December 15, 2009 January 15, 2010

CONTENT
 December 15, 2009 January 15, 2010

Editor s
N ote
A blessing in disguise
It is a common practice to look down upon all those
facilities that are easily accessible. Last two decades have
made the mobile phone as accessible as anything. Despite of
the fact that a majority of us is unaware of the handy features
that our smart mobile phones offer, the only point of concern
is just to buy the latest-powered-with-music handset. The low Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Editor-in-Chief
rate of literacy has also deprived a number of people to equip
Fatima Batool Editor
with the knowledge of applications offered by their expensive
hand-tools that are capable of doing almost everything from Usman Yaqoob
navigation to the unit conversion by the virtue of just a single Director Marketing (Lhr)
M. Farooq Malik
voice command. Manager Marketing (Lhr)
It is only cell phone that is capable of replacing computers Rashid Hussain Mughal
and note books as the latest handsets are powered with all that Marketing Executive (Khi)

is required to keep one’s electronic stuff in one’s pocket.

Features have been introduced by almost all operators for
Zafar Khan Afridi
visiting and remaining online on respective messengers as Senior Graphic Designer
well as social networks. M. Naeem Mughal
Keep aside all that entertainment stuff our cell phone, have Graphic Designer
brought for us, let us come to the point where the technology Khawar Shahzad
can help us out in urgency. The best use a cell phone offer is Manager Islamabad Office
to make calls any time any where, if the network is available. Azhar Javed
General Manager
It is no more necessary to search the nearest PCO (public call M. Ismail Qureshi
office) and then to make calls to inform that you are Creative Consultant
Muhammad Saeed
somewhere in safe and sound state, and to give away other Chief Photographer
worth sharing news, etc. Mobile: 0321 - 8404389
Pakistan is currently suffering from internal insurgency.
No place is safe. Anti-Pakistan agents are everywhere. We are
not one of them but they are somehow or the other surviving Lahore Office
46J-Gulberg III, Lahore-Pakistan.
within us. Cell phone is an invention that can play vital role in
Ph: +92-42-38350195, 042-35880183
curbing any unfavourable situation. Bothering the suspicious Fax: +92-42-35880183
activities of some unknown person, the best thing one can do Islamabad Office
Phone: +92-51-5892027 +92-51-8235066
is to make call to the 15. Kasur Office
When it comes to 15 then the question of efficiency is Phone: +92-492-770820-763250
raised. Government of Pakistan must ensure that 15 is Karachi Office
Phone: + 92-21-34602620
perfectly playing its duty. There are no shortcomings and the
respective staff is present 24x7 on help lines to jot down and Registration No
PCPB/105
to proceed the queries and information forward by the people.
The barracks used by the police to stop and check the (Vol. 6 Issue:3)
suspected vehicles are significant but are not sufficient as the Price Rs: 300
URL: www.flare.com.pk
terrorist, as we have seen in the past, have remained capable Email: flare.mag@gmail.com
of easily filtering through the jammers to attack the peace of
big cities of Pakistan. We neither want to see our country
burning nor to let other brothers mourn at the death toll of
suicide attacks. We being a nation can help the authorities to
establish peace. Zubair Ahmed Kasuri, publisher of FLARE
It is need of the hour that all of us must unite against leading telecom magazine, printed it from
terrorism and must serve the duty of a watchdog to not only Akkaz Printers, Shama Plaza, Lahore and
keenly observe the circumstances but also pin pointing the published from 46J, Gulberg III, Lahore.
hideouts of elements that are trying to destabilise our
motherland. All of us have our cell phone. Police is there. Help
lines are available. Then what are we waiting for!

8
9
 Exclusive Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

that the goods reached the deserving and affected.

In fact extra efforts were made to deliver relief
items to far flung areas where no aid had gone
before.

Group photo of Mobilink Foundation Torchbearers Karachi Chapter.

It is the heart warming efforts of these

Torchbearers that has laid a path for others to
follow and has made Mobilink Foundation a
benchmark for devotion and volunteerism in the
corporate corridors.
The spirit of volunteerism brings us closer to our community and One can hope that more companies will
forges a bond that is incomparable and unparalleled. Mobilink develop a channel for sustainable development of
Pakistan, one which transcends regions, territories
Foundation Torchbearers, a dedicated force of more than 250 and generations. Let us continue to build on the
employees of Mobilink who work under the platform of the Mobilink premise of reshaping lives by intensifying our
communal and human connections.
Foundation, are a true reflection of this spirit and what it entails Speaking at the ceremony commemorating the
volunteering
here is nothing more rewarding than

T
employees for their
embracing and resolving issues plaguing efforts on the eve of
our fellow humans, reshaping their lives International
and harnessing gratitude and praise in Volunteer Day (IVD),
their hearts. Volunteers are but selfless warriors Omar Manzur
who go about leaving their mark on society Director Public
without craving for awards, certificates or Relations & Corporate
medallions. Their motivation lies within – the Social Responsibility
sense of achievement attained from what they (CSR) stated, “As a
have accomplished. However, no good deed socially responsible
should go unrewarded. citizen, we believe in
Designated by the United Nations since 1985, patronising broad-
IVD is celebrated every year on December 5. The Group photograph of Mobilink employees who regularly volunteer at the ceremony organised by Mobilink to based CSR initiatives
declared aim of IVD is to thank volunteers for mark International Volunteer Day. Also seen in the picture are Mr Omar Manzur, Director Public Relations &
Corporate Social Responsibility, Mobilink, Dr Ahson Rabbani, Vice President Inputs, The Citizens Foundation throughout Pakistan.
their efforts and increase public awareness on and Mr Mansoor Sarwar, Programme Office Philanthropy Services, Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy. Mobilink has always
their contribution to society. when he expected none; the sense of belonging been at the forefront of social initiatives and our
The spirit of volunteerism brings us closer to that a physically disabled individual feels when employees continue to selflessly engage in
our community and forges a bond that is he is treated as equal; or the young student who community welfare, disaster relief, literacy
incomparable and satisfaction that is unparalleled. goes to bed vowing to keep the world clean enhancement, environment conservation, health
Mobilink Foundation Torchbearers, a dedicated because the wonderful mentor he met in the day care, and many more noble causes. This day is
force of more than 250 employees of Mobilink said so, through their dedication and devotion, the dedicated to acknowledge their exemplary
who work under the platform of the Mobilink Torchbearers truly are Mobilink’s ambassadors in endeavours.”
Foundation, are a true reflection of this spirit and the local community and leave a trail of Guest speaker, Dr Ahson Rabbani, Vice
what it entails. Be it relief to an ailing individual enlightenment wherever they go. President Inputs, The Citizens Foundation (TCF),
by providing treatment he could not afford; the shared, “While anyone can provide monetary
smile on the face of a child as you give him Eidi support, it takes a focused CSR programme to be
able to also donate time. This proactive social
“As a socially responsible assistance programme clearly distinguishes
citizen, we believe in patronising Mobilink from other business organisations. As a
practitioner of community development, I urge all
broad-based CSR initiatives healthy organisations to also promote the spirit of
throughout Pakistan. Mobilink volunteerism among their employees.”
has always been at the forefront Employee volunteerism is a core value of
Mobilink’s Culture of Excellence and employees
of social initiatives and our Mobilink Foundation Torchbearers in Lahore cutting cake at the IVD are strongly encouraged to develop a
employees continue to selflessly ceremony. humanitarian spirit. This is why Mobilink
In the year 2009 alone, Mobilink Foundation employees are sanctioned to clock an average of
engage in community welfare, Torchbearers devoted over 4800 hours in four to five dedicated hours per person per month
disaster relief, literacy community welfare which is equivalent to more during official working hours.
than 600 work days. This is primarily because 2009
enhancement, environment Outstanding volunteers were awarded
was a challenging year for Pakistan and Mobilink trophies whereas certificates of appreciation were
conservation, health care, and employees came forward in these times to provide also distributed among the highly motivated
many more noble causes. This relief to the IDPs. Mobilink employees were Torchbearers to recognise their relentless efforts.
personally involved in the procurement and
day is dedicated to acknowledge distribution of aid items. Not only did this help is Torchbearers in other cities were also appreciated
through similar ceremonies organised by
10 their exemplary endeavours.” efficient utilisation of funds but also made sure Mobilink to mark IVD.

Free download | flare.com.pk
Internet cafés converting
to mobile phone outlets
one are the days when the people
G searched internet café for sending or
receiving email, images, etc. from one
place to another. The latest and
innovative advancement in technology usage in
mobile phone and laptops has forced the end of
the internet café era.
Mostly people of internet café had replaced
their business with mobile phone shops. These
people are now dealing in mobile phone and its
accessories, photocopies, composing, printing,
publications, etc.
The business of internet café is no more and
customers who once visited the internet café
frequently have their own phone armed with all
requirements. Around the country, the business of
internet café is almost closed.
If you look years back, there were many
internet café visited by a large number of
customers for multiple reasons such as browsing,
surfing, chatting, emailing, etc. The handset has
changed their lives and now there is no more need
to visit internet café. The situation has not only
changed due to internet equipped handsets but
also due to the cheap branded computers and
affordable internet and broadband available
nationwide. The bloom of the internet café once a
popular business is almost over.
Let us discuss one by one the factors that have
contributed as a number of issues have
contributed to the demise. The proliferation and
inexpensive availability of information technology
(IT) tools is the major factor. Entrepreneurs of the
computer and related IT businesses are more
interested in trading in hardware and software
merchandise rather than solely relying on running
the cyber cafés. Owners and ex-owners and
operators of internet cafés say that the cyber café
business is no longer lucrative, and can sometimes
bring with it fatal and socioeconomic implications
that threaten their survival.
President Asif Ali Zardari has promulgated
Electronic/Cyber Crimes Ordinance 2008. The
“Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance, 2008″
will apply to every person who commits an
offence under the said Ordinance irrespective of
his nationality or citizenship whatsoever or in any
place outside or inside Pakistan, having
detrimental effect on the security if Pakistan or its
nationals or national harmony or any property or
any electronic system or data located in Pakistan
The business of internet café is no
more and customers who once
visited the internet café frequently
have their own phones armed with
all requirements
or any electronic system or data capable of being
connected, sent to, used by or with any electronic
system in Pakistan.
The ordinance i.e. “Prevention of Electronic
Crimes Ordinance, 2008″ gives exclusive powers
to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to
investigate and charge cases against such crimes.
The ordinance covers provision for illegal and
criminal acts such as data access, data damage,
system damage, electronic fraud, electronic
forgery, spamming, spoofing, cyber terrorism etc.
Samiuddin believes that such regulations
played an enormous role in the decline in internet
café businesses, particularly in Lahore. According
to him, the idea of regulating cyber cafes and
registering their customers is an absurd one given
the clientele of the business.
"The customers at internet cafés are mostly
school and college students who generally do not
have a national identity card (or other legitimate
identification) they can show to avail the service,"
he said.
Telecommunications and
remittance are the only two
industries that generate
wealth and employment for
Pakistanis throughout the
world. Any changes that
come to either of them, will
greatly influence how
Pakistanis organise their lives
Despite the fact that internet cafés have been
criticised for their highly unsatisfactory quality of
internet service, and outdated hardware and
software, they still have qualities that set them
apart in the IT and telecom sector. The first is their
ability to promote computer literacy in society.
The second is their attractive price. There has been
no business left in internet cafés after the easy
availability of computers.
It is remembered that it was 1994 when Eva
Pascoe opened the world’s first internet café in
London and now they can be seen in every corner
of the world. Cyber cafés offer internet access and
use of software applications. In addition they also
Azhar Javed Exclusive
offer low cost international calls that enable
people to communicate cheaply.
The popularity of the internet is increasing
exponentially but new technologies are offering
alternatives which give people easy and
affordable access to the internet without the need
for internet cafes. Does this mean that the end of
Pakistani internet cafés is approaching fast and
will internet cafés no longer be hubs for social
contact? More importantly, can we say internet
cafés will not be in business unless they change
and change fast?
Observant readers may say if technology is
changing, surely that is not confined to a specific
society. Of course, Pakistani does not have
monopoly on internet cafés. However,
telecommunications and remittance are the only
two industries that generate wealth and
employment for Pakistani throughout the world.
Any changes that come to either of them will
greatly influence how Pakistani organise their
lives during an especially difficult period of
multiple problems.
The head of T-Mobile, a leading mobile
network operator, says, “Mobiles have taken off
because they let individuals do what they have
always done and want to do. The same is
becoming true of mobile internet. In time, mobile
broadband will have an even greater impact.”
Internet cafés are micro businesses and owners
find it difficult to keep up with technological
developments. The internet café market appears
to have matured quickly and is now declining.
Owners are facing strong competition and many
are now stuck in this market. In these conditions
they are neither able to survive or to leave and are
stuck in a declining market without the resources
or skills to branch out.
Most of the internet café owners cannot leave
this sector because of the capital investment they
have made and the skills they have gained from
this sector may not transfer well to other sectors.
Owners spent a lot on site preparation and
modifications and equipment purchases. Many of
those who bought existing businesses paid large
sums on premium or key money.
Mobile broadband is becoming widely
available in rich countries and this technology will
be available in poor countries in the near future so
the big question is, are we witnessing the end of
Pakistani internet cafés?
11
 Telepedia Khawar Shahzad
SMS bundle offers:
Helpless consumers
“SMS bundle packages are not mandatory we have nothing to
do with this issue, PTA is only regulating quality of services
whereby the operators are required to conform to the quality
parameters as per the license terms and conditions”
he uninformed and sudden withdrawal
T of short message service (SMS) by the
cellular phone operators has offered
great difficulty to the nationwide mobile
phone consumers on national festivals. It is
pertinent to remember that Telenor withdrew
suddenly its SMS bucket on Eid-ul-Fitar without
any prior notice. The subscribers came to know
of the blockage via an SMS shortly send before
the termination. The withdrawal heavily cost the
public.
Questions were raised about the role of PTA
(Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) and
the freedom of the respective operator. On this
Eid, however, PTA has looked into the matter in
time.
In a meeting with representatives of cellular
companies, PTA did not object the withdrawal
of SMS packages during Eid by leading operator.
The Authority believes that the value added
services offered by mobile operators such as
SMS, MMS, navigation, etc. are un-regulated
services in terms of pricing and validity.
Official statement of PTA stated bundled
packages are optional services offered by the
operators which require consumers to opt-in and
agreeing to the terms and conditions offered by
the operators.
“Since SMS bundle packages are not
mandatory packages, PTA is only regulating
quality of services whereby the operators are
required to conform to the quality parameters as
per the license terms and conditions.”
Operators were asked to ensure inclusion of
adequate information in media campaign with
12 regard to validity period of the SMS bundle
package offer along with operator’s discretion to
withdraw the said offer.
It is interesting to see that PTA has separated
value added services from the other telecom
services, however, it is not mentioned anywhere
in Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-
organization) Act, 1996 and Pakistan
Telecommunication Rules, 2000 that value
Public annoyed by SMS bundles withdrawal
Islamabad: The withdrawal of SMS bundle
packages on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha by two major
telecom companies has annoyed public. Subscribers
are also questioning the silence of Pakistan Telecom
Authority (PTA) over the violation of its rules by
both the multi-national cell phone companies.
However, the company web sites reflect that daily
and weekly voice plus SMS bundles of both the
companies will remain available which are
otherwise expensive as compared to daily SMS
bundles.
“The company has dumped me again as it did
the same on Eid- ul-Fitr. This is unjust as I had to
text to my so many friends on the Eid,” said Irum
Jahangir, a student of intermediate while talking to
Flare. She said that Eid is an opportunity to get
together and to have fun with family and friends but
this bundle offer termination would cost her a lot.
Adnan Hafeez, a soccer player, also felt the same
way. “You see, I am feeling being betrayed by my
cell phone company. We friends have lots of
communication on Eid, and this time it is not going
to happen.”
Afsheen, another student of a religious
seminary, said she had to communicate with her
friends on Eid as it was difficult for them to get
Free download | flare.com.pk
added services are not part of regulation.
Instead, there are special clauses available for
VAS services, which defiantly come under
regulation in terms of pricing and any alteration
during the validity.
Besides, PTA is contradicting its own verdict
when it asked telecom companies to notify
customers 30 days in advance of
imposition of charges on balance inquiries.
All the same on this Eid SMS packages are
again withdrawn and PTA has
exempted itself of the responsibility by making
VAS a mutual contract between the service
provider and the subscriber.
It is not mentioned anywhere
in rules that value added
services are not part of
regulation. Instead, there are
special clauses available for
VAS services, which defiantly
come under regulation in
terms of pricing and any
alteration during the validity
It is understood that cellular companies are
under the heavy burden of Eid traffic where it
may be necessary to block the service
but no one can use it as an excuse as all other
operators are offering the service despite of high
festival traffic.
These services are totally dependent on
operator’s policy and they
change in tariff, package or service - and PTA
was supposed to protect
can
withdraw it any time. However, it is the right of
customers to know about any such
customers’
right, which it could not even for the second
time.
together on Eid. “However, this bundle offer
withdrawal has deprived me of this cell phone
communication with my friends on this Eid,” she
added. “Whenever I call the costumer service, they
say they are upgrading services that’s why SMS
bundle service will remain closed till December 2.
When I said that they did the same on last Eid as
well, the customer care centre representative asked
me to use other two packages which are too costly
and I can’t afford those.” No official of both the
companies was available for comments. However,
a blog on a web site says, “All
Bundle/Discount/Bonus Offer subscriptions shall
not be valid for Special Occasions. Special Occasions
include 6 Days of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-Ul-Azha along
with their respective Chand Raats and 1 day of New
Year”.
Same is the case with the other operator on its
web site which says, “Some Bundle Offers
subscriptions may not be available on special
occasions (Eid, New year, Valentine, etc)”.
However, the company’s web site does not
reflect the details of those bundles which are not
available on Eid, and the subscribers would only
know about the bundle package’s withdrawal when
they would get a huge bill on the month end.
Free download | flare.com.pk
20pc: The towering
growth of telecom
The sector contributed a total of Rs 112 billion to national
exchequer in the form of taxes whereas telecom imports
also grew-up by 20 per cent and reached 1.6 billion dollar.
The mobile penetration reached 58.2 per cent of the total
population and total mobile subscribers reached 94.3 million
with more than 90 per cent of the country having access to
mobile services
akistan's Telecom sector has shown a
P remarkable 20 percent growth by
generating Rs327.8 billion as revenues in
fiscal year 2008-09, while the sector has
paid Rs112 billion as tax, Pakistan Telecom
Authority's (PTA) annual report said.
According to PTA Report for year 2008-09 tele-
density (percentage of mobile users) of Pakistan
stood at 62 per cent showing a growth rate of 5.4
percent. The PTA report further says that during
the period telecom sector continued to grow
positively in terms of subscription, revenues and
tele-density. It managed to attract 815 million
dollar Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2008-09.
However, as most of the operators' are foreign-
based, the pessimistic outlook of global economy
compelled the telecom operators to curtail the
infrastructure expansion plans, still total
investments in the sector stood at 1.7 billion dollar.
During the year (2008-09) the sector
contributed a total of Rs 112 billion to national
exchequer in the form of taxes whereas telecom
imports also grew by 20 per cent and reached 1.6
billion dollar. The mobile penetration reached 58.2
per cent of the total population and total mobile
subscribers reached 94.3 million with more than
90 per cent of the country having access to mobile
services.
The trend in subscription remained tilted
towards prepaid subscription with 98 per cent,
whereas only two per cent subscribers are post-
paid. Although the financial strength of mobile
segment remained constant, still the cellular
revenues grew by 16 per cent and stood at Rs212
billion at the end of 2008-09. The mobile
investments dropped by 48 per cent and reached
1.2 billion dollar in the year under review.
During the year, PTA successfully convinced
the Government of Pakistan to facilitate the sector
by bringing down the tax rates on telecom
industry, which resulted in reduction in the rate
of GST from 21 per cent to 19.5 per cent in addition
to bringing down the activation tax by 50 per cent
while reducing the import duty on mobile
handsets by 66 per cent by cutting it down from
Rs750 to Rs250 in budget 2008-09. Moreover,
cleaning of unverified SIMs and SIM activation
system (789) now in place is expected to curb the
anti-social activities.
During 2008-09, basic services (LL, WLL &
LDI) showed a healthy revenue growth rate of 26
per cent contributing Rs113 billion to the sector
revenue which is around 34 per cent of the total
telecom sector revenue, however, with the
declining trend in fixed line tele-density reaching
2.2 per cent with a total of 3.5 million fixed-line
Flare Report Telepedia
subscribers in the country.
Wireless local loop (WLL) has been able to
sustain positive growth by winning the trust of
customers. The WLL tele-density stands at 1.6 per
cent with 2.65 million subscribers across Pakistan.
Long Distance & International (LDI) operators
have been in quandary for the last few years due
to high settlement rates and alarmingly high grey
or illegal telecom traffic.
PTA took notice of the situation and initiated a
number of steps in close co-ordination with LDI
stakeholders. In order to safeguard consumer
interest and tackle their grievances, PTA launched
a comprehensive complaint handling mechanism
on July 24, 2009. Consumer Protection
Department at PTA has received and redressed
more than 80,000 individual consumer complaints
since its establishment.
PTA issued Consumer Protection Regulations.
Anti-SPAMs Regulations to control the obnoxious
and unsolicited calls and Subscribers verification
Regulations.
The second most important focus area of work
for PTA was the promotion of ICT'S in Pakistan
where the Authority intended to devise an
effective mechanism to introduce emerging
information & communication technologies and
extensive proliferation of broadband services in
Pakistan.
During 2008-09, basic
services showed a healthy
revenue growth rate of 26
per cent contributing Rs113
billion to the sector revenue
which is around 34 per cent
of the total telecom sector
revenue, however, with the
declining trend in fixed line
tele-density reaching 2.2
per cent with a total of 3.5
million fixed-line
subscribers in the country
In this regard, a number of steps have been
taken during the year including the establishment
of regulatory platform for the government and the
stakeholders' interaction to identify core areas and
develop guidelines for different ICT issues. PTA
finalised a revenue sharing agreement between
ISP's and PTCL for providing free Dialup internet
Services in Pakistan.
It issued directives to mobile operators for
proper advertisement of Government taxes and
services charges on telecom services. The
deteriorating security situation in Pakistan pushed
the regulator to take some major precautionary
steps in order to assist Government of Pakistan in
curbing the non-social activities and security
threats.
In this regard, a number of steps were taken
including blocking of unregistered SIM measures
against elimination of gray traffic, preparing
comprehensive plan for disaster management,
monitoring and reconciliation of international
telephony traffic and putting up system for
activation of new SIM after verification.
13
 Exclusive Usman Yaqoob Free download | flare.com.pk

akistan is no doubt among the developing

P countries but fortunately it has one of the

most intelligent and promising human
resources around the globe.
Unfortunately the people of Pakistan are suffering
from decades due to the poor administrations it
has voluntarily or under pressure has
encountered.
Peeping back through the window of political
history it is clear to see that none of the political
figure can be claimed reasonable and sincere after
the death of first Prime Minister of Pakistan. The
attitude of politicians towards the beloved sister
of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jannah is a
national dilemma. The corruption and alleged
conspiracy has thrown the country far behind its
contemporary nations such as China.
Sadly the political scenario of Pakistan has only
worsened with the passage of time. No one has
entered the political realm for the interest and
prosperity of people of Pakistan and those who
have enthusiastically come to rescue the people
had been brutally thrown out of the political
arena.
The irresponsible attitude of politicians is still
all the same. The precious emotional and vote
investment of people harvest them nothing and all
governments result in same conclusion.
After the elapsed of 20 months after the oath
taken by the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
on March 25, 2008, the government has remained
failed in appointing IT and Telecom Minister. The
total number of cabinet members or people with
the status of ministers has jumped to 70 but an
Still waiting for the boss
important Ministry is ignored. The federal
government has so far failed to appoint any The fast growing telecom and IT related investments and
suitable minister for the sector of IT and telecom. export revenue crossing USD 10 billion. The government
It is pertinent to mention that must appoint Minister of IT and telecom sector and
the IT Ministry of Information prepare strategy and introduce incentives to attract
Technology is an foreign investment in the country as recession in the
important ministry as it helps world and country is badly effected
government in
planning projects and to country is badly affected.
Pakistan has a promising telecom sector that
and Virtual University (UV).
Government of Pakistan has initiated a broad
launch different telecomm contributes millions in the growing economy of based consultative process to formulate national
unication and IT programmes the developing country. The charm of telecom
sector is not to fade away due to its ever-
IT policy for the next five years but did not
announce appoint the minister for crucial
according to world promising growth. As the number of mobile

standards. In the absence of

a telecom and IT Minister the
sector can not be governed
as smoothly as it should be
PTA Chairman Dr Mohammad Yasin said that
Pakistan telecommunication sector has been
growing faster than that of India with over 62 per
cent tele-density, encouraging the foreign direct
investment (FDI) so there is need to boost this
sector more but it is not possible when the high
profile intact in the telecom and IT Ministry even
Secretary Information Naguibullah Malik is not
telecom and IT qualified.
The fast growing telecom and IT related
investments and export revenue crossing USD 10
billion. The government must appoint Minister of
IT and telecom sector and prepare strategy and
introduce incentives to attract foreign investment
in the country as recession in the world and
14
subscribers has reached to more than 95.6 million
for the five operating cellular companies in the
country with a population of around 180 million
but there is no IT and telecom Minister.
It is pertinent to mention that the Ministry of
Information Technology is an important ministry
as it helps government in planning projects and to
launch different telecommunication and IT
programmes according to world standards. In the
absence of a telecom and IT Minister the sector can
not be governed as smoothly as it should be.
Fifteen departments are under the Ministry of
IT and telecom as Carrier Telephone Industries
(CTI), Electronic Certification Accreditation
Council (ECAC), Electronic Government
Directorate (EGD), National ICT R&D Fund,
National Radio, National Telecommunication
Corporation (NTC), Pakistan Computer Bureau
(PCB), Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB),
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited
(PTCL), Pakistan Telecommunications Mobile
Limited (PTML), Paknet, Special Communication
Organisation (SCO), Telecom Service Fund (USF)
Government of Pakistan has
initiated a broad based
consultative process to
formulate national IT policy
for the next five years but did
not announce to appoint the
minister for crucial ministry
ministry. It is not clear why the appointment has
not been made yet. Why the PPP led government
is delaying and ignoring the issue.
A stitch in time saves nine. Our government
has already failed in a number of fields and in case
it is still not interested in the mainstream issues of
various miniseries then no hope lies in the future.
The President and PM of Islamic Republic of
Pakistan must take instant notice of the vacancy
and fulfil the chair with the most appropriate and
promising person.

 Exclusive Flare Report
Essar Group to invest USD318 million in Warid Telecom Uganda and Warid Telecom Congo.
The Dhabi Group transaction is subject to regulatory approvals in the countries. Standard
Chartered Bank acted as exclusive financial advisor to the Dhabi Group
T
he Dhabi Group and the Essar Group
announced the signing of definitive
agreements for an investment by Essar
Group into the telecom assets of the
Dhabi Group in Uganda and Republic of Congo.
The agreements signed by His Highness
Sheikh Nahyan Mabarak Al Nahyan on behalf of
the Dhabi Group and Prashant Ruia, Group
Chief Executive Essar Group in Abu Dhabi. The
enterprise valuation of the Uganda and Congo
operations is collectively valued at USD 318
million.
The Abu Dhabi Group, one of the largest
business groups in the Middle East and the single
largest foreign investor in Pakistan has
diversified business interests, offering strong
financial resources and extensive management
expertise that result in commercial success for
several institutions.
The Abu Dhabi group's major investments are
in the following sectors: oil and gas exploration,
banking and financial services, automotive,
hospitality services, property development and
telecommunications. The Group has diversified
business interests with a focus on emerging
market opportunities in financial services,
telecommunications and real estate.
Dhabi Group and its consortia have banking
16 interests in Asia; its portfolio was expanded in
Free download | flare.com.pk
the United Arab Emirates and He is
the Chairman of Warid Telecom‚.
The Abu Dhabi Group's other
successful investments in Pakistan
include Bank Alfalah, United Bank
Limited, Taavun, Wateen Telecom
and Raseen Technologies.
The Essar Group has committed
growth capital to both telecom
operations to facilitate network
expansion and marketing. Upon
completion, the Essar Group will
acquire a majority stake in both the
assets. The partnership is also
expected to bring operational
efficiencies to the African operations.
HH Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al
Nahayan, Chairman of Dhabi Group,
said, “We are pleased to join hands
with a Group that both complements
and extends our synergies to expand
further into Africa. Warid has
expanded its Greenfield operations
to become credible competitors and
challengers in the market where it
operates; the time is now right for the
next stage of its growth and
evolution.”
Commenting on the occasion Mr
Prashant Ruia, Group Chief
Executive, Essar Group said, “Essar
2005 to include telecommunications services in is delighted to partner with the Dhabi Group to
Asia and Africa. Other business interests include expand Essar’s telecom operations in Uganda
real estate development, hotels, and and Congo. This is in line with Essar’s plan to be
manufacturing/diversified industrials. a part of the growing telecom market in Africa.
This transaction with the Dhabi Group augments
We are pleased to join our successful launch of telecom services in
Kenya under the brand ‘yu’ which was a
hands with a Group that stepping stone for Essar to expand its telecom
complements and extends footprint to the African continent.”
Essar's investment in Warid Telecom in Africa
our synergies to expand is a part of its strategic plans to grow its business
in Africa. This deal is a reflection of Essar's plans
further into Africa. Warid to increase its presence in the Middle East and
has expanded its Greenfield Africa regions as it explores business
opportunities by forging partnerships with
operations to become prominent business groups.
credible competitor and The Dhabi Group transaction is subject to
regulatory approvals in Uganda and Republic of
challenger in the market Congo. Standard Chartered Bank acted as
exclusive financial advisor to the Dhabi Group.
where it operates The Essar Group is a diversified business
corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets in
The Group aims to strengthen its reach and the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel,
diversify its portfolio through a series of strategic Energy, Power, Communications, Shipping Ports
partnerships that will help optimize its potential & Logistics, Projects, Construction, and Mining
in the emerging markets. & Minerals. With operations in more than 20
The Abu Dhabi Group is led by His Highness countries across five continents, the Group
Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan. His employs 60,000 people, with revenues of over
Highness is the Federal Minister for Education of USD 15 billion in FY08-09.

