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Voice, the new medium

Airtel launched its new Tamil portal. And guess who was there?

DIAL 747 Srikanth launching the Tamil portal PHOTO: R.SHIVAJI RAO

If you are an Airtel subscriber, you can now listen to Srikanth or Kushboo talking about their lives. Or get a wake-up call from Radha Ravi or V.K.Ramasamy.

Speaking about the new Tamil portal that can be accessed by dialling 747 from the phone, Yuhi Sethu, the brain behind the project, said that he was fascinated by the huge scope in customising sound for mobile phones. "For all you know, people might want to listen to voice mail services than listen to the people they are calling. Instead of being just functional to speak to people, this might graduate to a medium like television," says Sethu.

Actor Srikanth, who launched the portal, believes that this was among the most significant developments in mobile telephony. "I sat for two hours and spoke. You can listen to it any number of times and any time you want," says Srikanth. "Voice is a new medium. Mobile callers can call 747 and get beauty tips, jokes, recipes, music and information on artistes."

"When you were in school, you had trouble remembering what you learnt in class but you never had any such problems with movie songs. What you like, you'll want to listen to again and again," adds the actor.

Sethu had asked Srikanth to do an interview for the portal for the launch of the value-added service. This can be accessed through an interactive menu after dialling 747.

Airtel has tied up with IMI-mobile for the Tamil portal. Mahesh Tampi, Chief Operating Officer, Mobility of Chennai and Tamil Nadu, says that Airtel wanted to stay committed to the local connect. "We get feedback that regional content is very important to the people of Tamil Nadu."

"While mobile services have spread, the reality is that value-added services have not penetrated into the market," says Suresh Jayraju, General Manager of Marketing and Operations, IMImobile.

SUDHISH KAMATH

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