Mobile phones, accessories and competition in Chennai

The mobile phone industry is growing so fast in Chennai that consumers are getting ripped off in many ways. One of the areas in which they are being bled is high-priced accessories such as spare chargers and hands-free sets.

But I discovered at the Essar and Virgin co-branded The Mobile Store that you can get travel chargers for Rs.99 and hands free sets for Rs. 99 (single ear piece) and Rs.149 for the stereo sets from iBuddy. The audio quality is not bad, and the price is certainly a pittance compared to the avarice that guides the pricing of "originals" from the big names such as Nokia (they want Rs.800 to Rs.1300 for wired handsfree sets).

It is possible that there will be safety questions raised about these products (which would remind us about Hewlett Packard warning us not to refill our printer cartridges and instead fork out a lot more for their "originals").

What about explosions in off-brand mobile spares, some might counter. Frankly, I don't know. The Mobile Store avers that these are safe. Moreover, a hands-free cannot explode, and chargers seem a remote candidate for an explosion because they don't contain any recharging chemistry. But you decide.

New autorickshaw rates in Chennai

Two items of great interest to the middle class that are in today's papers are a cut in roaming tariffs for mobile phones, and the impending introduction of newly regulated fares for autorickshaws in Chennai (from January 26).

There is of course a great deal of cynicism among the city residents that this is another attempt at window dressing by authorities who are not serious about regulating the autorickshaw sector.

The Hindu today carries a report giving all the numbers which will take down complaints against illegal demands made by autorickshaw drivers.

The mobile roaming tariffs are more likely to get implemented, although one is never sure how the cellcos are cheating customers on billing.