Mydala.com launches India’s first group-buying blackberry Smartphone app
August 18

Mydala.com, India’s first and largest group buying/social commerce portal offering city-specific deep-discount deals, introduced mydala – India’s first free BlackBerry® smartphone application for group buying in India. BlackBerry smartphone users can now download the mydala application on BlackBerry App World™ to explore and buy multiple city specific deals in several categories across India at a touch of a button.

Commenting on this strategic tie-up, Anisha Singh, founder and CEO, mydala.com, says, “As India’s first social commerce portal with the largest number of discounts and deals, we are constantly innovating to mobilize shopping and enhance the group buying experience. Mydala is a robust and secure application designed for BlackBerry smartphone users to reap benefits of group buying with ease, while on the move. We also plan to offer BlackBerry users exclusive discounts as they shop on mydala.”

According to recent Alexa web rankings in July-end, mydala.com’s web visitor count went up by a phenomenal 373% in the last three months, making it one of India’s top 100 websites. The company has also introduced mydala Mall, an online merchant store, where users can view multiple deals by various merchants all at one place.

OMG India appoints a new Country Manager
August 24

A leading global player in performance marketing, Online Media Group (OMG) announced the appointment of Bharat Malik as country manager of OMG India. Bharat is aiming to introduce many more Indian clients to the impressive benefits of affiliate marketing. Currently 80% of Indian travel brands don’t use affiliate marketing and similar patterns exist across all sectors – Bharat joins OMG India at a time of huge potential. With Bharat Malik onboard, many more Indian retailers will be able to increase sales and RoI with cost-effective online affiliate campaigns.

Before joining OMG India, Bharat was head of online marketing at the leading Indian travel portal Yatra.com. He was instrumental in launching the highly effective and pioneering affiliate program for Yatra.com.

Aircel partners with Virtela to launch India’s first global application acceleration service to fuel Indian enterprise expansion worldwide
August 25

Aircel, a leading telecom player with Pan-Indian operations with a subscriber base of over 55 million, announced an agreement with Virtela, the world’s largest independent managed network, security and Cloud Services Company. This agreement will help Aircel expand its business solution portfolio to include India’s first global Cloud-based Application Acceleration Service. The service is enabled by Virtela’s innovative Enterprise Services Cloud (ESC), the industry’s only cloud architecture built for enterprise networking, security and mobility.

With service delivery via Virtela ESC’s 50 Local Cloud Centers (LCCs) around the world, Aircel will now be able to offer application acceleration to Indian enterprises along with an array of award-winning managed services to extend and enhance their business operations internationally.

The cloud-based application acceleration service enables enterprises to turbo-charge business applications up to 25 times faster, leveraging industry breakthrough per-hour pricing starting at just 25 rupees per hour. Activated instantly around the globe via the highly-distributed network of LCCs, the service extends the cloud close to the end user and content source to accelerate applications immediately. Virtela virtualizes acceleration devices within the network cloud, enabling enterprises to escape the high cost and complexity of dedicated hardware appliances at each branch office or data center.

Virtela ESC serves as the foundation for a multitude of other industry-first cloud services in enterprise networking, security and mobility, which Aircel customers can now exploit to improve the performance and security of their critical business communications around the world at fraction of the cost of traditional hardware-based solutions.

Cloud computing ranks as the top technology priority among Indian CIOs, according to Gartner’s 2011 CIO Agenda survey1, which shows CIOs expect to adopt new cloud services much faster than originally expected. Indian CIOs report that their top business priority is increasing enterprise growth, with expanding into new markets and geographies another top-ten priority.

Aircel is well positioned to capitalize on this enterprise push for growth by adopting new technologies that increase their competitive position with differentiated cloud services while quickly expanding network coverage.

Virtela offers an extensive suite of managed network, security, mobility and infrastructure management services, which leverage a unique model that aggregates and integrates the best local, regional and global networks to offer unparalleled geographic reach. By adding a unique overlay of intelligence that performs optimal routing and automatic failover for customer network traffic, Virtela’s Enterprise Services CloudSM give enterprises an inherently higher performing, more resilient and cost effective alternative to traditional carrier networks. Virtela is the single point of contact for expert design, implementation and 24x7 proactive monitoring and management worldwide.

InMobi and NDTV Convergence Ltd. partner to bring rich media ads to smartphones
August 23

InMobi, the world's largest independent mobile ad network and NDTV, India's most watched and most respected media house, announced an exclusive partnership for bringing mobile ads to consumers on NDTV’s mobile applications. This partnership will make it easier for advertisers to reach premium mobile consumers on NDTV’s applications.

Under the terms of the partnership, InMobi will have exclusive rights to monetize NDTV’s mobile applications for Apple iOS and Google Android devices in India and international markets. Advertisers that want to advertise on NDTV’s mobile application on these platforms will now engage with InMobi.

InMobi delivers the unprecedented ability to reach 314 million consumers, in over 165 countries, through more than 36.2 billion mobile ad impressions monthly. It provides end-to-end solution for mobile advertising including rich media ad creation, distribution, tracking and optimization.

NDTV has been at the forefront of the converged content play. Its market-leading applications help users consume premium content using the application ecosystem. The NDTV application for the iPad recently won the gold award at the Asian Digital Media Awards for best tablet news product, while the NDTV iPhone app was number one at launch in India and the US.

