Marzouq:
MTC needs to stop expanding and fix its local network.
erulie:
Your up late ..
forzaq8:
They have tried hiring me .. killing me wouldn’t be so bad.
Mark:
It happened.
Я:
I am playing around with it and its not that bad. It doesn’t hold a candle to the e61i tho. PTT is a great service .. Wataniya just needs to advertise it a bit more and drop the prices. The new Nokia bluetooth headsets have a PTT button built in.
slight correction: it’s PTT (push-to-talk)..And unless one of the operators makes it cheap (cheaper than regular voice calls per-min-charge) or introduces a fixed monthly charge for unlimited usage, it won’t be attractive in my pretty humble opinion. It’s also not widely supported on mobile handsets, which requires extra software (java or symbian) to be installed on the phone.. and some of that software is problematic.. so..
ElMoz:
Exclusivity is one thing .. and functionality is another.
Marzouq:
Knowing MTC, They are going to start charging money for calls that aren’t dropped and claim its a value added service.
zeecu:
Fixed .. I shouldn’t comment before 10 am, typos galore. Most of the new nokia phones are supported out of the box. And with every new technology you will have teething issues (remember bluetooth?).
But yeah, with the current prices and customer base .. I wouldn’t bet on it anytime soon.
That’s what I told Wataniya when I had a discussion about PTT. It’s not feasible. For widespread use, they should lower the rates. But then again, it’s all about the money. If PTT was dirt-cheap, users would use it more than the regular phone calls…knowing how the mentality here is like.
Which brings up a question to think about. With the new telco co. starting up this December…you all think prices will decrease significantly?
black berry it wont cost wataniya a dime it will be on a revenue share basis as far as i know
what does it have extra to the W-mail service wataniya already has?
Я:
I actually don’t mind if they keep PTT expensive .. Then we wouldn’t have people screaming on their phones like nextel.
As for the new telco, If number portability is offered (switch carriers with same number), then we will definitely be seeing some very completive prices. If they offered that service now you would have competition between MTC and Wataniya. The only thing holding me back from making the switch is my number.
lfc-q8:
Blackberry is pretty much a profit option .. you get as much as you sell. I haven’t tried the W-mail service; I am sure its a normal email account as opposed to blackberry’s push system (and contant/calendar syncing).
spooner:
I would probably put it at a 6 .. the only reason I would use it is for the blackberry service; Which you can actually use on the e61i. The blackberry’s menu and interface is a bit confusing and ultimately lacking in comparison.
Angelo:
Most people will like the blackberry .. especially those with an addiction to their emails.
K: Never knew that many nokia phones now support PTT. thanks for that, but altho nokia has a large chunk of the consumer handset market (biggest ? dunno), other manufacturers (namely, SE motorola and the PDA manufacturers) have to incorporate PTT as a standard feature of their phones before it’ll be looked at seriously by mobile operators.
on a side note: blame the MOC for not allowing number portability :-[ they want each operator to have a number range (e.g. 9xxxxxx, 6xxxxxx, etc).. and that’s it. they want to segregate.
*ponders the EU and the rules they force mobile operators to follow just to make life easier for consumers/economy better/insert other good thing here*
Я:
I hate corporate numbers .. it gives them an excuse to wake you up in the middle of the night. I think they are working on number portability .. otherwise the new telco is going to have a hard time setting up. You should already have stocks, the company is established with the min7a and all Kuwaitis as shareholders.
zeecu:
More phone operators will add PTT if the market is there .. no one is using it yet (or knows about it). It would be a good service within companies to contact employees (with a fixed rate plan).
Number portability will probably be integrated with the new telephone numbers .. there have been rumors for some time now.
Orange UK had a very attractive plan for PTT, but withdrew it from regular customers and is now offering it to business customers only. Not a good business case? mebbe.
Nokia has a tendency to add emerging technologies just for the heck of it, or more precisely to show they are incorporating the latest mobile technologies.. remember when the first PTT phone came out? a 5xxx series phone that doesn’t break (orange shell).. no operators had PTT at that time. Now? they’re going to release a phone with support for DVB-H (a draft, anyway) while the whole EU is still in the arguing phase to standardize one model of DVB-H. What’s the point Nokia, if it’s probably going to change anyway?
No plans concerning number portability implementation exist this year or first half of 2008 - this is confirmed from the two operators as far as I know
Dude..I didn’t know about that min7a/shareholder thing (yes i had my head in a hole.). But according to a friend he said they are offering more shares this December.
As for calls in the middle of the night, they quit doing that after I let the wife answer their calls.
W-Mail is Wataniya’s branding of the ‘Seven’ push email solution, which works on all headsets that support Java or Symbian, it is not limited to those headsets with a BB client (like the E-series Nokias). There is a giant list of supported devices, just email your friendly Wataniya account rep.
Both provide similar feature set: push email service, calendar sync, contact sync, etc.
