India's $35 Tablet is No Vaporware

If you thought the Indian HRD ministry's attempt at making that $35 (Rs. 1,500) laptop is pure government fantasy and the usual pep talk we see from the Indian government, be ready to be surprised. Not only does the tablet exist in a prototype form, it actually works pretty well - and how!

Before I start, let's take a look at the brief history behind the story. The first time we heard of the tablet was last month when the HRD ministry, out of no where announced its plans to bring this $35 wonder to the student community of India. Back then, it was welcomed with the usual suspicion and skepticism that the Indian and world media has regarding anything that is remotely connected to the Indian government.

A month on, when all the hype about the tablet was just about to die, folks from NDTV Gadget Guru managed to scoop an interview with HRD Miniter Kapil Sibal (if you don't know who he is, you REALLY need that tablet) who carried the tablet with him to the studios. And that resulted in the first video hands on of the device. Our first impressions?

Well, it's no beauty contest contestant. The looks are nothing much to home about. If you were expecting something curvy like the iPads or the JooJoos or the Notion Inks of the world, be prepared for a nasty, boxy surprise. But hey, this is no lifestyle product. This is pure utilitarian stuff so if it does the job, that should suffice.

The hardware on this thing is pretty impressive by the looks of it. I am not sure what processor does the number crunching inside but it looks quite meaty to handle most tasks thrown at it. It has 2GB of RAM which is quite sufficient for web browsing, the occasional video streaming and document editing tasks that this is expected to do. The tablet is particularly impressive when it comes to connectivity options. Apart from Bluetooth, it seems to have all you need - ranging from Wi-fi, USB ports, Video out and SD card slots to SIM card slots for 3G ready connectivity. There is a camera at the rear (the megapixel count is still under wraps) that should suffice for normal photography. Besides, I don't expect anyone to take this on an African Safari anyway - so, the camera is pretty much sufficient for something that won't cost more than $35. One disappointment might be the screen which is resistive in nature. But then, for $35, it's criminal to expect a capacitive display on this - that too a 7-inch one.





On the software front, while we all thought it would run some real excuse of an OS based on Linux, I was surprised to see it running Android OS! Yes, I know Android is based on Linux as well. The good thing about this bit is the fact that there is considerable activity on the app development front when it comes to Android and this would actually make the tablet appealing to people who are just looking for a pure, no frills tablet. While the version of Android doesn't look to be the latest one, it still is pretty much usable. Also, I think it is likely that the tablet is powerful enough to get an update to Gingerbread once that arrives. Let's hope the processor is clocked at 1Ghz or more so that its eligible for the update.

Sibal, during the entire course of the interview, emphasised that the $35 price is pretty much real and that had it been under the retail sales, the price would have been considerably higher. However, this project is government subsidised and has no intention to go retail. Surprisingly, he also confirmed that he is aiming to bring the cost down to $10 later! By 2011, he expects at least a million units of the $35 tablet in the hands of Indian students. He adds that once that is done, we are ready to take the next step and take the tablet global.

What we think about this $35 wonder from India? For once, India has proved and has actually made something that isn't just there on paper or in pictures. It is pretty much real and more importantly, it works pretty well. If the idea is taken forward, there is no doubt that this will positively impact the education of millions of children who do not have access to basic computing. Think of it - an Internet tablet for under $35. Only Indians could pull off this one!

Indian Credit Cards Review

The Indian credit card market is red hot at the moment. With the market predicted to grow at 25% until 2012, and just 25 million adults having credit cards (out of a billion population) every single bank on the planet wants a piece of the pie. The consumers in India enjoy a huge number of choices of cards. Sides, the banks and the consumers see a lot of problem between each other. India does not yet have a unique nationalized id like social security number in US, or Tax File Number in Australia for all of their citizens. The problem for the banks with this is that there is a huge risk to give out these credit cards that can never be traced if the holder changes his or her address. The consumer on the other hand complains about exorbitant hidden fees, fines and non-existent customer service. There are still not a lot of regulations for the credit card industry. Any one on the road is given a credit card (even by non-bank employees who work as sale sub-vendors to banks) with out any proper checks or verification (a la US sub-prime mortgages). Well but India is one market that any bank cannot ignore, so as time goes by proper regulations will be put in place to get things in order. The idea of this article is to give a list of credit cards out there for the consumers in India and their features.

