Top five Qwerty phones within Rs 3,500

Qwerty keypad is a must have feature for social media addicts because it makes typing easier. Here are five Qwerty phones with the best features within Rs 3,500.

If you are addicted to messaging or if you send a lot of mails from your phone, you probably need one that has a Qwerty keypad. This is especially true if you have a limited budget as bigger touch screen phones are much more expensive than these.

Here we have picked some mobile phones that have decent features along with a Qwerty keypad, and that cost within RS 3,500.

Nokia X2-01

This Nokia phone is a light weight device with a lot of social media applications, a 2.4 inch screen and one of the best keypads in this price bracket. A drawbacks of this phone is its camera, which is capable of just VGA (.3 megapixel) resolution.

Apart from that, the phone has all the typical features you expect from a Nokia phone — decent battery backup and easy to use interface (Nokia still has a simple UI for feature phones, unlike for its smartphones).

The phone comes with Flickr, Facebook and Twitter apps built in, and other apps can be downloaded from the Ovi Store. Bluetooth and FM radio too are present. The device's external memory can be expanded up to 8 GB. However, it does not use either Wifi or 3G. But then, this is a budget device.

The phone has a candy bar design, which feels nice to hold, and it weighs just 107 grams. The keypad is easy to use because spacing between keys is perfect.

If you are willing to overlook a bad camera (calling it average will not make sense when 2 megapixel has become the new average,) then it is a great phone, with a low price and decent features. Besides, it is good looking and is of standard Nokia quality.

The phone is available in several colours including red, blue, white and black, and costs just under Rs 3,500.

Micromax Q6

This one has both, a multitap and a slideout Qwerty keypad.

Qwerty phones are typically broad, which makes them slightly awkward to carry in the pocket, but since the keyboard slides back, this phone is as wide as a normal multitap phone; while is also has a large Qwerty keypad when needed.

The good part of this is that you get separate direction keys and larger spacing between keys, making it much easier to type with.

Other than that, this Micromax phone is a dual SIM device with a 2.4 inch screen that has 320x240 pixel resolution. Memory can be expanded up to 8 GB. There is also a 2 megapixel camera at the back. The phone sports a 3.5 mm jack, so you will be able to connect most headsets to it.

Along with that, you also get social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Nimbuzz. The default browser is Opera mini. For connectivity the phone uses Bluetooth and GPRS.

It is available in black colour and is priced at Rs 3,400.

Lava B8

This is the most feature rich phone in this list. It is a dual SIM device with a 3.2 megapixel camera and a flash that can also be used as a torch. It has 64 MB of internal memory expandable up to 16 GB through an SD card. Its screen measures 2.4 inches and displays 320x240 pixel resolution.

The phone features push mail service, aimed at people who are hooked to their emails. Connective options are also rich for this price bracket with Blutooth, Wifi and GPRS.

The device also has social networking apps, Opera Mini browser, an Indian calendar and music player with equalizer (and 3.5 mm jack) etc.

The phone has a gravity sensor and a motion sensor just in case you need to play games. The price is good too at Rs 3,400.

Alcatel ICE OT 606M

This single SIM slider phone from Alcatel is not much different from Micromax Q6, apart from the fact that the screen is a bit smaller at 2.2 inches and the camera offers VGA resolution.

Alcatel looks good, and with several dual colour options including pink and florescent green, it is especially appealing to women. The keypad is also well designed and as the phone sits well in the hand, typing is a lot more comfortable.

With Alcatel, you can expect slightly better quality but its availability has been an issue until now. The company has recently started to sell phones at Big Bazaar outlets, which is a welcome relief if you are looking for this phone.

ICE OT 606 is priced at Rs 3,350.

Lemon IQ 707

This dual SIM phone is one of the oldest in the market, but is also one of the best buys right now. It is very light at just 96 grams. The keypad is really comfortable to use, and its trackball too is smooth and of good quality.

Though the screen is small at 2.2 inches, its resolution is good. The phone has a 3.2 megapixel camera, which works well in most lighting conditions.

While it doesn't have connectivity options comparable to Lava B8, it does well for its price with Bluetooth and GPRS.

What impressed me most is the quality of the product, which, coming from an Indian manufacturer, is better than expected. The look and feel of the product is better than what its price, Rs 2,800, suggests.

Spice to launch tablet PCs in July

Spice had earlier announced that it plans to offer affordable Android devices to Indian consumers to surf the net, and Android handsets between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.

To capitalise on the Android and tablet wave, Spice will launch three tablets based on Android 2.3 operating system in India in July this year.

Dilip Modi, managing director of Spice Mobility, told 'The Mobile Indian', "We will launch 7, 9 and 10 inch tablets based on Gingerbread in mid-July and they will be available for less than Rs 20,000."

The upcoming 7 inch tablet, to be called Spice Mi-700, will have dual cameras for video calling and will be powered by a Qualcomm chipset.

Modi further said the tablets will come in 3G and Wifi models but didn't elaborate on their specifications.

Spice had earlier announced that it plans to offer affordable Android devices to Indian consumers to surf the net, and Android handsets between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 so that different strata of society can buy them.

Currently, Spice has two Android phones, Spice Mi-300 and Spice Mi-310.

Mi-300 is an Android 2.1 phone with an 8 cm capacitive touchscreen. It supports 3.5G and HSPA. The handset has a 5 megapixel camera, Wifi, GPS and AGPS. It also has Google messaging service with push mail.

Spice Mi-310 is based on Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system. It is a touchscreen phone with GPS, AGPS and Wifi hotspot functionality that allows users to share their data connection with five handsets.

