Samsung and Tata DOCOMO launch Samsung Galaxy I7500 in India

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Tata DOCOMO, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices Ltd, and Samsung Mobile have launched the first Android-powered Samsung mobile phone with in-built Google Mobile Services —-- Samsung Galaxy (I7500) -- in India.

Samsung Galaxy is a cutting-edge Smartphone, featuring a 3.2” AMOLED full touch-screen and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, providing users access to Google Mobile services and full Web browsing at excellent speeds.

“TATA DOCOMO is a young brand that recently rolled out GSM services across eight circles (so far),” Deepak Gulati, President, TATA DOCOMO, said. “When we launched our services, we had promised our subscribers that we would bring to them the best products and services—products that will stand for innovation and a pioneering spirit, and which would offer them convenience and simplicity.

“Living up to that promise, we are launching the Samsung Galaxy with one-touch Google Mobile Services (GMS). This launch marks the beginning of TATA DOCOMO’s relationship with Samsung. We will continue working together to launch more innovative mobile offerings for Indian consumers on the Tata DOCOMO platform,” he added.

Announcing the launch, B.D. Park, Director - Telecom, Samsung India Electronics Pvt Ltd stated: “We are very happy to be launching the Company’s first Android-powered mobile phone with Google Mobile Services in partnership with TATA DOCOMO. This powerful device will allow consumers to fully experience all mobile based Google applications on this phone. With its innovative features, Samsung Galaxy will offer a strong value proposition to discerning TATA DOCOMO customers.”

Samsung Galaxy (I7500) offers users access to the full suite of Google Mobile Services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google Talk and Android Market.

The integrated GPS receiver enables comprehensive use of Google Maps features, such as My Location, Google Latitude, local search and detailed route description. Thousands of other applications are available in the Android Market. “Applications from the Android Market can be downloaded and installed on to this mobile over the air, without the use of a PC, thereby opening up an entire new world to the user.” states Asim Warsi, GM-Marketing, Samsung India Electronics Ltd.

Under an exclusive tie-up, Samsung and Tata DOCOMO are launching this complete touch-screen, lifestyle phone in all the Circles where Tata DOCOMO has kicked off its GSM services, with an attractive consumer offer of 500 MB free download per month, for a period of six months.

“At TATA DOCOMO, our promise has been to provide a refreshingly different experience to our fast-growing customer base,” Sunil Tandon, Regional Head, TATA DOCOMO, said. “The launch of the Samsung Android is part of that endeavor—to provide subscribers with a world-class product that lets them experience the vast range of applications of the Android Market.”

Based on Samsung’s proven product leadership, Samsung I7500 comes with latest multimedia features. The large and vivid 3.2” AMOLED display ensures brilliant representation of multimedia content and an enjoyable full-touch mobile experience.

Along with supporting a 5-megapixel camera and various multimedia codec formats, the I7500 also provides a long battery life (1500mAh) and generous memory capacity (Internal Memory of 8 GB and Expandable External Memory up to 32 GB) to enjoy all the applications and multimedia content. The phone also boasts a slim and compact design—it is a mere 11.9mm thick.

Tata DOCOMO has launched its services across eight telecom Circles in the country already, and the same has been received with great enthusiasm. Samsung Galaxy will target the tech-savvy and up market consumers who are always on the move and need to have constant access to information, entertainment and interactive mobile experience.

Samsung Galaxy comes at a special introductory price of Rs 28,990 in the Indian market.

TATA DOCOMO launches 'diet-sms'

NEW DELHI, INDIA: TATA DOCOMO, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices Ltd, India’s fastest-growing pan-India dual-technology telecom service provider, has announced another innovative offer in the country, diet-sms, with customers being given the never-before option of paying for any SMS they send on a per-character pricing plan.

The cost of any ‘diet-sms’ will be only 1 paise per character used, thereby providing complete value to customers. Furthermore, there will be no charge for spaces between words, living up to TATA DOCOMO’s promise of not charging subscribers for the ‘unused’.

TATA DOCOMO has launched services in eight telecom circles in just two months, and the countrywide rollout of its GSM services is expected to be completed by this year.

“In all of the eight Circles where we have launched our GSM services, we made the promise of introducing path-breaking innovative products and services, and never-before tariff options. The diet-sms service is another way of fulfilling that promise,” Deepak Gulati, President, TATA DOCOMO, said.

“Today’s customer is discerning and seeks transparency, innovation and differentiation. Our products and services are tailored to uphold the trust associated with the House of Tata—and TATA DOCOMO follows the concept of fare being fair. From today, all TATA DOCOMO subscribers will be able to enjoy the benefits of pay-as-you-use even in SMS,” he added.

The unique part of the offer is that any customer can choose the diet-sms option when he/she has short text messages to send—he/she can continue to use the regular SMS option for longer SMS. “Our diet-sms concept is a result of thought leadership, creativity and innovation, riding on TATA DOCOMO’s customer-centric approach to doing business,” Mr Gurinder Singh Sandhu, Head of Marketing at TATA DOCOMO said.

“We broke the per-minute pricing paradigm for voice calls when we launched our services—with diet-sms, we are doing it again, this time on the SMS front. At TATA DOCOMO, we believe in taking the best that technology has to offer to make life more refreshing for our customers,” Gulati said.

To send a diet-sms, a customer has to:
* Go to the SIM-based menu on the phone (called Dive-in Now), scroll to the diet-sms option under the English Language menu, open it and send the SMS; or

* TATA DOCOMO has also launched a phone application which can be downloaded from TATA DOCOMO ‘Dive In’ WAP portal, or by simply sending a SMS “diet” to 54321. * Using this diet-sms application, the customer can send short text messages easily; or
* TATA DOCOMO customers can also send a diet-sms using the normal SMS menu. They need to type the mobile number followed by a space followed by the message and sms this to the short code 52208.

