which is supposed to
introduce new features for its enterprise search
customers. In the past, Gmail's new features
have been launched internally at Google,
where they might be tested for weeks or even
months before being made available publicly.
Gmail's Product Manager Keith Coleman
told a press conference, that the opening of
Google Labs was "a big change in the way we
do product development here." He said Google
has a variety of ways to assess a user's inter-
est in new features for Gmail. Ideas bubble up
internally before they come out of the mouths
of some technical giants in the field.
Gmail Labs is created out of the desire to
get more features to users much faster. "We
want to build basically a model of a 100-million-
user-startup, where people can do whatever
they want, as they would with a nimble startup.
There's also Pictures in Chat, Fixed Width Font, Custom Keyboard
Shortcuts, Mouse Gestures, Signature Tweaks, Random Signature, Custom
Date Formats, Muzzle, Hide Unread Counts, and Email Addict. An email
addict provides a link at the top of the main Gmail pane that can be used
to voluntarily lock oneself out of one's Gmail for 15 minutes to get some
real work done
But they can actually have access to a large
popular product like Gmail."
Coleman apprised the 'InformationWeek'
that Google may eventually allow users to
develop features or add-ons, though he did not
We want to build basically a
model of a 100-million-user-
startup, where people can do
whatever they want as they
would with a nimble startup
but can actually have access
to a large popular product like
Gmail
divulge into details. Certain feedback links will
take users to a Google Groups' discussion
where they can interact with engineers who
created applications. The idea of do-it-yourself
software development is gaining momentum in
the enterprise with the backing of corporate
bigwigs such as IBM and SAP.
Given the extent to which Google relies on
measuring user input and interaction to proper-
ly tune its applications, actively soliciting user
input to improve Gmail appears to make sense.
Having leveraged the wisdom of the crowd to
Flare Report IT
make its search results more relevant, the com-
pany sees potential value in the criticism and
enthusiasm of the crowd.
Gmail users will have access to
new features that have been eval-
uated only for code stability, not for
user interface coherence or prod-
uct viability. "There are actually
things in here that we think are
bad ideas," Coleman admitted.
But the point is not what Google
thinks; it's what users think. The
popular features will eventually
become part of Gmail. The not-so-
popular features would not.
Some of the experimental fea-
tures will break. When that hap-
pens, users will click on the feed-
back link associated with flaky feature, which
will take the user to a Google Groups discus-
sion with the engineer responsible. Thus, a
direct liaison with people who design such
products and those using them will be estab-
lished.
The initial crop of experimental Gmail fea-
tures includes:

Quick Links, which lets Gmail users book-
mark any page view in Gmail;

Superstars, which provides a variety of
coloured stars with graphics for flagging mes-
sages in a more meaningful way;

Old Snakey, a snake game that runs inside
Gmail.
There's also Pictures in Chat, Fixed Width
Font, Custom Keyboard Shortcuts, Mouse
Gestures, Signature Tweaks, Random
Signature, Custom Date Formats, Muzzle, Hide
Unread Counts, and Email Addict.
An email addict provides a link at the top of
the main Gmail pane that can be used to volun-
tarily lock oneself out of one's Gmail for 15 min-
utes to get some real work done.
Google, explained Coleman, is trying to be
the opposite of lumbering companies that take
months or years to get anything done. The
Gmail team is looking at the possibility of allow-
ing users to actually develop Gmail features or
add-ons, but is not ready to announce any-
thing.





91
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Flare Corner

Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy's "Flower Rock 2.0" are displayed at the International
Tokyo Toy Show in Tokyo. The product, which changes its LED colours and dances to music
and surrounding sounds, will go on sale in Japan late October for 5,800 yen.

A high school student uses his mobile phone to send SMS mes-
sages during a candle-light rally against "dangerous" U.S. beef
imports in Seoul. Social and political commentators said allega-
tions that an April deal to import more U.S. beef put society at risk
of mad cow disease tore through the Internet and on SMS mes-
sages so fast that they became fact before the government or
mainstream media had a chance to weigh in.

Islamabad: Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Nor thern Affairs, Information Technology
and Por ts & Shipping Qamar Zaman Kaira viewing the different stalls setup during
Vocational Training Institute’s Exhibition organized by Kashmir Affairs in collaboration with
PNCA.

An attendant arranges a mobile phone display in a booth at the

CommunicAsia trade show in Singapore. South Korean cellphone mak-
ers and Swedish-Japanese rival Sony Ericsson forecast on Tuesday Adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Interior, Rehman Malik being briefed by an offi-
robust handset sales, defying worries that a slowing U.S. economy cial about the "Security Plan for Long March" during his visit at PTA Headquar ters in
92 and record oil prices will hurt consumer demand. Islamabad.
F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Flare Corner

Bandai Co's employee Reiko Hirai demonstrates the company's latest electronic piggybank "ike-
menbank" at the International Tokyo Toy Show in Tokyo. "Ikemenbank", or "handsome men bank",
is a hear t-shaped electronic piggy bank with an LCD screen that allows its owner to conduct a
vir tual affair with a car toon character while watching the coins pile up.

Sega Toy's female humanoid robot, Eternal Maiden

Actualisation (E.M.A), kisses a man at its demonstration
in Tokyo. The robot, which has a womanish appearance,
is able to walk, dance and kiss humans.