The deal with BB is that unless you have a BB client on your device, the only thing you can use with BB is BB devices. So far I only know of Nokia that provides a free BB client on their E-series devices.
What I don’t understand is MTC’s rediculous pricing for BB:
1. 350 KD for the BBES server software
2. 400 KD “installation service” (wtf?!)
3. 7KD per month for the data plan
4. Cost of your BB device
Not to mention the following:
1. You need to provide your own server to host the BBES software
2. You must have Exchange in-house
For my company, it was simply cheaper to activate BB on our outsourced Exchange mailboxes ($11.95 per mailbox). I really hate MTC’s selling tactics — our corporate rep came to the president’s office, started pitching him the BB service. He called me in (I’m the IT Manager) and I basically broke their pitch down; and the rep was left holding his …. pearl in his hand wondering wtf just happened.
Also remember kids, if you have Exchange 2003 or above, you are already getting “free” push email in the form of ActiveSync. Its just a few clicks to get it running.
lfc-Q8:
Sounds interesting .. I wonder why they haven’t advertised it properly, I wasn’t even aware of the service.
Marzouq:
Wait till the third company gets involved.
zeecu:
Exactly .. Nokia will release a new product before fixing the old one. Its customers are stuck with new technology that doesn’t work.
Mini R.:
I believe there is a percentage for each category .. either way there are some big fish targeting the company. I need to get married .. that alone is worth the effort.
Burhan:
I haven’t tried W-Mail .. I am actually surprised they actually offer the service (and it been a year old!). Like you said, BB is too overpriced (by MTC) and getting it setup is even worse. I have Outlook-2007 configured to push activesync emails … works like a charm (especially with RoadSync). I have played around with outsourcing emails (through mail2web), either solution is much more efficient than BB.
The only real benefit of BB is the flat fee for international email retrieval; with activesync/push you still pay for roaming data. However, the cost benefit does not outweigh the shortcomings of MTCs pricing strategy.
Damn, Wataniya also making an investment in the Blackberry!!! MTC hasn’t even gotten a lot of customers yet, this will be one hell of a blow!
lol, ouchie
it wouldn’t be long before one of the telecommunication companies makes hire a hitman to off you
hehe not going to happen for a while good amount of time.
What’re you doing with a blackberry anyway?
Did you know that Wataniya has PTT service and MTC doesn’t?
I want to intro PTT to my co. it’s quite useful. Let’s make a deal Don K.
Marzouq:
MTC needs to stop expanding and fix its local network.
erulie:
Your up late ..
forzaq8:
They have tried hiring me .. killing me wouldn’t be so bad.
Mark:
It happened.
Я:
I am playing around with it and its not that bad. It doesn’t hold a candle to the e61i tho. PTT is a great service .. Wataniya just needs to advertise it a bit more and drop the prices. The new Nokia bluetooth headsets have a PTT button built in.
As I know MTC have a deal with blackberry for one year exclusively!
MTC has an uphill battle at this point, I agree with you 100%
slight correction: it’s PTT (push-to-talk)..And unless one of the operators makes it cheap (cheaper than regular voice calls per-min-charge) or introduces a fixed monthly charge for unlimited usage, it won’t be attractive in my pretty humble opinion. It’s also not widely supported on mobile handsets, which requires extra software (java or symbian) to be installed on the phone.. and some of that software is problematic.. so..
meh.
Like ElMoz said
ElMoz:
Exclusivity is one thing .. and functionality is another.
Marzouq:
Knowing MTC, They are going to start charging money for calls that aren’t dropped and claim its a value added service.
zeecu:
Fixed .. I shouldn’t comment before 10 am, typos galore. Most of the new nokia phones are supported out of the box. And with every new technology you will have teething issues (remember bluetooth?).
But yeah, with the current prices and customer base .. I wouldn’t bet on it anytime soon.
Mark:
MTC-Fanboy ..
That’s what I told Wataniya when I had a discussion about PTT. It’s not feasible. For widespread use, they should lower the rates. But then again, it’s all about the money. If PTT was dirt-cheap, users would use it more than the regular phone calls…knowing how the mentality here is like.
Which brings up a question to think about. With the new telco co. starting up this December…you all think prices will decrease significantly?
Personally, I don’t think so.
black berry it wont cost wataniya a dime it will be on a revenue share basis as far as i know
what does it have extra to the W-mail service wataniya already has?
compared to the e61i where is the blackberry @ on a scale of 1-10?
personally i like mtc but i think they should step it up a notch.
Looks and “feels” cool to me. I think my mom just bought one for herself…better ask her if she likes it or not.
Я:
I actually don’t mind if they keep PTT expensive .. Then we wouldn’t have people screaming on their phones like nextel.
As for the new telco, If number portability is offered (switch carriers with same number), then we will definitely be seeing some very completive prices. If they offered that service now you would have competition between MTC and Wataniya. The only thing holding me back from making the switch is my number.
lfc-q8:
Blackberry is pretty much a profit option .. you get as much as you sell. I haven’t tried the W-mail service; I am sure its a normal email account as opposed to blackberry’s push system (and contant/calendar syncing).
spooner:
I would probably put it at a 6 .. the only reason I would use it is for the blackberry service; Which you can actually use on the e61i. The blackberry’s menu and interface is a bit confusing and ultimately lacking in comparison.
