Android or Windows 8 Tablets??

I’m looking for a good 7in or 8in tablet, and I don’t know what to do. It doesn't have to have a super-duper HD retina display or Dolby sound. I use it mainly for Microsoft Exchange email, browsing, watching the occasional BBC video or live news etc, and running a few apps. I’m not a gamer.

Currently, I’m using a Kindle Fire to fill the gap, but it’s very limited both in terms of capabilities (what can be installed) and grunt.

I have bought four Android tablets -- a Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 (Wi-Fi/3g) in 2011 and three Google Nexus 7 tablets, including new and old models -- and they have all had problems. This year I tried another 2012 Nexus 7. All was well for a few days until Android updated to KitKat (4.4.2 KOT49H), when I started having exactly the same touch screen problems as I had had with both 2013 units. Having frequently suffered from things being broken by Android updates, this has just made me sick of Android.

I thought perhaps of a Windows 8 (not RT) tablet. I like the idea of being able to run some of my desktop software on a tablet, but they are just too expensive.

I also did something I thought I’d never do -- consider an Apple device -- so I’ve been reading up on the iPad Mini. The old model is now going for around £215, and I don’t really want to go too much higher. However, I’m not a fan of the Apple “closed” system or having iTunes installed: years ago it completely trashed my PC. Also, when I tried an iPad Mini, the video clips on the BBC News website wouldn't play. The sales assistant told me the only way to watch BBC videos was by using the BBC News app, which curiously didn't work.

I’m tempted to suggest a BlackBerry tablet as that may be the only one you haven’t tried, and they are very cheap. However, the fact is that Android is the only real choice in the cheap tablet market (£50-£200) apart from Amazon’s Kindle Fire, and you already have one of those. Also, it’s not much of an alternative in the sense that it uses a forked version of the open source part of Android, without the proprietary Google layer that provides access to Google Play etc.

When it comes to choosing between an Apple iPad and a Windows 8 tablet, they are different beasts with different capabilities. You’d usually choose an iPad to get access to the vast selection of high-quality apps, which have actually been designed for tablets rather than phones. You’d usually choose a Windows 8 tablet because it provides access to the vast selection of Windows programs. The Windows Store now has about 240,000 tablet apps and covers most needs, but it’s still nowhere near the iPad’s ecosystem.

I don’t think there’s actually much difference in terms of ease of use in tablet mode, once you have learned the specific edge-swipes that do special things in the Metro-sorry-modern interface. (If you won’t learn those, you have no chance.) Most of the complaints about Windows 8 have been about using the tablet interface to access desktop features, and Microsoft is in the process of fixing those.

I’ve been using a Haswell-powered Surface Pro 2 on loan from Microsoft, and while it has many improvements over the first version, the experience hasn’t really changed the views I expressed when I reviewed it here (Microsoft Surface Pro review: a device of many talents). It’s amazingly versatile. For example, you can use it as a desktop with full size keyboard and monitor -- or several monitors -- and its Wacom-style pen-operated graphics make it exceptionally good value for creative types. It also makes life simpler when you can do PC-level photo and video editing then switch to tablet-style viewing on the same machine. It’s dramatically cheaper than buying a desktop, an Ultrabook, a graphics tablet, and a tablet. On the other hand, it’s not the optimum choice for any particular function, and if you don’t need all the features, it’s an expensive option.

It’s true that Windows 8 tablet hybrids can cost from about £350 to over £1,000, but new tablets with 8in screens are very much cheaper, and prices now start at about £250. (Or, for American buyers, about $250.) They can still do all the good stuff, such as supporting multiple monitors, though usually without the high-resolution digitising pen input. The obvious drawback is that an 8in screen is very small for running desktop programs, especially if you don’t know them well enough to use keyboard shortcuts.

The cost savings come from the smaller screen sizes and the use of 32-bit Intel Atom chips with 2GB of memory. However, the new Bay Trail chips are dramatically better than the old Atoms used in netbooks. For example, the Z3770 is roughly as fast as an Intel Celeron 1007U or a low-voltage Core i3-4010Y, and ahead of old staples such as the second-gen Core i3-2375M. Of course, the extra efficiency of Windows 8 helps as well.

Cheaper Windows?

