My Digitized Thoughts - Ramen Mukherjee ...

the purpose of this report is to find the cheap deals on laptop & usb data cards available easily in the market.

1st part, the laptop in ur range of 50,000 INR

u can either go for BRAND name as u liked sony viao .. may i suggest u to buy the finest machine in the world for both private & gaming purpose that is indeed the Macintosh from apple. the macbook, the basic & best laptop for starters from the finest stable of apple [http://www.apple.co.in/store/] starts from 60,900 INR [inclusive of all taxes.u MAY get a student discount if u can show them a letter from ur dean at college bt that’s another story.] it is classy as well sturdy.it has mac os x & also u can install win7 in it as a dual boot option. Its based on robust unix system, as u r finely aware of UNIX's power it will be no hard for u to use that.

or u can go for the VALUE deal with hp Compaq lenovo acer or dell.

in them in comparison or price : performance : quality ratio i will STRONGLY recommend u compaq CQ41 as it is within  44,000 INR [in ur budget ]..it has 4gb ddr3 ram, core i3 2.13 quad core processor, 320 gb sata hdd, 512mb DEDICATED ATI readon hd4320 gpx card,14" HD screen, dvd writer and all other stuff with ORIGINAL win7 home premium & original unlimited use CYBERLINK product. Nice gaming. Plenty power. Its ur call now....it is fully balanced.

u may get almost same configuration in acer bt the quality is very low.also the same is costly in lenovo.bt the package is stable & sturdy also if u go for lenovo u will get a dolby home surround speakers inbuilt means good music with BASS in laptop.

anyways as of dell this company may have a strong reputation worldwide bt it literally SUCKS in customer care in asansol region as i can say.no one come close to hp-compaq.anyways sony has a bad reputation in customer care WORLDWIDE.so choose wisely.

END OF 1st PART

2nd part , The Data Cards

there are two choices CDMA & GSM [obiously !]

quick review-

(a) CDMA

spec : EVDO max speed 3.1 Mbps [megabit per second] & 1x max speed 144Kbps [Kilobit per second]

pros : almost constant speed. less congested.

cons : less availability of network means problem in roaming, less choice of network [only 4 in india] ,no choice of modem's models ,.no after sell value, u cant  change  the connection if u dnt like every now and then [literally u r STUCK with it for lifetime] ,no unlocked modems available, sim cant be changed, both modem's IMEI  as well sim is registered in ur name.

players : TATA, Reliance ,MTS ,virgin [very limited]

(b) GSM

sepc : 3G HSDPA++ max speed 21.1 Mbps ,HSDPA+ max speed 7.2Mbps ,HSDPA 3.6Mbps ,WCDMA 384Kbps

  2G EDGE max speed 284Kbps, GPRS max speed 114.42 Kbps

pros : wide availability ,wide choice of both modem models & connections,changeable ,unlocked modem available [micromax ,huwai ,zte ,beetel etc etc etc], IMEI is    nt registered with ur name so after sell value is high. changeable.

cons : congested sometimes as the algorithm of GSM priorities voice calls first then data, speed isn't constant or dedicated like the wired or cdma or wimax    connections.

players :  3G -> vodafone ,reliance ,airtel ,docomo ,BSNL

2G -> all above plus uninor ,virgin ,idea ,aircel ,t24 ,videocon ,spice ,loop etc etc etc

plan charges for HSD [High Speed Data] [all in prepaid.for postpaid go to the link provided]

(a) CDMA

1>for mts go to -> http://www.mtsindia.in/WestBengal/netonthego.html

very transparent site.clearly stated.cheapest and fastest wireless net in india [award winner !]

device - 1999 [now at 999 in asansol]

2>for tata go to -> http://www.tataphoton.com/tata-photon-plus-prepaid.aspx

device - Rs 2399 + 100

Now get a TATA Photon Plus Prepaid connection at Rs. 2499/-

SUK (Starter Kit) Details

MRP	RS 100
Benefit	Get 1 GB Usage free valid over 30 Days

FRC for Photon Plus Prepaid

FRC IN RS.	BUNDLED FREE USAGE	VALIDITY (IN DAYS)	GRACE PERIOD (IN DAYS)
5	4 GB	30	90
2	Unlimited*	30	90

*post 2GB customer gets unlimited usage at 64Kbps within validity period

Recharge Vouchers

RECHARGE VALUE	USAGE	VALIDITY
300	1 GB (1024 MB)	7 Days
250	250 MB	30 Days
500	650 MB	30 Days
1500	6 GB (6144 MB)	90 Days
2500	10 GB (10240 MB)	90 Days