Free download | flare.com.pk Awais Munawwar InsighT

lectronic payments continued to show a

E rising trend as both the number and

value of such transactions increased in
the first quarter (July-September) of
2009-10 fiscal year (FY10).
According to State Bank’s First Quarterly
Report on Retail E-Payments and Paper Based
Instruments released on December 8, the volume
and value of E-payments transactions in the
country during the first quarter of FY10 reached
45.7 million and Rs3.9 trillion respectively;
showing an increase of 2.7 per cent in number
and 0.3 per cent increase in value as compared
to 11.1 per cent increase in number and 7.8 per
cent increase in value in the previous quarter.
The Report said the use of electronic channels
has showed a consistent growth, as during the
first quarter, contribution of electronic
transactions in total retail transactions increased
to 35.5 per cent in number compared to 34.2 per
cent share recorded during the previous quarter.
In terms of value, the electronic channel’s
composition recorded 10.13 per cent against 10.5
per cent share recorded in the previous quarter.
During the first quarter of FY10, the volume
and value of ATM transactions in the country
reached 26.8m and Rs206.4 billion respectively;
showing a growth of 6.1 per cent in number and
9.2 per cent increase in value as compared to 12.0
per cent increase in number and 12.2 per cent
increase in value in the previous quarter.
Whereas, the volume and value of online
banking transactions in the country recorded at
13.0 million and Rs3.6 trillion respectively; Most of the ATMs installed in the different areas of various banks
showing a decline of 4.6 per cent in number and were either out of cash or inoperative during Eidul Azha
0.4 per cent decline in value as compared to 10.8
per cent increase in number and 7.4 per cent as compared to 6.5 per cent increase in number Meanwhile, most of the automated teller
and 12.2 per cent increase in value in the machines (ATMs) installed in the different areas
During the first quarter of previous quarter. Similarly, during the first of various banks were either out of cash or
FY10, the volume and value quarter of FY10, the volume and value of credit
cards transactions recorded at 4.2 million and
inoperative during Eid ul Azha complain the
people. This makes a mockery of the State Bank
of credit cards transactions Rs18.6 billion respectively showing a decrease of of Pakistan’s (SBP) instructions to the banks that
recorded at 4.2 million and 7.1 per cent in number and 2.7 per cent decrease
in value as compared to 0.2 per cent decrease in
they should ensure availability of cash in ATMs
and proper functioning of the machines before
Rs18.6 billion respectively number and 0.9 per cent increase in value in the and during Eid days. As no bank staff was there
showing a decrease of 7.1 previous quarter.
According to the Report, the total number of
to repair faulty ATMs or refill empty machines
with cash due to Eid holidays, a great rush of
per cent in number and 2.7 Automated Teller Machines (ATM) during the people, mostly those planning last minute
first quarter reached 4,055 registering a growth shopping, was seen outside operational ATMs.
per cent decrease in value of 1.4 per cent as compared to 5.7 per cent “I’ve been waiting for my turn for the last 20
as compared to 0.2 per cent increase in the previous quarter. minutes. I think I’ll have to wait more to get a
The volume of Real Time Online Branches chance for withdrawing money,” said a principal
decrease in number and 0.9 (RTOB) reached 6,119 and recorded a growth of of academy, Umair Munawar standing in a long
per cent increase in value in 1.3 per cent as recorded in the previous quarter. queue outside an ATM in Bank Square. He said
The total number of POS terminal reached people preferred ATMs for cash withdrawal to
the previous quarter 51,685; showing an increase of 4.0 per cent in visiting banks for comfort.
number as compared to 2.7 per cent increase in Ayaan Ahsan complained that he had visited
increase in value in the previous quarter. previous quarter. three ATMs but they were either without cash or
The Report pointed out that during July- not working. Mazharul Haq said he was really
September 2009 quarter, the volume and value frustrated to see all the ATMs he had visited so
of Point of Sales (POS) transactions in the far without cash. “I’m to go shopping along with
country were recorded at 4.9 million and Rs26.7b the family but unavailability of enough money
respectively; showing an increase of 6.1 per cent is preventing me from doing so,” he said.
in number and 13.87 per cent increase in value He regretted the SBP’s failure to ensure
as compared to 6.3 per cent increase in number smooth flow of cash in ATMs despite
and 8.3 per cent increase in value in the previous instructions to the banks. He said telephone calls
quarter. made the bank helpline went unattended. People
According to the Report, the volume and demanded that the SBP ensure by all means
value of debit cards transactions reported at 28.1 availability of cash in ATMs and proper
million and Rs210.5 billion respectively in July- functioning of machines before and on special
September 2009; showing an increase of 0.2 per occasions including Eid days.

cent in number and 0.3 per cent increase in value 17
 Interview Flare Panel Free download | flare.com.pk

Shahid M. Murtaza
GM, Corporate Accounts & Enterprise Solutions,
Warid Telecom

Double penetration in 5 years

Shahid M. Murtaza is General Manager, Corporate Accounts, Enterprise Solutions & Training Devel-
opment of Warid Telecom Pvt Ltd. He is an accomplished banker having served with Habib Bank,
BCCI, National Bank and Bank Alfalah for more then three decades in Pakistan and abroad. He
holds B.Sc (Hons) and MBA (Finance) degrees from USA. Besides, he is a diploma associate of In-
stitute of Bankers in Pakistan and was conferred fellowship by the Institute of Bankers, Pakistan
Flare Panel: How will you encompass the Telecom industry is facing tough challenges due Solar power system integrated with energy storage
progress made by Warid? to stiff competition and reduction of tariff which has can also provide back up power during the worst
Shahid Murtaza: Warid Telecom which to be streamlined by right sizing the number of power outages. Every residential PV system reduces
remained on top and market leader for an initial operators and mutually agreeing on an acceptable greenhouse gas emission as much as removing one
period of around two years amongst its competitors level of tariff which can support the industry as well car from the road.
carries a subscriber base of more then 18.58 million as provide benefits to subscribers which I am sure FP: What contribution made by telecom
with the market share of 19.37 per cent (till Oct 09). would be beneficial to the growth in economy of the sector in the over all growth of economy?
Its total investment up to date is in excess of USD country. SM: The telecom industry has contributed
1.4 billion covering over 6250 destinations across the FP: How do you comment over recession significantly in country’s economy. The
country. Besides, it has also covered highways up affecting telecom Sector of Pakistan? contribution of telecom sector to the national
to 12500KM whereas cities and cell sites covered SM: Nonetheless, the telecom sector is expected
exchequer was more then Rs100 billion in the year
throughout the country are 486 and 4351. to be least affected by the recession as it is the
2008-09 on account of general sales tax, activation
Warid’s GSM/GPRS roaming partners around cheapest mean of communication for establishing
the world are 227 and 121 with roaming pre paid contacts with business partners in Pakistan and charges and other steps.
partners around the world exceeding 22. Through abroad. And I would say, in difficult times, people By March 2009, Pakistan had 91 million mobile
the most efficient and modern call centers located at communicate more with the people to establish/ subscribers - 25 million more subscribers than
Karachi and Lahore, an average of 211,110 continue their business links. reported in the same period 2008. In addition to
customers are entertained every 24 hours with an FP: The telecom sector around the world is 3.1 million fixed lines, while as many as 2.4 million
average speed of 38 seconds for providing focusing on green technology, what Warid has are using Wireless Local Loop connections.
satisfactory answer to each caller. done to fulfill its corporate social responsibility? Pakistan is on the verge of a telecom revolution
On an average, 7000 customers visit our 25 SM: Being a responsible company Warid has and it is by far the most attractive sector in
business centers each day. This commentary, I am played a significant role towards Socio Economic, Pakistan in terms of Foreign Direct Investment
sure, speaks volume of general perception of public moral and ecological issues. In Green Technology, coming into the country. Over the past 6 years, the
which they have about Warid Telecom. Warid is the first operator to bring green technology Pakistani telecom sector has attracted more than
FP: How do you anticipate the future of to Pakistan as we are in the process to deploy Solar $9 billion in foreign investments and Telecom
telecom sector in Pakistan? Powered Macro base Stations (BTS). The non industry created almost 80,000 jobs directly and
SM: The future of telecom sector is obviously Hybrid site is 100 per cent powered in solar energy 500,000 jobs indirectly.
linked with the overall economic scenario thereby reducing carbon dioxide emission and noise It also significantly helped the electronic and
prevailing in the country and it is anticipated that pollution both of which are unfriendly to the
print media in these days of recession as a
the present market penetration (teledensity) which environment.
significant portion of telecom operators budget is
is around 58 per cent is likely to be doubled in the This environment friendly solar powered
next five years or so provided there is an overall dedicated towards their marketing efforts and
Macro-BTS would allow us to extend our reach to
improvement in the economy and security situation the rural area of country where there is no drive to create awareness for different telecom
18 in the country. commercial power or frequent electricity failures. products and services.

 Telepedia Flare Report
The only opportunity easypaisa brings is of paying your bills
and frankly speaking after extension in the working hours of
banks the bill payments are no more an issue. One cannot
manage his or her bank account with the cell phone. You are
not able to make micro payments to your friends and
grocery stores with the virtue of your cell phone
he collaboration of telecom operators with
T
banks is opening new horizons of not only
innovated but also novel services. There
are so many ideas with which the telecom
sector has introduced the people with thanks to the
blooming banking sector. Almost all six cell phone
operators are using the facilities provided by the
banking sector to make the best of the capital
invested by the subscribers spread across the
nation.
We have seen a number of telco-bank offers but
here we are not going to discuss any other service
but the easypaisa put forward by the Telenor and
Tameer Bank. The press release provided by the
Telenor states:
On October 15, 2009: Telenor Pakistan and
Tameer Microfinance Bank together have
announced the launch of easypaisa, a uniquely
convenient and safe way for everyone to carry out
financial transactions. Easypaisa users will have the
freedom to make bill payments and send and
receive money at thousands of outlets and in
addition manage their bank accounts over their
mobile phones. Easypaisa combines the best from
the financial and mobile sectors, offering the first
branchless banking solution of its kind in Pakistan
and neighbouring countries.
To send money through ‘Money Transfer
The Sender needs to bring and provide the
following:
• His/her original and valid Nadra CNIC
along with one photocopy (mandatory)
• Receiving person’s valid Nadra CNIC
Number (mandatory)
• His/her own mobile phone number
20 (optional) & receiver’s mobile phone number
(optional)
If you have above mentioned three things,
simply go to any authorised easypaisa outlet and
do following:
• Tell retailer the amount of money and
provide up-mentioned three things
• Retailer will do the transaction using
his/her mobile phone (just like easy share), and
will ask you to enter a pass code or secret code to
enter. Do not tell this secret code to everyone
• Once transaction is done, you will be given
Tameer Microfinance Bank and Telenor are not
authorised to collect bills through easypaisa shops
28/10/2009: Lahore Electric Supply
Company (LESCO) has not authorized Tameer
Microfinance Bank alongwith Telenor to collect
electricity bills from its consumers through
easypaisa shops. LESCO spokesman said that
advertisements given in electronic and print
media by Microfinance Bank and Telenor
regarding utility bills are not clear. No
a Transaction ID and a hard copy of receipt
• Pay retailer the money plus service charges
(chart about service charges is given below)
• If the sender and receiver mobile phone
numbers are provided, both the sender and
receiver will be able to receive transaction
information via SMS message. You will not receive
pass code in SMS, just the transaction ID, amount
and CNIC numbers
Now give this Transaction ID and pass code
you entered to receiving party, and that’s it. You
Free download | flare.com.pk
are done with sending money.
Service Charges
After hearing what Telenor claims about
easypaisa is very pleasant to know that finally a
cellular mobile operator has realised the potential
of telecom sector in banking. But contrary to one’s
expectations, the easypaisa is not about making
mobile payments in term of managing one’s
finance, making payments through cell phone,
and many other countless facilities the service is
valid for a limited purpose.
One cannot manage his or her bank account
with the cell phone. You are not able to make
micro payments to your friends and grocery stores
with the virtue of your cell phone. The only
opportunity easypaisa brings is of paying your
bills and frankly speaking after extension in the
working hours of banks the bill payments are no
more an issue.
At the nationwide outlets of Telenor Temeer
Bank is accepting Gas, Electricity, Water and
PTCL bills. Was there any need to start such a
huge campaign of a service that has nothing
exceptional to offer? Telenor must realise that the
people it has targeted are not used to stand in line
to pay their bills anymore it is our peons who pay
it. Even if the middle to upper middle class goes to
pay the bill, they do not stand in line, and pay the
bill through ATM, NADRA Kiosk and even
through bank where they sometimes stand in a
short line inside the air conditioned premises.
Market your services to the peon not to the
elite. The companies must advertise in the Rs2
newspaper which the lower and lower middle
class reads, advertise in regional languages not in
English. Market it to those who do not dare to
enter a bank as it is too intimidating for them, this
is your real market.
agreement between LESCO and above
mentioned bank has been executed for collection
of electricity bills through easypaisa shops, he
added. The spokesman further said that LESCO
is taking the matter with Tameer Microfinance
Bank to stop collection of Electricity Bills of
LESCO consumers through Easypaisa Shops, if
any.
Telenor has spent a lot on the easypaisa but
truth to say that the service has not offered
anything new. The surcharge is very happy and
people will prefer to stand in a bank queue rather
than paying Rs58 for a transaction of Rs1000.
Telenor, instead of lavishly spending on
advertisement must focus on the service and
improve the utility of their service. Besides such
services must be started with the consent of
concerned authorities so no figure is pointed out
validity of the service.

Free download | flare.com.pk Flare Report Event

21
 Event Flare Report
USF awards Wateen and PTCL
projects worth Rs1.25 billion
PTCL and Wateen Telecom together will provide broadband internet services in
Abbottabad, Batagram, Haripur, Kohistan and Mansehra districts (17 towns) of HTR.
In addition to this, 145 educational broadband centres libraries and 21 community
broadband centres will be established in HTR
niversal Service Fund (USF) has
U awarded telecom contracts worth
Rs1.25 billion for providing Broadband
internet in the unserved urban areas of
Hazara Telecom Region (HTR) with PTCL and
Wateen Telecom and Optic Fibre connectivity to
unserved tehsils of Central Balochistan with
Wateen Telecom. SEVP Corporate Development,
PTCL, Sikandar Naqi and General Manager,
Wateen Telecom, Mazhar Qayyum Butt signed
these contracts with Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Universal Service Fund, Parvez Iftikhar. Secretary
Information Technology (IT), Naguibullah Malik
witnessed the signing ceremony as the chief guest.
In the Broadband project, PTCL and Wateen
Telecom together will be paid Rs266 million, out of
the Universal Service Fund (USF) that is collected
from contributions of licensed telecom operators,
to provide broadband internet services in
Abbottabad, Batagram, Haripur, Kohistan and
Mansehra districts (17 towns) of Hazara Telecom
Region (HTR). In addition to this, 145 educational
broadband centres will be established in higher-
secondary schools, colleges and libraries and 21
community broadband centres in the all the 17
towns of HTR. Six hundred thousand people live
in these small towns and cities.
Whereas, in the optic fibre project, Wateen
Telecom will be paid Rs986 million for laying more
than 1,100 Km of optic fibre in 11 unserved tehsils
(including six tehsil headquarters and five other
towns of Central Balochistan and three tehsil
headquarters and three other towns of Punjab).
Around 0.7 million (seven hundred thousand)
people who live in these Tehsils, will benefit from
22 this project.
On the occasion, Federal Secretary for
Information Technology, Naguibullah Malik said
that the Ministry of IT is striving to reinvigorate
and stimulate the ICT sector by increasing level of
telecom penetration in un-served areas of the
country. He informed that Ministry of IT, through
Universal Service Fund, has been successfully
executing rural-telecom, broadband and optic-fibre
programmes that are playing a huge role in socio-
economic development in rural and semi-urban
Pakistan. He further stated that Broadband and
Optic Fibre Programmes will give impetus to
provision of other e-services like e-education,
e-health, e-government, e-commerce etc.
The Universal Service Fund is
providing the impetus for
development in under-served
areas and Wateen’s commit-
ment to alleviate the digital
divide between the urban and
rural population is always one
step ahead of its competition
to meet such challenges
CEO of Universal Service Fund informed that
after signing of these projects, the total amount
committed by Universal Service Fund for various
projects has reached Rs11.4 billion. Out of 11.4,
broadband in four telecom regions (32 un-served
Districts) is costing 4.2 billion and four Optic fibre
projects (covering 41 unserved Tehsils) are costing
Free download | flare.com.pk
three billion rupees. The rest is being spent on
Rural Telecom Programme. He further informed
that Universal Service Fund continues to run rural
telecom projects in which more than 2,000
unserved villages have already been provided
service and work is in progress to provide telecom
services in another 6,000 un-served villages. He
informed that all amounts are disbursed
exclusively through open, transparent competitive
bidding process and all the bidding documents etc
are kept on USF website so that anyone in the
world can see at any time.
It is akin to Wateen’s vision to contribute
towards the development of our great country,
since Wateen’s corporate culture is to value people,
more than products or profits. With this spirit,
Wateen participated in the USF bidding process
and was awarded the contract for:
1. Optical Fibre network spanning 704km in
rural Sindh covering all districts in the province.
This is in addition to the already deployed optical
fibre network of over 1,000km in the province. This
project will be completed by June 2010.
2. Broadband Wireless network deployment in
districts of Sargodha. This project will be
completed soon.
3. Deployment of a 840km long optical fiber
network in the province of Balochistan.
No doubt, in the recent recession phase,
Pakistan’s telecom industry continues to take
positive steps towards the development of telecom
infrastructure in the country. The massive boom
for the mobile phone segment of telecom industry
has provided the momentum for expansion and
development in other segments of telecom as well,
especially in the rural areas of Pakistan.

 Telepedia Mushtaq Ghumman Free download | flare.com.pk

he government has decided to make it

T
fixed
mandatory for cellular phone companies
to contribute 0.5 per cent of their gross
revenue as research and development
(R&D) fund as is already being contributed by the
line companies like Pakistan
Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL),
sources close to Privatisation Minister told Flare.
"Uniform rate of R&D contribution of 0.5 per
cent is being approved for all fixed line and cellular
operators as this will maintain the spirit of fixed
line policy 2003 which states that none of the
licensees be at any position of disadvantage,"
sources said.
The Cabinet in its meeting on February 18, 2009
had considered the summary on equal treatment
for contribution in research & development (R&D)
fund for fixed line and mobile operators and had
constituted a committee comprising Minister for
Information, Minister for Privatisation, Minister
for Industries and Production, Minister for Science
and Technology, Minister for Interior and Prime
Minister's Special Assistant on Social Sector.
In the summary, the Ministry of Information
Technology (IT and Telecom Division) had stated
that under the de-regulation policy 2003, approved
by the Cabinet, all fixed licensees are required to
pay R&D fund contribution at one per cent of their
gross revenue minus mandatory deduction. Later,
the Cabinet in its meeting on January 28, 2004
Bolt from the blue
approved R&D contribution in respect of cellular
mobile operators at 0.5 per cent. The two rates for
two different service providers created an anomaly
which required redressal on the basis of equity and
0.5pc R&D imposed on
fairness.

All stakeholders/service
providers should be provided
level playing field and there
should be a uniform rate of
R&D fund levy for fixed oper-
ators - from one per cent to
0.5 per cent of annual gross
revenues as in the case of
cellular mobile operators
The committee held several meetings to discuss
the issues that were deliberated and discussed in
the Cabinet meeting which were twofold:
1) Gainful utilisation of ICT R&D fund; and
2) The issue of providing level playing field and
equal treatment for contribution in R&D fund for
fixed line and mobile operators.
After exhaustive discussions, it was resolved by
the committee that R&D fund could not be utilised
in areas other than ones in its charter. However,
Ministries of Science and Technology and
Information Technology were requested to hold
separate meetings to examine the possibility of
provision of funds for research projects being
undertaken under the aegis of the Ministry of
Science and Technology.
On the issue of equal treatment for contribution
in R&D fund by fixed line and cellular mobile
operators the committee was of the unanimous
view that all stakeholders/service providers
should be provided level playing field and there
should be a uniform rate of R&D fund levy for
fixed operators - from one per cent to 0.5 per cent
of annual gross revenues as in the case of cellular
mobile operators.
24 Giving the details, sources said that in view of
all mobile companies
this will maintain the spirit of fixed line policy 2003 which states
that none of the licensees be at any position of disadvantage
the importance of the indigenous development of
information and communication technology and
Resultantly, an anomaly in contribution of
R&D fund for fixed line licensees cropped up,
human resources, provisions for contribution for raised by Pakistan Telecommunication Company
R&D fund was made in the De-regulation Policy Limited (PTCL) and PTA. In view of requests of
2003, approved by the Cabinet. The policy required
all fixed line licensees to provide R&D fund
PTCL and PTA, the Ministry of Information and
Technology, a case was initiated for introduction
contribution @ 1 per cent of gross revenue, minus of uniform rate of 0.5 per cent for cellular as well
inter-operator and related Pakistan as fixed line operators, sources said.
Telecommunication Authority (PTA)/Frequency The President of PTCL also held a meeting
Allocation Board (FAB) mandated payments. with Minister for Investment Waqar Ahmad Khan
In addition, clause 7.2 of the fixed line de- and raised the issue of disparity in R&D
regulation policy highlights that the same contributions between the fixed and cellular
treatment be given to cellular operators as well, operators. Ministry of Investment referred the case
while formulating Cellular Policy. Clause 7.2 of to Ministry of Information Technology (MolT)
fixed line policy, reads as, "Under proposed new with the observation that the case of PTCL
policy framework, in order to ensure that fixed line required immediate attention for its resolution
telephone licensees are not placed in a position of and provision of uniform treatment in connection
disadvantage, the cellular licensees would also be
with the R&D contribution.
required to contribute toward R&D and Universal
The Ministry of Information Technology has
Service Fund (USF) in the same manner as fixed
submitted a summary to the Cabinet, proposing
line licensees". Similar treatment was given to fixed
that the Cabinet should consider uniform R&D
line licensees and cellular operators in the case of
contribution of 0.5 percent for all fixed line and
USF. Licensees were required to pay 1.5 per cent
cellular operators to maintain the spirit of para 7.2
of their adjusted gross revenues in the USF.
of fixed line policy 2003 which envisages that none
The cellular mobile policy prepared and later
of the licensees be at any disadvantage.
approved by the Cabinet in its meeting on January
Sources said that after approval by the Cabinet,
28, 2004 stated, "R&D contribution would be @ 0.5
which is scheduled to meet on November 18, 2009,
per cent of gross revenue minus inter-operator and
fixed line de-regulation policy clause 4.2.3.5 LL
related PTA/FAB mandated payments to the R&D
licensees will devote 0.5 percent of gross revenue
fund". This contribution percentage was based on
minus inter-operator and related PTA/ FAB
the rationale of fast anticipated growth in cellular
mandated payments to national ICT
wireless sector. However, along with this lower
R&D fund. The existing licencees will be
contribution by cellular operators the percentage
offered the new rate with immediate effect,"
reduction in proportionate contribution by fixed
sources added.

line licensees did not get their attention.
Free download | flare.com.pk
obilink, a subsidiary of the
M Orascom Telecom Group, is
Pakistan’s leading cellular and
Blackberry service provider.
Mobilink maintains market leadership through
cutting-edge, integrated technology and the
country’s largest voice and data network with
over 7,800 cell sites covering more than 10,000
locations.
Housing Pakistan’s largest distribution and
contact centre networks and an unparalleled
6,500 kilo meters fibre optic backbone, Mobilink
has invested, to date, over USD 2.5 billion and
provides uninterrupted countrywide
connectivity, unmatched customer services and
international roaming in over 130 countries.
As a responsible corporate citizen, in
addition to ensuring employees well-being,
Mobilink aims to support education and health
initiatives, protect the environment and promote
sustainable business practices. It also offers a
range of products and services dedicated to
enhance access to information. The company is
also the official Telecom service provider for the
Pakistan Cricket Board.
Mobilink registered stable revenues in terms
of local currency for the first three quarters of
2009 with EBITDA reaching Rs22.77 billion, an
increase of 5.1 per cent over the corresponding
period last year.
Mobilink, which earned Rs64.1 billion for the
nine months of 2009, has managed to keep
revenues stable in local currency terms despite
rising inflation and an overall
stressful economic environment. Moreover, the
Average Revenue Per User was also up by
approximately 9 per cent for Q3 2009 as
compared to Q3, 2008.
According to the third quarter 2009
consolidated results issued by parent company
Orascom Telecom Holding, Mobilink also saw
an investment of USD 128 million for the first
three quarters of 2009.
It is worth noting here that Mobilink has
added over 0.9 million subscribers in Q3, 2009
making the total number of subscribers
30,046,050. According to statistics available on
PTA web site, this is the highest number of net
additions for the period and constitutes more
than 50 per cent of the industry incremental as
compared to June 2009.
Commenting on OTH financial results,
Naguib Sawiris, Chairman OTH, said the
performance of Orascom Telecom in the first
nine months of 2009 has seen an improving
trend over the course of the year as local
currencies in most of our key operations have
stabilised against the USD adding, “The
situation in Pakistan, while improving, is still
complicated mainly as a result of political,
economical and security related issues. In local
currency terms the performance of Mobilink is
however, encouraging as we have seen revenues
stabilise and EBITDA grow year on year,
The Average Revenue Per
User was also up by
approximately 9 per cent
for Q3 2009 as compared
to Q3, 2008
reverting the negative trend witnessed up to
Q2.”
Rashid Khan, President and CEO, Mobilink
shared, “As a company on the forefront of
innovation, we are pleased that Mobilink
continues to provide the Pakistani consumers
with the best coverage, quality and rates. This is
one of the key reasons why we are Pakistan’s
largest cellular family and still growing.”
According to the statement, OTH net income
has reached USD 365 million (LE 2,108 million),
growing six per cent over the
previous year. Q3 2009 Net income increased 62
per cent over previous quarter.
Orascom’s total subscribers approach 89
million, an increase of 12.1 per cent over
Flare Report Telepedia
September 2008.
Orascom unlikely to indulge in Pakistan
mergers
Egyptian operator Orascom Telecom's
(ORTE.CA) chairman, Naguib Sawiris, said he
saw need for consolidation in the Pakistan
mobile market but his company was unlikely to
participate because it was the market leader.
"I don't think it is good for me to increase
dominance in Pakistan," Sawiris said at an
investor conference, adding he also expected to
see consolidation in Bangladesh.
Norwegian operator Telenor is the number
two operator in Pakistan after Orascom's
Mobilink.
Separately, Telenor finance director Trond
Westlie said it was open for in-market
consolidation in Pakistan but declined to
comment on rumours it was planning to buy
smaller rival Warid Telecom.
Orascom has its biggest operations in
Algeria, Pakistan and Egypt but is also active in
Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
Egyptian billionaire Sawiris took a swipe at
rivals looking for growth in African or Indian
markets. "I hate it when CEOs say their focus is
on emerging markets in Africa. "What? How?
There is nothing out there, we looked. Why do
you think we go to Korea?"
Orascom Telecom Holdings runs
a mobile network in North Korea,
where Sawiris is betting North and
South Korea
will eventually reunite. "I went to Korea to
invest and when they reunite I will profit.
Did anyone ever think the two
Germanys would reunite?"
Sawiris, who this week stepped down as
Orascom CEO, also said he could not
understand why operators would still consider
entering the Indian market.
"If a man wants to be suicidal and
challenge Reliance, Bharti, Vodafone,
be my guest at $1 ARPU (average revenue per
user)," Sawiris said, adding it was against his
25
nature to be diplomatic.

 InsighT Flare Report
Email etiquettes
an aspect of professionalism
mail etiquette and manners have been
E around for years, but they are far more
important in this age than ever before.
Implementing proper email etiquette
into daily cyber communication should be a
custom for everyone. A person, who displays
proper etiquette while writing an email message,
not only feels good about himself he also makes
those around him feel important and respected.
Email etiquettes are important in a social
environment, as well as in a business setting.
Displaying proper email etiquette will get you
noticed and, obviously, being noticed is great in
many aspects.
Netiquettes
‘Netiquettes’ is the name given to the email
etiquettes by the cyber gurus, which means the
etiquettes of communication via internet.
Although netiquettes concerns all the various
customs and conventions we follow when
writing and sending messages through internet,
but in this article we will particularly discuss the
emailing etiquettes of both the current employees
and the job seekers.
People normally adopt email etiquettes by
observing what others do, and gradually
incorporate their actions into our own
communications. We expect that after reading
this article you would be able to develop your
own style of writing an effective email.
Basic manners of communication
“Please” and “Thank You” are two simple
words, yet they carry a great deal of meaning and
are very powerful. These words are the basic
etiquettes of communication and are potentially
influential on the sender’s image. People may not
notice these words when they are mentioned, but
26 if you forget to use them, you will look
disrespectful and ungrateful.
Be brief and concise
When writing an email for either a potential
employer or a current boss, try to be to-the-point.
Get to the subject of conversation as quickly and
briefly as possible. However, in doing so, please
do not leave out necessary details.
Accurate spelling and grammar
Accurate spellings and correct
grammar are one of the most essential
elements of email etiquettes. Do not try
to guess the spellings of a word. Use the
spell-checker; however, do not rely
entirely on it. Good grammar is equally
important. Usage of incorrect spellings
or grammar in the email leaves an idea
of an incompetent or careless
correspondent.
Subject line
Write the subject line in such a way that it
summarises the body of the e-mail. While writing
the subject line, ask yourself, ‘will the recipient
know what this e-mail is all about’. A well-
written subject line makes it easier for the
receiver to understand the essence of the
message.
Do not use abbreviations
Usage of abbreviations in emails, sent from
either a professional or a job seeker makes your
message look awkward and unprofessional.
People use ‘U’ instead of ‘you’, ‘plz’ instead of
‘please’, and ‘thanx’ instead of ‘thank you’. It is
fine to use abbreviations for personal emails or
chat, but business email should have a formal
format. Of course, frequently used abbreviations
such as Mr. and Mrs., FYI, FYC, inc., and etc., are
fine, but usage of slang language is not
appropriate.
Free download | flare.com.pk
A decent email address
Take a look at your email address. Is it
appropriate enough to be sent to a prospective
employer? Email addresses like
prettygirl@isp.com are awkward and ridiculous
for professional usage. Try to get a more formal
address; perhaps your first initial and last name
would be good. If do not want to change it for
some reason, consider making a separate one for
professional use only. In case, you are working
at a place and have a company registered email
account, you are advised not to use it for job
hunting purposes; use a personal account only.
Forgetting attachments
If the reason for sending an email is to send a
file, remember to include it. Professionals and job
hunters, both sometimes forget to attach files,
which results in absolute embarrassment. One
strategy of avoiding such a blunder is to attach
the file before writing the email.
Tone of communication
No matter who you are sending the email to,
the pitch or tone of your professional
communication should be moderate and
respectable. Avoid writing your message using
all upper case letters. It looks like you are
shouting out your message. Also, do not use all
lower case letters as it will make your email
sound like you are mumbling. Email writers
often use ‘emoticons’ to convey a certain tone. If
you write to someone frequently and you have a
less formal relationship then emoticons are okay.
Confidentiality of the email
One should realise that emails are never
confidential. It is laughably easy for others to
read the contents of your email without your
knowledge or permission. So, it is advised to
avoid writing anything obnoxious or absurd in
the emails.
Also, if you are working in a company and are
using their official account, it becomes more
likely that every email that you send and receive
is scanned for certain words that are held
‘unacceptable’. Emails with such content are
isolated and are kept in a record. People can be
restricted or even fired if continue to send or
receive these kinds of emails frequently.
Replying to an email
Writing a reply to an email is also very
important and requires much concentration. Do
not ‘Reply to All’, unless it is necessary. Perhaps
only selected people need to see your email. Also,
when replying to an e-mail, use the ‘Reply’
option in order to keep the message in the
‘thread’, and make it easier for the recipient to
follow-up
An email may be your introduction to
someone you have never met before. Job seekers
should keep in mind what a prospective
employer might think on receiving a poorly
written message, because your correspondence
says a lot about you and your personality. Under
no circumstances should you use offensive
language. Make sure that you paint your picture
as a respectful, friendly and approachable person
in the receiver’s mind. Take your time putting
together a proper and well-written message and
read it over several times before you send the
email. Sometimes, just rearranging your
paragraphs helps a lot.

Courtesy: Rozee.com.pk
 Exclusive Fatima Batool Free download | flare.com.pk

28
Free download | flare.com.pk Fatima Batool Exclusive

29
 Exclusive Mahmood Hussain
Intrusion through the air
Being the state run medium, great responsibility rests with PBC.
Can the organisation enjoy the luxury to lease out its
transmitters to an alien broadcasting network is a big question
that needs answer from Solangi and those at the helm of affairs
at the ministry of information and broadcasting
t a recent meeting of the Senate
A Standing Committee on Information
and Broadcasting the Director
General, Pakistan Broadcasting
Corporation (PBC) Murtaza Solangi told that
Voice of America programmes are broadcast by
his organisation under an agreement. He said
that PBC Peshawar broadcasts VOA
programmes for four hours a day while 11 FM
channels air its programmes for one hour daily.
Solangi who is said to be a friend of President
Asif Ali Zardari had never been an employee of
PBC nor hails from any ministry. He is however
a former employee of Voice of America and now
part of Pakistan government and chief executive
of a sensitive organisation like PBC.
A board of directors nominated by the
government of Pakistan runs the organisation he
heads. It is strange that the PBC board had
resolved to hand over its airwaves over the
sensitive tribal belt and other areas of NWFP to
the Americans. In addition to using PBC
transmitters the American are also broadcasting
for the area through satellite whose signals are
far better and clear than PBC. Under the deal,
VOA will use PBC equipment and transmitters
in Peshawar, Islamabad, and Lahore to distribute
VOA material in Pashto and Urdu on medium
and FM waves.
The federal cabinet has ratified the agreement
between PBC and the VOA. Which will force
millions of people in all parts of Pakistan to listen
to the VOA’s popular news and information
programmes as signals of other PBC stations are
not stronger enough in many areas. So the VOA
would enjoy easy access to the Pakistani
population in addition to BBC radiating from the
30 island of Masirah in the Gulf.
Whole of Pakistan especially the tribal areas
in the north and Balochistan are currently going
through a critical stage. The broadcast from
Peshawar are especially sensitive because their
target areas cover the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas where an open war is going on
between the armed forces of Pakistan and the
militants that include a sizeable number of
foreigners.
A situation through which the country is
passing these days demands careful crafting of
media policy. Being the state run medium great
responsibility rests with PBC. Can the
organisation enjoy the luxury to lease out its
transmitters to an alien broadcasting network is
Two US propaganda radio
channels, Deewa Radio in
Pashto and Urdu-language
programme Radio Aap Ki
Dunyaa will now reach more
parts of Pakistan with
stronger signals
a big question that needs answer from Solangi
and those at the helm of affairs at the ministry of
information and broadcasting.
Right from its inception on August 14, 1947,
the track record of PBC or Radio Pakistan, its
sign call, had been excellent. On each and every
difficult occasion despite limited resources, the
editors, producers and engineers of Radio
Pakistan had stood to the test of time. They had
informed and educated the masses and grabbed
Free download | flare.com.pk
their attention through standard entertainment
programmes thus creating a sense of confidence
amongst the masses. In the post partition period,
when the greatest migration of the history took
place in the sub-continent in the aftermath of
large scale anti Muslim riots in India, Radio
Pakistan was the only medium that had created
a sense of confidence and a ray of hope amongst
the people.
With only three low powered medium wave
transmitters, two in West Pakistan at Lahore and
Peshawar and one in East Pakistan at Dacca the
then Pakistan Broadcasting Service (later
renamed as Radio Pakistan) having resources
almost nil not only discharge its professional
obligations but also created confidence and a
sense of belongings among the people.
In the later years radio Pakistan did well
during the 1965 and 1971 conflicts with India and
on other occasions.
In our tribal belt, you can hardly catch the
signals of PTV News, the state run channel, but
even then it was deemed appropriate to give
VOA three transmitters to unleash US
propaganda inside this small patch of Pakistan.
The deal to lease out PBC transmitters to VOA
is bound to generate anger when the government
is yet to fully recover from accusations of a sell-
out on the Kerry-Lugar Act. In fact PBC is short
of frequencies to take its own population into
confidence that is being diverted towards foreign
media. In 2006, the United States set up a
transmitter in Afghanistan for the radio
broadcast of US political and military
propaganda in that occupied country. Four years
later, this propaganda moves to Pakistan.
The irony is that Pakistan, which disputes
unverified US claims that terrorist camps exist
deep inside Pakistan in Quetta and Muridke, will
now be allowing a US government financed
propaganda arm to say as much using
transmitters owned by the Government of
Pakistan and directed at Pakistani citizens.
Two US propaganda radio channels, Deewa
Radio in Pashto and Urdu-language programme
Radio Aap Ki Dunyaa will now reach more parts
of Pakistan with stronger signals. Since there are
major differences of opinion between Islamabad
and Washington over how to manage America's
floundering Afghanistan occupation, it is yet to
be seen how the Pakistani government will
tolerate if the two foreign propaganda radio
channels aired material that contradicts official
Pakistani position.
It should be remembered that Deewa Radio
and Radio Aap Ki Dunyaa are part of the US
government's information warfare effort
targeting certain regions where US has strategic
interest.