There may be further price reductions to come, both through economies of scale -- production is still ramping up -- and because Microsoft might cut the price of Windows 8 on ultra low cost PCs.

You may know that netbooks were cheap partly because Microsoft offered manufacturers a special version of Windows XP called Home Edition ULCPC for “ultra low cost personal computers”. The rumoured price was closer to $15 than the usual $45, but it was basically free money for Microsoft -- XP had reached the end of its very profitable life -- and netbook manufacturers preferred it to free Linux. Today, the competition is with free Android, and Microsoft is willing to cut the price because it wants to sell more copies of Windows 8. (And it needs to sell more Windows 8 tablets to encourage developers to write more apps for the Windows Store.)

Anyway, on February 22, Bloomberg reported: “Manufacturers will be charged $15 to license Windows 8.1 and preinstall it on devices that retail for less than $250, instead of the usual fee of $50, said the people, who asked not to be named because the details aren’t public. The discount will apply to any products that meet the price limit, with no restrictions on the size or type of device, the people said.”

Currently there are exactly zero Windows 8.1 devices designed to retail for less than $250 (though you might get one in a sale), so if the story is true, Microsoft is trying to penetrate a part of the market that now goes by default to Android devices and low-end Chromebooks in the $199.99 to $249.99 price range.

Windows 8 mini-tablets

If you fancy trying an 8in Windows 8 tablet, there are several to choose from. The notable ones include the Dell Venue 8 Pro, Toshiba Encore, Acer Iconia W4, Lenovo MiiX 2 and Asus VivoTab Note 8.

The cheapest I can see at the moment is a Toshiba Encore 8 with 32GB of storage on sale (£50 off) for £199.99 at PC World. This has micro-USB and micro HDMI ports so you could plug it into a monitor or TV set, and apparently includes £100-worth of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013. This is the same price as a Nexus 7 and cheaper than your discounted iPad Mini, without even counting the extra cost of Apple cables.

The rule of thumb is that 32GB on Windows tablets is equivalent to 16GB on Android and iPad tablets, but you can improve on that using tips from this Guide to Maximizing Disk Space on your Dell Venue 8 Pro (or other Windows 8.1 system). The standard tricks include copying off the Recovery platform, which saves 5GB or 6GB, and mounting a fast 64GB SD card as Permanent Storage.

I have nothing against the iPad Mini: when I had one on loan from Apple, I liked it a lot and gave it a five-star review. It played BBC videos perfectly, and colours looked more naturalistic than they did on a Kindle Fire. Also, if you want access to the iPad ecosystem, it’s the cheapest option. However, a Windows tablet will do the tablety things you need, and it will enable you to RDP into your desktop PC, and stream videos via an Xbox, if you have one. It will also run Adobe Flash and standard desktop PC software using a PC or wireless Bluetooth keyboard. And you won’t be forced to install iTunes.

Microsoft Surface Pro review: a device of many talents

Microsoft created a stir when it unveiled its first two tablets – Surface RT and Surface Pro – at a mystery press conference in Los Angeles on 19 June last year. Indeed, it was something of a shock, because for the first time, Microsoft was competing against its biggest customers: Windows PC suppliers such as Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba.

The good news is that the Surface Pro is finally being released in the UK – it went on sale at midnight on Thursday. The bad news is that 11 months on, it's the same Surface Pro. My guess is that Microsoft is following Apple in trying to sell products on their capabilities and style, rather than the usual tech specs and discounted prices. This could be tough at a time when the free Windows 8.1 "Blue" update and Intel's next generation of Core processors, codenamed Haswell, are just coming into view.

The Surface Pro is a 2lb (903g) hybrid PC (the Surface RT is 676g) that appeals in four different ways:

• Surface Pro is a tablet designed to work with Windows 8's touch-first user interface and new-style apps, which are downloaded from the Windows Store. In this respect, its responsiveness is a big improvement over the Samsung slate that software developers and many journalists used during the Windows 8 beta test.

• Surface Pro is a full-scale Windows PC with an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of memory, and 64GB or 128GB solid-state drive (SSD). Add a Touch or Type keyboard cover, flip out the kickstand and you have the equivalent of an Ultrabook, though it's a bit tricky to balance on your knees.