The growth potential for Indian credit card industry.

The article reviews card of the top banks operating in India like Citibank, HSBC, Barclays, ICICI, HDFC and a few others.

Availability of Information and ease of use of the bank websites

The information in this article is directly from the banks websites (as of 14th May 2009).

Here are some comments about the website itself.

HSBC
The HSBC site was very easy to use and had the information like interest rates and fees easily accessible. They were just a 3-4 clicks away. The entire website was laid out in simple direct format with nice little examples. They had a 7 page “Terms and Conditions” page hidden behind a small font link. There were some unpredictable links to some important pages that worked on and off.

Make sure you read the terms and conditions

Citibank
The Citibank website was a little sluggish and little more complicated. Getting the interest rate information required 5 or more clicks. The website’s credit card looked more like a marketing flyer rather than information brochure. The website was trying to make you special while all you needed was the interest rate on a card. Links to some important pages when clicked took for ever to show up. All the rates and fees for every single card were listed on the same page.

Looked more like marketing flyer than information site.

More than 5 clicks to get to the rates and fees.

ICICI
This site was easy to use and had the information like interest rates and fees easily accessible. They were just a 3-4 clicks away and were organized on the same page for all Credit cards offered. The site offers you a usage guide, even though the idea was right the execution was all wrong. Take a look at this, the title says “How to read the Monthly Credit Card Statement” but has nothing other than a screen shot of mock statement and a few 2 liners. They have explained the obvious and not described complex items. There are so many numbers on the screen and it’s hard to tell what is what.

No proper details on the User Guide

HDFC
This site was having quiet a bit of information on its site. The key information like interest rates and fees were accessible in 3-4 clicks. The website had detailed, separate fees and rates section for each card. They had a FAQ and Credit Card Usage Guide section. FAQ had 6 question and answers but the Usage Guide did have a lot of information on there. It explained by text alone (no screen shots) the terms in the statement.

Barclays
Have to give it to them they had the shiniest site among all, but couldn’t find the rates and fee even after fiddling around the site for sometime. The information on the website looked more like marketing flyer rather than plain simple information. The terms and conditions were listed in a malformed PDF file that had to be downloaded. The rates and fees information could not be found any where on the site.

Terms and conditions as PDF file, that was so awkwardly sized, with tiny fonts.

Kotak
This one website there is nothing to complain about. The website is created beautifully and all the required information is carefully organized. Information related to rates, fees, benefits, FAQ and examples illustrating scenarios are built around the credit card. Finally found a website that satisfies all the criteria.

Kotak has a well designed, organized,website. Simplicity seems to be the objective of the site.

Explains in simple terms how you save.

Enough on the websites, now for the credit cards themselves.

Basic Credit Card Guidelines

1. Having too much plastic is not good for your financial health. As much as you can try to avoid having too many credit cards.
   
2. Carefully monitor all the credit cards you have through online banking (Paper statements are a pain).
3. Register for SMS or email alerts if your bank offers them.
4. Try to avoid taking cash advance they charge you very high interest for cash advances. If need some money, try to apply for a personal loan that are offered at a much lower rate.
5. Always pay off the minimum balance for every statement cycle.
6. Try to pay off more, even if it a very small amount you would save a lot of money in the end.
7. Try to get add-on cards for family members rather than having separate cards, so it is easier to monitor your credit cards.

Info: Recommended credit card below are for low credit spending individuals, who do not tend to spend too much using credit cards and follow the above guidelines.

