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Samsung Electronics HK. Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today unveils its new smartphone platform in Hong Kong through the Samsung Wave Experience Day. The Samsung Wave is the first device on Samsung bada platform made available to Hong Kong consumers. The new smartphone platform presents the unique benefits and unprecedented opportunities to developers, mobile operators and consumers.

Samsung bada is a driving force in accomplishing Samsung's vision of a 'smartphone for everyone.' To achieve this vision, Samsung bada offers a feature-rich platform for enhanced mobile experiences for consumers, and a complete mobile ecosystem through a developer support program that both the application store and consumers will benefit from.

Billy Chen, Director, Telecommunications Team, Samsung Electronics HK. Co. Ltd., said, "In providing Samsung bada, I believe that Samsung will become a true leader in the mobile industry; offering a wider range of smartphone choices for consumers.” He added, "At the same time, Samsung bada presents a powerful opportunity for developers to get their applications onto an unprecedented number of Samsung devices across the world"

Samsung bada, meaning Ocean in Korean, possesses the following key characteristics:

User-Interactive
Based on Samsung's signature TOUCHWiZ User Interface, Samsung bada platform provides an easy, simple, and intuitive UI without compromising efficiency. To enhance creativity and user interactivity, Samsung bada provides flash control, web control, motion sensing, fine-tuned vibration control, and face detection. Also, it supports sensor-based, context-aware applications. By using various sensors such as accelerometers, tilt, weather, proximity, and activity sensors, application developers can easily implement context-aware interactive applications.

Service-Oriented
Samsung bada differentiates its position by supporting various service-centric features such as social networking, device synchronization, content management, location-based services, and commerce services – all supported by back-end bada servers. These ground-breaking developer-friendly features support developers to implement various services without additional effort.

Open & Configurable
Samsung bada enables developers to take full advantage of mobile device capabilities to create compelling applications with ease. Applications can use device functions to make phone calls, send messages, or access the contact list. Also, various service applications can share information such as personal profiles, social relations, schedules, or contents with a simple user confirmation in order to provide services with greater personal relevance and cooperative service extension. The flexibility of the bada platform makes it applicable to a wide range of devices than any other mobile operating system.

Hong Kong bada Developer Day – The Stepping Stone for Bada in Hong Kong
On March 24, 2010, the bada Developer Day was held to introduce the bada platform to the developer community in Hong Kong. An in depth understanding of the bada smartphone platform helped excite developers about the potential of bada. Through this event, local content providers and developers gained resources and support in building their very first bada application!

Make Waves with Bada Developer Challenge
Samsung first announced the start of bada Developer Challenge on May 17, the biggest mobile application contest this year. By developing applications running on bada, Samsung’s smartphone platform, developers can have chance to win huge awards as well as to move forward towards the new business opportunity that Samsung will open with the bada platform.

The total prize pool amounts to USD$2,700,000 and the Samsung bada champion will be awarded $300,000. There are eight categories and the first prize is worth $100,000 while the second and the third are $60,000 and $40,000 respectively. In addition, there is a special prize named, "The Simplest is the best”. 10 small and highly optimized applications will be awarded $30,000 each, as Samsung believes that being simple is best.

The registration started from May 17 this year and will end on July 31, 2010.
More detailed information on bada Developer Challenge can be found from the "bada Developers" site Free downloadable SDK are also available on this site.

Samsung Apps: Unlimited Expandability
Samsung' s bada platform allows mobile users to simply and easily download an abundance of applications from Samsung Apps, an integrated application store accessible from the device and online. Featuring a wealth of games, navigation, social networking, e-book, health and lifestyle applications, Samsung Apps gives users instant access to a huge choice of mobile experiences.

Courtesy: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd

MVL Telecom has become the first Indian Mobile Handset Company to launch the Push Mail feature in its mobile handsets. The feature which was earlier confined only to the high end models of the Global Mobile handset brands will now be available on MVL mobile phones, priced around 50% lower than these brands.

Creating a distinguished niche in this already cluttered space, Premadip Rishi, Chairman - MVL said, "the launch of push mail feature for the first time by an Indian mobile handset company reflects our Company's philosophy of introducing technologically advanced products at competitive price points".

With a legacy of over 30 years of expertise in the consumer electronics industry MVL is venturing into the Rs700bn mobile handset industry in India. The company plans to roll out its mobile handsets through brand 'MVL' under the newly formed separate entity named MVL Telecom Limited.

The product innovations are spread right from the product features to the operation integrations to service back-ups. MVL Telecom will be the first ever Indian mobile handset Co. to launch the PUSH MAIL feature, complemented with a track-pad, which were available only in the high-end handsets offered by global players.