• Surface Pro is a slate that comes with a digitising pen that you can use for on-screen drawing, handwriting recognition, filling in forms and so on. There has been a small but steady market for slates for commercial, industrial and health industry applications since the GRiDPad arrived, running Microsoft MS-DOS for Pen Computing, way back in 1989.

• Surface Pro is tough, thanks to its unique VaporMg construction. Microsoft dropped a Surface onto the floor during its launch and Steve Sinofsky, former head of Windows, added wheels and used one as a skateboard. It's an obvious choice for field workers, police and even military applications. Some companies are already buying. For example, if you've had OpenReach broadband technicians visiting your home or office with Panasonic ToughBooks running Windows XP, you can expect to see them using Microsoft Surfaces instead.

There are some benefits to the four-in-one design, and some drawbacks, so you will have to decide whether a Surface Pro matches your needs as well as your pocket.

The benefits: if you are mostly mobile, if you can do much of your work using commercial or in-house Windows 8 apps, and if you need a tablet that works with – in Microsoft's phrase – "your existing enterprise management infrastructure" (including Active Directory), then the Surface Pro is a very attractive product. If you need a robust machine, albeit one that's not fully sealed, it's cheap compared to the phones and PDAs sold for industrial use.

Also, if you want to switch between full PC power and tablet convenience without moving files between devices, the Surface Pro does that well. It's great for running Adobe Lightroom as a desktop program before viewing photos using tablet apps.

The drawbacks: if you want a PC to run traditional Windows XP/7 programs, and if you do most of your work with a keyboard, then it's not a good choice. A Surface Pro will do the job, but an Ultrabook or traditional laptop would be better value. Also, if your tablet requirements can be satisfied by a small, cheap Google Android or similar device, then the Surface Pro is a bigger, heavier, and much more expensive option. If you want a 15.6in laptop and a 7in tablet, the Surface Pro falls awkwardly between the two.

Hardware features

At first glance, the Surface Pro looks exactly like the ARM-based Surface RT, which is already on sale in the UK, and it takes the same Touch and Type keyboard covers. Up close, however, you notice it's thicker (13.5mm v 9.3mm) and heavier (903g v 676g). The giveaway is a thin vent that goes round the outside of the case to allow heat from the Core i5 to escape.

The left edge of the Surface Pro has a single USB 3.0 port, a rocker switch for volume control, and an audio jack. The right edge has a microSD card slot, a Mini DisplayPort, and a magnetic socket that connects to a charger and doubles as a holder for the digitising pen. The top edge has a tiny on/off button, while the bottom edge has magnetic connectors to snap in the keyboard covers.

The front of the Surface Pro has a 720p HD webcam above the 10-point multi-touch screen and a Windows Start button below it. The back has another webcam and a kickstand, which hides various bits of labelling. The 48-watt battery is sealed inside. Other features include an ambient light sensor, an accelerometer and a gyroscope. The small power supply has an extra 5W USB port so you can charge another device at the same time.

For a tablet, the Surface Pro has an impressive range of connections. For a Windows laptop, it's minimalist, though it's similar to some Ultrabooks. It is missing an RJ45 Ethernet port for a wired internetconnection, one or two USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, a full SD card slot, and a SIM slot for a 3G or 4G mobile connection. If you want to use it with a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor, you may want to buy a USB 3.0 dock as an extender, though you could also use the Mini DisplayPort for the screen and buy a Bluetooth keyboard.

I transferred files from SD cards using a small USB converter (£1 from a handy Poundland). If I owned a Surface Pro, I'd probably buy a large microSD card to bump up the built-in storage.

Although it's glossy and not very big, the 10.6in ClearType 16:9 widescreen is one of the best things about the Surface Pro. It's very sharp, has great blacks, and a Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. In tablet format, it's great for catch-up TV using the BBC's iPlayer in the IE10 browser.

Software and services

As you'd expect, the Surface Pro comes with Windows 8 pre-installed, and this works beautifully in tablet mode. The experience is better than smartphones (which use Windows Phone, of course) and other tablets I've tried, including the Surface RT. Given that it's running on a Core i5 with 4GB of memory, of course, it should be.

Unlike most tablets, you can run two apps snapped together on the same screen, so you can run Twitter alongside a streaming video, for example. Also unlike most tablets, you can give your spouse and or parents/children their own guest accounts, and they can have touch-based picture log-ins to avoid typing.