Quetta: DIG of Balochistan Police Saud Gohar giving away cer tificates among the police officials
and transpor ters during a function to mark the traffic weak celebrations.

A NTT DoCoMo researcher demonstrates a wristwatch

Etihad Airways Chief Executive James Hogan, right, and India's leading private sector airline Jet
Airways chairman Naresh Goyal look on after a press conference in Mumbai, India. The airlines’
signed a reciprocal agreement to link their frequent flyer programs.
with a vibration sensor which can detect the wearer's
thumb and forefinger tapping together to work as a
remote controller for a DVD player at the company's
research center in Yokosuka, near Tokyo.
93
 Speaking robot Robovox who can read mobile phone text messages aloud in a synthetic
voice is seen in Ljubljana8. This ar t installation set up by ar tist Mar tin Briclij and his team
Codeep is 8 metres high.

Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy's employee Shimon Hirabayashi

demonstrates the company's "Air Guitar Pro", which uses infrared ray
instead of traditional strings, at the International Tokyo Toy Show in
Tokyo.

Chief Technical Officer MYSON Training Division Dr Khawar Siddique Khokhar and Sajjad
Mohi-ud-Din pose for a group photo with the par ticipants of a workshop titled “Learn it the
MYSON Way” at PNCA.

Honda's new hybrid version of "Civic sedan" car is displayed during its
launch in New Delhi. Japan's Honda Motor Co said on Wednesday it
would start selling a hybrid version of its Civic sedan in India from the
end of this month as it chases Toyota Motor Corp in the green car
race.
A view of a PTCL Customers Facilitation Camp set up at F-8 Markaz.
94
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Ufone launches international
roaming service
Ufone, one of the leading telecom companies of Pakistan, has added
Digicel Vanuatu, Digicel Tonga and Digicel French West Indies as interna-
tional roaming partners.
This would be yet another significant achievement of Ufone to provide
a high-quality communication network for its valued customers on the
move.
This is the first time in Pakistan that any
telecom company has provided roaming
services in Vanuatu, Tonga and French
West Indies. With this addition to the team
of international partners, the international roaming count has now
increased to 225 operators in 129 destinations worldwide.
Commenting on this launch, Hajira Farooq, senior manager for com-
mercial analysis and International Roaming, Ufone, said: "It is a matter of
great pride to be the first company in Pakistan to launch an international
roaming service in Vanuatu, Tonga and French West Indies. With its clear
voice quality, exclusive services and superior customer support, Ufone
enables its valued customers to now stay in touch with family and friends
across borders."
Ufone is an Etisalat Group Company with its presence in all major
cities of Pakistan along with a comprehensive coverage across all major
towns, villages and tehsil headquarters of Pakistan.
The company employs more than 2,500 staff and operates with a net-
work of more than 365 franchises and 25 company-owned customer serv-
ice centres along with a distribution network of 1,50,000 outlets nation-
wide.

Demand for electronic goods
down after GST hike
The increase in GST on imported as well as locally-manufactured
electronic items has increased the prices in the local market.
An increase in the rate of general sales tax (GST) from 15 percent to
16 percent on all imported and locally-manufactured electronic products
has raised inflationary pressure and would further burden the lower-
income groups. The government cut
the general sales tax on fertilizers,
but raised customs duty on 300
items, especially on electronic appli-
ances, from 25 percent to 35 per-
cent.
The recent unbearable price
hikes in daily commodities and other
goods have reduced purchasing
power of the consumers and it is
keeping the consumers away from
the markets. Dealers told that buy-
ers are now really in a fix because of
the rising cost of living. They do not
have cash enough to buy luxury
items like air conditioners. The deal-
ers say decreasing number of buy-
ers in the market is worrying for
them.
Muhammad Ramzan, who runs a shop of electronic items in Saddar,
said that about every electronic item has seen rise in price after the hike
in general sales tax. He further said that most of the companies have
increased prices, while others are expected to follow suit.
The prices of Panasonic and Mitsubishi ACs have shot up by Rs
5,000 to Rs 7,000, while Dawlance and LG split ACs are now available
at Rs 33,900 and Rs 36,900, respectively. A deep freezer of Dawlance
is now available at Rs 23,900 as compared to Rs 18,900 previously,
while Waves deep-freezer is available at Rs 21,000 as compared to Rs
17,500 before. The prices of washing machine and other electronic
items have also surged by 5 to 7 percent at least.

National
Oracle software sells like hot
cakes
Oracle has announced that over 24 leading colleges and universities
around the world have purchased implemented or upgraded Oracle
applications and infrastructure software to increase operational efficien-
cy and serve students, the faculty, staff and alumni. Several institutions
have upgraded and/or implemented additional applications from Oracle
to streamline processes deliver advanced
self-service capabilities and help optimize
system performance to better meet institution-
al goals.
In Pakistan, Lahore University of
Management Sciences (LUMS) recently
signed an agreement with Oracle partner,
Techlogix, to implement Oracle's PeopleSoft
Campus Solutions and PeopleSoft Enterprise
Human Capital Management.
Earlier, Higher Education Commission of
Pakistan (HEC) had also signed with
Techlogix for implementation of Oracle's PeopleSoft Campus Solutions
at its affiliated universities. "As Pakistan makes its foray into the infor-
mation economy, there is a growing need for a skilled workforce to meet
the demands of this burgeoning economy. The implementation of the
PeopleSoft Campus Solution will help our universities streamline their
processes, enhance administrative efficiency and ease the universities'
interaction with existing and prospective students making education
processes more productive," said Dr Sohail Naqvi, executive director of
HEC.

