Nokia X2 - 5MP phone at ~ Rs5000 in India

Good spec and aggressive pricing for Nokia's upcoming model X2. Looks like Nokia is getting aggressive in competing with many local phone brands.

Here are the detailed specs.

Nokia X2

Key Features

Music:

Stereo output speakers

FM RDS stereo radio with built-in antenna

Dedicated music keys

Music Player with extended playlist supports MP3, MP4, AAC, eAAC+, WMA formats

Nokia 3.5 mm AV connector (audio only)

Manage music with Ovi Player PC client & Windows Media Player 11

Nokia Music Store (select markets)

Comes with Music (select markets)

Bluetooth v2.1 with stereo audio profiles (A2DP and AVRCP)

Imaging

5 megapixel Full Focus camera with flash,background processing, 4x smooth zoom

Camera flash can be used as a torch flashlight

View photos thumbnails in grid, albums or timeline view

Image Upload via Bluetooth and sharing services: Flickr, Ovi Share

Additional Features

Aluminium battery cover

Access to Facebook via Home screen

Download latest games and apps from Ovi Store

Nokia Messaging 2.0 Email & IM

Opera Mini browser

Conversational viewfor SMS & MMS

Preloaded Java games: Bounce Tales, City Bloxx, Snake III, Block'd, Diamond Rush, Rally 3D, Brain Champion, Sudoku

Technical Profile:

System:Quad-band GSM850/900/1800/1900

User interface:Series 40

Dimensions:111mm x 47mm x 13.3 mm(L x W x T)

Volume:61 cc

Weight:81 g with battery

Standby time:Up to 25.8 days

Talk time:Up to 13.5 hours

Music play time:Up to 26.8 hours (GSM idle/mid vol)

Display color:2.2” QVGA (240x320 pixel)262K colors Active TFT

Memory:User memory up to 48MBμSD card (support up to 16GB)

Connectivity:Micro-USB interface with USB 2.0 High Speed; Complimentary USB charging, USB OTG (audio, storage)Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR

Data Services:

GPRS rel-4, class B, with GPRS multislot class32 (and EGPRS MSC32)

Inbox Colors Available:

Black/Red, Silver/Blue

Standard Sales Package Includes

Nokia X2-00 handset

Nokia Battery BL-4C

Nokia Compact Charger AC-3 (AC-8C + CA-101D for PRC)

Nokia stereo Headset WH-205

Planned Market Introduction

•Q2 2010 (June 2010 in India)

Tata Nano owner seeks compensation

Tata Nano owner is seeking Rs 15lacs (1.5million) from Tata Motors as compensation for his new Tata Nano that caught fire on the day of purchase.
Details at DNA link
http://www.dnaindia.com/mobile/report.php?n=1370119
Response from Tata has not been very supportive or encouraging to their customers. We do not have a strong regulator like transport safety administrators in USA or Europe and Auto companies take quality and safety very lightly. Instead of just focusing on emission norms of vehicles it is high time that an empowered regulatory agency is formed which provides guidance on and monitors road and vehicle safety issues.

- Neeraj

Europa Locks Bangalore Bad After Sale/Installation Quality of Service

In my apartment after using cupboard locks from Europa Locks ( I decided to also go for a second main door lock from the same company. So around 10 daya back I got Europa main door lock from a Timber Store on Sarjapur Road Bangalore ( 3 dead bolt dimple keys model MRP Rs. 1135) and I was informed that company person will come and install the same which is a free service for main door locks. The shop keeper booked an installation request with company representative and (some request number was also assigned) I was updated that someone will come in 2 days. After more than a week of follow up almost every day and hearing that someone will come today/tomorrow afternoon/evening finally today I went to the shop where I got the lock and gave them the box telling that I will rather go for Godrej lock who were more responsive in terms of service in past. Finally shop keeper sent his own carpenter to get the lock installed instead of waiting for the company person any more. The same is now installed but quality/installation is not to my satisfaction as the keys feel too hard to turn both open and lock. I was told that they will get this fixed now from the company person again and I should wait.

Overall a very bad experience. Overall products quality feels good (atleast in packaging) and all the good things the company writes about the company and products on Europa Locks website and product packaging but in field and operations, quality of service this company has a long way to go to meet customer satisfaction. I would suggest stay with better known companies like Godrej or even Link Locks.

- Neeraj 25 March 2010

Update - After communicating with the company - the problem is now resolved and lock is now functioning to my satisfaction as updated in the comment.

- Neeraj 29 March 2010

Bangalore Europa Locks Service Numbers as provided by one of the blog viewers - 9448385429, 9342574721. These numbers are specifically for Bangalore. 

Many Bangalore High Rise Buildings and Malls are not Safe

Many Bangalore malls and high rise buildings are not Fire safe. Worst accidents that what happened today in Carlton Towers in Bangalore can happen in many places in the city. Many Malls and offices do not have proper fire exits or in many cases like in Carlton fire exits are locked. Many places are over crowded in evenings and weekends and filled beyond capacity. A small incident or panic can turn into a big accident. Take e.g. big bazaar near Forum or Total Mall on Sarjapur Road in weekends, we do not see properly marked exits, most of the times stairs are used as storage or for sale item displays limiting movement of people. There are no limit on how many people are allowed in. We rarely see fire extinguishers at key accessible locations. I hope audit is conducted on buildings in Bangalore by authorities and corrective actions taken.

Bangalore Fire

- Neeraj

My LG KP199 Charging Connection

One of my phones which I use for office calls is LG KP199 which I had taken due to very long battery life was for quite some time showing problem charging with the USB cable and is now also showing problem charing with AC power adaptor. It only makes charging contact if I hold the cable in specific position. The charger connector is the phone is loose probably due to bad soldering in the assembly of the connector. Over period of time now I can even see the connector move slightly inside the phone connector cutout/groove. I should have got it fixed in warranty period which I suspect is now expired. Will be opening the phone and fixing soldering if possible.

Last year I had fixed similar broken connector problem on an HTC Windows Mobile phone for a colleague of mine and hopefully will be able to fix my phone too.

My other phone the dual sided Samsung F300 Ultra Music is doing good but lacks speaker phone feature for calls (but has a good speaker for music).

Rest Later.

Bad product quality of a laptop and worst customer service by HCL Infosystems

My relative in Punjab bought (or rather made a mistake of buying) an HCL laptop from authorized dealer in Kapurthala in Punjab for around Rs30000. (~ $650)

* Machine Serial No : 8084AX056382
* Product Code : AX0P2825
* Warranty Card No. : 10485949
* Date of Installation: 18/11/2008

After some time of purchase the machine started giving problems with the display which was reported to HCL and given to service center for warranty repair.. Even after keeping machine for weeks for repair a permanent fix was not done by HCL service and the same problem reoccurred 3rd time in October/November and machine was again given to HCL as it was still in warranty.

Calls to HCL's Support desk were essentially of no use and waste of time and effort. Machine was last given to HCL service center on 9th November 2009 and have not been returned by the company till date (today 7th January 2010). What kind of service is this? Essentially during last 12 months machine has been with HCL service for close to 4 months. So HCL has taken money for the laptop and in a way still owns the machine, Isn't that cheating?

Emails and calls to HCL helpline have not resulted in any thing. This example shows how some of these Indian companies treat customers.

I have suggested to file a consumer and civil court case against HCL Infosystems for compensation. I would suggest buying a laptop or a computer from Dell, Acer, HP, Compaq or Toshiba and avoid local brands specially HCL.

- Neeraj