This new advert is quite unique. I liked the whole concept about licking the pickle with one finger and that one finger growing long.
Beautifully captured small moments of happiness around that one finger. More importantly, it attracts attention. The background sound score also scores big with its softness.
Score: 4.8/5
I wish all of you a very Happy Valentines Day! Well, it may not have been good for some of the couples who were beaten up (shown on the News) but to rest of them, hope that it was as good as it can be.
Mumbai had a peaceful Valentines day unlike last few years, which was a welcome change. The Police Commissioner of Mumbai told a news channel that they won’t allow people to do the Moral Policing which may involve violence. The Mumbai Police had made proper arrangements to avoid any untoward incident.
It was good to see this change and an initiative from the Police.
However there were series of actions in other parts of the country. In UP, Bajrang Dal Activist beat up a Brother – Sister thinking they were couple came under severe critisim from across the country. In Ujjain, a police sub inspector beat up a girl, pulled her hairs and kept draging her for a long time while people stood around and were being a mute spectator.
This kind of policing is not acceptable and Mumbai Police has shown the way to all other Police branches of the country that their Job is to protect people of this lovely country, and not beat up out of anger.
Good Job, Mr. Hasan Gafoor.
To defy the words of Osama Suzuki, of Suzuki Motors, who jokingly said on TATA’s NANO “it would be a three-wheeler with a stepney”, TATA is launching the NANO finally on March 3. As a tribute to the JRD on his birthday, Tata is launching the Car of the Year for this year (it’s my prediction, Nano will have the crown). Wow, what a brilliant way to paying a tribute to JRD.
That has been the question on every one’s lips. What is the launch date of Tata Nano. People have kept asking me about it (I am famous with my circle of friends for Automobile updates) and everytime I have only one answer. I will ask Ratan Tata when he is free. Today the date is in the Public domain.
The famous phrase of Ratan Tata now stands valid “promise is a promise” and delivered. (more…)
This is an email which I have received for more than 20 times, and I have had read it every time I have recieved. There are certain things that I have been able to follow and change myself. I hope every Indian is able to do something on their own.
The Former President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam ‘s Speech in Hyderabad .
Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements?
We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. (more…)
At 9.27 my friend was waiting to board local for Church Gate.
The moment the train got on the platform a huge crowd got down on the track to stop the train. After a lot of slogan bashing, all understood that this is a protest against the recent increase in the frequency of trains plying between Church Gate and Virar.
Trains on the slow track were stopped after the group of people refused to allow trains to operate as they were demanding more frequency for locals between Borivali and Churchgate. My friend reported that a few arrests were being made and the GRP is clearing the tracks. This move put others turn violent. Train services affected for most regions include the Borivali – Virar line. There are conflicting reports where some have reported that Fast trains are working as normal, some are reporting that no single train has left the Borivali Station since 9.20 am. The protests started after the announcement made that the 9.10 AM train to Church Gate has been cancelled.
BEST has announced special buses to enable people to travel to Goregaon from where they can catch a train for Church Gate station. People can travel to Goregaon showing their Railway passes. At the time of this post update at 2.00 PM IST, train services continue to be hit.
The whole Western Railway, considered as Posh by many people, is getting crowded by the day and travelling between their homes and work is increasingly painstaking. There are lot of people who went back to their homes, perhaps for the day. People do not want to see these silent protests turn violent. Some people missed important appointments, some may miss their daily wages.
All this is being done in the hope that they would get a quick resolution.
The Mumbai Sub Urban rail transport carries more passengers in a day than any other in the whole world, and have a distinction of being effciently managed one at that (considering the number of people travelling). Western Railway has lesser number of trains plying (local and long distance) than Central Railway. There is a need for effective commuting planing to be implemented.
The protest shows the misery of people and there is a increasing demamd of a easy and confortable travelling experience.
I am experiencing constant network problems with Airtel of late. Ever since I have lost my Reliance data card, I have had to relay on Airtel to keep writing blogs. Airtel works best at night most of the time. In the day, the connection keeps breaking near about 700 KB of data transfer.
The browsing speed is very pathetic. I hardly get 4 to 5 KB/S download speed on Flash Get where as on Reliance, I used to get atleast 15 to 25 KB/S.
My place also do not have any broadband connection I can get. Even the cyber cafe near my building runs the same Reliance Data Card for access internet.
Of late, Airtel network gets completely blacked out. 3 days before and yesterday, I was able to see the network strengh as 100%, however when I try calling or browsing, it simply does not work. I tried calling from a Vodafone and Virgin to my Airtel but it says my phone is switched off. Its network is going so poor that users are facing the pinch. To top it all, the amount which is deducted everyday for GPRS gets deducted regularly but when these kind of issues come Airtel should not charge us for their mistake. I am owl kinds who get time to work for personal stuff in the night. And the whole day I dont use the connection at all. When I discover that in the night the connection is not working, how am I supposed to communicate / work on Internet.
If this is a one off event, I can understand that. But this happens several times a month.
Airtel is becoming pathetic day by day. My other Airtel postpaid is in the limelight for not having paid the bill in the month of January.