'IBM committed to deliver best
market-oriented services'
IMB, a company in the IT sector, is committed to deliver its market-
oriented services to its customers who have already acknowledged it.
"Thanks to the best services and innovative solutions to the problems
and challenges within the society, the IBM's image within the company
and beyond was rapidly improving," IBM Sales Manager North
Pakistan Adnan Siddiqui said this at a seminar on "Paint Your IT
Green" organized by the IBM here.
He said IBM, which was pro-
viding services worldwide in
every sector, was taking concrete
steps to effectively tackle
Pakistan's pressing challenges
including energy conservation
through its need-based services.
He said IBM recognized that time
had come for a broad, integrated,
smart systems approach to tack-
ling energy, environment con-
fronting the society, badly.
He said over the last 50 years in developing energy efficient sys-
tem, the IBM believed that green initiatives could help the business
grow successfully through utilization of its services. System
Technology Group Sales System Architect, IBM Middle East, He said a
positive link often resulted in greater productivity internally besides
increasing business services for customers. System Technology Group
Manager IBM Pakistan Ghazanfar Ali gave brief introduction about the
IBM System Technology Group.
He said IBM set up its operations in Pakistan in 1952 and had been
successfully upholding its good image through its effective and suitable
solutions to challenges, especially in the economic sector of Pakistan.
"We are dedicated to helping our customers pursue new market oppor-
tunities and become more productive through perfect transformation of
their business models and innovative application of e-business tech-
nology," he observed.
95

National
PTCL introduces Vfone
package with zero line rent
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has introduced
a new Vfone package which offers no line rent and is ideal for customers
who make a few calls.
The package called Rayayat has been launched in line with PTCL's
policy to introduce innovations and modern services based on latest tech-
nologies at affordable prices, said SEVP
(Commercial) Dr Sadik Al-Jadir.
In his speech on the launch of the new package,
Dr Sadik said the package came with a 30-second
billing and offered call rates from Vfone to Vfone of Rs
0.49 per unit for 30 seconds, Vfone to local landline
for Rs 0.49 per unit and Vfone to NWD for Rs 1.25.
Moreover, customers are given free SMS and
Internet use at the rate of Rs 1 per 10 minutes, he
said, adding that to activate the new Vfone package
customers needed to only dial 1015 from their Vfone
sets.
He said providing services at minimum possible rates and bearing the
burden of its cost to achieve fullest customer satisfaction verified PTCL's
commitment to provide state-of-the-art services with user affordability.
Dr Sadik said since Etisalat, UAE's telecom service provider, entered
the Pakistani market, PTCL had been evolving into a professionally-man-
aged customer-focused company, offering value-added services.
He reaffirmed PTCL's renewed commitment to provide efficient and
cost-effective telecom services to its customers. With introduction to new
services the PTCL was pro-actively developing ways to meet customers'
needs.

ZonG expands its network to Gilgit
ZonG, the first international brand of China Mobile phone service
provider, continued its rapid network expansion in Pakistan by launching its
services in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. It will now cover Gilgit, Hunza,
Skardu, Besham and Sust.
The expansion is part of the company's well-chalked-out plans to have
the largest network coverage in Pakistan. It said ZonG was rapidly expand-
ing its coverage in Pakistan and the network cell sites had grown from
Ali Kamran of ZonG presents a plaque to Mir Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Chief Executive of the Northern
Areas Legislative Assembly.
about 900 to over 3,000 today. By the end of 2009, the cell sites were tar-
geted to grow to over 10,000.
Zafar Usmani, the COO of CMPak Limited said: "We believe ZonG will
have a clear edge over the competition in the Northern Areas as China
Mobile had huge experience of network operation in similar high mountain-
ous areas in China itself. This is an extremely difficult terrain with extremes
of climate and our rich experience will ensure a very high quality of serv-
ice."
ZonG is also working towards ensuring the highway coverage, which
will further promote the economic and commercial business between
Pakistan and China. Salman Wassay, the Marketing Director of CMPak
Limited, said that ZonG was offering several promotions, services and
packages to cater needs of varied customer base and had already done
96 considerable research into customers' needs.

F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
PTCL launches Kehdo SMS
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), in line with its
policy to introduce innovative, modern service-based latest technology at
affordable prices, has introduced another value-added service - 'Kehdo
Voice SMS'. The 'Kehdo Voice SMS' service offers users multiple options
to send voice SMS for Rs 0.99 only.
The 'Kehdo Voice SMS' serv-
ice does not need any activation
and the user just needs to dial
1246 from his or her landline num-
ber to send the voice message by
following instructions of the oper-
ator. The 'Kehdo Voice SMS' can
be sent from any PTCL or Vfone
number to any mobile network
across Pakistan.
"Providing services at the lowest possible rates and by bearing the
burden of development cost to achieve fullest customer satisfaction is a
manifestation of PTCL's commitment to provide state-of-the-art services
at affordable rates," Dr Sadiq Al-Jadir, SEVP (Commercial) said.
"Since Etisalat, UAE's leading telecom service provider, entered the
Pakistani market, PTCL has been evolving into a professionally-man-
aged customer-focused company, offering value-added services."

