Idea Cellular and Gameloft ties up to offer quality games in India

Gameloft, a leading global publisher of digital and social games has partnered with Idea Cellular to offer quality gaming to Idea subscribers.

The tie up will enable over 130 million Idea subscribers to avail exciting games from the Gameloft Game Store and also through Idea’s mobile portal. Adding to the excitement, Idea subscribers will also get access to new content from Gameloft’s wide portfolio of games on a regular basis through the unique Gameloft Club subscription. As an inaugural offer, consumers will get 1 Bonus Game for download from Idea and Gameloft, in the first month of their subscription.

Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said, “The mobile phone is increasingly becoming the most preferred infotainment device for users in India. Gaming is one of the fastest growing and a popular category of service used on the mobile platform. Idea is the first mobile operator in India to bring out the best in gaming programs for mobile users, through our tie up with Gameloft”.


“We are delighted to partner with Idea Cellular, to bring Gameloft’s best titles and most popular licenses to their subscribers”, said Sarabjeet Singh, Country Manager for Gameloft India. “This partnership will enable Idea customers to enjoy high quality games from Gameloft for their JAVA & Android devices without the hassles of Credit Card billing. Also, Idea will be the 1st operator in India to launch our popular Gameloft Club games subscription service, which provides great value to consumers", he added.


The Gameloft Game Store will be accessible for Idea customers through the mobile internet connection on their phones at wapshop.gameloft.com/idea. The service will be available for both prepaid and postpaid users and can be accessed on all GPRS enabled feature phones and 3G smartphones.

The Game Store has all the popular Gameloft franchises like Asphalt, Modern Combat, Real Football, Gangstar and N.O.V.A.: Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, as well as games from Gameloft’s extensive list of Hollywood movie licenses. Also, the Store will provide Freemium games, Try & Buy as well as Full Paid Games for download to Idea customers.

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Idea launches 3G-enabled smartphone Ultra II with 5.5-inch screen for Rs 12,500

India’s third largest private telecom operator Idea launched a 3G-enabled smartphone, ULTRA II with a 5.5-inch screen, at a price of Rs 12,500 focusing on driving data penetration in the country through sale of 3G devices.

Idea also launched an entry level 3G smartphone, Idea !d 1000, aimed at first time smartphone buyers and is priced at Rs 5,400, it said in a release. The handsets will be available in the market from next week.

“Lack of availability of affordable 3G smartphones with high-end features is the deterrent to mobile data growth in India. Idea has tried to bridge this gap by offering the best value for money 3G devices, in addition to our superior 3G products, services, and network coverage,” Idea Cellular CMO Sashi Shankar said.

The firm has witnessed a consistent growth in data uptake in its 3G markets where its branded 3G smartphones have been selling, for the past two years, he added.


“This has encouraged us to further expand our devices portfolio with the launch of our first 5.5-inch screen 3G smartphone, ULTRA II, and the entry-level !d 1000, which will help us target consumers at both ends of the spectrum,” he said.


The 5.5-inch Ultra II runs of Android Jelly Bean 4.2 and is powered by a 1.3 Ghz quad-core processor. The handset sports a 8 megapixel rear camera with HDR and a 2 MP front camera with LED flash, it said in a statement. It comes with 1GB RAM and 4 GB of internal memory (of which 2GB is available for user), and is expandable up to 32 GB via micro SD card.


It has a 2500 mAh powerful battery and comes with an ultimate power saver mode for 75 percent extra saving on battery time. The ULTRA II is available in white and electric graphite and is priced at Rs 12,500. The phone will be available at Idea’s major 3G markets — Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra & Goa, MP & Chhattisgarh, Haryana, UP West, and UP East.


Idea !d 1000, which features a 3.5-inch screen, is powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor and runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.2 OS. This dual-SIM handset also has a built-in social networking app. It carries a 2MP camera and an internal memory of 4GB, expandable to 32 GB. The smartphone will be available across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra & Goa, MP & Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, UP West and UP East.


“With the launch of two new devices, Idea’s portfolio of 3G smartphones has gone to 15 and the company has already sold over 6.5 lakh devices,” Idea said.

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Idea launches Dual-SIM 3G Android smartphones ID 920 for Rs. 4,950 and Aurus III for Rs. 6,990

Idea Cellular has launched two new Dual-SIM 3G smartphones in the market, an entry-level Android 2.3 device called ‘Idea ID 920’ and higher-end Android 4.1 Jelly Bean device called ‘Idea Aurus III’. Both are manufactured by Alcatel and priced at Rs. 4,950 and Rs. 6,990 respectively.

Mr. Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said,

Keeping in mind the requirements of the fast evolving Indian consumer in the light of the ongoing mobile broadband revolution, the new 3G smartphones from Idea are priced affordably to upgrade existing 2G users to 3G. Device plays an important role in establishing data experience for the user, but currently 3G smartphones are priced relatively high in the Indian market. Idea is bridging this gap by bringing low-cost devices with high-end features to proliferate 3G among all segments of users.


Idea ID 920 runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread powered by a 1GHz processor coupled with 512 MB RAM. A 3.5” (320 x 480 pixels) TFT screen, 2 MP camera, 1400mAh battery and a 2GB memory card with expandable memory up to 32 GB are the important features for the device. The ID 920 will come only in one color – dark blue. It should be noted that Idea won’t be providing any software updates for this device in the future.


