Mobile Royale - An Asian Perspective on Mobile Industry

The mobile industry from an Asian eye. The only mobile phone reviews site with a truly Asian style, the best place for Asian mobile phone fans. Mainly focussing on Nokia devices, smartphones and future mobile developments. Subscribe to RSS Feed

Dialog launches International Breaking News service

Dialog Telekom, the pioneer in launching breaking news alert services to mobiles, has launched a new International Breaking News service. The service features CNN. Users have to send a SMS as ACTCNN to 678 for activation.

oneConnect coming soon - where's Google's response?

Yahoo oneConnect (tm) will be coming to your phone soon. With the ability to fulfill most of your web connectivity needs like social networking with text messages etc. too. Now that is a revolution. But why is Google still waiting to make a response? It is no doubt that many users use Google than Yahoo (folks like me even search on oneConnect over at Google), so many users will benefit from a Google mobile app and I feel that Google should not stick only with Android. Read more on oneConnect here.

Kit Double and M Friend

Following Dialog's introduction of the Kit Double service, Mobitel has also introduced a new service called M Friend. What's special in this is that you don't have to have the both connections under your name. Mobitel has also launched a new service to replace your old inactive Mobitel SIM for just Rs.100! Expect more details. Come on mobile networks! YOU COMPETE - WE (subscribers) ROCK!

Where has Airtel Lanka gone?

Airtel Lanka was said to be launching early this year, but so far we haven't got any news on them. If Airtel was launched soon, with their rumored rates of Rs.2 per min, we could have seen a good reduction of rates from Dialog too, as their anniversary is coming close too. I see some new half-painted mobile network towers these days, but I think these are of Mobitel, which seems to have completed their target 85% 3G coverage on it's network. Mobitel's 3G coverage range in 3G base stations are impressive, as I've already mentioned. But they still lack one thing to be a perfect network - Free Missed Call Alerts. But all in all, I feel that now Mobitel is in a competitive level with Dialog, technological wisely.

China to disable great firewall for the Olympics?

There are news that China will be taking down their so called Great Firewall in the Olympics season. The officials deny of all these info, but this could result in the Olympic visitors telling their friends that a Great Firewall doesn't exist and that is all talk. Read more at TechDirt here

Skyfire coming to N95

The new web browser for Windows Mobile enabled mobile phones, Skyfire, is close to completion of a new Skyfire version on the N95. An engineer at Skyfire revealed that it is working great at an IntoMobile news discussion. It seems that we can expect Skyfire on S60 devices soon!

The Tigo Scandal

Refer to this link at ElaKiri.com, a Sri Lankan forum, to find out an interesting case of Tigo secretly and illegally listening to subscribers' telephone calls. I don't know whether it's true or false, but the amount of unpleasant experiences I had with the same network leads me to think that "a smoke doesn't come without a fire". Once Tigo used to charge you Rs.1.18 every few seconds if you were in a GPRS login process which took more time than normal (again, the error was on their side), it did cost me hundreds of rupees (of course, with their snail like EDGE speed), and after so many complaints, they only paid me Rs.50 back. All these resulted me in switching to a different network. However, when it comes to customer service, Dialog is second to none. According to my knowledge, Tigo is the first network in Sri Lanka to start charging for customer service (Rs.3), but you still have to wait in a queue (and the bonus doesn't help because you can't use it until you end up all the credit in your account, be it Rs.50 or Rs.1500), while at Dialog, they instantly pick up your call totally free. I won't mention Mobitel, they have not responded to a complaint that I logged one and a half months ago (where Dialog takes only around three days), but at least their staff is friendly and the network has a nice 3G coverage. I've never talked to a "friendly", Tigo customer agent, they always ask you to send them a fax if you want to complaint and most of the agents are a bit too "proud" and "big headed".
- This post was not aimed at attacking any of the above mentioned networks, and only expresses my personal experiences and views.

Sri Lankan Roundup

Mobitel's Mobile TV has only four local channels, but they have reduced the tariff to Rs.3 per minute. Dialog silently launched their own Video Call portal - VideoBOX - having the same number, 555, that Mobitel has. Mobitel has a nice and fast expanding 3G coverage, which has a wider coverage than Dialog. (I mean wider. Eg: Town A - Dialog 3G covers only the city limits
-Mobitel 3G covers nearly 3/4 kms) I've not been into blogging lately because of some personal problems, which are available at my life blog - www.miserylife.tk. Wish if I could die.

