Airfone Launches Four Low-end Phones

Airfone has announced the addition of four new models to its expanding line up of affordable handsets in India. The company, which concentrates on the low to mid-range segment in India, has announced the AF 11, the Flip 29i, the AF 26 and the AF 31 - all of which are capable multimedia phones.

All three devices come with dual SIM support as well and offer pretty good multimedia support as well.

Starting off with the Flip 29i, as the name suggests, it is a flip (clamshell) phone and boasts of a 1.3 megapixel camera and a touchscreen OS as well. Additional bits like an MP3 player, video recording and memory expansion make the phone a decent buy for Rs. 4,999. The Flip 29i comes with a 2GB TF card as well

.Next in line is the AF 26, which has similar features as its flip-bodied brethren. The camera on it is a step down though. It can take pictures only at VGA resolution. There is a voice recorder and Bluetooth connectivity thrown in as well. The AF 26 supports expandable memory and can hold cards of upto 8GB. The battery life is above average and the company claims a 15-day standby time for this one! The AF 26 can be yours for Rs. 2,999.

Then, we have the AF 31 that offers GSM+ GSM or GSM + CDMA dual SIM modes. Basic features like a VGA cameraaudio/video recorder, torch, Bluetooth, GPRS support, stereo FM radio and memory expansion make this phone a decent buy at Rs. 4,999. This one supports upto 16GB of memory with SD cards.

The company has also launched the AF 11, another dual SIM handset, that is claimed to be the country's cheapest. The AF 11 is a very basic phone but supports features like FMRadio, MP3 player and 420-minute talk time. This one wills set you back by just Rs. 1,499!

World's cheapest car Tata Nano goes green

India's Tata Group says it is planning to produce hybrid versions of its Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car.
Ratan Tata, the chairman of both Tata Group and Tata Motors - the biggest vehicle producer in India - made the comments on a visit to South Korea.
A hybrid vehicle typically uses two or more distinct power sources to move it, usually petrol or diesel and a battery.
Mr Tata also said that low-priced goods would drive sales faster than high-end ones in India.
And he predicted this so-called price revolution would also continue to spread across the world.
The chairman did not provide any further details on the possible launch of cheap hybrid versions.
The Nano, whose basic model costs 100,000 rupees ($2,155; £1,306), was first delivered in India in July this year.

Phones without IMEI to stop ringing from Dec 1, 2009

Some phones may look fancy and come for a much lower price. But they lack one very critical feature, which can prove to be costly—the International Mobile Equipment Identity, commonly called the IMEI number.
This unique15-digit number is critical for tracking any handset whether it’s lost or stolen or needs to be monitored by security agencies.
Now, the government has ordered all mobile companies to disconnect phones that do not have an IMEI number from their networks with effect from December 1.

There are more than 2 crore phones in the country that are without IMEI. Most non-IMEI phones are manufactured in China and these phones are popular because they are inexpensive.
Well and this time the operators, after seeking many extensions, are left with no option but to comply.

The central government is worried that phones without IMEI number are untraceable and hence a security threat.
It’s after all the IMEI number, which allows a handset to be traced even though the user may keep changing the mobile operator.
While this may solve the government's problem, the operators are afraid of losing customers and revenue.
Hence they are encouraging users to get IMEI numbers implanted on their phones and are offering this service for Rs 199.

Meanwhile, even as the operators scramble to get subscribers to change to a phone with IMEI number, millions of users still don't have them, which means that their phones will stop ringing very soon.