On a more positive note, the Idea Aurus III runs on Android Jelly Bean v 4.1 powered with the same 1Ghz processor and 512 MB RAM. A 4 inch (480 x 800 pixels) resolution screen, a 5MP camera with fix-focus, front facing camera for video calling and an internal memory of a 4GB are the important features of Aurus III. It will be available in two colors – White and Black. Again, Idea won’t be providing any software updates for this device in the future.


For a pack of Rs. 261, ID 920 and Aurus III users can get 1GB and 1.6 GB of 3G data, respectively, and Idea TV subscription free for the first 3 months. The 3G pack is available along with the smartphones in all Idea 3G circles. In the rest of the country, smartphone users can opt for attractive 2G data pack offering unlimited 2G data for Rs. 261.


The new 3G smartphones from Idea are available at all major mobile retail stores and Idea outlets across the country.

Our team was present at the launch event, and we’ll soon update the article with a hands-on video of both the devices.

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DoT directs Airtel, Vodafone, Idea to end 3G roaming pacts

The government on Friday ordered Vodafone, Idea and Airtel to stop 3G roaming services outside their licence areas within three days and imposed hefty penalties on the first two operators for violating the norms.

The Department of Telecom slapped Rs 550 crore penalty on Vodafone and Rs 300 crore on Idea Cellular for violating 3G service roaming norms, officials said.


The DoT notice directing the operators to terminate their 3G roaming pacts came a day after the Delhi High Court set aside its single judge order, which allowed Bharti Airtel to continue providing 3G inter-circle roaming facilities with other service providers.


"It (notice) has been issued today," DoT officials said, confirming the penalty amount on the two companies.

They also said that while Airtel has been asked to stop services within 24 hours, the other two companies have been asked to stop 3G services under the roaming pact with other operators within three days.


Comments were not received immediately from the three operators.

Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular entered into roaming agreements for providing 3G services in telecom circles where they did not have the spectrum.

DoT had earlier issued a Rs 350 crore demand notice to Airtel, but the company has not yet paid the fine.

The company has approached Supreme Court seeking a review of the High Court order and hearing in the matter is likely to be heard on Monday.

Industry sources said that Vodafone too has applied to be a party in the case before the apex court to defend the pact.

In 2010, of the 22 service areas, Airtel acquired 3G spectrum in 13, Vodafone in 9 and Idea Cellular in 11 circles.

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Idea launches Android Ivory

Idea Cellular has launched Android-powered smartphone Ivory. The smartphone is based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS and runs on 1GHz processor.

The 3G smartphone from Idea features a 3.5' Full Touch Bar and offers 4GB internal memory and 512MB RAM. The dual-sim smartphone from Idea is priced at Rs 7,390. Other features of the phone include G Sensor, built-in social media apps like Facebook and Twitter, IMAP, HTML and music video player. Ivory comes in two colour options white and black.

Ivory is the fifth Android-based 3G smartphone from Idea. The company claims to have sold more than 2.25 lakh devices in the Indian market.


Like all the other previous smartphones from Idea, the new dual SIM 3G smartphone, Ivory, also comes packed with data usage offers for Idea 3G users. The pack offers 1GB of free data every month for first three months and free Idea TV for just Rs 261.

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How Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel are trying to woo young customers

Indian mobile operators are aggressively wooing the youth with low-cost data tariff plans and freebies as they bet on increased data use by youngsters to revive their sagging profits.

Aircel, owned by Malaysian telecom firm Maxis, for instance, now offers free talk time for each purchase made at online shopping portal Yebhi.com, while Reliance Communications has tied up with Facebook and Whatsapp for monthly plans at rock-bottom prices.

The top three players, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, have tied up with RIM to offer BlackBerry instant messaging service at 129 a month to college students, a massive discount over the handset maker's actual tariff plan.

"Young people spend more time on mobile phones consuming data than consuming voice," Bharat Bambawale, global brand director at Bharti Airtel said. "They hardly ever speak to anyone on a paid call and would use Whatsapp or BlackBerry Messenger to keep in touch with their friends," he told ET.

After the initial boom years, Indian mobile service providers have been facing severe margin pressure.

Over the last year, they have cut dealer commissions, distribution costs and purged inactive customers to drive profitability in business.

Now, these firms have realised that they will have to rely on data services-oriented models to bring in revenues as the Indian youth takes to internet-on-mobile and social media at a lightning pace.

Reliance Communications this week announced a partnership with social media giant Facebook to offer unlimited messenger service at 16 a month for its GSM subscribers.

The Anil Ambani-owned telco has also tied up with instant messaging provider Whatsapp for a similar plan at the same tariff.

Aircel subscribers recharging their connections will get cash back for shopping at Yebhi.com, while non-Aircel customers shopping at the portal will get a free Aircel connection along with talk time.

Falling prices of smartphones contribute heavily to this trend.

Mary Meeker, partner and analyst at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers, said India reported the sharpest surge in the number of smartphone users at 44 million people using smartphone in the fourth quarter of 2012, 52% more than a year earlier.

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