[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

When will the authorities in India even think of something like this:-

EU adopts microUSB cell phone charger standard - Yahoo! News

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'd expect we'd get it too, because they might as well manufacture the same kit for the whole world?

What I thought was in the works was standardisation on one type of charger. Frequently, we need to charge our phones from a socket in the wall, rather than from a computer ... oh!
Thinking as I write: we'll be able to use one of those USB power socket adapters!

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

IIRC, it was Korea / Thailand (cant remember who) which came up with the idea of standardised connectors. IIRC, they insisted on USB charging and standard USB connectors on the phone.

I am glad they started it; nowadays, at least Nokia has standard 3.5MM audio jacks, 2 MM charger socket and Mini/Micro (what is the difference?) USB slot.

[arunkk]

Originally Posted by zoom2_ash

Thanks for helping me with the attachments!!
Attached are some sample pics taken with my mobile. I have attached sample pics clicked using various available modes e.g. landscape, panaroma, indoor, sunset, fireworks etc and under different conditions like indoor, outdoor, night, evening etc. So, it can give you all a fair idea on how is the overall quality of the mobile camera under most conditions:

I would say that I am more then satisfied with my mobile camera. Outdoor results are very good and quite comparable to my P&S camera(sony W300). And I must add that video recording results are even better.

Sorry if i missed it but which is your phone? These photos you posted are really excellent with nice colors and white balance. Did you do any post processing on these pictures?

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

When will the authorities in India even think of something like this:-

EU adopts microUSB cell phone charger standard - Yahoo! News

India does not have any type certification body for electronics devices, TRAI is more concerned about fixing tarrifs rather then standards and ISI is lousily limited to electrical appliances.
India adopted GSM and GCF certification was relied upon and similarly US certification for CDMA equipments.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

IIRC, it was Korea / Thailand (cant remember who) which came up with the idea of standardised connectors. IIRC, they insisted on USB charging and standard USB connectors on the phone.

I am glad they started it; nowadays, at least Nokia has standard 3.5MM audio jacks, 2 MM charger socket and Mini/Micro (what is the difference?) USB slot.

Neither Korea not Thailand it was European Union which is mandating standardized USB charger for reducing e-waste and pollution. It is no longer possible to obtain type certification and CE logo with out standard charger.
This was proposed in 2009 and mandated after 2010

[narayan]

Guys
I am a total novice as far as mobile phones go. Not a gadget freak also.

My wife's birthday is coming up next week. Wish to gift her a new phone. Here are a few features I feel would be well appreciated...


1) large and clear screen - basicaly to view photos, messages etc .

are touch screen phones durable ? or is it better to go with a conventional key pad + large screen ?

2) Very very good audio output - wife listens a lot to FM and saves music on the phone. so good output + memory

3) good camera.

4) ready for internet usage - typically configurable to receive gmail, orkut, facebook primarily and some bit of browsing. EASE OF USAGE IS VERY CRITICAL because she is not very tech savvy just like me..

5) apart from the above it would be good to have a attributes like Reliable, stylish , good battery capacity

Budget - Rs10000

If there are some really good options that are available with a moderate stretch please do suggest them also.

thanks a lot and wish you all a great 2011 ahead !

[zoom2_ash]

Originally Posted by arunkk

Sorry if i missed it but which is your phone? These photos you posted are really excellent with nice colors and white balance. Did you do any post processing on these pictures?

I am using Samsung Wave(S8500). It has a 5 MP camera with HD video recording. All these pics are originals from mobile without any post processing. Only thing is that I reduced the resolution to make them smaller then 1MB to be able to attach here.

[arunkk]

Originally Posted by narayan

Guys
I am a total novice as far as mobile phones go. Not a gadget freak also.

My wife's birthday is coming up next week. Wish to gift her a new phone. Here are a few features I feel would be well appreciated...


1) large and clear screen - basicaly to view photos, messages etc .

are touch screen phones durable ? or is it better to go with a conventional key pad + large screen ?

2) Very very good audio output - wife listens a lot to FM and saves music on the phone. so good output + memory

3) good camera.

4) ready for internet usage - typically configurable to receive gmail, orkut, facebook primarily and some bit of browsing. EASE OF USAGE IS VERY CRITICAL because she is not very tech savvy just like me..

5) apart from the above it would be good to have a attributes like Reliable, stylish , good battery capacity

Budget - Rs10000

If there are some really good options that are available with a moderate stretch please do suggest them also.

thanks a lot and wish you all a great 2011 ahead !

Now that there are HUGEEEE number of options available, giving precise pointers is quite difficult. You didnt mention 3G, Wifi etc in your requirements.

Touch screens i feel are more reliable than normal phones with keypads. I have seen phones with keypads, joysticks stop responding after some time but whereas in a touch screen, i have never seen any lack of responsiveness if used with a screen guard.

