LG To Launch Their First Curved Handset In November

Giants in electronics LG have join the rest of the big names in electronic industry in manufacturing sophisticated products. 

Report from Reuters Miyoung Kim says: Samsung said last month it would introduce a smartphone with a curved display in October as the world's top handset maker seeks to set the pace of hardware innovation amid slowing growth in the high-end smartphone market.

Curved displays are in the early stages of development and allow bendable or foldable designs that could eventually allow mobile and wearable gadgets to take new forms that could radically change the high-end smartphone market.

LG Display Co Ltd (034220.KS) said on Monday it has started production of a six-inch display curved top to bottom. LG Electronics plans to launch a smartphone with the curved display in November, a source familiar with the matter said.

By contrast, Samsung's phone will have a display curved side to side, another source who has direct knowledge of the matter said.

In January Samsung, which has taken over from Apple Inc (AAPL.O) as the global smartphone leader, showed off prototype products with a flexible screen and a display that extends from the side of a device.

Technology firms have yet to figure out how to mass produce the parts cheaply and come up with display panels that can be thin and heat resistant.



Curved displays are already commercially available in large-screen televisions. Samsung and LG Electronics started selling curved OLED TV sets this year priced at about $9,000.

Google Ads Coming On Gmail For Android

I saw coming, and I'm glad its sure coming for real.

According to an APK teardown, Google will now be introducing advertisements to Gmail for Android in Version 4.6 of the popular e-mail application. Android Police has carried out an APK teardown of Google’s latest Gmail for Android update and the results are very interesting indeed. Gmail 4.6′s most noteworthy alteration will be the introduction of adverts to the Android app.

Prior to this, the app has always been granted the novelty of no adverts. The APK suggests that adverts will be saveable for users to choose whether they want to save or dismiss an advert that appears in your inbox. Another feature in the update is the inclusion of an unsent message warning in your ‘Sent’ box.

Users can now check via the ‘Sent’ box instead of their ‘Outbox’ in order to receive the warning message. Android app users will also be given the first initial of their contact’s name when a display picture is not available. This I find interesting and pointlessly quirky at the same time.

The option to cancel a message you are about to send has been removed from the screen and instead a user can now press the back button. This I will find useful, as no doubt you will too. Android Police’s final APK teardown discovery is the User Interface icons will now appear darker than before. More teardowns of Google apps such as YouTube and Hangouts are to be expected soon. Earlier this year Google updated Gmail for Desktop, Android and iOS bringing a new-look User Interface to consumers.

Source: Techbeat

What? Scientists Charge Nokia Phone With Lightning?

As odd as this may sound, but I think its pretty. Imagine you charging your Nokia phone with lightening, but how long can you wait till lightening comes so that you'd charge your phone? I now it sounds like a fairy tale but its real. Read the full story below. Scientists from the University of Southampton have got together with Nokia and carried out a proof-of-concept experiment. It is hoped that by harnessing this natural power source, areas with a short electricity supply could use this as an alternative energy source.

The team used a transformer to recreate a lightning bolt in the laboratory by passing 200,000 volts across an 11-inch air gap.

“We were amazed to see that the Nokia circuitry somehow stabilized the noisy signal, allowing the battery to be charged,” said Neil Palmer, from the University of Southampton’s high voltage laboratory. “This discovery proves devices can be charged with a current that passes through the air, and is a huge step towards understanding a natural power like lightning and harnessing its energy." 

Warning! Don't try it at home.Credits~TechBeat

Microsoft Best-selling Device ~ Nokia Lumia 520

You've probably heard of many Nokia Lumias, I bet you didn't know which of them is Microsoft's best selling Lumia. 

Personally, I thought the best selling Lumia would be Lumia 925 becaus of its brilliant features, but no, it ain't it

The state of the PC industry was summed up this week in an internal meeting at Microsoft, where it was revealed that theNokia Lumia 520 is the biggest selling Windows device on the market at the moment.

The budget-friendly smartphone, according to Softpedia, is the most popular Windows device going, with its sales outgrowing that of any other Windows-based tablet, PC or laptop.

Although there were no official figures stated in the meeting, given the amount of advertising spend on Microsoft Surface and Windows 8, it is interesting to see a cheap phone surpass Microsoft's own hardware and software offerings – although the low cost will definitely have a factor towards the Lumia 520's popularity.

Subscribe to this blog for latest info.

Attention: You Must Know That Upgrading Your iPhone to iOS 7 Is Irreversible

This warning goes to all owners of iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C

If you owns iPhone 5S or an iPhone 5C, then you’d have already known that your iPhone comes pre-loaded with iOS 7. Of course, you don’t have to buy a new iPhone to get the latest version of iOS. You could upgrade your iPhone 5 to iOS 7 pretty easily and a lot of people have done it. What they don’t realize is that there is no turning back.

