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Mobiles...and more
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Move over voice calls and SMS. Mobile phones now act as voice recorders, personal digital assistants and what not. They have become a window to the world, says M. ALLIRAJAN
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"THEY DO not keep mobile phones close to their ears... " — this is what a leading cellular service provider has to say about the evolution of mobile telephony in its website.
But, what does this mean? Simple, cellular phones are no longer used as just phones. They now double up as voice and video recorders, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), cameras and even video cameras.
You can send e-mails, take photographs of your best pals and share the file instantly and even listen to FM radio. Provided you have the appropriate handset.
If there is one product that is constantly reinventing itself, it is mobile phones.
A companion
As Ramgopal Vallath, the Chief Operating Officer, Airtel, Tamil Nadu circle, explains: "A mobile phone is no longer just a communication device. It has become a companion that one never wants to keep away from."
That's indeed a giant leap from the days when handsets did not even have a Short Messaging Service (SMS) facility. When cellular phones were first introduced in this part of the country, they were looked at as wonder gizmos.
Forget about making and receiving calls. All the subscriber would do was to see the number and call back from a landline. The costs were simply too high.
Services galore
After the free fall in costs, SMS and ring tones were the first Value Added Services (VAS) that mobile phone companies offered.
Now you have a whole lot of them from the useful information on railway ticket status to news updates to live astrology programmes. Cellular operators explain that falling call costs and rentals are the prime reason for value addition. "When call rates came down, we had to look at other options. So, we decided to offer value addition to consumers. Operators now provide business applications, entertainment, information and utility services to subscribers," explains R. Suresh Kumar, COO of BPL mobile, Tamil Nadu circle.
"VAS contribute to a substantial part of our revenue and it is growing. Apart from SMS, ring tone services, game downloads and MMS are the major sources of VAS income," says Vallath.
"Innovation is taking place on a daily basis. And, people don't mind paying extra if they get quality service," states P. Sivakumar, Manager, Corporate, Airtel.
If it was General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) yesterday, it is Edge (a higher version of GPRS) today. And 3-G will be the technology of tomorrow.
Some operators have taken value addition a step further with facilities such as SMS directory and e-mail service.
In case you are working in a big organisation, the directory helps you track the contact numbers of colleagues who work in any part of the country.
The e-mail service is a useful addition if you are constantly on the move.
Keeping in tune with the change, handset makers have come up with trendy techie phones.
With more people opting for these models, the dealers are smiling all the way to the bank. "About 40 per cent of handsets being sold in our outlet belong to the high-end category.
College students, businessmen and executives prefer them because they can use them for purposes other than making and receiving calls," says D. Jayakumar, Sales Executive of Circuit World, a Nokia Priority Dealer.
Declining handset prices too have contributed significantly to this trend.
You can pick an advanced Nokia polyphonic handset with colour display for a little over Rs. 6,000. Subscribers couldn't have asked for more.
What they offer:
Multi-media messaging services: You can send sound clippings, animated messages and digital photographs. You can also download wallpapers, games and videos.
Multi-party conferencing: Six or seven people can discuss things in a conference. Useful for businessmen
Voice portal: You can hear the latest international news, hear predictions about your future and lots more
Send a song: You can send a popular song to your friend
Dial-up services: Dial a cab or bouquet and listen to other information
Corporate jingles: The caller will hear the company jingle while calling an employee.
Mobile office: Hook on to the World Wide Web through GPRS
Other than these, other VAS include ring tones and the current fad of `ringback' tones. The latest Nokia Communicator even has MS Word, Spreadsheet and PowerPoint.
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