Talking on who the competition is, Rishi said, "we don’t have any competition since we are offering high quality handsets with innovative technology at less than half the price of the other global players and in the entry-level category, we have smart handsets at unmatchable pricing."

MVL Telecom intends to offer distinct products which will come pre-equipped with VAS complementing the overall brand positioning of High Quality products at smart prices.

The company has hugely invested in setting up an own international R&D Center by investing US$5mn, which will focus on introducing latest technology, consumer centric products at the most competitive price points.

This pledge further gets reinforced with the Company’s plans to set up an L4 Service center to cater to all service back-up need, right from basic servicing to component level repairing. MVL telecom will make significant initial investments and will set up its service centre in Gurgaon. Premadip Rishi, Chairman - MVL, says, "The commitment to the Indian subcontinent reflects in the history of our company and the fact that the investments made in the R&D and L4 centers shows that MVL Telecom will become one of the top 5 dominant handset player operating in the Indian market."

"In an endeavor to complement GOI's plans to increase the rural teledensity from the current 18% to 40% during the next 5 years, MVL Telecom will be introducing quality handsets at very competitive prices", he further added. Reinforcing the above vision MVL Telecom will soon setup a manufacturing plant in India thus raising the bar for quality products at competitive pricing. Currently, the company products are manufactured at the from the World’s leading facility – Foxconn.

The company is determined to establishing itself in the Indian Mobile Handset space through the most experienced and automated sales and product teams in the industry, and the Group’s expertise in foreign trade and fund raising through equity and debts will further reinforce the commitment.

Courtesy: MVL Telecom

Samsung Electronics HK. Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today announced the launch of the Samsung Wave. This is the first mobile handset to be released on the new, smartphone platform, Samsung bada, and the cornerstone of the company's commitment to provide a smartphone for every lifestyle.

Said Billy Chen, Director, Telecommunications Team, Samsung Electronics HK. Co. Ltd., "The Samsung Wave offers feature phone users a stepping stone for migration to the smartphone segment. With increasing adoption of rich contents enjoyment on the mobile platform, a world of varied mobile applications and the need to be connected all the time, the smartphone segment is no longer for work related purposes only, it is a necessity for the connected and content rich lifestyle we lead today."

The Samsung Wave offers a 3.3" Ultra Brilliant Super AMOLED display that makes the screen come alive. You will be delighted to know that a new feature, Social Hub social networking aggregation service, can bring you closer to your contacts and connections using a single interface. On top of that, the TOUCHWiZ 3.0 user interface completes the experience with an intuitive and hugely customizable menu and widget pages. The Wave’s 1 GHz high-speed CPU ensures swift, smooth application experiences and multi-tasking possible. Indeed, the Samsung Wave is built to offer users an unrivalled level of performance, customization and choice in how they connect with their world.

Super AMOLED – Seeing is Believing:
With the Samsung Wave, seeing really is believing as it features the Ultra Brilliant Super AMOLED display; delivering an unrivalled viewing experience. The Super AMOLED is much brighter, clearer, and less reflective than general AMOLED. With a free viewing angle and super fast response, the Samsung Wave display provides superb image quality for viewing both videos and photos. It is also energy saving which translate to longer battery life for the Samsung Wave users.

Samsung launched the first AMOLED phone in Apr 2009 and is undisputedly the leader in the category. With the launch of Super AMOLED screens on the Samsung Wave, Samsung is again raising the bar for viewing quality on mobile devices.

Unsurpassed Stylish & Sleek Design:
The Samsung Wave is also one of the most attractive devices to launch so far this year; its seamless, streamlined body has no parting or harsh lines and features a beautiful curved, tempered glass display which perfectly complements and enhances the vividness of the Super AMOLED display. And with anti-smudge technology, those greasy thumb prints are a thing of the past.

Samsung Apps: Unlimited Expandability:
Samsung's bada platform allows mobile users to simply and easily download an abundance of applications from Samsung Apps, an integrated application store accessible from the device and online. Featuring a wealth of games, navigation, social networking, e-book, health and lifestyle applications, Samsung Apps gives users instant access to a huge choice of mobile experiences.

Check back to www.samsungapps.com from late June for updates on new applications such as am730, Citibank HK, Leisure Guide, Mark Six, Movie Express, she promotes, Toilet Rush, U Food, Yahoo! Purple Your Day.

1GHz Fast Speed Processor:
The Samsung Wave benefits from a superb 1GHz processor which offers users the best graphic performance available today. Its speed makes the touch screen user interface incredibly responsive and intuitive and, more importantly, means that the 3D and memory-intensive graphic and video performance is unsurpassed.