The downloaded diet-sms application also contains a bank of most common short SMS as templates. Customers can select from any of these templates and send the message by simply clicking ‘Send’.

“The diet-sms service is revolutionary and tailor-made to suit Indian customers—a survey conducted by TATA DOCOMO found out that a majority of SMS sent in India are very short—we designed this application after studying trends such as this, in order to benefit the customer,” Gulati said.

The diet-sms service is available to customers on the per-character pricing plan on the TATA DOCOMO network only.

TATA DOCOMO launches GSM service in Karnataka

BANGALORE, INDIA: TATA DOCOMO, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices Ltd, today announced the commercial launch of its operations in Karnataka, just a few days after it announced its launch in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Orissa.

The company’s Next Gen GSM service started on a heady note, with TTSL Managing Director Anil Sardana announcing a novel “Pay-for-what-you-use” model, with a pulse of one second, and a pricing of 1 paisa per second. TATA DOCOMO’s pan-India service rollout will be completed this year, with the entire South India set to go going ‘live’ next week.

In a message at the launch press conference, Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, said: “The value proposition offered by TATA-DOCOMO is a unique and revolutionary idea which symbolizes the spirit of innovation and inventive genius. This launch is truly a moment of triumph for the consumer.

"The launch of pay-per-use, per-second concept offered by TATA-DOCOMO will create a paradigm shift in the overall telecom experience for the customer and provide a service that is refreshingly different.”

Introducing the One-Second Pulse—Local STD ISD
TATA DOCOMO also unleashed a wide array of products and services at the launch, riding on the back of path-breaking innovative products and services, and never-before tariff options.

Deepak Gulati, President, TATA DOCOMO, TTSL Managing Director - Anil Sardana and Yatish Mehrotra, TATA DOCOMO’s Hub-head for South India.

“We had made a promise that we would bring to the country products and services that would redefine the telecom experience,” Sardana said. “It is a privilege to be fulfilling that promise in Karnataka—where subscribers are discerning and seek transparency, innovation and differentiation.

"Our partnership with NTT DOCOMO will help us provide our subscribers with tremendous technological and service differentiation. Keeping in view the century of trust associated with the House of Tata, we are launching the concept of fare being fair. From today, TATA DOCOMO subscribers will now be able to enjoy the benefits of ‘pay-as-you-use’, at only one paisa per second for all voice calls across India,” he added.

NTT DOCOMO is acknowledged as the global leader in 3G technology and respected worldwide for its futuristic product innovations.

In a video-address, Toshinari Kunieda, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, Global Business Division, NTT DOCOMO, said: “NTT DOCOMO has provided technical inputs to make the TATA DOCOMO GSM network world-class. Progressively, NTT DOCOMO shall bring to India the various products and services that we offer in Japan and many other countries—such as i-mode, Location-based Services (LBS) and mobile payment—and give TATA DOCOMO customers a flavor of tomorrow.

"TTSL and NTT DOCOMO are closely engaged in integrating technology, value-added services, products and applications through the mechanism of Business and Technology Cooperation Committee (BTCC). This should see TATA DOCOMO change the way India communicates.”

Announcing some very aggressive pricing and customization options, Deepak Gulati, President, TATA DOCOMO, said: “In a market that is cluttered with many operators and throws up confusing options, we will offer simplicity to consumers by being the country’s most transparent, innovative and liberating telecom brand.

"The first move on this front is to cut through the clutter and redefine the entire pricing paradigm—from Day One of our launch, we will work on a per-second pricing model for almost everything, be it voice calls, VAS services, IVR interactions. Above all, we promise to always listen to our subscribers.”

“We are focusing strongly on network superiority, coverage and service offerings. Our presence in 427 towns and 2,642 villages makes our network footprint the largest among all telecom operators in Karnataka, at the time of launch. We have already made large investments in the Circle, and further expansion this year itself is on the anvil,” Yatish Mehrotra, TATA DOCOMO’s Hub-head for South India, said.

“TATA DOCOMO will unveil a portfolio of Value-Added Services that will reinvent mobile telephony in India, with products and services like Free Voicemail, Timed SMS Service, Free Missed Call Alerts, Call-me Tunes, etc—all of them customized to liberate and refresh our subscribers,” he added.

The company has earmarked an investment of $2 billion on its pan-India GSM network rollout.

Superior technology and network
From the day of the launch, the reach and coverage of the TATA DOCOMO network is greater in Karnataka than that of any other operator at the launch stage.

The TATA DOCOMO GSM mobile service will have extensive coverage in 427 towns and cities and 2,642 villages in Karnataka, along 505 km of the state’s highways, at airports, along 220 km of rail routes and at places of tourist interest.

NTT DOCOMO has played a major role in the evolution of mobile telecommunications through its development of cutting-edge technologies and services. Over the years, technologists at NTT DOCOMO have defined industry benchmarks for 3G technology, as also products and services such as i-mode and a plethora of lifestyle-enhancing applications.

Today, while most global telecom players are only beginning to talk of 4G technology and its possible applications, NTT DOCOMO has already recorded a downlink transmission rate of 250 Mbps over a high-speed wireless network in an outdoor test of an experimental system for Super 3G, also known as LTE, and is targeting to complete the commercial development by the end of 2009. This will hold TATA DOCOMO in good stead as it launches GSM services.