Top Stories 

Apple to launch iPhone 5 on Sept. 12: report

Apple shares gained in an otherwise muted session on Wall Street on Tuesday after the iPhone and iPad maker sent out invitations to an event for Sept. 12.

The invite included a visual in the shape of a “5,” spurring speculation that Apple will unveil the iPhone 5 at the event. Apple has added US$250bn in shareholder value year-to-date, according to a senior index analyst at S&P Dow Indices.

Apple accounts for 4.9% of the S&P 500 Index and has seen its stock price rise from US$405 at the start of the year to US$674.97 at Tuesday’s close.

Meanwhile, Microsoft and Nokia will host an event in New York today. This is expected to feature the next line of Nokia’s Lumia smartphones built for the new Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system.

Google's newly acquired Motorola unit will host an event on Wednesday to unveil its latest Android devices.

On Thursday, Amazon.com is hosting a media event in Los Angeles. Reports say the company is widely expected to show off its next Kindle Fire tablet and updates to its Kindle e-reader.

RCOM hopes to sell tower biz by end-FY13

Reliance Communications is expecting to conclude the sale of its telecom tower business next year, according to reports.

Company reported that it would also look at listing Flag Telecom when market conditions improve.

These moves would help RCom pare its overall debt by FY15, says report.

“I expect RCom to achieve a debt-EBITDA level of 3 or even lower by FY15,” its Chairman Anil Ambani reportedly said in the company’s annual general meeting.

BSNL signs deal with Sai InfoSystem: reports

BSNL has signed a deal with the Ahmedabad-based information technology solutions firm Sai InfoSystem (SIS) to set up four Internet data centres in the country, according to reports.

Reports says that these four centres are coming up as part of BSNL’s plan to roll out 10 data centres in the country.

BSNL and SIS will set up centres at Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chertala in Kerala, report says.

The telecom firm is expecting a business of Rs. 750mn from four centres in this financial year.

In focus Stories

RCOM to raise funds from QIBs: Anil Ambani

At RCOM's 8th annual general meeting (AGM), Chairman Anil Ambani said that it will  issue equity shares to the Qualified Institutional Buyers.

The company will explore options to reduce its debt, including the possible sale of a stake in its mobile tower arm, chairman Anil Amabni reportedly said.

The company will attempt to list its undersea cable arm in Singapore when market conditions improve, Anil Ambani, reportedly told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting.

Domestic News

Airtel launches 'my airtel' app for customers

Bharti Airtel, leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced the launch of ‘my airtel’ app for Airtel customers in India.

Available at no additional cost, the app will allow Airtel customers across various services (mobile, fixed line, dth etc) to check their outstanding bills, recharge their accounts, make payment, activate deactivate any service; raise requests-complaints, at just a click of a button across.

Further, using this, Airtel digital TV customers can also order movies and games, without any assistance from the customer care. Customers can download the application by simply logging into airtel.in/myairtel or visiting their device app store. Alternatively, they can also SMS ‘myairtel’ to 54321 or via a QR code.

Tata Comm delivers critical connectivity to Cargotec's Global IT systems

Tata Communications, a leading provider of The New World of Communications, today announces that it has been chosen by Cargotec, the world’s leading provider of cargo handling solutions for ships, ports, terminals and local distribution, to deliver Wide Area Network (WAN) connectivity to over 150 Cargotec sites globally through Tata Communications’ round-the-world fibre optic cable network – the world’s only wholly-owned subsea cable ring.
 
Cargotec’s operations in over 50 countries across Europe, Asia, Middle East, Americas and Africa will benefit from increased capacity, speed, resilience and enhanced communications capabilities thanks to a fully managed, end-to-end Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network. This will enable the company to improve productivity and operational efficiency worldwide by streamlining its supply chain.

Idea launches super-fast 3G dongle with cloud services

Idea Cellular, India’s 3rd largest mobile operator has launched its latest super-fast 3G dongle with cloud based services, today. This revolutionary product in its category offers three key features including internet access; storage capacity of 2GB on the cloud, making it convenient for users to access their data anytime and anywhere; and Cloud Messenger+ a cloud based messenger service allowing free and unlimited communication between cloud users.
 
