Nokia today announced that several leading U.S. publishers have joined the Nokia Media Network, a premium advertising network that provides brands reach to millions of mobile consumers through advertising on blue-chip mobile publishers, operator partners and Nokia services, furthering Nokia's reputation of providing wide audience reach on high-quality publisher mobile sites.

These additions join other flagship Nokia Media Network publishers such as Reuters, CNET, Agence-France Press, Unidad Editorial, Hearst and AccuWeather; operators like Sprint and Airtel; and Nokia services like Nokia.mobi. The additions include the following publishers, who will further strengthen the Nokia Media Network's reach in the United States:


- Fox News
- A&E Network
- Bio Channel
- HISTORY(TM)
- The Hollywood Reporter"We're very pleased to welcome these blue-chip publishers to the Nokia Media Network," said Tom Henriksson, head of Nokia Interactive Advertising. "These additions fortify the Nokia Media Network's reach in the United States, which has already been a well-performing advertising network, especially for advertisers in the entertainment, automotive and mobile content sectors."

"We advertise on the Nokia Media Network for its brand-safe, high-performance media and its ability to reach our target audience," said Larry Shapiro, executive vice president, mDisney, which has been running Disney mobile web advertising on the Nokia Media Network.

Nokia Interactive Advertising helps brands reach the potential global audience of 3.3 billion consumers with mobile devices. Through the Nokia Media Network and Nokia Interactive Solutions, Nokia Interactive Advertising provides brands with all they need to connect with and engage consumers with mobile advertising.

A few days after news of Vodafone trying to sell the iPhone 3G on installments came through, Airtel is using the same strategy.
Airtel in partnership with VISA, will offer easy finance options to VISA cardholders of four major banks for purchasing the Apple iPhone 3G.

"For consumers who aspire to own the iPhone 3G, VISA will offer easy financing options for all VISA cardholders of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI Cards and Citibank," Bharti Airtel's chief marketing officer (mobile services) Sanjay Gupta said in a statement.The handsets can be acquired on monthly instalments for periods ranging from nine to 24 months, depending on the bank and the option on offer.

iPhone 3G is priced at Rs. 31,000 for 8GB and Rs. 36,100 for the 16GB version and is available in two colours - black and white.

"Such initiatives will further widen the market of iPhone 3G in India", he added.

Bharti Airtel has issued an official statement on the launch of the iPhone 3G.The iPhone 3G will be launched in India on August 22, by Airtel. The price though still seems to elude us as they haven't mentioned anything on that front.

Vodafone, the other service provider to bring the iPhone 3G to India, hasn't issued any such statements yet. But our source tells us that Vodafone too will be launching the iPhone 3G on the same date as Airtel. There were reports earlier that Vodafone would launch the iPhone 3G 15 days before Airtel."iPhone has been the iconic technology revelation of this year, "said Sanjay Kapoor, president of Mobile Services at Bharti Airtel. "Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector. Introducing iPhone 3G to India further underscores our commitment to enrich the communication experience of all Airtel users."

Customers will be able to purchase the iPhone 3G at Airtel Relationship Centers.

Airtel customers can get more information on the iPhone 3G here.

Here we have it folks, an exclusive on the iPhone's availability in India. When, how much, what features, software -- everything you ever wanted to know about the iPhone 3G in India! We know you want to get to the meat of the matter, so without further ado, here's what you need to know:

> iPhone 3G Availability: Vodafone to have a 15 day launch advantage (available August '08 through Vodafone, and late Aug/September '08 through Airtel)
> Model: Initially, the 8GB version only

> Price: Rs. 11,500 to Rs. 12,000 (note: U.S. price of the 8GB iPhone 3G is $199)

> Applications: App Store will be available

> App prices: Application prices may see a revision to suit Indian market

> 3G: No fixed date for 3G availability; expected sometime later this year

> GPS: Present on the Indian version as well

> Grey-market availability: Almost nowhere to be seen. One store expects to sell it next week at Rs. 50,000

Scroll down for the rest of the story.While we all await the release of the iPhone 3G in India, some questions are pressing. In many ways, the iPhone is a platform - a means and a tool to unlock far greater features through new and sundry software. Until recently, the only means of installing software not produced by Apple was through illegal avenues. Now though, with the launch of the App Store, Apple has brought third-party software under a legal umbrella. Thus, the first question is this: will we, in India, get access to the same App Store that the people in the U.S. and other western countries enjoy? Further, would pricing be in Rupees or would we need to pay in Dollars? What about 3G - a feature so central to the iPhone that it's part of its name, its identity - will the iPhone be released along with 3G coverage?

To put it simply, will the iPhone offer the same value proposition in India, as it does abroad? We try and answer some of these burning questions here in this TechTree exclusive.

We contacted the necessary parties at Apple, Vodafone and Airtel - the latter being iPhone's official carriers in India - to get the required answers. While Apple and Vodafone were tight-lipped about release details, we struck gold with Airtel. Our source at Airtel, who wishes to remain anonymous, gave us valuable insight. Most of it, good news.