The writer is former Controller News and
Current Affairs, Radio Pakistan and can be
reached at mahmoodhussainisb@yahoo.com
 InsighT Farooq Malik Free download | flare.com.pk

answers in addition to the username and password.

Is online banking safe? One will be forced to answer this question in case
one is accessing the account from a
different/unrecognised computer. This provides
additional security.
In this age, online banking has become an indispensable Thwarting phishing: One should avoid
facility for people who are hard pressed for time and find it logging into one's account via a link that has been
received in an incoming email requesting a change
difficult, if not impossible, to reschedule their busy lives for of username or password. This may help ward off
phishing.
the sake of making a few withdrawals and deposits In addition to these measures, one should
remember that not all banks operating on the
URL Beginning with "https://": The website's
URL should begin with "https://" rather than
"http://" since the former allows the user to log in
by creating a secure channel over an unsecured
network.
Safe access: One should avoid accessing the
online bank account from public computers. One
should also avoid accessing the account via a public
WiFi from one's laptop. Moreover, a home network
ensures safe and secured online banking services.
Choosing a strong password: A strong
password that is at least 8 characters long and uses
a combination of upper and lower case letters,
number and symbols, is ideal.
Choosing security questions: Most bank sites
allow the user to choose security questions and

nline banking is the facility of banking

O
via internet. However, most people are
unsure of whether online banking is
really safe.
Online banking allows people to undertake
traditional banking activities like account
transfers, payment of bills and requests for
stopping payments, via the internet. Customers
can also keep tabs on the account balance from the
comfort of their home.
An online bank account is accessed with the
help of a username and a password. On divulging
this information to an impostor, the customer
ceases to have control over the online account. The
username and the password can be obtained by a
trickster in one of the following ways:
Phishing: Phishing is the attempt to acquire
potentially sensitive information via email, instant
messages, cell phones or through fraudulent web
sites and social networking web sites. Generally, a
link spoofing the authentic bank web site is sent
via email, by scammers, to unsuspecting
customers forcing the latter to divulge confidential
information like username and password.
Malicious software: Internet address
redirection, which results in redirecting customers
to a copycat web site that closely resembles the
original site, occurs when malicious software has
sneaked into the computer. Hackers may also use
a malware programme such as keylogger that
allows them to monitor the key strokes. The
username and the password can thus be obtained
surreptitiously.
Weak wireless network security: Most people
who access the internet from their home, are not
tech savvy. They may inadvertently allow others
to access their wireless network and retrieve
confidential information.
There are some practices that one can adapt to
make secure online banking.
Using virtual keyboards: Banks provide the
option of using the virtual keyboard as a measure
to counteract keylogging malware. The customer
should always use the virtual keyboard instead of
34 the physical keyboard.
SBP, PTA to trigger mobile banking
We hope that this understanding will encourage innovative technological
products which would ultimately enhance outreach of financial services
in the country
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
agreed to introduce a unified regulatory framework
for enhancing mobile banking in the country.
It has been decided to set up a Joint Regulatory
Committee, said a joint statement released after a
meeting held at the SBP, Karachi between Syed
Salim Raza, SBP Governor and Dr Mohammed
Yaseen, PTA Chairman.
This committee will have members from both
the SBP and PTA and it will introduce a unified
regulatory framework for the third party solution
provider (TPSP) system. It will propose
modification in existing regulatory/legal
framework, if needed.
Further, an M-banking Stakeholders Group
(including mobile network operators, financial
institutions, Ministry of Information Technology,
PTA, SBP, TPSP/integrators) is also proposed to be
set up, which would address technical standards,
product & services, licensing regime, relevant
operational issues, etc.
internet are insured by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC). FDIC insured
banks guarantee deposits less than USD100,000.
Many banks, chartered overseas, are not FDIC
insured.
The internet continues to gain its popularity
worldwide. Banks and other financial companies
have enhanced internet connections to provide
excellent financial service to their clients. In spite
of basic internet flaws, online banking is still
considered to be a safe way to access your bank
account. Safe online banking is feasible if you
make sure that your personal computer is
protected against high rates of internet threats. It’s
necessary for you to find out about security
measures that you could make use of.
Mobile banking services are increasingly being
provided by financial institutions in collaboration
with mobile operators around the world to increase
outreach, generate additional revenues, reduce
costs and increase customer satisfaction. Mobile
banking offers a variety of financial/non- financial
functions, including merchant payments, utilities
bills payments, fund transfers, and remittances etc.
The synergy likely to be created by the financial
institutions, mobile operators and other partners
will bear very promising results.
In Pakistan, such innovative services have been
possible through introduction of Branchless
Banking Regulations (BBRs) by State Bank.
Subsequent to BBRs, the Ministry of Information
Technology issued Policy Directives to PTA to
prepare a framework on technical implementation
of BBRs. By assessing the potential of partnership
between banks and mobile operators, it is felt that
there is a need for a joint platform of both regulators
(SBP and PTA) for achieving the very purpose of
these regulations.
 Technobabble Ismail Qureshi Free download | flare.com.pk

A
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is a
computer that fits in your hand. These
small computers are sometimes called
palmtops and are a great way to store
telephone numbers, email addresses, access the
internet, make calculations, keep a digital calendar
and play games.
Today's PDA is very small in size, fits
comfortably in a pocket and generally has good
battery life which allows you to recharge the device
at night or when at the office. A PDA usually
includes a small screen usually bigger than a digital
phone, however smaller than the smallest laptop, a
small QWERTY keyboard that is made for thumb
typing and a stylus which is a metal or plastic pen to
input data or communicate with the device by a
touch pad screen.
While components and specifications change
throughout the years, today you can find PDA's
with lots of RAM memory, storage in either
miniature hard drives or compact flash cards or
sticks and some can be expanded by a PC card that
fits into a PCMCIA slot. Newer palmtop computers
have USB ports to plug in a variety of peripherals

How to buy a PDA

to use with your PDA.
A PDA is a great tool to stay organised. They are
very popular with road warriors, corporate
professionals, college students, etc. There are many
different types of palmtop computers that range in
price and features. For instance, you can purchase a
palmtop computer that fulfils basic requirements
such as telephone and address book, calendar,
calculator and other travel functions for less than
USD100. Most of these low end palmtop computers
also include infrared synching which means that
you can send and receive data from your palmtop
computer to a host of other computers.
A moderately priced PDA includes extra
functions such as a colour screen, large amounts of
memory and storage capabilities, USB port and can
play video games. If you are looking for a high end
palmtop computer, you will find almost every
available option loaded onto these super high tech
devices including a wireless phone, mp3 player, the
ability to handle large files, lots of memory,
Bluetooth capability, etc. The top of the line palm
top computers are usually priced at about USD450
to USD800.
Increasingly speedy processors are suddenly
bringing the much-hyped "instant information at
the touch of a button" cliché a lot closer to reality.
Sharper, more energy-efficient colour screens that
equal high-end notebooks in image quality are
becoming more widely available.
Three different types of PDAs exist now: the
organiser with some PC features (Palm); the
handheld PC with organiser features (Pocket PC);
and the wireless e-mail/pager with organiser
features (RIM BlackBerry). Though these platforms
used to be distinct, the boundaries have blurred.
36 Some formerly BlackBerry-exclusive functions, such
PDA can suggest the operating system you should
choose. Palm OS--based devices--such as PDAs
from Palm, HandEra, Handspring, and Sony--domi-
nate the PDA market because of the operating
system's simplicity
as persistent connections, have found their way into
Palms (the Palm I705), and numerous Palm and
Pocket PC-type apps have crept into BlackBerry
systems.
Unlike Windows or the Pocket PC OS, the Palm
OS cannot multitask: It opens just one app at a time.
Unless you use a third-party synchronisation utility,
the Palm OS will synchronise appointments and
contacts only with its proprietary PC PIM, the Palm
Today, you can find great
features on many palmtop
computers including
internet access, the ability
to send and receive email
and files, mp3 player with
onboard storage and game
playing functions. Some a
wireless phone
Desktop; most Palm OS vendors bundle an Outlook
filter to sync with that desktop PIM. You will need
Dataviz's Documents to Go, Cutting Edge
Software's Quickoffice, or similar software to create
and edit Microsoft Office-compatible documents on
a Palm OS device.
Microsoft's Pocket PC is basically a considerably
shrunken version of its desktop Windows OS and
includes Pocket PC versions of Microsoft Office
applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel, and
PowerPoint that let you create and edit documents
as you would on your desktop. The integrated
Windows Media Player handles MP3, WMA, and
other multimedia files. Pocket PCs are available
from Casio, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, and Toshiba,
among other vendors.
The RIM BlackBerry OS is primarily a wireless
e-mail system that synchronises e-mail messages
and calendar items with the major enterprise-
collaboration environments, Microsoft Exchange
(Outlook) and Lotus Domino (Notes).
Basic organiser functions (appointments, alarms,
contact lists, tasks, and memos) use a fraction of the
8MB of RAM that most Palm OS PDAs hold. Colour
applications require more memory, however, and
adding third-party utilities and games quickly eats
up RAM, so look for a 16MB Palm OS device if you
plan to load lots of extra programmes. Apps on
Pocket PC devices require even more memory,
especially to play audio or video; consider a unit
with more than the minimum 32MB of RAM,
preferably 64MB. You will still need an external
memory card as well, to load your digital music and
images on.
Most PDAs other than BlackBerry devices carry
external expansion slots to accommodate additional
storage in the form of CompactFlash cards, Secure
Digital cards, or Memory Sticks. (Early Handspring
models included a proprietary Springboard module
slot.) These slots can also hold add-ons such as
cameras, MP3 players, phones, and GPS mapping
antennas.
The handwriting recognition capabilities on
Palms and Pocket PCs have improved over the
years, and all PDAs come with a virtual hunt-and-
peck on-screen keyboard. Still, many users have
turned to one of the numerous third-party add-on
keyboards. Some enterprising vendors such as Sony
and Handspring have put thumb keyboards on
their latest PDAs--without eliminating styluses--so
you can choose the method of input you prefer. n
Free download | flare.com.pk
IMEI-less handsets offer
potential threat
The lack of unique IMEI numbers has made it impossible to
detect the suspected calls from a specific handset. It was further
learnt that IMEI series allocation happens only in hardware type
approval. Moreover, these Chinese handsets are fully functional
and only lack IMEI programming because Chinese
manufacturers are usually not registered companies thus no
IMEI range is allocated to the product
huge numbers of Chinese-made
A handsets are available in the market of
the country that imported or smuggled
without valid International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI) that has posed serious
threats to the national security.
It was found that the lack of unique IMEI
numbers has made it impossible to detect the
suspected calls from a specific handset. It was
further learnt that IMEI series allocation happens
only in hardware type approval. Moreover, these
Chinese handsets are fully functional and only
lack IMEI programming because Chinese
manufacturers are usually not registered
companies thus no IMEI range is allocated to the
product.
The government of Pakistan has yet not
initiated any plan to combat this issue. On the
other hand Indian media has reported that as
many as 25 million Chinese handsets were
blocked in India available without valid IMEI
numbers. It was reported that the move came after
The Department of Telecommunications, India
(DoT) had instructed the operators to block cell
phones without a valid IMEI number.
In this regard several phone sellers have
confirmed that the Chinese handsets are usually
the duplicate of branded phones. These mobile
phones are without IMEI numbers which are
typically low-end handsets manufactured by the
small Chinese phone manufacturers who cut their
costs by skipping the IMEI programming stage.
They were of the view that cellular companies and
manufacturers in the country are heeding to adopt
the prerequisites in this regard but they have yet
to streamline mobile connection ownership issues.
"Let's not expect any super natural thing in
Pakistan regarding this in near future,"
Flare Report Telepedia
One more thing beneficial
for the potential terrorists
are that the Chinese
mobiles, besides having
cheap prices, are not
durable and mostly they
expired within a year. It must
be mentioned that earlier in
President Musharraf's
regime the cellular traders
had imported Chinese
mobiles in bulk quantity
because at that time duty on
a cell phone was just Rs120
commented an official. He further said that the
cellular operators in India had offered such
subscribers to either discard their handsets or
bring them to official outlets of cellular companies
to re-programme their IMEI numbers.
It is pertinent to mention that Chinese-made
handsets are the continuous headache for the
branded mobile phone manufacturers like Nokia,
Samsung and others. The sales of branded phones
have been impacted significantly after the low-
cost Chinese handsets had penetrated into the
Pakistani and other developing markets.
The phone sellers take it as a positive thing
about the Chinese mobile phones that they do not
get snatched nor they can be blocked through
IMEI number. Considering such fact, the branded
companies are now thinking to tackle this
technical presentation of Chinese mobiles and for
that matter Nokia 5310 is provided with small
speakers.
Another shortcoming of these Chinese
handsets, which goes against both the government
and buyers, are the warranties. The warranties of
six months or one-year for Chinese mobile phones
are fake and home-made which are given by the
pseudo companies at the rate of Rs50 for six
months. The Chinese companies do not give any
warranty so whatever sort of warranty is given to
the customer is just the shopkeepers' warranty,
which is not reliable in any case.
One more thing beneficial for the potential
terrorists are that the Chinese mobiles, besides
having cheap prices, are not durable and mostly
they expired within a year. It must be mentioned
that earlier in President Musharraf's regime the
cellular traders had imported Chinese mobiles in
bulk quantity because at that time duty on a cell
phone was just Rs120.
The China made handsets are of potential
hazard to the sovereignty of a country. The
government of Pakistan just like the Indian
government must ban the Chinese handsets to
ensure the safety of nationals.
Pakistan is already suffering from terrorism in
almost all nooks and corners. The government
must design strategy to curb the anti-Pakistan
elements to give a better future to the coming
generations and the best way to do this is to ban
all those anti-agents that are present in Pakistan
and are making use of illicit ways to fulfil their ill
motives.
37
 InsighT Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

he internet global supermarket is

T booming because people and businesses

are looking for bargains and new
outlets in bad times, a new report says.
This great global shopping mall can only
expand rapidly as mobile phone use explodes,
the Chinese get involved and advertisers jump
in, the OECD forecasts. But the e-trade
revolution is being held back by hidden
frontiers, ranging from concerns over privacy of
personal information, language problems,
delivery costs and taxation and regulation
barriers.
As the Christmas spending spree, vital to
many retailers and manufacturers around the
world, gets under way, the OECD also
highlights other worries for consumers. For
example, Santa Claus may never turn up with
the goods, or the purchases may be defective, or
payment details may be stolen.
These are among the obstacles to increase
cross-border trade, paradoxically even within
the European Union, which the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development lists in
a report on a conference under the heading:
"Empowering e-consumers."
The report found that the financial crisis had
breathed new life into electronic commerce,
with sales rising in Europe, the United States
and China at a time when the store-based retail
sector struggles as consumers' disposable
income shrivels.
"The financial and economic crisis appears to
be giving e-commerce a boost as consumers
E-Commerce in bad times
search for ways to reduce expenditures by
purchasing items online," the OECD said,
adding: "The savings can be substantial."
The financial crisis had breathed new life into
e-commerce, with sales rising in Europe, the United
OECD has warned that the States and China at a time when the store-based
future of e-commerce is not retail sector struggles as consumers' disposable
entirely secure, income shrivels
maintaining that its fate
“depends for a large part on cent rise in transaction volume in February misleading practices as key constraints. Last
the level of confidence that compared with a year earlier.
Helping to spur electronic commerce is the
year 33 per cent of EU consumers purchased
products online but only 7.0 per cent bought
consumers have in on-line growth in mobile phone use. The number of goods from another country, the report said.
mobile phone subscribers grew at an average While many countries have e-commerce laws
shopping” rate of 30 per cent a year from 1993 to 2007 in and regulations, such practices risk becoming
the 30 industrialised economies in the OECD. outdated given the speed at which new
It cited a study showing that shoppers in But the OECD warned that the future of e- products and services are created. The study
Britain, Germany and France can save 17 per commerce is not entirely secure, maintaining found that most countries, apart from the
cent by buying electronic goods, DVDs and that its fate "depends for a large part on the level United States, do not have specific regulations
clothing on online trading platforms rather than of confidence that consumers have in on-line to protect the privacy of children.
in physical stores. In the United States on-line shopping." It said many online retailers ask consumers
sales for 80 retailers rises an average of 11 per It noted that half the cross-border complaints to confirm their age simply by ticking a box,
cent in the first quarter of the year, according to and disputes filed with the European Consumer with no follow-up measures to ensure that the
another study. Centre Network stemmed from purchases made information is accurate.
One site, Craigslist, is forecast to report sales over the internet. "Delivery problems and Another area of growing concern for the
of 100 million dollars this year, a 23 per cent dissatisfaction with the products purchased sector, according to the OECD, is the use of
increase from 2008. Another platform, Amazon, were the leading reasons for the complaints, behavioural techniques that track a consumer's
had net sales of 177 million dollars in the first accounting for 75 per cent of the total," the purchasing habits in order to tailor advertising
quarter alone, up 24 per cent from the first OECD said. to his or her interest. But there is little doubt
quarter 2008. The OECD cites a study by the Customers voiced dissatisfaction with non-
about the economic impact of online
Forrester research group predicting that deliveries, misrepresentation by online retail
advertising.
western European consumers will buy 123.1 sites and difficulties contacting merchants.
A recent study cited by the OECD found that
billion Euros' worth of goods online by 2014, for While the internet may have made it easier to
the contribution to economic activity of online
an average annual growth rate of 9.6 per cent. buy products from foreign businesses,
advertising amounts to 300 billion
China too has experienced a jump in online consumers have shown themselves to be
dollars in the United States. The US online
retail activity. The online auction and retail web reluctant to do so, according to the OECD,
advertising sector directly employs more than
site of the country's leading e-commerce which cited language barriers, higher shipping
38 1.2 million people.

company, Alibaba Group, reported a 131 per costs, regulatory barriers and scams and
 Telepedia Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

power will be flowing and the charger will be on.

To turn the charger off, simply move one end
of the paper clip away from one of the contacts.
• Hook up the power
For our contraption to work, you need to
connect the tray to the phone battery. The tray
will have two wires running from it: A red wire
carrying current from the positive battery
terminal, and a black one carrying current back
to the battery’s negative terminal. Crimp or
solder a red alligator clip to the red wire, and a
black alligator clip to the black wire. If a
voltmeter is available, hooking your clips to it
can confirm that your batteries are providing the
correct voltage.
Now look closely at the phone battery. It will
have a series of small metal contacts that it uses
to suck up electricity. There should be a positive
(+) sign next to one of them, and a negative (-)

Charge your battery without charger

To do it yourself, you’ll need the following: a few AA batteries, a four-AA-battery tray, a metal paper
clip and two alligator clips. That’s it, and the finished product should be able to charge just about
any phone if you find yourself in the wilderness or waiting out a power outage
here’s no magic to a cellular phone you won’t be producing enough juice to charge

T charger. It’s really little more than a

plastic-wrapped strip of copper wire
designed to deliver power (stepped
down in voltage and converted to AC or DC, of
course) from an outlet to your phone battery.
So, if an emergency strikes and you find
yourself without either your charger or a
working wall outlet, it’s really pretty easy to
Macgyver together a contraption that uses AA
batteries to quickly give your phone enough juice
to make a few emergency calls. The whole
process, which is a lot like a miniature version of
jump-starting a car, takes minutes and uses parts
that can be found at Radio Shack.
To do it yourself, you’ll need the following: a
few AA batteries, a four-AA-battery tray, a metal
paper clip and two alligator clips. That’s it, and
the finished product should be able to charge just
about any phone (with the notable exception of
the iPhone, which does not have an easily
removable battery) if you find yourself in the
wilderness or waiting out a power outage.
• Check the voltage
The first step is to check the voltage on your
phone battery. Most clock in at about 3.7 volts,
but you should pop it out of the phone and read
the fine print to see for sure. This information
will let you calculate how many AA batteries you
need. The key is to use enough to barely exceed
the phone battery’s voltage - employ fewer and
Taking care to make sure the two clamps don’t come into
contact with each other, clasp the red alligator clamp to the
side of the battery so that its metal jaws are touching the
positive metal contact and the black clamp to the side of the
the battery, but hook up too many and you could
burn out the whole thing. AA batteries are 1.5
volts each, so charging a 3.7-volt battery requires
combining three of them for a total of 4.5 volts.
Pop the batteries into the AA tray. It’s a four-
battery tray, so you’ll need to put something else
in the last AA slot in order to complete the
circuit. This is where the paper clip comes in
handy. Unfold it and hook one end through the
metal spring in the negative end of the empty
slot. Then take the other end and bend it so it
touches the metal contact on the outside of the
tray at the positive end of the same slot. This clip
will act as a sort of On/Off switch - as long as it
is touching both the spring and the metal contact,
next to another. (Note that most phone batteries
contain three or more contacts, but you can just
ignore the rest of them. And if they don’t have
positive or negative markings, a voltmeter will
tell you which is which).
Taking care to make sure the two clamps
don’t come into contact with each other, clasp the
red alligator clamp to the side of the battery so
that its metal jaws are touching the positive metal
contact and the black clamp to the side of the
battery so that it’s touching the negative one.
Your battery is now charging. But be warned:
Since this makeshift mechanism has no built-in
way of limiting the current or guarding against
overheating, you’ll want to keep an eye (and a
finger) on it to make sure it doesn’t get too hot. If
the phone battery starts to heat up, unplug it
immediately, or you could damage it. And there
are other reasons why you should only try this if
you have no other choice: The process could
violate your phone’s warranty, and the sharp
alligator clips can scratch up a battery’s plastic
shell. And, to be safe, I wouldn’t recommend
using this method to charge your battery for
more than 10 minutes at a time. When you’re
done, put the battery back in the phone and start
dialling.
• Method
1. A paper clip acts as an On/Off switch.
Just remove one end from the battery tray’s metal
contact to kill the current.
2. Clip the battery tray’s red cord to the
phone battery’s positive metal contact, and the
black cord to its negative one.
3. The DIY charger has no way of limiting
the current or preventing overheating. So limit it
to 10-minute charges, and unplug it if it starts to

42 battery so that it’s touching the negative one get hot.

Free download | flare.com.pk
Selecting palmset for
your child
To make TicTalk more appealing to kids, the device comes
preloaded with five educational games from LeapFrog:
Fact Attack, Hangman, Math Defender, Monkey Spelling, and
Monkey Math. Kids can also record and play back music or
voice memos.
hen I was a kid, I always wanted to
W play with the gadgets that grownups
had - telephones, walkie-talkies,
typewriters, vacuum cleaners, you
name it. For each of these devices, there was
always a plastic, nonworking version for kids.
Things are a little different in the cell phone
world. Phone makers and toy companies are
making kid-friendly phones that function like the
real thing - or close to it. The phones are aimed at
kids between 8 and 12 years old, and they give
parents control over a handset's incoming and
outgoing calls.
Parent-controlled phones
Enfora's USD99 TicTalk lets parents authorise
certain numbers to call in and dial out; parents can
also control how and when the phone is used.
TicTalk looks and functions more like a walkie-
talkie than a standard cell phone. It lacks a keypad
and is equipped with a monochrome LCD screen
showing caller ID, the time, and remaining battery
life. To place a call, kids navigate an on-screen
menu to choose from a list of authorised phone
numbers. A scrolling button on the right side of
the handset controls navigation. During a call,
kids can hold the device to their ear, use the
speaker phone, or plug in an earbud.
To get service on the unit, parents must buy a
prepaid Enfora SIM card. Costs start at USD25 for
100 minutes, and the card
expires 90 days after purchase.
Activation is free. Parents can set
a limit on the number of minutes
their child can use in a given
time period. TicTalk works on a
GSM network, though no carrier
has been announced yet. The
handset runs on a rechargeable
lithium-ion battery and comes
with an AC charger.
While you are at it, you
should also check out her blog
entry about Wherify's
Wherifone GPS Locator Phone, a
GPS-enabled handset that lets users call preassigned
numbers, as well as allows parents to track their kids'
whereabouts.
It seems that conventional mobile handset
manufacturers want a piece of the phones-for-kids
action, too. Rumours of an LG Electronics-branded
handset that looks very similar to Firefly's phone are
circulating at various blog sites, including Engadget,
MobileBurn, Phone Scoop, and SlashPhone. Phone
Scoop says the handset "is tentatively called the VX-
1000. It is a small CDMA device with a simplified
interface consisting of a monochrome display,
talk/end keys, side volume keys, a 911 key, and four
speed-dial keys that can be programmed by
parents."
Phone Scoop also mentions that the "draft
manual refers to Verizon Wireless multiple times."
Neither LG Electronics nor Verizon would comment
on these reports.
Flare Report InsighT
Glorified Walkie-Talkie
Toy maker Hasbro has a different concept in
mind. This fall, the company's Tiger Electronics
arm will offer ChatNow, two-way radios that let
kids stay in touch by "calling" or text-messaging
friends who are within a two-mile radius. Parents
don't have to pay for a phone plan because
ChatNow doesn't use a cellular network. They
simply recharge the walkie-talkie handsets so
their kids can continue to use them.
Here's the irony: Unlike TicTalk and Firefly,
which look
like walkie-
talkies but
function as cell
phones,
ChatNow
handsets look
like a slider- or
clamshell-style
phone,
complete with
a standard
phone keypad,
a black-and-
white screen,
and even a built-in camera--but they function as
walkie-talkies. Each ChatNow handset has a ten-
digit "Buddy Number"; once you dial a friend's
number, there's even a push-to-talk button you
must press to carry on a conversation, à la walkie-
talkie.
Service plans geared for kids
Some folks may find ChatNow, Firefly,
TicTalk, and Wherifone too toy-like and would
rather go for the real thing. Enter Disney Mobile
and Mattel.
Next year Disney plans to launch a wireless
service using the Sprint PCS network. No doubt
Disney will offer handsets and entertainment
content that tout popular Disney characters such
as Mickey, Minnie, and Donald. Sprint will supply
the back-end technology and Disney will handle
the rest, including product development,
distribution, marketing, customer relations, and
billing.
Meanwhile, Single Touch Interactive offers
handsets and prepaid phone service using Mattel's
My Scene brand. The company provides a Nokia
candybar-style handset and lets tweens
personalise their phones by choosing one of three
My Scene faceplates. Kids also get My Scene
wallpapers and ring tones.
Your call: convenience or headache?
Several children's advocacy groups, including
Alliance for Childhood, Commercial Alert, and
National Consumers League, are asking Congress
to investigate the marketing of mobile phones to
kids. They are concerned about children's safety,
privacy, education, and health. Privacy advocates
worry that pedophiles may use cell phones to
contact children. They also argue that cell phones
will become a vehicle for showing advertisements
to children and ultimately reaching their parents'
wallets.
Some of the phone makers, including Enfora,
market their phones to children as young as six
years old. That's awfully young. I'm not a parent,
but if I were, I would shy away from giving my
kid a phone. Some parents may disagree, and the
manufacturers point out that a cell phone could
help kids in an emergency - which is certainly
true.

Courtesy: pcworld 43
 Technobabble Flare Report Free download | flare.com.pk

Nokia's market share declined 1.5 percentage

points year-on-year due in part to component
shortages that may continue into the fourth
quarter (See Table 1). Nokia faced pressure at the
high end from competitors' new smartphones, so
even as it rolled the N97 out to more countries in
the third quarter of 2009, its ASP remained flat
quarter-on-quarter at €62. Nokia should have
strong end-of-year volumes as a result of good
mid-tier products like the 5530 and 5230, but
consumers seeking to upgrade to a high-end
device may look elsewhere over the Christmas
holiday sales.
Samsung had a strong third quarter of 2009
with touchscreen devices, qwerty phones and
smartphones driving sales in the mature markets
of Western Europe and the US. It also refreshed
older products making steady sales in emerging
markets. The introduction of mid-tier products
such as Corby will help during the Christmas
sales season. LG showed solid performance
across the market with its competitively priced
touchscreen and messaging phones like the

Smartphone: the fastest Cookie and KS360 but most of its sales were of
mid-tier phones, in part due to its lack of a
smartphone portfolio.
Worldwide Smartphone Sales to in 3Q09

growing segment (Thousands of Units)

Smartphones continued to represent the fastest-growing

segment of the mobile-devices market and we remain confident
about the potential for smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2009
and in 2010
orldwide mobile phone sales over 2008.”

W
Note: For HTC, Gartner counts only the company's own-
totalled 308.9 million units in the Open platforms have been a hot topic in 2009. branded devices, including the G1.Note:
third quarter of 2009, 0.1 per cent At first, they appear to spell an end to market
increase from the third quarter of fragmentation, but when manufacturers adopt a
2008, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales standard software platform, they risk losing the Nokia’s share of the worldwide smartphone
surpassed 41 million units, a 12.8 per cent ability to differentiate themselves. As a result, market reached an all time low in the third quarter
increase from the same period last year. individual open platforms will fragment as of 2009 at 39 per cent, compared with 45 per cent
“The third quarter of 2009 saw the manufacturers strive to compete. Android in the second quarter of 2009 (see Table 2). This
announcement of many new mobile devices, already demonstrates this trend: individual decline caused Symbian to lose ground too, while
including several Android smartphones ready manufacturers have deployed their own user
Research In Motion reached 20 per cent share, its
for the holiday season in the fourth quarter, but interfaces such as HTC Sense and some like
hardware commoditisation and the growth in Motorola's Motoblur, go deep into the part of the highest yet. RIM’s sales volumes rested on the
open platforms will make it harder for them to operating systems (OS) that manages contact Curve 8900 in Europe and the Tour and Storm 2
stand out,” said Carolina Milanesi, research information. with Verizon Wireless in the US. RIM also focused
director at Gartner. “Meanwhile, the channel Worldwide Mobile Terminal Sale to End on pre-paid sales and more flexible BlackBerry
slowed its inventory-reduction efforts so while Users in 3Q09 Internet Service offerings, which helped to drive
some sales volumes increased, average selling (Thousands of Units) volumes in emerging markets like Latin America.
prices (ASPs) stagnated. We expect pressure on
Apple’s worldwide smartphone share reached
ASP to continue into 2010.”
“Many devices will reach the market in time 17 per cent as iPhone sales totalled seven million
for Christmas, and mobile carriers will run units in the third quarter of 2009 following the
incentives for consumers during the holidays. continued rollout of the iPhone 3GS in new
We expect sales of mobile devices in the fourth countries. Its ASP is holding steady and sales in
quarter of 2009 to show year-over-year growth,” the fourth quarter should be even stronger as
said Ms Milanesi. ”As many vendors and
Apple starts selling in China, through one
industry watchers call for a decrease in sales into
the channel, our sell through data is showing that Note: This table includes iDEN shipments, but excludes additional carrier in the UK, and in an additional
ODM to OEM shipments. 16 countries.
2009 performance will be flat rather than down
In the smartphone operating system (OS)
Grey-market sales are no longer limited to China. All manufacturers market, Android picked up momentum but with
have to compete with gray-market players as they expand into only a handful of Android devices available, its
emerging markets in Asia/Pacific, Eastern Europe, The Middle East share remained modest at 3.5 per cent. Windows
Mobile 6.5 only became available in October, too
and Latin America. Grey-market devices are no longer just ultra-low late to have an impact on the third quarter, so sales
cost models. Gartner has torn down several grey-market products of Windows-based smartphones saw another
44 that showcase enhanced-phone features decline.