deS(E)PERATED

They separated me from my sister. The driver of the school bus today asked her to find a different school transport service. He told a fake reason, but the truth was that he want to take in more new kids and because my sister gets into the bus after others, the fee that she pay is less. But when he take in those small kids, the fee that they pay is higher and they also need less space than my sister because they are small. I'm deeply hurt by this. Although she was not my own sister, she was closer than a sister of my own to me. She was my best friend, I loved her a lot as to my very own elder sister. At my every problem, she was with me. She was the shoulder that I could cry on anytime. My dad is seriously ill, he has a mental illness, he's not at home. I've so many problems at home. For my every problem, my sister was the only one with me. She was my only friend to whom that I could tell everything. As I'm an only child, there's no one else that I can tell these to. I cannot tell this incident to mom, she also has misunderstood our friendship. I cannot keep all these in my heart. I cannot live without my sister. I'm afraid my sister will fall into any trouble in a different school bus too. I don't know whether you can understand the agony in my heart, I cannot organize my feelings to write. I cannot, I cannot, I cannot, I cannot..... I cannot live without my sister. I cried a lot today. My sister was the only good friend that I had. I prayed god, never caused trouble to anyone, but none of those helped. It seems there is no use of doing good in this world. I cannot hold this pain in my heart. I WANT MY SISTER. I wish if someone understands me (It is really simple. I'm an only child, so lonely at home, but also suffering from so many problems at my home, so I love to have an elder sister and she was like my own sister and she cared a lot for me and so I love her a lot as to my own elder sister), but it seems that everyone only misunderstands me. I cannot live without my sister, I need her to be with me at least till my home situation gets a little better. I'm never going to call any other girl as my elder sister, this is my only elder sister and will always remain so. I cannot describe my feelings. I cannot convert them into feelings. I want my sister. I cannot live without her. I WANT TO SUICIDE. But I know that it is stupid, but the world has never been kind on me. Even if I don't suicide, I will suffer so much and will become seriously mentally ill. I was never a bad child, so since I was little, I got a lot of love. But when dad fell ill and other problems arised, I lost all that love and my sister was the only one who loved me. I still need my sister's love. I still want to be her little brother. For the last time, I request from you all, PLEASE DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME. She is not my girlfriend or my crush, SHE IS MY ELDER SISTER - my one and only sister in this whole world. I'm so depressed, I can't live. I want my sister. The only way someone can save me is by giving my sister back to me and letting us be brother and sister again by letting her come with us in the same school bus. That is all I request, from the whole world. I'd be very grateful if someone can do that help to me and stop the separation of a brother and a sister. I don't have much money to give you, I'm not rich, but I'd be always thanking you. Thank you so much for reading this. I'm so depressed. May god protect my beloved sister. God, take my life if you want, PLEASE protect my elder sister.
*** This post was to be published originally in my other blog www.miserylife.tk, (please refer to that website to better understand what this post is about) but I mistakenly posted in this blog and as I'm blogging from my mobile, I'm unable to copy this text and post in my other blog. This, of course, proves how unlucky I am ***

Batteries on red line

Is your smartphone battery above or below the red line of capacity? Read a nice article by Steve from All About Symbian, click here.

N96 - Finally Launched

The all new Nokia N96 has made a few appearances at Mobile Royale already. It has a lot of new tech gadget options - Technology Rocks! But is it really worth buying? Looking decent enough, the phone is a hybrid of the N95 and iPhone 16GB. Although it is still too early to find out whether the N96 prototype REALLY had a 16GB onboard, the appearance of a memory expansion slot must be appreciated. With a 5MP cam, 16GB internal memory, DVB-H and a lot of great new features, it really is worth a reading. Read more on it at All About Symbian here. A great preview by Steve, our friend.

Mobile Royale is right, once again !

Mobile Royale predictions have never gone wrong. History proves that. The latest proof is from Mobile World Congress. I predicted that Nokia will launch N96 and N78. Know what? I'm correct again. Plus two more new Nokia models. Expect more details !

Mobile Royale WAP

The mobile version of Mobile Royale blog has been launched. Visit it from your mobile at http://winksite.com/kflyer/lankamobile . I'm working on getting a Top Level Domain for it. You can read the blog, chat and even subscribe to the RSS feed (yes, from your mobile) from there. A special simulated version for desktop users is available here. Enjoy!

Codename Ariane

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
No Doubt. This device has S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2. Suspected to be 5710, this device sports a 3MP Auto Focus cam in a whole new way that'll change the meaning of camera phone. I'm not surprised if three FP2 models debut at the Mobile World Congress - N96, 5710 (This) and N78. May be E66 too.

Nokia 5700 Evolve ?

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
I wonder whether this will be Nokia 5700 Evolve. Hot stuff ahead at Mobile World Congress.

S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2 official specs - Not as great as expected

S60.com revealed more info on the new FP2 a few days ago. However it has only minor improvements and I feel that they could have done better. The most improvements are Email handling related and this is a good clue that we will see more E Series devices with this Feature Pack. We can expect some hot stuff over there at Mobile World Congress. Read more on FP2 here at S60.com .

N96 Specs Leaked

A German Nokia webmaster has leaked N96 specs. It's 125g in weight, 5MP cam with Carl Zeiss optics, 30fps VGA video recording and dual LED flash, Wi Fi, Flash Lite 3 supported browser, AGPS, DVB-H, 2.8" 240x320 16M, MicroUSB, Dual Band 850/2100 HSDPA and the VERY SPECIALS being
*16GB Internal memory AND a microSD card slot. Upgrade to 24GB for an extra $80.
*S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2
My guesses sometime ago haven't go wrong, check in the archives to see my N96 review. Expect more details soon!