The new cloud dongle from Idea also allows users to share pictures, music, videos and documents through the ‘Cloud Share’ option, syncing all the attached devices. Users of Idea dongle can also avail other cloud features such as data backup and easy recovery, thus making it the safest and most secure device for internet access and data storage. 
 
Idea has become the only operator to launch this innovative product which offers fast, safe and affordable data connectivity, and connects easily and quickly to any PC, netbook or laptop.

Vodafone speeds up India with its first street racing experience

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Vodafone India will speed up India by offering motor-racing enthusiasts their first street racing experience. Motor racing fans and loyal customers of Vodafone will witness Lewis Hamilton burn rubber in his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-27 car on Sunday, September 16, 2012 (evening), just a week before the Singapore Grand Prix 2012 night race. The venue for this unique and exciting initiative will be the historic and breath-taking landscape of Marine Drive in South Mumbai.
 
Lewis will enthrall the crowd driving in his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-27 caralong the curves of the brilliantly illuminated Queen’s necklace (Marine Drive) that will be made to look like a Formula 1 race track complete with grand stand and pit garage. The ambience, the driving skills of Lewis and lightning fast speeds of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car is sure to leave the audience spellbound. Some lucky customers will have the privilege of riding with Lewis Hamilton and a chance of visiting the pit garage to see the technology behind the team, powered by Vodafone.

MTS unveils Galaxy Y in association with Samsung

Bharti Airtel slips on CCI probe

Global News

Nokia shares slump as new Lumia phones disappoint

Shares of Nokia fell 2.5% on Thursday, adding to a 13% loss from Wednesday when the handset maker unveiled its newest Lumia smartphones, powered by Windows Phone 8 operating system.

Nokia has lost more than 95% of market value since 2007.

The stock was cut to 'sell' from 'hold' at Deutsche Bank.

Nokia shares sank on Wednesday after the company unveiled two smartphones using Microsoft Corp.’s new Windows Phone software.

Motorola unveils 3 new RAZR family smartphones 

Speed, power, design and the best Android experiences around. Motorola Mobility is delivering all that and more with three to its RAZR smartphone family: Motorola RAZR M, the full screen phone; the nonstop all-day entertainer Motorola RAZR HD; and the unmatched, live-forever battery of DROID RAZR MAXX HD by Motorola. All three Android-powered smartphones are built with top-of-the-line materials, are small in size, big on battery life and packed to the gills with the best experiences Google has to offer.

Pushing Screen Space to the Edge

Motorola RAZR M packs a big screen into a phone that fits in the palm of your hand. The Super AMOLED Advanced 4.3-inch display spans from edge-to-edge. The border you typically find on smartphones is virtually, in a word, gone. Even though it’s smaller in size, you still get 40 percent more screen than the leading competitor*. You can type emails and texts easily with a wider keyboard, watch YouTube™ videos and movies on a wider screen and browse the Web with Chrome™ for Android without squinting. All on a long-lasting battery that is 40 percent more powerful than the competition*.

Nokia and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf form partnership in US

Nokia announced a deal with major US café chain The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® to offer wireless charging facilities in its cafés for customers who want to recharge their phones whilst on the go.

Bringing charging solutions from the home and office to the high street, Nokia will introduce integrated wireless charging plates into The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® cafés in select major metropolitan cities across the United States.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is the oldest and largest privately-held specialty coffee and tea retailer in the United States with more than 850 stores in 24 countries. It is also present in 40 prominent airport locations, such as Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Changi Airport in Singapore, and New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.

This follows the launch of two new Nokia Windows Phone 8 devices which both offer wireless charging. The Nokia Lumia 920 features in-built wireless charging, while the new Nokia Lumia 820 benefits from wireless charging via a removable and exchangeable shell.

Nokia, Virgin Atlantic to launch wireless charging in lounges

WeChat announces new, feature rich 4.2 Android version update

Pantel Technologies partners with DigiVive for nexGTv

Karbonn Mobiles launches its first Android ICS powered smartphone Karbonn Smart A18