The conditions for recommending these credit cards are a combination of the rules below,

1. Low Interest Rates - Your card might have any amount of sugar coated features but this is what counts the most.
2. Low Fees or No Fees - Some banks might give you a low interest rate but for a high annual fee, so watch out.
3. Benefits - Anything else does not matter than the above two (1&2), but if you get added benefits why not? But you should never pay higher fees or interest rate for the benefits. The benefits might be cash back, fuel surcharge, air miles, shopping discount,...

DEUTSCHE BANK SMART GOLD CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 2.95%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Choose from 4 options Shopping - For shoppers,Travel - Frequent Flyers,Party - For consumers frequenting restaurants, bars, pubs, Theatres,Home-Utility Bills Groceries,
Free Security Insurance - Protection against unauthorised transaction and fraud

Deutsche Bank Smart Gold Credit Card - One of the most balanced card

SBI GOLD CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Cash Back 2% on all purchases,Balance Transfer-Low Interest options available

SBI SILVER CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits:Cash Back 2% on all purchases, Balance Transfer-options available

BOBCARD EXCLUSIVE YOUTH CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: Joining Fee of Rs 750/-, No renewal Fee for next year
Interest Rate: 1.99%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Personal accident insurance free, Medical Emergency withdrawal allowed

There are several variation of this card, also take a look at them for best choice.

BOBCARD EXCLUSIVE WOMEN CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: Joining Fee of Rs 750/-, No renewal Fee for next year
Interest Rate: 1.99%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Personal accident insurance free
Con: Only for women.

This is only for women, but there are several variation of this card, also take a look at them for best choice.

BARCLAYS BANK SMART BUDGET CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 2.95%
Fuel Surcharge: Waived in all outlets
Other Benefits: Free Cash Advance for a limited time,
0% Balance Transfer, consolidate transaction over Rs 5000 and pay them as EMI
Cons: Available only in metros and for businessmen.

Barclays - Balanced card

KOTAK MAHINDRA FORTUNE CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surcharge: Waived in all outlets
Other Benefits: Interest free cash withdrawal for 48 days (flat fee 149 for 10000 applies),
Railway surcharge 1.8% waiver for online or in person ticket booking,
Discounts in select flights and hotels,
Consolidate transaction over Rs 5000 and pay them as EMI-no fee no interest for 3 months,
No fee transaction on any VISA ATMs.
Cons: Available only in metros and for business.

KOTAK MAHINDRA TRUMP CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No fees forever
Interest Rate: 3.1%
Fuel Surcharge: Waived in all outlets
Other Benefits: Interest free cash withdrawal for 48 days (flat fee 149 for 10000 applies),
Railway surcharge 1.8% waiver for online or in person ticket booking,
Discounts in select flights and hotels,
Consolidate transaction over Rs 5000 and pay them as EMI-no fee no interest for 3 months,
No fee transaction on any VISA ATMs.
Cons: Available only in metros and for businessmen.

Two well balanced cards from Kotak Mahindra Bank.

BOBCARD VISA/MASTERCARD CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No Joining Fee, Renewal Fee of Rs1000/-
Interest Rate: 1.99%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Other Benefits: Personal accident insurance free

NEXTGEN BOBCARD GOLD CREDIT CARD

Best Features
Fees: No fee forever
Interest Rate: 2.5%
Fuel Surchage: Waived in any fuel outlet
Con: Only for students.

A low interest no fee option for students from Bank of Baroda

Disclaimer: The author is not a financial advisor and the information in this article for educational purposes only. The author does not guarantee and makes no representations as to the accuracy, quality, validity or authenticity of any rates or terms posted by credit card issuers. All information is subject to change without notice.

Info: The author does not work for any of these banks or receive monetary benefits for recommending one of the credit cards from the banks. This is an independent honest review of the credits cards offered by the banks. This article lays out the features it is up to you to

Things you should know before buying a Mobile Phone

Hi

This newsletter is targeted to help you in becoming a Smart Buyer
when you are looking to buy a Mobile Phone.