Nokia 8800 Arte Review

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
Nokia 8800 Arte with 2" OLED display featuring 16M colours and a 3MP camera with autofocus. Read the full review at GSMArena here

Camera Free E51

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us
By Foxjet7
Nokia has released a camera free variant of E51. It features extensive email integration and shipping is expected in 2008 Q1 with an estimated retail price of 250EUR before subsidies. Read more here.

Nokia Roundup

This is the Nokia Roundup of the last week. This feature lists the most important incidents and news that took place relating to Nokia (and specially N Series). And the hottest Nokia News this week is - N-Gage First Access !!!

* RotateMe 2.0 came out of beta
* Fring improved with file sharing capabilities
* Open Signed Online beta was launched
* N-Gage First Access was launched
* Opera Mobile 9.5 was announced
* Nokia became the official sponsor of the Grammy Awards
* Twango beame Ovi Share
* N82 Black version became available
* Widsets Challenge 2008 was opened

Stay tuned to Mobile Royale for more hot news coverage !

Nokia N82 Black and N78


The Black colour version of N82 was made available from Nokia USA online stores yesterday. The basic features are as same as the original white colour N82. Wow! Now it looks stunning. I feel that N78 will not be announced tomorrow. N78 is predicted to be having Wi-Fi and a 3.2 Mega Pixels camera and there are rumours that it will be announced on Feb 8th or so. Many suggest that it will be Nokia's long awaited N73 replacement. However, all these stuff on N78, including the specs are still rumours.

Twango becomes Ovi Share

Media sharing site Twango has become Ovi Share after it was recently acquired by Nokia. Ovi is part of the Nokia's next generation online entertainment service.

Nokia 6120 Classic - (3000 + Symbian OS) + S40 = An all new Nokia device, 3120 Classic.

Photobucket
Yes, you read it right. This tiny little device is an exact replica of the 6120 Classic, except for Symbian OS and HSDPA. It has a 2MP cam and 3G, all inside a tiny little 85g weighing package. It is expected to make shipments in 2008 Q2, with an estimate price of €150 before subsidies and taxes. Read more here at GSMArena.

A bit of a revealation

Thanks for all of you readers. I really appreciate your corporation with this website and I really to publish more and more stuff, but money stops me from doing so.
The main reason is that I don't have a PC, so I'm using my mobile phone to post all these things. It being a good old Nokia 6233 but lacking HTML capabilities makes me use Opera Mini, the great little web browser. But it lacking file upload capabilities requires me to upload all my stuff to photo sharing sites. Opera Mini's inability to click and open some "text boxes", makes me quit Opera Mini 4.0 everytime after an upload and open Opera Mini 3.0 to copy that HTML code in the text box. All these requires money and also, time, to balance everything with my studies (I'm still a teen). This is why I don't post much. If I had a PC + a free internet connection + a good smartphone (I love to have one, but money doesn't let me) + enough time, I would make this one of the world's most popular mobile blogs. But still, I lack many resources.

My appearance on AAS

Yesterday I, kflyer, appeared on the Top Story at the web's favourite Symbian site, All About Symbian, as a result of a PM to Steve Litchfield, one of the most respected authors in the Smartphones industry. My respect (Hats off) to Steve! Not only for mentioning me, but also for revealing the truth on myths about mobile phone viruses.

Opera Mini Power-user menu unveiled

Ever wanted to configure Opera Mini more to yourself? Want to get rid of those telephone numbers and some feeds? Now you can. Visit opera:config on your Opera Mini to access Power-user Settings Menu and do more with your favourite mobile web browser! If this link does not work, please manually enter opera:config in Enter Address menu and visit it. If you have not yet heard of the world's favourite mobile web application, point your phone's browser to mini.opera.com to download it!

New Operator Code for Dialog Telekom?

Dialog Telekom has already used up all the 10 numberings of their operator code - the lucky 077. With 077-1 being the latest addition (they started with 077-7 and have completed all 077-2, 3 (postpaid), 4, 5, 6, 7(both postpaid and prepaid, 8 and 9 (prepaid) ). Will they come up with a new operator code or will they be the first network to implement 11 digits in a telephone number in Sri Lanka? The poll is open.

SMS Blocked on Independence Day

Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry today (4th Feb.) advised all the telecommunication operators in the country to block both incoming and outgoing SMS services from 6am-12noon by an special order. The ministry reasoned that there is a fear that Tamil Tigers might SMS people and make them frightened in order to stop people from celebrating the Independence Day. However, what I feel is, as mobile users, we have LOST our freedom on the Independence Day. And now, as both outgoing and incoming messages are blocked, not only that I won't receive any SMSs from foreign countries (as there will be a long queue of messages and network message centres might automatically clear all the messages (source: Dialog Telekom)) and that I'll have to make a big effort to SMS even after the block is off as the network will be busy, but also, I won't get to know any news on (if) any new bomb explosions, as television channels are broadcasting the Independence Day Celebration and I'm not receiving SMS News Alerts because SMS is blocked. Luckily, I have one alternative - Good ol' radio!