State of Telecom Industry in Pakistan

Let me confess, I never wanted to be a BlackBerry user and ever since I was forced to use my first RIM device, I have always been carrying one, it’s been a few years now. I’m not that forgetful in general but I do forget my BlackBerry at places at times, and am usually not sure where I left it. Was that in my car or at home? Did I drop it somewhere or is it safe or not? Calling a lost phone to ring it, itself is an invitation to a thief if you left it at a public place. Does this happen to you too?

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Nokia has made a huge move in the mobile mapping and navigation area: it now offers free global navigation (for drivers and pedestrians) on Nokia smartphones. These free-of-charge navigation services are intended to boost Nokia’s service offerings and sell more phones. This is the same direction which Google was moving in with its free navigation software. The free turn-by-turn directions by Nokia mean that navigation device makers such as TomTom and Gramin will be impacted.

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Telenor has started online booking for BlackBerry Bold 9700. Delivery is expected in the first week of February 2010. You can also call 111-345-100, 345 or call 200 from Telenor Persona Number. Priced at Rs. 50K, this is one of the high end, stylish phone from RIM.  BlackBerry Bold 9700 would be a lot of fun with 3G rollout.

Venturebeat – a popular blog about high tech startup companies  – published a post about Help Me, a startup which provides affordable support to mobile app developers. The company behind this is Next Generation Innovations, based in Karachi, Pakistan. CEO of Next Generation Innovations, Farzal Dojki is very active and well know in Pakistani ICT circles. Great work Farzal!

Here are a few excerpts from the post by Saad Fazil.

Mobile app support is currently non existent, and a niche where we can help provide affordable support, says Farzal Dojki.

Currently Apple doesn’t have a very good after-sale support mechanism for the apps in its AppStore: Users click on a “Report a Problem” button, and are then prompted to go to the developers website, where they can directly contact the developer. Developers working with Help Me would link their contact information (email or phone) to Help Me so that Help Me can then take over the support.

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By now you must have heard about Nexus One from Google. This calculated move from Google shows its ambition and aggressiveness. The web and social networks are full of buzz about the phone, its features and how the other services – such as Google Voice – and apps will create an attractive solution which could be come a new standard.

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I came across this article from CNET on frequently asked questions about smartphone safety and thought that I’d share it with readers. Never a bad idea to remind ourself about safety of data and apps. Here’s the basic checklist:

1. Do you have data on your phone backed up in case you lose it?
2. Is there business or personal information (such as accounts or passwords in messages) which is easily accessible to someone who gets hold of your phone?
3. Are you aware of the applications installed on your phone: commerce related apps, social networking apps
4. Be careful about the usual phishing and other social-engineering scams – with so much browsing on the phone, it is more likely these days to follow a bad link and give away your password by mistake
5. Beware of sending sensitive info over unencrypted WiFi

Read the article after the break.

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Interesting presentation which talks about why smart phones are so important for marketers, what are the major areas of growth and how to target this group of early adopters.

Windows Mobile’s share of the global smart-phone operating-system market fell to 7.9% in the third quarter from 11.1% a year earlier, research firm Gartner estimates. Also losing ground was Nokia’s Symbian. In contrast, both Apple and BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion boosted their shares, while Android grabbed 3.5% from zero a year earlier. That will likely increase given the popularity of Motorola’s new Droid phone.

Here’s an interesting illustration of how Apple and Google are competing.

Illustration via WSJ.

Last but not least, comes Zong with it BlackBerry Solution in Pakistan. All other operators are already offering this service making competition tough for Zong. Recently Warid came up with its Smart Bundle offer to attract in users for the BlackBerry, Zong also will have to do more than just the launch. For now, the official PR has the details.

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Mashable has interesting commentary about the role of iPod touch. In the context of the mobile platform wars, the contest is often framed as “the iPhone” versus Android, BlackBerry and the rest of the smartphone market. However, even if the iPhone is the only phone that Apple sells, there is another device that runs on the iPhone OS: the iPod touch. In fact, according to the mobile analytics firm Flurry, the iPod touch might even be Apple’s secret weapon when it comes to long-term results and platform retention. Flurry makes this argument in its November Industry Pulse report.

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Nokia has stated that Symbian would remain the key software platform on its smart phones, as the world’s largest handset maker forecast a 10% rise in global handset volumes next year following a period of sharp contraction. Nokia is trying a number of different things, including emphasis on social media and music services. Nokia has also stepped up advertising which talks about its email solutions (E72 for example) and how its better than BlackBerry because it works directly with Microsoft Exchange without the need of a middleware.

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As smartphones become more like portable computers, scammers, phishers and other cybcer criminals have stepped up their attacks on smartphones. Here are a few excerpts from an article which provides tips on securing your smartphone.

Security experts have long warned of the vulnerability of smart phones to hackers. And in the past year the threat has been highlighted by an attack on the Symbian operating system, used mainly by Nokia Corp. phones, and a demonstration at a conference of a flaw that was found in the iPhone’s security.

As the software for smart phones becomes more sophisticated and open, they become better breeding grounds for a new generation of spyware and viruses. Hackers can work their way into your phone through text messages, steal your information and use your contact list to find more victims. Scammers can now dupe you into revealing your Social Security number or credit-card account number on your phone, just like they’ve been doing for years on PCs.

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