Social Hub – My Communities at My Hand:
Social Hub is as what the name suggests; a hub for your social networking needs. From email to Social Networking Services e.g. Facebook and Twitter, Social Hub is your one-stop solution to staying connected with ease. Social Hubs provides users an integrated experience of messaging, managing contacts and viewing calendar events. All in one interface.

New & Improved TOUCHWiZ 3.0 UI:
The Samsung Wave provides superior upgraded version of TOUCHWiZ v3.0. It boosts 10 customizable menus and home-page for a truly personalized device. TOUCHWiZ 3.0 provides users a tactile, intuitive user experience, and includes iconic features such customizable widget screen, sweeping motion unlock, convenient horizontal widget bar and supports multi-functional widget such as Daily Briefing.

Courtesy: Samsung

INQ Mobile, the wholly owned subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa, has announced the launch of its first ever advertising campaign for India, showcasing its vision of proper Internet Communications for the 'Facebook Generation'.

INQ entered the Indian market on March 2010 with its social networking phones, INQ Chat 3G and INQ Mini 3G – its latest phones built with the internet at its core. Beginning on 4 June 2010, the campaign aims to convey the attitude and personality of the INQ brand and a generation who have grown up with the internet always in their lives.

The multimedia campaign covers print, TV, radio across four of the largest Indian metros and also spans a breadth of digital activities including online, search and social networking sites. The campaign will also carry straplines which underline INQ's award-winning features and INQ's credibility as the true home of always connected communications devices.

The advertisements will be aired across all news and entertainment channels and will be supplemented by outdoor media. Designed and conceptualized jointly by INQ and EURO RSCG, this campaign breaks the mould for handset advertising in India.

INQ marketing director and co-founder, Jeff Taylor, said, "INQ was created for the new generation all over the world who live online 24x7 and are driving a social revolution. Our first Indian campaign, headlined as 'INQUILAB', is about that generation and executed in a style very natural to us. We shot the campaign in conjunction with some of India's most talented photographers, directors and models, and are thrilled with the results. Our handsets deliver super fast 3G access with the simplest, most useful social networking tools in the market."

Speaking about the new campaign, Satbir Singh, Chief Creative Officer , Euro RSCG said, "The Strategic Intent or the campaign was to sharply define a space in a category which has seen multiple launches recently. The INQ campaign aims to establish a brand which is born in today's world of social revolution. No one till date has looked at the mobile phones along the vectors of fashion and social revolution. INQ talks a new, refreshing language of friendship, bonding and sharing. The creative idea of 'INQUILAB' is an exciting cocktail of this social revolution and fashion, which is so integral to the brand. The advertising talks about INQ as the newest instrument of change!"

Currently, INQ Mobile handsets can be purchased in seven major cities at over a 1000 retail points.

Courtesy: INQ Mobile

Nokia and T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced the upcoming availability of the Nokia E73 Mode, exclusively for T-Mobile customers, designed to help balance the need to stay connected with one's work and personal life at home or on the go. The Nokia E73 Mode, a Wi-Fi calling enabled QWERTY smartphone operating on T-Mobile's blazing-fast 3G network, includes Nokia's unique Switch Mode feature, which allows consumers to switch between fully customizable home screens that help promote a work-life balance. The Nokia E73 Mode is expected to be available beginning June 16.

"The Nokia E73 Mode brings style and function in an affordable device without compromise," said Mark Slater, vice president, Sales, Nokia. "Working together with T-Mobile, the Nokia E73 Mode enables us to bring our customers a 'Work & Life' solution that allows consumers and businesses to be as productive as possible, while still providing an exceptional consumer value and performance."

The thinnest full QWERTY keyboard smartphone available from T-Mobile, the Nokia E73 Mode is the perfect device for business customers and consumers who appreciate both form and function. T-Mobile customers also continue to get great mobile coverage with the device's Wi-Fi calling capabilities, which allow consumers to use both cellular and Wi-Fi networks for voice calling. With Mail for Exchange, based on Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, consumers can receive their corporate e-mail, contacts and calendar pushed directly to their device.

"T-Mobile is committed to providing a variety of devices that serve our customers' needs to stay connected to the central people in their lives including family, friends and even colleagues from the office," said Travis Warren, director, product marketing, T-Mobile USA. "With the Nokia E73 Mode, we're excited to offer a premium device at an attractive price that helps Mom and Dad put work aside and make their family the top priority."

The Nokia E73 Mode comes pre-loaded with services and applications to make life easier, more fun and more efficient. With Ovi Maps, a turn-by-turn navigation solution from Nokia using the device's built-in GPS at no additional cost, consumers can get from point A to B with voice-guided directions - even when walking. Also pre-loaded on the device is the Ovi Store by Nokia, which provides access to thousands of compelling applications and games including "Shazam" and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare." In addition, Ovi Store enables a simplified purchasing experience for consumers by allowing payment for content billed to their monthly T-Mobile bill or via credit card.

