Consumers can easily access Mobile TV, just press on the Mobile TV icon in the menu screen and the thumbnails of all available channels will be displayed on the screen. There is access to more than 66 channels and more channels are being added recently. They are all free-to-air and are provided by the service ‘MimobiTV’, they integrate content from different service providers and make it suitable for small screen viewing. This vendor provides content for both Tata Photon Plus and Reliance NetConnect.

Consumers were attracted with the variety of channels offered. They provide kids channel like Cartoon Network and Pogo, news channels like NDTV 24×7, CNN IBN and BBC World and other general channels like Star One and Zoom. There was a lack in the choice of English channels.  Some of the content was available as live streaming, like news on NDTV and CNN, some other channels give you only pre-recorded programs.

The sports fans should not have to worry, you can watch ESPN mobile, which lets us catch some of the matches at Wimbledon live, TNA and the FIFA World Cup. There is an IPL channel but they broadcast only when there is live IPL in action. A key point to be noted is that there is approximately a  5-10 second lag between the broadcasting time on the television and what you see on the handset. The pre-recorded programmes episodes changes every day but Hollywood movies have displayed the same two movies since I got the handset. I think the movie channels are only updated once in a month.

Moving to the video quality, the video takes a couple of minutes to be active and this solely depends on the signal strength. The services are found to be very fast by consumers outdoor and it worked well even in moving vehicles. Sometimes the lag was found in pre-recorded programs. The quality of the picture is excellent, it is easy to scroll between the icons and select the channels. The volume was on an average and it is audible only in a quiet room. I would recommend consumers to use headphones. The preferred method is to go for a volume toggle switch because adjusting the volume with the help of the touch screen controls uses up a lot of the display space.

Consumers have to subscribe a data plan to watch TV on your phone. This is similar to the way you use mobile internet. If you watch up to an hour it takes up to 60MB of data. The customers have to apply for a base tariff plan, another Rs.100 per month for subscription. Moreover you have to subscribe to Tata Photon Plus’ data plans, which start at Rs 500 for postpaid users and Rs 110 for prepaid users. Based on the plan you choose you get a certain amount of free data which can be used for internet browsing or watching TV.  The plan of Rs. 600 gives 1 GB and Rs. 750 gives 2 GB. The method of watching television on mobile seems to be a unique experience but when technology improves; consumers can find more channels and programs with good video quality. Consumers were impressed with the speed and video quality. So to catch up all live action in your mobile phone while travelling, go for TATA Photon Plus.

We all know that they are similar facilities available for taxi, cabs but it is a new idea of putting the more economical choice which consumers make everyday. We have seen that even it is very difficult to find an autorickshaw and if found, we are charged more than the actual amount. The plan of taking the autos to the consumers by just dialing is a novel thought from the two IIT ians and they were really worried whether the rickshaw drivers agree to be a part of such a network. They are more doubtful about the commercial success also. The report was good from the consumer’s side.

They actually started the venture by starting with a scientific research, they surveyed over hundred drivers and got all the details including their issues and worries. Moreover they had a consumer survey; more than three hundred consumers were interviewed to find out whether the services were available for them. The result of the consumer report showed that the vehicle drivers travelled empty almost twenty five percent of their time, while consumer spent a considerable time either looking for an autorickshaw or making the drivers to agree to a destination where they wanted to go. Finally the decision was made to put the plan into practice.

A consumer needs to call and book a ride at least an hour before. A system developed by the techies locates the autorickshaws in the particular location and identifies the available drivers. Then a text message will be forwarded to consumer with the details like the vehicle registration number, name of the driver, mobile number, pick up time, distance in kilometers and the approximate fare.

The approach has been put on a trial basis and they are planning to move this to a commercial operation. Now they are providing the service for free and later they are planning to charge a nominal fee for this. Their expansion plan includes hiring more autorickshaws, pitch the service to more drivers, and then integrate them into the network. They are planning to extend it to web and messaging service as well. This will really be helpful for senior citizens and physically challenged people because of its convenience. Moreover as the rate is fixed they cannot argue with consumer for getting more. It is better if the plan is promoted to other states also. These kinds of ventures should be encouraged as it will really help consumers a lot.

Shopping in India is has its own flavor for it. There are these street-shopping where when you know how to bargain then you can buy a lot of merchandise with minimum amount of money. There are also these big malls and separate branded stores where high class consumers like to indulge all their time and money in. But how many ever shops come and go I will definitely never stop shopping in the streets. The fashion street in Bangalore and Mumbai is one of my most favorite where I am completely impressed with the quality of the goods and the price they quote. I could probably buy ten of such bags for the price of one braded bag. The bag probably last for six months and it is probably worth it for the money we pay for it. But buying these kinds of merchandise from these shop keepers is another art that everyone should learn and master. The fact that one should realize is that the shopkeeper rates his merchandise at least three times more than the cost price.  So whenever they claim a price, then haggle for half the price. They have the need to sell their articles and they see everyone as a potential buyer. They make a profit even if they sell it for half the price and their aim is to sell it only for that amount. The customers who pay the full amount they claim are the kind of customers they expect to come across by charging such a price for every article.

Unfortunately, there are more number of people who do not haggle and just pay the amount they quote. But when you want a good deal then it is a must that u fight for the price. They shopkeepers do strike a deal when they say that if we buy three of such article he will give it for the price we want but never fall for such deal unless and until you need so many products. Also be careful to take care of your belonging when you shop at such places. The theft in these areas increases everyday. There is no point in cribbing over the fact that you lost something because it is very difficult to retrieve lost cell phones and wallets.