Some options for you in touchscren :
< 10k --> Nokia 5230, Samsung Galaxy 5
Slightly above 10k --> Nokia 5800, Samsung Galaxy 3, LG Optimus, Samsung Wave etc

[narayan]

Originally Posted by arunkk

Now that there are HUGEEEE number of options available, giving precise pointers is quite difficult. You didnt mention 3G, Wifi etc in your requirements.

Some options for you in touchscren :
< 10k --> Nokia 5230, Samsung Galaxy 5
Slightly above 10k --> Nokia 5800, Samsung Galaxy 3, LG Optimus, Samsung Wave etc

I guess, i am not too tech savvy and that reflects in not being able to give a whole host of other required features.

3G ready - yes. Not sure what WIFI does in the mobile phone context. would be happy know more.

thanks for the options - will read up more on these on the net.

Please keep the suggestions coming..

[zoom2_ash]

Originally Posted by narayan

Guys
I am a total novice as far as mobile phones go. Not a gadget freak also.

My wife's birthday is coming up next week. Wish to gift her a new phone. Here are a few features I feel would be well appreciated...


1) large and clear screen - basicaly to view photos, messages etc .

are touch screen phones durable ? or is it better to go with a conventional key pad + large screen ?

2) Very very good audio output - wife listens a lot to FM and saves music on the phone. so good output + memory

3) good camera.

4) ready for internet usage - typically configurable to receive gmail, orkut, facebook primarily and some bit of browsing. EASE OF USAGE IS VERY CRITICAL because she is not very tech savvy just like me..

5) apart from the above it would be good to have a attributes like Reliable, stylish , good battery capacity

Budget - Rs10000

If there are some really good options that are available with a moderate stretch please do suggest them also.

thanks a lot and wish you all a great 2011 ahead !

My suggestion is to go for a touch screen phone. This will atleast give you a good large screen to view photos and videos. Now, no touch screen smartphone under Rs 10000 has a very good camera and screen resolution. Galaxy5 is a best mobile available under 10000 Rs in India. So, check that out if that meets your requirements. Other phone just above 10K mark are LG optimus one and Galaxy3. All these thre are android phones. Another very good option could be Samsung Wave 723. It actually meets all your above requirements like excellent camera, very good audio quality, big 3.2'' screen and looks are indeed very good.

[Ram]

India is now the world's fastest growing mobile phone market. Growing demand in the rural market and Tier-II and III cities will further fuel booming sales in the Indian mobile phone market. During all 2010, a total of 15.59 crore mobile phones were estimated sold in India.

According to GfK(Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung) Nielsen, in the period January-November 2010, Nokia and Samsung earned almost 70% of the Indian market in terms of total sales revenue.

Nokia retained top slot with a market share of 49.2% revenue. Its brand appeal was boosted by the Nokia N8.

Samsung had a 20.5% share with strong demand for its Galaxy and WAVE smartphones and its dual-sim phones.

LG's market share was 5.3%

Micromax's was 5% by revenue.

[Dry Ice]

Anybody seen the i-ball phone adverts? The one thats aimed at the elder members of the family. Seems like a good concept, not entirely sure about the execution though.
Any thoughts/reviews?

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Ram

Nokia retained top slot with a market share of 49.2% revenue. Its brand appeal was boosted by the Nokia N8.

Nokia went down during the last one year, while Samsung came up big time! So, just the figures dont tell the whole story!

Samsung really captured young Indian minds in the past one year, with their fantastic Wave and Galaxy series phones!

PS- I still use an old Nokia N73 which does its job pretty well. However, the last Nokia phone i recommended to my friends was a Nokia N82. All their high end phones since then, have been way short of what the competition offers. N97 is . N8 was exciting, but falls short on VFM and it shows in the sales as well!

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by narayan

Guys

1) large and clear screen - basicaly to view photos, messages etc .

2) Very very good audio output

3) good camera.

4) ready for internet usage

5) Reliable, stylish , good battery capacity

Budget - Rs10000

Go for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. It has a 3.2 inch touchscreen with great resolution, dedicated audio chip, 3.2 MP camera with carl zeiss optics and auto focus, GPS, 3G, wifi, reliable and has good battery backup.

Perfectly meets your requirements. But you may have to increase the budget by 10-15%.

If you want physical keypad along with touchscreen, Nokia C6 is a good option.

Rohan

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

N8 was exciting, but falls short on VFM and it shows in the sales as well!

I went looking for the N8. Cost has been increased by 1k. No black model available off the shelf. Would Nokia increase costs of cell phone not selling well?

At the CMH, Indiranagar Store, by the time I made up my mind they sold 2 N8's.

I am still awaiting a call for the black stock.