Reliance Jio will fight competitors on quality of service: Top executive

Reliance Jio Infocomm will not fight competitors on the price front, but on quality of service, a top company executive said, as the Mukesh Ambani-owned telco tried to deflect talk of a cheaper offering ahead of its impending 4G services launch.

"We are not saying we will lower the price, but we will create a better experience," Rainer Deutschmann, chief product and innovation officer, told ET, adding that if customers want true 4G experience, they would need devices built for it. "People are willing to pay for connectivity, but don't like to pay if they don't get an experience."

In his first media interaction since taking on this role in 2014, the former Deutsche Telekom executive said the data prices in India are "already at such a low level" compared with other markets. His comment comes in the backdrop of fears that Jio's entry would trigger a fierce price battle in the industry.

Source: TOI

Mobile tower radiation have no impact on health: Experts

SHILLONG, March 30: Allaying fears on mobile towers being a contributory factor to health hazards and decline of agricultural and horticultural production in the state, four top experts including the Director of the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGHRIHMS) Shillong Dr AG Ahangar termed the fear as a ‘misconception’.

In an interactive session held at Shillong on Wednesday, the experts said this.

Dr Ramesh Teegela of Grace Cancer foundation said, “There is no scientific data to indicate the existence of cancer risk from mobile towers emissions”, even as he cited the findings carried out by the World Health Organizations’ (WHO) and the United States Food and Drug administration (USFDA).

He said that these unfounded fears has created panic amongst the common man and will affect the upcoming city like Shillong.

Dr A k Ayangar, Director of NEIGHRIMS, stated that although there were some notions that mobile towers cause health hazard, nowhere in the medical literature stated that the mobile towers have the ability to affect the human DNA.

The Director of NEIGHRIMS while laying into rest on the concerns that the patients with pace maker and stands in their heart could be affected by EMF radiation, said, “As an open heart surgeon I can say that it is misleading”.

Both the super medical specialist, however, cautioned that there should be a judicious way of using the handset and to dismiss the notion of Mobile towers being the source of health concerns.

Ex-officio Secretary and former member (Technology) Telecom Commission of India, SS Sirohi said, “India follows one of the strictest norms in permissible levels of EMF emissions, which are ten time more stringent than the international standards prescribed by the WHO.

Asked specifically on the EMF impact on plantations and other species especially when there have been insinuations about the so called impact on the citrus fruits, broom sticks cultivation within the periphery where the mobile towers are based, Sirohi said, “There is no direct evidence. Other factors like climate change, air pollution, use of pesticides and others could have come into play,”

Source: Sentinel Assam

Jio to offer 40-80 times better mobile broadband speeds in India, says Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries took the stage at FICCI FRAMES 2016 and spoke about the future of digital media and Reliance Jio services.

Addressing the audience, Mukesh Ambani mentioned the Indian media industry has grown by 9 times in the last 12 years. The total value, he says, is expected to hit $100 billion in 10 years. Calling Jio the “world’s biggest startup,” he added that the Rs 1,50,000 crore investment in the service is because he sees digitisation as the “defining trend of the century.”

Adding the “the best is yet to come for the Indian media industry,” Ambani said that Jio would significantly up the quantity and quality of mobile broadband coverage by 80-100 times. He expects Jio to offer coverage to 90 percent of Indians and also speeds that are 40-80 times greater than the current average.

Speaking of the potential of digital media content and accessible broadband, Ambani said that an affordable video network would change the way we learn.

“It will revolutionise education in India. We’re moving from audio to video,” he said. Adding in that the world was graduating to a tele-media world and that we are now part of a tele-media front.

He ended with a statement indicating that Reliance Jio would do its best to support and boost the Digital India initiative because it’s about bringing people together and join the Digital India movement.

Also at the event was Uday Shankar, CEO of StarTV, who spoke about how story-telling, coupled with technology would change the world.

Referring to Jio, Uday Shankar said, “I have never seen such anticipation for a product even before its launch.” He went on to say that there was a tectonic shift happening in the industry, that change was happening faster than anticipated.

“We are looking at a truly global world which has no patience,” he added.

FICCI is the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. It’s a non-government, non-profit organisation that works with closely with the government on policy issues related to Indian businesses and the industry.

FICCI FRAMES is the biggest event of its kind in Asia and is claimed to be the foremost business conclave in the entertainment industry.

FICCI FRAMES 2016 is running from 30 March to 1 April at the Renaissance Centre in Powai, Mumbai.