I usually shop only for bags and belts in these places because I do not find anything else quite worth it. My friends buy a lot of clothes and shoes whereas the shoe only last for few months but the clothes last for a very long time. So have fun shopping and take care of your belongings.

Recently I came across this article where they are going to launch public transport to colonies which has more than hundred families. This will be really helpful as it will cut down the expenses by a huge factor. If I have to spend at least three hundred rupees per month then imagine how much my family needs to spend just to travel from our house to the main road. This is a huge problem to a lot other families in my neighborhood and not everyone can afford to spend so much and it will be helpful to save that amount of money to something useful.

The article had stated that there is a demand for public transport from many residential area and the mode of transport and the area of operation will be decided only after a proper investigation. They will allow public transportation in these areas after checking the feasibility of operation over there. The roads in these areas are quite narrow and the normal buses cannot be maneuvered around there and also if busses do operate they will create traffic blocks. Earlier in the 1980’s there was a concept of mini buses to operate in the residential area probably they will bring out that system. The timings of operation and the routes will also be decided checking on the amount of traffic flow and the population density in those routes. The public transportation vehicles will also have very limited number of stops to reduce the traffic blockage and will operate only at specific timings. The idea behind this is to help the consumers and not to create traffic blocks and burden them. These kinds of operations are being operated in certain areas from the recommendation of MPs and MLAs and hopefully it will start operations in other areas as well pretty soon.

Many consumers will be benefitted by this and a lot of consumers have been appealing for this kind of a system to come up for a very long time. It will definitely put consumers like us at ease and reduce the cost factor for travel greatly.

Coca-Cola has decided to use plant products to make bottles for their beverages. The new beverage container is the same weight and has the same feel but has promised to reduce the carbon footprint of Coca-Cola by nearly eighteen percent. It is made up of nearly seventy percent of petroleum based product and the remaining thirty percent of sugarcane based product. The older types of bottle were made up polyethylene terephthalate or PET which nearly consumed about seventeen million barrels of oil in 2006. If coco-cola alone consumers such huge amount of petroleum product then imagine how much of non renewable sources are depleted by other products when combined. Consumers should be aware that the Earth will be completely depleted of non renewable products in another sixty years, so everyone needs to be conscious of their own carbon footprint and try to reduce it as much as possible. Buying products which are made of bio degradable products are safe for the planet and also reduce the usage of non renewable material.

The ‘plant bottle’ from Coco-cola will debut itself during the Vancouver Winter Olympics game 2010. Coco-cola is also aiming to sell nearly 2 million of these drinks in these bottles. However, the plant bottles do not preserve the content very well as the PET bottles. They cannot last longer and the plant bottle cannot hold carbonated drink as well as the PET bottles. Coco-cola is taking a huge step in making such a decision. It is also a huge risk where they might have a huge loss or profit with this new plant bottle of theirs.

Other products such as Pepsi co have started making compostable bags for their Sun chips. It is also a big step where a huge number of populations have a different variety of chips which are packaged in plastic bags. When all chips containers are made into compostable bags then the usage of plastics will reduce drastically. Nestle is also reducing the plastic content in their bottles.

Hopefully they set a good example to the other big brands which can also try and reduce their carbon foot print in the society. Coco-cola funded a study which came to a conclusion that only 27 percent of the USA population recycle and where as the other products just end up in the junkyard. These are also the main reason for the increase of the carbon footprint. As a consumer and also a citizen we should be responsible enough to recycle our waste and buy products which are environment friendly. This will in turn reduce the carbon footprint of an individual as well.

Google introduced the Google Docs which is an online word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation package. Google Docs has become very famous among the users. The word processing module is really reliable for consumers, the spreadsheet is usable for Excel junks and the power point presentation will surely satisfy the Power Point fans. You can edit the existing documents created through Microsoft Office applications or other software using Docs. You can use Docs to work on files during your travel or can make them available to you from work or other locations. Docs give you one gigabyte of free storage space and you can use the service as a free replacement for a USB thumb drive. For using this you do not have to sign up, if you have a Gmail account or some other Google service, just visit docs.google.com and click Create New or Upload to get started. The Help system is also available.

Moreover you do not have to go back to Google repeatedly to search for some product, person or keyword. The Google Alerts gives consumers the latest search results automatically. This you can get it as a periodic e-mail message or through an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed.  If you want to keep updated about our favorite sports team, you do not have to search every day for the latest news. You can set up the Google Alert by typing the team’s name in the Search Terms box. You also have the choice of selecting the type of information like news, blogs or videos. You can just provide the address to which the updates to be sent. If you have the Gmail account it will be automatically delivered.

Do you have the habit of visiting social networking sites or newspaper sites every morning? Then Google Reader can help you by aggregating that information in a single place. This is easy to use and it is very effective. You can log on to google.com/reader and click the Add a Subscription button and type the name of the favorite forum, blog or news site. You can add as many as you want. This will help you to scan the headlines along with a snippet of the article and you won’t be disturbed by other ads or other distractions. You can create your profile using Google’s Profile creator (google.com/profiles). Here people can remain anonymous on the web or you can add details according to your wish. There is a lot more coming from Google and the Google fans are waiting for that.