******

Mobile Phone is one of the most common gadget these days. There are
several brands available in market from Apple, Nokia and Blackberry
to the affordable ones like Micromax, BenQ and Maxx. Turn out the
newspapers and magazines and you will find a new mobile phone
everyday with lot of features and different prices. All these
stuffs can confuse you as a buyer and you can land up with buying a
phone that you haven't wanted and doesn't suit well with your
requirements.

The biggest problem comes when a novice user is looking to buy a
decent phone and all the sales executives and advertisement
companies are waiting for the opportunity to fool you by showing
their advantages over others. So picking a phone that you wanted
from these hundreds of offers can be a tough task.

Here are some tips that you can follow before buying a mobile phone.

1. Finalize your Requirement - First of all decide what you are
looking for and what are your requirements from a mobile phone.
There are three categories of mobile phones: Business, Multimedia
and Basic phones. Think what are your primary requirements from a
mobile phone. If you want a phone just for calling purpose then
basic phones are a good choice. If you are a business professional
and want email and document features then go for business phone. If
you are an Internet geek and want to stay connected with your
friends and looking for decent camera features then Multimedia
phone is a good option.

2. Decide your Budget - Once you have finalized your requirement
then decide what is your maximum budget. Few years back, finalizing
the budget used to be the first task but the launch of a lot of
mobile companies that provide similar features in a low price has
made this a second task. You can find the mobile phone with similar
features and price tag of 15K from a reputed brand is available at
5K with the new brands.

3. Make a List - Contact different mobile centers and make a list
of 3-4 mobile phones according to your budget and requirements to
choose from.

4. Common Requirements - After making a list, compare them with
some common and must have requirements.

*Battery Life - Battery capacity and backup is very important.
Always try to pick one with atlas 4-5 hours of battery backup.

*Easy Navigation - A phone with lot of features but missing easy
navigation makes it a weak choice. Its very important to have a
quick and easy navigation for the mobile phone you choose for the
best user interfacing and your own experience.

*Network Support - Some mobile phones are for GSM only, so make
sure to finalizing the network also before buying a phone. Choose a
phone for your network and not the network for the phone.

I think the above mentioned tips will help you in becoming a Smart
Buyer. Feel free to share it with your friends and loved ones also
to educate them.

Stay tuned for more.

Regards,
Lokesh

Is HD Direct-to-Home (DTH) for You?

Is HD Direct-to-Home (DTH) for You?

Rohan Naravane

Jul 16 2010

It has been only a few years since people in India have been exposed to decent clarity television. Before the CAS (Conditional Access System) enforcement in some parts of the country, we didn't have much choice but to stick to what our local cablewallah provided us. Picture quality wasn't always consistent across all channels. I still remember those times when I used to crib over how the saans-bahu driven channels used to get better clarity, while the lesser-watched English TV and movie channels would have noisy reception.



Now with DTH (Direct-to-Home) Satellite TV technology, all those problems have been solved. Even on a CRT, TV reception looked appreciably better. Their claims of DVD quality video did seem to hold true. Another great boon with digital cable is the Electronic Programming Guide (EPG). Having that small box overlay that tells you what's playing and what will play later is just beautiful. They have rendered those TV listings they print in the newspaper everyday so useless. It also rang the death knell for the TV Tuner laden Media Center PCs.



But as with any new technology, it all comes at a price. DTH was (and still is) more expensive compared to older cable or CAS-enabled non-satellite connections. Don't believe me? They did mask the audience fairly well with low-priced value packs; the public only later realized the concept of optional Add-on packs. So if that sports channel that you wanted to tune into isn't in your basic pack, you'll have to subscribe to a bouquet of channels for extra money per month.

Then these damn LCDs started becoming so popular. I'm not saying they shouldn't have; they're slim and give great picture quality with up to 1080p HD resolution. And that was where part of the problem began. The DTH set-top box that you owned would still transmit Standard Definition (SD) transmission. Also, the reception was adjusted to the 4:3 aspect ratio (in simple terms, a squarish picture), the one used by almost all CRT TVs you see. LCDs have a wider 16:9 aspect ratio (i.e. they're more rectangular). So what was the outcome?