Source: First Post

Jio Join app: First look and comprehensive feature review

We recently shared with you the initial impressions of the Jio Mi-Fi pocket router which acts as a bridge between non VoLTE smartphones and voice services on Jio’s 4G LTE network. Today we would like to share with you the look and design of the app which makes this possible and brief you about its features and capabilities.

Jio join app is a one stop solution for all calling and texting needs for users who wish to enjoy these services on Jio’s 4G network without relying on a fall back to 3G or 2G network of a partner operator. Calls made over the LTE network offer HD voice with better clarity than analogue cellular voice. Jio Join app can be installed on 4G smartphones lacking VoLTE  or even on WiFi enabled non 4G smartphones to be used in conjunction with the MiFi device. Layout wise the app has a minimalistic approach with 3 neat sections for contacts, messages and calls. For phones which will only be used on the Jio network, the app can be set as the default dialer to make outgoing calls. For phones which have another operator’s sim inserted and wish to make calls through the connected Jio MiFi device, the Jio Join app will prompt each time a number is dialed from the stock dialer and ask whether the call should be placed on cellular network or routed as a VoLTE call on the Jio network.

The contacts section has 3 sub sections for favourites, All contacts and contacts who have Jio Join app installed. Clicking on a contact’s display pic gives a popup card which gives options for chatting (SMS with non Jio join users or instant messaging for Jio join users), audio calling, video calling or sharing of files (with other Jio join users). Other features exclusively available for calling Jio join users include Rich call and Urgent call. A rich call allows the caller to attach a customised short message, a photo and a GPS location which would give a brief idea to the receiver of the call what the purpose of the call is even without picking it up. Also calls can be marked as urgent to ensure they are picked up on a priority basis by the receiver.

The video calling interface is pretty standard as visible in the screenshot above. During a live video call the options available are mute and unmute the microphone, mute or unmute the speaker, switch on or off the camera, put the call on hold, pull up the dialer pad, switch between front and back cam, send a text message or attach and send a file. The design is intuitive and user friendly. An indicator towards the top left indicates the total call duration and the current signal strength.

Jio join can be set as your default SMS client. The layout of the messages section is very similar to that of the Jio chat app. Clicking on a conversation reveals the chat window with the conversation in thread view. To non Jio join users you can send regular SMS and to fellow Jio join users you can send instant messages, share images, videos, voice recordings, GPS location, .zip and .pdf files. To the top of the chat window there is a phone icon which acts as a shortcut to place a VoLTE call to the person you are chatting with.

Note: All data consumed while making a voice call to non Jio join numbers through VoLTE on the Jio network is zero rated and only the per second or per minute calling tariff will apply just like a regular GSM call and the same applies for data consumed in sending and receiving SMS to non Jio join contacts. However when making a call through VoWiFi on a third party non Jio WiFi network, the subscriber may be charged for the data consumed by his broadband provider. All calls and instant messages to fellow Jio join users will be free.

Source: Telecom Talk

Reliance Jio sister company launches entry-level VoLTE smartphones, LYF Wind 6 and LYF Flame

Reliance Jio's sister company, Reliance Retail, has expanded its LYF smartphone portfolio with the launch of entry level LYF Wind 6 and LYF Flame 1 devices. The company has priced these smartphones at Rs. 7090, and Rs. 6490, respectively.

These phones are available across India in more than 1,20,000 retail outlets through a network of more than 1200 distributors.

The company said that the two devices represent one of the most affordable and superior entry-level smartphones in the Indian market. Both the devices support VoLTE and VoWi-Fi, which will deliver a true 4G experience when used on a VoLTE supporting network.

"With Wind 6 and Flame 1, everyone can experience HD-quality voice and video calls, multi-party voice and video conferencing, Wi-Fi calling, high-speed Internet, and seamless switching of a call from the service provider's network to any available Wi-Fi network," the company said in a statement.

Both Wind 6 and Flame 1 come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Chipset and 1 GB RAM. Both the devices feature a 5MP front camera, apart from a 5MP rear camera, with special modes such as blink detection, smile detection, etc. A complimentary transparent back cover makes for an attractive proposition.

Wind 6 has a 5-inch IPS display, 1 GB RAM, and premium gloss finish.

Flame 1 is available in four vibrant colours - white, black, dark blue, and dark red, while Wind 6 is available in white, black, and gold colours.

Source: ET Telecom

Reliance's Valentine Day offer; launches LYF-4G mobiles at Rs 6,399

Reliance Retail Ltd, subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd, has introduced limited edition LYF-4G mobiles cashing on the Valentine Day celebrations. Reliance Retail has released specially designed limited edition range of LYF devices under the "Togetherness Offer" to be available in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Jaipur, a company statement said.



