Information Madness

How many times you lost your mobile and had to actually enter all your contact numbers again into your new phone? If you loose your mobile, you are doomed.. right? Well BSNL has just launched a mobile data backup system where subscribers can get their contacts back even if they loose their mobile phone.

So what is the price to get this service?
You will pay Rs. 1/day that is around Rs. 30/month to avail this mobile data backup services. This service is available for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh only but I am expecting that based on the success of these two states, they will roll out mobile data backup into other states as well.

To activate the service, GPRS subscribers would be required to send an SMS typing 'SUB' or 'HELP' to 58989 or they can also access it at http//bsnl.onmobile.com. Funny thing is, when you visit bsnl.onmobile.com, it says "It works!!". Looks like they are still testing on how to make it work...

Now the question is, is it worth paying that money?

If you have GPRS connection in your mobile phone than the answer is NO. If you have GPRS/data connection in your mobile plan, you can backup your mobile contacts, SMSes, pictures, tasks and much more for FREE. How?

Mobical.net - Mobical.net is an application that let you backup Contacts, Calendars, Tasks, Notes, Bookmarks, SMS over-the-air from mobile handset to server. This is done using the SyncML protocol for synchronization, which is a standard protocol in the Mobile industry supported by all major handset vendors. The Mobical platform uses the built in synchronization clients in the handset. These clients are set up with correct settings for synchronizing against the Mobical.net server. The process of setting up the clients is either done via automatic Over-The-Air settings sent out from Mobical.net or manually.

ZYB.com - ZYB is an easy way to store your phone’s contacts, pictures, text messages and calendar events online. ZYB also lets you connect with people you know and makes sure you always have their updated contact details on your phone. Check out ZYB.com

ClickOVA - Data Mobile Backup Application - You can also download this small Java application which Automatically upload your contacts, pictures and videos to the internet via GPRS or 3G. Check out ClickOva.com

Dashwire (USA Only) - Read more about how to Synchronizing Your Mobile Online.

There is Microsoft Live Mobile, Google application and Yahoo application which all can sync your contacts with your online address book for free.

But if you don't have GPRS, it might be a good Value Added Service to have your contacts & mobile data backedup (if you are planning to loose your mobile soon...)