3>for reliance - http://www.rcom.co.in/Rcom/personal/internet/wireless_internet.html

device - 2299

Pack	Price	Validity
Broadband+  300MB Pack	Rs. 250/-	30 Days
Broadband+  700MB Pack	Rs. 500/-	30 Days
Broadband+  1GB Pack	Rs. 715/-	30 Days
Broadband+  3GB Pack	Rs. 935/-	30 Days
Broadband+  5GB Pack	Rs. 1,210/-	30 Days
Broadband+  10GB Pack	Rs. 1,379/-	30 Days
Broadband+  15GB Pack	Rs. 1,925/-	30 Days
Broadband+  1GB Pack	Rs. 200/-	1 week
Broadband+  6GB Pack	Rs. 1500/-	3 months
Broadband+  18GB Pack	Rs. 3,000/-	6 months

*Additional usage @Rs.1per MB

4> virgin CDMA -> no information.maybe its closed.

(b) GSM [as we are talking abt HSD so 2g data plan here is ommited]

*as 3g is just a new thing on the market so details can be changed anytime.

1> vodafone -> http://www.vodafone.in/internet/pages/3gusbstick_hyd.aspx?cid=hyd

device - 1600

tariff - no details YET

2> docomo -> http://www.tatadocomo.com/3g-e-stick.aspx

*device - 2600

MRP (Rs.)	Data	Peak Speed (Mbps)	Data at Peak Speed	Validity (Days)
1000	Unlimited	3.6	5 GB	30
1250	Unlimited	3.6	10 GB	30
1275	Unlimited	7.2	5 GB	30
1500	Unlimited	7.2	10 GB	30

Post peak data usage, enjoy free data at speeds upto 128Kbps.

MRP (Rs.)	Speed (Mbps)	Data
500	3.6	650 MB
750	3.6	2 GB

· Post data usage limit, browse@1p/20KB.

· Validity 30 days.

· All mentioned speeds will depend on multiple factors - like time of the day, number of simultaneous users, website accessed, geographical region and climatic conditions, etc.

· All speeds to be measured till first point of aggregation as per TRAI guidelines.

· Voice and Video Calling is not available with these plans.

3>BSNL -> http://bsnl.co.in/service/3G/3G_files/3g.htm

*bsnl website isnt maintained properly and its very confusing too so dnt believe the website  lolzz.contact nearest telephone exchange or call 1500 from ur landline.

device -> no fixed device.u have to buy third party unlocked modems.

UNLOCKED modems-

1 . micromax -> http://www.micromaxinfo.com/product_categories.php?cat=Data_Cards

*model 310G is selling like hot cakes here priced at 2500.for other's price mail them.

*i suggest 351G its 7.2Mbps better for u.or get a mobile phone.nokia c5 [http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_c5-3122.php] is the cheapest mobile u can buy for fastest speed of 10.2Mbps MAX 3g speed.no usb card is providing that speed.

2. huwai -> NO IDEA !! *contact local BSNL exchange they will tell as huwai is the official USB modem of BSNL nationwide

3. beetel -> http://www.beetel.in/for-me/it-business/it-distribution/data-cards

* for price mail them and be sure.i m nt sure of their price.no one is !!

for 2g

reliance ,airtel ,vodafone ,aircel -> 98rs - 2gb - 30days
uninor -> 90rs - 6gb - 30days

virgin -> 44rs - 2gb -30days

docomo -> 48rs - 2gb - 30days

bsnl -> 175rs - UNLIMITED - 30days **it is by far the BEST service compared to all 2g service & fastest.

videocon ,t24 -> DATA NOT AVAILABLE

***there is a trick by which u can recharge with 2g scheme and get 3g UNLIMITED speed.bt thats out of topic in this report.

Recommendation & prediction-

look if u want a cheap net connection RIGHT NOW then go for MTS.bt remember there is no turning back or else u have to pay again for all connection and ur old connection become useless.so my recommendation is let the 3G war begin.then buy any UNLOCKED modem [or phone maybe like nokia c5 (its cheapest & HSD 10.2Mbps)] then use 3G HSD SIM cards as u use & change mobile/data cards & connections now a days.

if u ask me then i will tell u that dnt go for CDMA now.as the 2 out of 4 cdma players [tata & reliance] in concentrating more on their 3G gsm counter parts (reliance mobile & docomo) than CDMA, the chances of increasing the speed & efficiency of current CDMA HSD [of 3.1Mbps] is very low.where if u go for GSM HSD then the speed can be as fast as 21.1Mbps.so if u want heavy speed, features, versatibility then u HAVE to go to GSM 3G.