The handsets - Flame 1 and Wind 6, priced at Rs 6,399 and Rs 7,099 respectively, would be offered with a bouquet of offers that can be used at places like Mainland China, Cafe Coffee Day and others.

Reliance Retail would also sell its power bank at 40 percent discounted rate at Rs 720 and selfie-stick which is sold normally at a price of Rs 999 will be retailed at Rs 600 a unit, the release said.

Source: Zee News

Lyf Earth 1 Hands-on and first impressions

Ahead of Reliance Jio’s 4G LTE launch in India, Reliance Digital, retail business part of Reliance Industries, has launched three new smartphones under a Lyf brand. The new smartphones — Earth 1, Water 1 and Water 2 — are priced between Rs 15,499 and Rs 25,800, and come with support for VoLTE network, which will be available with Reliance Jio’s 4G service. We spent some time with the Earth 1, which is the top end smartphone of the Lyf series. Here are our first impressions of the smartphone.

The Earth 1 is officially priced at Rs 25,800, but is available on Reliance Digital with a 7 percent discount, for Rs 23,990. The smartphone comes with top of the line specifications, taking on the likes of a wide-range of high-specced Android smartphones. The Lyf Earth 1 has a 5.5-inch full HD display. It runs on Android 5.1.1 and is powered by a Snapdragon 615 processor along with 3GB of RAM.

The smartphone comes with two cameras on the rear — a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 2-megapixel depth sensor — and a 5-megapixel front facing camera with an LED flash. It comes with 32GB of built-in storage, and supports expandable storage up to 32GB via microSD. Connectivity options include dual-SIM support, USB, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It is powered by a 3,500 mAh battery.

Along with a competitive set of specifications, Reliance has also focused on the design of the phone. The Earth 1 has an aluminium alloy frame on the sides, while the rear has a Gorilla Glass cover. Despite a glass back and a 5.5-inch size, the smartphone fits easily in palm and is easy to grip. The Earth 1 looks quite beautiful, but feels slightly heavy and thick. The device weighs about 162 grams, and measures 76.6x154x7.2 mm. Everything said and done, the Earth 1 is a well designed smartphone and looks quite premium.

The Earth 1 has a 5.5-inch full HD display, which has become a standard for mid-range smartphone these days. The display on the Earth 1 is quite decent but is little on warmer side. The images in the gallery appear tad warmer on the device as compared to the same image on laptop. That said, during our brief usage, the smartphone delivered quite decent outdoor and indoor visibility. The auto brightness works fluidly and is bright enough to offer good legibility even under harsh sunlight.

One of the most impressive elements of the Earth 1 is its rear dual 13-megapixel + 2-megapixel camera set up. The camera gives users a slew of customization features ranging from ISO levels, exposure, white balance, sharpness to HDR mode. We took a few photos from the Earth 1, which you can check it out below.

The camera does a near excellent job at macro shots, and is even better at depth of field. In terms of color accuracy, brightness and contrast ratio, the camera does quite a decent job in full light conditions. However, there were a few shots where white balance went out of the toss. Focus and image processing are quite snappy at auto mode, and slightly slower on HDR mode, which is the norm. Low light images are grainy, but quality is relatively better on Night Mode.

To make most of the dual-camera set up, tap on the cardboard-like icon in the camera, and shoot an image. You can tap on any part of the image to re-focus. The smartphone is capable of shooting full HD videos, and supports features such as time lapse and slow motion.

Another highlight is the 5-megapixel front facing camera with HDR and LED flash, which is quite rare for front facing cameras. The front camera delivers quite decent images in full light, but doesn’t have a beauty mode, which may disappoint selfie enthusiasts. However, there are many apps available on the Play Store that can do the trick.

It’s worth pointing out that the camera interface shows 10-megapixel as the maximum resolution along with Superfine, Fine and Normal modes.

One of the things we liked about the smartphone is the minimal UI, with limited customization over the stock Android 5.1.1. With 3GB RAM with an octa-core chipset, performance ideally shouldn’t be an issue for the Earth 1. On connecting the smartphone with a Wi-Fi network, it showed an alert for a new update, which promises optimization of some functions of system, and a few bug fixes. During our brief experience, the phone worked fluid.

The smartphone comes with 32GB of built-in storage of which around 25GB is available to users. It supports only 32GB microSD cards. The smartphone has a hybrid sim slot that houses dual-SIM (Micro + Micro). Both the SIM card slots support 4G.

The Lyf Earth 1 looks like a promising smartphone, though a few popular features such as fingerprint scanner could have made the phone more interesting. Stay tuned for our detailed review.

Source: BGR