With normal Windows XP/7 programs, the performance is smooth but not noticeably better than you'd expect.

The Surface Pro scores 5.6 on the open-ended Windows Experience Index, where the limitation is the Core i5's built-in Intel HD4000 graphics. Otherwise, the processor scores 6.9, the memory 5.9, and the solid-state drive (SSD) 8.1. The gaming graphics score of 6.4 suggests it will run some serious games, though not to the level of a typical PC gaming rig. It's more than good enough for Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and similar game apps downloaded from the Windows Store.

Although there's no crapware, the Surface Pro does come with a number of preinstalled Microsoft apps. These include Skype, SkyDrive, Mail, Maps, Weather, Photos, and Bing apps for News, Sport, Travel and Finance. The Bing apps are excellent, and really show the value of devoting the full screen area to content. Microsoft also offers a free Fresh Paint app for download, though Microsoft Paint is still provided as a desktop program. The free Microsoft Office OneNote app is also worth having.

The Photo app can consolidate photos from the picture library on the Surface Pro, and from SkyDrive, Facebook and Flickr.

The Live Tiles for Games, Music and Video are fronts for Xbox Live services, and should appeal to people who use the same services on an Xbox games console or Windows Phone smartphone. If you're doing something on one device, you can pick it up and continue on another.

Storage furore

When the Surface tablets appeared, there was a minor furore over the amount of free storage, compounded by the fact that drive manufacturers use decimal instead of binary counting. Your 500GB (billion byte) hard drive, for example, only holds 465.65GB of actual files (counting 1KB = 1024 byte, 1MB = 1024KB, and so on).

My loan Surface Pro machine had a 128GB Samsung SSD which provided 110.7GB of user storage space, of which 85GB (76%) was free. There were three hidden partitions: 200MB for the EUFI secure boot system, and two recovery partitions taking up 7.62GB and 600MB. These enable users to refresh or restore the operating system if they run into problems.

Storage isn't a problem with the 128GB version, but anyone buying a 64GB Surface Pro should be aware that only about 25GB (or less) will be available for storing files, and they may need to use removable microSD cards. With the growing use of network-attached servers (NAS) and cloud storage, it shouldn't be a major problem. For IT departments, Windows 8 supports storage pools with thin provisioning, like Windows Server 2012.

Some observations….

The Surface Pro shows an impressive attention to detail, and works really well as a portable PC and an armchair tablet. It's not perfect, of course, and some things could be improved.

Screen: combine high resolution with a small screen, and Windows features can look tiny. The Surface Pro ships with 150% scaling pre-set, which is mostly OK as long as Windows programs scale correctly; not all of them do. Incidentally, the screen has a pixel density of 208ppi, which is a "retina screen" at a viewing distance of 17 inches (43cm).

Pen: the digitising pen turned out to be much more useful than I expected. You can capture your handwriting and annotate documents in OneNote (as you could in Windows XP Tablet Edition a decade ago), and this is a great feature for meetings and jotting things down in front of the TV set. The pen also comes in useful as a mouse substitute when dealing with tiny icons in Windows desktop programs. But it would be nice if the pen fitted inside the Surface Pro rather than attaching via the magnets provided for recharging.

Battery life: I normally use a long-life laptop that nominally provides 12 hours of battery life. As this gives about eight hours of real usage, I was somewhat apprehensive about the Surface Pro's five-hour battery life. In fact, I always got at least five hours of word processing and web browsing with Wi-Fi on, a bright screen and a balanced (rather than battery-saving) power scheme. This was enough for most purposes, but you may need to pack the charger.

Instant on: Windows PCs have usually been laggards at opening and closing down, but the Surface Pro's fast start system works well enough for tablet use. Waking it up first thing in the morning takes about six or eight seconds. After that, it appears to turn off instantly (the screen blanks), and it turns on in about two seconds. It takes longer than that to type in a password, which is why I set up picture passwords with quick taps.

Apps: Being new, the Windows Store doesn't have as many apps as the Apple and Google Android stores. Still, the selection includes Netflix, 4oD, TuneIn Radio, Shazam, Dropbox, Evernote Touch, Adobe Reader Touch and almost 150,000 more. Of course, where apps are missing, you can load IE10 and go to the website using the full power of a PC.