PTCL's Customer Care Year
Sadiq Al-Jadir, SEVP Commercial, has declared the year 2008-09 as the
PTCL Customer Care Year. Speaking at a road show organised for PTCL
officers and the staff to highlight the importance of theme, he stressed that
the PTCL staff should adopt a customer-friendly attitude and to be more
courteous with customers to make the slogan of "Feel the Difference" a
reality.
Senior Executive Vice President PTCL Sadiq Al-Jadir addressing to the participants during a seminar
in connection with Year of the Customer Care organized by PTCL at Sindh Language Authority
Department.
He said that the PTCL staff had to put in their best and use their capa-
bilities to increase telecom facilities with high quality. He assured the staff
that the management had planned an extensive training plan to elevate the
level of skills bringing field staff to level of excellence so they could imple-
ment new technologies and services.
EVP Customer Care Ahson Rabbani explained various processes, poli-
cies, procedures, solution, network improvement and team building and a
change of attitude to achieve the customer-friendly atmosphere and meet
challenges of the emerging telecom competition as a top company in the
country.
He asked the employees to make ownership customer care aimed at
high esteem and convenience to valued customers, who had been loyal to
the PTCL for decades. He also reiterated his pledge to implement a cus-
tomer care project in all functions to make sure that ultimate benefit goes to
customers.

 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Patients in PIMS not getting
mobile phone service
Many of the patients and their attendants complained that the service of
the mobile telephone companies is not up to the mark in the premises
of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), as it is learnt by
this scribe. The patients and their attendants said that many times they
could not contact their near and dear ones because of the week signals
or the scrambling of the service. Many times they have to face a lot of
embarrassment as they could not receive the calls due to the limited
service. At times the callers' voice comes in a distorted form that is
always hard to understand.
It is really a confusing situation that the mobile service is quite all
right outside the boundary of the PIMS but inside particularly in the
wards it is not available.
The situation is really a blessing for the PCO owners where the
patients' attendants have to run to make a call. When the mobile phone
companies were contacted, they appeared to be highly positive to
redress the grievance of the patients and their relatives and friends.
They thought it a noble cause to ease out the ailing people. They are
ready to install micro-towers to ensure robust availability of the network
and the service in the premises of the hospital. But, according to them,
the PIMS administration is not ready to give permission to the mobile
companies in this regard.
One of the patients lying in Ward 2 while showing his cell phone
adding, "It is useless here.

China Mobile to invest fur ther
$800m in Pakistan
China Mobile, the world's largest telecommunication organization, will
make further investment amounting to $800 million in Pakistan. This was
disclosed by President of China Mobile Wang Gian Zhou during a meet-
ing with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir in Beijing.
Wang said besides making further $800 million investment, he would
also pursue internationally acclaimed telecommunication organizations
like Sony-Ericsson to take part in the development of the telecommunica-
tion sector in Pakistan.
He added Pakistan had great opportunities for foreign investors
because it offered level-playing fields for both foreign and domestic
investors. The President of China Mobile said that he had recently held
very fruitful meetings with Pakistani leadership and was impressed about
incentives Pakistan offered to foreign investors, particularly for Chinese.
Zhou informed the foreign secretary that China Mobile would contribute
to the socio-economic uplift of the people of Pakistan.
In this connection, he pointed out that his organization would provide
free textbooks to young students so they could carry out their studies in
a smooth way. The foreign secretary thanked Zhou, saying that his coun-
try would provide all possible assistance to the Chinese investors in
Pakistan.

Unregistered SIMs irk senator
Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator Muhammad
Talha Mahmood has expressed serious concern over failure by cellular
companies to block unverified SIMs within the deadline given by the com-
mittee and pledged to move in a stricter manner after June 30 the new
deadline set by the committee.
He said PTA had turned a deaf ear to the directions of the committee
as the number of unregistered SIMs were in millions and stressed that the
PTA should gear up its efforts to rid the country of the menace.
He said a letter had been sent to the PTA to take appropriate action in
this regard so that all illegal connections could be blocked. Moreover,
record of the blocked connections has so far not been provided to the com-
mittee which, he added, showed that "something is wrong at the bottom."
He directed the PTA to provide details of the blocked cell phone num-
bers within a week. He said rules were flouted by all cell phone operators
due to which the unregistered numbers went into millions. "We are not
against their business or investment in the country but, rules must be fol-
lowed and that no compromise will be made on the principles," he said.

