Tag Archive for 'mobile'

Airtel Call Center People Are Really Dumb

Airtel Logo

This is the second time I’ve really had to call them, and it was just as bad as the last time. Sometimes you get the feeling that the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t understand English at all. Here I was telling him that a certain number I have been asked to call is not getting connected from my handset. And those people reply – Sir, please call the number we have provided you. I do not know any simpler way of putting this!

I wanted to activate Airtel Mobile Office on my Sony Xperia X1a handset. I called up the call center and asked them to activate the RC98 plan. In this plan you pay Rs. 98 for broadband connection having 30 days validity and 2gb data transfer free. Also you get free Airtel to Airtel calls worth Rs. 98. This seemed like a good offer to me. The airtel guy who answered the call told me that settings shall be sent to my mobile and that I had to activate the connection by dialing *567*14#. Simple!

Then started the problems. I did what was needed to be done on my part and was waiting for the settings to arrive. I get an sms telling me that settings shall be sent momentarily. A minute later I get another message telling me that settings have already been delivered to my mobile. WTH! I checked if settings had been updated and the answer was no. Still I tried connecting to internet and obviously my phone tells me that no network settings are available. What do I do?

I call up the call center once again. I go through all the steps to make sure that no mistake had been committed on my part. The airtel person tells me that he’ll send the settings once again, and that if I am still not able to connect then I should call up 12118 for further support. The whole process repeats and no settings delivered.

What was to be done – call 12118. I dial the number. A brief pause and then a message – The dialed number is invalid! Frick!

I call the call center again. Go through the whole thing. Tell them that 12118 is not going through from my mobile phone. The reply – Sir, please dial 12118 for any further assistance. To which I tell him once again that I am not able to dial the said number. The reply – Sir, please dial 12118 for any support regarding mobile internet.

I had serious doubts if he could understand english. So I repeated the whole thing in hindi, slowly and politely. The reply – Sir, please dial 12118 for any further assistance.

I gave up on the guy and disconnected. 121 again. A new guy. Thank lord! I tell him the whole story. He was a smart fellow. Tells me to hold on while he checks back. Sure. Couple of minutes pass by listening to Airtel’s new song. Song stops and he answers back – Sir, please call the alternate number provided to you. And what is the number I ask? 121 he replies and disconnects before I could say a word!

I gave up altogether. Googled up and realized that I could request for the settings from my phone itself. Did that and I have Airtel Mobile Office (EDGE) working on my Xperia X1. :D

Popularity: 6% [?]

Which Mobile Do I Buy Next ?

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1

As I already mentioned earlier I need a new mobile after graduating out of engineering. Currently I have a Nokia N 72. Its a good phone in that it has many features. But I want a smart phone next. I would like my phone to have a QWERTY keyboard, 3G connection, play multimedia, have a PIM, download feeds for me and pretty much everything. So I googled up smart phones.

Going through a lot of blogs and sites, I came to pick 4 good ones. They are the Nokia N96, Samsung Omnia, Sony Xperia X1 and Blackberry Gold. They match my requirements and look good too. I next visited a store to get a look at the phones. Though they did not show me an original piece, they showed me a dummy model.

Sony Xperia X1

Sony Xperia X1

Sa,sung Omnia

Samsung Omnia

Xperia scored the highest amongst these. Its 800 x 400 screen resolution is mind blowing. Also the black background with a clock and the colours dispersed is just awesome. The Xpanels are good to, allowing you to pick taks by a single touch instead of having to navigate through the options everytime. The talktime is an amazing 10 hous. Standby time is around 400 hours. The more I read about this phone, the more tempted I am to buy it.  This one’s a bit costly though. The last time I checked, it was priced at Rs. 43,000 in Hyderabad. But I am in no haste. I will look at all my options before settling for one.

Another phone worth looking at is the Samsung Omnia. It is a completely touch phone with no keypad. This one’s a lot cheaper at just Rs 30,000. The talktime though is just 5 hours compared to Xperias’ 10.

Both of these phones run the Windows Mobile 6. It would be a welcome change from the Symbian OS that I have in my Nokia N72.