Kickstand: this works if you have a table or other flat surface, though I stopped trying to use it on my knees: for quick access you just lay the screen flat and have the keyboard at an angle. The drawback with the kickstand is that, on a table, the screen angle is fixed. The advantage is that the front- and rear-facing cameras are then aligned correctly, but I often wanted the screen tilted further back. The workaround is to prop up the front with a book, or whatever. The kickstand wins for simplicity and portability, but it loses on adjustability.

Keyboard covers: almost everyone will buy a flat Touch or keyboard-style Type cover to go with their Surface Pro, at considerable extra cost (£99.99 or £109.99). I didn't like the Touch cover, but the Type cover is surprisingly good. When I tried some online typing tests, my score was an insignificant 1 character per second higher than on my desktop PC. Having grown up with typewriters, I prefer big clicky keys, but the Type cover does the job better than expected. Also, attaching and removing the keyboard is almost instant and you can do it with your eyes shut.

Processors and prices

The Surface Pro's estimated UK prices are £719 for the model with a 64GTB SSD and £799 for 128GB; that's without the £100 keyboard covers. This compares with £849 and £929 for the equivalent Apple MacBook Air models, which don't have touch screens, don't support digitising pens, and don't run iPad apps.

I'd like to see a cheaper Surface Pro that uses a slower Intel chip such as a Core i3 or even an Intel Atom, but then it wouldn't be such a prestige product. I don't see a way round that conundrum.

Either way, the Surface Pro should become faster and possibly cheaper later this year, when Intel launches the fourth-generation Haswell chips designed specifically for Ultrabooks. Haswell promises improved battery life and about twice the graphics performance of the current Ivy Bridge generation. Intel will start with high-end Core i7 chips, perhaps at the Computex trade show in Taiwan in early June, but the low-power versions may not arrive much before Christmas.

It's a good schedule for companies testing a few Surface Pros before ordering hundreds, but not so good for geeks who want the latest and greatest.

Microsoft could sweeten the pot by throwing in a free copy of Microsoft Office, as it does with Surface RT. Otherwise, as mentioned above, value for money depends on what you want to do with your Surface Pro. If you want an Ultrabook, a tablet, and a slate where you can draw on the screen, it's good value. If you just want a Windows 7 laptop, it's not.

The New Microsoft

One thing that's noticeable with the Surface Pro is that it's just as much of a Microsoft device as a MacBook is an Apple device, or even more so. To really exploit the system, it's best to sign in with a Microsoft account on Outlook.com or Office365 and use Microsoft's powerful cloud-based ecosystem. This includes free Microsoft Office programs in SkyDrive. The cloud also stores your settings so you can have your own Windows 8 set-up by logging into any Windows 8 PC.

With Xbox Live music, movies and games services, and apps such as SmartGlass, the ecosystem extends beyond the PC to Windows Phone 8 smartphones and the forthcoming Xbox One entertainment system, which has added some Windows 8 features. Microsoft is now close to delivering a complete ecosystem as envisaged by Ray Ozzie with the mantra of"three screens and a cloud". (The three screens are the PC, TV and smartphone; the cloud is Azure, hosting a wide range of subscription services.)

Ozzie was Microsoft's Chief Software Architect from June 2006 to December 2010, which gives you some idea of how long ago the project started, and how long it will take to bring to fruition. Win or bust, it's a full-blown attempt to transform the company. 
Microsoft no longer thinks of itself as a software company: it's now a "a devices and services company", like Apple. A Surface Pro running Windows 8 is not just another PC, it's concrete evidence that Microsoft has shifted to what CEO Steve Ballmer calls "a new computing paradigm".

Pros: A light, fast, laptop in a tablet format. Great multi-touch screen with pen input. Well made. Good value if you want a hybrid tablet PC.

Cons: Compromises on size: it's small and light for a PC but big and heavy for a tablet. Sealed unit: it can't be expanded. Expensive if you don't need the features.

wi-tribe Unites Global Giants to Revolutionize Pakistan’s Tech Industry

We told you earlier about wi-tribe Bazaar, a first of its kind software buy-sell portal for local 

market, where local developers can submit their web/mobile applications and games to grab revenues through sale of apps.