“Mobile is a critical part of NDTV’s growth strategy. We were the first movers in the media app space in India and continue to build on the leadership position with continuous innovation in this space,” said Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV. “InMobi’s rich media technology and mobile ad platform will help us monetize NDTV’s premium content on mobile devices. InMobi was an easy choice for us as it delivers scale and reach to publishers that remain unrivalled in the Indian market.”

Atul Satija, VP and MD, APAC said, “This exclusive agreement with NDTV reinforces InMobi’s leadership position in the Indian market. NDTV’s mobile applications on the iPhone and Android platform have been immensely popular in India and abroad. Advertisers will now be able to reach their target audience wherever they are, through this partnership.”

“Rich media ads are the future of mobile advertising”, said Vinod Thadani, Regional Mobile Director - India & South Asia at GroupM Interaction. “Brands want to engage consumers on the mobile platform using rich media and a partnership that makes this happen is a great development for the mobile ad industry.”

"Brands are beginning to adopt mobile advertising in a big way," said Vivek Iyer, VP at Interactive Avenues. "InMobi's partnership with NDTV Convergence is going to further accelerate this adoption".

InMobi recently announced the acquisition of US-based Sprout, the leading platform for creating HTML5 rich media mobile advertising. The agreement with NDTV builds on the Sprout acquisition to further leverage the process of creating and distributing rich media mobile ads for brands and agencies in India.

HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre set to introduce new era in mobile audio
Strategic HTC investment to result in Beats integrated HTC phones this fall
August 11

HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile devices, today announced a strategic partnership and investment with Beats™ Electronics LLC, the company redefining the audio market with its iconic Beats by Dr. Dre™ audio experience. The two fast-growing brands will focus on bringing high performance sound to HTC phones.

“The HTC and Beats by Dr. Dre partnership is an opportunity for two world-class companies to redefine the smart phone industry and define the future,” said Jimmy Iovine, Chairman of Beats by Dr. Dre and Chairman and CEO of Interscope Geffen A&M Records. “For Beats by Dr. Dre, this represents a critical step in our continued mission to clean up the destruction of audio caused by the digital revolution; and reengineer how sound is delivered so that the consumer feels the music the way that the artist intended.”

HTC® and Beats™ have been working together to create superior mobile audio experiences for consumers, which will result in a line of HTC devices integrated with Beats sound innovations, available this fall.

“Beats has found a unique way to harness popular culture in a manner that is unlike any other brand today,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “It’s an exciting brand that has been built around providing something very special, and we believe our strategic partnership will provide customers with unbeatable sound on HTC phones. We obsess over every detail of a consumer’s mobile experience and audio is a critical part of that experience.”

HTC is known for unifying content, services and devices into unique mobile experiences. And Beats is known for its unique consumer brand appeal and ability to reproduce the full spectrum of sound captured in professional recording studios, allowing consumers to hear music the way the artist intended. Bringing these two great brands together will create superior mobile music and sound experiences, while accelerating HTC’s entry into the youth and accessories markets globally.

Beats Electronics will continue to operate autonomously with Iovine as Chairman and Luke Wood as President & COO with its current business partnerships that include Monster Cable Products Inc., Hewlett-Packard and Chrysler Group LLC.. Iovine will also continue serving as Chairman of Interscope Geffen A&M Records.

“Our customers have clearly responded to Beats and HTC, and Best Buy is proud to feature their products in our stores,” said Brian J. Dunn, CEO, Best Buy. “We are committed to offering innovative and entertaining technologies that help consumers enhance their lives. Our customers expect that from us. The unique HTC Sense experience and the great sound of Beats provide prime examples of that focus.”

AirTyme Announces TORRID 3G Expand and Enhance every experience - Fun, Entertainment and Lifestyle.

AirTyme Communications Pvt. Ltd today announced the launch of GTX75 TORRID - a stylish 3G HSDPA phone for Indian consumers, carrying the AirTyme brand. Designed to be of special interest for image-conscious consumers in their teens and twenties, the TORRID features a 2.8-inch QVGA resistive touch screen that slides open to reveal a spacious QWERTY keyboard for easy texting.

“AirTyme is committed to creating the best user experience through the innovative features we bring to the market,” said Mr. Gaurav Narang, Director of Operations, AirTyme Communications Pvt. Ltd. “We are proud to unveil TORRID and have competitively priced it to ensure that this feature-rich phone is accessible to larger audiences.”

Armed with perfect amalgamation of fashionable design and reliable quality, the phone also bolsters its easy-to-use screen icons and keyboard making it a highly enjoyable device for keeping in touch with friends and family. Loaded with various premium mobile device features, the TORRID comes with a stereo Bluetooth option for a music experience without wires. Other profiles for Bluetooth include A2DP and DUN which allows users to tether the phone as a modem for their computer without cables.

With its remarkable speaker quality, the phone can record 3GP video and play music and video in MP3, 3GP and MP4 formats. TORRID’s multimedia features also includes 1.3 megapixel camera, which allows users to capture life’s memorable moments in 1280 x 960 pixels. TORRID’s support for high speed 3G networks ensures consistent and hassle-free internet surfing which is conspicuous with the loading of pages within seconds. This pocket friendly phone also offers social media options like Snaptu and Nimbuzz. It also fosters Google Maps. TORRID is available in three striking colors - Green, Orange and Grey - to complement each user’s individual style.