When you take your existing iPhone and run it through the update process to get iOS 7, you effectively take away the option of downgrading back to iOS 6 if the new visual style doesn’t tickle your mobile fancy. If you were to try to roll your iPhone back to iOS 6, you’ll be greeted with an error message in iTunes saying that you can’t do that. If you do find that your iPhone is having some trouble, you could also just do a restore… but it will restore back to iOS 7.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, per se. You do get access to some new features in iOS 7 like Control Center for quick settings access, but it is a bit of a bummer if you don’t like the new colorful and flat style. I’m sure there’ll be some hacks and workarounds for this kind of thing, but on an official basis, if you made the leap to iOS 7, you can say goodbye to iOS 6 forever. At least you won’t be alone. Apple says that iOS 7 has been installed on over 200 million devices. Credits~MobileMag

Samsung To Launch Its Golden Galaxy S4 Soon

Following the release of Apple's Gold iPad 5, and Gold 5s Samsung obviously don’t want to be left behind in the gold rush. Samsung has decided to step up their game to meet up with the fast and furious challenge in the mobile market. This has prompted Samsung to announce that  it will be launching its own golden phone soon.

The new Gold Edition Galaxy S4 will be available in two options, a Gold Pink model or a Gold Brown. The technology company has been showing off the new handsets on its United Arab Emirates social media outlets.

It is unlikely that these luxurious handsets will reach global distribution but instead look to be targeted at a well-off demographic, similar to the one that the Nokia Oro was aimed at.

But at least Samsung can say it too has a golden flagship product.

With all these new flamboyant phones and devices, I'm just wandering whether one can afford all of them at the same time smh.  

Unique Features Of Lumia 925

The Lumia 925 is now available in Nigeria with 12 months FREE data from AirtelNigeria Airtel Nigeria
Will you be getting one?

Lumia is a PC on its own. Like some say, its a machine. Its loaded with very exciting and interesting futures. See the spec below.

Lumia 925 Specification

General

2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 - RM-892
HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - RM-910, RM-893
4G Network LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600 - RM-892
LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - RM-893
SIM Micro-SIM

Body

Dimensions 129 x 70.6 x 8.5 mm, 78 cc (5.08 x 2.78 x 0.33 in)
Weight 139 g (4.90 oz)

Display Type 

AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 768 x 1280 pixels, 4.5 inches (~332 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 2
- PureMotion HD+ ClearBlack display

Sound

Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
- Dolby Headphone sound enhancement

Memory Card slot No
Internal 16 GB/ 32 GB (Vodafone only), 1 GB RAM

Data GPRS 

Class B
Edge 

Up to 236.8 kbps
Speed 

HSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL

WLAN 

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot

Bluetooth 

Yes, v3.0 with A2DP

NFC Yes

USB 

Yes, microUSB v2.0

Camera 

Primary 8 MP, 3264 x 2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, optical image stabilization, autofocus, dual-LED flash, check quality
Features 1/3'' sensor size, PureView technology, geo-tagging, touch focus
Video Yes, 1080p@30fps, video stabilization, check quality
Secondary Yes, 1.3 MP, 720p@30fps

Features OS Microsoft Windows Phone 8, upgradeable to WP8 Amber
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon
CPU Dual-core 1.5 GHz Krait
GPU Adreno 225

Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

Messaging 

SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM

Browser HTML5

Radio FM radio

GPS Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Java No

Colors Black, White, Gray
*SNS integration
*Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
*7GB free SkyDrive storage
*MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player
*MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
*Document viewer/editor
*Video/photo editor
*Voice memo/command/dial
*Predictive text input

MISC SAR US 1.42 W/kg (head) 1.00 W/kg (body)
SAR EU 0.81 W/kg (head)
Price group

Battery 

Non-removable Li-Ion 2000 mAh battery (BL-4YW)
Stand-by (2G) / Up to 440 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 18 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 12 h 40 min (3G)
Music play Up to 55 h

Tests Display Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) / 3.402:1 (sunlight)
Loudspeaker Voice 63dB / Noise 72dB / Ring 66dB
Audio quality Noise -82.5dB / Crosstalk -81.2dB
Camera Photo / Video

Fairfax About To Offer Blackberry $4.7 Billion

Like Nokia, it appears that Blackberry will be bought over by Fairfax, as they are closing in to cut a deal.