Taking its commitment further towards local software development, wi-tribe has gone a step ahead with the announcement of Pakistan Developers’ Challenge 2012 (PDC 2012); bringing together the greatest young minds of Pakistan onto one, single pioneering platform.

Sure this is a an effort to be appreciated as wi-tribe has offered a platform where Pakistani developers can sell and monetize their software, bringing together the local communities, with local content, on a simple and easy-to-use platform.

Bringing together academia and global technology industry giants – HEC, Microsoft, Intel, P@SHA and Dell – the PDC 2012 invites students, graduates, aspiring developers, professionals and virtually anyone in the development community to be part of the contest.

wi-tribe Bazaar supports both Windows Desktop and various Mobile app platforms, in recognition of the opportunity that a local market of 22 million internet users has to offer.

Talking about PDC2012, Mustafa Peracha, CEO, wi-tribe Pakistan said, “wi-tribe Bazaar is our effort to support and encourage the local IT industry and software developers in particular. For us, Bazaar is a forum for and by Pakistani software developers. At wi-tribe, we are only acting as a catalyst by providing the platform. Feeling strongly about the potential this platform offers towards the growth of the local IT industry, we expect great things to come out of the Pakistan Developers’ Challenge 2012. PDC 2012 seeks to offer a rewarding opportunity to Pakistan’s flourishing developers’ community, ushering in a new era of commercial viability for Pakistan’s technology industry.”

wi-tribe Bazaar is powered by scratch cards, allowing software purchase through wi-tribe scratch cards, available at over 700 locations throughout its cities of operations. Software applications can be priced to match multiple denominations of wi-tribe scratch cards, at the developers’ discretion. wi-tribe Bazaar also offers hundreds of free applications, supporting developers in building and reaching a larger, previously untapped market. wi-tribe Bazaar is not exclusive to wi-tribe customers. Instead, it is open to developers nationwide, be it students, graduates, young professionals or businesses.

Participating contestants are challenged to win from 17 award categories, while also gaining from numerous other career boosting opportunities

Average Internet Connection Speed in Pakistan Stands at 741 Kbps

Average connection speed for internet in Pakistan for both broadband and narrowband connections stood at 741 kbps in fourth quarter 2011, slightly down from 763 kbps in third quarter 2011.

According to stats revealed by Akamai in its ‘state of the internet’ report for fourth quarter 2011, 1.2 million unique IPs from Pakistan averaged 741 kbps data rates during the quarter. On another front average peak connection speed was recorded at 5,286 kbps for all the broadband users in Pakistan.

Average Connection Speed in Pakistan

Average Peak Connection Speed in Pakistan

Akamai said that stats are derived from the data gathered from all around the globe through Akamai Intelligent Platform.

Akamai report suggested that broadband adaption rate (for connections above 2 Mbps) in Pakistan was 0.8 percent, lowest since third quarter 2010. At the same time, narrowband adaption rate is on a consistent decline showing that dial-up customer base is shifting towards broadband internet.

Broadband (over 2 Mbps) Adaption Rate

Narrowband (dialup with less than 256 kbps) Adaption Rate

PTCL EVO Plays the GB Card, Offers New Packages

PTCL has played its long kept GB card for its EVO services. To give the WiMAX service providers a tough time, PTCL EVO now comes at decreased rates with monthly limit of 5 and 10 GB (in addition to a package that offers unlimited downloads with 3.1 mbps and 256 kbps speeds).

These packages are especially suitable for those who want to retain EVO services for mobility while they are on the go but will use DSL/Fiber/Other broadband services while at home or office.

This way they can get a handy and inexpensive internet solution while on the go or even as a backup broadband service when their primary internet connection gets lousy.

Check below new EVO Packages:

Packages	Monthly Charges	Volume	Additional Usage / Mb
DayPass	Rs. 100/day	24 (consecutive hours) Fair Usage Policy Applies*	-
GO	Rs. 899	5 GB	Rs. 0.10/Mb
LITE	Rs. 1199	10 GB	Rs. 0.10/Mb
Max	Rs. 1999	Unlimited	-
256Kbps Prepaid	Rs. 1199	Unlimited	-

*Fair Usage Policy is applicable at 1GB/day for Daypass.