Angelo:
Most people will like the blackberry .. especially those with an addiction to their emails.
K: I don’t own a number yet, I’m a corporate mobile whore. :/
I don’t think portability will be offered, knowing how this country runs. But sure as hell I’m buying their stocks!
K: Never knew that many nokia phones now support PTT. thanks for that, but altho nokia has a large chunk of the consumer handset market (biggest ? dunno), other manufacturers (namely, SE motorola and the PDA manufacturers) have to incorporate PTT as a standard feature of their phones before it’ll be looked at seriously by mobile operators.
on a side note: blame the MOC for not allowing number portability :-[ they want each operator to have a number range (e.g. 9xxxxxx, 6xxxxxx, etc).. and that’s it. they want to segregate.
*ponders the EU and the rules they force mobile operators to follow just to make life easier for consumers/economy better/insert other good thing here*
Я:
I hate corporate numbers .. it gives them an excuse to wake you up in the middle of the night. I think they are working on number portability .. otherwise the new telco is going to have a hard time setting up. You should already have stocks, the company is established with the min7a and all Kuwaitis as shareholders.
zeecu:
More phone operators will add PTT if the market is there .. no one is using it yet (or knows about it). It would be a good service within companies to contact employees (with a fixed rate plan).
Number portability will probably be integrated with the new telephone numbers .. there have been rumors for some time now.
K. no its push email with cal and contact sync and works on every phone its been out for over a year now
MTC out -> Wataniya In.. that is my assessment !
Orange UK had a very attractive plan for PTT, but withdrew it from regular customers and is now offering it to business customers only. Not a good business case? mebbe.
Nokia has a tendency to add emerging technologies just for the heck of it, or more precisely to show they are incorporating the latest mobile technologies.. remember when the first PTT phone came out? a 5xxx series phone that doesn’t break (orange shell).. no operators had PTT at that time. Now? they’re going to release a phone with support for DVB-H (a draft, anyway) while the whole EU is still in the arguing phase to standardize one model of DVB-H. What’s the point Nokia, if it’s probably going to change anyway?
No plans concerning number portability implementation exist this year or first half of 2008 - this is confirmed from the two operators as far as I know
Dude..I didn’t know about that min7a/shareholder thing (yes i had my head in a hole.). But according to a friend he said they are offering more shares this December.
As for calls in the middle of the night, they quit doing that after I let the wife answer their calls.
Differences between W-Mail and BB:
W-Mail is Wataniya’s branding of the ‘Seven’ push email solution, which works on all headsets that support Java or Symbian, it is not limited to those headsets with a BB client (like the E-series Nokias). There is a giant list of supported devices, just email your friendly Wataniya account rep.
Both provide similar feature set: push email service, calendar sync, contact sync, etc.
The deal with BB is that unless you have a BB client on your device, the only thing you can use with BB is BB devices. So far I only know of Nokia that provides a free BB client on their E-series devices.
What I don’t understand is MTC’s rediculous pricing for BB:
1. 350 KD for the BBES server software
2. 400 KD “installation service” (wtf?!)
3. 7KD per month for the data plan
4. Cost of your BB device
Not to mention the following:
1. You need to provide your own server to host the BBES software
2. You must have Exchange in-house
For my company, it was simply cheaper to activate BB on our outsourced Exchange mailboxes ($11.95 per mailbox). I really hate MTC’s selling tactics — our corporate rep came to the president’s office, started pitching him the BB service. He called me in (I’m the IT Manager) and I basically broke their pitch down; and the rep was left holding his …. pearl in his hand wondering wtf just happened.
Also remember kids, if you have Exchange 2003 or above, you are already getting “free” push email in the form of ActiveSync. Its just a few clicks to get it running.
lfc-Q8:
Sounds interesting .. I wonder why they haven’t advertised it properly, I wasn’t even aware of the service.
Marzouq:
Wait till the third company gets involved.
zeecu:
Exactly .. Nokia will release a new product before fixing the old one. Its customers are stuck with new technology that doesn’t work.
Mini R.:
I believe there is a percentage for each category .. either way there are some big fish targeting the company. I need to get married .. that alone is worth the effort.
Burhan:
I haven’t tried W-Mail .. I am actually surprised they actually offer the service (and it been a year old!). Like you said, BB is too overpriced (by MTC) and getting it setup is even worse. I have Outlook-2007 configured to push activesync emails … works like a charm (especially with RoadSync). I have played around with outsourcing emails (through mail2web), either solution is much more efficient than BB.
The only real benefit of BB is the flat fee for international email retrieval; with activesync/push you still pay for roaming data. However, the cost benefit does not outweigh the shortcomings of MTCs pricing strategy.