 3G Comtech
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 Cover Story Zubair Ahmed Kasuri Free download | flare.com.pk

48
Free download | flare.com.pk Cover Story

hand without a cell phone is rare unnecessary delay that paved the way for illicit raised the GST/FED on cellular industry to 21 %

A these days. All of us have our own

mobile phones where the services of a
number of operators are always there
to facilitate us. Today we are neither provided
with one cellular operator nor with one handset.
use of cell phones.
First of all lets look at the over all situation of
the economy and telecom sector of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s economy experienced slow economic
growth ending at 2% rather than the target of
from 15 %, introduced import duty on mobile
handsets@ Rs. 750 with activation tax @ Rs 500
per new connection already in place.
Other than this a 5% deduction of charges
was also introduced by the operators which is
The choice is numerous. The cell phone 5.5% mainly due to the adverse effects of the said to be not going in the pockets of the
manufacturers are plenty where the number of global financial crisis, however, telecom sector companies due to any reasons.
operators very from country to country. continued to grow positively in terms of the However, it is the success of the PTA that it
Buying a cell phone is not very easy
nowadays due to the extant of available varieties
and the varying features offered by the modals.
Nokia, Sony
Ericsson,
Motorolla, LG
and Samsung are
the
internationally
acknowledge
quality handset
manufacturers. A
number of local
and regional
handset makers
are also present
Dr Mohammad Yaseen but including
Chairman, PTA them irrelevant.
The sale of cell
phones is going up and so does the supply. The
bridge between the demand and supply of cell
phones has quadruple during last two years. The
prices are coming down with the unveiling of
latest handsets with every passing day.
The best way to abridge the gap between
family, friends and loved ones is constructed by
the cell phones. The competition is getting
tougher as the demand in emerging markets is
ever increasing due to the decreasing
subscription rates. subscription, revenue and Teledensity. As has convinced the government to decrease the
Despite of the role handset companies are Pakistan provides lucrative investment FED from 21 % to 19.5% and reduced the
playing in boosting the subscriber range, the environment for foreign investors in the telecom activation tax from Rs 500 to Rs. 250. The
part played by local operators to provide basic sectors, it managed to attract US$815 million in government has also cut down the import duty
cellular services is significant in enhancing the 2008-09. However, as most of the operators are from 750 to Rs. 250 in Budget 2008-09.
number of users. foreign, the pessimistic outlook of global Although, still we have no minister for the IT
Surprisingly, South Asia has one of the economy compelled the telecom operators to and telecom sector, but this is the back bone of
lowest call rates worldwide. The affordable call curtail the infrastructure expansion plans still our economy with the total growth of 20% and
rates have enabled most of the Asians to score Rs112 billion contribution to national exchequer
their independent handset and service operator. in the form of taxes. This situation may hurt
Focusing on Pakistan, it is evident that the Mobile phone mania is many Pakistanis who love this sector and
telecom sector in Pakistan is not very aged. sweeping Pakistan with a realised that the government is making a big
Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited
(Mobilink), a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom, rapid increase in national mistake by not appointing the big boss of this
sector.
started its operations in 1994. Mobilink is the subscribers due to low It is worth mentioning here that this sector
pioneer in GSM services with maximum number
of subscribers nationwide. It is Pakistan’s first
connection costs and has huge potential to pave the way of our
progress faster than expected.
cellular service provider to carry out its services cheap pre-paid packages If, PTA is doing so much for this sector, now
on a 100 per cent digital GSM technology and
provides state-of-the-art communication
and phone sets. Everyone it is the responsibility of the consumers and
operators to be fair with the telecom sector.
solution to its customers. from top business The story of remarkable progress of telecom
Mobile phone mania is sweeping Pakistan executives to daily wagers sector and the efforts of curbing illegal or
with a rapid increase in national subscribers due
to low connection costs and cheap pre-paid look busy on mobile unregistered SIMs by the Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority (PTA) are already
packages and phone sets. Everyone from top phones in offices, on roads discussed at length. Coming to the latest
business executives to daily wagers look busy on
mobile phones in offices, on roads and in
and in marketplaces in this statistics of the telecom sector, the growth in
cellular phone subscribers remained sluggish
marketplaces in this developing South Asian developing South Asian amidst aggressive marketing efforts of the
country. country operators, showing addition of only 1.561
The trend of growth in telecom sector has million connections in the last three months.
remained record breaking over past few years According to the subscriber’s data updated a
however, the regulation efforts have proved to total investments in the sector stood at US$1.6 month ago by Pakistan Telecommunication
be a hurdle in the path of progress. The billion. Telecom revenue showed positive Authority, the cellular phone users’ base
regulations are very just in there own growth rate of 18% generation Rs 327.8 billion in widened to 95.90 million by the end of the first
perspective, the only trouble is with their 2008-09. In June 2008,, Government of Pakistan quarter of the current fiscal year with
49
 Cover Story
comparatively slow pace and intensifying war
among the operators. The subscribers rose by a
mere 0.13 per cent (0.125 million) in September;
0.25 per cent (0.236 million) in August 2009 and
1.28 per cent (1.2 million) in July. The cellular
tele-density has now reached 58.6 per cent.
In Jul-Sep, the mobile phone operators have
continued the war to grab the market share by
introducing different packages on the purchase
and reactivation of the SIM. Day and night time
call packages have been offered to the customers
while the number of SMS bundles has also
enhanced particularly in the Ramadan. The
growth in subscribers remained less than one
per cent in August and September.
The tele-density of cellular phone subscribers
has also posted less than one per cent growth. It
increased to 58.60 per cent from 58.50 per cent,
showing growth of a paltry 0.17 per cent.
Telecom analysts forecast noticeable contraction
in the overall subscribers’ base of the country as
the telecom watchdog has initiated a new
information system to rectify user’s data and to
block unregistered SIMs. So far over 12 million
SIM have been blocked across the country.
The growth in Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
also witnessed slight improvement in the
closing quarter of the current fiscal year, as only
69,050 connections were added. The wireless
users grew sharply in July with the increase of
35,041 connections. However, its sales remained
sluggish in August and September with only
34,009 users growing.
Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL)
Pakistan
wireless users’ base stood at the highest level
with 1.3 million. Telecard and WorldCall
enhanced their subscribers to 0.635 million and
0.567 million by the end of July 2009, PTA data
said.
According to the latest statistics (till October)
issued by the Authority there is slight change in
the order of service providers as Mobilink with
31.56 per cent market share (30,275,979
subscribers) is leading the race where Telenor is
on second position with 22.91 per cent market
share (21,975,271 users). Warid has scored the
third position with 19.37 per cent market share
and 18,584,409 members where Ufone is not
very far with 18,329,967 and market share of
19.10 per cent. Last but not the least is Zong with
its 7.03 per cent market share and 6,752,031
50
Warid Telecom having commercially
launched in May 2005 and fully owned by Abu
Dhabi Group remained on top and market
leader for an initial period of around two years
amongst its competitors carries a subscriber
base of more then 18.58 million with the
market share of 19.37 per cent (till October
2009). Its total investment up to date is in
subscribers.
The progress made by the operators is not
only beneficial for all the users but also for the
national exchequer. The telecom sector makes
substantial contribution in the revenue and is
one of the largest sectors in Pakistan.
Keeping aside the fact that the statistics and
statures are switching, we must not forget that it
is the quality of service that makes a difference.
Today the users are neither blank nor blind.
They are well aware of all that is happening
around them. The users are conscious of varying
cost and the difference of quality among
different services posted by the five cellular
operators.
Warid is the leader in terms of post paid
customers besides being very active in the pre
paid sector as well having lately introduced
Glow service for the youth segment, have been
able to churn to our network the leading
corporate, multinationals and a large number of
entities belonging to SME sectors from other
GSM operators. It would be Warid endeavor to
further increase number base of subscribers
more especially of corporate and SME sectors.
Being responsible citizens both Mobilink and
Warid have played a significant role towards
socio economic, moral and ecological issues.
Towards accomplishing its commitment, Warid
employees contributed more then Rs20 million
for the rehabilitation and support towards
Balochistan earthquake victims in 2008. Warid
also significantly helped in providing relief to
Internally Displaced Pakistanis (IDP) in the
previous army operation in turbulent areas
which forced more then a million Pakistanis to
Free download | flare.com.pk
excess of USD 1.4 billion covering over 6250
destinations across the country. Besides, it has
also covered highways up to 12500km whereas
cities and cell sites covered throughout the
country are 486 and 4351.
Warid’s GSM/GPRS roaming partners
around the world are 227 and 121 with
roaming pre paid partners around the world
exceeding 22. Through the most efficient and
modern call centers located at
Karachi and Lahore, an average of 211,110
customers are entertained every
24 hours with an average speed of 38 seconds
for providing satisfactory answer to each
caller.
On an average, 7000 customers visit over 25
business centers each day. This commentary, I
am sure, speaks volume of general
perception of public which they have about
Warid Telecom.
migrate from their home towns to safer
locations. Mobilink has also proudly served the
IDPs with its consistent aids. The Torchbearers
of Mobilink are the volunteers that are serving
the marginal people of Paksitan to fulfill the
socio-corporate responsibility of Mobilink.
In the year 2009, Mobilink Foundation
Torchbearers devoted over 4800 hours in
community welfare which is equivalent to more
than 600 work days. This is primarily because
2009 was a challenging year for Pakistan and
Mobilink employees came forward in these
times to provide relief to the IDPs. Mobilink
employees were personally involved in the
procurement and distribution of aid items. Not
only did this help was efficient utilisation of
funds but also made sure that the goods reached
the deserving and affected. In fact extra efforts
Zong is the last runner in
the marathon of telecom
operators but trust me it is
the fastest. Mobilink at the
time of its launch faced a
number of hurdles due to
low-penetration and high
cost of services and so
does other operators but
Zong is the only operator
that has proved to be the
most demanded service
provider across the nation.
It has secured large number
of users in a short span of
time and still marching
towards higher destinations
were made to deliver relief items to far flung
areas where no aid had gone before.
The telecom operators are also focusing on
promoting sports across the country. Mobilink
has recently launched a golf tournament where
Warid sponsored Racer Hunt, the largest and
first event of its type. Where Telenor is not
found indulged in sport activities except
Shandur Polo Festival which is organised once
Free download | flare.com.pk
a year. Ufone abstains from indulging in any
kind of healthy activity or volunteer project.
Ufone runs a sponsored programme on ATV in
which callers are invited to play games. Those
who have watched the show will agree that the
programme is a pathetic effort to attract the new
subscribers.
About Green Technology, Warid is the first
operator to bring green technology to Pakistan
as Warid are in the process to deploy Solar
Powered Macro base Stations (BTS). The non
Hybrid site is 100 per cent powered by solar
energy thereby reducing carbon dioxide
emission and noise pollution both of which are
unfriendly to the environment.
environment friendly solar powered Macro-BTS
This
would allow Warid to extend to reach to the
rural areas of country where there is no
commercial power or frequent electricity
failures.
Ufone has lost more than 300,000 call
records of post paid Ufone numbers in
November that has cost a total loss of Rs1.7
million. Data was found missing for at least
11,000 post paid numbers as the system did
not record their Call Detailed Records
(CDRs), due to unknown error in the billing
system of Ufone.
It is pertinent to mention that Ufone is
using the billing solutions of Huawei, an
infrastructure manufacturers provide after-
sale support to cellular companies.
When the Ufone officials were inquired
about the issue and whether Ufone or Huawei
or customer will bear the loss the spokesman
of Ufone refrain from giving any satisfactory
reply despite of several reminders.
We are not sure who will bear the loss but
hopefully customers will once again bear the
burnt.
Warid recently commenced an outstanding
project of implementing virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI) solution based on Microsoft
Windows server 2008 R2 Hyper-V. With this
leap forward Warid has taken a lead in reducing
Carbon emissions, honoring its part in keeping
the planet greener, thus another initiative
towards green technology.
It is healthy to observe that the telecom
operators are negotiating with leading
organisations of other sectors to serve the users
in an improved way. The indulgence of banking
sector in telecom arena is of great importance
where deploying medical facilities via cell
phones is a historic step.
Here are some interesting facts to share so the
reader may evaluate the provider and subscriber
relationship at his own.
It is beyond doubt that Mobilink has the
largest market share in the telecom sector of
Pakistan. The quality and coverage of largest
GSM operator is one of the best where its VASs
(value added services) are very popular among
its subscribers. The credit spent by the operator
on projecting its service to the subscribers is also
abundant.
Warid, although spending very carefully
on the TVCs (television commercials), is the
operator that is preserving its users with great
care. The operator does not spent lavishly on the
projection of advertisement in print and
electronic media but on the strengthening of its
infrastructure nationwide. Due to the state-of-art
service Warid is becoming the foremost priority
of users from all nook and corner.
Telenor has gathered enough subscriber
base to be on the second station but the company
must remember that the users are not foolish. A
number of treacheries on behalf of Telenor have
been unveiled. Moreover, the brands like Djuice
are left far behind with only one leap of Glow,
the latest initiative taken by the Warid Telecom.
Telenor and Warid have the difference of
members but it is only due to the late
introduction of Warid in the Pakistani market.
Ufone is the only operator that is blindly
spending on advertisement while forgetting the
fact that the TVCs are not enough to compel the
intelligent people of Pakistan. It is not so easy to
trap people by broadcasting mocking
advertisements. Ufone must work on its
infrastructure instead of preparing more and
more, good-for-one ads. The service provided by
Ufone is pathetic and it is open secret that the
subscribers are porting to other operators
especially to Warid and Zong.
Zong is the last runner in the marathon
of telecom operators but trust me it is the fastest.
Mobilink at the time of its launch faced a number
of hurdles due to low-penetration and high cost
of services and so does other operators but Zong
is the only operator that has proved to be the
most demanded service provider across the
nation. It has secured large number of users in a
short span of time and still marching towards
higher destinations.
IEMR’s Global Mobile Operator Forecast
covers 50 operational metrics of 200 plus mobile
operators in more than 50 countries, making up
80 per cent of the world’s population. According
to IEMR, subscriber growth is slowing down in
Pakistan's wireless market more than 7.2 per
cent industry average subscriber growth in the
second quarter of 2009.
ARPUs are decreasing in Pakistan's mobile
operator space -14.5 per cent operator-wide
average ARPU growth in the same quarter.
Minutes of Use per Subscriber are increasing at
Mobilink 6.4 per cent industry average
MOU/Sub growth.
Total wireless subscribers in Pakistan to
reach 130.6 million in 2013
• IEMR forecasts that total mobile
subscribers in Pakistan will increase from
94.7million in 2008 to 130.6 million in 2013.
• Mobilink will continue to be the largest
player in Pakistan’s mobile operator space over
the next five years with an expectation that
Mobilink will have 36.3 million mobile
subscribers in 2013.
Cover Story
• Also, given the latest quarter numbers,
our model predicts that Ufone GSM will have
27.2 million, Telenor will have 27.2 million, and
Warid will have 25.6 million mobile subscribers
by the end of 2013.
Ufone is the only
operator that is blindly
spending on advertisement
while forgetting the fact
that the TVCs are not
enough to compel the
intelligent people of
Pakistan. It is not so easy
to trap people by
broadcasting mocking
advertisements.
The increase will be in a pattern as
suggested by the IEMR is not a question I want
to raise in this story. All I am trying to do is to
engulf the progress of telecom sector of
Pakistan with an emphasis on the fact that the
people are so intelligent that they are no more
befooled at the hands of tricky operators. All of
us knew that Ufone was notified (and even
fined) for propagating unclear advertisement
and for charging extra by the Competition
Commission of Pakistan (CCP). The facility of
porting one’s number to other operator is also
available for the convenience of the subscribers.
Pakistan has been experiencing proliferation
of Broadband in the past two years. Broadband
subscriber base grew by 146% adding 245,727
subscribers during 2008-09.
There are currently 413,809 Broadband
subscribers in Pakistan as compared to 168,082
in 2008. PTCL, Wateen and WorldCall are major
players in the Broadband market of Pakistan
having a combined share of over 79%. As
Broadband is still in its infacy in Pakistan,
therefore, penetration level is relatively low i.e.
0.26%.
Broadband connection charges for 1Mbps
connection dropped below Rs. 1000/- for the
first time in history which is a great incentive
for new customers. It is better that the service
providers must improve and straight their
dealing to ensure the satisfaction of their
members.
With the current global and local political
and financial situation, the telecom sector had
to face tough challenges in the current year.
However, being a Regulator PTA has to work
diligently for the betterment of the sector so
that consumers, investor and Government can
all be benefited from it.
As we are entering the new year, fruits of
positive reforms by the Government and
effective regulatory interventions of the
Authority are already proving revolutionary
the sector is showing signs of recovery. With all
our efforts for uplift of the sector, it is expected
that it would perform well and stand up to the
expectations of all.
51
 Tech Tool Mobile Reviews Free download | flare.com.pk

Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition

Althought Nokia 5330 TV Edition is great for watching videos and TV shows,
this phone also includes the most commonf features of modern mobile phones
like social networking, music and more.
Nokia 5530 TV Edition allows you to view your favorite programs on the dis-
play and with a simple click to get the list of best available channels. You can
also set reminders for your favorite programs and create custom channel lists
with Electronic Program Guide.
This phone has a slim design and compact 2.4-inch QVGA display and 70
MB of internal memory that is expandable. It also has FM radio with RDS,
Bluetooth, A-GPS with Nokia Maps, dedicated music keys and a battery that pro-
vides up to 7.7 hours of talk time or 6 hours of TV.
Thanks to headphones, you can obtain the best reception without interfer-
ence. The Nokia 5330 Mobile TV also hasintegrated software for the major social
networks like Facebook, MySpace, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk etc.
The camera is 3.2 mp with 4x digital zoom and LED flash, you can take pic-
tures or shoot video and share them immediately with friends on Ovi Share.
The Nokia 5330 Mobile Edition TV is available in black, silver and white.
Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition is compatible with Nokia Comes with Music for
free access to millions of songs and Ovi Music Store to download many appli-
cations and games.

Sony Ericsson S312

Sony Ericsson S312, a budget phone with a budget vibe that unfortunately extends to its
looks
Budget phones generally come in various shades of bland, but there are some that try to
take their aesthetics in a different direction. The S312 is afflicted with these aspirations.
Yes, a term like ‘afflicted’ may sound a tad negative, but then we’re not all that convinced
by some of the Sony Ericsson S312’s design choices.
In form, the phone is utterly conventional – not in a bad way either, being reasonably slim
and very pocket-friendly. Unfortunately, it skips off the comfort of the well-trodden path with
the gold rings that encircle the main select button and the camera lens on the back.
Sadly, they look rather tacky and cheap rather than bringing the intended luxury element
to the S312. If you’re not averse to the shade used in the blue version of the S312, we’d sug-
gest picking that version up since it exchanges the gold for a shade of easier that’s easier on
the eye.
Next comes the strange, mirrored effect on the screen. This makes it look like the top half
of the phone is one single, metallic blob when there’s nothing on the screen. Although not as
universally offensive as the gold rings, this also seems to make the screen look more washed
out than it might otherwise be.
The display itself isn’t terrible, being a lot easier on the eye than some even lower-end
Sony Ericsson handsets, but the 176x220 pixel resolution doesn’t make text look particularly
sharp, as you can easily see individual pixels. While the S312 isn’t all that good at ‘fancy’, it’s
a lot better at being what it is behind all the faulty pizzazz – a basic, budget phone.
Although the keypad is arranged into rows, rather than having individual buttons, there’s a
reassuring click to their motion that makes texting with the S312 a breeze.
The interface is pure bog-standard Sony Ericsson, using the proprietary OS that’s been
used in virtually every Sony Ericsson since time immemorial – based around a 3x4 grid of
icons that makes up the phone’s menu. One element that’s occasionally left out of these
phones is the FM radio, which is thankfully included here.

52
Free download | flare.com.pk Mobile Reviews Tech Tool

Motorola DEXT MB220

Motorola has finally unveiled MB220 Cliq that was known by its pseudo
name Morrison and has finally put an end to the soaring expectations of the
public. It is also known to support the Motoblur service that takes the whole
experience of using cell phones to the next level by integrating various com-
munications alongside services.
The Motorola Cliq sports a Thin Film Transistor capacitive touch screen
supporting 256 K colors embedded with 320×480 Pixels. It also features an
accelerometer sensor that enables the user to browse in both portrait as well
as landscape modes through automatic determination of the reference axis.
Proximity sensor enables automatic turn-off. Also equipped with QWERTY
keyboard and Motoblur user interface. The front fascia features a glossy fin-
ish while the rear panel sports a smooth finished surface. It is also available
in Midnight Titanium, Winter White colors.
It is equipped with new generation GSM and third generation High Speed
Downlink Packet Access. Also various modes of data transfer include GLOB-
AL Packet Radio Service, EDGE, High Speed Circuit Switched Data,
Bluetooth, WLAN and USB.
The Motorola is armed with an Android Operating System and equipped
with Qualcomm MSM7201 528 MHz processor. It also features 5 Mega Pixel
camera embedded with 25892×1944 Pixels enabled with Auto focus and
geotagging(enables the users to tag captured snaps with innumerable geo-
graphical locations).

Trend T-786i Dual Sim GSM

Trend mobiles were the first in introducing the dual SIM
mechanism that allowed a person to hold two different SIMs in one
mobile phone. It has now come up with the simplest and yet the most
loaded of the mobile phones. It is called the, Trend Perfect Dual Sim,
T-786i is available in Bar shape with keypad and touch screen facility.
The features of T786i are startling, Its basic edge is that a user can
retain different network operators, SIMs in one cell phone and can
receive calls in both. It is a complete multimedia cell phone with 2
mega pixel camera, which has an audio and video
recorders and players as well. The USB data
cable allows the user a unique facility of ‘Plug N
Play’.
Attach the cable with your computer and
view what you have recorded. There is no need
of any software or driver installation unlike other
cell phones. Trend T-786i having Bluetooth
connectivity, GPRS and MMS. Trend
mobiles offers and unmatched Deluxe
Package along with the set which includes
a free-of-cost Bluetooth Device, 256 MB mem-
ory card, hands free, USB port, Desktop charger, 2 extra
batteries and In-Car charger and a Trendy pouch to carry your
cell phone in style.
The Trend T-786i is a fashion conscious handset, which has a
good and attractive size of LCD and gives solid and quality feel when
in use. Mobile phone holds another edge to other cell phones in the
market. It has the style, it has the attractive look and it has all that you
require in cell phone to begin with.
53
 Tech Tool Free download | flare.com.pk

Sony Ericsson C901 GreenHeart

Reusable plastics, an electronic manual to save paper, ink and water
on an energy-saving charger are used to produce this phone by Sony
Ericsson.
The device features a 5.0 megapixel camera with Xenon flash that her
pictures are sharp. The camera has features like digital zoom and face
recognition. Fast mobile internet is the HSDPA support and in email, this
device also good possibilities. With Bluetooth you exchange data with a
PC or another phone with this feature. The extensive media player plays
all common audio and video files and FM radio keeps you informed
about the latest news. Naturally, a built-in GPS receiver so not navigate
with the C901 is also possible.
Sony Ericsson C901 is a mobile phone belonging to the Greenheart
line, which the producer wants to highlight its ecological approach,
based on reducing their CO2 emissions. This goal is achieved, for exam-
ple, by eliminating the manual paper, using recycled plastic and a display
with low power consumption and water-based paints. As for specifica-
tions, it is a UMTS with HSDPA technology with a 5 megapixel camera
with advanced features, video calling, media player, FM radio with RDS,
Bluetooth, 2.2 inch and a resolution of 240×320 pixels, memory 120 MB
expandable with MicroSD and geo-tagging of images with Google Maps
application preinstalled.

LG GD710 Shine II
The LG Shine II is the successor of the Shine and it's a stylish quad-band GSM
slider with dual-band 3G support. In addition, it sports a 2-megapixel camera with
fixed focus, GPS, Stereo Bluetooth and a microSDHC cards support.
LG Shine II offers the latest in mobile innovation and form factor in one luminous
device. Featuring polished round edges and an elegant slider design, LG Shine II
brings sophistication into the palm of your hand with its stainless steel construction
and streamlined shape. Boasting a mesmerizing 2.2" wide mirror LCD, users can
download and watch their favorite videos with flawless Java 2.0 support. LG Shine II
also delivers a sleek music player with customizable equalizer, music recognition and
ringtone creator, and direct-to-device music download capabilities. With just the push
of a button, crystal clear sound beautifully streams through built-in stereo Bluetooth
wireless technology.
For the chic multi-tasker, LG Shine II allows users to seamlessly transition between
data and call functions while staying connected through e-mail, text, picture and
instant messaging. The LG Shine II is enabled for AT&T Navigator, which provides up-
to-date traffic information with turn by turn directions and traffic monitoring. LG Shine
II also features a 2.0 megapixel camera with flash and video recording, plus an image
editor that allows users to resize, crop, rotate, color adjust photos, insert fun frames
and produce mirror effects.
The Shine II comes with on-board photo editing software, as well as a music play-
er with customizable equalizer, music recognition and ringtone creator. This set now
available in the market.

54
Free download | flare.com.pk Tech Tool

Nokia 1800
The Nokia 1800 is a solidly constructed phone with a modern twist. Simple in
style, the casing is curved and available in a choice of black, silver grey, orchid red
and ash blue. You can customise the look of your phone as the case can be
changed to one of the other colours.
The screen is a decent 1.8 inches and the keypad is large with a central chrome
navigation pad. Designed for easy use, all the keys are comfortable to press and
conveniently located. Looks wise, the Nokia 1800 is similar to the Nokia 1616.
Nokia 1800 has been designed for the smallest of budgets. Initially introduced in
emerging markets, the mobile phone is basic yet functional.
The phone comes with the Nokia Life Tools services pre-loaded. This application
was first launched on the Nokia 2323 Classic and Nokia 2330 Classic phones and
includes Agriculture, Education and Entertainment services. Based on where you
live and what you like, you can access career information, weather updates, gener-
al knowledge content, and entertainment news and daily horoscopes.
Other practical features of the Nokia 1800 include an inbuilt flashlight, calendar
and a speaking alarm clock. You can keep track of your friends too with space for
up to 500 contacts and 250 text messages. The SMS feature on the phone includes
speed dialling for sending quick texts, and picture messaging.
The Nokia 1800 phone has an FM radio for listening to your favourite stations on
the move. With a speakerphone and headset jack, you can choose to listen in pri-
vate or share your music.

Samsung M3310
Samsung B5722 dual-SIM handsets has a 2.8-inch QVGA touch-
screen phone with a D-pad like rectangular navigation key - proves
Samsung's obsession with different shaped keys. Joining the
DUOS family, the B5722 features quad-band GSM/EDGE support
but lacks 3G. Out of the two SIM card, first SIM can work on quad-
band GSM frequencies while the second one can work on dual-
band.
It is a touchscreen phone shaped like the Samsung B3410, but
with a differed navigation key and without a sliding QWERTY key-
board.
The B5722 features quad-band GSM/EDGE connectivity but it
has no 3G. Its first SIM card can operate on the 850 / 900 / 1800 /
1900 MHz frequencies, while the second one only on 900 / 1 800
MHz.
Samsung B5722 Duos is equipped with a 2.8-inch touchscreen
TFT display with a resolution of 320×240 pixels, the TouchWiz Lite
1.0 interface with support for widgets and integrated access to
Facebook and MySpace, Bluetooth, FM tuner, 3.2-megapixel cam-
era with LED flash, microSD slot with up to 8GB and a 1200 mAh
battery.

55
 Tech Tool Current Mobiles Free download | flare.com.pk

Rs Rs
5,200 6,800

Nokia 2630 Samsung C3053

Dimension: Dimension:
105x45x9.9 mm, 45 cc Weight 66 g 97x47.3x14.9 mm Weight 86 g
Battery: Battery:
Talk time up to 6h, Stand-by up to 310h Talk time up to 7h, Stand-by up to 340 h
Memory: Memory:
11 MB user memory (No Card Slot) 15 MB Built-in + microSD Card (sup-
Connectivity: ports up to 8GB)
Bluetooth v2.0, USB, GPRS Class 10 Connectivity:
(48 kbps), EDGE Class 6 (177.6 kbps) Bluetooth v2.0, USB, GPRS Class 10 (48
Display Size 128 x 160 pixels Display kbps), HSCSD, EDGE Class 10 (236.8
Colour TFT, 65K colors kbps)
Features: Features:
Browser WAP, Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML (Openwave
Colors Black Entertainment FM radio, 6.2.3) Colors Black Entertainment
Games (builtin + downloadable) FM radio with RDS, FM recording, MP3
Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, player, Video Player, Games (built-in +
video(128x96), Ring Tones Polyphonic downloadable) Camera VGA,
(24 channels), MP3 Messaging SMS, 640x480 pixels, Video (QCIF 15fps,
MMS, Email and Instant Messaging. MPEG4 H.263) Speakerphone,
Bluetooth messenger, Mobile Tracker,
Voice memo, Organizer Ring Tones
Downloadable Polyphonic, MP3 ring-
tones Messaging SMS, MMS and Email.

Rs Rs
6,950 9,000

LG KP220 Nokia 7210 Supernova

Dimension: Dimension:
103 x 46 x 12 mm Weight 72 g 106 x 45 x 10.6 mm Weight 69.8 g
Battery: Battery:
Talk time up to 3h, Stand-by up to Talk time up to 2h, Stand-by up to 250h
300h OS Series 40 user interface Memory:
Memory: 30 MB Built-in + microSD Card (up to
64 MB internal memory + 2GB) Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 with
Extendable microSD (TransFlash) A2DP, USB, GPRS Class 32 (88 kbps),
Connectivity: EDGE Class 32 (296 kbits) Display
Bluetooth v1.2, USB, GPRS Class 10 Size 240 x 320 pixels,
(48 kbps) Display Size 120 x 160 Features:
pixels Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors
Features: Bubble Gum Pink, Vivid Blue
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors Entertainment Stereo FM radio with
Silver Entertainment Music dedi- RDS, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/WMA
cated key, MP3/MPEG4 player, FM player, MPEG-4 player, Games (Snake
radio, Games Camera 1.3 MP, 3D, Bounce II, Sudoku, Sea Sweeper)
1280 x 1024 pixels, video, Built-in Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video
handsfree, Voice memo Ring Tones (QCIF@10fps), Built-in handsfree,
Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Flash Lite 2.1, Voice
Messaging SMS, EMS and MMS. command/dial/memo, Flickr Upload,
Widsets, MP3 Messaging SMS,
56 MMS, and Nokia Xpress Audio
Messaging.

Above prices are subject to change as per market

Free download | flare.com.pk Current Mobiles Tech Tool

Rs Rs.
11,600 10,600

Nokia 6303 LG KE500

Dimension: Dimension:
108.8x46.2x11.7 mm, Weight 96 g 97 x 47 x 14.9 mm Weight 90 g
Battery: Battery:
Talk time up to 7h, Stand-by up to 450h Talk time up to 3h, Stand-by up to 200 h
OS Series 40 Memory:
Memory: 60 MB shared memory + Memory
64 MB Built-in + 1GB microSD card Card (microSD TransFlash)
included (Supports up to 4GB, hot swap- Connectivity:
pable) Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS
Connectivity: Class 10 (48 kbps), EDGE Class 10
Bluetooth v2.0 with EDR, USB, GPRS (236.8 kbps) Display Size 176 x 220
Class 32, EDGE Class 32. Display Size pixels
240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches Features:
Features: Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors Steel, Black, Gray Entertainment FM
Matt Black Entertainment Stereo FM radio, MP3/eAAC+/WMA/MPEG4
radio with RDS, 3.5 mm audio jack, player, Games Camera 2 MP,
MP3/AAC/eAAC player, Games (4 + 1600x1200 pixels, video, flash Other
Downloadable), Camera 3.15 MP, Features Built-in handsfree, Voice
2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, memo, Organiser Ring Tones
Video (VGA@15fps),Speakerphone, Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, AAC,
Flash Lite 3, Nokia Maps, Voice memo AAC+ Messaging SMS, EMS and
Ring Tones Downloadable Polyphonic, MMS.
MP3, Video ring tones Messaging
SMS, MMS 1.3 (up to 600KB), and Email.

Rs Rs
13,500 14,800

Samsung C5212 DUOS Sony Ericsson T700

Dimension: Dimension:
112.7x48.6x14.3 mm Weight 110 g 104 x 48 x 10 mm Weight 78 g
Battery: Battery:
Talk time up to 3h, Stand-by up to 250h Talk time up to 9h 30 min, Stand-by
Memory: up to 370h
60 MB + microSD Card (supports up Memory:
to 8 GB) 25 MB shared + Memory Stick
Connectivity: Micro M2 (512 MB card included)
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS Connectivity:
Class 10 (48 kbps), EDGE Class 10 Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB,
(236.8 kbps, download only) GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps), HSCSD,
Features: EDGE Class 10 (236.8 kbps), 3G
Browser GSM 900 / 1800 (Both Sims) (HSDPA 3.6 Mbps)
Colors Black Entertainment Stereo Features:
FM radio with RDS, Browser WAP 2.0/HTML, Colors
MP3/AAC+/MPEG4 player, Games Black on Silver, Black on Red,
Camera 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels, Shining Silver, Shining Black
Video Other Features Dual SIM, Entertainment FM radio with RDS,
Document viewer (Word, Excel, MPEG4/WMV/H.263 player,
PowerPoint, PDF), Speakerphone, MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WMApro play-
Voice memo Ring Tones Polyphonic, er, TrackID, Games (built-in +
MP3 ringtones Messaging SMS, downloadable) Camera 3.15 MP,
57
EMS, MMS and Email. MP3, AAC Messaging SMS,
MMS, Email and Push Email.
Above prices are subject to change as per market
 Tech Tool Current Mobiles Free download | flare.com.pk

Rs Rs
23,500 29,000

Nokia 5730 XpressMusic BlackBerry Curve 8310

Dimension: Dimension:
112 x 51 x 15.4 mm Weight 135 g 107 x 60 x 15.5 mm Weight 111 g
Battery: Battery:
Talk time up to5h, Stand-by upto 300h, Talk time up to 4h, Stand-by up to
Memory: 408h, OS BlackBerry
100 MB Built-in, 128 MB RAM + 8GB Memory:
microSD Card included 64 MB flash memory + Extendable
Connectivity: microSD (TransFlash)
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, GPRS Class Connectivity:
32, HSCSD, EDGE Class 32 (296 / Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS,
178.8 kbits), 3G (HSDPA 3.6 Mbps), EDGE Display Size 320 x 240 pixels
WLAN (Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP) (Trackball navigation) Display Colour
Display Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4 65K colors
inches (Full QWERTY keyboard) Features:
Features: Browser HTML Colors Silver
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML Entertainment Media player
Colors Red, Monochrome, Blue, Pink (Videos/Music), Games (builtin +
Entertainment Stereo FM radio with downloadable) Camera 2 MP,
RDS, Nokia Say and Play (voice con- 1600x1200 pixels, flash Other
trol to music player), 3.5 mm audio Features QWERTY keyboard,
jack, MP3/WMA/WAV/RA/AAC/M4A Integrated GPS, BlackBerry maps,
music player, WMV/RV/MP4/3GP Voice dial, Built-in handsfree Ring
video player, Games (N-gage + down- Tones Polyphonic (32 channels), MP3
loadable) Camera 3.15 MP, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email and
2048x1536 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, Instant Messaging.
autofocus, 8x digital zoom.