The awesome quality of that LCD TV you drooled over at the electronics store doesn't look so awesome at home. Of course it wouldn't; at electronic stores they're always playing HD content on them. But over your typical DTH connection, your swanky LCD shows just decent image quality that stretches across the panel making people look a little fatter than they are. So, how do you watch TV now?

You have two choices -- keep watching the stretched version till your eyes get used to it or switch the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 'Original' or '4:3' in your picture settings. Both have its pro/cons. The stretched version will look a little crappy (crappier if you have a bigger size), but at least covers the entire screen. The original aspect ratio normalizes the picture, but you'll lose precious viewable inches, which will be replaced by black horizontal borders.

While we were breaking heads to choose from those two mediocre choices, the DTH providers were busy creating a third choice -- HD ready set-top boxes. That's right, these are new generation of receivers having an HDMI port, which you can use to connect to your LCD TV. The three most obvious benefits of you getting an HD set-top box are:

1) Clearer, crisper picture - Operators claim to deliver content up to 1080i in resolution. That's five times as much resolution as a Standard Def reception.

2) 16:9 aspect ratio - No more stretched content on the LCD! Since HD content is formatted in a wider angle, it will fit proportionately to your LCD TV. But mind you, this is applicable to HD channels only. Non HD channels from your HD-enabled box will continue to be streamed in a 4:3 ratio.

3) Multi-channel surround sound - If you have a proper home-theatre system, then the 5.1 channel output would benefit you. But for others, this feature isn't of any use.





There are five providers who've come up with these services as of today. They have just a few HD channels to offer right now, but almost everybody is promising more HD channels soon. However, most of their pricing seems to be the same. Note that these are subject to change whenever they add more HD channels.

Click on the image to enlarge

I have an LCD TV, and don't have DTH. Should I get an HD set-top box?

Poor you, the local cable is doing grave injustice to that beautiful screen you own. The cost of an HD ready set-top box is roughly just a 1000 bucks more than a non-HD one. But you have to watch out for the recurring costs. Some operators charge as high as Rs. 25 per HD channel. So, you add like 4 channels and your monthly cable bill will be up by 100 rupees, along with whatever base pack you subscribe to.

A couple of hundred bucks don't matter to me, I'm getting HD man! Now, I already have an existing set-top box with my LCD. Should I upgrade to an HD one?

By all means. Other than Sun Direct, everybody else seems to be giving some kind of incentive to upgrade to HD boxes. So if you don't mind spending the extra, it will make sense to upgrade.


I don't have an LCD TV as of now. But I'm thinking of getting a DTH connection. Do I directly leapfrog to an HD-ready box?

That depends upon the operator; better read the fine print before buying. For example, Dish TV states that subscription to their 'Platinum' pack and 'HD' pack is compulsory with the HD box. So it wouldn't make sense to pay for something that you cannot enjoy on your CRT.


It's so sad that most don't have a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) function in their HD boxes. I was keen on using this, what do I do?

As of now, Reliance Big TV HD is the only one that has a DVR + HD compatible combo. But Tata Sky's website claims that they will release a HD-ready version of their DVR in the future. Airtel too has a non-HD DVR for now, but they might just want to do the same as Tata sky. In that case, it is better to just wait for them to launch these devices. Either go with the operator that's providing it right now, or wait for your favored one to release theirs. In all probability only the players mentioned above will do anything about it in the near future.


Bottom line


HD is here, and is here to stay. The only thing lacking at this point of time is the availability of HD channels. Also, some would say the pricing of the already expensive DTH is hindering it from becoming popular. But that's what you pay for being an early adopter.

Consider the case of Tata Sky Plus for example. When we tested it at its launch, it was charged at a somewhat extravagant Rs. 10,000, simply because it was a unique product. Now it sells for almost half that price. So, if you are feeling the pinch with this HD thing, it'd be a better option to wait till it gets mass acceptance, and prices hopefully go down.