The Nokia E73 Mode includes support for services such as IBM Lotus Traveler, support for and access to Salesforce.com, Bloomberg and more to help business customers bring their office with them while on the go. The Nokia E73 Mode also comes pre-loaded with many business productivity tools allowing employees to take their office with them wherever they may be. With applications such as Ovi Files, QuickOffice, Adobe PDF Manager and ZIP Manager, files can be easily accessed, sent, viewed and edited right from the device, allowing customers to be more productive from nearly anywhere.

The Nokia E73 Mode comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera with flash and autofocus, Wi-Fi for voice and data, long battery life, personal and corporate e-mail access, a full HTML Web browser with support for Adobe Flash, media player and more. With a full portfolio of multimedia functionality combined with Ovi Services, the Nokia E73 Mode provides consumers with everything they need to get the most out of their personal life.

Courtesy: Nokia

At a media conference held today in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Nokia unveiled its latest Cseries mobile phones with three new products under the Nokia C1 name, as well as the new dual-SIM Nokia C2 which will follow at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010. At the same event, Nokia also took the wraps off the Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit, an alternative charging solution built especially for people with limited access to electricity.

The most affordable of the Nokia C1 trio (C1-00) is priced at EUR 30 before taxes and subsidies and is the first Nokia mobile phone to feature a 2-in-1 double SIM solution. "By simply holding down a key, people are able to switch between SIM cards. This enables them to take advantage of reduced call rates, flexibility when traveling from one country to another, or helps with sharing a phone within a family and still use their own SIM," said Alex Lambeek, Vice President at Nokia. "This is a great added convenience feature considering the low price of the phone."

Nokia C1 owners will also benefit from a standby battery time of up to six weeks, the longest ever for a Nokia mobile phone, especially useful in those parts of the world where access to electricity is sometimes limited. The standard flashlight - often someone's only means of bright light - is paired with a vivid color screen and FM radio with standard headphone jack, meaning the Nokia C1 is as much about entertainment as it is about convenience.

The Nokia C2 features a dual SIM with dual standby capability. Along with the many capabilities of the Nokia C1, the Nokia C2 can also keep both SIM cards active; meaning calls and text messages can come to either number while the phone is on. The first SIM card on the Nokia C2 sits underneath the battery and the second is 'hot-swappable', a feature unique to Nokia which means it can be removed and inserted when the phone is on.

Where available, the Nokia C2 also offers a wide range of information covering healthcare, agriculture, education and entertainment via Nokia's Ovi Life Tools, as well as the email account for the developing world, Ovi Mail. In addition to Ovi Mail, people's favorite consumer email and chat accounts can be pushed direct to the phone via Nokia Messaging. Listening to music is simple with the FM radio and music player, with a massive amount of music storage with the phone supporting micro-SD cards of up to 32GB.

The second and third devices in the Nokia C1 family (C1-01 and C1-02) are both single SIM products, and Nokia's most affordable devices offering microSD compatibility, enabling people to store up to 32 GB of music, photography, or whatever other media suits them. Both new devices bring very individual designs and exciting colors, bright color screens, web browsing over GPRS and access to Nokia web services such as Nokia Messaging. In addition, owners of the Nokia C1 (C1-01) will also be able to take video and photographs using the built-in VGA camera.

New alternative charging solution debuts
Providing free and environmentally friendly electricity for mobile phones, the Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit consists of a charger and dynamo, as well as a holder to secure the phone to the bike. When the kit is installed, the dynamo - a small electrical generator - uses the movement of the wheels to charge the handset through the standard 2mm charging jack used in most Nokia mobile phones.

Lambeek continued, "You must look at a number of things when it comes to power management - such as ensuring the phone's operating system is as power-efficient as possible. Now, with our innovative bike charger, people get even more freedom to use their Nokia without worrying about battery life. Bicycles are the most widespread means of transport in many markets around the world, so this is just one more benefit to be gained from an activity people are already doing. This is a great solution to a real challenge, whether people will use it due to limited access to electricity, or to be more environmentally responsible." The kit will be available before the end of the year in selected retailers and Nokia online and branded retail.

The estimated retail prices of the new Nokia mobile phones, before taxes and subsidies, are:
Nokia C1 (C1-00) - EUR 30
Nokia C1 (C1-02) - EUR 35
Nokia C1 (C1-01) - EUR 39
Nokia C2 (C2-00) - EUR 45

The Nokia C1 (C1-00) is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2010, with the Nokia C1 (C1-01) in the early fourth quarter, and the Nokia C1 (C1-02) and Nokia C2 towards the end of the fourth quarter 2010.

Courtesy: Nokia