Tag: Mobile phone

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Musings

not so smart-phone

I reluctantly upgraded (or downgraded) my phone to a smart phone, only to realize that the phone that the performance has deteriorated in all the parameters for which i use the phone.
1. Battery
2. rough use/impact test/childproof
3. no of key strokes it needs to perform simple action.
If my hands are soiled.. the touchscreen does not work. (push buttons of old still work perfectly). If i recieve a phone call, rather than just press accept, i need to unlock the phone and do all sorts of gestures before i can pick it up. Making a call also needs 5-10 key presses before the phone pad emerges.
2 years ago, I had written for a small but growing market of users who want an aesthetically appealing expensive, yet simple phone with a good form factor. I guess apple has captured bulk of this market with iphone eye-candies. Many chineese products have better technical specifications, features and lesser price.. yet people prefer i-phone.
Either the way I use the phone is drastically different from the masses or the geeks designing phones are not listening to the customers… but there is a disconnect.
 

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Miscellaneous

Cellphone Woes

Mobile phone is like the ultimate fashion accessories these days. We change phones not because the old one is damaged/lost but because we no
A year ago one of my female colleagues was really delighted by Micromax Bling. She loved its square shape, the fact that it had a square screen with 2 crystal buttons with a mirror. She felt that it was like a nose powder box and was the latest fashion accessory that should be added to her purse. She actually bought one and was quite happy with it. Her only dissatisfaction was that “The phone is not pricy enough. I would have loved it even more if it was 5,000/- more expensive.”
Similarly for my mother, less is more. All she is looking for a phone with a good battery life, strong reception during her travel, few buttons and big font size in the display (so that she can function even without her glasses). She does not want a smart phone. It’s not that she is averse to technology; she just associates a phone with telephonic conversations. Any why shouldn’t she STD rates in India are as low as 20-50p (6,000 paisa = 1 USD). Plus you don’t have to pay any monthly commitment/subscription fee.
She does not want a touch screen: because she would rather use an application over the laptop then over a tiny weenie screen. Also her ear-rings (in spite of the proximity sensors etc.) have a tendency of muting her conversation (or a similar mischief). She would rather use an application over a laptop where everything is clearly visible than over a phone.
A business phone (like blackberry) is counterproductive because the key size is too small without the glasses.
Till recently she had a simple nokia phone with a standard 12+3 button format and a color screen. However now she does not want it because her maid has a similar phone.
I am sure there is a huge market for expensive phones with easy to use features.
 

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Miscellaneous

WHERE WERE THEY WHEN THE SHOTS RANG OUT?

Guest post from T.R.Ramaswami
I write with reference to media reports that the High-level probe team into 26/11 events have asked the various senior oficers to explain where they were during the shootout. In this regard I had already sent you a letter a month ago which is below. It is also stated that the bureaucrats are hatching a conspiracy to fudge their whereabouts by supporting each other. I would reqeust the probe-team to also get transcripts of their residential, office and mobile phones for those 60 hours and the location of the mobiles to get to the truth.
I write with reference to the article “Wanted: A minute by minute account” by Govindraj Ethiraj (BS 23rd. December 2008). He has raised very interesting points – could the media tell us in a tabular format, say on a 3-hour basis as to where the top functionaries (?) of the state and the city were during the crucial 60 hours? I recall from media photographs, that one senior lady bureaucrat in a blue sari, was in fact rescued from the Taj. Where did she go thereafter and what role did she play?
Mr. Ethiraj states that news television pressed all resources immediately and stayed there. Would they have stayed if even one stray bullet had hit anyone? Who would have been responsible for such an accident? In fact nowhere in the world would the security forces responsible for the outer perimeter – in this case the Mumbai Police – would have allowed the media so close to the scene of action and broadcast on a real time basis with a shot-by-shot commentary.
– T.R.Ramaswami