Can mobile phones authenticate your identity?

Move over passport and PAN card! Now the mobile phone will be used to verify your credentials, for authentication at banks, gas connection centres or while providing rural jobs, Unique Identification Authority chief Nandan Nilekani said Saturday.

"Our project will provide a unique identification (UID) number not a card. The authentication will be made by using mobile phones," Nilekani said.

"Once the numbers are issued, we will go for online authentication. Lets say, you are asking for a job under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). The authorities will send your number to the designated points through mobile. A message will be returned saying 'Yes' or 'No'," Nilekani said.

"This will verify whether you are the person you are claiming to be," the former Infosys managing director said, delivering the Foundation Day lecture of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

"This will not require much details to be divulged. It will help provide portability to our farmers, labourers. When they move from state to state, this UID will help them get employment without hassles."

He said banks, mobile service providers, LPG gas connection counters and many more partner organisations can use this UID to verify their customer. "With the growing mobile phone network, this will become an easy process for authorities to verify people."

"It will cut down the fake or duplicate records. This will enhance the efficiency of flagship programmes like NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) and other such projects," Nilekani stressed.

He said his team will roll out the first batch of UIDs in the next 12 to 18 months. "In five years from now, we will issue at least 600 million UIDs," Nilekani said, terming it a Herculean task and a major challenge.

Agencies

Japanese cos NEC, Hitachi, Casio to merge for mobile operations

Japan's NEC Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Casio Computer Co are in talks to merge their struggling mobile phone manufacturing operations to create Japan's No 2 handset maker, the Yomiuri daily reported on Friday.

Loss-making NEC could hive off its mobile operations and merge it with an existing joint venture between Hitachi and Casio to together develop handsets, or the three could merge their mobile phone production operations, the newspaper said without citing sources.

NEC would be likely to hold a majority of the new firm, it said. The three are struggling in Japan's saturated cellphone market and mounting development costs, said to be about 10 billion yen ($107 million) per handset. In the year ended in March, Sharp Corp controlled over one-fifth of Japan's handset market, followed by Panasonic Corp.

Agencies

Nokia’s recycling campaign in India

Nokia will be launching its ‘Take Back’ campaign from Thursday (January 1) encouraging mobile phone users to dispose of their used handsets and accessories, regardless of the brand, at any of the recycling bins set up across Nokia priority dealers and Nokia care centres. For each handset dropped into recycling bins, Nokia will be planting a tree, besides giving gifts to people participating in its campaign.

As part of its initiative to educate mobile phone users on the importance of recycling of e-waste, India’s top mobile phone seller will begin the initiative from Delhi and then gradually roll out the programme in phases across the country. “We have laid out a robust recycling infrastructure across the country with over 1,300 recycling bins installed at our centre across India. We work with qualified recyclers around the world to ensure proper end-of-life treatment of used devices,” said Nokia India Vice-President and Managing Director D. Shivakumar.

The ‘Take back’ campaign aims to increase awareness of the concept of recycling.

Source: Agencies

Mobile phone sales set to slide in 2009!

An IDC report Says the impact of economic crisis on mobile phone market may not continue past 2009.

Technology research firm IDC said in a report that the global mobile phone sales are set to slide for the first time since 2001 as a result of the global economic crisis.

The report forecasts that total mobile phone volumes would be 1.9 per cent lower in 2009 than the 2008 levels, said a press release.

In 2001, the shipments had declined 2.3 per cent. Over the past several years, the mobile phone market has enjoyed double-digit annual growth due to an increased emphasis on emerging markets.

However, emerging market growth has been steadily slowing as these markets mature, the release said. IDC now expects worldwide growth to be just 7.1 per cent in 2008 before slipping into negative growth in 2009.

A number of major industry players, including component suppliers, handset makers, and operators have announced their concerns about handset volumes in 2009.

Most have indicated that they expect a year-over-year decrease due to the flagging global economy, the release added.

The report stated that it did not expect the downturn to continue past 2009, with the market in 2010 showing signs of revival as the economic recovery takes effect. "Converged mobile devices remain a much sought-after option for many consumers," noted Ramon Llamas, senior analyst, Mobile Devices Technology and Trends.

He added that users have come to realize what these devices can do beyond voice telephony, especially when it comes to running applications. In response, handset vendors have been building the product and applications portfolios to catch this wave of opportunity.