I got close to 17 calls with regards to the same. I have been telling each of these that I have made the payment well in time before my due date of 11th and also gave them the reciept number and reference number. Some how, the payment is not updated with them and those who are calling me do not care to update.
Registering a complaint with Customer Care also does not help. I enquired about my complaint status and what I was told shook me. The executive told me that the complaint department has already spoken to me and I have agreed that the issue is solved where I have not got a single call!
Thats rubbish and insane. Airtel scores a big big Zero for me.
Update (as of 19th February, 2009): After my complaint for non updation of my bill payment did not got me the desired results, I sent the mail to the Nodal Officer of Airtel. The nodal officer did revert on the mail, informing me about the updation of the bill amount with Airtel. However he did not revert on the late payment charges which were levied on the next month’s bill. Also, the amount mentioned by Airtel’s Nodal officer were wrong in the email. Though it was only some paise difference, I objected.
I do not expect the nodal officer asking me to pay more than the billed amount (obviously after deducting the unreal INR 50 late payment charges) that I owe to Airtel for using its services. This happened a week back, and I am yet to get a revert from the Nodal Officer.
Google has launched an yet another first in India. Search via SMS.
In a first of its kind service, this 10 Digit number does not fall under the “Special Numbers” category which enables the mobile service provider to change you anything between 3 to 10 Rupees of your hard earned money. Now, if you need to do some searching, then use this service.
I costs you the same cost as your normal SMS. Also, if you have a free SMS Pack, you not even need to worry about cost et all.
The most commonly used “Cricket Score” is now available from Google for a cheaper rate. This surely will eat into the mobile service provider’s earnings who have been banking on Value added services to cover the costs elsewhere.
A complete list of services are available at Google’s website.
The Airtels and the Vodafones of India may cry foul on this just because this may eat into their earnings. I think at the end of the day, it is the customers who will benefit from this service. We would all do the best to promote this service.
The Guys at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Chennai, and the IISc (Indian Institute of Science), Bangalore overshadowed the guys at MIT. These techies have just removed a 0 (which India had invented) from the $100 what MIT had specified, from the cost of the Super Cheap Nano Computer at barely $10. This upcoming and not yet named device would break all the records of the cheapest mobile computer till date.
As reported in DNA Newspaper (Mumbai) today, India’s Human Resource Minister Mr. Arjun Singh will launch the device. The details are very skeptical as of now about what will be configuration, except that it would contain a DVD drive. One thing however is very clear that it would be based on Linux. I believe the a lot of Opensource technologies would have been applied to achieve the cost.
What remains to be seen is how the Hardware challenges would be met. The Indian Government would be subsiding rate to make it affordable. The Ministry will provide these devices to Institutions at cheaper rates which will help students to access tailor made courses which would be made available.
Putting a super cheap computer means volumes would be utmost necessary. Is this cost inclusive of taxes and other royalties? I dont think so. As Tata Nano’s standard cost sticks around INR 1 Lakh, the on road price goes up to 1.4 Lakhs.
The actual price I would expect is around INR 1000 which seems a good price point. Also, the guys who have developed these should use eco friendly technologies, just because the volumes would be so large. At that given price point, Almost every Indian who can afford a Rs. 2000 phone can buy a Nano Computer.
Update
The $10 laptop turned out to be a hype. It is mearly a storage device which will help the students to access and take along the educational content. I feel I was made a fool, which is an understatement. No body from the MHRD confirmed nither denied that it is a laptop. If they would have done that, atleast we would not have felt cheated. The whole world was looking at this event and after the announcement was made, it turned out to be a Storage Device.
Kingfisher gets a breather for a little time.
It was a call they had to take. Its not clear from what I read in the press when they are going to repay the dues. But Kingfisher can now add fuel to its aircrafts by using the Cash and Carry format.
Cash and Carry format is as same as what we do in our daily lives. We go to a super market with a Debit or Credit card, pay the money for what we have got and go home. Similarly, Kingfisher would pay the OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) the amount for the fuel purchased on the spot. No Credit.
This move is a time saver for Vijay Mallay to get more time to arrange for the much needed cash for his struggling airline.
Vijay Mallya owned Kingfisher is in trouble. Ever since the merged entity has been active, its trouble time for the flamboyant business man. This time giving him trouble are the state owned oil cos. They have given a dead line of Feb 4 to clear all out standing dues owed by it to there entities failing which the fuel supplies would be stopped.
Though the notice also has been sent to Jet Airways, they have prompty reverted with some commitment. While Kingfisher has not done so.
The monthly bill for there carriers can be around some hundreds of crores.
Due to cost cutting measures, a major chunk of corporates have stopped offering travelling conveyance of its employees on Airlines. They are turning to cheaper alternatives like trains and buses. The most luxurious travel its employees get is on the lowest cost carriers and this is where Kingfisher and Jet have been hit hard.
Luxury always commands premium and these airlines make most of its lost revenue on economy sector.
Hope this is not a down turn for already bleeding Aviation industry.
In a serious reply against the act of hooglians at the banglore pub, the top leader of the Ram sene has been arrested. This comes after a serious question was raised on the ruleing BJP party on sideing with the Hindu organisation. In an image saving attempt, they have arrested the president of the association.