Rs.
32,000
Samsung M7603 Beat DJ
Dimension:
112x51x13.9 mm, Weight 94 g
Battery:
Talk time up to 7h, Stand-by up to 330
h Memory:
80 MB built-in + microSD Card
Connectivity:
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS
Class 10 (48 kbps), HSCSD, EDGE
Class 10 (236.8 kbps), 3G (HSDPA)
Display Size 240 x 400 pixels, 2.8 inch-
es
Features:
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Colors Black Entertainment FM Radio
with RDS, Beat DJ application, MP3
player, 3.5 mm audio jack,
WMV/MP4/DivX/XviD player, Games
(built-in + downloadable) Camera
3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, 4x digital
zoom, autofocus, LED flash, Geo-tag-
ging, face & smile detection, Video (VGA
15fps), 2ndary VideocCall Camera
58 Other Features GPS + A-GPS support.
Rs
29,300
Nokia E55
Dimension:
116x49x9.9 mm, 54 cc Weight 98 g
Battery:
Talk time up to 8h, Stand-by up to 672
h, Music play up to 18h
Memory:
60 MB Built-in + 2GB microSD Card
included (Supports up to 16GB)
Connectivity:
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, WLAN
(Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, UPnP), GPRS Class
32, HSCSD, EDGE Class 32 (296 /
178.8 kbits), 3G (HSDPA 10.2 Mbps,
HSUPA 2 Mbps)
Features:
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML
Colors Black Aluminium, White
Aluminium, Red Entertainment
Stereo FM radio with RDS,
MP3/WMA/WAV/RA/AAC/M4A music
player, 3.5 mm audio jack,
WMV/RV/MP4/3GP video player,
Games (N-gage + downloadable)
Camera 3.2 MP, 2048x1536 pixels,
enhanced fixed focus, LED flash,
Video (VGA 15fps), MMS and Email.

Above prices are subject to change as per market

Free download | flare.com.pk Current Mobiles Tech Tool

Rs Rs
15,600 18,500
Nokia 5610
Nokia 6233 Dimension
98.5 x 48.5 x 17 mm, Weight 111 g
Dimension: Battery:
108 x 46 x 18 mm, Weight 110 g Talk time up to 6h, Stand-by up to 320h
Battery: Memory:
Talk time up to 4h, Stand-by upto 340h 20 MB internal memory + microSD
Memory: (TransFlash), hotswap,
6 MB internal memory + Extendable Connectivity:
up to 2GB, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS
Connectivity: Class 10 (48 kbps), HSCSD (43.2
Bluetooth, Infrared, USB, GPRS Class kbps), EDGE Class 10 (236.8 kbps), 3G
10 (48 kbps), HCSD (43 Kbps), EDGE (384 kbps)
(236.8 kbps), 3G (384 Kbps) Features:
Features: Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML mini) Colors Red, Blue Entertainment
Entertainment 3GPP/MPEG4 video Stereo FM radio with RDS,
player, FM stereo radio,Visual Radio, MP3/MP4/AAC/eAAc/WMA player,
MP3/AAC/M4A player, Stereo speak- Nokia sensor, World Clock II, Games
ers, Games (Nokia World Cup, 3D (Snake II, Rally 3D, Music Guess,
Street Racer, 3D Snake + Towerbloxx + downloadbale) Camera
Downloadable) Camera 2 MP, 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus,
1600x1200 pixels, video(VGA) Ring video, flash; secondary QVGA videocall
Tones Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3, camera Ring Tones Polyphonic (64
AAC Messaging SMS, MMS, EMail channels), Messaging SMS, MMS,
and Instant Messaging Email and Instant Messaging

Rs
15,800
Rs
LG KF600 16,500
Samsung B3410
Dimension:
Dimension: 101.2x50.7x 14.1 mm, Weight 107 g
102.3x52.4x15.9 mm, Weight 113.7 g Battery:
Battery: Talk time up to 4h, Stand-by up to 480h
Talk time Up to 5h 50min, Stand-by Up Memory:
to 670h 25 MB internal memory + Memory Card
Memory: (microSD TransFlash)
30 MB built-in + microSd Card Slot Connectivity:
Connectivity: Bluetooth v2.0, USB, GPRS Class 10 (48
Bluetooth v2.1, USB, GPRS Class 10 kbps), EDGE Class 10 (236.8 kbps)
(48 kbps), EDGE Class 10 (236.8 Display Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2 inches
kbps) Display Size 240 x 320 pixels, + Touch-sensitive lower display (176 x
2.6 inches 240 pixels, 1.49 inches) Display
Features: Colour TFT, 256K colors + Touch-sen-
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors sitive lower display (also TFT, 256K col-
Black Entertainment FM radio with ors)
RDS, FM Recording, MP3/MP4 player, Features:
3D sound technology (DNSe), Games Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors
Camera 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, 4x Pastel Pink, Shiny Pink, Wine Red,
Digital zoom, Video (QVGA 13fps) Titan Entertainment Interactive Pad,
Other Features Direct access to Dynamic themes, FM radio,
Social Networking sites (Facebook, MP3/WMA/AAC/AAC+ player, Games
Twitter, Myspace etc), Mobile Tracker, Camera 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels,
BT Messenger, Speakerphone Ring autofocus, video, flash Other
Tones Downloadable Polyphonic, Features Scroll & Sweeping control,
MP3 Messaging SMS, MMS and Document reader, Built-in handsfree
Email. 59
and Email.

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Tech Tool High Range Mobiles
Rs
56,000
Samsung i8000 Omnia II
All-in-one. Redefined.
Ultra Brilliant 3.7" AMOLED Display of
Samsung i8000 Omnia II provides
unmatched luminescence & vivid eye
catching colors with crystal-clarity.
Samsung i8000 Omnia II has got the
brightest display even in direct sunlight.
Touch-Optimized User Interface of
Samsung i8000 Omnia II provides an
optimal user experience, moreover
Samsung i8000 Omnia II's 5MP camera
with dual power LED takes stunning
photos. All in all Samsung i8000 Omnia
II is a powerfull multimedia beast.
Rs
37,500
Nokia N96
Designed for video & TV
Entertainment.
Entertainment with high-quality video,
on Nokia N96's brilliant 2.8" display &
with superb sound. Nokia N96 has 16
GBs of memory to take your videos,
music & other content, further expand-
able with memory card slot. Nokia
Video Center to find more internet
videos for download. Nokia N96 has 5
megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss
Optics, camcorder function with video
light. Integrated A-GPS & rich maps.
Connect to the internet in multiple
ways.
Rs.
79,990
Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB
The Fastest iPhone Ever
Meet the fastest, most powerful iPhone
yet. iPhone 3GS features video record-
ing, Voice Control, up to 32GB of stor-
age, & more. The first thing you’ll notice
about iPhone 3GS is how quickly you
can launch apps. Webpages render in a
fraction of time, & you can view email
attachments faster. On iPhone 3GS
improved performance & updated 3D
graphics deliver an incredible gaming
experience, too. In fact, everything you
do on iPhone 3GS is up to 2x faster &
60
more responsive than iPhone 3G.
Above prices are subject to change as per market
Free download | flare.com.pk
Rs
52,000
Nokia E90
Symbian OS v9.2 S60 release 3.1,
330 Mhz ARM processor, Full
QWERTY keyboard, GPS receiver
(built-in maps) The Nokia E90
Communicator is a premium busi-
ness device with high-speed mobile
broadband and integrated mobile
office that keeps you effective while
on the move.
Rs
49,000
Nokia N97
A True Mobile Computer
Desktop to the laptop & now to your pock-
et, the Nokia N97 is the most powerful,
multi-sensory mobile computer in exis-
tence. Nokia N97 mobile phone features
touch screen, full QWERTY keyboard,
GPS, 32 GB memory, games, video, cam-
era, widgets, Ovi Store including much
more. With Nokia N97, Personalise your
homescreen, add more content & fully
customise your layout with your favourite
live feeds, mini views & services. Nokia
N97 is the Monster Machine.
Rs
45,000
BlackBerry Bold 9000
Be Bold
Accept no substitutes. The BlackBerry®
Bold™ 900 smartphone embodies ele-
gant design – without sacrificing the fea-
tures or functionality you expect from a
premium smartphone. BlackBerry Bold
900 connects you, helping you stay on
top of your day. With BlackBerry® Bold™
900 camera and video recording, you can
capture and share the moment with just a
few clicks. BlackBerry® Bold™ 900 - The
BlackBerry Experience: No Compromises
Free download | flare.com.pk Low Range Mobiles Low Range Mobile Tech Tool

Rs Rs
4,850 3,499

Nokia 2330 Classic

Dimension: 107x46x13.8mm, Weight 80g
Battery: Talk time up to 4h, Stand-by up to 528h
Memory: 32 MB Built-in (1000 Phonebook
entries, 250 SMS, storage, 20 dialed, 20 received,
20 missed calls)
Connectivity: Bluetooth v2.0, GPRS class 10,
EDGE class 6 (42/177 kbits/s) Display Size 128
x 160 pixels, 1.8 inches (5-way navigation key)
Features: Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, Colors
Black, Deep red Entertainment Stereo FM radio
(broadcast recording), Video playback
3gp/H.263, 2.5 mm audio jack, Games
Camera VGA, 640x480 pixels, Video (QCIF,
15fps), 4x digital zoom, Dedicated FM radio
key, Speakerphone, Voice memo
Trend T-180 Ultimate
Design: Navigation option 1.5, inch CSTN
color, screen embedded, antenna
Image & Messaging: 300K pixel camera,
SMS, MMS, Email
Connectivity: GPRS class 12, WAP 2.0,
PC Sync
Entertainment: MP3 Player, Embedded
Games

Rs
Rs. 2,450
2,400
Samsung Guru B100
Nokia 1208
Dimension: 104x44x16.3 mm, Weight 78g
Dimension: 102x44.1x17.5mm, Weight 77 g Battery: Talk time up to 9h, Stand-by up to
Battery: Talk time Up to 7 h, Stand-by Up to 365h 450h
Memory: 4 MB user memory (200 Phonebook Memory: 2 MB embedded memory
entries, 20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls) Connectivity: USB, GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps)
Connectivity: None Display Size 96 x 68 pix- Display Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.52 inches
els, 29 x 23 mm Display Colour CSTN, 65K col- Display Colour CSTN, 65K colors
ors Features: Browser WAP 1.2 Colors Black,
Features: Entertainment Themes and Silver Entertainment Games Other Features
wallpapers, Games (3 embedded) Ring Tones Mobile Tracker, SOS message, World time, Built-
Polyphonic (32 channels) Messaging SMS in handsfree, Voice memo Ring Tones
Polyphonic (64 channels), MP3 Messaging
SMS, EMS, MMS

Rs Rs
3,800 2,450

LG KP110 Samsung E1100

Dimension: 103x46.4x13.4 mm, Weight 65 g Dimension: 106x47x15.5 mm, Weight 79g
Battery: Talk time Up to 4 h, Stand-by Up to 400 h Battery: Talk time up to 6h, Stand-by up to 250h
Memory: 64MB built-in memory + Extendable memo- Memory: 200 phonebook entries + 100 SMS (30
ry card (microSD TransFlash) dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls)
Connectivity: GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps), USB Connectivity: GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps), EDGE
Display Size 128 x 128 pixels, 1.5 inches Display Class 10 (236.8 kbps) Display Size 128 x 128
Colour CSTN, 65K colors pixels, 1.53 inches Display Colour CSTN, 65K
Features: Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors Black, colors
Red Entertainment FM Radio, MP3 player, Games Features: Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML Colors Gray
(builtin + downloadable) Other Features Built-in Entertainment Games, wallpapers Other
handsfree, Memo, Calculator, Calendar, Alarm Ring Features Flashlight, Voice memo, Mobile Tracker,
Tones Polyphonic (64 channels) Messaging SMS, Organizer Ring Tones 40 Polyphonic, MP3
EMS, MMS Messaging SMS
61

Above prices are subject to change as per market

 Tech Tool Upcoming Mobiles
LG GW820 eXpo
Size
Dimensions 114x56x15 mm
Display
Type TFT resistive touchscreen, 16M colors
(65K effective) Size 480x800pixels, 3.2 inches
Full QWERTY keyboard, Accelerometer sen-
sor for auto-rotate, Sound Alert types,
Vibration, MP3 ringtones, Speakerphone Yes
Memory
Phonebook, Practically unlimited entries and
fields, Photocall, Call records Practically
unlimited, Card slot microSD, up to 16GB
Data
GPRS, Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA 7.2
Mbps, WLAN Yes, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
Camera Primary, 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels,
autofocus, LED flash, Video Yes, VGA
Features
OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5
Professional CPU, Qualcomm Snapdragon
QSD8250 1 GHz processor, Messaging SMS
MMS, Email, IM, Push Email Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, HTML, Games Yes, Colors Black,
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support Java Yes, MIDP
2.1, Optional LG Mobile Projector, Smart
Sensor fingerprint recognition,
MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC + player,
MP4/WMV/H.264/H.263 player, Pocket Office
(Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, PDF
viewer), Organizer, Photo editor, Voice memo
T9
Samsung C5130
Size
Dimensions 97.5x47x16.5mm
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 176 x 220 pixels,
2.0 inches, Sound Alert types, Vibration; MP3
ringtones, Speakerphone Yes
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call
records, 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls
Internal 30MB, Card slot microSD (TransFlash)
up to 8GB
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G Yes, 384 kbps
Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0
Camera Primary 1.3 MP, 1280x1024 pixels
Video Yes, QCIF@15fps,
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP
2.0/xHTML, Radio FM radio with RDS, FM
recording, Games Yes + downloadable, Colors
Black, Java Yes, MIDP 2.0, MP3/WAV/eAAC+
player, MP4/H.264/WMV player, Organizer
Voice memo/dial, T9
Battery
Stand-by Up to 500h, Talk time Up to13h
62
Free download | flare.com.pk
Samsung S7070 Diva
Size
Dimensions 101x54.8x13.4 mm, Weight 94g
Display
Type TFT resistive touchscreen, 16M colors,
Size
240x320 pixels, 2.8 inches, TouchWiz UI,
Accelerometer sensor for turn-to-mute, Sound
Alert types, Vibration; MP3 ringtones,
Speakerphone Yes
Digital Natural Sound Engine.
Memory
Phonebook 1000 entries, Photocall, Call
records 30 received, dialed and missed calls,
Internal 40 MB Card slot microSD
(TransFlash) up to 8GB
Data
GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 -
48 kbps EDGE Class 12, Bluetooth Yes, v2.1
with A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB, Camera
Primary 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofo-
cus, Video Yes, QVGA
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP
2.0/xHTML, HTML, Radio Stereo FM radio
with RDS, FM recording, Games Yes + down-
loadable Colors White, Black, Java Yes, MIDP
2.1, Social networking integration with live
updates, MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player,
MP4/H.263/H.264 player
Organizer, Photo editor, Voice memo, T9
Battery
Stand-by up to 800h, Talk time up to10h
Nokia 7230
Size
Dimensions 98x48x14.8 mm, Weight 100 g
Display
Type TFT, 256K colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels, 2.4
inches, Sound Alert types, Vibration;
Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones,
Speakerphone Yes, 3.5 mm audio jack
Memory
Phonebook 2000 entries , Photocall, Call records
20 dialed, 20 received, 20 missed calls, Internal
45 MB, Card slot microSD, up to 16GB, 2GB card
included
Data
GPRS Class 32, 100 kbps, EDGE Class 32, 296
kbits, 3G Yes, 384 kbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with
A2DP, USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB, Camera
Primary 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, Video Yes,
QCIF@15fps
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, Radio Stereo FM radio, Games
Snake III, Bounce II, Sudoku II, Rally Start +
downloadable, Colors Graphite, Hot Pink, Java
Yes, MIDP 2.1, MP3/eAAC+/WAV/WMA player
MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player, Voice com-
mand/dial/memo, Flickr/Ovi Upload, Nokia Maps
Nokia Life Tools, Widsets, Flash Lite 3.0, T9
Battery
Stand-by up to 370h (2G) / Up to 395 h (3G),
Talk time Up to 5h 24 min (2G) / Up to 3 h 40 min
(3G), Music play Up to 27h
Free download | flare.com.pk
Nokia 6700 slide
Size
Dimensions95.2x46.1x15.9mm, Weight 110 g
Display
Type TFT, 16M colors, Size 240 x 320 pixels,
2.2 inches, Sound Alert types Vibration;
Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone Yes, with stereo speakers, 2.5
mm audio jack
Memory
Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and
fields, Photocall, Call records Detailed, max
30 days, Internal 45MB, Card slot microSD,
up to 16GB, 2GB included
Data
GPRS Class 32, EDGE Class 32, 296 / 177.6
kbits, 3G HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2
Mbps, Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, USB
Yes, v2.0 microUSB, Camera Primary 5 MP,
2592x1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofo-
cus, LED flash
Features
OS Symbian OS v9.3, S60 rel. 3.2, CPU
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP
2.0/xHTML, HTML, Radio Stereo FM radio
Games Yes, Colors Aluminum, Pink, Petrol-
blue, Red, Lime, Purple, Java Yes, MIDP 2.1
Battery
Stand-by Up to 300h (2G) / Up to 250h (3G)
Talk time Up to 4 h (2G) / Up to 3 h (3G)
Music play Up to 29h.
Sony Ericsson XPERIA
Pureness
Size
Dimensions 112x43x13 mm, Weight 70g
Display
Type Transparent, monochrome, Size 176 x
220 pixels, 1.8 inches, Scratch-resistant sur-
face, Sound Alert types, Vibration; MP3 ring-
tones, Speakerphone Yes,
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Photocall, Call records 30
dialed, 30 received, 30 missed calls, Internal
2 GB storage
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA;
HSUPA, Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, USB
Yes,
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser WAP
2.0 / xHTML (NetFront), Radio Stereo FM
radio with RDS, Games Yes, Colors Black,
Java Yes, MIDP 2.1, Concierge service,
TrackID, MP3/MP4 player, Voice memo, T9
Battery
Stand-by Up to 350h (2G) / Up to 350 h (3G)
Talk time Up 8 h 30 min
Upcoming Mobiles Tech Tool
Samsung A897 Mythic
Size
Dimensions 114x52x12.7mm, Weight 108g
Display
Type TFT resistive touchscreen, 256K colors
Size 360 x 640 pixels, 3.3 inches, TouchWiz
v2.0 UI, Accelerometer sensor for turn-to-
mute, Sound Alert types, Vibration;
Downloadable polyphonic, MP3 ringtones
Speakerphone Yes, 3.5 mm audio jack
Memory
Phonebook 2000 entries, Photocall, Call
records, 30 dialed, 30 received, 30 missed
calls, Internal 189 MB, Card slot microSD
(TransFlash) up to 8GB,
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA 7.2
Mbps, HSUPA, Bluetooth Yes, v2.0 with
A2DP, USB Yes, microUSB v2.0, Camera
Primary 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels
Features
Messaging SMS, MMS, Email Browser, WAP
2.0/xHTML, HTML (Opera), Games Yes +
downloadable, Colors Black, GPS Yes, A-
GPS, Java Yes, MIDP 2.0,
MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player,
MP4/H.264/H.264 player, Organizer Photo
editor, Voice memo/dial, T9
Battery
Stand-by Up to 252h, Talk time Up to 3h
BlackBerry Storm2 9520
Size
Dimensions 112.5x62.2x14mm, Weight 160g
Display
Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 65K colors, Size
480 x 360 pixels, 3.25 inches, Accelerometer sen-
sor for auto-rotate, Sound Alert types, Vibration;
MP3 ringtones, Speakerphone Yes, 3.5 mm audio
jack
Memory
Phonebook Yes, Photocall, Call records Yes,
Internal 2 GB, Card slot microSD, buy memory
Data
GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA, 7.2
Mbps; HSUPA, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth
Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, USB Yes, microUSB v2.0,
Camera Primary 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, auto-
focus, LED flash,
Features
OS BlackBerry OS, Messaging SMS, MMS, Email,
Instant Messaging, Browser HTML, Radio, Games
Yes + downloadable, Colors Black, GPS Yes, with
A-GPS support, Java Yes, BlackBerry maps
Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
Media player MP3/WMA/AAC+
Battery
Stand-by Up to 305 h (2G) / Up to 280 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 5 h (2G) / Up to 6 h (3G)
63
 TechTool Ladies Mobile Phone Free download | flare.com.pk

64
Free download | flare.com.pk ZTE Mobile Range Tech Tool

ZTE-G S312
Items Features
X990 I Chat
Protocol GSM 900/1800 MHz or n Qwerty
850/1900 n GSM 900/1800 MHz or
Standard GSM Phase 2+ 850/1900 MHz
Size 106mm×45.6mm×18.1mm n Dimensions:
Weight About 65g (without battery) 106.8mm×60.5mm×11.95mm
Talk / Standby Time 5– 6h / 180h n Display: 320 × 240 pixels,
Operating Temp. Standard：-10℃ ～ +45℃ 2.4’’, 262K, TFT
n Weight: TBD
Limit：-15℃ ～ +55℃
Memory n Battery capacity: Li-ion
Flash: 64+ 32Mbit
LCD Display size 1.5” inch ( 900mAh
n Voice Talk Time: Maxim 500
65k color)
Keyboard lights 8 LED amber color minutes
Battery n Standby Time:
Standard Battery: 580 mAh
Li-ion Maxim 500 hours
Phone book n Optional: Dual Sims dual
SIM & Phone
Melody Yes standby
Vibrator n Ringtones: 64 Poly, MP3 player
Yes
Side Volume Key n SMS: 270
no
Inbox Content/ n Camera: 1.3/2.0M, MMS1.2
Solar battery cover, Battery,
n WAP2.0, Ringtone & Picture
travel charger, user guide
download
n T-flash / USB, Bluetooth, FM

ZTE-G S212 ZTE-V60

General Features
n Dual-SIM Card
n 102.3mm X44mm X Intel? Atom? Mobile
16.2mm Processor (1.6 GHz)
about 90g 1GB DDR2 system memory
n GSM 900/1800 or 850/1900 160GB SATA Hard Disk Drive
MHz (5400 rpm2)
n MT 6223 Microsoft?
n QWERTY Keypad Yes Windows?
n CSTN 1.44'', 128*128, 65K XP Home
color, 64+32Mbits Operating
n Support MicroSD (MicroSD System
n Card not included in sales Build-inHSDPA/HSUPA
box), 2GB Vivid 10.1¡± WXGA Wide Screen LCD
n Battery Li-ion 1000mAh Built-in Wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
n Maxim 350h 3-in-1 Media Card Reader(MS/MS Pro/SD),3 High Speed USB
n Maxim 350 minutes 2.0 15-pin Standard External Display Output Port
n Stereo 2.2mm jack Size: 265mm¡Á185mm¡Á25mm
n Charger connector 12pin Ultra Portable Notebook weight <1.2kg
connector Communications
n Flash Light Yes Build-inHSDPA/HSUPA
Built-in Wireless LAN (802.11b/g)
Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN

65
 Tech Tool Latest LapTop Free download | flare.com.pk

Sony Vaio VGN-FW465J/B HP Pavilion DV7-CTO25

Rs Rs
1,26,190 1,14,190

Enhance your entertainment and gaming experience with the luxuriously The new HP Pavilion dv7 widescreen panel offers you a new screen size that
designed VGN-FW465J/B VAIO FW Series notebook. Inspired by theater screens is ideal for both computing and entertainment modes. Use the ample horizon-
and born from Sony HD expertise, this HD powerhouse features a stunning 16.4 tal space for widget and toolbars and enjoy a great movie experience in their
inch extra-wide XBRITE-ECO display, which is perfect for watching widescreen original format.
Blu-ray Disc movies or viewing two websites side-by-side. Specifications
Specifications
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium

Genuine Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition

Intel Centrino 2 Processor Technology

Intel Centrino 2 Processor Technology

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8700

Type : Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)

2.53 GHz , 3 MB L2 Cache, 1066 MHz FSB

Installed 4GB (2GBX2)

Standard memory 4096 MB

Maximum 8GB
Capacity : 320GB

Memory type DDR2 800 MHz

Blue Ray ROM / Dual Layer DVDRW

Hard Drive 500GB

Acer Aspire 5738PZG Compaq 610

Rs Rs
85,490 54,490

The new Compaq 610 Notebook PC is designed for mobile users looking for a
Touch it to believe it The Aspire 5738PG features advanced multi-touch tech- low-cost notebook with a 15.6 inch diagonal LED-backlit HD display, Intel proces-
nology for an enriched multimedia experience with fingertip precision. The sors and essential business features.
15.6" HD display is Windows 7 compliant with exciting multi-touch capability Specifications
so you can effortlessly browse, rotate and magnify what you see on screen.
DOS
Specifications
Intel Core 2Duo Processor T5870

Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Edition

2MB L2 Cache , 800Mhz FSB

Intel Pentium Dual Core T4300 (2.1GHz / 1MB Cache / 800FSB)

Ram 2GB DDR2 RAM

Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset

PC2-6400 , 800Mhz FSB , Max 4GB

4GB DDR 3
Dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM support:

Hard Drive 500GB

Up to 4 GB using two soDIMM modules

5400RPM SATA

320 GB SATA
8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive

Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support

Dell Studio 14z Apple MacBook Pro 2.26GHz 13.3"

Rs Rs
74,190 1,18,990

The new Dell Studio 14z laptop has the mobility you need to keep your world Precision aluminum. The new gold standard. Carved from a single block of aluminum,
moving and the design you want to reflect your personal style. the new MacBook Pro unibody enclosure is slim and streamlined with a soft-brushed
Specifications surface and stunning contours. But its not all about beauty. The unibody also makes

Windows Vista Home Premium Edition MacBook Pro more durable than ever.

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6500 2.1GHz

2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running

800Mhz FSB / 2MB L2 Cache

160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive

Ram 3 GB DDR2 System Memory

8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVDE R DL/DVDE RW/CD-RW)

5GB Max

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared

Hard Drive 250 GB SATA Drive
with main memory

5400 Rpm Serial ATA

Optional external DVD+/-RW or Blue Ray ROM with DVDRW
66
Free download | flare.com.pk PDAs Mobiles Tech Tool

67
 Tech Tool Latest Computers Free download | flare.com.pk

Acer Veriton M670G Apple iMac 21.5-inch

Rs Rs
37,990 1,19,900

The Veriton M670G is your green PC packed with the

latest technologies. The latest CPU, chipset and manage-
ment technology, provides enhanced security and man-
ageability for office networks. With Acer Veriton
ControlCenter, Acer Client Manager and TPM-based
security, this desktop is a must-have for today business
needs. Apple introduced the first iMac more than a decade ago. And the design
Specifications philosophy remains the same: an all-in-one computer thats as powerful as it is

Linux beautiful.

Intel Core2 Duo Desktop Processor E7400 (2.80GHz)

3MB L2 Cache / 1066MHz FSB Specifications

Intel Q45 Express chipset with ICH10DO

Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

160GB Hard Disk SATA

3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache

7200 RPM

4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM;

2 x DDR3 800MHz / 1066MHz Dual channel SDRAM

500GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA hard drive

Maximum 4GB

Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive (DVDD R DL/DVDD RW/CD-RW)

DVD Super Multi

Compaq Presario CQ3011L HP Compaq dx2390

Rs Rs
31,490 39,990

Benefit from a simple and reliable PC without the fuss

Practical and stylish: Newly designed with real
and frills for your everyday needs. Deal for families look-
metal surfaces and glossy finishes, the HP
ing for a user-friendly yet affordable PC that maximises
Compaq dx2390 desktop PC is meant to be
value. A versatile performer that is designed to meet the
shown off, not hidden. The HP Compaq dx2390
demands of yours or your family lifestyle. Enhance work
desktop PC has the right balance of technology
and play with an efficient performer that also offers peace
and dependability a demanding business envi-
of mind in security and support.
ronment requires, including proven Intel
Specifications
processors and the Intel G31 chipset.

Free Dos
Specifications

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 (2.50 GHz)

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Processor

800MHz front side bus

2.80GHz / 1066MHz FSB

2MB L2 Cashes
Intel G31 Express

L2 Cache 3MB

Memory Installed 1 GB
Maximum allowed 4 GB (2 x 2 GB)

1GB PC2-6400 (DDR2-800)

Speed supported PC2-6400 MB/sec

HP 250GB SATA

Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM

7200 RPM

250 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)

DVD RW SATA 16X SuperMulti

DVD+/-R/RW 16X 12X +/-DL LS 12X RAM SuperMulti SATA drive

Dell Vostro 220MT Compaq Presario CQ3012L

Rs Rs
39,900 33,990

Dell Vostro desktop solutions are designed

Deal for families looking for a user-friendly yet affordable PC
exclusively with features to simplify the technol-
that maximises value. A versatile performer that is designed
ogy challenges of small business. Vostro delivers
to meet the demands of yours or your family lifestyle.
reliable performance backed by exceptional Dell
Enhance work and play with an efficient performer that also
support all at a great value.
offers peace of mind in security and support.
Specifications
Specifications

Free DOS

Free Dos

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.80 GHz) Processor

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5400 (2.7 GHz)

L2 Cache 3MB / 1066MHz FSB

800MHz front side bus

2GB PC2-6400 (DDR2-800)

2MB L2 Cashes
Memory Installed 2 GB

250GB SATA Hard Drive.

Maximum allowed 4 GB (2 x 2 GB)

DVD RW SATA 16X SuperMulti

Speed supported PC2-6400 MB/sec

Intel G45 Express x 4500 HD Graphics

Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM

320 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)
68
DVD+/-R/RW 16X 12X +/-DL LS 12X RAM SuperMulti SATA drive
Free download | flare.com.pk New Games Tech Tool

As one of the most critically acclaimed shooters of all time, Call of Duty 4:
Modern Warfare is a prime example of a tough act to follow. Yet, amidst a raging
storm of anticipation and expectation, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has done it.
The new campaign is chock-full of intense action and dramatic moments, and
though it is more muddled than its predecessor (in more ways than one), it's still
an absolute blast. The new Special Ops mode allows you to experience some
campaign-inspired thrills with a friend and it's an engaging challenge to
coordinate your maneuvers and tackle the varied objectives. Last but not least, the
competitive multiplayer that took the online shooter community by storm two
years ago is back and better than ever. Though the addictive action remains the
same at its core, there are a host of new elements that make it more accessible,
more strategic, and more rewarding. This all adds up to a thoroughly excellent
package that is sure to thrill shooter fans and deprive them of sleep for months to
come.
Modern Warfare 2's campaign, like that of its predecessor, is quite short, and
you'll likely finish it in about five hours. However, it is disappointing that there
isn't more of it, what you do get is a relentless barrage of tight combat and thrilling
set pieces. In one early level, you man the turret of a Humvee patrolling the
claustrophobic streets of a Middle Eastern city. Enemies seem to be behind every
corner, but you are ordered not to fire until fired upon. The tension builds, and
once you are engaged by the enemy, all hell breaks loose. After a hectic (and
unsuccessful) flight from danger.

The Europa Universalis series is the undisputed master of a niche genre so

small that few serious competitors come to mind. After all, how many other series
let you guide one of more than 100 countries through hundreds of years of human
history (1419-1820) in real time on a detailed, Risk-style map of the world? While
the original board game was too obscure to gain a sizable following, the video
game series has inspired an impressive community of fans and modders, and For
the Glory is the fruit of their labors. Best described as a stand-alone expansion for
2001's Europa Universalis II, this fan-developed title is essentially the same game
with a few notable improvements; it's easier to learn and to play, the interface is
slicker and more informative, and the graphics have been updated. Although a
few of the annoying aspects of the original EUII remain, and multiplayer is
remarkably unstable, For the Glory provides a great single-player experience, full
of color, culture, and history.
Despite the supremely disappointing multiplayer experience, For the Glory
manages to greatly improve upon Europa Universalis II. The visual
improvements, better tooltips, helpful reminder icons, and thousands of new
events make For the Glory superior to its venerable ancestor. Needless to say, fans
of EUII should pick it up immediately, and Renaissance- and Napoleonic-era
aficionados are in for a treat. However, given the availability of Europa
Universalis III and its expansions, you may prefer to skip For the Glory in favor of
the more stable and aesthetically pleasing experience.