By Reuters'~Alastair Sharp

Struggling smartphone maker BlackBerry on Monday signed a tentative deal to be acquired by a consortium led by its biggest shareholder, setting a $4.7 billion floor in the auction of the Canadian company that invented on-the-go email.

The consortium is led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, a property and casualty insurer run by Canadian investor Prem Watsa. It has offered $9 a share in cash for BlackBerry, which last week said it expected to report a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion.

"We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world," Watsa said in a statement.

Fairfax owns almost 10 percent of BlackBerry shares.

BlackBerry has until November 4 to seek superior offers, which is also the deadline for the Fairfax-led group to conduct its due diligence. Its shares, halted pending the afternoon announcement, rose to $9.20 as trade resumed but quickly slipped back to around $8.80 by mid-afternoon.

"This is a company that needs to go private if they have any chance," said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners. "They'd be able to restructure outside of the public eye, take a long term view, and run the company at break even."

BlackBerry, based in Waterloo, Ontario, pioneered the concept of on-your-hip email with its first email pagers, offering secure email away from an office, and for years it was the must-have device for governments, businesses and lawyers.

But in recent years it has lost market share to the iPhone from Apple Inc and to devices using Google Inc's Android operating system.

BlackBerry warned on Friday it would report revenue on the sale of just 3.7 million of its phones for the entire second quarter. By contrast, Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models in three days after their Friday launch.

The asking price is far below BlackBerry's share price in the heady days before the iPhone ended its dominance of mobile communications.

Even in its more recent history - littered with profit warnings, job cuts and devices that often arrived late on the scene to disinterested audiences - BlackBerry shares have only dipped below $9 briefly.

In the past 12 months the shares have risen as high as $18.32 and fallen as low as $6.22 on theNasdaq.

About 4,500 Jobs To be cut by Blackberry

If you are a Blackberry user, this is a must read.

Blackberry has announced that after huge losses, it plans to cut 4,500 jobs or 40 percent of its worldwide workforce.

In a statement on Friday, Blackberry’s chief executive Thorstein Heins said, “We are implementing the difficult, but necessary operational changes announced today to address our position in a maturing and more competitive industry, and to drive the company toward profitability.”

“Going forward, we plan to refocus our offering on our end-to-end solution of hardware, software and services for enterprises and the productive, professional end user.”

Shares in the firm closed down at 17 percent and the company has said that it anticipates losses of $995 million when it reports the second-quarter earnings next week.
Z10 Model Disappointing

Blackberry has attributed losses mainly to the disappointing sales of the Z10 model of the smartphone. Back in June, Heins said that out of the 6.8 million handsets produced, only 2.7 million were shipped. Blackberry users had decided to stick with earlier models.

Then in August, board member Timothy Dattels was appointed to work with a committee that would consider Blackberry’s options, including a possible sale.

Although analysts have felt that patents belonging to Blackberry could entice potential buyers, none of the big names in technology have shown an interest publicly.

No doubt the announcement of job cuts and losses will make anyone who is considering buying Blackberry think again.

Even with the release of a new version of its handset, the Z30, the future does not look so good, especially as the launch was overshadowed by the new Apple products. TechBeat

Blackberry's Extinction

According to report, private investors are eyeing BlackBerry and its assets, but not the entire company. Several equity firms have signed non-disclosure agreements with BlackBerry in recent weeks to explore acquisition possibilities, though sources say it is likely the company will be broken up and sold in pieces.

Private equity firms are looking at BlackBerry's operating system and the patents surrounding its keyboards, in particular. One of BlackBerry's largest investors, Fairfax Financial Holdings, has met with other financial firms in hopes of finding a way to take the entire company private, but it holds only about 10% of the firm. Reports says the sales process is expected to begin within a few weeks.

BlackBerry announced last month its intent to "explore strategic options" after its BlackBerry 10 operating system and handset failed to generate interest among consumers. Consumers prefer andriod base devices or the iphone to blackberry.

The reason for this is not unconected to the fact that blackberry os is dull and freezes constantly, its app world is poor as compared to its competitors and its hardware is not stylish.

I remember back in 2008 when blackberry was at its peak, it was the king of smart phone, every top guy owned one. And if you wanted to belong, you had to own a blackberry so as to share you pin to any interested parties. Then it was worth more than $18 bn, today, its worth is a little more than $5 bn. Today blackberry cannot hold down the third spot in the smartphone world, its iphone, andriod base phones and windows phone.

With bbm set to be just another instant messenger that phones running andriod version 4.0 and above and iphone can access, blackberry might have seen its good times. Whether blackberry can reinvent itself only time will tell but until then fans of the smartphone can jolly in the fact that blackberry was once a king

Win a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.

Think you're creative in writing? Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 could be yours. 