Hope the required regulations under the Indian penal code are applied
They were the most horrible images I have seen of late. A bunch of hooglians by the name of “Shri Ram Sene” barged into a pub in Banglore to kick and beat off the young boys and girls.They were beating each and every one emerging out of that pub after they created issue that Indian girls are not allowed to visit a pub.
This is a step in the direction of some kind of Talibanism made. But surprisingly, this is being implemented by a little known Hindu group.
The school that got attacked in Nashik was playing a Bhojpuri song, and the MNS activists claim that they never understood the song and ransacked the schools believing that they were celebrating on Republic Day. May I ask whether we should celebrate Republic Day only in Marathi so that MNS can understand?
India is a open country and every one has the right to enjoy their own way. A man cannot hit a woman in India, but even after this being recorded live, there is little or no action of those accused. This needs to stop. No Gundaism in India. Already we are tormented by those terrorists, and now these hooglians who are our own Indians.
Tata Tele is also planning of launching its own GSM services in late January or Mid February.
Reliance has already mopped up a huge crowd for its own GSM service, with a pathetic network [Read Reliance GSM Network Quality (Review) ]
Lets see what Tata’s come up with. It would interesting to see how all these would add up for Customer. The Customer would be confused with so many players to choose from. The total tally for Mumbai would be 7. These are Reliance, BPL, Vodafone, MTNL, Airtel, Idea, Tata. As for CDMA, TATA (including Virgin) and Reliance are the only service providers. No new service provider are in for CDMA.
The most important parameter I would rate any service provider is a combination of Service Quality with decent staff and Price at which they provide the service.
So, here is the survey to find out the Best of Mumbai’s (Maharashtra) Telecom Companies’ Services.
Vodafone
Vodafone scores high on the Customer service front, though its on the decline from earlier when they were Orange and Hutch. However, in cost, it would score low and their network is only best of the rest. Network congestion has been a problem area for Vodafone for some time now, and call drops increasing by the day.
Airtel
Airtel offers a great combination of packages with cheap offers. Its probably best used for GPRS which they offer @ Rs. 15 per day. But the customer service is the worst I have faced. To top it all, a week network makes it the most offensive. The recent survey tells that Airtel does not meet the service quality benchmark set by TRAI this year, citing huge number of call drops.
MTNL
MTNL on the contrary offers a good mixture of both, but does not supersede any private player on either fronts. Network remains a good point, but coverage in most areas not too good.
Idea
Idea has good customer service, and average plans for customers. Network remains a sore point for Idea. Abhishek has failed to entice users to Idea in Mumbai. They need to grow their network coverage.
BPL
The fate of this company, once with the best network in Mumbai, remains to be in doldrums. BPL today is very shabby, ultra cheap and a bad customer care. It still has the good network they had always but it is now time to increase coverage area. Call drops have been few. They have enticed the young with a young image and probably are living up to their expectations to an extent. But the traditional users of BPL have been the oldies who had a strong brand recall for BPL as they had for Sony.
Tata & Virgin
This is a company which is backed by a trusted brand. Tata has been on the move, and slowly and surely, they have moved up the ladder. They are not in for a dog fight. Their fares are low, and offer a superior customer services in Virgin guise, over and above what Vodafone offers. Network is good and call drops are few. Definitely, my choice of service provider. Only let down, the handsets offered are cheap and basic. Need to have a vast collection of handsets, like Reliance does.
Reliance CDMA and GSM
Reliance CDMA offers the best network in CDMA, betters Vodafone by a good margin. The availability of multiple handset choice with below average (if not worse) customer service is what its all about. Reliance plans and packages are good. The free calling between Reliance to Reliance is an awesome scheme. Every other operator has failed to put up such an alternative, of course which comes at a cost or 799 INR recharge. Good network coverage across India, and good packages for Data cards.
Tata Indicom CDMA
Perhaps, the best bet of all, this is a real tough call to make. Reliance has already triumphed on most parameters, but when it comes to Trust and Quality, Tata Indicom leaves Reliance behind by a whisker. Sure, network of Reliance is better than Tata’s, call drops on Tata network more or less as same as that of Reliance. If you are a traveler across India frequently, you should think twice going for a Tata. The corporate choice for Data cards, Tata offers the best data card packages around.
Summing it up
So, in the end it all boils down to who we should trust our money with! A provider can be chosen on basis your needs. If you a need a no nonsense, affordable service provider, TATA in Virgin guise has to be your choice. It gives you your basic communication needs a full satisfaction. It also tops on the charts of the Service Quality benchmark set by TRAI
For more than basic use of a mobile, trust Reliance in CDMA, And in GSM, Vodafone. Here goes the order.
Tata’s have truly lived up their hype, trust people put into.
In GSM
Overall, Tatas emerge winner. Virgin is the brand you need to look for. If you need some thing more than virgin, go for Tata Indicom or Reliance. This stands true for both the GSM & CDMA. It seems CDMA is winning the race for quality and cost.
Good luck for your choice. Share your exprience with me. Post a comment here.