National
Advance Telecom arranges fab-
ulous trip to Bali
Advance Telecom started its services back in year 2001, and it
emerged as a leading mobile phone company in Pakistan after having
faced big challenges one after the other.
Advance Telecom now has a pretty good number of service centres
established in almost all the major cities of Pakistan, like the provincial
metropolises. It offers an exclusively wide range of the latest mobile
phones with excellent backup support for its valued customers. For the
very first time in
Pakistan, it has
brought the local
mobile phone
users at par with
their internation-
al mobile-fel-
lows. It makes
sure that it
reaches out to its
valued cus- The participants of Advance Telecom trip pose for a photo, at the Lahore
tomers globally. Airport, before leaving for Bali.
Advance Telecom organised a wonderful excursion trip to Bali
(Indonesia) for its dealers recently. The participants of the trip enjoyed a
lot and all of them really had a good time in the open and cool surround-
ings with rare scenic beauty which indeed is one of the world's best
resorts.
Bali is an Indonesian island between Java to the west and Lombok to
the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital
at Denpasar towards the south of the island. And it attracts a stream of
tourists from across the globe every year. Indeed tourists love this place
very much and they usually like to stay at this place longer than their
scheduled time and duration. So, obviously, their trip was a highly enjoy-
able adventure sort of thing.

Urban Sole's exhibit of Winter
Collection 2008 stunning
Urban Sole, the branded footwear from the house of Shafi (Pvt) Ltd
launched in 1996, is a truly national brand. It is widely known not only in
Pakistan but also in the Middle-East and Russia where it has its trusted and
valued customers, with 11 COCO outlets and over 45 relationship accounts.
Urban Sole unveiled its new fabulous Winter Collection 2008, at an exhi-
bition held at a five-star hotel in Lahore. Aside from its customers and retail-
The participants at Urban Sole Winter Collection 2008 exhibition held in Lahore. Urban Sole Executive
Director Jawad Musaddiq (3rd from right) is also seen in the picture.
ers, Urban Sole also invited the general public to feel the new look of casu-
al shoes in both Urban Sole & Pierre Cardin.
Executive Director, Urban Sole, Jawad Musaddiq, told the participants of
the event that "this is the result of a sincere and concerted effort on NPD,
and we want our customers to enjoy the value of their money with the best-
quality leather and international designs."
Brand Manager Kashif Zorain, speaking on the occasion, said: "We out-
source the best-quality leather for Urban Sole & Pierre Cardin footwear and
marketing the brand at affordable prices easily comparable with any other
international brand. Very soon we are going to launch Urbanclub and we
have planned healthy activities for our youth to be more effective members
of society and in Pakistan."
97
 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
International

India's billionaire Ambani Intel, KACST ink MoU on

brothers slug it out in telecom row
India's billionaire Ambani brothers are battling again, this time over a
blockbuster deal being negotiated by the younger sibling Anil to create an
emerging-market telecoms behemoth.
The long-simmering feud flared a new when older brother Mukesh
Ambani, head of Reliance Industries Ltd, India's biggest private firm, told
South African telecom giant MTN he had first right of refusal to buy a con-
trolling stake in Anil's Reliance Communications.
Reliance Communications entered into exclusive talks in last May to
combine with MTN to build a telecoms giant that would reach from Asia to
Africa to the Middle East with a market capitalisation of up to 70 billion dol-
lars. MTN, Africa's largest mobile operator, says it is still going ahead with
Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani
the talks. "Nothing has changed. We are still having talks," MTN spokes-
woman Nozipho Bardill said. "Talks are on track in fact they are pro-
gressing well," said a Reliance Communications official. But legal experts
say the row, which hinges on a settlement deal involving the carve-up of
the Reliance Empire, after the 2002 death of the brothers' wheeler-dealer
father Dhirubhai Ambani, could throw a spanner in the works.
The only thing the brothers agreed on was their reverence for the
Ambani family matriarch Kokilaben, and they asked her to broker a deal
which brought a temporary fraternal ceasefire and the carve-up of the
Reliance conglomerate.
Mukesh kept the oil, gas and petrochemicals businesses of the group
flagship Reliance Industries. Anil got Reliance Energy, one of India's
biggest power utility firms, the phone company which is his group's flag-
ship, and finance arm Reliance Capital.
But the deal did not bring harmony and even though the brothers still
live in the same 18-storey mansion in the ritzy south Mumbai area, they
rarely speak, according to those who know them.
Mukesh, listed by Forbes as the world's fifth richest person with a net
worth of 43 billion dollars, and Anil ranked sixth with 42 billion dollars, have
been competing to outdo each other since their father's death, observers
say.

wireless mobile R&D lab
Intel is to launch its first wireless mobile services R&D lab in the Middle
East for which Intel Corporation and King Abdu Aziz City for Science and
Technology (KACST) have signed an agreement.
The new centre will be set up at KACST in Riyadh and will serve in the
Middle East, Turkey and Africa regions. "Research and development are
the basis for future success and WiMAX is especially important in devel-
oping markets where wire line technology is limited due to the lack of infra-
structure," Intel chairman Craig Barrett, Intel chairman said in a statement
made available to Khaleej Times.
The statement said with regional broadband penetration varying from
0.6 per cent in Egypt, 2.4 per cent in Saudi Arabia, to a maximum of 7.8
per cent in the UAE, WiMAX is believed to be the best positioned wireless
technology to reach the whole Arab population.
"WiMAX requires virtually no infrastruc-
ture and can cover large rural areas with
immediate benefits for the whole population.
We are confident that this lab will provide an
excellent platform for Arab scientists and
scholars to be innovative in the field of
telecommunications and in particular in the
WiMAX and networking arena," Barrett said.
"Research and development, and in particular, broadband availability
via widespread implementation of WiMAX are critical to enabling the Arab
economies to continue to grow. The young generation expects and
deserves equal access to the tools of the knowledge economy and every-
one will benefit as this generation becomes the leaders of tomorrow," said
Prince Dr Turki Saud Mohammed Al Saud, vice-president for Research
Institutes at KACST.
WiMAX is already a robust standards-based technology with wide-
spread ecosystem. More than 280 service providers have deployed fixed
and mobile WiMAX solutions and there are more than 550 WiMAX Forum
members worldwide. The WiMAX ecosystem delivers leading devices,
infrastructure and silicon.