Samsung is calling on all writers, bloggers, creative writers or anyone who has what it takes to be creative with words; to enter the Samsung 1000 Words and stand a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.

It’s easy; just visit the link to get started http://www.samsungmobileng.com/galaxytab3/samsung1000words/


The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 is an amazing device to own and it comes in 10.1 and 7.0.
The Tabs comes pre-loaded with premium content for education and entertainment. It comes with six months free subscription on TELL Magazine and Business day, 2000 free Spinlet Credits, Samsung Class connect (Nigerian syllabus on-the-go) and so much more. #Samsung1000Words


Powered by: Samsung Mobile Nigeria


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Win A Porsche or a record deal under Nigeria's popular music producer Don Jazzy via MTN Digital Music Mobile App Competition

Mobile service provider giants MTN just called me this morning with their 180 customer care line, and informed me of their ongoing MTN Digital Music Mobile App Competition.

Because Updatesqr is passionate about its regular blog readers, that's why we felt we should share this with you.

By following the bellow information, you may win any of these fabulous prizes from MTN:
*Porsche,
*Cayman,
*Kia Cerato Saloon cars,
*Home theater karoake set,
*smart phones,
*a record deal under Nigeria's popular music producer Don Jazzy,
*and many other prizes.

Participants must first download the MTN SongStar app on their mobile devices by visiting the MTN app store, http://nextapps.mtnonline.com/30736

Or send songstar to 131.
Participants are further expected to select and download any song of their choice from the library of karaoke songs, after which they will sing, record and share on the MTN YouTube channel within the application. Participants are thereafter expected to encourage friends and family to view their uploads on the MTN YouTube channel as uploads will be picked and rated based on the number of views recorded. The 10 uploads with the highest number of views will be adjudged and selected for monthly prizes.

The monthly prizes include a Kia Cerato saloon car, home theater karaoke sets, smart phones and many other consolation prizes that will serve as incentives for participants.

At the grand finale in December, three participants with the overall highest number of views on YouTube, and another three selected through a wild-card procedure, will compete for the ultimate prize of a Porsche Cayman and a record deal under Don Jazzy.

The winner will be selected based on finesse and musical craftsmanship. The contest, which began on 6 September, runs till the end of November, 2013. Note: if you are a regular reader of this blog, you can send us your uploads link, and we'd help you to get more views on YouTube, with just a trifle token. Send us an email via updatesqrmedia@gmail.com
Powered by: MTN Nigeria.

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The Unique Features of Techno Phantom A+

Equipped with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean),
1.2GHz Quad-core
CPU with 1.0GB RAM.

Phantom A+ also has Ultra-large screen
Super Slim body that is concise and elegant.
It has faster internet speeds, access to games and a variety of apps.
Key Features Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), HD 8.0MP Camera, Asphalt 6, Google Playstore, Facebook, WIFI, Gmail, Google maps Key Features 2G/3G , WIFI , google Play , facebook , opera mini , gmail , google maps , Dual SIM Dual Standby Platform Operating system : Android 4.2 Network : 3.75G/3G/2G Band : GSM900/DCS1800 /WCDMA2100MHz Basic Parameter CPU frequency : 1.2GHz Quad-core CPU : MT6589 GPU : Embedded Battery Capacity : 2100mAh
Talk time : 120Hrs
Standby time : 400Hrs
Data GPRS : Yes
EDGE : Yes
3G : Yes
Size Color : white/Black Dimension : 143.5*70.8*9.1mm Memory ROM/ROM : 4 GB RAM/RAM : 1 GB External memory : Camera Camera Type : Back/Front Pixel
8.0MP/1.2MP Flash Light : Yes
Video recording : Yes
Video calling : Yes
Image size : 3264×2448
Display Size : 5.0''
Material : TFT
Type : CTP Resolution : 720*1280
Sensor G-sensor : Yes
Light sensor : Yes
Proximity sensor : Yes
Common Tools Torch : Yes
Calculator : Yes World clock : Yes
Alarm : Yes
Memo : Yes
Calendar : Yes
Multimedia Audio player : MP3/MIDI /AMR/WAV/ACC
Ringtone format : MIDI/MP3
Video player : MP4/3GP
Picture format : JPG/GIF/BMP/PNG
Message E-mail : Gmail SNS/IM : Facebook Entertainment Flash : No
JAVA : No
FM radio : Yes
Voice recording : Yes
E-book reader : No
Games : Yes
Connectivity GPS navigation : Yes
WiFi?WLAN? : Yes
Bluetooth : Yes
USB port : Yes,
5pin Earphone : Yes,
3.5mm Program Files Map software : Yes
http://www.tecno-mobile.com/products /detail/F7
This is an updated version of the F7 phantom A

Gold iPad 5, Gold iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C Rendered ~Updatesqr

One of the foremost revered and realistic designers is Martin Hajek, United Nations agency continuously appeared to get his renders right.
He guessed the iPad mini style dead before the launch different| and several other} other product. currently he goes for the gold.