LG Optimus 3D gets augmented reality browser

The Optimus 3D becomes the first ever 3D smartphone to feature an augmented reality browser.

LG Optimus 3D, which is possibly the first smartphone to have a three dimensional screen, will also have a 3D augmented reality (AR) browser. LG Electronics has announced the inclusion of the AR browser in collaboration with Wikitude, an independent augmented reality browser developer.

With this, LG Optimus 3D became the first smartphone to feature a 3D augmented reality browser.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a real-time technology that overlays detailed information (such as graphics and audio) to the user's surrounding as captured through smartphone cameras and other devices.

The Wikitude 3D browser allows better interaction and engagement with real-time user environments. While 2D AR only displays overlapped objects, 3D AR takes it a step further while showing places, landmarks and objects in three dimensions, making them easier to distinguishable. The browser allows users to discover details about their surroundings and access related Wikipedia articles and Twitter information directly from within the application itself.

"AR technology has been praised for its potential to replace the 'abstract' realities of standard mobile browsers with 'actual' reality streamed through the camera of the smartphone," said Dr Jong-seok Park, chief executive officer and president of LG Mobile.

The browser currently provides support for 12 languages with plans to increase this number in the near future. Users will be able to download Wikitude 3D from LG World for free starting from the middle of June, which also gives out a clear indication that LG plans to start selling the Optimus 3D device world over before June this year.

LG had announced the Optimus 3D during the Mobile World Congress earlier this year but has been keeping quite since then even though its competitor HTC announced the EVO 3D smartphone.

Five best-selling VAS offerings from MT

This is the first of a series of articles in which we track the best value added offerings from a particular service provider, other than the normal offerings like caller ring back tune, SMS, and ring tone downloads. We begin with offerings from MTS.

MTS is the third and last service provider in the CDMA space, a segment that did not do well in India but that has capabilities which make it attractive, such as fast internet speed even on the 2G platform.

To cash in on this feature of CDMA technology, MTS has launched My MTS Planet, a platform that is loaded on the device, and is meant for distributing content through video on demand (VOD), mobile TV, mShortcut, idle screen promotion, m-Adcalls (rich video advertisements), SMS subscription, and time based content delivery.

It will also include features such as SMS subscription and CRBT subscription for devices across the range — very low end and high end ones.

mShortcut

It aims to deliver content in a better way and is thus qualified to be here. mShortcut is designed with a friendly, menu driven user interface that enables easy browsing and allows services to be previewed before download.

It enables quick access to music, videos, ringtones, wallpapers, games, SMS services and CRBT etc. The user can directly jump to any content category simply by dialing a number, and they are not required to have detailed knowledge of browsers, of the Mobile Shop, GPRS, data services, download, or installation.

Video On Demand

Video On Demand enables users to view, download and stream a variety of videos from various genres at a single point of entry. They can even watch high quality video on low end devices that do not have video players.

The service has full video player options and navigation such as play, pause, volume and player. The platform works on both RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) and non-RTSP supported handsets, and can play two-hour and longer files continuously.

Mobile TV

This phenomenal application from MTS allows its subscribers to enjoy Live TV on their mobile handsets. It is compatible with both RTSP supported and non-RTSP supported handsets.

Users can choose from various categories such as sports, news, movies and religion. It also allows access to compressed video of good quality with faster content delivery and streaming.

Idle Screen Promotion

Idle Screen Promotion is used to promote VAS content on mobiles when the device is idle. It is a mode of delivering VAS content seamlessly and very quickly to the end user, and it also increases download rates.

The function simply allows a promotional message to pop up on the mobile screen when the phone is on idle, and also offers the option of download by clicking 'Yes' or declining to download via 'No'.

Using this feature an MTS mobile subscriber can easily download VAS content. The feature automatically invokes the idle screen message box and shows the appropriate message to the user at specific times. This feature is very useful for promoting content such as wallpapers, ringtones, games and text services. (It can get annoying though, so you can switch it off whenever necessary from the settings)

Nokia to launch advanced 3D mobile

This will be world's first auto-stereoscopic vision based 3D smartphone, will incorporate two different displays that project a 3D image with the help of a camera that monitors the user's eye level for more accurate 3D projection.

With the world head over heels over the two 3D capable phones revealed by HTC and LG, Finnish handset maker Nokia, too, is reportedly making a dual screen 3D mobile phone.

The device, which would be the world's first auto-stereoscopic vision based 3D smartphone, will incorporate two different displays that project a three dimensional image with the help of a camera that monitors the user's eye level for more accurate 3D projection.

Since the images change according to the user's position, he needs to stay still to view 3D, which is the biggest problem with existing glasses-free 3D displays.

The patent of the auto-stereoscopic vision, which has been bagged by Nokia, describes the technology as "an apparatus comprising a sensor configured to detect the position and orientation of a user viewpoint with respect to an auto-stereoscopic display; a processor configured to determine a surface viewable from the user viewpoint of at least one three dimensional object; and an image generator configured to generate a left and right eye image for display on the auto-stereoscopic display dependent on the surface viewable from the user viewpoint."

Meanwhile, Nokia has patented a new touch technology that comprises a pressure sensor that can measure the depth of touch as well.

By using these two technologies together, a new level of realism in augmented reality can be achieved. Moreover, with a 3D touch interface, better and more realistic interaction can also be achieved.

Considering the present scenario it is expected that the new device will be based on the Windows operating system and is likely to feature Intel's latest 3D oriented processor based on tri-gate transistor architecture.

LG Optimus 3D and HTC Evo 3D are two other such phones that are based on Android operating system. While Evo 3D is expected to be launched in the second quarter of this year, Optimus may hit stores around the world by June.