The sword in the stone, the lady in the lake, and the knights of the round table
are all present and accounted for in King Arthur: The Role-playing Wargame. But,
this mix of role-playing, real-time strategy, and turn-based grand strategizing
doesn't quite work out as smoothly as the infamous accident that resulted in Mr.
Reese's blending of peanut butter with chocolate. Hungarian developer NeoCore
Games has created a compelling epic here that delves deep into Arthurian legend
and builds a strong fantasy role-playing atmosphere but at the expense of some of
the strategy. So even while you can easily get hooked on guiding King Arthur to
the throne of Britain by vanquishing enemy monarchs and negotiating with
watery tarts throwing swords at you, taking armies into battle is more
problematic because of balance issues and grueling difficulty in the campaign.
While the overall game is well worth playing because of the outstanding
development of the Arthurian theme and some innovations on both the role
playing and strategy sides of the fence, the flaws that mount up after a while will
leave you hoping for a patch. Battles themselves take place whenever two armies
clash on the map.
The Role-playing Wargame can hook you for a great many hours in its present
state, you can't escape the notion that the game could use a pretty comprehensive
patch. This is a great concept but only a good execution, which leaves the end
The Role-playing Wargame result sort of dissatisfying even while you find it hard to stop playing. Let's hope
that NeoCore Games keeps at it until the game is brought to its full potential.
69
 Tech Tool Accessories
Samsung Story Station
Not to be outdone in the external hard
drive battle, Samsung introduced its
Story Station Plus, a 3.5-inch, 2TB
wonder with external serial ATA
(eSATA) for faster data transfer of up to
3.0-gigabits per second. If you do not
have an idea how much space two
terabytes can offer, representatives of
Samsung state that it can store of up to
500,000 MP3 files, 560,000 digital
photos, or up to 880 hours of HD videos.
For those who find 2T too much,
Samsung Story Station Plus also comes in one terabyte storage.
Apart from its transfer speed, its low standby power design is this external hard
drive's main selling point, as it can run on a mere 0.1 watts compared to the
conventional 2.5W. It also includes the Samsung Auto Backup to preserve your
precious data, SecretZone software for personal data encryption, and SafetyKey
for password protection
Self-heating baby feeding bottle
From a husband-wife duo of solicitor
Farah and engineer Jim Shaikh comes
an innovative baby feeding bottle
warmer that'll save all parents a run
to the kitchen every time the child
cries out for milk. Yommi as they call
it won the innovation and research
awards for its genius to heat the milk
in the feeder to a temperature equal to
breast milk only with a touch of a button and in just 60 seconds.
This is made possible with a device that's a sealed warmer which is placed
inside the bottle and beneath the teat. When a button onboard is pushed-on,
the unit triggers heating of a solution contained within the warmer, making
the milk in the bottle ready to temperature perfect for feeding. The warmer
maintains the same temperature for about an hour where after it discharges
and can be recharged and sterilized for next use.
Nikon D3000 DSLR Camera
One of the most talked-about DSLR
cameras around as the gift-giving season
draws near is the Nikon D3000, which
is ideal for people who are starting out
in the photography hobby. This 10.2-
megapixel digital camera comes with
its in-camera Guide Mode that serves
as the user's photography tutor.
The Guide Mode works as a series
of menus that appear on the camera's
LCD. The user then chooses the type
of scene and subject he or she is about
to shoot. The Nikon D3000 automatically
adjusts its settings to provide the best
image possible. This makes photography
more fun and handy.
70
Free download | flare.com.pk
Computer Peripheral Gifts
Computer peripherals such as keyboards and mouse may not be a
first-in-mind gift idea even for the hardcore computer users, they
are important to spice up your computer usage. After all, if you do
not feel bored staring at an old CRT monitor, typing on a stock
keyboard that is uncomfortable to type, or checking yourself out as
the stickcam captures an image of you every
five seconds, then peripherals are
not for you. But for those
w h o d o c a r e ,
Gadget.com has
compiled the best
peripheral gift ideas that
you can provide to your
friends or even to yourself.
Developing contact lenses displays and
biosensors
Engineers at the University of
Washington are working on a new
type of contact lens which based on
semi-transparent array and
embedded LEDs would work as a
display forming images in front of
the eye, or to be used as biosensors to
double as a unit to deliver reading of
the wearer's vital signs. Dr Babak
Parviz has readied a working prototype of the lens.
This prototype runs using 330 microwatts power generated from a
radio frequency transmitter and has been used as biosensor to show
the body's vital signs. The wireless power is picked here by a loop
antenna embedded into the contact lens. To develop a lens to form
heads-up display in front of the eye, the researchers will integrate it
with communication circuits, and miniature antennas into the lens
using custom-built optoelectronic components and hundreds of
LEDs for higher resolution pictures.
HP New Thin Client Hardware
Aside from introducing new Windows 7-
powered desktop computers, HP has also provided
an alternative to cash-strapped users: Low-cost thin
client computers.
Unlike the traditional computers that are
technically called "fat clients," thin clients depend
heavily on an outside server to fulfill its computing
needs, thus lowering costs, cutting energy use, and
increase productivity. This new generation of thin
clients from HP consists of three models, with the
first two running on Intel Atom N280 processor. The
HP t5740 (pictured) includes a Windows-embedded
operating system, while the t5745 is powered by
HP's ThinPro Linux OS. Small as a paperback book,
the t5325 uses a mere five watts of power.
Free download | flare.com.pk Tech Tool

Gunnar Optiks Wi-Five Eyewear Blue Microphones Eyeball 2.0 Webcam

As computers become faster and more stylish, wouldn't it be a
Poor eyesight
drag if it still has a webcam that captures low-quality images on a per
has become an
second basis? Now, you can have a webcam that complements the
increasing
desktops and laptops of today with the Eyeball 2.0 by Blue
problem
Microphones.
espe cially in the
This revolutionary new webcam captures two-megapixel
Digital Age where
videos and high-definition audio through its high- fideli
more and more people spend
ty microphone so that you could look and sound as
their time on a television set or a PC
good. It has a retractable camera lens that hides
monitor for longer periods of time. This can lead to eye fatigue and
behind the mic to ensure the webcam is off
may cause vision to deteriorate over time in case it is not being
when you are not broadcasting, thus
adequately protected. These Wi-Five eyewear will help in guarding
protecting your privacy
your eye sight.
when you needed it. You
can either place it on a flat
surface or install it on any
laptop or desktop monitor
Aino Multimedia Mobile Phone through its custom-
designed monitor adapter.
Opting for an unlocked phone? Sony
Ericsson has heard your plea, as they just released its
newest handset called the Aino, which features on-the-
go entertainment and rich
multimedia features. Its
astounding 8.1-megapixel
camera, for instance, also
Multi-Format LED Display Watch
has auto-focus, flash, 16x It's not always that watches become the centre of attraction in the geek-
digital zoom, image world. The watch in question is something really impressive, the induction is
stabilization, face well deserved, and the rugged Multi-Format LED Display Watch is one such
detection, auto-rotation, make. Available over at ThinkGeek for $150, the hand assembled watch is
and even geo-tag. formed in aluminum and acrylic. The takers wouldn't be lured at that though,
Other multimedia options include a media browser with 3D and the makers didn't
navigation, music player, and easy access to your PC or Remote think so as well and have
Play on your PlayStation 3. The Aino also has tri-band HSPA, a thus fixed the watch with a
432 x 240 display, stereo Bluetooth headphones, a charging base, tempting touch sensitive
8GB microSD card, USB connection, and Wi-Fi connectivity. display.
The tapping on the
screen allows the watch to
light the glowing red
Futuristic Rolltop Multi-touch Laptop colored LEDs besides
flipping between the time
Laptops, netbooks, and notebooks are getting thinner and thinner. shown in binary, octal,
But Orkin Design's futuristic laptop concept trumps that. The decimal and hexadecimal.
Rolltop, as the name suggests can be rolled up like mat. Talk about The watches are made in
portable. This laptop is flexible limited addition and only 200 of these are ready for sale, the interested my just
O L E D display which also want to hurry on it I guess.
hand les multitouch just like
your iPhone.

Firefly Accent Lamp

It is not often that one may develop an
interest in seemingly ordinary things. But, there are
some times when a unique design or feature
WEP900 Bluetooth Headset seems to catch the imagination of a
person develop some interest,
The Samsung WEP900 Bluetooth
enough to give a certain gadget a
headset is actually not something
second look. Such may happen
out of the ordinary. And in terms
when one comes upon a Firefly
of its looks, it really has something
Accent Lamp.
worth mentioning. This device has
One look at the Firefly Accent Lamp and
just recently won a design award
you would not think that it is a lamp at all. You
at CES 2009, quite an achievement
wou ld look at like just any other piece of wall
for just an ordinary Bluetooth
acce ssor y. But in fact, this item that looks like a giant firefly
headset.
actually is a working lamp. This fanciful lamp is made out of cast resin
designed with a bronze finish. It hides a bulb fixture inside that offers a warm
golden glow when lighted. It is ideally designed for use on a tabletop, fixed
on a wall or anywhere you might fancy a warm golden glow of a firefly.
71
 Synopsis National
Warid, PU sign MoU
Lahore: Punjab University has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mujahid Kamran and Warid Telecom General
Warid Telecom under which PU officials will Manager Shahid Murtaza signed the MoU.
get 35 per cent discount and students will get
20 per cent discount in the monthly line rent of
post-paid Warid connections.
The close use group (CUG) calling rate shall
Lahore: (from right to left) Dr Mujahid Kamran, Vice Chancellor, Punjab University
exchanging MoU documents with Shahid M. Murtaza, General Manager Corporate
Accounts and Enterprise Solutions, Warid Telecom along with Shahzad Rauf, pearl 8120 and Curve
Chief Strategy & Operations Officer Warid Telecom and Akbar Khan, Head of Corporate 8310 only.
Sales and Strategic Alliances.
KESC in accord with Abacus
Consulting, Metro Resources
Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC)
entered into an agreement with Abacus
Consulting and Metro Resources Inc for the
implementation of SAP Industry Solution to
Utilities at a ceremony held at KESC Head Office
in Karachi.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Tabish Gauhar,
Managing Director, KESC, said,
“Implementation of SAP Industry Solution for
Utilities will assist KESC in improving
effectiveness and efficiency of its billings,
business intelligence and customer relationship
management functions, enabling the Company
to provide high quality and reliable services to
the electricity consumers of Karachi”.
“KESC selected SAP, after a thorough review
of all the best business technologies available in
the world, due to its proven track record globally
in the utilities sector, good fit with functional
requirement, alignment with long term IT
strategy and superior after sales support by
Abacus Consulting”.
SAP Industry Solution is the world’s leading
Utilities Information Solution used by more than
600 of the world’s leading utilities. Speaking at
the occasion, Tabish Gauhar further emphasized
that as part of the Company’s strategy to
modernise its systems by using the best of the
breed integrated technology platform, KESC will
be able to improve the quality of services to its
customers by offering one window operation for
all services, making the monthly billing more
reliable and accurate, improving customer
72
Free download | flare.com.pk
be 0.25 paisa per 30 seconds for PU
officials and students when calling on
those connections activated under
this MoU. PU Vice Chancellor Dr
PU official faculty members and students
may get Black Berry Services on discounted
rate. Warid will also provide PU a dedicated
series of cell numbers in a row. Black Berry
Pearl 8120 and Curve
8310 will be provided
to PU officials on
demand at 50 per cent
discounted rates and
Curve 8900 and Black
Berry Bold 9000 on 20
per cent discount.
PU students during
the stipulated term of
studies at PU shall be Lahore: Shahzad Ahmad, Manger PR, Warid Telecom and Akbar Khan, Head
of Corporate Sales and Strategic Alliances, Warid Telecom at the signing
eligible for 20 per cent ceremony.
line rent discount on the most reliable service provider Warid
post-paid packages to Telecom is determined in delivering the
be bought on cash exceptional services to its valued customers.
security deposit only Achieving a substantial market share, the loyal
besides 20 per cent off customers, huge subscriber base and the
on Black Berry handsets recognition as the most reliable and steady
Telecom Operator, Warid Telecom continues to
set excellence benchmarks in telecom industry
Being recognised as of Pakistan.

services by President of Abacus Consulting said, “Metro and
resolving Abacus Consulting are delighted to be associated
customer issues with KESC as its SAP Implementation Partners.
during the first SAP solution will greatly facilitate KESC in
call, better
organisation
improving its productivity and insight by
reducing costs through increased flexibility,
wide access to improving customer service, financial
billing information, shorter training timelines, management and support changing industry
increased security of customer data and enabling requirements”.
KESC to offer more relevant offers to customers. Mr Khan added, SAP Solution will allow the
Company’s management to gain
immediate access to real time
enterprise information, thereby
enabling them to make timely
decisions and reducing risk.
Abacus Consulting is the
largest Consulting, Technology
and Outsourcing firm in
Pakistan, both in terms of
revenues and size, with over 2000
employees and several offices in
Pakistan and the Middle East.
The services and products
offered by Abacus Consulting
include SAP implementation and
Mr Tabish Gauhar Managing Director, KESC and Mr Asad Ali Khan President, Abacus Consulting at the
signing ceremony.
education, business process
outsourcing, IT consulting,
Also present on the occasion were Dr Syed mCommerce, mBanking, call centres, enterprise
Naveed Ahmed, Group Head Strategy, Mr Jan performance management, supply chain and
Abbas, Chief Operating Officer Distribution, operations management, strategy consulting,
Sardar Naufil Mahmud, Chief Information financial advisory services, organisation design
Officer, Mr Asad Ali Khan, Chairman, Abacus and development, change management and HR
Consulting, Mr Paul Grabham, Managing functional solutions.
Director, Metro CIS and Inayat Koreshi, Partner, Abacus Consulting Client Portfolio includes
Abacus Consulting. national industry leaders, major governmental
The implementation work will commence in entities, multilateral and bilateral institutions
December this year and will be completed in and several leading multinational corporations
eleven months by November 2010. in the corporate sector in Pakistan and the
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Asad Ali Khan, Middle East.

Free download | flare.com.pk
Warid reaches 6250 destinations
Lahore: Warid Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. the
country’s leading cellular company has
achieved another milestone by hitting 6,250
destinations, expanding the quality services to
486 cities, covering more than 12,500 km road
length throughout Pakistan. The subscriber
base has crossed over 18.58 million with a
market share of 19.37 per cent (PTA Oct-09).
With the mission to maintain and deliver
unmatched high quality network experience in
every nook and corner of the country, Warid
Telecom has pursued an aggressive expansion
strategy to spread its network coverage from
cosmopolitan cities to smaller towns and
Fresh features of Nokia 6700 Slide, Nokia 7230
Karachi: Nokia has unveiled
two new 3G slider phones, the
Nokia 6700 slide and Nokia
7230, made for the design-
conscious consumer and
optimized for socializing and
sharing with those closest to
you.
Available in various fresh
colours, with great imaging
features and quick access to
popular social networking
communities, the Nokia 6700
slide and Nokia 7230 make a
PIA Post- Hajj operation completed
Lahore: PIA team at Jeddah has started
preparations for the return journey of over
127,000 Hajjis from Saudi Arabia on completion
of holy pilgrimage, according to dispatch from
Jeddah. The airline’s Post-Hajj operation were
commence from December 2, 2009 and win
contiune upto January 1, 2010.
Civil Aviation Authorities of King Abdul Aziz
International Airport has appreciated the PIA
Pre-Hajj operations at Jeddah and Madinah for
speedy handling of passengers to avoid
congestion at the terminal building. Since the
commencement of Hajj operations, PIA
established a Central Hajj Desk Situation room
and activated its emergency response Centre at
Karachi and Jeddah working round the clock for
overseeing and providing information and
services regarding Hajj operations from nine
stations in Pakistan and two stations in Saudi
Arabia.
Furthermore, PIA operated 260 Hajj flights
carrying 103,971 intending Hajj pilgrims to
Jeddah. PIA airlifted 25,752 intending Hajj
pilgrims from Karachi, 20,050 from Islamabad,
27,661 from Lahore, 16781 from Peshawar, 9,547
from Quetta and 4,180 intending Hajj pilgrims
from Sialkot. In addition, 8,365 intending hajj
pilgrims travelled through PIA’s regular flights.
Pilgrims from Faisalabad, Rahim Yar Khan and
villages. Warid also offers international
roaming with over 229 live GSM roaming
real style statement.
The smart capabilities of the
Nokia 6700 slide are beautifully
easy to use: The five megapixel
camera with Carl Zeiss optics is
perfect for capturing and
sharing moments as they
happen. Favourite images can
be edited on the go and
uploaded to the web directly
from the camera menu. The
device's high speed
connectivity ensures your
favourite communities are
Sukkur were transported by PIA to Karachi for
onward travel to the holy land.
The entire Pre-Hajj operation was completed
successfully. All necessary arrangements were
made by PIA in providing proper assistance to
intending Hajj pilgrims. Concerted efforts by PIA
District Manager PIA Mansoor Mela, Dy. District Manager PIA &
Manager Hajj Saleem Shahani. PIA Public Relations and other
officials greeting Hajjis of PIA’s first Hajj flight from Jeddah at Al-
lama Iqbal International Airport Lahore.
and constant coordination with concerned
government agencies led to the successful
completion of Pre-Hajj Operation.
The airline’s Pre Hajj Operation which
commenced on October 21, 2009 concluded
successfully on 21 November 2009. In all, PIA
transported 127,379 intending Hajj pilgrims to the
holy land through 293 hajj flights and regular
scheduled flights.

International Synopsis
partners in 140 countries and 127 live
GPRS roaming partners in 94 countries
and prepaid roaming service in 21
countries, covering about 70 per cent of the
world including Europe, Africa, Middle East
and Asia.
Warid since its inception has always focused
on delivering the best to its subscribers by not
only providing the affordable means of
communication but a truly reliable network
service and delighting after sales services
through 400 sales & service centres across
Pakistan. With the substantial market share,
loyal subscriber base and the recognition as the
most steadfast telecom operator, Warid
Telecom continues to set excellence benchmarks
in Telecom Industry of Pakistan.

always as close as your Nokia 6700 slide.
The Nokia 7230 let’s you share in style. Being
connected was never so good. Its compact slide
design, colourful looks and solid set of features
are a package that offers great value for money.
Sharing special moments and joy with
friends and family is effortless, thanks to the 3.2
megapixel camera, large 2.4" display and fast 3G
connectivity. With the Nokia 7230 in your
pocket, you also have quick access to email,
instant messaging and social networks on the
3G go, and the subtle illumination indicates if you
have missed calls or messages from your
friends.

China Telecom to Block All
WAP Service Providers
China Telecom has released a statement
pronouncing that, in accordance with
government regulations demanding closure
of pornographic sites, the operator will block
all access to WAP sites from its service
providers. During this time, China Telecom
said it will carry out a rectification campaign,
and impose blacklists and white lists for WAP
sites. The statement explained that regulation
of WAP content proved exceedingly difficult
due to tactics from WAP providers, who
would constantly change their IP addresses or
display different content at different times of
the day, leaving
China Telecom with
no way to uproot the
problem other than
blocking all service
providers for the
time being. China
Telecom said it would gradually open access
to services that pass inspection, one by one.
China Telecom announced earlier that it
had closed down more than 130,000
unregistered websites during its crackdown
on vulgar content and pornography. China
Telecom also reported imposing reforms on
362 companies and terminating service to 226
companies.
73
Free download | flare.com.pk
Seven Pakistani Universities PTA, SBP to formulate
join the Oracle Academy 3rd Party Mobile Banking
Karachi: Seven leading universities in Pakistan have joined the Oracle
Academy and have integrated its Advanced Computer Science and
Enterprise Business Applications programmes into their IT curricula.
As a result, over 2,400 students from the participating universities will
gain access to world-class technical curriculum and develop hands-on
experience with Oracle’s industry-leading database, middleware, and
applications software.
Students who participate in the Oracle Academy develop vital business
and technology skills, gaining a competitive advantage as they prepare to
enter the global workforce of the 21st century. Participating universities
include Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan,
Sukkur Institute of Business Administration, Riphah International
University, Air University, University of Arid Agriculture, Institute of
Management Sciences, Peshawar, and Sarhad University, Peshawar.
The Pakistani students will join more than 850,000 students at 4,400
institutions in 91 countries who benefit from their participation in the
Oracle Academy.
“The Oracle Academy will allow our students to enhance their IT skills
and expertise. Students who complete the programme will have a
competitive edge when they enter the workforce,” said Mr Riasat Khan,
Chairman, Islamabad Board Council (IBC).
“The Oracle Academy provides our faculty members and students with
access to the latest technologies. This collaboration with Oracle will help us
meet industry requirements and improve the quality of education for our
students,” said Dr Iftikhar Azim Niaz, Head of Computing Department,
Riphah International University, Islamabad.
“Keeping up with the latest developments in computer science and
adapting curricula accordingly is a challenge for academic institutions. The
Oracle Academy provides our faculty and students with the tools they
need to develop in-demand industry skills,” said Dr. Afaq Hussain,
Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Air
University.

175 PTA officials trained
in IT
Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has
completed the advanced IT training to enhance the IT skills of its officials
including lower cadre staff. As many as 175 officials including 103 staff
members at Headquarters 40 Qasids/Naib Qasids and 32 officials at its
Zonal Offices, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Rawalpindi have been
trained under this programme. Advanced IT Training Programme 2009
covered training areas such as basic programmes, network, trouble
shooting, MS office, software and advanced applications.
In this connection, an award ceremony was
held at PTA Headquarters. Chairman PTA Dr
Mohammed Yaseen, distributed certificates
among the position holders of the training
programme. Member (Finance) Syed Nasrul
Karim Ghaznavi, Member (Technical) Dr
Khawar Siddique Khokhar and senior officers
of the Authority were also present on this
occasion.
On this occasion, Chairman PTA said that
realising the importance of IT in all spheres of
life, PTA has initiated advance training of all its
employees. He said the staff members as well as
the organization will be benefited a lot from this programme. He also
appreciated the role of ICT and HR Directorates in arranging the training
programmes. Earlier in 2008 PTA arranged Basic IT Training Programme
2008 for its staff members covering word processing, spread sheet,
multimedia etc.

National Synopsis
Regulations
Islamabad: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and State
Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have agreed to formulate “Third Party Mobile
Banking Regulations”. A significant development in this respect incurred
when Chairman PTA Dr Mohammed Yaseen met Governor SBP Syed
Salim Raza at State Bank of Pakistan. Heads of the two regulators
discussed the proposed Regulations originally drafted by PTA and
announced a “Joint Regulatory Committee” consisting of officials from
the State Bank and PTA which will work on the draft regulations,
finalising its suggestions and recommendations within three months
timeframe.
The draft of the Regulations addresses the ongoing debate over
different models of providing mobile banking services which include
‘Telecom-led model’ and ‘Bank-led model’. The proposed “Third Party
Mobile Banking Regulations” offer an intermediary model for opting the
mobile banking services taking in account the concern and
responsibilities of both financial institutes and mobile operators.
During the discussion, Chairman PTA said that the mobile phone
communication sector has shown an enormous growth in Pakistan; thus
creating striking opportunities for service providers and consumers to
utilise mobile networks for carrying out
various daily life tasks such as financial
transactions. He also highlighted salient
features of draft regulations including
operators’ obligations, arrangements
between operators and financial
institutes and Dispute Settlement
Mechanism. PTA has been thoroughly
working with State Bank on drafting a
sound regulatory framework in order to
facilitate potential stakeholders
interested in introducing true mobile
banking services in the country. The
primary objective of this collaboration is
to develop a unified regulatory
framework.
Governor State Bank appreciated this initiative by PTA and
considered it an important development for the banking and telecom
sectors of the country. He said that advancements in telecom technologies
have positively affected other sectors and innovative products have been
introduced. He said that customers of mobile operators and financial
institutions will be benefited from Mobile Banking Services and these
regulations will ensure their security and satisfaction.
At the end of the meeting during a joint statement, both regulatory
heads endorsed the proposed “Third Party Mobile Banking Regulations”
and aimed to continue mutual coordination for setting up a fair and non-
discriminatory regulatory framework for the mobile banking service
providers.
It may be mentioned that Mobile Banking is increasingly being
employed by financial institutes in collaboration with mobile operators
around the world to generate additional revenues, reduce costs or to
increase customer satisfaction, often with very promising results. There
is no universal form of m-banking; rather, purposes and structures vary
from country to country. The systems offer a variety of financial
functions, including micro-payments to merchants, bill-payments to
utilities, Person-to-Person (P2P) transfers between individuals, and long-
distance remittances.

75
 Synopsis Flare Report
IT labs to improve educational standard
T
he establishment of information
technology (IT)/computer laboratories
in government higher secondary and
high schools is a revolutionary step by
the Punjab government to raise the education
standard, said MPA Nawabzada Shams Haider.
He was addressing the inaugural ceremony
of IT laboratory at Government Danny’s Higher
Secondary School. District Coordination Officer
(DCO) Imdadullah Bosal, MNA Malik Abrar,
MPAs Raja Muhammad Hanif Advocate, Malik
Iftikhar, Raja Muhammad Faiz Sarwar,
Rawalpindi CPO Rao Muhammad Iqbal Khan,
EDO Education Malik Muhammad Ashraf,
DDO Education Sajida Ahmed and a large
number of girl and boy students attended the
ceremony.
Haider, who was the chief guest and Bosal
inaugurated the IT lab comprising 16
computers with all their accessories at
Government Danny’s Higher Secondary School.
Haider said the establishment of 209
IT/computers labs in high schools of
Rawalpindi district would help provide
computer education to students in all the
backward and rural areas of the district.
76
He said those nations, which worked hard
in the field of education, achieved the goal of
development and prosperity. He said it was
high time to pay attention to improve
educational standards. He said Punjab Chief
Minister Shahbaz Sharif was giving top priority
to the education sector and the establishment of
IT labs in schools of the province reflected his
Free download | flare.com.pk
interest to improve the standards of education.
He said the neighbouring country India had
achieved advancement in the field of computer
science. Haider said, to compete the world, it
was imperative to make speedy advancement
in IT knowledge, an important sources of
foreign exchange earning through software
development.
He said the Punjab government was
planning to establish IT Park in Lahore to boost
the IT field in the province. Bosal underlined
the need for successfully functioning of these IT
labs, which would help achieve the targets set
up by the government for the IT and computer
education. He said the education department
and teachers should do their best to achieve the
target of education standard in the province.
Prof Nasir Minhas of Pir Mehr Ali Shah-
Arid Agriculture Uninversity Rawalpindi, Dr
Rabia Izhar of Government Girls High School
Dhoke Ratta, student Qaiser Nadeem and
Hamza Saeed also addressed on this occasion
and highlighted the significance of IT
education. They lauded the efforts of the Punjab
chief minister for bringing a revolutionary
change in the field of education. n
Free download | flare.com.pk
IGI Insurance receives Merit Award
Karachi: IGI Insurance Limited, part of the IGI
Financial Services Group, was awarded the
‘Merit award’ for the year 2008 in the category
‘Non –Banking Sector not subject to prudential
supervision’ by the South Asian Federation of
Accountants (SAFA).
Established in 1953, IGI Insurance
underwrites all types of property and casualty
insurance. With over 55 years of experience, IGI
has become one of the leading providers of risk
management services across the country and has
Samsung Corby crave hit Mcdonald’s
Karachi: Samsung Electronics Company
Limited, a global leader in mobile phones and
electronic products, as a joint promotion with
McDonalds Pakistan, has introduced the latest
Samsung Corby Series mobile phones at
McDonald’s outlets across Pakistan. McDonald’s
customers are provided with a chance to win this
fabulous cellular product through participation.
The youth oriented series is focussed on
interactivity and is laced with exciting features
such as video, images, sound, music and data
sharing. The joint promotion aims to generate
excitement among the youth and providing them
a feel of the touch phones and boosting their
comprehension. Corby phones are specially
designed to enhance the ability of young people
to make new friends.
The Managing Director of Samsung Pakistan
Mr Steve Han said, “Two highly prestigious
Global brands Samsung and McDonald’s have
Singtel will join ZTE for Long Term Evolution trials
For carrying out Long Term Evolution
(LTE) trials in the Philippines, ZTE Corp, a
Chinese equipment vendor has planned to
work with Singapore Telecommunications
(SingTel) affiliate, Globe Telecom.
The intention behind the tie up is to
develop strategic management of the network
Ufone shines at the Etisalat Group CMO Forum
Islamabad: Ufone, an Etisalat group
company and one of the leading telecom
companies in Pakistan won two awards at the
Etisalat Group Chief Marketing Officer
(GCMO) Forum held in Dubai recently.
Ufone has been a key company within the
Etisalat operations around the globe and has
been a preferred ground for fast growth market
exposure within the group. At the event held
Ufone won two awards in a competition
amongst 18 Etisalat operations around the
world.
Each nomination was evaluated and
selected by an independent committee. Another
significant achievement is that Ufone won an
award in each category it was nominated in,
been listed on the Karachi and Lahore Stock
Exchanges since December 1987. Furthermore,
IGI Insurance has maintained the “AA” Insurer
Financial Strength Rating by PACRA for 9
consecutive years, denoting a very strong
capacity to meet policy holders and contract
obligations.
The award was presented at a ceremony held
in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Awards under different
categories were conferred on the basis of
evaluation by SAFA Committee for improvement
come together to provide the customers with
healthy social activities and cellular interactions,
where the young generation can get a hands-on
experience of the latest Samsung Corby phone
while enjoying the great taste of McDonalds
Nadia Husain is flanked by consumers at the Samsung Corby
Activity held at Pak Towers Recently. Corby is the latest series of
phones introduced principally for the youngsters.
Meals and desserts. We have created this
promotional alliance to engage with the young,
as well as long-term planning for LTE network
infrastructure projects. A trail will be
conducted in the early 2010 for six to nine
month in order to assess market demand for
broadband access services.
Earlier, SingTel announced it wanted to
conduct regional trials of LTE technology in
namely Physical Customer Experience and
Online categories. The awards are won by the
Ufone Retailer Outreach Program and the Sales
Force Automation Program, based on
innovation and their impact on business.
The GCMO forum is a senior level forum for
all marketing and commercial heads of the
Etisalat family to exchange strategic views on
the industry, share experiences from different
markets and align businesses to the strategic
direction of the organisation and to become a
service provider of choice around the globe.
The forum also recognises innovation in
business and operating models within the
group by announcing awards in different
categories.
National Synopsis
in transparency, accountability
and governance of the published
annual reports of entries from
South Asian Countries.
Muhammad Kashif Nisar, CFO IGI Insurance
speaking at the occasion said, “Our commitment
to following best practices in our business and a
strong emphasis on governance has been
complemented by this award. With a focus on
continuous improvement, we strive to enhance
the benefits provided to our stakeholders and
customers.
Previously IGI Insurance Limited has also
been awarded with the Best Corporate Report
Award and Corporate Excellence Award.

quality conscious customers”.
Zeshan Qureshi, Head of Samsung
Mobiles, Pakistan and Afghanistan said
that this fun-filled activity also includes special
McDonalds-Corby Meals along with a variety of
gifts, hampers, giveaways and several chances to
win the latest Corby phones through lucky
draws. It will be conducted at all McDonald’s
outlets in Pakistan, where the expected
customers are around 100,000 per month/per
outlet. This makes it a highly appropriate
location for Corby Promotions.
The selected outlets are spread out at strategic
locations across Pakistan, including Karachi,
Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad,
Sialkot and Hyderabad. Stall activity will be held
for 30 days, all customers of Meals will be
entered in a lucky draw, and each venue will
have one lucky draw winner.
The outlets will feature Kiosk displays with
promoters, Corby Artworks branding, Mobiles &
Dummies on display for visitors. The Outlet
fascia will also be co-branded with Corby Meal.

Australia,
Philippines,
Indonesia and
Singapore in collaboration with Telkomsel,
Optus, and Globe Telecom. Through this step
the company hopes its regional partners and
joint ventures will better understand the
approach and strategy behind the adoption of
LTE in the regional markets.

Retail Outreach Programme was designed
to create a bond of trust between the retailer
and Ufone. Its smart and cost effective design
covers a large retail force with a significantly
improved channel performance making our
retailers the preferred business partners, which
is the hall mark of this success. On the other
hand the Sales Force Automation is about
eliminating the extra layers that exist between
the customer and the company and helps
improve time to the market. It has helped
reduce customer hassle and improve the overall
customer experience. Both these programmes
have been instrumental in Ufone gaining its
competitive edge in the market.

77
Free download | flare.com.pk International Synopsis

Yahoo completes
Dubai: Yahoo’s
Mobile-web surge acquisition of Arab
language
Maktoob.com - a
portal

continued Maktoob takeover landmark

widely expected to
deal

Helsinki: Global mobile data traffic continued to surge in October,
growing at the fastest pace in seven months, internet browser company
Opera Software said. Data traffic through Opera's mobile browser -
which packages up to 90 per cent of the data to save network bandwidth
- rose 16 per cent in October from September, the company said.
Tech-savvy consumers have used cell phones to access internet on the
go for long, but the mobile internet market has really boomed since 2007
introduction of Apple's iPhone. "When things really started to get off was
when Steve Jobs stood up and said: Now you can get internet in your
pocket," said Opera's chief financial officer, Erik Harrell. "The iPhone has
opened the eyes of operators for revenue potential of web browsers and
I think Google has done the same."
Wireless operators are eager to increase revenue from internet
browsing and the social networking boom as revenue from traditional
voice calls is declining but they are facing increasingly congested
networks. This is helping browsers like Opera, which use proxy servers
to package data and send only a small amount through wireless
networks.
"There is a rapidly growing trend on the market towards proxy-based
browsers," Randy Cavaiani, vice president for marketing and business
development at browser firm Novarra, said in a recent interview. "If a
handset maker is looking to acquire technology, they would look at
strength of the server," he said.
Nokia and other top phone makers have increasingly focused on
developing their own browsers, but most players in the industry are
certain Blackberry-maker RIM's August deal to buy browser firm Torch
will not be the last one. "Opera's future will depend on key technology
players assessing their options and deciding on a make or buy strategy."
Opera has 39.6 million users of its Opera Mini browser who all access
the internet through Opera's servers - giving the company usage data -
and who generated 263 million megabytes of data traffic for operators
worldwide last month.
Opera continues to lead the global mobile browsing market,
controlling 26.4 per cent of the market in November so far, according to
web analytics firm StatCounter. The iPhone browser and Nokia browser
follow with 22.1 per cent and 19.7 per cent of the market. Opera's browser
is used extensively in emerging countries, with its market share above
50 per cent in countries like Russia, Indonesia, India and Ukraine.

give a major fillip to Middle East’s online media advertising sector - was
completed, the founder of the region’s largest online community said.
The deal, which is also seen to spur the Arab world’s internet
penetration rate, was sealed about 10 weeks after the Yahoo announced
the acquisition in August. Both Maktoob.com and Yahoo, headquartered
in Sunnyvale, California, declined to reveal the value of the acquisition,
the first major investment by a US technology giant, but some unconfirmed
reports estimate the amount to be
above USD100 million.
“We think this is the turning
point for the whole industry (in
the region),” Maktoob’s founder
Samih Toukan was quoted as
saying by the Arab portal. Citing
commercial confidentiality,
Toukan also did not disclose the (From L-R) Ahmed Nassef, general manager, Yahoo!
Maktoob; Samih Toukan, co-founder, Maktoob and
value of the deal. chief executive, Jabbar Internet Group; Keith Nilsson,
About 200 of 300 Maktoob senior vice president, emerging markets, Yahoo!.
Group’s former employees are now part of Yahoo. The rest are being
accommodated within Jabbar Internet Group, a new venture started by
Toukan. “Jabbar and Maktoob will maintain business cooperation. We are
talking about a lot of cooperation going forward. They can use our services
and we can use Yahoo’s services,” he Toukan.
The acquisition will allow Yahoo to offer Arabic-language content for
the first time as well as Arabic versions of its products and services, such
as instant Messaging, E-mail and Yahoo front page in Arabic,
Maktoob.com reported.
In an interview, Ahmed Nassef, Vice President of Maktoob Group, who
is now the general manager of the newly formed Yahoo Maktoob, said the
landmark deal would give a big boost to online media advertising in the
Middle East. He predicted that Arab internet users would double in the
next three to four years as a result of the increased awareness and an
enhanced portal platform. Arab internet penetration rate is currently less
than 15 per cent, or 45-50 million users, out of the total Arab population of
338 million.
The Arab online advertising market currently accounts for just one per
cent - or USD50 million - of the total ad spend of USD four to six billion in
the Gulf and Levant. By comparison, online advertising comprises 12 to 15
per cent of the total ad spend in the United Kingdom and 10-11 per cent of
that in the US.