The other phones that I have been looking at are Nokia N96 and Blackberryy Gold. The N96 looks just like my N72 and so am not much inclined towards it. The Blackberry has too small a screen compared to the Xperia to favour it. However the reputation of Blackberry is beyond doubt which makes it a good competitor to the Xperia.

And when I thought I had to choose one from only these two, Xperia and Blackberry, came another list of Nokia I had overlooked earlier. The E71 is a good business phone. A friend bought one recently. The metallic body looks great and the phone felt good and solid in my palms. Also there’s this E75 and N97 that have released. N97 is the latest phone from Nokia and I haven’t yet researched it. What makes Nokia a strong competitor is its proven reliability and durability.

As of now I am highly inclined towards the Xperia and tend to disregard/think-of-you-as-a-fool if you speak against it. An alternative phone will have to be very good, have many more features, look more stunning for me to change my mind. Otherwise, its going to be an Xperia in my hands in about 80 days. Let the countdown begin.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Which Is The Smartest Smart Phone

Sony Ericsson

Image via Wikipedia

I love gadgets. I want the best and the latest of those. Which is why the very first mobile that I bought was a N72. Well, it wasn’t the best one at that time, best it was the best option available to me. It was the cheapest amongst the N series of Nokia.

I’ve been using N72 for two years now. The time has come to pass on this mobile to dad and look for a new, better one. But this time around I will not be settling for a lesser phone looking at the price tag. Dad is ready to spend money this time on which ever mobile I fall in love with.

Thus began my search for a new one. The Nokia N96 has always been amongst the news. Nokia being a reliable provider, easier to get serviced in case of any problems. Infact, I think of Nokia among mobiles as Maruti is amongst cars. N96 should be a priced possession. It has large screen, slides the keypad below, slides above to reveal music controls. But it has its drawbacks too. It lacks a qwerty keyboard, and has the same look as my N72. However, it is one of the mobiles I am considering. At present this phone costs around 36K in Hyderabad.

Moving on further, I came across the Samsung Omnia. Released just a few months ago, it has stunning appearance. Completely touch screen, but lacks the Apple‘s flick features. The usual features of a smart phone are all available in this one. Though a weak battery life of just 5 hours talktime, makes it a not clear favourite of mine. Mom liked this phone and was ready to buy it immediately. 30K is the price of this one.

And then comes the absolute beauty, the Sony Ericsson Xperia. As far as I have looked about it, it is the most talked about. The latest phone in the market, it has been quick to attract the attention of everybody interested in smart phones. It has Windows Mobile operating system. Touch and qwerty keyboard are both interwined to provide a great experience. Apple’s flick features are also present in this gadget. The qwerty keyboard slides to the left side. I almost fell in love with this phone. The only drawback is its weight. It’s the double of my N72 in weight. Xperia is priced at 42K in Hyderabad at the present.

But these are only three. I would like to look at more options before settling for one. I have browsed for Blackberry, and none of them impressed me. Motorola doesn’t have anything to offer either. I am running out of options. But I shall keep looking. I have got another 3 months to decide the phone that I would like to finally buy.

I shall keep posting the features of all the phones that I shortlist. Hope to find a good one soon.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Getting Gmail To Work On N72

Whats the use of a N72 if you do not utilise all of its features. So I thought of getting my gmail activated on mobile. I found a set of instructions using imap or pop to connect and retrieve the messages. But they were always giving me web server not found error, and it was really annoying.

However, after a few more searches, I found an alternative way. This one might be costlier (I have no idea), but it pretty much emulates the gmail, so no complains. This is how you can get mails on your phone -

  • Goto the following location on the mobile http://www.gmail.com/app
  • A file needs to be downloaded. Give the required permission to do so.
  • After the file is downloaded, it will ask you install the application. Just agree and install the gmail application.
  • Now enter the menu and goto the My Own section. The gmail application can be accessed from here.
  • Just enter your username and password to log into the gmail.

Done ! It was so easy I couldn’t believe it. The application also retrieved the labels that I have created on the gmail. There are options to selectively view the mails in each of the labels too. Its just wonderful. Now I shall be able to access my gmail from any part of the world without the need of a computer.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Popularity: 2% [?]