Page 3 - Mobile Phones

Govt asks retailers not to insist on mobile number for providing services

The Consumer Affairs Ministry has issued an advisory directing retailers not to insist on the personal contact details of customers for delivering certain services, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said on Tuesday. The advisory has been issued following several consumer complaints. Customers have complained about many retailers not providing them services if they refuse to share their contact number, he said. "Sellers say they cannot generate the bill until personal contact details are provided. This is an unfair and restrictive trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act and there is no rationality behind collecting the information," the Secretary told reporters. There is also a privacy concern. Therefore, an advisory has been issued to the retail industry and industry chambers CII and FICCI to address this issue in the interest of consumers, he said. It is not mandatory in India for customers to furnish their mobile numbers to a retailer to generate a bill. Howev

3,500 phone connections obtained via fraudulent means disconnected: HP

Nearly 3,500 mobile phones procured for cybercrime and phishing through fraudulent means have been disconnected by the Himachal Pradesh unit of telecommunication department, according to a statement issued on Wednesday. The department used artificial intelligence (AI) and other techniques to identify the mobile connections obtained through fraudulent means and detected 3,491 connections given by telecom service providers in the state, it said. Additional Director General (ADG) at HP telecommunications Ranbir Singh said fake connections have been cancelled.

Why use of refurbished mobile phones helps in environment conservation

Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily routines, but their mass production has brought damage to the environment

Apple's emerging India play, strategy notably different from Vietnam

In India, Apple has decided to focus on a few products but on a large scale, as they did in China, instead of assembling the entire range of its products in smaller volumes

After lithium reserve in J&K, 15 rare earth elements discovered in Andhra

These elements are also used in clean energy, aerospace, defence, and in manufacturing permanent magnets- a key component in modern electronics- wind turbines, jet aircraft, and several other products

63 police stations don't have vehicle, 285 have no mobile phones: Govt

As many as 63 police stations in the country do not have any vehicle, 628 police stations do not have telephone connection and 285 police stations don't have a wireless set or mobile phone, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said there are 17,535 police stations operating in the country now. A total of 63 police stations don't have any vehicle, 628 don't have any telephone connection and 285 don't have a wireless set or mobile phone, he said in a written reply to a question.

Explained: Canada's latest ban on TikTok from govt-issued mobile devices

Canada is banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it might be a first step to further action. The European Union's executive branch said last week it has temporarily banned TikTok from phones used by employees as a cybersecurity measure. The EU's action follows similar moves in the U.S., where more than half of the states and Congress have banned TikTok from official government devices. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore. It has been targeted by critics who say the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location. U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices. TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world. But there's long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-Chin

Phones, knives, drugs recovered from inmates after surprise raids in Tihar

Mobile phones and knives were recovered from inside Delhi's Tihar Jail number 3 in a search operation, jail authorities said on Thursday

Budget 2023 wishlist: ICEA calls for rationalisation of duties on parts

India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has batted for rationalisation of duties on parts and components of mobile phones and sub-assemblies, saying some of the smaller tariffs should be done away with, while all inputs duties on 'mechanics' should be removed immediately. The industry body has also suggested that the government should ease the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on high-end phones. The 20 per cent customs duty on high-end phones should be continued only with a maximum BCD pegged at Rs 4,000 per device, the association has said in its Budget wishlist. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 on February 1. ICEA contended that tariffs on inputs and components are a barrier to increasing localisation. It has said that some of the smaller tariffs should be done away with, to support local businesses and bring ease of doing business. In this regard, ICEA suggested that the tariff of 2.75 per cent (including social welfare surcharge

Finance ministry looks to curb smuggling of top-end mobile phones

FinMin considers proposal to reduce basic Customs duty on phones with a cost, insurance and freight value of over Rs 35,000

India sees up to $9 bn mobile phone exports in FY23: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

India expects its mobile phones exports to rise to 700 billion rupees ($8.50 billion) to 750 billion rupees ($9.11 billion) this fiscal year, a government minister said on Thursday

Samsung India sells mobile phones worth Rs 14,400 crore between Sept-Oct

Samsung India sold mobile phones worth Rs 14,400 crore between September-October and recorded 99 per cent growth in the premium category smartphones in the first three quarters of 2022, a senior company official said on Friday. Samsung India senior director and head of product marketing Aditya Babbar told PTI that the company recorded a 178 per cent jump in sales in value terms of 5G smartphones between January-September 2022 on a year-over-year basis. "Samsung had a record festive season this year. This was an outstanding performance on account of great revenue which we posted of Rs 14,400 crore in a 60-day period starting September 1," he said. Without disclosing the exact percentage, Babbar said that the growth was in the healthy double-digit compared to sales during the festive period last year. He said that Samsung Finance Plus was one of the key contributors to the growth and the transaction on the platform tripled to over 10 lakh during the festive season. "The growth has b

In a first, India's monthly mobile phone exports touched $1 bn in September

Monthly mobile phone exports from India touched the $1 billion mark for the first time ever in the month of September this year

The real reason to turn on aeroplane mode when you fly is frequency band

Here's the real reason to turn on aeroplane mode when you fly

'Same cable helps': Common charger for all mobile devices on cards

Dept of Consumer Affairs calls top players for a meeting today to discuss issue

What is a Virtual Mobile Number? Benefits, usage and other details

A virtual phone number is not tied to a physical location or a specific device. Here is what you need to know about virtual mobile numbers and how you can get one

Should India exclude Chinese from the sub-Rs 10K 5G device category?

Telecom firms and others are concerned that such a move could stymie the effort to build affordable 5G phones in the sub-Rs 10,000 category

India at 75: Personalities, brands, markets - A look back into the future

The platinum jubilee of Independence is a good time to recall how far we've come as a country and tip our hat to the businesses and innovations that have shaped this journey

Led by new-gen investors, mobile trading accounts for a fifth of trades

Higher smartphone penetration and lower data charges are powering this trend, say industry players

iQOO Neo 6 5G to launch in India today: Check specifications, likely price

The mid-range phone will reportedly be an Amazon-exclusive product