Internet a matter of life and death

Egypt: The inability to access to the internet
in one’s own language can be life-threatening, a
forum at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh
heard. “Lack of access to information is life-
threatening, threatens your ability to stay
healthy, to access government services,”
Dwayne Bailey, of the African Network for
Localisation (ANLoc), told the internet
governance forum. Multi-lingualism on the
internet was an imperative that had to be
addressed, stressed the official from ANLoc, a
project to empower Africans to participate in
the digital age. He gave the example of vital
health guidelines that South African authorities
post on their web sites in English “in the hope
that most people will understand.”
“There are 2,000 languages spoken by a
billion people in Africa. There are 15 languages
in Africa that have more than 10 million people
each and almost none of those are present in
any significant way in the information age,”
Bailey said.
The US-based internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) took a
significant step towards ending the exclusive
use of Latin characters for web site addresses’
internationalised domain names (IDNs).
Egypt and Russia were among the first to
apply to have their country code for top level
domains in their own scripts. But Bailey said
that while IDNs were essential in the drive to
internationalise the World Wide Web, he
stressed they were only one aspect. “There’s the
assumption that all languages can be typed,”
said Bailey, whose organisation has developed
keyboards that allow people to type African
languages. “Software is predominantly not
available” in many African languages, he said.
Only 100 of the world’s 7,000 languages
existed in cyberspace, said Unesco’s Abdul
Waheed Khan, who illustrated the point of
language barriers by starting his speech in
Hindi without translation. “Language is part of
identity,” said the official from the UN body
that deals with education and culture. “Can you
share with a farmer scientific innovation if that
information is not available to him or her in the
language that they can understand?” Khan
asked. Participants proposed translating and
localising content to make it more relevant,
making spell-checkers available for different
languages.
“There is nothing as negative for a language
as seeing it all underlined in red, basically your
computer communicating that your language is
irrelevant in the computer age,” Bailey said.
This year’s Internet Governance Forum in
Egypt has brought together more than 1,500
representatives of government, advocacy
groups, non-governmental organisations and
the private sector to discuss the future of the
internet.

79
Free download | flare.com.pk International Synopsis

Economic rebound lifts British town to offer free

China Mobile call traffic wi-fi to all everyone
Shenzhen: China Mobile the world's top mobile carrier by subscribers, London: Swindon has become the first place in Britain to offer free
said its call traffic has bounced back to pre-global downturn levels, lifted wireless internet access to all its 186,000 residents, in what is thought to be
by a rebounding economy. China Mobile's international business dropped the first such scheme, officials said.
during the crisis but has now returned to normal levels, Chairman Wang Local authorities will set up 1,400 secure
Jianzhou said at an event in the southern Chinese city Shenzhen. access points around town to create a ‘wi-fi
A return of migrant workers to big cities, following their mass mesh’ offering residents the internet
departures as work dried up during the downturn, is also helping to drive without having to pay line rental or
calling traffic, he added. "The financial crisis has mostly passed, and we connection charge. The one-million-pound
are now basically back to normal levels," he said. "The biggest factor before project will be funded by a mixture of
was a drop in international business but now that's recovered to normal public and private money, but the council
levels." hopes it will eventually turn a profit.
Shares of China Mobile and its two Residents will be limited in their usage
main rivals, China Unicom and China of the free service but will be able to sign up
Telecom have been relative laggards on to 20Mb upgrades for ‘significantly less per
Hong Kong's stock market this year, month’ than major broadband competitors,
amid concerns about growing while visitors can use a pay-as-you-go
competition under a recent industry service.
overhaul that has eroded average Digital City UK Ltd, which is running Locals will be able to access the
revenue per user (ARPU). the project, is 35 per cent owned by the Internet without paying line rental
China Mobile shares are flat this year, council and hopes to roll out similar wi-fi or a connection charge
while Unicom and China Telecom schemes in other towns.
shares are up 13 per cent and 23 per cent, “This is a truly ground-breaking partnership which will have real
respectively, all well behind a 57 per cent benefits for everyone living in Swindon,’ said Rod Bluh, leader of Swindon
jump for the broader Hang Seng Index. Borough Council. The first phase will be switched on in early December,
The trio mostly command price-to- and the council hopes to complete the whole network by April. In addition
earnings premiums over their global to access to normal web sites, residents will also be able to use the wi-fi
peers due to their stronger growth network - which will be protected by anti-virus software - to access council
prospects. China Mobile trades at 12 times its 2010 forecast earnings, while services. There are also plans to deliver real-time information on home
Unicom trades at 27 times and China Telecom trades at 15 times. electricity usage and local air quality.
By comparison, global titan Vodafone trades at 9 times, while US carrier Mustafa Arif, director of aQovia, the council’s partner in Digital City
Verizon trades at 12 times. China is the world's biggest mobile market, UK Ltd, said the scheme was an innovative way to provide revenue and
with about 700 million subscribers. But that still leaves about half the services. Digital City’s business model is built around subsidising free
nation's 1.3 billion people with no mobile service, most of them in poorer, access with revenues from business and community services that are
more rural areas.
delivered over our wireless network,’ he said.

T-Mobile staff sold personal data

taff at mobile phone company T- bans the selling on of data without prior

S Mobile passed on millions of records

from thousands of customers to third
party brokers, the firm has confirmed.
Details emerged after the firm alerted the
information commissioner, who said his office
was preparing a prosecution.
Christopher Graham said brokers had sold
the data to other phone firms, who then cold-
called the customers as their contracts were
due to expire. A T-Mobile spokesman said the
data had been sold "without our knowledge".
Mr Graham, who was appointed earlier this
year as the watchdog responsible for
safeguarding personal information, said the
data breach was the biggest of its kind. He
added that the case illustrated why there
needed to be a prison sentence to prevent
people from selling private data to third
parties. Mr Graham confirmed his office was
preparing a prosecution against those
responsible for selling on T-Mobile data.
Justice Minister Michael Wills told that
there was a "strong case" for introducing
custodial sentences to prevent the trade in
illegal data. Initially Mr Graham had said he
would not name the operator involved as it
could prejudice a prosecution. But after phone
firms 02, Vodafone, Orange, 3 and Virgin said
they were not the subject of his investigation,
T-Mobile confirmed it had been.
Mr Graham said investigators had been
working with the company after it reported
suspicions of an unlawful trade in customers'
data.
The Ministry of Justice has been consulting
on tougher penalties for illegal trade in
personal information. The Data Protection Act
permission from the customer and a fine of
£5,000 can be imposed following a successful
prosecution. But Mr Graham said that the
mobile phone case suggested that people were
"driving a coach and horses" through the
legislation.
"Personal data has value and there are
people out there exploiting it."
Justice Minister Michael Wills said the
government was looking at bringing in
tougher penalties to deter the illegal trade in
personal information. He added, "Given the
scale of public concern about privacy of their
data, I think we have to look at going further
and custodial sentences clearly have to be a
part of that." But Conservative justice
spokeswoman Eleanor Laing said, "The
government's refusal to establish a strong
privacy watchdog is nothing short of
scandalous. We need a beefed-up information
commissioner with a full set of punitive
strings to his bow, including the power to fine
organisations."
81
Free download | flare.com.pk National Mosaic

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani cutting the cake on the occasion of the 38th National Day of
UAE at the UAE Embassy in Islamabad.

Interior Minister Senator A. Rehman Malik shaking hand with Saudi

Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Aziz Ibrahim Al-Ghadeer.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel shakes hands with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the
courtyard of the Chancellory in Berlin.

Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme Farzana Raja shaking

hand with Member German Federal Parliament Marieluise Beck at Prime
Minister Secretariat in Islamabad.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira

Japanese Ambassador H.E. Chihiro Atsumi presenting the documents to Sahar Shah as Embassy of giving away awards during PTV’s 45th Anniversary at PTV
Japan and Japan Foundation selected three secondary school teachers to visit Japan. Headquarters Islamabad.
83
 Mosiac National Free download | flare.com.pk

Lahore: A group photograph of Warid officials and members of Punjab University after the signing Warid Business Center Manager Lahore Mr. Nauman Saeed giving
ceremony of MoU between Warid Telecom and Punjab University. away BlackBerry hand-set to Mr. M. Hamayun, 6th winner of Warid
‘Welcome Back’ Campaign.

Rawalpindi: Major General Shahid Maqbool, Commandant Military College of Signals

during his visit to newly inaugurated Satellite Communications Laboratory at Military A passenger “Train-Bus” on the way starts by Islamabad Traffic Police for convenience
College of Signals. of people in Federal Capital City.

A person capturing the moment with his cell phone in the Lahore: Mr Fraz Khan, Assistant Marketing Manager, Mobile A worker busy in separating the parts of computer at his
Division, Samsung giving a Corby Phone to lucky winner of Sam-
zoo at Rani Bagh in Hyderabad. workplace in Lahore.
sung Corby Meal a joint promotion Of Samsung & McDonalds.

84 An old man on the way on his donkey after getting petrol in plastic cane from fuel station.
 International Mosiac

An old man takes photograph of Thai women dressed in their traditional outfit at the Asian
Civilisations Museum in Singapore.

Indian Bollywood actress and TATA Sky brand ambassador Asin

Thottumkal talks to a customer at the Tata Sky call centre in
Hyderabad.

A billboard is seen at the entrance to Polokwane. Polokwane is one of the 10 cities with football
stadium which will host the 2010 World Cup, held in South Africa next year.

A model displays handsets by Japanese mobile communications opera-

tor Softbank at a Tokyo hotel. Softbank unveiled a series of Wi-Fi
module equipped mobile phones, which enable the downloading large
size files such as video and newspapers easilya and without telephone
charges.
A receptionist robot (R), produced by Japan's robot maker Kokoro smiles during a demonstration at the
International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo.
85
Free download | flare.com.pk International Mosiac

An employee of Japan's jeweler Tanaka Kikinzoku Jewellery displays a 2010 calendar A model poses with the newly unveiled Nokia N97-mini mobilephone in New Delhi.
made of six-kilograms of pure gold at the company's shop in Tokyo.

A student using her mobile phone takes photos of Miss Earth candidates prior to a tree
planting activity at an upscale housing project as part of its programme of activities in
the town of Santa Rosa, province of Laguna south of Manila. Victoria's Secret model Ana Beatriz Barros talks on cellphone before the start of the
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York.

A Malaysian woman talks on a mobile phone at a Maxis exhibition booth in Kuala Chairman and CEO of Sony Corporation Howard Stringer delivers a speech during a
Lumpur. Maxis debuted at a 9.2 per cent premium on its reference price of 5.00 ringgit press conference in Tokyo. He said Sony has emerged from the economic crisis leaner,
(1.49 USD) on November 19 in Southeast Asia's biggest ever IPO. more nimble and back on track to become a world leader in networked digital gadgets. 87
 Mosiac International Free download | flare.com.pk

A model displays NTT DoCoMo's latest separate-style F-04B mobile phone during the company's new
2009 Winter/Spring models in Toky.

Apple iPhone user Amy Coopes holds an iPhone displaying a wallpaper

featuring 80s pop icon Rick Astley in Sydney. An Australian student has
created what is thought to be the world's first iPhone worm, which re-
places the popular device's wallpaper with a picture of 1980s pop icon
Rick Astley. Ashley Towns, a 21-year-old technical college student who
lives with his family near Sydney, said he concocted the worm, which
can spread from phone to phone, to raise awareness about security.

A flower delivery man dressed in a clown's outfit checks messages on his mobile phone for
deliveries in Beijing.

Mannequin robots "Dropop", made of cardboard with eight actuators and produced by robot
venture Eager, move their arms and heads to strike poses for a demonstration at the International
Robot Exhibition in Tokyo.
88
An artist makes a call from a mobile phone fitted inside a 10 litre glass
bottle. Gowra dismantled the mobile phone outside the bottle, re-assem-
bled it inside the glass interior and uses an ear-phone to make calls.
Gowda has entered the Limca Book of Records with this installation.
 International Mosiac

Tokyo: People watching industrial robots (Hiro) developed by Japan General Robotix Tokyo: People watching a robot hand, capable of 24 movements operated with a remote
Inc. during the International Robot Exhibition 2009. during the International Robot Exhibition 2009.

Tokyo: Kids watching Paro, a therapeutic robot, reacts as a woman pats during the International Robot
Exhibition 2009.

Tokyo: A lady controlling the Wakamaru with a flexible sensor tube

during the International Robot Exhibition 2009.

A model displays a 2GB flash memory "Transformer devicelabel" Customers shop for plasma and flat screen televisions at Best Buy electronics store in Fort Worth, Texas.
by Tomy, in Tokyo. The device can also be transformed
into a robot toy.
89
 No Line Rent
Competitive Rates
Crystal Clear Voice
Free VAS
Free download | flare.com.pk
2 Illegal gateway
exchanges seized
Islamabad: Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority
(PTA) and FIA have raided a
call centre in Lakson Square
building Sarwar Shaheed
Road Karachi and confiscated
two illegal VoIP gateways
installed at separate floors and
arrested two persons from the
scene. This raid was
conducted based on the
information obtained through
PTA’s facility which detects
illegal telecom traffic.
It may be noted that PTA
has launched a campaign
against grey traffickers and
established a team of highly
War on terrorism: PTA suffers Rs329.88m loss
Islamabad:
Telecommunication
Pakistan
Authority (PTA) has
suffered a loss of Rs329.88
million in NWFP and Cabinet Division informed stood at Rs329.88 million.
Federally Administered the National Assembly
Tribal Areas (FATA) during that total amount of loss buildings/establishments, improves, he added.

HP helps
firms thrive
Karachi: HP announced
new products, solutions and
services that help organisations
drive innovation and rapidly
scale up and down to meet
changing business needs.
“Technology is a fundamental
contributor to business
innovation, with HP’s portfolio
of products, services and
solutions, organisations can
build technology
environments that deliver the
outcomes that matter today
and tomorrow,” Ann
Livermore, Executive Vice
President, HP Enterprise
Business said. HP helps
customers to drive business
innovation and create new
opportunities.

technical professionals and
dedicated workers to check
their activities. The team
monitors the illegal activities
on twenty four hours basis
and adopts different
procedures and processes to
apprehend the culprits and to
prevent losses to the national
exchequer through illegal
telecom business.
Chairman PTA, Dr
Mohammed Yaseen warned
all those involved in the illegal
telecom business to stop their
activities otherwise PTA shall
take strict action against them
as per the law.

the current war on
terrorism, as on October 30,
2009. In a written reply, the
Minister In-charge of the
During the war 127 law and order situation
Islamabad: Pakistan
Telecommunication
Authority (PTA) has directed
all cellular mobile operators
of Pakistan to ensure quality
of services during Eid and
inform their subscribers
adequately about withdrawal
of any packages and bundle
offers prior to their
suspension. The PTA issued
these directions in a meeting
with all mobile operators held
at PTA headquarters.
Operators were asked to
ensure inclusion of adequate
information in media
campaign with regard to
validity period of
the SMS bundle package offer
Affordable PCs by EZY
Karachi: EZY Infotech Pvt.
Ltd. (part of EZY Group
Holding) launched the Atom
based Slim Top PC (new
range of personal computers)
in Pakistan just for Rs21,500
with LCD.
The EZY Slim Top PC is
both Slim in price and Slim in
Size. Present on the occasion,
Mr Saeed Sheikh, CEO and
Country Manager eSys
Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. and EZY
Infotech (Pvt.) Ltd. and Mr.
Ashar Zaidi, Country
Manager Intel Pakistan.
Mr. Ziadi said, “The
importance of basic
computing using Intel Atom
suffered
telecommunication
by
51 towers and 87 PTCL
Exchanges were completely
networks in NWFP/FATA
or partially damaged. The
during the war on terrorism
operators have successfully
restored the network in
Districts Swat, Bannu,
Mingora and Malakand
Division etc.
At present the network
in Districts Dir, DI Khan,
Bajour Agency, Peshawar,
Bannu, Kurram Agency is
being restored by the
respective operators.
At other areas/locations
like, South Waziristan,
Orakzai Agency and Khyber
Agency, the operators shall
undertake the restoration
and rehabilitation
their network when the
PTA directed operators to
ensure quality
along with operator’s
discretion to withdraw the
said offer. It was directed that
the operators should intimate
the Authority
well in advance whether the
SMS bundle package has
been withdrawn during
the occasions such as
Eids/New years etc.
It might be mentioned that
value-added services offered
by mobile operators such as
SMS were un-regulated
services in terms of pricing
and validity. Further, the
bundled packages were
optional services offered by
the operators which require
consumers to opt-in and
National
Technology will provide
benefits for consumers of
Pakistan.” He added that EZY
Slim Top is such a vehicle that
would benefit the user.
“EZY Infotech introduced
the Slim Top with an objective
to offer affordable computers
with high quality Computing.
We believe that this will
benefit the domestic and
student segment as well as
corporate sector,” said Saeed
Sheikh.
“Today we are proud to
bring a uniquely designed
and uniquely packed
computer to Pakistan at the
most affordable price. Now
of
agreeing to the terms and
conditions offered by the
operators. Since SMS bundle
packages were not
mandatory packages, the
PTA was only regulating
quality of services whereby
the operators were required
to conform to the quality
parameters as per the license
terms and conditions.
It was also observed that
on the occasion of
Eidul Fitr some of mobile
operators had blocked
their SMS bundle offer
packages without prior notice
to the subscribers and the
PTA. In this connection, the
PTA received several
Synopsis
you can get a branded
computer for only Rs. 21,500
with one year limited
warranty. Moreover, it comes
with a 15.6″ LCD monitor,
space saving designs and
most importantly, a unique
packaging system,” Mr. Saeed
added.
EZY Infotech has
appointed two distributors
for Pakistani market ‘Decent
Computers’ for Northern
region and ‘Optimum
Technology’ for Southern
Region. Besides that 100
different retail outlets will
have the product on display
throughout Pakistan.

Warid
contradicts
media
rumour
Lahore: Warid Telecom
(Pvt) Ltd is a leading telecom
company in Pakistan that is
recognised as the most reliable
and steadfast telecom operator.
Warid Telecom has issued an
official statement in response to
the rumour on 'Warid Telecom
Merger'. The statement
endorses the un-authenticity of
the news circulated in the
media and it explains clearly
that no such information is
issued by the company
Management.
Warid Telecom is a
responsible organisation that
always keeps the public
updated on any developments.

complaints from mobile
subscribers against those
operators who had
withdrawn their SMS bundle
packages silently. This matter
was also highlighted in the
media.
The PTA took strict notice
of the situation and wrote to
all mobile operators
demanding their
explanations.
Now, the PTA arranged
this meeting with mobile
operators to discuss the same
issue before the forthcoming
event of Eid and issued
necessary instructions so that
the practice should not be
repeated by the operators.
91
 Synopsis National Free download | flare.com.pk

IGI Islamic Income Fund More powers for Walid at

launched
Karachi: IGI Funds
Limited, the Asset
Management Company of
IGI Financial Services and
Packages Group, has
launched the ‘IGI Islamic
Income Fund’.
This latest offering is the
third fund to be launched by
IGI Funds Limited. The
company introduced the IGI
Income Fund in April 2007
and the IGI Stock Fund in
July 2008. These funds are
rated “3 Star” and “5 Star” by
PACRA respectively. IGI
Funds aims to offer a
complete suite of mutual
fund products to its
customers. Fund returns from
existing funds have been
strong and competitive.
Ms Maheen Rahman,
CEO, IGI Funds, believes the
new fund is ideal for
investors seeking regular and
steady returns from a Shariah
compliant investment
portfolio. She said, “The
Islamic Income Fund is
another initiative taken by
IGI Funds to offer investors a
new investment solution and
help them gain low risk Riba-
free profits in an uncertain
investment environment.”

PTCL, UFone
Islamabad: The Etisalat
management has decided to
give more power to PTCL
President and CEO Walid
Irshaid. He will appointed as
Group CEO of PTCL and
CEO.
The Ufone SIMs issue and
its performance during the
tenure of CEO Ufone Abdul
Aziz is not good so the Etisalat
management has decided to
Walid Irshaid look after the
whole matter internally in
Pakistan. It is said that Walid
Irshaid will retain his office at
PTCL’s headquarters while
heading the both companies.
Ali Ahmed Yarouf Al Naqbi,
Deputy CEO, PTCL, may get
additional power to control
management in PTCL, in
order to assist Walid Irshaid,
while VPs will report to
deputy CEO in future.
It is remembered PTCL has
developed good relations with
customers and introduced
many packages in this respect.
Telecom experts and analysts
are watching this change in
managerial hierarchy at PTCL
and Ufone very closely. Mid-
level and top level
management in Ufone are not
comfortable with the change.
PTCL and its wholly own
subsidiary Ufone are publicly
held companies, while 26 per
cent controlling stakes by
Etisalat.
After take the
responsibilities as a Group
CEO for Ufone and PTCL,
Abdul Aziz will be working
under his leadership. Some of
the Ufone’s internal sources
are yet not aware of these
recent high-level
developments. Being headed
by one CEO, both Ufone and
PTCL are going to witness no
other ollaboration/unification
in all other departments.

Counterfeit HP ink and PTCL, SCO Systems Limited to work

toner seized ink MoU
Lahore: The South Asia
ACF team along with the local
police conducted an action
against a manufacturer and
distributor of counterfeit HP
Ink and Toner packaging in the
Shah Alam Market, Lahore.
HP announced the seizure of
2,922 Toner packages, 263 ink
packages, and other
miscellaneous manufacturing
material.
This seizure was conducted
by police at Shah Alam market,
which supplied counterfeits to
the IT markets in Zaitoon Plaza
and Rafi Plaza. In addition to
the seizure of these counterfeit
goods, two persons were
arrested and investigation is
underway. HP's global anti-
counterfeit programme
incorporates industry-leading
with NUCES FAST
anti-counterfeiting practices
and partners with law
enforcement agencies to
combat the manufacture,
distribution.
"Our commitment to our
customers is the driving force
behind the vigilance of our
anti-counterfeit team, as we
understand how the sale of
counterfeit HP products
negatively impacts our
customer and the HP brand.
With counterfeit HP print
cartridges, customers
purchase what they often
assume to be a genuine HP
product, but they instead
receive a cartridge that
provides them with inferior
print quality at best and often
times a cartridge that fails to
perform at all.

Islamabad: To further Karachi: An initiative has of the Systems Limited. It was
explore the future avenues of been taken by the Systems pointed out that in this regard,
mutual interest and to identify Limited to work with the the Systems Limited organised
the possible services, PTCL
and Special Communications
Organisation (SCO) have
signed an MOU.
Present on the occasion
SEVP (Corporate
Development) PTCL Sikandar
Naqi and Brigadier Haider Ali
Khan Deputy DG SCO, who
also signed the agreement on senior faculty of the National a technical seminar at NUCES-
behalf of their respective University of Computer and FAST. The topic of the session
organisations, said it would Emerging Sciences (NUCES was 'Test Driven development
enhance the mutual co- FAST) and help broaden the and Unit Testing' and was
operation and collaboration in learning experience of final conducted by Systems
the field of telecommunication year students and Limited's Chief Architect
services. Director General postgraduates at NUCES- Khawaja Ahmad Saleem. The
SCO Major General Hamid FAST. session was attended by over
Mahmood also graced the An announcement to this 100 students and a good
occasion with his presence. effect was made by an official number of faculty members.

Power crisis of mobile companies

Vice President Ufone
Naveed Butt said that
Pakistan has the lowest call
rates in the world. He said
that companies should create
customer value. He was
delivering a lecture on Telco
Blood Bath at LUMS
Colloquium 2009. He also
said that companies should
adopt the policy of simplicity.
He said that companies
should focus on customer
value.
He said the mobile
companies suffer a lot due to
the electricity crisis because
they have to use diesel to run
the machinery to operate
mobile towers, which is
increasing the cost. He said
that despite the recession in
92 the world the cost of mobile
calls is decreasing because of the mobile call rate was Rs six mobile companies were
the competition between per minute and in 2009 the facing tough time for their
mobile companies. rupee parity to dollar is Rs80 survival. He said that mobile
companies cover more than
75 per cent area of Pakistan
except few areas of
Balochistan. He also said that
competition does not mean
that one company tries to
destroy another company.
CEO Naseeb Networks
and Roozee.pk Moonis
Rehman said that advertising
on internet is growing
gradually and demand of
online advertisement is going
to be doubled every year. He
also said that internet is a
very powerful medium
nowadays.
He said that in the year - to one and the price of call is CEO BRAMERZ Amer
2000 the rupee parity to Rs one per minute. He said Sarfaraz said that the plus
dollar was Rs60 - to one while that in these circumstances point of advertisement on
internet is that you can track
your advertisement on net
and know that how
advertisement was seen by
how many people. Editor-in-
Chief CIO Pakistan Rabia
Garib said that greatest
contribution of the internet is
that it provides level-playing
field to all without any
discrimination. He said that
advertising companies
should focus on content
development.
On this occasion Dean,
Suleman Dawood School of
Business, LUMS, distributed
prizes among the winners of
the Brand Wars Competition.
Earlier, he announced that
Brand Wars was won by
FAST University and runner
up team was LUMS.

 Free download | flare.com.pk National Synopsis

White House targets KHL awarded

Afghan, Pak cell phones
The White House said that But it said the number of them to be distributed locally
it dubbed video clips of US people in those countries with on mobile devices," the White
House said.
"We're hopeful that
leveraging technology this
way will help us achieve the
president's goal of increasing
America's security and
undercutting the appeal of al
Qaeda and other extremists
through global engagement,"
it said.
Earlier this year, the White
House posted a video on its
website featuring a
simultaneous translation into
President Barack Obama's mobile devices is much higher Farsi of comments Obama
speech on Afghanistan into - 52 percent of the 177 million made on Iran and a Farsi
Arabic, Dari, Pashtu and Urdu people in Pakistan and 30 per transcript of the remarks.
for distribution on mobile cent of the 28.4 million in Obama directed some of
devices. The White House, in Afghanistan. "Given this speech to the Afghan people
a blog post, said internet trend, we produced short saying "America seeks an end
penetration in Afghanistan video clips of the President's to this era of war and
and Pakistan is relatively low, segment to Afghans and had it suffering" and has
just two per cent and 11 per dubbed in Arabic, Dari, "no interest in occupying your
cent respectively. Pashtu, and Urdu in order for country."

FTTH/long HAUL OFC
KHL is awarded to
develop on turnkey basis
OFC network for Oman
National Police. The
network comprises of
providing FTTH solution
for connectivity the total
length of the project to be
implemented is 1300KM.
KHL has been awarded
this project keeping its
view its experience,
high regard to quality
and on time execution of
work following is one
of the many projects that
KHL has implemented
across borders and has
emerged as a true local
multinational company.
KHL has been awarded a
contract by FWO to
deploy on turnkey basis the
supply, laying,
jointing/testing and
commissioning of OFC on
long haul routes.
The project is estimated
to have 470 km of OFC
laying across Pakistan’s
southern region.
KHL is a JV partner of
FWO in all the telecom
projects having executed the
following:
• Wateen Telecom – a
backbone project of 5400
KM
• PTCL – an OFC link
project approximately 250
KM
• SCO-AJK project of
approximately 266 KM
• NTC –
approximately 40 KM
• LAFCO – BOT
project of approximately
125 KM.

Mobile phone scams — rattraps for the innocent?

Lahore: Are mobile
phones really a blessing?
While some might agree, a
lot of others would go red in
the face with anger or
embarrassment at the mere
mention of this technology.
Reason: they have often
been fooled by swindlers,
con artists who come up
with ingenious new ways to
dupe the unsuspecting
innocent.
One of the most popular
hoaxes is the recent “double
your balance” offer, which
shocked many when they
found out they had been
“robbed” of their entire
credit instead of receiving
any. Moreover, in a bid to text messages, asking cell tricks included appealing
rip off thousands of rupees phone users to participate in for “charity” and offering
“job opportunities”.
It was also learnt that the
swindlers had started
“brainstorming” to come up
with new capers as they had
successfully exhausted other
tricks and collected large
sums of money from
innocent people.
It was also learnt that
many youngsters trick other
boys and “steal” balance
from them by posing as girls
by disguising their voices
through a voice-changing
facility provided in some
in the name of religion, lucky draws to win Umrah cell phones.
swindlers would also send tickets or cash prizes. Other Mahmood Ahmed, a
youth, told that he owned a
mobile phone that provided
the facility, and he made
more than Rs3000 worth of
balance from several boys
by promising to be friends
with them.
He said after sending
Rs300 the boys would ask
him to meet them and that is
where the “friendship”
ended.
Officials of two cellular
companies told they had
received several complaints
about the misuse of their
companies’ names, adding
they were considering
making a strategy against
swindlers.

Balochistan Package Govt taking steps for IT promotion

by PTCL
Islamabad: In its
continued endeavour to
provide PTCL customers
with new packages and
services, the company is all
set to provide its valued
subscribers from Balochistan
with a more customised
package called the
"Balochistan Package".
SEVP Commercial
Naveed Saeed, while giving
details of the package, said
this package will enable all
PTCL residential customers
in the Balochistan province
to make unlimited local and
NWD (On-Net) calls within
the province for a fixed
monthly charge of Rs299 per
month. This is an Opt-In
Package and customers will
have the option of activating
this package by calling
PTCL helpline 1236, he said,
adding the package will be
available to subscribers from
December 1, 2009.

Lahore: Punjab Chief
Minister Shahbaz Sharif has
said that the government is
taking solid measures for the
rapid development of the
province and promotion of
information technology for
equipping the youth with
the modern knowledge. He
expressed these views
during a briefing given by
senior representative of
Microsoft Chris Bunio and
Kamal Ahmad regarding
promotion of information
technology in Punjab,
disclosed an official.
Additional
Secretary and Secretary
Chief
Information Technology
were also present on the
occasion. He said the setting
up of IT labs in more than
4000 schools of the province
would prove to be a
milestone in the uplift of
education sector. He also
said an information
technology park (ITP) would
be constructed for
promoting IT activities and
all out encouragement and
facilities would be extended
to private sector for this
purpose.
According to him, the
Punjab government would
set up an IT park in the
province which would be a
hub of IT activities. Private
sector would be offered all
out facilities regarding
establishment of the park.
He said IT is essential for
speedy development,
therefore, the government
has completed IT labs project
in 4286 schools of the
province at a cost of Rs five
billion in a record period of
93
time.