EVO 3.1Mbps Postpay

Billing Options	Monthly
PTCL Landline Billing	Rs.2000	Billed in PTCL Landline bill
Advance Line Rental package	Rs.2000	Advance payment at PTCL OSS, designated bank or using any smart recharge method.

EVO 256Kbps Packages

Billing Options	Monthly
PTCL Landline Billing	Rs.1199	Billed in PTCL Landline bill
Advance Line Rental package	Rs.1199	Advance payment at PTCL OSS, designated bank or using any smart recharge method.

Note:

• Flexible recharge options to suit your needs & your pocket
• Daily usage of Rs. 100/day for DayPass, with 24hours consecutive usage.
• Volume buckets of 5GB and 10GB respectively for GO and Lite packages with 30 days validity.
• The Biggest Volume Boost ever for any prepaid package offering 5 times additional volume for no additional cost for 2GBLite.
• Most economical additional volume rates within 30 days of only 10 paisa/MB after consumption of volume buckets.
• Unlimited downloads with EVO Max at 3.1 Mbps and 256 Kbps Unlimited with 30 days validity.
• Truly Unlimited downloads with EVO Max & 256Kbps prepaid packages
• Prepaid Packages with 30days validity.
• PTCL EVO covers more than 180 cities countrywide.

How to Avail New Packages:

Existing subscribers can opt-in for new packages either through a call or an email; for package change and subscriptions please

• Call 1236
• or Visit any PTCL OSS
• or Email evosupport.packages@ptcl.net.pk

PTA Asks PTCL to Revert Pakistan Package

While PTCL was busy celebrating its 1st million broadband customers, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has directed the company to revert back its Pakistan Package to the terms and conditions that existed prior to 1st April 2011 with an advance notice of at least seven days to all relevant subscribers as required under the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations, 2009.

In an enforcement order sent to PTCL, the authority said that due to the powers it bears (delegated by Telecom Act) to regulate the competition in the market, PTCL was reminded time and again (through various letters dated 6th December, 2007, 18th Jan, 2011 and 1st Feb 2011) to seek prior approval from authority before launching/announcing any promotion or traffic package and submit complete detail of such packages at least ten days in advance.

However, despite Authority’s direction PTCL introduced and implemented tariff package forPakistan Package on 17th  March, 2011 without authority’s approval.

Letter said that PTCL was sent a show cause notice for launching Pakistan Package without notifying authority. PTCL was given a chance to reply the Show Cause Notice and then it was heard in meeting too, but PTA was contented to call the introduction of Pakistan Package by PTCL not according to procedures as mentioned in the law.

It is interesting to mention here that PTCL has revised Pakistan Package several times since March 2011 – the above case in point. The latest revision happened on May 3rd, 2012.

PTA probably needs to resolve issues lot faster than they do it now.

Telenor Wins Two PAS Awards in Two Different Categories

Telenor has outshined in Pakistan Advertisers Society (PAS) Awards – country’s premiere advertising awards – by winning two titles in two different categories.

Wateen and Nokia also bagged PAS Awards in their respective categories tonight.

Telenor’s Khamoshi Ka Boycott ad by ADCOM won the best ad award for “Telecommunication Service Provider” category.

Other shortlisted ads in this category were by Ufone namely “Ufone Mobile Internet” and “49 Paisa Offer” – both by Interflow.

Zong and Mobilink’s creative advertisement agencies had submitted their entries but failed to make it to final round.

There were total of 14 submissions for “Telecommunication Service Provider” category, out of which three ads were shortlisted for final round.

Telenor’s “Easy Paisa Mobile Account” by ADCOM also won the award for “Banking and Financial Services” category – beating HBL for their ads “Sila Mila” by Think Tank Advertising and “Shanakht Cricketers” by JWT.

Nokia’s “Nokia dual SIM plus” ad by JWT won PAS award for “Telecommunication Hardware Manufacturer” category. Nokia’s ad was only submission in the category and hence had no competition.

Wateen’s “Jo Chaho” ad by Adetude won the title for “Computer and Internet” Category.

Competition for Computer and Internet category was immense, as entries of three well-known broadband operators were shortlisted along with their agencies.

Other shortlisted ads were from wi-tribe for “Wi-tribe Pakistan Brand refresh” and “Live in your world connect in ours” ad by Pirana Advertising for Qubee.