US researchers devise a unique
computer programme
A computer programme designed by US researchers can predict with
chilling accuracy the very few men among the thousands on America's
Death Row who will actually be executed, according to a new study.
It says the chief factor that determines whether a man will die is neither
race nor poverty but education -- the less schooling, the higher the
chances of a lethal outcome.

Number of Internet users in India There are more than 3,200 men and women in US prisons who have
been condemned to death. Some have been on Death Row for decades,
but only a relatively small percentage -- 53 in 2006, for example -- have
increases been executed.
Previous studies have argued that non-whites are disproportionately
More people in India are becoming online now than earlier with the size
sentenced to death in the United States. But with little research as to
of cyber audiences rising to over 28 million users in 2008, a growth of 27
whether there is any bias in deciding who will actually die, critics say the
per cent over the previous year. Not just India, Internet audiences in Asia-
choice seems arbitrary.
Pacific at home and at work among users of 15 years and above grew by
Stamos Karamouzis and Dee Wood Harper of Texas A&M University in
14 per cent to 319 million visitors in April 2008, outpacing growth of all
Texarkana used a computing tool modelled after the human brain, called
other worldwide regions, ComScore Inc, an Internet marketing research
artificial neural networks (ANN), to search for patterns linked to execu-
firm, said in a report. The strongest growth occurred in India which surged
tions. They created profiles for 2000 death-row inmates -- half of whom
by 27 per cent to more than 28 million Internet users. This was followed
had been put to death -- and entered them into the programme. Each pro-
by China with a 14 per cent growth to more than 102 million,'" the report
file included information on race, sex, age number and type of capital
titled 'The State of Global Internet with a Focus on Asia' said.
offences, prior convictions, marital status, and level of schooling.
Taiwan, Malaysia and New Zealand registered a growth of 12 per cent
The researchers then fed in 300 profiles of other inmates from the
each. Meanwhile, developed nations such as Japan and Singapore
same period, and asked the neural network to predict what had happened
showed modest gains of 3 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, it said.
to them. It correctly predicted the fates of more than 90 percent of this sec-
Other findings stated that although Google and Yahoo! Combined to
ond group.
capture majority of the search share in the Asia-Pacific region, five of the
To find out which of the 18 factors best matched these outcomes,
top 10 search properties are regional engines, including China's
Karamouzis and Harper ran the analysis repeatedly, withholding one fac-
Baidu.com and Korea's Naver.com. Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook.com is
tor each time. Being a woman, it turned out, was the best guarantee
the leading social networking site in the world, but in the Asia-Pacific
against having one's sentence carried out -- women are rarely executed.
region Friendster.com is preferred. Internet users in Hong Kong, South
But the next most telling indicator was the number of years an inmate
Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia spent most time online.

98 had spent in high school.

 F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
Qatar Telecom $1.8b stake in
Indosat sealed
Qatar Telecom has completed purchase of a 40.8 per cent stakes in
Indosat from Asia Mobile Holdings Pvt. Ltd. for 1.8 billion dollars and is
examining a full takeover, according to the company.
Under the Indonesian law companies buying at least 25 per cent in an
Indonesian company must launch a tender offer to buy the remaining
shares. "Based on Qtel's interpretation of Indonesia's tender offer rules,
Qtel believes it may be required to begin a tender offer to acquire out-
standing shares of Indosat," the Qatari company said in a statement.
Qatar Telecom signed an agreement earlier this month to buy Indosat
from Asia Mobile which is 75 per cent owned by Singapore Technologies
Telemedia. Qatar Telecom
is the holder of the remain-
ing 25-percent stake in Asia
Mobile.
ST Telemedia's decision
to sell its stake in Indosat
follows a legal dispute late
last year when Indonesia's
antitrust regulator accused
its parent company,
Singapore state investment
firm Temasek, of violating Qatar Telecom Chairman Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani speaks
monopoly laws by holding during a news conference in Jakarta.
indirect stakes in Indosat and mobile carrier PT Telkomsel.
Telkomsel is Indonesia's largest mobile operator by subscribers and
Indosat ranks second. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. has a 35-per
cent stake in Telkomsel.