According to our source, the iPhone 3G will bring along most of the software goodies that are available in the West. In fact, the source went on to add, some of the features will be customized to suit the Indian tariff. The source confirmed that we would also be able to purchase software from the App Store with a possibly of a revised price for the Indian consumer, quickly adding that the price revision is not set in stone.There has been a lot of speculation over the price of the iPhone. Initially, only the 8 GB version of the iPhone 3G will be officially launched in India. The handset is expected to cost between Rs. 11,500 and Rs. 12,000, says our source. Compare this to the $199 price tag of the 8GB version in the U.S, and it's obvious that India is once again going to feel the import-duty pinch. Moreover, this price does not include the data plan costs that a user will have to bear every month, the details of which will only be out by the 15th of August, our source indicated. There are still deliberations being made on the specifics of the plan, we were told.

If you want the iPhone 3G right away, you need to look to the grey market. The scene there isn't all rosy though, with rumors flying of Airtel and Vodafone clamping down on parallel imports. The market-reality seemed to lend credence to these rumors as most vendors we contacted told us that the iPhone (old model or new) was unavailable for purchase. One Mr. Munshi Adnan, owner of a shop called "Gadgets" at Heera Panna, in Mumbai, promises to offer the iPhone 3G next week. He claimed to have it around July 28th, and quoted a princely sum of Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 50,000!

All those eagerly awaiting the India launch of Apple's iPhone 3G can now make sure they get their hands on the device soon after its launch -- by booking their piece online.

Both Vodafone and Airtel have started pre-registration for the iPhone 3G on their respective Web sites. However, both companies have said nothing about when the iPhone will be launched. All they've managed to reveal is that it would be coming later this year. Yet, speculation is rife that India can expect the iPhone 3G sometime in September this year.It would be worth mentioning here that while both Vodafone and Airtel are allowing consumers to pre-register for iPhone 3G, the Indian government is yet to finalize matters regarding 3G telephony in the country. Possibly, this is one of the reasons why Vodafone and Airtel are keeping mum on the date of launch.

What's certain is that the iPhone is coming to India. So while most of you wait with bated breath for the famed gizmo, let us take you through some of its main highlights. iPhone 3G marries all of the features of the iPhone plus 3G networking to be touted as "twice as fast as the first-generation iPhone". iPhone 3G also features built-in GPS for expanded location-based mobile services, iPhone 2.0 software with support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, and compatibility with third-party applications built with the iPhone SDK (software development kit).

A new initiative titled "Dial a Post Paid" has been launched by Airtel in Chennai. With "Dial a Post Paid," Airtel intends reaching out to existing prepaid customers as well as other potential customers.

Under this initiative, customers can avail a tariff plan of Rs 400 with local calls charged at 50 paise each, STD calls at Re 1 each, and 800 local SMS at no charge.Those opting for "Dial a Post Paid" will be able to transfer their SIM card memory to their new SIM card at no additional cost. Besides, they will be able to avail the new connection sans any entry deposit for STD or ISD facility. Existing prepaid customers too will be able to migrate to the plan if they so desire.

Rajiv Rajagopal, chief executive officer (Mobile Services - Tamil Nadu) of Bharti Airtel, reportedly said at the launch, "This new launch of 'Dial a Post Paid' is yet another initiative by Airtel to make mobile services easily available to the masses at their doorstep."

Four Asia-Pacific mobile providers - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., Globe Telecom Inc. and SingTel subsidiary Optus Monday - said Monday they have signed an agreement with Apple Inc. to offer the iPhone in their respective markets later this year.
SingTel will sell the multimedia gadget in Singapore, Bharti Airtel Ltd. in India, Globe Telecom Inc. in the Philippines and Optus in Australia, the companies said in a brief joint statement, without giving details.

SingTel owns Optus and holds a 30.5 percent stake in Bharti and 44.5 percent in Globe. As of Dec. 31, 2007, SingTel had about 2.3 million mobile subscribers in Singapore and around 7 million in Australia. Bharti currently has about 64 million subscribers, while Globe reported a 21.3 million mobile subscriber base for the quarter ended March 31.
The announcement comes as Apple looks to expand sales of the iPhone - a combination phone, music player and Web browser - that was launched in the U.S. in 2007.

On Wednesday, America Movil, the top mobile phone operator in Latin America, said it inked a deal to bring the iPhone to more than a dozen countries in that region starting later this year.

Apple has so far signed exclusive deals for the iPhone with AT&T Inc. in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom's Orange wireless arm in France.

The American company has also in the past few weeks signed deals to sell the device in Canada as well as in Italy, while Vodafone Group PLC, the world's biggest mobile company by sales, will sell it in a total of 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey.

Airtel today announced tariff reductions on STD and roaming services for its over 62 million customers. The STD rates have been slashed to Rs 1.50 per minute from the earlier Rs 2.65 per minute; new tariffs will be effective April 30 onwards.

As regards roaming rates, customers will now be able to receive calls while roaming at Re 1 per minute vis-a-vis the earlier Rs 1.75 per minute. Making outgoing local calls while roaming will now cost Re 1 per minute and outgoing STD calls will cost Rs 1.50 per minute.Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Kapoor, president (Mobile Services) of Bharti Airtel, said, "This initiative spells the end of distance for our existing and prospective customers. With 70 percent STD customers in India using less than 5 minutes per month on STD calls and 80 percent mobile customers not using their phones while roaming, we have a compelling customer proposition. I am delighted that we are leading this endeavor, which strengthens our strategic plank of affordability."

Airtel believes the latest reduction in tariffs will help expand its footprint in the rural areas of the country thus helping create an India without boundaries.