Free download | flare.com.pk
Illegal SIM users to be punished: Sana Fresh thematic campaign
Lahore: Punjab Minister for elements involved in issuing was a heinous crime and the
Law and Parliamentary and using such SIM cards. He government had already
Affairs Rana Sanaullah Khan said maintaining peace in the decided registration of such
has said that punishment province
would be awarded to the users
of unauthorised subscriber
identity module (SIM) cards.
Presiding over a meeting of
the Special Committee on
Anti-Terrorism at the Punjab
Assembly, he said the sale and
use of unauthorised SIM cards
were illegal and strict action
would be taken against the
Karachi: Viper
Technology, one of country's
leading IT solution
providers, celebrated its 15
years of successful operations
with the local media and the
IT industry leaders. This
event marked the
accomplishments achieved
by Viper Technology through
the years.
Speaking on this
auspicious occasion, CEO
Viper Technology and
President Pakistan Computer
Association - Karachi
Chapter, Khushnood Aftab
said, "Viper Technology was
created with an idea to
consolidate its product-line
with a brand based approach
Kitbags for
PTCL workers
Lahore: PTCL Senior
Executive Vice President (BZ-
N) Tariq Salman, General
Manager (South) Rashid
Ahmed and Chief Engineer
Khalid Mehmood Chaudhry
distributed the Kitbags
amongst the Field Staff of
Defence, Ferozpur Road,
Gulberg, Garden Town,
Multan Road and Egerton
Road Telephone Exchanges in
Lahore. SEVP (BZ-N), Tariq
Salman said that management
has taken vital steps for
National Synopsis
by Shan
was the cases under the Anti-Terrorist Karachi: Shan Foods commitment to quality and
Act. In case of any incident of Private Limited, the leading research-based product
throwing of acid on a woman, food company in Pakistan, development practices,
the investigation officer reinforced its product which ensures consistent
concerned and the SP would positioning strategy of “Just great taste in its food
not be spared till the arrest of Perfect” through the launch products and gives you a
the accused and the recovery of a new thematic food experience that is Just
of the victim, he said. advertising campaign. The Perfect”.
Sanaullah said the initiative appeals to The launch ceremony of
government was taking consumers’ senses by this new thematic campaign
measures to check terrorism. highlighting the pleasant was a colourful event where
He said that the police should sensory perceptions of Shan the participants observed
ensure 100 percent recovery of recipes. A ceremony was and experienced the refined
victims in the incidents of held at the Shan Foods and evolved offerings of
kidnapping for ransom. The premises in Karachi to Shan Foods through the
responsibility of police and meeting reviewed the process commemorate the unveiling thematic campaign. The
after twofold increase in of investigation of heinous of the new thematic ceremony was conducted by
salaries, negligence on the part crimes and terrorism. campaign. the Brand Team and was
of police would not be Additional IG (CID) Malik Asma Aman, Brand addressed by senior
tolerated. He said the police Muhammad Iqbal, Chief Manager, said, “Over the management of Shan. The
department should identify Public Prosecutor Muhammad years the consumers of Shan chairman Shan Foods, Mr.
and remove black sheep from Jahangir, DIG Crimes Ayub recipes have developed a Sikandar Sultan was also
its ranks. Qureshi, additional home lasting trust and preference present at the occasion and
The minister said that secretary and other officials for its products. Shan has announced the launch of this
throwing of acid on women were also present.
demonstrated a firm new promotional campaign.

15 years of VIPER technology
and to provide the best IT PC brands. Viper Technology of Pakistani PC market. edge system solutions to the
products throughout the IT maintains a remarkable Viper is a member of the market. Congratulating
industry of Pakistan." reputation for delivering Intel Channel Partner Viper Technology on the
Highlighting the history of completion of 15 years
the firm, he further added, of operations, Ashar H.
"We have been working with Zaidi, Country Manager
the industry for the last 15 Intel Pakistan Corporation
years; with more said.
than 200 IT professionals "Intel Pakistan
giving their impeccable Corporation is proud to be
service at a nation-wide level. associated with Viper
Viper's tag-line "It's a Technology.
promise" and our resources We have witnessed the
are committed to keep our tremendous growth of this
clients' trust." organisation and its vital
Viper Branded Solutions contribution in the
are one of the first original development of the local IT
clone series of PCs being reliable, quality products Premier Member programme industry by bringing the
marketed in Pakistan since with strong emphasis on that provides the firm to latest technology in Pakistan
1995 and is ranked one performance whilst keeping work closely with Intel on and bridging the digital
of the top locally assembled abreast of competitive nature providing the latest leading divide."

Nayatel offers videoconference
Neyatel’s encrypted World in real time.
video conferencing solution
bring all the video
Neyatel says that it can conferencing equipment to
providing the best facilities to is primarily aimed at large your office or
its Field Staff. He further said corporations to save their otherwise it has
that for increasing the revenue time and budgets by a conference
of PTCL new subscribers eliminating the necessity of room at
should be added in our physical presence of decision Neyatel’s
clientage. We have to work makers/work force at one premises that
together like a team so that our geographical site. can incorporate
performance shall meet the State of the art video 22 to 25 seats at a
current advance telecomm conferencing can save your time. Neyatel
standards. SEVP Tariq Salman visit to Bay Area for in video conference
also announced that person meeting with your services are
management has decided to VC investor, or even better it available in
give Rs 1000 extra benefit of can connect you to four Rawalpindi and
salaries for Cable Jointers from branch offices, at a time, Islamabad
July 2009.
located in different parts of only.
95
 Synopsis National
ZONG, Alcatel-Lucent and RIM
launch the BlackBerry solution
Karachi: ZONG, the first
international brand of China
Mobile, Alcatel-Lucent
(Euronext Paris and NYSE:
ALU) and Research In Motion
(RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX:
RIM) announced the launch of
the BlackBerry® solution in
Pakistan.
Using BlackBerry®
smartphones, ZONG
customers will be able to
wirelessly send and receive
emails, make phone calls,
browse the internet, send text
messages and access a wide
range of corporate and lifestyle
applications while on the
move.
Initially, ZONG is offering
the BlackBerry® Curve™ 8900
and BlackBerry® Bold™
smartphones and a choice of
BlackBerry® Internet Service
or BlackBerry® Enterprise
Server. The BlackBerry
solution will be available
Selsun Blue unveils new anti-dandruff shampoo
The event spanned
throughout the day: in the
morning prominent stylists
displayed their cutting
prowess, sampled the
shampoo and were highly
pleased with the results; this
was followed by a like a platform for the
glamorous fashion show
presented by a renowned
fashion school of Karachi;
later prominent artists such
as Abid Ali and style diva
Saba Ansari, along with
luminaries like Sohail
Asghar, Sadia Imam,
Shagufta Ejaz and many
others graced the event with
their presence and expressed
their support for upcoming
Mobilink Club Indigo 3rd Golf Invitational
Lahore: Mobilink, the
country’s market leader in
cellular services and part of
Orascom Telecom Holding
held the Mobilink Club
Indigo 3rd Golf Invitational
in Islamabad.
Teed off by Irfan Akram,
Vice President Customer
Care, Mobilink, the 18-hole
tournament has become an
annual feature that Mobilink
Club Indigo members look
forward to. Providing a
healthy and social
environment, the
96 tournament also attracts
immediately with ZONG’s
postpaid packages, providing
a range of monthly packages
tailored to meet customers’
needs.
Under the terms of a
distribution agreement with
RIM, Alcatel-Lucent will
leverage its global integration
services and strong local
presence in the region to
provide ZONG with end-to-
end implementation, launch,
delivery and support services
for the BlackBerry solution in
the Pakistani market. Alcatel-
Lucent’s experience in
managing the delivery,
technology integration and
deployment of the BlackBerry
solution will enable ZONG to
focus on providing the
requisite customer services to
match anticipated market
demand.
The BlackBerry Curve is a
sleek full-QWERTY
designers.
A petite starlet
commented, “I am willing to
switch for the sake of my
crowning glory and believe
such a switch is healthy.” In
many ways the event acted
emerging talent of Karachi.
There is no dearth of talent in
the country and more
initiatives like this will
augment the new
generation’s aspirations and
hopes to work harder.
The unveiling of the new
packaging was a spectacular
ceremony. The new
packaging is a novel design.
Selsun Blue has the essential
smartphone that feels
comfortable for either one-
handed or two-handed use. It
is large, striking 2.4 inch
HVGA+ display (480x360
pixels) projects vivid color
and makes information
easy to read. The BlackBerry
Curve 8900 provides global
connectivity support and helps
people stay connected and find
their way with built-in Wi-Fi®
(802.11 b/g) and GPS. The
BlackBerry Bold smartphone is
a communications and
multimedia powerhouse. It
supports tri-band HSDPA
high-speed networks around
the world and comes with
integrated GPS and Wi-Fi
(802.11 a/b/g). It also features
a rich set of multimedia
capabilities, including a tools and equipments. The
2 megapixel camera with video
recording and an advanced
media player for music, videos
and pictures.

Aloe Vera ingredient added Jehan Ara Hai, Parveen celebrities who rule the
to it.
At the event, the Selsun more. Also present were
Selsun Blue Team exstatic after successful launch of New Selsun Blue the audience was convinced
Daily Dandruff Control Shampoo.
Blue team paid homage to Suzzane, Shabbir Jaan, Nida being
the actors of yore such as Pasha and many other switching is healthy.

female golfers every year.
Speaking at the closing
ceremony, Rashid Khan,
President & CEO, Mobilink,
appreciated the keen
participation of talented
Golfers. “The tournament is
aimed to encourage sports
and community
involvement.
It gives me great pleasure
to see that Mobilink Indigo
has brought so many people
all of whom share a passion
for the sport. It is wonderful
to be
able to interact personally
Free download | flare.com.pk
PIA committed to
international safety
standards
Lahore: ‘PIA is committed was to have an insight and
to international safety review of International
standards for airlines.’ Aviation Safety Standards.
Managing Director PIA, Managing Director PIA
Captain Mohammad Aijaz presented awards to PIA
Haroon categorically stated at officers in recognition of their
a Seminar on Airline Safety work. Posthumous Award
held at PIA Training Centre. was given for (LATE) Captain
Capt. Aijaz said that while Yousaf Mamsa, a senior and
ensuring passenger safety the an outstanding PIA Pilot, who
airline is also providing a safe joined in July of 1980.
working environment to its Mr Zulfiqar Haider an
employees with all requisite outstanding Aerospace
Engineer in ATR (Line)
Seminar was attended by Maintenance. On August 17,
officials of CAA, IATA, 2009, PIA aircraft under
Pakistan Air Force, Army and Maintenance caught fire but he
PIA. The theme of the meeting saved the aircraft .

Akbar, Abid Ali and many present television screen.
Veteran actor Nadeem
Baig was awarded with a
Lifetime Achievement
Award for his enormous
contribution to the film and
TV industry. Nadeem Baig’s
absence was filled by
Faheem Burney who took
Nadeem Baig’s award on his
behalf.
All in all, the event was
tastefully done with the
shampoo being strongly
recommended by stylists and
by seeing new opportunities
explored, that
with so many
Mobilink
customers
and skillful
golfers who
graciously
accepted our
invitation to
come and
display their
talents at our
annual
event,” he
added.
Categories
are as
follows:
Free download | flare.com.pk
Yahoo improves search
engine
Searches on the Yahoo
engine should soon deliver
more results, thanks in part to
new filter functions, reports
the company.
Those new filters could
allow a searcher, for example,
to limit results to those found
on major web sites like
Amazon or Wikipedia. The
company also reports that its
filter allows searches by
related terms.
The engine’s search
methods have also been
upgraded, reports Yahoo. It
now analyses the search habit
Satyam fraud totals three billion dollars
New Delhi: Police probing
India's biggest corporate
scandal said the fraud
involving outsourcing
company Satyam totalled over
three billion dollars, double
the amount originally
suspected. The Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) which
filed new charges against 10
Nokia Siemens to unveil Atom-smasher sets world energy record
fourth LTE deal shortly The Large Hadron of new physics in the Until now the LHC had been
Helsinki: Nokia Siemens
Networks is set to unveil its
fourth order for new LTE
network technology shortly,
its Chief Executive Rajeev
Suri said.
Telecom gear makers have
been hit hard by the
recession, which has crimped
operator spending, and by
tough competition from
China's Huawei and ZTE.
Orders for the new LTE
technology are seen as critical
for the struggling vendors
like Nokia Siemens and
Alcatel-Lucent.
Suri said the battle among
telecom equipment
vendors had not worsened.
"I dont's see any
of users over a certain period
of time to come up with
logical connections between
past and present searches.
”For example, if the word
‘Paris’ is input followed by
‘flights’ or ‘affordable hotels’,
then Yahoo Search
understands that a person is
looking for travel information
and not for gossip about Paris
Hilton.
It is very imperitive to note
that the online competitor
yahoo and google are trying
their best to continousely
update their engines.

suspects, including company
founder and chairman B.
Ramalinga Raju, warned the
scandal could grow further.
"The supplementary
charge-sheet we filed takes to
140 billion rupees (3.01 billion
dollars) the total amount we
believe is involved in the
scandal," CBI's deputy
irrationality or significant
worsening of the price
erosion," Suri told reporters,
adding that the ailing venture
would generate cash this
year.
Its ailing rival Alcatel-
Lucent targets five per cent
operating profit margin next
year, while it sees the market
growing at best five per cent.
Suri said the company
would be more aggressive
than elsewhere for winning
deals in key markets - India,
Brazil, U.S., China, Russia
and Japan - but it was not
ready to dump prices to win
deals on these markets.
"We will continue to have
deal discipline," he said.

Red Planet was once blue
A vast ocean once covered
a third of Mars, scientists
believe. Such a stunning
prospect greatly increases the
chances of life having existed
on the Red Planet, the fourth
from the Sun in our solar
system.
Researchers have come to
the conclusion after using
new software to analyse
images of the surface. As a
result, they have managed to
find dozens of valleys to
build up the most detailed
map to date.
The valleys, first spotted
in 1971, were caused by a
network of rivers more than
twice as extensive as
inspector general V.V. Laxmi
Narayana told. "In a couple of
days we will file another
charge-sheet in the case" which
could increase the amount
police suspect was swindled,
said Narayana, head of the
probe.
The earlier estimate of the
fraud was 71.36 billion rupees.
Narayana said the latest figure
was based on "disclosures"
allegedly given to
investigators by Raju and the
nine other suspects in the case
during questioning. Raju
stunned India's financial
world in January when he
declared he had overstated
profits for years and inflated
the company's balance sheet
by more than one billion
dollars.
Raju, his brother and eight
other people were placed in
Collider (LHC) experiment
on the French-Swiss border
has set a new world record
for energy.
The LHC pushed the
energy of its particle beams
beyond one trillion electron
volts, making it the world’s
highest energy particle
accelerator. The previous
record was held by the
Tevatron particle accelerator
in Chicago. Officials say it is
another milestone in the
LHC’s drive towards its main
scientific tests set for 2010.
The LHC is designed to
smash together beams of sub-
atomic particles at just under
the speed of light.
Researchers hope to see signs
International
previously mapped. The
water channels were in a belt
between the equator and
mid-southern latitudes.
The experts from
Northern Illinois University
and Nasa believe they mark
the paths of rivers that once
flowed from the planet’s
southern highlands into a
huge ocean in the north. The
evidence suggests that
billions of years ago much of
Mars had an ‘arid continental
climate’ similar to drier area
of the Earth.
Rain would have fallen
regularly, swelling the rivers
and topping up the ocean
basin. Such a wet period early
custody on charges of
conspiracy, cheating, forgery
and falsification of accounts.
The Satyam founder is in
hospital being treated for
cardiac problems and
hepatitis, while the rest are in
jail. In April, mid-sized Indian
computer outsourcer Tech
Mahindra, part of leading
Indian vehicle maker
Mahindra and Mahindra paid
nearly 600 million dollars for a
majority share in Satyam,
rescuing it from imminent
collapse.
"The CBI is talking about
fraud by some individuals," he
said. "It has nothing to do with
the company as such." Satyam,
based in the southern Indian
city of Hyderabad, re-branded
itself as Mahindra Satyam as
part of an attempt to recover
from the scandal.

aftermath of the collisions,
helping them unlock the
secrets of the Universe.
Operated by the European
Organisation for Nuclear
Research (better known by its
French acronym Cern), the
LHC is built inside a 27km-
long circular tunnel.
“We are still coming to
terms with just how smoothly
the LHC commissioning is
going,” said Cern’s director
general Rolf Heuer. “It is
fantastic.
However, we are
continuing to take it step-by-
step, and there is still a lot to
do before we start physics in
2010. I’m keeping my
champagne on ice until then.”
Synopsis
in the planet’s history would
have greatly increased the
chances of life. Until now the
only global map of Martian
valley networks that existed
was incomplete and drawn
by hand from satellite
images.
An alternative
explanation, known as
‘groundwater sapping’, was
that water springing or
seeping out of the ground
eroded the channels. The
new map, created by a
computerised analysis of
satellite data, shows that
some regions of Mars had
valley networks almost as
dense as those on Earth.

2009:
the Year of
Twitter
WASHINGTON:
Microsoft says "Twitter" was
among the top searches of
2009 on its new search engine
Bing and a company which
monitors language has
crowned it the top word of the
year. Microsoft, in a blog post
said "Michael Jackson,"
"Twitter and "Swine Flu" were
the top three search topics.
This year the list of top 10
Bing searches were "Stock
Market," "Farrah Fawcett," the
actress who died in June,
"Patrick Swayze," the actor
who died in September, and
"Jaycee Dugard," the
California girl kidnapped at
the age of 11 who turned up
alive 18 years later.

operating at a relatively low
energy of 450 billion electron
volts. Engineers increased
the energy of this “pilot
beam”, reaching 1.18 trillion
electron volts at 2344 GMT.
The LHC is eventually
expected to operate at some
seven trillion electron volts.
The machine circulated two
beams of protons for the first
time and carried out its first
low-energy beam collisions.
The LHC had to be shut
down for repairs shortly
after its inauguration in
September 2008 when an
electrical fault cause one
tonne of liquid helium to
leak into the collider’s
tunnel.
97
 Synopsis International
'Jail broken' iPhones vulnerable to new virus
Boston: Hackers have built
a virus that attacks Apple Inc's
iPhone by secretly taking
control of the devices via their
internet connections, security
experts said. The virus has
been detected in the
Netherlands and can only
attack iPhones whose users
have disabled some pre-
installed security features,
according to analysts
monitoring the progress of the
virus, known as the Duh
Worm.
The hackers are trying to
use the virus to obtain
passwords to banking sites in
the Netherlands, according to
House rotates with sun
Luke and Debbie
Everingham’s home, in
Wingham, New South Wales,
can turn full circle thanks to a
turntable upon which it is
built. The rooms of the
octagonal building are
designed to let in more light
than average, and thanks to
the property’s unique shape,
are also more spacious than
usual.
All the rooms are attached
to a central core of plumbing
and electrical fittings around
which the house can turn. The
mechanism is powered by two
small electric engines no larger
than that of a washing
machine, and is controlled
using a touch-screen panel in
the living area.
The couple, who spent
ú400,000 designing and
building the house, told how
Tata to build Alcatel Lucent sees Asia as growth engine YouTube
new cable in Hong Kong: Franco-US "I think we're growing fast Two of those are going high-
Gulf telecoms equipment seller and picking up market share, Singapore's SingTel and
Alcatel Lucent said it believes but it's hard to validate that." Japan's
Mumbai: Indian telecoms
services firm Tata
Communications said it had
it is gaining market share in
Asia, as it gears up to try for a Lucent had high hopes for the Chinese mobile carrier China
signed agreements with
operators in the Middle East
to build a new cable system
for the region.
The telecoms cable will
connect the region to the
world's major business hubs
through the company's
existing Tata Global Network,
it said in a statement to the
Mumbai stock exchange.
The agreements were
signed with Bahrain Internet
Exchange, Nawras of Oman,
Qatar Telecom, Mobily of
Saudi Arabia and Etisalat in
98 the United Arab Emirates.

Graham Cluley, a researcher
with anti-virus software
maker Sophos. When an
iPhone user tries to access a
bank web site, the Duh Worm
directs the browser to a look-a-
like site controlled by the
hackers, Cluley said.
The phones that are
vulnerable are "jail broken"
phones, where users disable
key Apple security features to
get around the terms of usage
agreement that they are
designed to enforce. For
example, Apple prevents users
from switching service
providers to unauthorised
carriers and limits users to the
the idea was born when their
neighbours were discussing
their own new-build. They
had commented that if they
could start again they would
orientate the house 15 degrees
to the north, to which Mrs
Everingham replied:
“Wouldn’t it be handy to have
a house that could move?” Mr
Everingham, 47, said:
“Immediately I started to
think. Weight? The average
house would weigh
approximately 20-30 tonnes, or
about 1 tonne per square.
Weight is not difficult - ancient
mechanical and structural
engineering. “Shape? The
conventional rectangular
prism would not be suitable.
After experimenting with scale
drawings to investigate
octagonal and circular shapes,
I was pleasantly surprised.

He added that Alcatel Another is reportedly top
major share of India's
upcoming 3G build-out. The
company, which posted
losses for the last 12 quarters,
counted Asia as one of its best
performing global markets,
on track to beat its overall
performance this year, said
Sean Dolan, the company's
Asia-Pacific president.
"Asia-Pacific has been a
growth engine for us. It's clear
Asia will outgrow whatever is
the global growth rate (for
Alcatel Lucent)," Dolan told
Reuters on the sidelines of a
telecoms event in Hong Kong.
approximately 100,000
programmes that the company
has vetted for installation on
the device. There are
thousands of unauthorised
programmes covering areas
2m hack attacks on China
defence web site
Beijing: The web site of
China's defence ministry has
been hacked more than two
million times since it was
launched three months ago,
state media said. "From the
first day the national defence
ministry web site went
online, it received a large
volume of uninterrupted
attacks," Ji Guilin, the editor-
in-chief of the web site told
the People's Daily in an
interview. "In the first month
of operations there were
more than 2.3 million hack
attacks."
Ji did not say whether the
attacks were launched from
inside or outside China, but
the assaults were largely
ineffective due to web site
security and safeguard
NTT
India market, where 3G
spectrum is set to be
auctioned off next January in
one of the world's last major
auctions for third-generation
wireless technology.
"I want to be one of those
three vendors" for each of the
operators building a 3G
network, he said. Dolan
added that Alcatel Lucent was
also working with several
partners in Asia to build even
more advanced fourth-
generation trial networks
based on Long-Term
Evolution (LTE) technology.
Free download | flare.com.pk
including internet phone calls,
WiFi access and pornography.
"The vast majority of
customers do not jailbreak
their iPhones, and for good
reason. These hacks not only
measures, he said. The attacks foreign fears about China's
either tried to infiltrate the robust
web site in search of military modernisation efforts. The
secrets, or sought to disrupt
the website operations, he
added.
The ministry launched the
website - including an
English version - on August
20 as part of a charm
offensive aimed at countering
definition
DoCoMo.
video
Mobile, which is building a
trial LTE network in
Shanghai for next year's
World Expo and may be
looking to build a commercial
network by as early as 2011.
"We're working with
multiple operators in China
on LTE," Dolan said,
ddeclining to be more specific
Alcatel competes globally
with the likes of European
rivals Ericsson and Nokia
Siemens Networks, as well as
up-and-coming Chinese
rivals Huawei and ZTE.

violate the warranty, they will
also cause the iPhone to
become unstable and not work
reliably," said Apple
spokeswoman Natalie
Harrison.
The case, which was
widely reported by security
experts, is the first in which
iPhones have been recruited
into a "botnet," or army of
infected devices that hackers
can control from a central
"command and control
centre." Early this year an
unknown criminal gang built
a botnet with millions of PCs
using a worm known as
Conficker.

military
site includes news reports,
official photos and videos,
facts and figures about the
military, and explanations of
the country's national
defence policies. China's
Great Wall features in the
logo.

San Francisco: High-
definition video is coming to
YouTube. The Google-owned
online video sharing web site
said that it would begin
supporting snippets shot in
formats as graphics rich as
1080 pixels next week, a
resolution level used in high-
definition televisions.
"As resolution of consumer
cameras increases, we want to
make sure YouTube is the best
home on the web to showcase
your content," YouTube
software engineer Billy Biggs
said in a blog post.

Free download | flare.com.pk International Synopsis

Apple tops phone chart; Nokia, Samsung step up

Helsinki: The world’s two
largest cell phone makers,
Nokia and Samsung
Electronics, unveiled their
latest rivals to the iPhone as
Apple became the top profit
generator in the handset
industry.
Apple Inc overtook Nokia
in the September quarter as the
cell phone maker generating
the highest total operating
profit in the industry, research
firm Strategy Analytics said.
Nokia said it had started
deliveries of its top-of-the-
range N900, while Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd announced
it would launch its own open
mobile platform, bada, in
December as it tries to make
up for a late start in the
smartphone market.
Nokia and Samsung
together sell around 60 per
cent of all cell phones globally,
but they have lost some
ground to Apple and Research
In Motion Ltd, maker of the
Blackberry. The N900 model is
the first Nokia phone to run on
the Linux Maemo operating
system, which analysts see as
key for Nokia to regain
ground in the coming years.
While Nokia has lost
ground in the smartphone
business, it is still the world’s
largest smartphone maker by
volume. Samsung’s volumes
are well behind Apple, RIM
and HTC Corp. Measured by
profits, Nokia lost in the third
quarter against Apple, which
entered the cell phone market
only in mid-2007.
Apple does not unveil
profits per business line, but
Strategy Analytics estimated
Apple’s operating profit for its
iPhone handset unit stood at
USD 1.6 billion in the third
quarter, compared with
Nokia’s USD 1.1 billion.
Global sales of mobile
handsets will snap a four-
quarter losing streak in the last
three months of the year as the
industry is buoyed by
economic recovery, a Reuters
poll of analysts showed. Sales
are expected to rise 3 per cent
in the fourth quarter as the
Christmas period brings a
brighter end to a year in which
sales are forecast to fall 6.9 per
cent, the poll of 31 banks,
brokerages and research firms
showed.

Nokia plans one Linux phone

Helsinki: Nokia analysts and industry since 2005 in its niche
plans to install Linux players have been range of internet tablets
software on just one expecting the firm to roll - sleek phone-like
new smartphone next out numerous Linux devices without
year, a
source told,
dampening
prospects of
a quick
makeover of
the Finnish
group's
struggling
product line-
up.
The
Finnish firm has started models already next connection to mobile
to invest more in year. networks. Nokia's
internet services in Nokia started to sell closest rival Samsung
recent years, seeking to its first Linux phone, the Electronics gave an
counter falling handset top-of-the-range N900 upbeat forecast for 2009
prices and increased model, this month. "The mobile phone sales on
competition in potential of Linux Monday due to sharp
smartphones from the computer operating growth in touchscreen
likes of Apple and system is in the high- models, but analysts
Blackberry-maker RIM. end, and we have not warned surging
The Linux Maemo yet fully harnessed volumes may not
operating system is seen that," Ari Jaaksi, head of guarantee higher
as key for Nokia in its Maemo at Nokia, told. margins.

rivalry with Apple Inc's Nokia has used open
iPhone, and many source Linux Maemo
easier to pitch drugs in side effects have left that amount.
online advertisements. them hamstrung on the Yahoo Vice
The Food and Drug web. As drug maker President David
Administration is and media companies Zinman is urging the
hearing from dozens of push for increased FDA to draft new rules
drug and advertising online access, consumer that give companies
executives at a two-day advocates say the FDA greater flexibility on the
meeting on internet must respond with web.

marketing of medical increased enforcement, Internet safety
products. and that industry
The agency has should pay for the for children
agreed to consider effort. By Jonathan Fildes
developing rules for Drug makers spent Technology reporter,
online advertisements more than USD 4.3 BBC News Lessons in
after companies billion on patient- using the internet safely
are set to become a
Google, Yahoo to expand drug ads complained that the
guidelines for
targeted advertisements
last year, though online
compulsory part of the
curriculum for primary
Washington: Google, companies joined the in urging US government traditional media which marketing represented schoolchildren in
Yahoo and other web pharmaceutical industry regulators to make it require detailed lists of about three per cent of England from 2011.
99
 Synopsis International Free download | flare.com.pk

Microsoft CFO China joins supercomputer elite

resigns
Microsoft's chief financial
officer Chris Liddell is to
leave the company at the end
of the year, indicating that he
is looking for a bigger job at
another company.
Mr Liddell, 51, has been
CFO at the world's largest
software company since May
2005, after joining from
paper and packaging maker
International Paper Co,
where he was also CFO.
The New Zealander, who
has a masters degree in
philosophy and does
triathlons in his spare time, is
now "looking at a number of
opportunities that will
expand his career beyond
being a CFO," according to
Microsoft. Before moving to
the US, Liddell was CEO of
New Zealand forest products
company Carter Holt
Harvey, and also worked as
an investment banker. He
will be succeeded as
Microsoft CFO by Peter
Klein, who is currently CFO
of Microsoft's business
division, which makes the
highly profitable Office suite
of programs.

China has become one of a
handful of nations to own one
supercomputer, which now
boasts a speed of 1.759
petaflop barrier. It is currently
able to run at 1.042 petaflops
of the top five petaflops. One petaflop is the and uses the powerful "cell"
supercomputers in the world. equivalent of 1,000 trillion chip designed for the
Its Tianhe-1 computer, calculations per second. PlayStation 3.
housed at the National Super The Cray computer has The Top 500 list is
Computer Centre in Tianjin more than 220,000 chips and dominated by machines in the
was ranked fifth on the is owned by the Oak Ridge US, which is home to 277 of
biannual Top 500 National Laboratory in ranked systems. It has eight of
supercomputer list. Tennessee. It is used to the top 10 machines. Europe
The machine packs more conduct research in climate has 153 systems on the list,
than 70,000 chips and can science, materials science and including the world's fourth
compute 563 trillion nuclear energy amongst other most powerful machine. The
calculations per second areas. IBM BlueGene/P
(teraflops). It is used for The IBM computer is supercomputer at the
petroleum exploration and owned by the Department of Forschungszentrum Juelich
engineering tasks such as Energy's Los Alamos (FZJ) in Germany is the fastest
simulating aircraft designs. National Laboratory in New machine outside the US and is
However, the fastest machine Mexico and was the first able to run at more than 800
is the US-owned Jaguar machine to push through the teraflops.

Blackberry Data lost in old SIM cards

buddies up
to game
developers
San Francisco: Research In
Motion (RIM) announced it is
making Blackberry devices
friendlier to game
applications, as the business-
oriented smartphones try to
show a more playful side. The
Canada-based mobile phone
maker is enhancing Blackberry
software to make it simpler for
outside developers to craft 3D
games and other fun programs
for the devices.
"We are making it easier
than ever for developers,
hobbyists and content
providers to build graphic-rich
experiences for BlackBerry
smartphones," RIM platform
SVP Alan Brenner.

Most SIM cards hold
nothing more innocuous than
contact details, call log
information and innocent text
messages - but for some they
can be doorways to dark
secrets and hidden affairs. The
woman at the heart of the
Mike Rann sex allegations,
former Parliament House
waitress Michelle Chantelois,
hopes it's the latter.
Ms Chantelois handed
over her mobile phone and
SIM card to technicians at
Channel 7 to undergo forensic
examinations in an attempt to
retrieve explicit and
incriminating text messages
she alleges were sent to and
from the South Australian
premier. She's hoping the
successful recovery of the SMS
messages will give weight to
claims she and Mr Rann had a
long-running affair. retrieving deleted text lower.''
Mr Rann has vigorously messages from a mobile phone "We're talking about a two
denied the allegations. or SIM card from 2004 would per cent chance of getting any
worthwhile information from
it.''
Mr Watt said that while it's
a relatively simple process to
retrieve deleted data from old
SIM cards and mobile phones,
the chances of a successful
recovery exponentially
diminished as the years rolled
on. "Retrieving deleted and
old data from SIM cards has
improved greatly in the past
few years, but its success is
limited to the age of both the
mobile phone in question and
Unfortunately for her be a 1 in 50 chance. "If it had the SIM,'' he said.
claims, IT forensic experts been a computer and you were Retrieval of old data from
think there's little hope of trying to retrieve emails from modern day smartphones on
uncovering anything about 5 or 6 years ago the the other has a much higher
worthwhile. chances would be about 50 or success rate because of their
An IT forensics expert at 60 per cent, but on an old improved data and storage
e.law, Allan Watt, said mobile phone it's significantly capacity.

Warning for online Google routes World Bank data

money mules
Police chiefs are urging
people looking for work
during the recession to be
alert to online scams that
trick them into laundering
money. The Serious
Organised Crime Agency
(Soca) says web sites are
currently being used to
recruit "money mules".
The "mules" are ordinary
people who send and receive
payments through their
bank accounts to facilitate
business. But in reality, the
cash has been laundered
from crime, leaving
unwitting mules open to
prosecution.
100 The warning comes at the
San Francisco: Google is
beginning of the annual Get adding World Bank figures to
Safe Online week, a internet results in a bid to
campaign jointly run by make hard facts about
government and banks to countries worldwide easier to
alert people to the dangers find. A "public data" feature
of fraud on the internet. launched about six months
According to the ago with continually updated
campaign, fraudsters are US population and
employment figures will now
using a variety of bogus and
also include World Bank
legitimate recruitment
numbers, Google search team
channels to con job-hunters
product manager Ola Rosling
into thinking they have told.
found genuine employment.
For example, online
But in each case the job searches for fertility rates in
comes down to asking the Europe or the gross domestic
victim to receive relatively product of Somalia now
small amounts of money trigger results pages topped
into their own account and with links to World Bank data
then move them onwards to presented in interactive charts
another bank.
for easy comparisons.
"There is a lot of noise in
results for those that want to
get to the raw data and not
interpretations of the data,"
Rosling said. "This is a first
baby step toward solving the
enormous problem of making
numbers easier to find."
Google added 17 World
Development Indicators
including child mortality
rates; carbon dioxide
emissions per capita; life
expectancy; military
expenditures, and economic
data. People, businesses or
governments can link
online to Google public data
charts or embed them in
websites. "Our plan is to
add a huge amount of
sources," Rosling said.
"Eventually, we would like to
have all of these data sources
well organised."
A challenge to the growth
of the fact-finding search
service is that a lot of public
data has yet to be made
available on the Iiternet,
according to Google.
Rosling sees that barrier
eroding as more governments
and agencies embrace
Internet technologies.
"There are technical
challenges; making sure we
don't screw up pulling the
data and introduce any
errors," Rosling said. "The
huge challenge is getting the
actual numbers, but that will
probably change in the
future."

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