Every 2nd Chinese uses mobile
phone: repor t
Almost one in two Chinese now has a mobile phone, while the num-
ber of fixed-line subscribers has fallen, the state media has reported.
The number of cellphone subscribers in the nation of 1.3 billion stood
at 592 million, according to the Ministry of Information Industry figures.
The figure was up nine percent from 547.3
million at the end of 2007, according to previ-
ously released official data.
The report said the main factor behind the
growth was a trend for operators to cut fees in
order to gain market share. Meanwhile, the
fixed-line users fell 6.5 million in the first five
months of the year to 358 million, it said.
China has been leapfrogging into the age
of mobile telephony because of the huge
costs associated with installing fixed lines A woman speaks on her mobile phone.
across a nation the size of the United States.
Under a long-anticipated industry restructuring plan announced last
month, China will create three telecom giants to bring balance back to an
industry where mobile operators have prospered and fixed-line players
lagged behind.

Kuwaiti telecom giant to
relocate Africa HQs to Kenya
Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co plans to relocate its Africa
headquarters from Bahrain to Kenya over the next two months, an official
said. Zain is the parent company of Celtel International, which operates a
mobile telephone service in 15 African countries, including Kenya.
"A decision was made to move the group's office to Africa in a location
that is closer to the business; and they settled on Nairobi," said Michael
Okwiri, the Celtel spokesman.
The company, in which the Kuwaiti government has a 24.6 per cent
stake, operates in 22 countries, of which 15 are in Africa and seven in the
Middle East. It has 42 million customers and has a capitalisation of 28 bil-
lion dollars.

International
Internet use free for BD junior
schoolchildren
Bangladesh has made the use of broadband Internet services free for
nearly 40,000 state-run primary schools to boost the number of users in
rural areas, the telecom regulator said.
The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC)
took the move to expand the use of information technology to tens of thou-
sands of villages where 70 per cent of the country's 144 million people live,
the commission said. The decision
makes broadband services free for
the state-run 37,500 primary
schools and cuts charges by 75 per
cent for thousands of state-run high
schools, colleges, madressas and
universities, it said.
With three million users, Internet
penetration in impoverished
Bangladesh is one of the lowest in A Bangladeshi saleswoman (right) with children
the world. Samiul Wadud, chief at a computer fair
executive officer of BOL, one of the country's largest Internet service
providers, said the cut in charges would double the number of users in
less than a year.
"It's a major boost for the industry. The government has not only made
Internet usage free for primary schools but also slashed the charges of
broadband Internet bandwidth by 60 per cent for all types of users," he
said.
"It will make Internet services affordable and take Internet deep into the
rural communities where people hardly have any access to Internet," he
said. Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries, with nearly 40
per cent of the population living on less than a dollar a day.
The country, however, has witnessed large growth in telecommunica-
tions in the last few years, pushing the number of mobile phone users to
more than 42 millions at the end of May, up from 1.5 million in early 2004.

HP invites media to Berlin
Hewlett-Packard recently invited media to Berlin to check out its new
innovations as it continues in its quest to make the computer personal
again befitting a company whose marketing slogan is about "making the
computer Personal Again." It wasn't surprising that things got a little bit
touchy-feely at Hewlett-Packard's Connecting Your World product launch
extravaganza in Berlin recently. In an announcement of next-generation
goodies, HP unveiled a wide array of products featuring stylish designs
and new user experiences.
Among the announcements were HP's new TouchSmart PC, 18 new
notebooks ranging from premium business models to a luxury Voodoo
offering and a commercial display that can bring more than a whopping
one billion colours into view.
TOUCH THIS: An attendee getting a feel
of the TouchSmart PC at the HP Connecting
Your World event. The star of the show,
however, was undoubtedly the TouchSmart
IQ500 all-in-one PC.
"Making the computer 'Personal Again' is
our commitment to customers and the driv-
ing force behind our customer-experience
decisions," said HP personal systems group
executive vice-president Todd Bradley. And
what better way to make a computer per-
sonal again by giving it a natural user inter-
face - your fingertips.
To be sure, this is HP's third stab at touch computing for PCs - the first
attempt was in, believe it or not, 1983 with the HP 150 while the most
recent try was with last year's TouchSmart IQ700.
Back to the present, the TouchSmart comes with proprietary HP soft-
ware that provides an improved natural interface that is activated by the
tap or stroke of a finger.
Without using a keyboard or mouse, users can play music and create
playlists, and zoom in and out of photos, all with just the touch of a finger.
On the hardware side, the entry-level TouchSmart IQ504 comes with
a 22in high-definition widescreen display and an Intel Core 2 Duo T5750
(2GHz) processor in a single, integrated design that is only 2.6in thick.
99

International
ATO opens door to $800m IT
contract
The Tax Office has briefed over 50 companies competing for a bite of
its centralised computing contract which is expected to be valued at about
$800 million over the next five years.
The briefing is a crucial part of the ATO's procurement process before
it approaches the market seeking expressions of interest (EOI) in the con-
tract on June 30. The contract is the largest chunk of a bundle of three pro-
curement projects designed by Boston Consulting Group and expected to
be valued at more than $1.3 billion over the next five years.
The ATO's current centralised computing contract, which expires in
2010, has generated $2 billion in revenue for managed services giant EDS
over the last five years. ATO's Procurement Programme Director Narelle
Dotta said the company expected to short-list around four to five compa-
nies with sufficient capacity to meet the agency's requirements.
The ATO would look favourably on bidders that demonstrate the great-
est ability to meet requirements of its $724 million technology change pro-
gram which will proceed in parallel with the re-tendering process. Greater
responsiveness to the agency's computing requirements has also been
given high priority in the selection criteria, she said.
The Tax Office is expecting relationships that will support it in its for-
ward business directions for 2010 and beyond. "We're doing that by artic-
ulating our business objectives and we're using a score card framework
which has four quadrants: helping us to support our business change, driv-
ing on going business value, and partnering with us for outcomes and also
our other suppliers and ensuring that we have sustainable business," Ms
Dotta said.

