After more than a year… MTML (Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Limited) have finally launched their wireless broadband service… Azu! But no need to get over-excited. As most early-adopters of “broadband” connections in Mauritius already know (Nomad, Emtel, My.T), it’s best to wait a few months (for problems to surface) before jumping in the fray!
But considering their previous attempts at the high-speed dialup (144kbps) with their extremely competitive prices for a niche market of 5h-per-month Internet users, we can expect MTML to provide similar offers like MT & perhaps at a lower price.
Whatever be the case, they should abstain from providing 512kbps connections at Rs. 500 & then capping it at 5GB (like Emtel) or use a best-effort service (like My.T). I wouldn’t mind capping a 512k connection at 50GB…
& concerning Azu’s speed, that seems to be a major problem since MTML would be using CDMA2000-EVDO, which provides a maximum (theoretic) downlink speed of 2.4Mbps. Users should not expect great speeds, especially when the network becomes saturated…
For the time being, only the ads have cropped up, no tariff yet… But as soon as they’re out, I’ll post it here.
Update:
The cat's out of the bag! Yes, the internet speed IS 2.4Mbps!!!! No, but wait... the wireless modem is (for the time being) only available as a PCMCIA add-on for laptops... for the price of Rs. 3999+VAT. & of course... surfing at 2.4Mbps unlimited would have been heaven... but unfortunately Azu is capped & there are packages for the amount of data used each month. & yeah, if you exceed it, you need to pay PER MB! :(
Update 2:
The cat's out of the bag (again)! MTML have updated their website with more information on Azu. More info here.
The tariffs have been revealed as well (check here). Azu is limited to 1Gb, 2Gb & 5Gb plans, with the excess being charged at Rs 0.80/Mb (Rs 819/Gb). These seems perfectly suited for users who want high speeds & have low usage. But the most interesting thing is that the unlimited connection of a max of 2.4Mbps is available unlimited at only... Rs 2199!!! That's great news for all ADSL users that are rich enough to pay themselves the 1Mbps luxury at Rs 6000 or the über-rich who have 2Mbps at Rs 10,500 - they can now have a faster connection at a lesser price of only Rs 2200! Everyone who were thinking of moving to ADSL Business because of the FUP, can now ditch Orange for ever! Yay! Long Live MTML!
But wait, as with every product, there's still a catch. MTML uses EVDO to provide the 2.4Mbps speed.... & the EVDO coverage is only in Port Louis & the Plaine Wilhems. Everyone not living in these areas will get 144kbps - imagine paying Rs 2200 for 144kps (when will they stop the rural discrimination - villagers have right to Internet Access as well!). Azu broadband is only available as a PCMCIA modem for laptops only - no USB modem in sight yet... & modem is priced at Rs 4000.
I've checked the modem manual as well... & it asks you to uninstall a Microsoft hotfix if you get an error (huh?). Download the Application Form here & the Modem Manual here.
One thing we shouldn't forget - that 2.4Mbps isn't permanent! Till when will MTML be able to sustain such a speed with increasing users & in the end, the network load may prove too heavy for them... & they may decide to cap the unlimited?
Update 3:
Yay! USB Modem available for Rs 5000! :D
But wait!!! Check this review by L'Express! Is MTML going the Nomad way? There seems to be connection problems with the service... Read on the article.
Nokia Tube
Nokia launching a YouTube competitor? Nopes… it’s the just the codename for Nokia’s S60-powered touchscreen smartphone.
The folks over at Symbianfreak.com have leaked some titbits about Nokia’s upcoming “response” to Apple’s iPhone. The Tube is NOT an Nseries - but more like a mid-range device while the flagship iPhone-killer will ship “shortly after.” If the first S60 Touch device is like this… I can’t imagine what’s meant by higher-specs than this – multi-touch?
- 5th Generation S60 Touch
- High Resolution 16:9 screen between 3” & 3.5”
- Camera better than that on the iPhone with Autofocus, but not like that on Nseries - most probably a 3.15MP
- Quad Band – GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA
- Bluetooth, WLAN, uPnP
- GPS with geotagging
- NO multi-touch, but stylus-based & featuring haptics feedback - sort of virtual buttons.
- Revised icons? (Not pretty-looking though!)
- similar size to N73, but a bit wider
- available in the 1st quarter of 2009
- XpressMedia & front camera (thanks to modified pic below from Engadget)
[via Symbianfreak.com]
Nokiaport.de have released this render of the Tube, now branded as Nokia 5800 & the specs as well:
Display:
- 3.2 inch touchscreen
- Tactile Feedback
- 640x360
- 16 million colors
Camera:
- 3.2 mega pixel
- autofocus
Networks:
- Quad Band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 Mhz)
- EDGE- UMTS- HSDPA
Connectivity:
- Bluetooth 2.0
- Wifi- GPS
- 3.5 mm jack
- TV out
Other:
- 140 MB of internal memory
- measures 111x52x14.5 mm
- weighs 104 grams
[via Nokiaport.de]