Martin Hajek Has it All patterned Out: Gold iPad five, Gold iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C Rendered He rendered the gold iPad five and gold iPhone 5S, 2 color versions that are leaky plenty on the net late. He was conjointly brave enough to render an endeavor of Tim Cook introducing a triplet on September 10th. That’s once Apple is meant to possess Associate in Nursing unveiling event, that may offer North American country the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C and therefore the iPad 5, supposedly.

Martin Hajek Has it All patterned Out: Gold iPad 5, Gold iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C Rendered I don’t get why Apple would release a white iPhone, black iPhone AND a gold one. Why gold/chamgain?! What’s with of these rumors and what’s with the option? Is there any PR/marketing/design/anthropology specialist UNO agency will explain? If therefore, the comments section awaits. By the way, nice job Martin with the styles.

Win Fantastic Prizes in the Ongoing Live Lumia Competition

Want to WIN some COOL stuff ?

Share five #LiveLumia things that amps your lifestyle to win 1 of 1000 amazing prizes the #LiveLumia Competition.

Log on to www.nokia.com/livelumia or click here http://nokia.ly/LiveLumiaNG

                                                                                                          

Powered by: #LiveLumiaCompetition

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Airtel Internet settings & Manual Configuration for Lumia, iPhone, Nokia Symbian, iPad, BBM

Internet Settings

To have access to the internet on your mobile phones and tablets or other data enabled devices, you will have to ensure your APN settings are configured correctly on the Airtel 3.75G network.
APN simply means Access Point Name.
This is a requirement on the network for all data users.
It is your gateway to accessing the web on the Airtel Network. Airtel's APN is internet.ng.airtel.com.
If your phone/ device has no APN settings or incorrect APN settings, you would be unable to access the web.
Typically, once you insert the Airtel SIM, the settings are automatically configured.
However, a need to configure manually might occur. This varies from device to device.

For iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad Mini (1)

Go to Settings > Cellular data > APN settings > APN
2. Type in the following details:
a. Username : Leave blank
b. Password : leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) :
internet.ng.airtel.com d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com

iPhones 
iPhones 3G and 4 (1)

Go to Settings > General > Network > Mobile Data Network > APN
2. Type in the following details:
a. Username : Leave blank
b. Password : Leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN):internet.ng.airtel.
d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com

iPhone 4S (1)

Go to Settings > General > Cellular > Cellular Data Network > APN
2. Type in the following details:
a. Username : Leave blank
b. Password : Leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) : internet.ng.airtel.com
d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com

iPhone 5 (1)

Go to Settings > More Settings > Mobile Network > Access Point Names
2. Click on Menu options > New APN > Name
a. Type in access.
3. Click on APN> type in the following details:
a. Username : Leave blank
b. Password : Leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) : internet.ng.airtel.com
d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com
4. Click on Authentication type a. Type in pap
a. Type in PAP

Windows OS e.g. Lumia Series (1)

Go to Settings > Mobile Networks > Edit APN
2. Type in the following details: a. Username : Please leave blank
b. Password : Leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) : internet.ng.airtel.com
d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com

Symbian OS e.g. Nokia N8 (1)

Go to Settings > Connectivity > Admin Settings > Mobile Data > Access Point name
2. Type in the following details: a. Username : Please leave blank
b. Password : Leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) : internet.ng.airtel.com
d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com

Symbian OS e.g. Nokia C5 (1)

Go to settings > settings > Connection > Packet Data > Access Point
2. Type in the following details: a. Username : Please leave blank
b. Password : Leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) : internet.ng.airtel.com

OS 7 e.g. Bold 5 (1)

Go to Options > Device and Status information > Advanced System settings > TCP/IP
2. Click on APN settings enabled
3. Type in the following details:
a. Username : Leave blank
b. Password : Leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) : internet.ng.airtel.com
d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com

OS 5 e.g. Bold 2 (1)

Go to Options > Advanced Options > TCP/IP > Click on APN settings enabled > Click on APN
2. Type in the following details:
a. Username : Please leave blank
b. Password : Please leave blank
c. Access Point Name (APN) : internet.ng.airtel.com
d. Home Page : www.ng.airtel.com
3. You can also get the settings by sending ‘S’ to 232.

Enjoy your browsing,