Sony Ericsson warns on second-
quarter results
Mobile phonemaker Sony Ericsson has warned that difficult commer-
cial environment would dent its second-quarter results.
"Difficult market conditions are going to have a (negative) impact on
sales and profits in the second quarter," the group said in a statement.
Sony Ericsson said it was likely to have sold 24 million phones in the
April-June period, up from 22.3 million in the first quarter, but at an aver-
age price of 115 euros rather than 121 euros.
The group has for the past year been trying to develop its business on
the emerging markets to reduce dependence on its traditional European
outlets. Sony Ericsson, which is not quoted on the stock market, was
formed through a merger of Ericsson of Sweden, the world leader in
mobile phone networks, and Japanese electronics giant Sony.

Nokia plans to close Navteq deal
Finnish mobile phone goliath Nokia, which received clearance from
Brussels to acquire US digital navigation group Navteq, said it expected
to complete the deal by early next week.
"Nokia has now received all approvals for
the purchase and expects to close the deal
within the next five business days," the world's
leading mobile phonemaker said in a state-
ment.
The European Commission (EC) gave a
green signal to Nokia's purchase of Navteq,
which it said "would not significantly impede
effective competition." Nokia announced plans
last October to buy Navteq, which makes digi-
tal maps for cars mobile devices and the
Internet, for 8.1 billion dollars.
The Chicago-based group offers digital
maps for 69 countries on six continents that
can be read by most navigation systems available in North America and
Europe.
"Navteq will play a key role in our Internet service strategy," Nokia
chief Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in the company statement. Judson
Green, who heads up Navteq, also hailed the regulatory go-ahead for
the deal. "We believe Navateq will be better positioned to serve all our
100 customers under Nokia ownership," he said in the Nokia statement.

F r e e D o w n l o a d | w w w. f l a r e . c o m . p k
OECD ministers agree to make
Internet safer, more accessible
Ministers and senior officials from the world's leading industrialised
nations have agreed to make "the Internet safer and more accessible" to
strengthen its role as a driving force in the global economy". The
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) minis-
terial meeting adopted a "Seoul declaration" after a two-day forum on the
Future of the Internet Economy.
"We agree that our challenges are to expand
Internet access and use worldwide (and) ensure
protection of personal information in the online
environment," it said. "We declare that to con-
tribute to the development of the Internet econ-
omy we will strengthen confidence and security.
The declaration cites the need to strengthen
security, reduce malicious activity online and
protect personal data as well as privacy. It also
promises to use the medium to address chal-
lenges such as global warming, declaring: "We
will work to use the tools of the Internet econo-
my to address global challenges, such as climate change."
The worldwide web has increasingly become a key global platform for
commerce and social interaction but faces an ever-growing challenge of
trust and confidence, according to an OECD report to the meeting.
The report describes the Internet as a major driving force in global eco-
nomic growth, responsible for 17.9 per cent of OECD member states'
gross domestic product growth over the past decade.
But online identity theft, fraud, infringement of privacy, malicious com-
puter hacking and other forms of cyber-criminality have been constant
threats. "Absolute trust may never be achievable but users need to be
confident that their online activities are as secure as offline equivalents,"
the report said.

Mobile roaming costs may be
axed
Viviane Reding, EU telecoms commissioner, is poised to force mobile
phone operators to slash cost of sending texts and downloading data
when abroad and make further deep cuts in the caps on overseas calls.
Reding, who clashed with the operators over roaming charges last
year, wrote and warned their chief executives that she would be forced to
intervene again if they failed to convince her about how they plan to cut
their text and data charges by July 1.
It is understood that the commis-
sioner is angered by excessive charges
mobile operators levy for sending texts
and downloading data when travelling
overseas within the EU costs are up
to 10 times higher than at home.
Reding, who is threatening to pro-
pose a fresh regulation in the second
half of next month, is also said to be
dismayed at the lack of competition in
the voice roaming market with the bulk of operators offering charges which
are same as or barely below the regulatory cap.
The commissioner, who says she has no appetite to regulate, is being
urged by all of the EU's 27 national regulators including Ofcom and by sev-
eral governments to intervene.
According to the Danish government, its telecom regulator has found
retail prices for SMS roaming nine times higher than the actual costs, while
data roaming charges were up to six times higher than the costs.
The industry has been accused of dragging its heels because any fresh
regulation is unlikely to be approved by governments and MEPs before
January 1. But the EC believes its roaming regulation won substantial
approval among consumers. This sees the voice cap falling this year from
€0.49 for making a call overseas to €0.46, and for receiving a call to €0.21,
with a further drop to €0.43 and €0.19 respectively in 2009.
With little evidence of genuine competition in Reding's eyes, she could
propose prolonging the regulation for three years to 2013, when the roam-
ing caps could fall to as little as €0.32 and €0.12, sources said.